We are currently experiencing turbulence

West Bromwich Albion v Stoke City; The Hawthorns, Saturday 7th February 2026, 3.01pm

It’s been another turbulent week at the Hawthorns as, after a positive display at Derby, the Baggies lurched to another ignominious defeat at Fratton Park before the axe was wielded in the board room and the transfer window closed with little more than a barely audible click. It’s a bit bumpy right now, and Eric Ramsay’s job is to keep the Albion plane in the air and get it to a position where the seat belt lights can be switched off.

Andrew Nestor’s departure was finally confirmed on Friday after the undoubted legal wranglings had been concluded, as was the reappointment of Mark Miles to the board, a move that may not be universally welcomed. Nestor had become the focus of some ire from fans in recent weeks, and some of his decisions, and those of his boss Shilen Patel, deserve criticism, but the immediate focus returns to the field with Albion having dropped into the relegation zone in midweek following Blackburn Rovers’ expected victory over doomed Sheffield Wednesday.

Albion’s date with the division’s whipping boys is their last away game of the campaign, by which time we hope it will be of little significance to the visitors. For that wish to come true, however, Eric Ramsay needs to get a tune out of these players, something he has so far failed to do.

The Baggies’ head coach insisted after the defeat at Portsmouth that the formation is not the problem, and I am inclined to agree with him. It didn’t matter how the team was set up – the level of performance from the players as a whole would have brought defeat nonetheless. Having said that, a return to a more familiar set up will remove one excuse the players might have for their abject displays.

The best thing that Ramsay has on his side is the fact that there are still sixteen games to play and another forty-eight points to play for – twenty of those will be more than enough to keep the club in the division, possibly even fewer. Hull City survived on just 49 points last season, as did Albion in 2000. However, one win and just four points from the last nine league games shows what a hole the Baggies have dug themselves into.

Injuries to Karlan Grant and George Campbell, and the return of Samuel Iling-Junior to his parent club have reduced Ramsay’s options and, other than Max O’Leary, the window only added youngsters to the club, albeit they are highly-rated. The failure to replace Toby Collyer leaves Albion light in the middle of the park, meaning that Harry Whitwell may be called into action at some point, and I’m sure Baggies fans would prefer to see Ollie Bostock given a chance rather than other clubs’ youngsters, but guess that depends on their relative abilities. Coaches are often loath to use inexperienced players in a relegation dogfight, but I’m not sure Ramsay will have much choice.

As disastrous as 2026 has been so far, the players should remember that until Boxing Day, they had lost only once at the Hawthorns all season. While their away form has been a problem for much of the past two years, the Shrine has been something of a fortress and it is something that should be easier, albeit not easy, to recover that feeling than to bring a complete turnaround to their form on the road.

The days of the men from the Potteries being a bogey side are long gone and Albion haven’t lost a league game to City for almost four years albeit their last two encounters at the Hawthorns have ended all square. Mark Robins’ team are without a win in four themselves although they were boosted by the arrival of a couple of highly-rated youngsters on deadline day with Palace winger, Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, undoubtedly well-known to the Baggies’ own Eagles’ starlets Danny Imray and Hindolo Mustapha.

While it is Ramsay’s job to provide a framework for the players, and pick the ones to go on the field, it is the players themselves that need to step up and show some grit and determination to get the club out of danger. The squad seems to be lacking leaders, albeit we know that the likes of Jed Wallace and Jayson Molumby are capable of providing that leadership and Nat Phillips, Chris Mepham, Charlie Taylor and Alex Mowatt all have bags of experience that they should be able to draw on to inspire their teammates. Furthermore, although injured and unlikely to feature for a while, Krystian Bielik can surely offer some strong motivation in the dressing room.

For me, the squad should have the collective experience and quality to be challenging at the other end of the table – they all need to remind each other of that, and drag themselves away from the dreaded bottom three.

There is more than enough time, but the recovery has to start now. Let’s hope that a smooth ride and a relaxing G&T is not too far away.

History

Rich as it is, I’ve covered the history of this particular fixture in depth in earlier match previews, so let’s take a closer look at the previous seasons when the Baggies have been threatened with relegation to the third tier of English football.

Albion first fell to the second tier in 1901 but returned to the top flight after just one season, but dropping again in 1904. It took them seven seasons to get back amongst English football’s elite but never finished lower than 11th in a division of 20 teams. They spent four seasons in Division Two between 1927 and 1931, never finishing lower than 8th, and another four seasons either side of the Second World War always finishing in the top half.

Johnny Giles’ team ended a brief three-season stint in the second tier in the early seventies before relegation in 1986 brought about the Baggies’ longest spell outside the top flight to date. 1986/87 resulted in the club’s lowest ever finish, 15th in Division Two, but they were never under threat of the drop, but that changed the following season.

