Thursday
30th September 2004
Purse banned
Defender
Darren Purse is handed a three-match ban after being found guilty of
violent conduct following an incident at Newcastle last Saturday when his
elbow caught team mate Riccardo Scimeca in the
face. He will miss the games against Norwich, Crystal Palace and Chelsea.
He will also be fined by the club.
Robinson setback
Paul
Robinson suffers a setback to his recovery from the injury he suffered
against Fulham eleven days ago. He now looks set to miss the home game with
Bolton on Saturday.
Inamoto debuts in
reserve defeat
Junichi
Inamoto makes his first appearance in an Albion shirt when he plays the
first 45 minutes of the reserve's 4-1 defeat to Liverpool reserves at
Wrexham's Racecourse Ground. Rob Elvins gave Albion the lead on 53 minutes
before goals from Darren Potter (62), Neil Mellor (79 and 87) and Robbie
Foy (86) secured the win for the Merseysiders.
Wednesday
29th September 2004
Purse charged
Darren
Purse is charged with violent conduct following an incident during the
Newcastle game in which team mate Riccardo Scimeca needed treatment after
being accidentally elbowed in the face by the ex Blues defender. The FA
decided to act after watching TV replays. Purse is already missing
Saturday's game at home to Bolton following his sending off at St James
Park for two bookable offences.
Tuesday
28th September 2004
Clement guilty of
violent conduct
Neil
Clement is banned for a further three games after being found guilty of
violent conduct by an FA disciplinary committee following the clash with
Andy Cole after his sending off during the Fulham game at The Hawthorns on
the 18th September. He will miss the home games
against Bolton and Norwich as well as the away game at Crystal Palace.
Sakiri earns call-up
Artim
Sakiri is called up by Macedonia for their World Cup qualifiers against
Holland and Andorra in early October.
Saturday
25th September 2004
Albion slump on
Tyneside
Albion slump to a 3-1 defeat on Tyneside against Newcastle United.
Second half goals from Patrick Kluivert (70), substitute James Milner
(78) and Alan Shearer (86) were enough to give the Magpies all three
points. Geoff Horsfield scored
Albion's
consolation goal on 87 minutes. A crowd of 52,308 watched the game which
saw Albion reduced to ten men for the second successive league game
following the dismissal of Darren Purse for two bookable offences in the
63rd minute.
Friday 24th
September 2004
Chambers departs
James
Chambers leaves The Hawthorns for Championship side Watford in a deal
which could see Albion pocket £250,000 dependant on clauses inserted into
the deal. A 15% sell on clause has also been insisted on by Albion. The 23
year old defender will put pen to paper on a three year deal with The
Hornets. Chambers recently enjoyed a successful
loan spell at Vicarage Road.
Watford
boss Ray Lewington said of the deal: "I made no secret of the fact we'd
been keeping a close eye on James last season. During his loan spell this
year, he's already shown what he can bring to this club. He's a player
we've watched for a while and I'm delighted that he's going to be with us
full-time. He'll add quality and experience to our squad and you can't
have enough of that."
Haas called up for
Swiss duty
Bernt
Haas joins the list of players called up for international duty. He is
called up for Switzerland's tie with Israel in Tel-Aviv on the 9th
October.
Thursday
23rd September 2004
Quartet set for
international duty
Kanu is
called up by Nigeria for their World Cup qualifying game against Gabon on
October 9th. There are also call ups for Welsh trio Koumas, Johnson and
Earnshaw for their country's game with England on the same day and for the
clash with Poland four days later.
Inamoto in training
Japanese
International Junichi Inamoto takes part in his first training session
with the club as he attempts to regain his fitness following a leg
fracture suffered against England in June.
Moore denies dressing
room unrest
Defender
Darren
Moore tries to quash rumours of dressing room unrest at the club.
"Speaking
from my heart I can tell you there is absolutely no unrest here," claimed
Moore. "It's ludicrous. Since the gaffer took over four years ago he has
brought nothing but success to the club. The players are 100 percent
behind him and see him as the man to lead us in the future."
Wednesday
22nd September 2004
Reserves slip to Boro
defeat
At The
Hawthorns Albion reserves slip to a 2-1 defeat to Middlesbrough in a
Barclays Premiership Reserve League North game. The impressive Malcolm
Christie scored one for the visitors and made the other for Daniel Graham.
