As the Astle departure, the Albions failed to achieve the promotion for the following season and the year 1974 seemed gloomy future, and cost Howe his job. Johny Giles was his successor. Giles was an instant hit and Albion clinched promotion at Oldham on the final day of the 1976 season in front of an army of more than 15,000 fans. He soon resigned from Albion due to fullfil other responsibilties regarding Irish national team. His resignation was not less than a bombshell on Albions, as they alrready were facing issues. . The board was able to persuade Giles to stay on for another year however, and he led them to a comfortable finish back in the First Division, after which the club reluctantly let him go. After being turned down by Lincoln manager Graham Taylor, the club appointed Ronnie Allen as Giles' successor. Allen led the club to a brilliant start to the season, but following a row over both transfer funds and his own pay packet, accepted an offer to manage in Saudi Arabia and left after only five months.
1978, it was the time of fortune for the Albions as the very young manager of his time arrived at Albions named Ron Atkinson. He inherited a young team that comprised on Derek Statham, Ally Robertson as well as the black pair of Laurie Cunningham and Cyrille Regis both were brought from the very inexpensive from lower division. Aware that he had the makings of a great team, Atkinson augmented it by bringing
Brendan Batson from his former club Cambridge United F.C. Never before had an English team simultaneously fielded three black players, and the Three Degrees, as they became known (in reference to the contemporary vocal trio of the same name), challenged the established racism of English football. Their success in the Albion side marked a watershed that allowed a generation of footballers to enter the game who would previously have been excluded by their ethnic background. Albion reached the 1978 FA Cup semi-final but lost to Ipswich Town
In May 1978, Albion became the first British professional team to play in China. Their three-week tour, comprising four matches, was covered by the BBC TV documentary Albion in the Orient. 1978–79 was dominated by fantastic football at the Albion. The Baggies should have won the league, but a huge pile up of fixtures and an end of season slump meant that Albion slipped to third, losing the title to Liverpool. It was nevertheless their highest league finish for more than 20 years. Albion also reached the UEFA Cup quarter-final, where they were defeated narrowly by Red Star Belgrade. Many Albion fans consider the highlight of the season to have been the famous 5-3 victory away at Manchester United. This was the last time, to date, that an away team scored five goals at Old Trafford. Other great victories that season included a 2-0 win over Valencia at a packed Hawthorns and a 7-1 thrashing of Coventry.
Atkinson's team played some of the most exciting football in England during his term at the club but, as early as 1979, the board allowed the playing talent to start slipping away;
Cunningham's move to Real Madrid (for a record fee) marked the start of the trend. The club managed 3rd and 4th places in the First Division, and twice reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup, but trophies continued to elude them. In 1979, the club signed Peter Barnes and Gary Owen from Manchester City.
The 2010–11 season was West Bromwich Albion's fifth season in the Premier League. Albion return to the Premier League after being promoted from the Championship. West Brom confirmed their promotion back to the Premier League on 10 April 2010 after a 3–2 win over Doncaster Rovers, and retained their new top-flight status, finishing 11th.West Bromwich Albion Premier League Tickets are available at FootballTicketExchangeOnline.com at affordable price. Football fans can buy or sell Football Tickets especially West Bromwich Albion Premiership Football Tickets at FootballTicketExchangeOnline.com conveniently.
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