In 1985-86 some supporters never saw West Bromwich Albion win a match. Others were so dissatisfied after the first two months of the season that they stayed away for the rest of the campaign, which resulted in Albion having their lowest average League attendance just over 12,000 for more than 70 years.
When the fixture list was produced for this season it gave West Bromwich Albion the chance for the best possible start. At home to newly promoted Oxford United, away at Everton and Watford then home to another newly promoted side Manchester City.
After the third game of that 1985-86 campaign Albion slumped to the foot of the First Division following a 5-1 defeat at Watford. Giles left following a 3-0 defeat at Coventry in September, handing over the reins to his brother in law Nobby Stiles, in fact in September Albion only scored 3 league goals and conceded 18 , relegation, even at this early stage, was staring Albion in the face.
Stiles carried on, but he was fighting a losing battle and he too was replaced by the third manager of the season. Albion needed divine intervention. And the Albion board went for experience and appointed former Villa and Birmingham manager, Ron Saunders, in a last-gasp effort to prevent relegation.
Saunders might have been worshiped as a God at Villa, having guided them to lift the European Cup in the 1981-82 season but at Albion he started by what many saw as getting of on the wrong foot by demanding that the players all lived within 25 miles of the ground or leave as too much time was spent commuting than training.
Albion improved slightly only losing 3 matches from the remaining 8 fixtures but it was too late and Second Division football became inevitable. New signings were made ready for the next season in an attempt to bounce straight back, Paul Dyson from Stoke, Stuart Naylor from Lincoln, Craig Madden from Bury, Darren Bradley from Aston Villa
Since the Football League was formed in 1888, the 1985-86 campaign was to be Albion’s worst-ever in Division One. They started badly, got decidedly worse, and then suffered the inevitable relegation for the sixth time. In fact the only people who the following statistics would bring any enjoyment to would be that lot from down the road.
Some nightmare stats
- Fewest League wins – 4, previous 9.
- Record number of defeats – 26, previous 23.
- Least number of away wins – 1, previous 1
- Fewest home wins in season – 3, previous 6.
- Most home defeats in 21-match programme – 10, previous 10.
- Least number of home points gained in season – 17, previous 22.
- Fewest home League goals scored – 21, previous 22.
- Lowest number of points gained in 42-match programme – 24, worst 28.
- 9 consecutive League games lost, previous record 8.
- Most players utilised in season League & Cup games – 34, previous 33.
- Most home goals conceded by a First Division club in 1985-86 – 36.
- Most away League goals conceded by a First Division club in 1985-86 – 53.
- Five goalkeepers used during season League and Cup competitions.
- Nineteen players made their senior debuts for Albion in 1985-86.
- Albion dropped to the bottom of the First Division table after their third game and stayed there.
- There were three managers at The Hawthorns during the season – Johnny Giles, Nobby Stiles and Ron Saunders, appointed February 1986.
The relegation
Players in and out, Garth Crooks and Imre Varadi were paired together to replace Garry Thompson; later, George Reilly arrived from Newcastle. None of them performed any better than the players who were already at the club .
The midfield was changed more times than the light bulbs at Walsall illuminations, with Steve Hunt, Mickey Thomas, Tony Grealish, Steve Mackenzie, Martin Dickinson, Andy Thompson and Darren Bradley all having spells in the team.
Paul Dyson was signed from Stoke City to replace Ally Robertson who was shipped off to Wolves in the back-four, Martin Dickinson from Leeds and goalkeeper Stuart Naylor was recruited from Lincoln City to become Ron Saunders’ first signing, all to no avail and for the first time since 1949 Albion were to start the next season in Division 2.
