The season opened with five straight defeats before Newcastle were beaten 6-0. This was to be another season were results were hit and miss several senior players departed to be replaced by a younger squad of the older The worst performances of the season came at Chelsea and Lincoln. At Stamford Bridge, a poor Albion side gave in to a 1-7 defeat, with Jimmy Greaves scoring five times for Chelsea.
The performance was so bad that six positional changes were made in the next game Don Howe reverting back to his favoured right back position Graham Williams back to Left back, Chuck Drury and Bobby Robson changing half back positions, Stuart Williams and Bobby Cram both losing their place’s. A month later and the chance to salvage the season when Albion were drawn away to Lincoln City bottom of the Second Division, Albion as a team did not turn up that day and were deservedly beaten 3-1.
To many poor results plus all the chopping and changing of the side, meant that many of the older players were being left out of the side old favourites Barlow, Allen and Kennedy there was no consistency, with the younger players earning their places, a change of form at the right time Albion only dropped three points in the last eleven games to reach 10th place by the end of the season. A last match win at Tottenham, who had already won the championship and were shortly to complete the double gave some dignity back to what was again another season of should have done better.
The new players to make the first team and would make a big impact were in defence Graham Williams, previously a left-winger who had been converted, like his namesake Stuart, to a full-back. Joe Kennedy’s place had gone to Stan Jones centre-half, who had been signed from Walsall outside-left from Queens Park Rangers, Clive Clark.
Chippy Clark who signed at the end of the season and Bobby Hope, who had made his debut in the last game of the 1959-60 season at the age of only sixteen years and seven Hope became the midfield general, it was often said by opposing managers at this time that “if you stop Bobby Hope, you stop Albion”.
On the featured image – Left to Right Back Row: Gordon Clark (Manager) Chuck Drury, Stuart Williams, Don Howe, Jock Wallace, Joe Kennedy, Bobby Robson, Dick Graham (Trainer) Graham Williams, Front Row: Alec Jackson, Davy Burnside, Ronnie Allen, Derek Kevan, Derek Hogg.
West Bromwich Albion 1960
