2014–15 West Bromwich Albion F.C. season explained

Season:	2014–15
Manager:	Alan Irvine (until 29 December) Rob Kelly Tony Pulis (from 1 January)
Cup1 Result:	Sixth round (knocked out by Aston Villa)
Cup2 Result:	Fourth round (knocked out by Bournemouth)
Season Topscorer:	Saido Berahino (20)
League Topscorer:	Saido Berahino (14)
Highest Attendance:	26,768 vs. Leicester City (11 April, Premier League)
Lowest Attendance:	10,939 vs. Oxford United (26 August, League Cup)
Average Attendance:	25,064
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Nextseason:	2015–16

The 2014–15 season was West Bromwich Albion's fifth consecutive season in the Premier League, their ninth in total. The season was notable for West Brom ditching the traditional white and navy stripes kit in favour of white and navy pinstripes kit, which angered many supporters. Eventually, the white and navy stripes kit was brought back the following season. During the season, they also competed in the FA Cup. West Brom were knocked out of the League Cup in the fourth round, losing away to Bournemouth.^[1] The club exited the FA Cup in the sixth round, after they were beaten by local rivals Aston Villa.^[2]

On 6 November 2014, Albion unveiled a statue to their record goalscorer Tony "Bomber" Brown outside the East Stand of The Hawthorns.^[3] A few days later, prior to the club's home match against Newcastle United, a blue plaque was unveiled in memory of Harold Bache, a former Albion player who was killed in action during the First World War. The plaque was subsequently mounted on the outside of the East Stand, opposite the statue of Brown.^[4]

Alan Irvine was sacked as head coach on 29 December, after a run of poor results,^[5] with Tony Pulis appointed as his replacement three days later.^[6]

During every home match throughout the season, the Albion fans applauded through the ninth minute of the match in support of the Justice for Jeff campaign.^[7] This concluded on 11 April 2015 when, for their home match against Leicester City, the Jeff Astle Foundation was launched. To promote this, and in memory of Jeff Astle, the players took to the pitch in a plain white kit, a replica of their 1968 FA Cup winning shirts. The kit featured no sponsors and was numbered 2–11 (with the goalkeeper in a blank kit).^[7]

In March 2015 a new Premier League record was set in the match between West Bromwich Albion and Manchester City for the biggest difference between the number of shots on target by two opposing teams (16 by Manchester City, 0 by Albion). This record still stands as of December 2016.^[8]

Players

First-team squad

Squad at end of season^[9]

Left club during season

Non-competitive

Pre-season

West Bromwich Albion's pre-season friendlies were announced on 22 May 2014, with several matches confirmed by the club later in the summer.^{[10] [11] [12] [13]}
All times listed are in BST unless stated.

Competitions

Overall

Competition	Started round	Final position/round	First match	Last match	Record
	—	13th	16 August 2014	24 May 2015	38	11	11	16	38	51	–13	29%
			26 August 2014	28 October 2014	3	1	1	1	5	5	0	33%
			3 January 2015	7 March 2015	4	3	0	1	13	3	+10	75%
Total					45	15	12	18	56	59	-3	33%

Premier League

Matches

The fixtures for the 2014–15 season were announced on 18 June 2014.^[14]

All times listed are local time (BST or GMT).

FA Cup

As a Premier League side, West Brom entered the FA Cup in the third round.

League Cup

As a Premier League team, West Brom entered the League Cup in the second round.

Player statistics

First team squad

Appearances include starts and substitute appearances. Yellow and red cards are from all competitive competitions.

