THERE WAS a time when West Bromwich Albion were comfortably named among the top clubs in English football. They were, essentially, a “cup team”, a perfectly respectable label for any club in the days when the world didn’t revolve around the Premier League and nothing else. Albion were difficult opponents, especially on their own ground, the Hawthorns. The club also had some excellent players: Jeff Astle, Asa Hartford, Tony Brown, Cyril Regis, Laurie Cunningham, Bryan Robson and Derek Statham, to name but a few.
When Albion won their last major trophy, the FA Cup in 1968, that brought their silverware haul to five FA Cups, one League Cup and one league title. The list has not been added to since Astle’s goal that beat Everton in 1968.
Not only that, Albion have been in a slow decline in recent years and 2025-26 is their fifth consecutive Championship campaign and at the moment, they are hovering, precariously, above the relegation trapdoor. They recently won two games, ending a 13-game run without a victory.
The club has just announced its financial results for the 2024-25 season (why it takes so long for football clubs to publish their accounts is very strange) and the numbers confirm how far they have fallen since their Premier days. Turnover was £ 30.4 million, 8% higher than 2023-24, but just 28% of the £ 106.9 million generated in 2020-21, their most recent relegation year. Since 2021, their income dropped in 2022, 2023 and 2024. The club is no longer benefitting from parachute payments, which were last paid to Albion in 2023.
More positively, Albion reduced their pre-tax losses from £ 37.6 million to £ 18.8 million which the club believes will not push them into Profitability & Sustainability problems, largely because significant investments have been made in their training ground, academy, safe standing facilities at the Hawthorns and women’s football. The EFL has been closely monitoring Albion after a rise in losses since 2023. The club last made a profit in 2017.
The club’s wage bill went down by 13.5% as some high-earning players departed, but the total of £ 37.1 million represents 122% of revenues. This is a worryingly high figure, but fairly typical of the Championship. In five years, Albion’s wages have halved. The exit of the club’s most marketable players have undoubtedly weakened the squad, as evidenced by the team’s performance in 2025-26. In 2024-25, they made a profit of £ 9 million on player sales.
Despite mediocre performances on the pitch in recent seasons, Albion are fortunate to have a good support base – 20,000 season ticket holders – and in 2024-25, their average attendances were up by 4% to 25,057. Matchday earnings were down, however, largely because they had 23 home games compared to 26 in 2023-24. Albion’s income from broadcasting was up by 12% to £ 12.8 million and commercial activity brought in £ 10.8 million, 11% higher than 2023-24.
The fans are loyal but many are unhappy at the current situation. Only once have Albion been relegated to the third tier of the English game (1990-91) but 2025-26 has been chaotic with two managers sacked, the most recent being Eric Ramsay after just nine games. James Morrison is currently in his second interim spell this season. The club’s financial restrictions mean Albion have to be very smart in the market to bring in reinforcements.
Naturally, the buck stops with the owners, Bilkul and chairman Shilen Patel, who have pumped in £ 31 million, mostly to cover losses and debts inherited from the previous regime at the club. Albion have suffered from ownership issues, financial instability and the loss of parachute payments, but like most businesses in decline, it takes time to perform a turnaround. They have seven games remaining this season to ensure that task is not made much harder by dropping into League One for 2026-27.
Game of the People was founded in 2012 and is ranked among the 100 best football websites by various sources. The site consistently wins awards for its work, across a broad range of subjects. [View all posts by Neil Fredrik Jensen](https://gameofthepeople.com/author/georgefjord/)