Sunday 27th February 2005

Stovell moves to City Ground

Gary Megson's Nottingham Forest reveal that Albion fitness coach Adie Stovell has moved to the City Ground to take up a similar role. Twenty nine year old Stovell said of the switch: "I am a firm believer in loyalty and Gary gave me my first chance in football and I was very keen to join up with him again at Forest. It was very enjoyable working for him at The Hawthorns. It's a new challenge and if we can get things going like we did at West Brom, then we can look forward to a good future."

Friday 25th February 2005

Cardiff boss wants Inamoto deal

Cardiff City boss Lennie Lawrence admits he would like to sign on loan Albion midfielder Junichi Inamoto permanently. "The priority before the season's transfer deadline is to ensure Ina stays with Cardiff City," said Lawrence. "If West Brom are relegated from the Premiership, which is a possibility, he might as well come to us where he's liked and appreciated."

Chelsea date confirmed

It is confirmed that Albion's trip to Chelsea will take place on Tuesday, March 15 with a 7-45 pm kick-off after both clubs agreed to bring the game forward 24 hours. The new date will give both Albion and Chelsea an extra days rest ahead of the following weekend's games.

Reserve game switched

Albion's home reserve game against Birmingham City is put back 24 hours to Tuesday, March 8 (7pm kick-off). The game was originally scheduled to take place at Kidderminster Harriers' Aggborough Stadium but will now be staged at The Hawthorns.

Thursday 24th February 2005

Trio miss USA trip

It emerges that Kanu, Zoltan Gera and Tomasz Kuszcak have all had to miss the club's trip to Florida because of visa problems. The trio all required special dispensation from the US authorities to enter the country but the American Embassy were unable to accommodate a meeting with Albion officials until next week.

Wednesday 23rd February 2005

Baggies off on sunshine break

Albion boss Bryan Robson reveals he is taking the squad away on a sunshine break although refuses to name the destination. "I am taking the players on a break." said the Baggies boss. "We have got a few new signings, so it is a chance for everybody to get to know each other and hopefully get a bit of sun. To train in a bit of sunshine, and with a change of environment - particularly with the way the weather is here - it will do them good." Some newspaper reports claim Robson and the squad are heading for Florida.

Tuesday 22nd February 2005

Southampton clash ends goalless

On a cold snowy night at The Hawthorns Albion play out a 0-0 draw with fellow strugglers Southampton. In a poor game watched by a crowd of 25,865 the visitors did have the better of the chances although on-loan midfielder Kieran Richardson hit the crossbar in the first half for Albion with a scorching 25 yard shot. Although they remain bottom of the league the draw does move Albion to within four points of fourth-from-bottom Crystal Palace.

Almeyda returns home

Former Albion target Matias Almeyda reaches an agreement to join Argentine outfit Quilmes. The midfielder had originally agreed to move to The Hawthorns during the January transfer window only to then change his mind and suggest he was to retire instead.

Monday 21st February 2005

Albion receive Albrechtsen boost

Albion receive a boost ahead of Tuesday's vital game against Southampton at The Hawthorns after defender Martin Albrechtsen is declared fit to play. The Danish defender limped out of Albion's FA Cup defeat at Spurs nine days ago with a hamstring injury. Midfield trio Jonathan Greening, Richard Chaplow and Kieran Richardson also return to the first-team squad after being unavailable for the trip to Spurs.

Albion in Chelsea date talks

Chelsea reveal they are in discussions with Albion about the possibility of moving the game scheduled for Wednesday, March 16 at Stamford Bridge back a day to Tuesday March 15.

Thursday 17th February 2005

Albion to provide Charlton transport

Albion announce that they will lay on up to 40 free coaches for fans travelling to next month's Premiership game at Charlton Athletic.

Chairman Jeremy Peace said: "This is our way of saying thank you to the fans for their tremendous support this season. They have followed the team all over the country in their thousands and have played their part during some challenging away games. I'm sure all our fans will agree that the team is now playing the kind of football they enjoy and I know we can look forward to magnificent support home and away for the rest of this important season."