No.	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Premier League		FA Cup		League Cup		Total		Discipline
					Goals		Goals		Goals		Goals
1	GK		Ben Foster	28	0	2	0	0	0	30	0	2	0
2	DF		Andre Wisdom	24	0	1	0	1	0	26	0	1	0
3	DF			13	1	1	0	1	0	15	1	2	0
4	DF		Chris Baird	19	0	3	0	2	0	24	0	2	0
5	MF		Claudio Yacob	20	0	4	0	2	0	25	0	5	2
6	DF		Joleon Lescott	34	1	3	0	0	0	37	1	3	0
7	MF		James Morrison	33	2	3	1	1	0	37	3	3	0
8	MF		Craig Gardner	35	3	3	0	0	0	38	3	10	0
9	FW		Brown Ideye	24	4	3	2	3	1	30	7	2	0
10	FW		Victor Anichebe	21	3	2	3	2	0	25	6	0	0
11	MF		Chris Brunt	34	2	4	1	1	0	39	3	5	0
13	GK		Boaz Myhill	11	0	3	0	3	0	17	0	1	0
14	DF		Jason Davidson	2	0	0	0	3	0	5	0	0	0
15	DF		Sébastien Pocognoli	15	0	1	0	0	0	16	0	1	0
16	DF		Cristian Gamboa	10	0	1	0	3	0	14	0	2	0
17	MF		Graham Dorrans	21	1	1	0	0	0	22	1	5	0
18	FW		Saido Berahino	38	14	4	5	3	1	45	20	2	0
19	MF		Callum McManaman	8	0	2	0	0	0	10	0	1	0
20	DF		Liam O'Neil	0	0	0	0	2	0	2	0	0	0
21	MF		Youssouf Mulumbu	17	0	1	0	3	0	21	0	2	1
23	DF		Gareth McAuley	24	1	4	0	3	1	31	2	2	1
24	MF		Darren Fletcher	15	1	0	0	0	0	15	1	2	0
25	DF		Craig Dawson	29	2	4	0	2	0	34	2	7	0
27	MF		Silvestre Varela	7	1	1	0	1	0	9	1	1	0
28	MF		Sebastián Blanco	3	0	0	0	2	0	5	0	1	0
29	MF		Stéphane Sessègnon	28	1	3	0	2	0	33	1	5	0
30	FW		Georgios Samaras	5	0	1	0	2	0	8	0	0	0
33	DF		Bradley Garmston	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
34	MF		Kemar Roofe	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
36	FW		Adil Nabi	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
37	MF		Mani O'Sullivan	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
43	DF		Callam Jones	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Last updated: 24 May 2015
Sources: West Bromwich Albion and Soccerbase

Top goalscorers

Name	Premier League	FA Cup	League Cup	Total
Saido Berahino	14	5	1	20
Brown Ideye	4	2	1	7
Victor Anichebe	3	3	0	6
James Morrison	2	2	0	4
Chris Brunt	2	1	0	3
Craig Gardner	3	0	0	3
Own goals	1	0	2	3
Craig Dawson	2	0	0	2
Gareth McAuley	1	0	1	2
Graham Dorrans	1	0	0	1
Darren Fletcher	1	0	0	1
Joleon Lescott	1	0	0	1
Jonas Olsson	1	0	0	1
Stéphane Sessègnon	1	0	0	1
Silvestre Varela	1	0	0	1
Total	38	13	5	56

Source: West Bromwich Albion, BBC

Transfers and loans

Transfers in

width=125	Date	width=20	Pos.	width=20	No.	width=150	Name	width=150	From	width=150	Fee	Ref
1 July 2014	MF	8	Craig Gardner	Sunderland	Free	^[15]
1 July 2014	DF	6	Joleon Lescott	Manchester City	Free	^[16]
7 July 2014	DF	4	Chris Baird	Burnley	Free	^[17]
12 July 2014	DF	15	Sébastien Pocognoli	Hannover 96	£1,500,000	^[18]
18 July 2014	FW	9	Brown Ideye	Dynamo Kyiv	Undisclosed	^[19]
5 August 2014	DF	14	Jason Davidson	Heracles Almelo	Undisclosed	^[20]
5 August 2014	DF	16	Cristian Gamboa	Rosenborg	Undisclosed	^[21]
22 August 2014	FW	30	Giorgos Samaras	Celtic	Free	^[22]
30 August 2014	MF	28	Sebastián Blanco	Metalist Kharkiv	Undisclosed	^[23]
28 January 2015	MF	19	Callum McManaman	Wigan Athletic	£4,750,000	^[24]
2 February 2015	MF	24	Darren Fletcher	Manchester United	Free	^[25]

Transfers out

width=125	Date	width=20	Pos.	width=20	No.	width=150	Name	width=150	From	width=150	To	Ref
19 July 2014	MF	15	George Thorne	Derby County	Undisclosed	^[26]
21 January 2015	GK	19	Luke Daniels	Scunthorpe United	Undisclosed	^[27]

Loans in

width=125	Date	width=20	Pos.	width=20	No.	width=150	Name	width=150	From	width=150	Type	Ref
22 July 2014	DF	2	Andre Wisdom	Liverpool	30 June 2015	^[28]
24 August 2014	MF	27	Silvestre Varela	Porto	20 January 2015	^[29] ^[30]

