The Baggies’ first season back in the Championship ends with play-off heartache.
Overview
West Brom suffered a painful play-off penalty shootout defeat to local rivals Aston Villa as they failed to make an immediate return to the Premier League.
Manager Darren Moore was surprisingly sacked in March with the club sitting comfortably in 4th place in the Championship table.
With just 10 league games remaining, The Baggies continued under the guidance of caretaker boss James Shan but ultimately missed out on promotion in devastating fashion.
Highs
West Brom spent very little time outside of the top 6 all season, spending an incredible 18 consecutive game weeks in 4th position where they eventually finished the campaign.
2 Baggies strikers finished the season with 20+ goals. Dwight Gayle, on a season long loan from Newcastle United, scored 24 goals in all competitions and former Burnley and Southampton man Jay Rodriguez netted 22 times.
Combining Premier League experience up front with the emergence of some of the club’s promising young prospects like Sam Field and Rakeem Harper, West Brom proved to be a serious threat throughout the season.
Stand out performer
Despite all the goals for West Brom, Craig Dawson was the stand out performer at the other end of the pitch. The centre-back was colossal in defence all season long and will no doubt be devasted that his play-off semi-final goal wasn’t enough to help his side reach the final at Wembley.
Lows
The play-off defeat was the obvious downer on an otherwise positive season for the club. West Brom eventually finished 9 points off an automatic promotion spot behind 2nd place Sheffield United.
As well as being the division’s second highest scorers, they did concede the most goals out of all the top 10 clubs. This clearly hampered their promotion hopes and they’ll need to address this issue if they are serious about another top 6 finish.
One to watch
Academy Graduate Sam Field played 12 times for The Baggies last season, scoring once and putting in some impressively mature performances. Expect the 21-year-old midfielder to feature a lot more heavily next season as he tries to solidify his place in the first team.
Next season
With the likes of Gareth Barry and James Morrison not being offered new contracts and the club opting not to make Dwight Gayle’s loan signing permanent, West Brom will need to rebuild in time for the start of the next campaign.
They will need to persuade Rekeem Harper to sign a new deal amidst reported interest from Premier League sides and hope that the club’s other young stars can continue to shine.
Ultimately, West Bromwich Albion should have what it takes to challenge again for promotion next season.