Ronnie Wallwork grabbed Albion's consolation following a goalmouth
scramble.
Tuesday
21st September 2004
Albion crash out at
Layer Road
An
Albion line-up that included seven changes from the Fulham game are dumped
out of the Carling Cup in the second round by League One side Colchester
United following a 2-1 defeat after extra time at Layer Road. Colchester's
Craig Fagan opened the scoring for the hosts in the 29th minute before
Geoff Horsfield scored his first goal of the season after 50 minutes.
Substitute Ben May scored United's winner three
minutes from the end of extra time. Romanian International Cosmin Contra
makes his debut for the club.
Sunday 19th
September 2004
Moore to stay
Gary
Megson plays down speculation linking defender Darren Moore with a move
away from the club.
"There
has been a lot of interest for Darren from Championship clubs but that is
to be expected," said Megson. "He knows exactly what is needed to get out
of this division and that is why managers are after him
but I want him because I know there will be a time when we need
him."
Saturday
18th September 2004
Three off at Hawthorns
In a game that
sees three players sent off
Albion grab a point from a 1-1 draw with
Fulham thanks to a 88th minute goal from Nigerian star Kanu, his first for
the club. Papa Bouba Diop was the first player
sent off in the 60th minute following a clash with Darren Purse but Fulham
still took the lead when Andy Cole was on hand to score after 72 minutes.
On 84 minutes Neil Clement was dismissed for a professional foul on Luis
Boa Morte but Cole joined him for an early bath after throwing punches at
the departing defender. A crowd of 24,182 also witnessed Rob Earnshaw miss
a 31st minute penalty on his home debut. The game also sees
the debut of Polish goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak after Russell Hoult was
forced to withdraw through illness.
Purse takes over
captaincy
Darren Purse
is handed the club captaincy on a permanent basis.
Thursday
16th September 2004
Gregan off to Elland
Road
After
weeks of speculation Sean Gregan finally leaves The Hawthorns. The 30 year
old midfielder/defender moves to Championship side Leeds United in a £1
million deal. Leeds will pay Albion £500,000 plus £250,000 depending on
appearances and another £250,000 if United win promotion to The
Premiership.
Gregan
joined Albion in August 2002 from Preston North End for a fee of £1.75
million. He has signed a 3 year deal with the Yorkshire club.
Manager
Gary Megson said of Gregan's departure from the club: "I wish Sean all the
best at Leeds United. He is joining a fantastic football club. He played a
huge part in this club winning promotion to the Premiership and was one of
the main reasons we did as well as we did towards the end of last season.
We wish him all the best and I hope he enjoys the same success with
Leeds."
Reserve game switch
Albion's
reserve game with Liverpool scheduled for Monday 27th September is put
back 3 days to Thursday 30th September. The game will take place at
Wrexham FC with a 7-00pm kick off.
Tuesday
14th September 2004
Coach incident
now in the past says
Megson
Gary Megson
issues a statement saying that the incident on the team coach is now in
the past.
He said: "I
have spoken to both parties involved and there was a misunderstanding
about what was said which led to a reaction. These things have happened
before in football and I'm sure they will happen again. Passions run high
because of the desire to succeed and that's probably a big reason why West
Brom are where they are. Both parties agree we shouldn't take the matter
any further. They have shaken hands and it's forgotten. As far as I'm
concerned as manager of West Brom, the matter is now closed. "
Reports say
that defender Thomas Gaardsoe started the incident by shouting "Taxi for
Megson" and then was involved in a scuffle with Adie Stovell. Gaardsoe has
since claimed the remark was aimed at new signing Rob Earnshaw after he
tried a trick during the Liverpool game which failed to come off.
Peace
angry at Barnwell
League
Managers Association chief executive John Barnwell appears to stir more
trouble up for the club by telling The Sun newspaper: "Gary contacted me
and I would say something is coming to a head quite quickly. We know he's
had words with the chairman and is a bit uncomfortable about it. It's a
club's prerogative to change manager but sometimes the next question is:
How much will it cost us?"
Jeremy Peace
later issues a statement attempting to clarify the situation at the club.