Loans out

width=125	Date	width=20	Pos.	width=20	No.	width=150	Name	width=150	From	width=150	Type	Ref
1 August 2014	DF	22	Donervon Daniels	Blackpool	Until 2 January	^[31] ^[32]
29 September 2014	DF	44	Reiss Greenidge	Port Vale	Until 31 December 2014	^[33]
4 November 2014	MF	34	Kemar Roofe	Colchester United	Until 1 December 2014	^[34]
13 November 2014	DF	20	Liam O'Neil	Scunthorpe United	Until 30 June 2015	^[35] ^[36] ^[37]
27 November 2014	DF	48	Wes Atkinson	Cambridge United	Until 3 January 2015	^[38]
16 January 2015	DF	33	Bradley Garmston	Gillingham	Until 15 March 2015	^[39] ^[40]
27 January 2015	DF	22	Donervon Daniels	Aberdeen	Until 30 June	^[41]
5 February 2015	MF	30	Georgios Samaras	Al-Hilal	Until 30 June	^[42]
13 February 2015	MF	34	Kemar Roofe	Oxford United	Until 30 June	^[43] ^[44]
17 February 2015	MF	17	Graham Dorrans	Norwich City	Until 30 June	^[45] ^[46]

Released

width=125	Date	width=20	Pos.	width=20	No.	width=150	Name	width=150	To	width=150	Type	Ref
16 May 2014	DF	2	Steven Reid	Burnley	Free	^[47]
16 May 2014	DF	6	Liam Ridgewell	Portland Timbers	Free	^[48]
16 May 2014	DF	14	Diego Lugano	Released	Free	^[49]
16 May 2014	MF	22	Zoltán Gera	Ferencváros	Free
16 May 2014	MF	—	Scott Allan	Hibernian	Free	^[50] ^[51]
16 May 2014	DF	4	Goran Popov	Dynamo Kyiv	Loan return
16 May 2014	MF	10	Scott Sinclair	Manchester City	Loan return
16 May 2014	MF	18	Morgan Amalfitano	Marseille	Loan return
16 May 2014	FW	20	Matěj Vydra	Udinese	Loan return
16 May 2014	FW	50	Thievy Bifouma	Espanyol	Loan return
28 May 2014	DF	28	Billy Jones	Sunderland	Free	^[52]
10 July 2014	DF	41	Cameron Gayle	Shrewsbury Town	Free	^[53]