This is the third season running the club have made such a gesture, last season free coaches were provided for the game at Sunderland and the season before at West Ham.

Wednesday 16th February 2005

Everton game switched

Albion's home game against Everton on Saturday, April 2 is picked to be screened live on Sky TV and will now take place on Sunday, April 3 with a 4:05pm kick-off time.

Monday 14th February 2005

Reserves lose at Morecambe

In front of a crowd of 187 at Christie Park, Morecambe, Albion reserves suffer a 3-1 defeat against Blackburn Rovers despite taking a 35th minute lead through Rob Elvins. Ex-Huddersfield striker Jon Stead equalised for Rovers in the 51st minute before goals from Matt Derbyshire (61) and Joel Byrom (90) made sure of all three points for the Lancashire club.

Gera will stay says Robson

Albion boss Bryan Robson insists that midfielder Zoltan Gera will not be leaving The Hawthorns even if the club suffer relegation at the end of the season.  

"Zoltan is a very good player. For me, he is one of the best signings the club made in the summer," Robson told the Birmingham Evening Mail. "I can guarantee the fans that Zoltan Gera will be going nowhere, no matter which division we are in next season, that is 100%. Zoltan is a good player and what I want to do as manager here is add more Zoltan Gera's to my squad and not let any go. Everyone is contracted, no one will leave unless I decide they are going to leave and the player decides he wants to leave."

After watching Gera impress in the club's FA Cup defeat against Spurs at the weekend Robson was full of praise for the Hungarian captain: "When he came in on Thursday he was shattered and drained, but that changed by the time he had got to London on Friday, he had recovered well, He's a great professional, he's a non-drinker, does all the right things, gets his massages in after training, doesn't shoot off home early and he prepares himself really well. When you have players like that you don't have to worry, you know they will do everything possible to prepare themselves correctly for a match. He loves playing football, he has the right sort of spirit and no matter what he does he will try 100%."

Matthaus hits back

Hungary manager Lothar Matthaus hits back at Albion boss Bryan Robson following claims made by Robson that Matthaus had backtracked on a pledge to use Gera for only 45 minutes in the Hungarians friendly match against Wales last Wednesday.

"I told him if everything is alright then Gera would spend 45 or 60 minutes on the pitch, but unfortunately the result wasn't that good for this," said Matthaus. On this game I was the trainer of Gera and I thought the best thing is to let him play until the final whistle. Robson said he wouldn't be that helpful in the future although he allowed him to join the national team only on FIFA match days in the past, he never did so on other days. On these days he can't prevent Gera's coming, he can't prevent me sending the best Hungarian into battle, to play for his country colours."

Sunday 13th February 2005

Moore set to leave in summer

Darren Moore's agent John Mac reveals the big defender is now resigned to leaving The Hawthorns in the summer and is considering his future options.

"Somehow, West Brom do not feel they want to make Darren an offer, so we will talk to other clubs about next season because we have no choice," said Mac. "Darren has had four enjoyable years at West Brom and he would stay - but that is no longer an option.  We are not in a position to be able to wait for West Brom to make an offer, as it is too dangerous to wait. A decision has to be taken now to plan for the summer. It's an unfortunate situation, but there's no alternative." Moore has recently hit out at the club for not offering him a new contract with his current one due to expire this coming summer.

Saturday 12th February 2005

Albion crash out of cup at Spurs

Despite an impressive first half performance Albion go out of the FA Cup following a 3-1 defeat to Spurs at White Hart Lane in front of a crowd of 27,860. Nigerian star Kanu gave Albion the lead in the 12th minute and Albion looked in control of the game until a clumsy challenge by Russell Hoult gave Spurs a 44th minute penalty which Robbie Keane duly converted. Following the collision Hoult was left with concussion and was replaced by Polish keeper Tomasz Kuszczak. Just five minutes into the second half England striker Jermain Defoe gave Spurs the lead then five minutes later he notched his second to effectively kill the game off. Albion's Danish defender Martin Albrechtsen was forced off late in the game due to a reccurrence of his hamstring injury and now faces a battle to be fit for Albion's next game at home to Southampton in ten days time.

