West Bromwich Albion have a return to the Premier League in their sights, but if they are to do it, they’re going to have to do it the hard way through the Championship play-offs.
Over the years, West Brom have frequented both the top tier and second tier of English football, occasionally cementing themselves in the Premier League before dropping back into the Championship.
While there are plenty of promotion memories at the Hawthorns, the faithful fans are still awaiting another return to the top tier.
The 2024/25 season is the fourth campaign for the Baggies in the Championship since suffering relegation in 2020/21.
With Tony Mowbray back in charge, there is some hope that they can be back in football’s elite sooner rather than later.
If he is to do so though, it will have to be through the Championship play-offs, where West Brom’s record doesn’t make for good reading.
Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images
Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images
Since the introduction of the play-offs to the promotion picture in the EFL, West Brom haven’t managed to earn promotion to the top tier through them.
The Baggies have one success in their history in the old third tier, where they won in the 1992/93 final against Port Vale.
However, when it comes to the current Championship, West Brom simply haven’t been able to crack them.
That is despite four different opportunities to win them, with three semi-final defeats and one final defeat at Wembley Stadium.
Instead, the Midlands outfit has only managed promotion through the automatic places, which doesn’t appear to be on the cards for the 2024/25 season.
That means Tony Mowbray will have to do something that no other West Brom manager has done before, which is to win the Championship play-offs to book a place in the Premier League.
Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images
Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images
West Brom’s Championship play-off record so far
2000/01 – Division One play-off semi-final defeat
The 2000/01 Championship play-off semi-finals saw West Brom pit against Bolton Wanderers for a place in the final.
It all started so well for Gary Megson’s side when they went two goals up courtesy of Jason Roberts and Lee Hughes.
The away side brought it back to 2-2 though, meaning the Baggies had to travel to Bolton and win to earn a place in the final.
They couldn’t manage it though as they fell to a 3-0 defeat, losing 5-2 on aggregate.
Match Scoreline
West Brom vs Bolton 2-2
Bolton vs West Brom 3-0 (5-2 on aggregate)
West Brom’s Championship play-off record 2000/01.
2006/07 – Championship play-off final defeat
In their second attempt at the Championship play-offs, West Brom took on local rivals Wolves in a huge double-header for the semi-finals.
A Kevin Phillips brace and a goal from Diomansy Kamara gave the Baggies a 3-2 lead away at Molineux.
Returning to the home leg, West Brom won 1-0 thanks to another Phillips strike, earning a 4-2 aggregate lead on their way to Wembley.
There would be heartache around the corner though as a 1-0 final defeat to Derby County stopped any hopes of promotion.
Match Scoreline
Wolves vs West Brom 2-3
West Brom vs Wolves 1-0 (4-2 on aggregate)
West Brom vs Derby County 0-1
West Brom’s Championship play-off record 2006/07.
2018/19 – Championship play-off semi-final defeat
West Brom’s next appearance in a play-off match wouldn’t come for another 12 years as the side booked their place in the 2018/19 version of the contest.
A semi-final double-header saw the Baggies up against local rivals Aston Villa, which was a huge game for promotion and bragging rights.
There was a slim defeat at Villa Park in the away leg as Dwight Gayle’s early opener was clawed back by Conor Hourihane and Tammy Abraham.
The second leg at the Hawthorns saw Craig Dawson level up the tie on aggregate, forcing extra-time and penalties.
It wasn’t to be for West Brom yet again as missed penalties from Mason Holgate and Ahmed Hegazi resulted in defeat.
Match Scoreline
Aston Villa vs West Brom 2-1
West Brom vs Aston Villa 1-0 (2-2 on aggregate, 3-4 on penalties)
West Brom’s Championship play-off record 2018/19.
2023/24 – Championship play-off semi-final defeat
The latest Championship play-off appearance for West Brom came in the 2023/24 season, where a fifth-placed finish put them up against Southampton.
A 0-0 draw at the Hawthorns meant they needed to get something at St. Mary’s to earn passage to the final.
Match Scoreline
West Brom vs Southampton 0-0
Southampton vs West Brom 3-0
West Brom’s Championship play-off record 2023/24.
A Will Smallbone strike followed by an Adam Armstrong brace condemned the Baggies to another defeat – regardless of Cedric Kipre’s 97th-minute consolation.