Notes and References

1. News: Bournemouth knock out West Brom in dramatic finish at Dean Court . Guardian . 28 October 2014 . 31 October 2014.
2. News: Aston Villa v West Brom as it happened. 7 March 2015. 11 April 2015. BBC Sport.
3. Web site: Come and join our Bomber celebrations . wba.co.uk . 30 October 2014 . 6 November 2014 . 6 November 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141106162204/http://www.wba.co.uk/news/article/come-and-join-our-bomber-celebrations-2049365.aspx . dead .
4. Web site: Albion to unveil plaque to honour First World War hero. West Bromwich Albion F.C.. 7 November 2014. 31 August 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170831223557/https://www.wba.co.uk/news/2014/november/albion-to-unveil-plaque-to-honour-first-world-war-hero/. 31 August 2017. live.
5. Web site: Albion part company with head coach Alan Irvine . wba.co.uk . 29 December 2014 . 30 December 2014 . 29 December 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141229235735/http://www.wba.co.uk/news/article/albion-irvine-head-coach-2172359.aspx . dead .
6. Web site: Albion appoint Pulis as new head coach . wba.co.uk . 1 January 2015 . 1 January 2015 . 1 January 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150101142913/http://www.wba.co.uk/news/article/west-bromwich-albion-baggies-tony-pulis-new-head-coach-2175923.aspx . dead .
7. Web site: West Brom to launch Jeff Astle Foundation at Leicester City game. 10 April 2015. 11 April 2015. Fisher. Ben.
8. News: Tottenham's win over Swansea statistically among most one-sided PL games ever. BBC Sport . 6 December 2016 . 30 December 2016.
9. Web site: FootballSquads - West Bromwich Albion - 2014/15.
10. Web site: Albion announce pre-season schedule . 22 May 2014 . 22 May 2014 . wba.co.uk . 24 May 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140524001735/http://www.wba.co.uk/news/article/albion-announce-pre-season-schedule-2014-1568926.aspx . dead .
11. Web site: Albion XI friendly date with Hednesford . wba.co.uk . 26 May 2014 . 27 May 2014 . 27 May 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140527215947/http://www.wba.co.uk/news/article/albion-xi-friendly-date-with-hednesford-1574205.aspx#Vf1Xpw7l1iIoIokX.99 . dead .
12. Web site: Albion XI to host Wycombe . 2 June 2014 . 2 June 2014 . wba.co.uk . 5 June 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140605060120/http://www.wba.co.uk/news/article/albion-xi-to-host-wycombe-1593385.aspx . dead .
13. Web site: Pre-season friendlies . wba.co.uk . 14 July 2014 . 2 July 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140702000319/http://www.wba.co.uk/fixtures-results/pre-season-friendlies/ . dead .
14. News: Albion kick-off at home to Sunderland . wba.co.uk . 18 June 2014 . 18 June 2014 . 22 June 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140622121958/http://www.wba.co.uk/news/article/albion-kick-off-at-home-to-sunderland-1648056.aspx . dead .
15. News: Craig Gardner: Sunderland midfielder to join West Brom . BBC Sport . 20 May 2014 . 20 May 2014.
16. News: Lescott agrees Baggies deal . wba.co.uk . 20 June 2014 . 20 June 2014 . 25 July 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140725235336/http://www.wba.co.uk/news/article/lescott-agrees-baggies-deal-1652736.aspx . dead .
17. News: Baggies sign versatile Baird . wba.co.uk . 7 July 2014 . 7 July 2014 . 14 July 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140714043621/http://www.wba.co.uk/news/article/baggies-sign-versatile-baird-1719445.aspx . dead .
18. Web site: Pocognoli seals Albion move . wba.co.uk . 12 July 2014 . 12 July 2014 . 23 March 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160323181444/http://www.wba.co.uk/news/article/pocognoli-seals-albion-move-1748755.aspx . dead .
19. Web site: Albion sign Brown Ideye in club record transfer . wba.co.uk . 18 July 2014 . 18 July 2014 . 23 July 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140723173322/http://www.wba.co.uk/news/article/albion-sign-brown-ideye-in-club-record-transfer-1768950.aspx . dead .
20. Web site: Davidson joins Baggies . wba.co.uk . 5 August 2014 . 5 August 2014 . 26 December 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141226112507/http://www.wba.co.uk/news/article/davidson-joins-baggies-1803924.aspx . dead .
21. Web site: Albion land Gamboa . wba.co.uk . 5 August 2014 . 5 August 2014 . 5 August 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140805231712/http://www.wba.co.uk/news/article/albion-land-gamboa-1805832.aspx . dead .
22. News: Georgios Samaras: West Brom sign striker on a free transfer . BBC Sport . 22 August 2014 . 25 August 2014.
23. Web site: Albion sign Blanco . wba.co.uk . 30 August 2014 . 30 August 2014 . 30 August 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140830152423/http://www.wba.co.uk/news/article/albion-sign-blanco-1885077.aspx . dead .
24. News: McManaman joins Albion . West Bromwich Albion F.C . 28 January 2015 . 28 January 2015 . 2 February 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150202053127/http://www.wba.co.uk/news/article/west-bromwich-albion-callum-mcmanaman-signing-wigan-2232524.aspx . dead .
25. News: Man Utd's Fletcher joins West Brom . BBC Sport . 2 February 2015.
26. News: George Thorne joins Derby County . wba.co.uk . 19 July 2014 . 19 July 2014 . 19 July 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140719125538/http://www.wba.co.uk/news/article/george-thorne-joins-derby-county-1769201.aspx . dead .
27. News: Rose tipped to blossom as Daniels leaves Albion . West Bromwich Albion F.C . 21 January 2015 . 22 January 2015 . 22 January 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150122171028/http://www.wba.co.uk/news/article/jack-rose-luke-daniels-west-bromwich-albion-scunthorpe-2218461.aspx . dead .
