BROKER.......
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Poet Laureate: Andrew Motion
President of Libya: Muammar al-Gaddafi
They may not have been a team for the purists.
But the West Bromwich Albion of 2001/02 knew how to do drama.
With only eight games of the season left, they stood 11 points behind bitter local rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers, who occupied the second automatic promotion spot – but turned things around in a barnstorming finish to the campaign.
It was a wet dream for Albion fans, a nightmare for the old gold.
And it was all the sweeter for being so unexpected.
Context
Albion at the start of the new millennium were emerging from the most traumatic decade in their history, with humiliation on the pitch, and stagnation off it.
Wolves, in contrast, had enjoyed tens of millions of investment from chairman and 'golden tit' Sir Jack Hayward, who rebuilt both ground and team – though fell short of elevating them to the Premier League.
The seed of Albion's recovery was planted on Christmas Eve 1999, when Sheffield businessman Paul Thompson took over as chairman.
One of his earliest decisions was to sack Brian Little as manager, with the team sliding towards relegation in March 2000, and appoint Gary Megson.
The carrot-topped Yorkshireman was known for his pragmatic style of football, which contrasted with the cavalier approach Albion fans preferred.
But these were desperate times – so prized ideals went out the window.
Megson brought in four signings on deadline day – and Albion survived by beating champions Charlton in the final match of the campaign.
In 2000/01, things improved considerably, with a switch to 3-5-2 resulting in a surprise play-off place.
But few Albion fans expected the team to push for the automatic spots during the following campaign.
Megson's men
Megson had built a team largely in his own image – short on flair maybe, but never on commitment. Most had tasted better days with other clubs, before being released – and you could sense a point being proved in every tackle.
Captain and midfielder Derek McInnes, once of Rangers and then Toulouse, exemplified the Megson spirit best and proved a born leader – as he is showing currently as St Johnstone manager. Andy Johnson's top flight experience with Nottingham Forest and youth team product Adam Chambers helped the engine room tick over.
At the back, ex-Derby and Pompey stopper Russell Hoult was beginning to hit the form that saw him on the fringe of the England squad a year later. He was protected by craggy centre halves Larus Sigurdsson, Phil Gilchrist, and Darren Moore – a lynchpin of Bradford's happy promotion season three years earlier.
The wing backs were Neil Clement, blessed with a left peg so sweet his free kicks appeared guided by a third force that season, and on the right, Slovakian Igor Balis, whose moment in the sun would arrive late on in the campaign.
The attack looked blunt, after local hero Lee Hughes defected to Coventry for £5,000,001 during the summer (the £1 relating to a contract clause), and Jason Roberts injured his metatarsal, restricting his appearances that season to just 12.
So the line was led by the more workmanlike Scott Dobie, signed from Carlisle for £150,000, and Danny Dichio, £1.25m from Sunderland – supported by club legend Bob Taylor, now 34 years old.
It was not a team full of goals, but concerned more with keeping them out – often a 5-3-2 rather than the 3-5-2 on the teamsheet. Some 19 games would be won 1-0 during 2001/02.
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