1987/88

With 16 games of the campaign left (there were 23 teams in the division that season), the Baggies were in 19th place with 26 points from 28 games, two points above the drop zone although both Leicester City and Reading in the bottom three had two games in hand. Ron Atkinson had taken over from Ron Saunders earlier in the campaign but had failed to rediscover the delights of his first spell at the club. Key wins at Shrewsbury and at home to Crystal Palace eased fears before a home defeat by relegation rivals Reading saw Albion drop into the bottom three with eleven games left. The Baggies would win just three of those eleven games with a memorable 3-1 win at Leeds Road, Huddersfield standing out – 1-0 down at half time, Andy Gray scored two goals either side of a Kenny Swain strike before Robert Hopkins was sent off, all in the space of nine second half minutes. As it turned out, Albion needed just a point on the final day to secure survival and fewer than 8,500 fans at the Hawthorns saw Albion surrender a two goal lead over Barnsley but held on to earn the point they needed. Sheffield United, the team immediately below the Baggies, won their match but Albion’s superior goal difference would have saved them from the drop had they lost anyway.

1989/90

Two seasons later, Albion were at the wrong end once again and sat in 17th place at this stage of the season with 34 points. Relegation was always a worry but Brian Talbot’s side never dropped lower than 18th until the last couple of games of the campaign With two games left, Albion were 17th having attained the “magic” 50 points. Boro’, in 22nd, still had four to play and could have easily caught the Baggies but with another four clubs between them, the prospect of the drop was fading. A draw at Barnsley was followed by defeat at home to Ipswich leaving Albion to finish 20th, three points clear of relegation.

1990/91

The following campaign was a struggle from the off but Talbot’s team were in 16th when Tim Buzaglo wrote his headlines at the Hawthorns and cost the former Arsenal skipper (and his assistant Sam Allardyce) his job. Stuart Pearson earned the team seven points from five games as caretaker boss before the appointment of Bobby Gould who had sixteen games to turn the campaign around. He failed. After a home draw with West Ham, Albion lost the next six matches to leave them third bottom, although only two teams were to be relegated due to a reorganisation of divisions. The Baggies would be unbeaten for the remaining nine games of the season, but only two of those were victories. A draw against Bristol Rovers at Twerton Park on the final day and Leicester City’s victory over Oxford United meant that Albion dropped into the bottom two for the first time and were relegated.

1993/94

Have won promotion at Wembley in 1993, a wonderful 3-2 win over Wolves early in the campaign promised much but, come the spring, Albion were in danger of a return to Division Two. With 16 games left, Keith Brukinshaw’s team with in 19th spot with 33 points after a crucial 1-0 win at Watford. They completed the double over Wolves a couple of weeks later thanks to goals from Bob Taylor and Paul Mardon but two wins from the next eleven games saw them drop into the bottom three following a 4-2 home defeat by Birmingham City with Steve Claridge scoring twice for Blues. A 1-0 win over Grimsby Town and a 3-2 defeat at Luton Town meant that Albion travelled to Fratton Park on the final day outside of the relegation zone on goal difference, with Blues the team immediately below. Lee Ashcroft scored the all-important goal to earn the victory over Portsmouth rendering Blues’ 2-1 win at Tranmere Rovers immaterial.

1994/95

With 16 games to go the following year, Albion had 34 points and were in 18th place. Alan Buckley had replaced Keith Burkinshaw after a disastrous start to the campaign and had steadied the ship somewhat. Another win at Fratton Park kicked off a run of four wins in five games in March to ease relegation fears and, while the Baggies eventually finished 19th, they were twelve points clear of the drop and had been all but safe with three games to go.

1995/96

The following campaign was one of three distinct parts – on 21st Octber 1995, the Baggies were in second place with 24 points from their opening 13 games but, by 3rd Feburary 1996, they were second bottom having picked up just one point from the subsequent 14 matches. Cue new signing Richard Sneekes who scored ten goals in thirteen appearances from mid-March to help propel Albion up to a final finishing position of 11th.

1999/2000

The last time Albion were in real danger of a return to the third tier was in 1999/2000. At this stage of the campaign, Brian Little’s team had just 30 points but were in 19th place. Three points from the next four games, including a 6-0 defeat at Bramall Lane, saw Little sacked and Gary Megson took the reins with eleven games remaining. Believe it or not, he won just three of those, drawing four including a 4-4 thriller with Watford that included Bob Taylor’s only career hat trick. Seven points from the last three matches, including a 2-0 win over champions Charlton Athletic on the final day, secured Albion’s place in the second tier.

Stat Attack

Current Form

All competitions; most recent game on the right

Last matches

Last meeting

30 Aug 2025 – League Championship
Stoke City 0
West Bromwich Albion 1 (Phillips)

Last meeting at the Hawthorns

18 Jan 2025 – League Championship
West Bromwich Albion 1 (Diangana)
Stoke City 1 (Lowe)

Last win at the Hawthorns

12 Nov 2022 – League Championship
West Bromwich Albion 2 (Bartley, Thomas-Asante)
Stoke City 0

Albion’s Record against Stoke City