In it he says
"There were reports of a so-called 'crisis meeting' on Monday of this week
between Gary Megson and me. No such meeting took place," he told the
club's official website. "I find the comments of John Barnwell distinctly
inappropriate. His reported insinuation that the club may wish to be rid
of Gary Megson but is balking at the cost is untrue. Gary Megson is
contracted to the club until June 2005, not April as has been selectively
reported. Any alteration or extension to this contract will be a private
matter between the club and the manager and will be dealt with at an
appropriate time and in an appropriate manner."
Gregan set to leave
Sean Gregan
looks set to leave The Hawthorns with reports claiming he is close to
joining Leeds United for a fee of around £500,000. Darren Moore is also
linked with a move away from The Hawthorns with Burnley, Notts Forest and
Coventry all being linked with the defender.
Inamoto unveiled
Junichi
Inamoto is unveiled at a Hawthorns press conference.
The Japanese star, speaking to the
club's website
said of
his move to The Hawthorns:
"'When I got injured I was really frustrated because I was worried
about whether I could get another contract but then West Brom came onto me
and gave me a chance for which I am really grateful. I'd like to get back
to 100% condition and give everything to the team.
"The broken bone is pretty much okay and ready
for me to resume training" he said. "But the ligament is still a little
bit sore and I need a little bit more time for that to heal completely. I
should be able to play a little bit by October which is my target. I'm
grateful the manager has given me this chance and I'd like to give 100% in
trying to meet his expectations."
If
the Japanese star fails to recover from his injury and make a senior
appearance before the new year, Albion will not need to pay his former
club, Gamba Osaka, a transfer fee.
Monday 13th
September 2004
Megson denies brawl
rumours
Yet more
bad publicity for the club with reports of a brawl on the team coach on
the way back from Anfield. Reports say that
Thomas Gaardsoe and fitness coach Adie Stovell were the men involved.
Boss Gary
Megson responded to the reports by saying, “There was no mass brawl as has
been reported this morning - but there was an incident on the team bus
between a member of staff and a player. It was broken up very quickly by
others in the vicinity and it will be dealt with internally by the
football club.”
Reserves taste defeat
The
reserve team suffer their first league defeat of the season going down 1-0
to Newcastle United at Kingston Park, the home of Newcastle Falcons Rugby Union
team. Darren Ambrose scored the only goal of the game for the hosts. On a
brighter note Rob Hulse makes his return from injury.
Saturday
11th September 2004
Albion slump at Anfield
Albion
slump to another Merseyside defeat losing 3-0 to Liverpool at Anfield.
Steven Gerrard, Steve Finnan and Luis Garcia scored the 'Reds' goals. A
crowd of 42,947 watched the game.
Megson on way
out ?
Rumours
circulate after the game that boss Gary Megson's job could be under threat
due to his alleged troubled working relationship with club chairman Jeremy
Peace.
Friday
10th September 2004
Brown loan extended
Albion
agree to extend Simon Brown's loan spell at Kidderminster Harriers for
another month. The club will however have the right to recall the young
striker back to The Hawthorns at any time.
Wednesday 8th September 2004
Albion stars on
scoresheet
Albion
new boy
Robert Earnshaw grabs a late equaliser for Wales in their World Cup
qualifier against Northern Ireland. The Welsh team also included Albion
midfielder Jason Koumas.
Zoltan
Gera got on his countries scoresheet netting in a 3-2 Hungarian victory
over Iceland. Bernt Haas was also on international duty playing for
Switzerland in their 1-1 draw against Ireland.
Youth team
progress after shoot-out
Albion's
youth team reach the 3rd round of the Midland Youth Cup after beating
Chesterfield following a penalty shoot
out.
Tuesday 7th September 2004
Johnson drops out
Andy
Johnson is forced to drop out of the Welsh squad for tomorrow's World Cup
qualifier against Northern Ireland due to a family bereavement.
Monday 6th September 2004
Reserves play out bore
draw
The
reserve team remain unbeaten after playing out a goalless draw with Bolton
Wanderers at The Hawthorns. An attendance of 350 watch a dull game with
very few chances for either side.
Chambers back at
Hawthorns
James
Chambers returns to The Hawthorns following his months loan at
Championship side Watford.
Thursday 2nd September 2004
Reserves off the mark
Albion
reserves record their first win of the season with a victory over Leeds
United at Wakefield and Emley's Belle Vue Ground. A team including Darren
Moore, Ronnie Wallwork, James O'Connor, Sean Gregan and trialist Cherno
Samba won 2-1 thanks to goals from O'Connor and Rob Elvins.