Hulse impresses on debut

Rob Hulse makes an impressive debut for new club Leeds United by grabbing two goals in the Yorkshire club's 3-1 victory against Reading at Elland Road. The striker is currently on loan to United from Albion until the end of the season.

Friday 11th February 2005

We will strengthen says Peace

Chairman Jeremy Peace pledges to strengthen Albion's squad this summer irrespective of which division the club will be in. "We will strengthen this summer even if we are a league down," said Peace. "If we stay in the Premiership then we will be able to strengthen even further because we will obviously be a more attractive proposition. This time around we will be looking at bringing in up to five new players. The players we have already got are on contracts suitable to us. We are trying to create long-term success here and hopefully they will be part of that. You can't stop other club's bidding for players if you get relegated but they can see what we are trying to achieve here and hopefully they will stay. We want to keep the core of the squad together."

Robson challenges Moore

Bryan Robson challenges Darren Moore to prove he is worthy of a new contract after the big defender hit out at the club yesterday. Robson said: "Since I've been at the club Darren Moore has played only two games for me and then he had his operation. He has only had a couple of reserve team games and as far as offering people a contract, I need to see more. Darren will get his chance at some stage before the end of the season and when he does he has to prove that he is worth another contract. I haven't seen enough of him to decide whether I want to give him a new contract or not. He has got to prove that over the next couple of months. But he is in the squad this weekend. He came through another reserve game in the week and looked that little bit better than the previous reserve game so he does come into contention for a place."

Midworth leaves

Albion terminate the contract of young defender Phillip Midworth by mutual consent. The 19 year old, who progressed through the club's youth system never appeared in the first team at The Hawthorns but was a reserve team regular. Following his release from the club he signs non-contract forms with non-league Burton Albion. Midworth had recently been training with another Conference side, Hereford United.

Chelsea game switched

Albion's Premiership game at runaway leaders Chelsea is re-arranged for Wednesday, March 16, with a 7.45pm kick off. The game was originally due to be played on Saturday, February 26 but was postponed due to Chelsea's involvement in the Carling Cup Final the following day.

Thursday 10th February 2005

Moore hits out

Darren Moore hits out at the club for failing to respond to his stated desire to sign a new contract at The Hawthorns: "All I can say is that my contract expires on June 30, and that is it. I have been in to ask the club if they will be willing to extend my contract but they have given me no indication that they will. I would love to sign an extension and would be delighted to stay at the football club, but obviously that is out of my hands. The decision lies with the chairman and the manager. Neither one of them has indicated to me that I'll be staying at the club beyond my current deal. Hand on heart I am very disappointed that Bryan Robson and Jeremy Peace haven't come back to me with an offer. I thought that with all the success we've had at the club and the contribution I've made to that success that I would definitely be offered something. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to matter one iota."

Robson angry with Matthaus

Albion manager Bryan Robson admits he is unhappy with Hungary manager Lothar Matthaus after Zoltan Gera played the full 90 minutes of his country's match against Wales on Wednesday night, Robson had been assured that the midfielder would only play half of the game. Robson was also unhappy that Gera was forced to fly to Budapest to take part in a training session only to fly back to England ahead of the game.

"I spoke to Lothar Matthaus last week because I heard that Zoltan had to fly out to Budapest on Sunday to have one training session and then fly back in on Tuesday," said Robson. "Lothar said Zoltan is captain of his country and he had to go to Budapest and report with the rest of the players - but he would only play him for 45 minutes. Now I'd like to know the reason why he played him for 90 minutes when I told him Zoltan had just had three hard games in a week and the lad was a little bit tired. That's when you get irritated as a club manager when you've already had a conversation where the international manager has already promised you that he is only going to play half a game. Once you have an agreement, you expect it to be kept."

Wednesday 9th February 2005

Trio leave The Hawthorns

Albion terminate the contracts of Adam Chambers, Sekou Berthe and Simon Miotto. The trio, whose contracts would have expired at the end of the season have agreed to cancel their deals early by mutual consent.

Albion boss Bryan Robson told the club's official website: "I decided Adam, Sekou and Simon are not part of my plans a few weeks ago but they're all terrific pros who I'm sure will do a good job elsewhere."