28. News: West Brom sign Wisdom on loan deal. BBC Sport.
29. Web site: Porto winger Varela seals Hawthorns move . wba.co.uk . 24 August 2014 . 25 August 2014 . 24 August 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140824221745/http://www.wba.co.uk/news/article/porto-winger-varela-seals-hawthorns-move-1863303.aspx . dead .
30. News: Duo set to leave Albion . West Bromwich Albion F.C . 20 January 2015 . 20 January 2015 . 20 January 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150120232758/http://www.wba.co.uk/news/article/blanco-varela-west-bromwich-albion-parma-san-lorenzo-2216193.aspx . dead .
31. News: Daniels to join Blackpool on youth loan . West Bromwich Albion F.C . 1 August 2014 . 1 August 2014 . 3 August 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140803021402/http://www.wba.co.uk/news/article/daniels-to-join-blackpool-on-youth-loan-1798440.aspx . dead .
32. News: Blackpool: Donervon Daniels extends loan spell to January . BBC . 22 August 2014 . 2 November 2014.
33. News: Port Vale sign West Brom defender Reiss Greenidge . Stoke Sentinel . 29 September 2014.
34. News: Roofe joins Colchester on loan . West Bromwich Albion F.C . 4 November 2014 . 5 November 2014 . 5 November 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141105143304/http://www.wba.co.uk/news/article/roofe-joins-colchester-on-loan-2061936.aspx . dead .
35. News: O'Neil joins Scunthorpe on loan . West Bromwich Albion F.C . 13 November 2014 . 13 November 2014 . 13 November 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141113190813/http://www.wba.co.uk/news/article/oneil-joins-scunthorpe-on-loan-2081693.aspx . dead .
36. News: West Brom youngster extends Scunthorpe stay . talkSPORT . 19 December 2014.
37. News: O'Neil to stay at Scunthorpe for rest of the season . West Bromwich Albion F.C . 12 January 2015 . 12 January 2015 . 12 January 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150112200302/http://www.wba.co.uk/news/article/west-brom-wba-albion-scunthorpe-united-liam-oneil-loan-2198914.aspx . dead .
38. News: Atkinson joins Cambridge on loan . West Bromwich Albion F.C . 27 November 2014 . 28 November 2014 . 4 December 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141204201518/http://www.wba.co.uk/news/article/albion-west-brom-wba-wesley-atkinson-loan-2108960.aspx . dead .
39. News: Gillingham sign West Brom youngster . BBC Sport . 16 January 2015.
40. News: Garmston has Gillingham loan extended . West Bromwich Albion F.C . 16 February 2015 . 16 February 2015 . 16 February 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150216194435/http://www.wba.co.uk/news/article/wba-albion-west-brom-gillingham-bradley-garmston-loan-2273888.aspx . dead .
41. News: Daniels completes Dons move . West Bromwich Albion F.C . 27 January 2015 . 27 January 2015 . 28 January 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150128114857/http://www.wba.co.uk/news/article/donervorn-daniels-west-bromwich-albion-aberdeen-2230161.aspx . dead .
42. News: Samaras loan exit confirmed . West Bromwich Albion F.C . 5 February 2015 . 5 February 2015 . 5 February 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150205203810/http://www.wba.co.uk/news/article/georgios-samaras-west-bromwich-albion-al-hilal-2249808.aspx . dead .
43. News: Roofe is on hire . West Bromwich Albion F.C . 13 February 2015 . 13 February 2015 . 13 February 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150213181652/http://www.wba.co.uk/news/article/albion-west-brom-under-21-winger-kemar-roofe-oxford-month-loan-2267834.aspx . dead .
44. News: Roofe to stay with Oxford for remainder of campaign . West Bromwich Albion F.C . 12 March 2015 . 12 March 2015 . 2 April 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150402165400/http://www.wba.co.uk/news/article/wba-west-brom-kemar-roofe-albion-oxford-united-loan-2330198.aspx . dead .
45. News: Dorrans joins Canaries on loan . West Bromwich Albion F.C . 17 February 2015 . 17 February 2015 . 17 February 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150217200844/http://www.wba.co.uk/news/article/albion-west-brom-graham-dorrans-norwich-emergency-loan-2277307.aspx . dead .
46. News: Dorrans extends Norwich loan . West Bromwich Albion F.C . 26 March 2015 . 26 March 2015 . 2 April 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150402170212/http://www.wba.co.uk/news/article/graham-dorrans-extends-norwich-city-loan-2360270.aspx . dead .
47. News: Burnley make defender Steven Reid their fifth signing of the summer . The Guardian . 7 July 2014 . 7 July 2014.
48. News: Portland Timbers sign English defender Liam Ridgewell as third Designated Player . MLS Soccer . 25 June 2014 . 25 June 2014.
49. News: West Brom release Lugano, Ridgewell, Gera and Reid . BBC Sport . 16 May 2014 . 20 May 2014.
50. Web site: Baggies confirm five departures . wba.co.uk . 16 May 2014 . 20 May 2014 . 19 May 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140519032847/http://www.wba.co.uk/news/article/baggies-confirm-five-departures-1556725.aspx . dead .
51. News: Hibernian: Midfielder Scott Allan signs a two-year deal . BBC Sport . 24 July 2014 . 24 July 2014.
52. Web site: Jones rejects improved deal and departs Hawthorns . 28 May 2014 . 28 May 2014 . wba.co.uk . 28 May 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140528093913/http://www.wba.co.uk/news/article/jones-rejects-improved-deal-and-departs-hawthorns-1576125.aspx . dead .
53. News: Shrewsbury sign Gayle from West Brom . BBC Sport . 10 July 2014 . 10 July 2014.