It was to be expected that the next season would be something of an anti-climax: a repetition of the previous league-winning season would have required quite heroic efforts. The team was living on its reputation, as is so often the case with champions out to hang on to their title, drawing the first four games although only losing three of the first sixteen.
The team was never really convincing even during this spell, suffering from a lack of goals something which had not been lacking in the previous season, with only three goals coming from the centre-forward position in the first twenty games.
In fact, during this time, the centre-forward spot was proving very difficult to fill being shared between Bentley, A.W. Smith, and young Harold Taylor for a run of only nine games in his one year in West Bromwich and bustling George James.
The situation deteriorated to such an extent that it was thought necessary to move into the transfer market and the fearsomely named Bobby Blood was bought from Port Vale. As it turned out, Blood, although quite a dynamic hard-shooting forward, was only a stop-gap, playing in but fifty-three games in his three years scoring twenty-six times but the problem remained.
Defensively, there were several lapses as changes were made, with Pennington’s understudies, Cook and Adams being given several outings in preparation for Pennington’s retirement, in Pennington’s absence, five goals were conceded, at Blackburn and Huddersfield.
The Cup run ended before they had begun, in the first round, as Notts County, relegated the year before gained revenge for the eight goals put past them at the Hawthorns by winning 3-0.
Games and results
| Date | Event | Home | Score | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28-08-1920 | Newcastle | 1-1 | West Brom | |
| 01-09-1920 | West Brom | 1-1 | Liverpool | |
| 04-09-1920 | West Brom | 0-0 | Newcastle | |
| 06-09-1920 | Liverpool | 0-0 | West Brom | |
| 11-09-1920 | Bolton | 3-0 | West Brom | |
| 18-09-1920 | West Brom | 2-1 | Bolton | |
| 25-09-1920 | Derby | 1-1 | West Brom | |
| 02-10-1920 | West Brom | 3-0 | Derby | |
| 09-10-1920 | Blackburn | 5-1 | West Brom | |
| 16-10-1920 | West Brom | 1-1 | Blackburn | |
| 23-10-1920 | Huddersfiled | 5-1 | West Brom | |
| 30-10-1920 | West Brom | 3-0 | Huddersfield | |
| 06-11-1920 | Aston Villa | 0-0 | West Brom | |
| 13-11-1920 | West Brom | 2-1 | Aston Villa | |
| 27-11-1920 | West Brom | 2-0 | Bradford | |
| 04-12-1920 | West Brom | 4-1 | Sunderland | |
| 11-12-1920 | Sunderland | 3-0 | West Brom | |
| 18-12-1920 | West Brom | 1-2 | Everton | |
| 25-12-1920 | Man City | 4-0 | West Brom | |
| 27-12-1920 | West Brom | 2-2 | Man City | |
| 01-01-1921 | Everton | 2-2 | West Brom | |
| 08-01-1921 | FA Cup 1st Round | Notts County | 3-0 | West Brom |
| 15-01-1921 | Man Utd | 1-4 | West Brom | |
| 22-01-1921 | West Brom | 0-2 | Man Utd | |
| 29-01-1921 | Middlesbrough | 0-1 | West Brom | |
| 05-02-1921 | West Brom | 0-1 | Middlesbrough | |
| 09-02-1921 | Bradford | 1-1 | West Brom | |
| 12-02-1921 | Chelsea | 3-0 | West Brom | |
| 23-02-1921 | West Brom | 3-1 | Tottenham | |
| 26-02-1921 | Tottenham | 1-0 | West Brom | |
| 12-03-1921 | Oldham | 0-3 | West Brom | |
| 14-03-1921 | West Brom | 1-1 | Chelsea | |
| 19-03-1921 | West Brom | 0-0 | Oldham | |
| 26-03-1921 | West Brom | 0-3 | Preston | |
| 28-03-1921 | Arsenal | 2-1 | West Brom | |
| 29-03-1921 | West Brom | 3-4 | Arsenal | |
| 02-04-1921 | Preston | 2-1 | West Brom | |
| 09-04-1921 | West Brom | 2-0 | Burnley | |
| 16-04-1921 | Burnley | 1-1 | West Brom | |
| 23-04-1921 | West Brom | 1-1 | Sheffield Utd | |
| 30-04-1921 | Sheffield Utd | 0-2 | West Brom | |
| 02-05-1921 | West Brom | 0-1 | Bradford Park Av | |
| 07-05-1921 | Bradford Park Av | 0-3 | West Brom |
Division One 1920-21 final table
P W D L F A W D L F A Pts 1. BURNLEY 42 17 3 1 56 16 6 10 5 23 20 59 2. Manchester City 42 19 2 0 50 13 5 4 12 20 37 54 3. Bolton Wanderers 42 15 6 0 53 17 4 8 9 24 36 52 4. Liverpool 42 11 7 3 41 17 7 8 6 22 18 51 5. Newcastle United 42 14 3 4 43 18 6 7 8 23 27 50 6. Tottenham Hotspur 42 15 2 4 46 16 4 7 10 24 32 47 7. Everton 42 9 8 4 40 26 8 5 8 26 29 47 8. Middlesbrough 42 10 6 5 29 21 7 6 8 24 32 46 9. Arsenal 42 9 8 4 31 25 6 6 9 28 38 44 10. Aston Villa 42 11 4 6 39 21 7 3 11 24 49 43 11. Blackburn Rovers 42 7 9 5 36 27 6 6 9 21 32 41 12. Sunderland 42 11 4 6 34 19 3 9 9 23 41 41 13. Manchester United 42 9 4 8 34 26 6 6 9 30 42 40 14. West Bromwich Albion 42 8 7 6 31 23 5 7 9 23 35 40 15. Bradford City 42 7 9 5 38 28 5 6 10 23 35 39 16. Preston North End 42 10 4 7 38 25 5 5 11 23 40 39 17. Huddersfield Town 42 11 4 6 26 16 4 5 12 16 33 39 18. Chelsea 42 9 7 5 35 24 4 6 11 13 34 39 19. Oldham Athletic 42 6 9 6 23 26 3 6 12 26 60 33 20. Sheffield United 42 5 11 5 22 19 1 7 13 20 49 30 21. DERBY COUNTY 42 3 12 6 21 23 2 4 15 11 35 26 22. BRADFORD PARK AVENUE 42 6 5 10 29 35 2 3 16 14 41 24 Source: Football Statistics Archive (rsssf.com). Info by Stuart Jackson
