West Bromwich Albion have had an eventful season on their return to the top flight. They ended the season in 11th place, though they were contemplating a relegation battle at the turn of the year, when Roy Hodgson took over the reins from Roberto Di Matteo. The Baggies were keen to avoid the same fate as two seasons ago under Tony Mowbray when they tried to play their way out of trouble but ended up back in the Championship. Di Matteo’s main summer acquisition, Peter Odemwingie, proved a real find, ending the season on 15 goals. The Italian also brought in Cameroon midfielder Somen Tchoyi and defenders Nicky Shorey, Steven Reid, Gabriel Tamas and Pablo Ibanez. Di Matteo favoured a 4-5-1 set up with Odemwingie on his own in the attack, supported by Brunt, Morrison, Thomas, Morrison and Mulumbu in midfield. Graham Dorrans was a starter until injury curtailed his season, which meant 33 starts for Paul Scharner, who joined on deadline day, in midfield. In defence, Olsson and Tamas started the season in the centre with Jara and either Cech or Shorey at full backs. After a difficult start at Stamford Bridge on the opening day of the season, they slowly picked up the pace and were rewarded with a great win at Arsenal and a draw at Old Trafford a few weeks later. However, with only one clean sheet in the first phase, their results took a turn for the worse in November particularly after the injury sustained by defensive pillar Olsson in early November. Di Matteo struggled to replace the big Swede and his side steadily lost ground in the table. They lost to lower league opposition in both Cup competitions and had dropped to 17th place in the league in mid-February, at which time Hodgson was brought in to replace Di Matteo. The former Liverpool boss had clearly identified the Baggies’ defensive weaknesses and went to work straight away. He recalled the long-forgotten Abdoulaye Meite in central defence alongside the fit-again Olsson and installed Reid and Shorey at full backs. Carlos Vela, who had joined on loan from Arsenal in the January transfer window, scored late equalisers in back-to-back games to enable Hodgson to string a six-game unbeaten run to start his tenure, including two away wins and a home victory over Liverpool. Having stared at a relegation battle, the Baggies managed to steady the ship in the final weeks of the season with their first win over City rivals Aston Villa in a quarter of a century to secure their top flight status with three games to spare.