West Brom Albion’s all games in 1985-1986
| Date | Event | Home | Score | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17-08-1985 | West Brom | 1-1 | Oxford | |
| 20-08-1985 | Everton | 2-0 | West Brom | |
| 24-08-1985 | Watford | 5-1 | West Brom | |
| 26-08-1985 | West Brom | 2-3 | Man City | |
| 31-08-1985 | Chelsea | 3-0 | West Brom | |
| 04-09-1985 | West Brom | 0-3 | Aston Villa | |
| 07-09-1985 | West Brom | 1-2 | Ipswich | |
| 14-09-1985 | Newcastle | 4-1 | West Brom | |
| 21-09-1985 | West Brom | 1-5 | Man Utd | |
| 24-09-1985 | League Cup 2nd Rd, 1st Leg | West Brom | 1-0 | Port Vale |
| 28-09-1985 | Coventry | 3-0 | West Brom | |
| 05-10-1985 | West Brom | 1-1 | Tottenham | |
| 07-10-1985 | League Cup 2nd Rd, 2nd Leg | Port Vale | 2-2 | West Brom |
| 12-10-1985 | Leicester | 2-2 | West Brom | |
| 19-10-1985 | West Brom | 2-1 | Birmingham | |
| 26-10-1985 | Shefield Wed | 1-0 | West Brom | |
| 29-10-1985 | League Cup 3rd Rd | Coventry | 0-0 | West Brom |
| 03-11-1985 | Nottingham Forest | 2-1 | West Brom | |
| 06-11-1985 | League Cup 3rd Rd, Replay | West Brom | 4-3 | Coventry |
| 09-11-1985 | West Brom | 0-1 | QPR | |
| 16-11-1985 | Liverpool | 4-1 | West Brom | |
| 19-11-1985 | League Cup 4th Rd | Aston Villa | 2-2 | West Brom |
| 23-11-1985 | West Brom | 0-0 | Arsenal | |
| 26-11-1985 | League Cup 4th Rd, Replay | West Brom | 1-2 | Aston Villa |
| 30-11-1985 | West Ham | 4-0 | West Brom | |
| 07-12-1985 | West Brom | 0-3 | Everton | |
| 14-12-1985 | Oxford | 2-2 | West Brom | |
| 22-12-1985 | West Brom | 3-1 | Watford | |
| 26-12-1985 | West Brom | 1-2 | Luton | |
| 28-12-1985 | Aston Villa | 1-1 | West Brom | |
| 01-01-1986 | Southampton | 3-1 | West Brom | |
| 11-01-1986 | West Brom | 1-1 | Newcastle | |
| 13-01-1986 | FA Cup 3rd Rd | Shefield Wed | 2-2 | West Brom |
| 16-01-1986 | FA Cup 3rd Rd, Replay | West Brom | 2-3 | Shefield Wed |
| 18-01-1986 | West Brom | 0-3 | Chelsea | |
| 01-02-1986 | Man City | 2-1 | West Brom | |
| 08-02-1986 | Birmingham | 0-1 | West Brom | |
| 22-02-1986 | Man Utd | 3-0 | West Brom | |
| 08-03-1986 | Tottenham | 5-0 | West Brom | |
| 15-03-1986 | West Brom | 2-2 | Leicester | |
| 19-03-1986 | West Brom | 0-0 | Coventry | |
| 22-03-1986 | Ipswich | 1-0 | West Brom | |
| 29-03-1986 | West Brom | 1-0 | Southampton | |
| 01-04-1986 | Luton | 3-0 | West Brom | |
| 05-04-1986 | West Brom | 1-1 | Notthingham Forest | |
| 12-04-1986 | QPR | 1-0 | West Brom | |
| 19-04-1986 | West Brom | 1-2 | Liverpool | |
| 22-04-1986 | West Brom | 1-1 | Shefield Wed | |
| 26-04-1986 | Arsenal | 2-2 | West Brom | |
| 03-05-1986 | West Brom | 2-3 | West Ham |
West Brom v West Ham – May 3rd, 1986
1985-86 Season’s Division 1 table
P W D L F A W D L F A Pts 1. LIVERPOOL 42 16 4 1 58 14 10 6 5 31 23 88 2. Everton 42 16 3 2 54 18 10 5 6 33 23 86 3. West Ham United 42 17 2 2 48 16 9 4 8 26 24 84 4. Manchester United 42 12 5 4 35 12 10 5 6 35 24 76 5. Sheffield Wednesday 42 13 6 2 36 23 8 4 9 27 31 73 6. Chelsea 42 12 4 5 32 27 8 7 6 25 29 71 7. Arsenal 42 13 5 3 29 15 7 4 10 20 32 69 8. Nottingham Forest 42 11 5 5 38 25 8 6 7 31 28 68 9. Luton Town 42 12 6 3 37 15 6 6 9 24 29 66 10. Tottenham Hotspur 42 12 2 7 47 25 7 6 8 27 27 65 11. Newcastle United 42 12 5 4 46 31 5 7 9 21 41 63 12. Watford 42 11 6 4 40 22 5 5 11 29 40 59 13. Queen's Park Rangers 42 12 3 6 33 20 3 4 14 20 44 52 14. Southampton 42 10 6 5 32 18 2 4 15 19 44 46 15. Manchester City 42 7 7 7 25 26 4 5 12 18 31 45 16. Aston Villa 42 7 6 8 27 28 3 8 10 24 39 44 17. Coventry City 42 6 5 10 31 35 5 5 11 17 36 43 18. Oxford United 42 7 7 7 34 27 3 5 13 28 53 42 19. Leicester City 42 7 8 6 35 35 3 4 14 19 41 42 20. IPSWICH TOWN 42 8 5 8 20 24 3 3 15 12 31 41 21. BIRMINGHAM CITY 42 5 2 14 13 25 3 3 15 17 48 29 22. WEST BROMWICH ALBION 42 3 8 10 21 36 1 4 16 14 53 24 Source: rsssf.com Info by Stuart Jackson
Featured image from birminghammail.co.uk