Defender come midfielder Chambers, who was the longest serving player at The Hawthorns last appeared for the first team when coming on as a substitute in the Carling Cup victory over Manchester United in December 2003. He made 70 appearances for the club scoring one goal.

Defender Berthe, who joined from French club Troyes in September 2003 made just four appearances for Albion with his last one coming over 14 months ago. Australian keeper Miotto failed to make a single appearance for the club.

Hulse off to Leeds

Striker Rob Hulse signs for Championship side Leeds United on a loan deal until the end of the season. Albion recently accepted a £1.2 million offer from Stoke City for the ex-Crewe star but Hulse rejected a move to The Britannia Stadium. The 25 year old has made just seven appearances in Albion's first team this season, all of them as substitute.

Albion boss Bryan Robson speaking about the move said: "I feel Rob needs first-team football to go forward in his career and as we've now got Robert Earnshaw, Kevin Campbell, Geoff Horsfield and Kanu ahead of him in the squad his opportunities will be limited."

Albion stars on duty

Rob Earnshaw's Wales beat Zoltan Gera's Hungary 2-0 in a Friendly international at the Millennium Stadium. Celtic's Craig Bellamy grabbed both the Welsh goals. Artim Sakiri was also on international duty playing for Macedonia in their goalless draw with Andorra in World Cup qualifying Group One.

Tuesday 8th February 2005

Southampton clash rearranged

Albion's crucial home game with Southampton, which was due to take place this weekend but was postponed because Albion are in FA Cup 4th round replay action against Tottenham Hotspur, is arranged for Tuesday, 22nd February with a 7-45pm kick off time.

Robson issues Koumas challenge

Albion boss Bryan Robson challenges Welsh star Jason Koumas to impress ahead of Saturday's FA Cup replay with Spurs. Robson will be without four midfielders for the clash at White Hart Lane, the injured Andy Johnson and the suspended Jonathan Greening while transfer window signings Richard Chaplow and Kieran Richardson are both ineligible meaning Koumas could make his first start for the club since the 5-0 defeat at home to Liverpool on Boxing Day.

Robson said: "We've got players unavailable on Saturday like Greening, Chaplow and Richardson and it gives other people like Jason Koumas and James O'Connor a chance to prove what they can do. Every time I look at Jason he's got a virus or, like in the last reserve game, he picked up an injury. His progress over the last month has been hindered unbelievably with minor injuries and illnesses. That has been the reason, rather than his mental approach, as to why he hasn't been included - simply because he hasn't been training.”

“It's fair to say that Jason Koumas has probably got more ability than anyone else at this football club but he's got to combine that with work rate and good fitness. He's got loads of good attributes but he's got deficiencies for a Premiership player. He's got to work on his defensive side to improve himself and if he does that he could be a really good player. I've had a positive response and hopefully illness and injury are behind him now and he'll be included in the squad on Saturday. This could be his chance to get his season going."

Young stars on England duty

On-loan midfielder Kieran Richardson makes his England under-21 debut as a substitute in a 2-1 friendly defeat to Holland at Pride Park, Derby. The 20 year old replaced Norwich City's Dean Ashton at half time of the game. Albion's other recent signing Richard Chaplow played the full 90 minutes for England under-20s as they beat Russia 2-0 in a friendly at The Valley. The ex-Burnley midfielder set up his country's second goal for Charlton Athletic's Lloyd Sam.

Monday 7th February 2005

Albion reserves too good for Reds

Albion's reserve team record an impressive 3-1 win over a youthful Liverpool side at Aggborough, Kidderminster. Striker Rob Elvins gave Albion the lead on 9 minutes before Lloyd Dyer doubled the lead in the 47th minute. Liverpool pulled a goal back through Anthony Le Tallec five minutes later but Albion were not to be denied the victory and Elvins grabbed his second of the game in the 88th minute to make sure of all three points. Midfielder Lee Marshall continued his comeback from injury by playing 80 minutes of the game which was watched by a crowd of 859.

