Sign up NOW for daily Baggies news straight to your inbox Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

As the domestic season pauses for another international break, we assess how West Brom’s start to the campaign compares with others over the last 25 years.

After a cautious yet effective opening, West Brom’s season has tailed off with back-to-back league defeats.

The losses leave Tony Pulis’ side in 17th with eight points from eight games.

On only three occasions in the last 25 years have the Baggies amassed fewer points from the corresponding amount of league games.

Pulis will take heart from the fact West Brom avoided the drop in two of the seasons.

The exception being in the 2005/06 season when Bryan Robson’s Baggies collected just five points from their first eight top flight fixtures.

What might offer fans even more hope is that West Brom’s results so far this season are identical to Roy Hodgson’s in 2011/12, when Albion finished in the top half.

Here we highlight the Throstles’ five best and worst starts across the three divisions in which they have played over the last quarter of a century.

BEST:

09/10 - Championship (2nd tier)

W 6

D 2

L 0

Pts 20

Albion’s finest start to any season in the last 25 years arrived under the watch of Italian Roberto Di Matteo.

Granted it came in the second tier, but West Brom were not down there for long as they coasted to the runners-up spot behind a truly dominant Newcastle United.

(Image: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

92/93 - Division 2 (3)

W 6

D 1

L 1

Pts 19

In the dark days of the early 90s, Osvaldo Ardiles was a shining light.

After a glittering career as a player, which included a 1978 World Cup winners mdeal with Argentina, Ardilles turned to management.

In his first season at the Hawthorns, Ardilles, aided by Bob Taylor’s 30 league goals, guided West Brom to promotion via a play-off final win against Port Vale.

91/92 - Division 3 (3)

W 5

D 2

L 1

Pts 17

West Brom, playing in the Third Division for the first time, were in the promotion race throughout the season, but eventually finished seventh to narrowly miss out in the play-offs under Bobby Gould.

07/08 - Championship (2)

W 5

D 1

L 2

Pts 16

Tony Mowbray’s swashbuckling Baggies brushed off the previous season’s agonising play-off final defeat to win the Championship thanks to Kevin Phillips’ 22 goals.

They also made the FA Cup semi-finals, but were knocked out by a goal from former striker Kanu in a 1-0 defeat to Portsmouth at Wembley.

(Image: PA)

03/04 - Division 1 (2)

W 5

D 1

L 2

Pts 16

Gary Megson’s miserly Baggies finished second and went back to the big time with a whopping 86 points.

His team kept a club record 24 league clean sheets and recorded 15 1-0 league wins.

They conceded only 42 goals, but that was still three more than gritty champions Norwich City.

WORST:

05/06 - Premier League (1)

W 1

D 2

L 5

Pts 5

Robson was unable to build on his team’s heroics on May 15, 2005, and presided over West Brom’s worst to start in 25 seasons.

The board kept faith with him however, but he was sacked a few weeks into the following with the Baggies outside the Championship play-off places.

(Image: Nick Potts/PA)

04/05 - Premier League (1)

W 1

D 4

L 3

Pts 7

After 221 games in charge of the Throstles over a four-year tenure of highs and lows, Megson was sacked in October 2004 with West Brom in the relegation mire.

Bryan Robson took up the reigns in the November and despite being bottom on the final day of the season, kept West Brom up with the quite remarkable ‘Great Escape’.

94/95 - Division 1 (2)

W 1

D 4

L 3

Pts 7

Keith Burkenshaw paid the price for a dreadful start and was sacked in October 1994.

Alan Buckley took charge and kept them up in 19th place, ten points above Swindon Town in the bottom three.

(Image: Michael Regan/Getty Images)

15/16 - Premier League (1)

W 2

D 2

L 4

Pts 8

Tony Pulis, who had guided Albion away from the relegation zone the previous season, was handed a tricky looking start on paper.

And so it proved with West Brom unable to win any of their first four home games.

The defeat at Crystal Palace left them peering nervously over their shoulder towards the relegation trap door.

11/12 - Premier League

W 2

D 2

L 4

Pts 8

Roy Hodgson’s side recovered from a very shaky opening eight to eventually rise to tenth - their best top flight finish since 1981.

The season was probably best remembered for Albion’s 5-1 Molineux mauling of arch rivals Wolves that cost Mick McCarthy his job.

91/92 - Div 3

W 5

D 2

L 1

pts 17

92/93 - Div 2 (3)

W 6

D 1

L 1

pts 19

93/94 - Div 1 (2)

W 2

D 3

L 3

pts 9

94/95 - Div 1 (2)

w 1

d 4

l 3

pts 7

95/96 - Div 1 (2)

w 4

d 3

l 1

pts 12

96/97 - Div 1 (2)

w 3

d 2

l 2

pts 11

97/98 - Div 1 (2)

w 4

d 3

l 1

pts 15

98/99 - Div 1

w 4

d 1

l 3

pts 13

99/00 - Div 1

w 2

d 6

l 0

pts 12

00/01 - Div 1

w 3

d 2

l 3

pts 11

01/02 - Div 1

w 4

d 1

l 3

pts 13

02/03 - Prem

w 3

d 0

l 5

pts 9

03/04 - d1

w 5

d 1

l 2

pts 16

04/05 - Prem

w 1

d 4

l 3

pts 7

05/06 - Prem

w 1

d 2

l 5

pts 5

06/07 - Champ (2)

w 3

d 3

l 2

pts 11

07/08 - Champ

w 5

d 1

l 2

pts 16

08/09 - Prem

w 3

d 1

l 4

pts 10

09/10 - Champ

w 6

d 2

l 0

pts 20

10/11 - Prem

w 3

d 3

l 2

pts 12

11/12 - Prem

w 2

d 2

l 4

pts 8

12/13 - Prem

w 4

d 2

l 2

pts 14

13/14 - Prem

w 2

d 4

l 2

pts 10

14/15 - Prem

w 2

d 3

l 3

pts 9

15/16 - Prem

w 2

d 2

l 4

pts 8