That’s football for you. Albion manage to get their fourth win Premier League win of the season at Old Trafford, of all places, and thereby confirm Manchester City as champions.
It was a fantastic performance from the Baggies, and it leaves me frustrated that the club didn’t get rid of Pardew earlier. Big Dave has obviously had an impact, as that level of commitment and desire has been missing for pretty much the entire campaign. Yes, United were below par, but the Baggies’ display was excellent. Unfortunately, they have barely had a mention on Sky Sports with the focus being on City’s achievements and United’s Jekyll-and-Hyde week.
It has perhaps provided a glimmer of hope, but with Liverpool and Spurs still to play, the chances of Albion getting the 12 points they will almost certainly need to be in with a shout remain remote.
In 2005, the Great Escape effort took a bit of a blow in game 34 on St George’s Day as Albion travelled to the Riverside and were hammered 4-0 by Middlesbrough. With Norwich and Palace claiming 1-0 wins over Charlton and Liverpool respectively, the Baggies dropped back into the bottom three.
After that match the table stood as follows:
| Premier League Relegation Battle – 23rd April 2005 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pld | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | ||
| 17. | Crystal Palace | 35 | 7 | 9 | 19 | 37 | 58 | -21 | 30 |
| 18. | Norwich City | 35 | 6 | 12 | 17 | 38 | 67 | -29 | 30 |
| 19. | West Brom | 34 | 5 | 14 | 15 | 32 | 57 | -25 | 29 |
| 20. | Southampton | 34 | 5 | 13 | 16 | 37 | 55 | -18 | 28 |
Here are the full season by season comparisons.
| Home | Away | Season End | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pld | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | Posn* | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | Posn | Pts | |
| 2002/2003 | 34 | 6 | 6 | 22 | 24 | 53 | 24 | 19th | 3 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 23 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 13 | 11 | 30 | 11 | 19th | 26 |
| 2004/2005 | 34 | 5 | 14 | 15 | 32 | 57 | 29 | 19th | 4 | 7 | 5 | 14 | 21 | 19 | 1 | 7 | 10 | 18 | 36 | 10 | 17th | 34 |
| 2005/2006 | 34 | 7 | 7 | 20 | 29 | 52 | 28 | 19th | 6 | 1 | 10 | 21 | 23 | 19 | 1 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 29 | 9 | 19th | 30 |
| 2008/2009 | 34 | 7 | 7 | 20 | 33 | 63 | 28 | 20th | 6 | 3 | 8 | 23 | 30 | 21 | 1 | 4 | 12 | 10 | 33 | 7 | 20th | 32 |
| 2010/2011 | 34 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 49 | 64 | 40 | 12th | 6 | 6 | 5 | 27 | 29 | 24 | 4 | 4 | 9 | 22 | 35 | 16 | 11th | 47 |
| 2011/2012 | 34 | 12 | 6 | 16 | 40 | 47 | 42 | 13th | 6 | 2 | 9 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 21 | 28 | 22 | 10th | 47 |
| 2012/2013 | 34 | 14 | 6 | 14 | 46 | 44 | 48 | 8th | 9 | 3 | 5 | 25 | 17 | 30 | 5 | 3 | 9 | 21 | 27 | 18 | 8th | 49 |
| 2013/2014 | 34 | 6 | 15 | 13 | 41 | 54 | 33 | 16th | 3 | 9 | 5 | 22 | 25 | 18 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 19 | 29 | 15 | 17th | 36 |
| 2014/2015 | 34 | 9 | 10 | 15 | 32 | 46 | 37 | 13th | 6 | 4 | 8 | 21 | 26 | 22 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 11 | 20 | 15 | 13th | 44 |
| 2015/2016 | 34 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 31 | 42 | 40 | 15th | 6 | 4 | 7 | 19 | 22 | 22 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 12 | 20 | 18 | 14th | 43 |
| 2016/2017 | 34 | 12 | 8 | 14 | 39 | 43 | 44 | 8th | 9 | 2 | 7 | 27 | 21 | 29 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 12 | 22 | 15 | 10th | 45 |
| 2017/2018 | 34 | 4 | 12 | 18 | 27 | 52 | 24 | 20th | 2 | 8 | 7 | 18 | 27 | 14 | 2 | 4 | 11 | 9 | 25 | 10 | ||
| Comparison of Equivalent Fixtures^ | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pld | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| 2016/2017 | 34 | 11 | 7 | 16 | 40 | 48 | 40 |
| 2016/2017 Results | Manchester United (A) | D | 0-0 | ||||
| Liverpool (H) | L | 0-1 | |||||
Results
| 2002/2003 | 19/04/2003 | Sunderland (A) | W | 2-1 | McInnes (2) |
| 2004/2005 | 23/04/2005 | Middlesbrough (A) | L | 0-4 | |
| 2005/2006 | 15/04/2006 | Arsenal (A) | L | 1-3 | Quashie |
| 2008/2009 | 25/04/2009 | Sunderland (H) | W | 3-0 | Olsson, Brunt, Menseguez |
| 2010/2011 | 23/04/2011 | Tottenham Hotspur (A) | D | 2-2 | Odemwingie, Cox |
| 2011/2012 | 14/04/2012 | Queen’s Park Rangers (H) | W | 1-0 | Dorrans |
| 2012/2013 | 27/04/2013 | Southampton (A) | W | 3-0 | Fortuné, Lukaku, Long |
| 2013/2014 | 21/04/2014 | Manchester City (A) | L | 1-3 | Dorrans |
| 2014/2015 | 25/04/2015 | Liverpool (H) | D | 0-0 | |
| 2015/2016 | 21/04/2016 | Arsenal (A) | L | 0-2 | |
| 2016/2017 | 29/04/2017 | Leicester City (H) | L | 0-1 | |
| 2017/2018 | 15/04/2018 | Manchester United (A) | W | 1-0 | Rodriguez |
Next Matches
| 2002/2003 | 21/04/2003 | Tottenham Hotspur (H) | L | 2-3 | Dichio, Clement |
| 2004/2005 | 26/04/2005 | Blackburn Rovers (H) | D | 1-1 | Richardson |
| 2005/2006 | 17/04/2006 | Bolton Wanderers (H) | D | 0-0 | |
| 2008/2009 | 02/05/2009 | Tottenham Hotspur (A) | L | 0-1 | |
| 2010/2011 | 30/04/2011 | Aston Villa (H) | W | 2-1 | Odemwingie, Mulumbu |
| 2011/2012 | 21/04/2012 | Liverpool (A) | W | 1-0 | Odemwingie |
| 2012/2013 | 04/05/2013 | Wigan Athletic (H) | L | 2-3 | Long, McAuley |
| 2013/2014 | 26/04/2014 | West Ham United (H) | W | 1-0 | Berahino |
| 2014/2015 | 02/05/2015 | Manchester United (A) | W | 1-0 | Olsson |
| 2015/2016 | 25/04/2016 | Tottenham Hotspur (A) | D | 1-1 | Dawson |
| 2016/2017 | 06/05/2017 | Burnley (A) | D | 2-2 | Rondón, Dawson |
| 2017/2018 | 21/04/2018 | Liverpool (H) |
* Positions are recorded as Albion’s position in the Premier League table after all fixtures for that day have been completed.
^ Fixtures against promoted clubs are compared against fixtures against the relegated clubs from last season with the club finishing 1st in the Championship compared against the club finishing 18th in the Premier League, 2nd compared with 19th and the play-off winners compared against the club who finished bottom.