Sunday 6th February 2005

Burnley still keen on O’Connor

Championship side Burnley are reportedly keen to seal a permanent deal for Albion midfielder James O'Connor. The Irishman spent three months on loan at Turf Moor, which came to an end last month. "We have an interest in James," said Clarets boss Steve Cotterill. "I would like something to happen there."

Saturday 5th February 2005

Albion lose at Carrow Road

In a crucial game with fellow relegation battlers Norwich City, Albion slip to a 3-2 defeat after conceding another late goal. Albion took the lead on 41 minutes when Welsh striker Rob Earnshaw grabbed his 10th goal of the season but the lead lasted for just a few minutes before Craig Fleming equalised for the home side on the stroke of half time following a Russell Hoult mistake. Kieran Richardson, making his full debut for the club put Albion back in front in the 49th minute before City once again drew level through Gary Doherty on 61 minutes. Despite Albion piling on the pressure it was Norwich that grabbed a winner, Damien Francis netting in the 85th minute to send the majority of the 24,292 crowd home happy.

Johnson misery

Andy Johnson is ruled out for the rest of the season after discovering that his knee injury is more serious than first thought. The Welsh midfielder suffered the injury in Albion's defeat at Fulham three weeks ago. An exploratory operation has shown he has an articular cartilage defect and he must now rest for two weeks before the injury is reviewed.

Albion boss Bryan Robson said: "When Andy had keyhole surgery it showed there was more damage than first expected so it looks as though he'll be out for the rest of the season."

Thursday 3rd February 2005

Hulse set for Elland Road

Albion striker Rob Hulse looks set to join Championship side Leeds United on a three month loan deal. United's official website revealed that the 25 year old was today in talks with the Yorkshire club with a view to finalising the deal. Hulse recently rejected a £1.2m move to Stoke City.

Albrechtsen doubtful for Carrow Road trip

Defender Martin Albrechtsen is a big doubt for the visit to Norwich City on Saturday after limping off with a hamstring problem in Tuesday's game against Crystal Palace. On-loan midfielder Kieran Richardson should be fit after recovering from a knock received in the final seconds of the game.

Richardson recieves call-up

Kieran Richardson is called up into the England under-21 squad for their friendly game against Holland on Tuesday, February 8 at Pride Park, Derby. It is the on-loan Manchester United star's first call up into the squad.

England under-21 boss Peter Taylor said: "Kieran Richardson is a great talent who offers us balance on the left-hand side. He's always found chances hard to come by at Manchester United with Ryan Giggs around but now he has the chance to establish himself at West Brom. I'm looking forward to working with him and seeing how he settles in.

Wednesday 2nd February 2005

Reserve derby ends all square

Albion reserves twice come from behind to claim a 2-2 draw with Wolves at Telford in front of a crowd of 588. Wolves opened the scoring in the 23rd minute through Martin Riley before the returning Lee Marshall equalised for Albion on 36 minutes. Leon Clarke restored Wanderers' lead on 64 minutes but just two minutes later Brian Smikle netted to ensure a share of the points.

Tuesday 1st February 2005

Last gasp goal denies Albion vital victory

On a dramatic night at The Hawthorns Albion slip closer to relegation after conceding a goal a minute from the end of injury time allowing ten-man Crystal Palace to snatch a point from a 2-2 draw. The London side had been reduced to ten men following the dubious dismissal of Gonzalo Sorondo after 12 minutes. Despite that setback Palace took the lead on 47 minutes through Andy Johnson following a Darren Purse blunder. Albion piled on the pressure but failed to make a breakthrough until the 82nd minute when Kevin Campbell grabbed the equaliser. Rob Earnshaw looked like he had scored the winner in the first minute of injury time before Albion were denied a vital win when Aki Rihilaahti scrambled the ball in to earn Palace a share of the points. A crowd of 25,092 were in attendance for the game which also saw the Albion debut of on-loan Manchester United star Kieran Richardson.

Cup game to be screened live

Albion's FA Cup fourth round replay away at Tottenham Hotspur is selected by the BBC for live television coverage. The match will be played on Saturday February 12 with a 5.30pm kick-off.

Robson denies Moore bid