The Premier League’s greatest escape

West Brom were in 20th for almost 40% of the season, including the final day, and were in the relegation zone for 65% of the season, yet they managed to stay up. How did the ‘great escape’ happen?

West Brom were coming into the 2004/05 season after finishing second in the Championship, coming back up at the first attempt following relegation in 2003. The 2003/04 season was also the Baggies’ best League Cup run in 22 years, reaching the quarter finals following wins against Newcastle and Manchester United, and narrowly losing to Arsenal.

The summer of 2004 was one of the best transfer windows for West Brom, with them spending £13.8 million on various players to try and stay up in the Premier League. The legendary Zoltan Gera signed from Ferencvaros for £1.9 million, and strikers Nwankwo Kanu and Robert Earnshaw were brought in on a free from Arsenal and for £4 million from Cardiff respectively.

West Brom started their season without a win from their first seven games, picking up just four points. They then only picked up one win in their first 23 games, beating Bolton 2–1 at the start of October following goals from Gera and Kanu. After that, they went winless throughout the end of 2004 and the start of 2005.

After their win in October, the Baggies dropped from 15th all the way down to bottom of the table by gameweek 23. Draws against Norwich, Southampton, Arsenal, Man City, Bolton, and Newcastle kept West Brom at the bottom of the table. After their draw against Southampton in November, long standing manager Gary Megson was sacked and replaced with Bryan Robson. Despite this, they were still bottom at Christmas.

Their next win came 112 days after their last one, with a 2–0 home win over Man City on the 22nd January. This was the turning point for West Brom’s season. After this win, they followed it up with draws against Southampton and Crystal Palace and a narrow loss against Norwich.

A 2–0 win against Birmingham in March lifted them off the bottom of the table for the first time in 109 days, and they followed that up with a thumping 4–1 win away at Charlton and a 1–0 win at home to Everton, just after a narrow 1–0 loss against eventual champions Chelsea.

This string of games put the Baggies up to 18th, and then 1–1 draws against Aston Villa and Tottenham dragged West Brom out of the relegation zone as they approached the back end of the season. However, losses against Middlesbrough and Arsenal and draws against Blackburn and Man United put them back in 20th place on the final day, with a mountain to climb.

West Brom were also knocked out of the FA Cup after two games in the fourth round and in the League Cup second round in their first game, with a 2–1 loss to League One Colchester. Their full focus was on staying in the Premier League, and for the first time, no team was safe as the final day started.

The final day was advertised by Sky Sports as ‘Survival Sunday’, with Norwich, Southampton, Crystal Palace and the Baggies all separated by just two points. West Brom faced Portsmouth, who would go on to finish 16th, just above the rest of the pack. Southampton faced Manchester United, who finished 3rd, Palace faced Charlton, who finished 11th, and Norwich faced Fulham, who finished 13th.

West Brom had to beat Portsmouth and Norwich, Palace and Southampton had to drop points in order for West Brom to stay up. After ten minutes, Fulham took the lead through Brian McBride, and would go on to win 6–0, subsequently relegating Norwich. In the same minute, Southampton would take the lead against Man United through an own goal from John O’Shea.

Nine minutes later, Man United would equalise through Darren Fletcher, putting Crystal Palace into 17th. However, ten minutes later, Charlton would take the lead through Bryan Hughes. The first halves ended with West Brom still tied at 0–0, and therefore still in 20th place.

In the 58th minute, Crystal Palace equalised through Dougie Freedman, putting Palace back out the danger zone. However, West Brom would take the lead in the same minute, putting the Baggies outside of the relegation zone for the first time. Ruud van Nistelrooy then put Man United in front against Southampton, taking the Saints out of the race.

In the 71st minute, Andrew Johnson scored a penalty to bring them back out of the relegation zone. Kieran Richardson put West Brom two goals to the good four minutes later, but the Baggies still needed a goal from Charlton to secure their survival.

That goal came through Jonathan Fortune in the 82nd minute, making the score 2–2 and then relegating Crystal Palace. Starting on the final day at 20th, West Brom survived, making them the first Premier League team to do so. They also survived relegation with the lowest point score in Premier League history with 34.

West Brom were then relegated the following season in 19th with 30 points.