RTG’s totally and utterly (we hope) indispensable guide to this season’s away grounds.
THE OPPO – West Bromwich Albion aka The Baggies
DATE – Saturday 1st November
KO TIME – 3.00pm
THE GROUND – The Hawthorns, Halfords Lane, West Bromwich,– click here and here for maps of the area – the arrow near the middle points to where the ground is.
West Bromwich is right in the heart of the west midlands, roughly half way between Birmingham and Wolverhampton, but also conveniently close to the M5, and also the M6 with its links to the north-west and the M1.
Away supporters are seated in one half of the Smethwick End, with disabled supporters at the front of that stand.
Tickets are no longer available for this fixture.
GOING BY CAR?
Travelling from the north east, get yourself onto the A1/A1M southbound; just after you pass junction 45 (for the A64 Leeds/York road) you’ll see signs for the M1 – so take the M1 southbound. You join the M1 at jcn 48 and you need to stay on it until you reach jcn 23A.
Then leave the M1 for the A42 (signposted Tamworth and Birmingham) – after 14 miles this becomes the M42.
After another 14 miles, leave the M42 at jcn 8, which takes you onto the M6. Stay on the M6 until jcn 8, then take the turning for the M5, signposted ‘West Bromwich (M5), The South West, Birmingham (S+W)’.
Leave the M5 only 3 miles later at jcn 1 – take the A41 signposted ‘Sandwell, West Bromwich, Birmingham’ and less than a mile afterwards you’ll see The Hawthorns stadium on your right.
There’s a little street parking close to the Hawthorns – take the second exit at the roundabout when you leave the M5 into Kenrick Way, and it’s only a 15-minute-or-so walk to the ground. Otherwise there are small car parks dotted around the area of varying sizes (but the biggest only has 350 spaces) and varying charges up to £5. The Hawthorns pub, 50 metres from the ground will charge you a fiver if you get a space early enough.
GOING BY TRAIN?
There’s a railway station only 300 yards from The Hawthorns….called The Hawthorns! From Sunderland go up to Newcastle Central Station then change for a train to Birmingham New Street.
The 8.19am will get you to Brum at 11.58, the 8.51am arrives at 12.37, and the 9.45am will get you there at 1.05 – time for a pint or two before kickoff.
If you’re coming from the south, get on a West Coast Mainline train at London Euston that stops at Birmingham New Street – but note that because of engineering work, buses replace trains between Hemel Hempstead and Northampton until Easter 2004 so if you ARE letting the train take the strain, allow extra time for your coach transfer.
When you arrive at New Street, take the short walk across to Birmingham Snow Hill station (map here) and catch a Metro to The Hawthorns. The Birmingham Metro trains leave Snow Hill about every 8 minutes and it’s only a 9-10 minute journey to The Hawthorns. When you come out of the station it’s a short walk up Halfords Lane to the ground.
On the homeward leg, the 18.03 from New Street will take you to Doncaster from where you then catch the 20.08 to Newcastle where you’ll arrive at 9.40pm. Or the 6.30pm direct service from New Street gets you to the Central Station just before 10.30pm and the 7.03 direct service will get you there just after 10.30pm
For train times for that day, check the National Rail website. A standard ticket (return) will cost you about £38 and a Saver Return tickets will set you back just over £60 but check with National Rail to see what deals are available at the time of booking.
STOPPING OVER?
West Bromwich Moat House, Birmingham Rd, West Bromwich – tel 0121 609 9988
Howard Johnson Hotel, High Street, West Bromwich – tel 0121 525 8333
Holiday Inn Express, Oldbury – tel 0121 5110000
Comfort Inn, Hagley Road, Edgbaston – tel 0121 454 8071
SCRAN AND BOOZE
Unfortunately there aren’t all that many pubs close to the ground. If you’re arriving by train then your best idea is to go for a pint or your nosh in Birmingham before heading across to The Hawthorns. The Royal Oak, about 10 minutes walk away from the ground along the Birmingham Road, will serve away supporters with the added bonus that there’s some street parking in that area too. Another good pub with nearby street parking is The Vine – follow the signs to ‘West Bromwich Town Centre’ at jcn 1 of the M5 then first left into Roebuck St, and The Vine is on the left hand corner of the T-junction at the end.
Pubs to avoid if you’re an away supporter are The Woodman (admission only for those with tickets in the home areas of the ground), The Hawthorns, The Throstle Club, The Sportsman and The Waggon & Horses.
LEND US A FIVER I’M OUT OF CASH
Be prepared for at least a 10 – 15 minute walk! The closest ATM to The Hawthorns is at Lloyds TSB on Holyhead Road, three quarters of a mile away.
IN THE NEWS
The baggies recently ended a Norwich run of seven games unbeaten (both home and away).
Baggies’ striker Danny Dichio, signed from Sunderland, has just started a loan period at Derby County FC.
Their next opponents in the league cup are Newcastle United.
Talking of Mags, Albion are reportedly looking to take Carl Cort on a month’s loan.
Our ressies lost 4-1 to their ressies a couple of weeks ago, two of their goals coming from SAFC old-boy Deech.
The Baggies signed defender Bernt Haas from us in July for £400,000.
LAST SEASON
Finished 19th out of 20 (Premiership) with 26 points – relegated.
THIS SEASON
Currently 1st of 24:
P15 W10 D1 L4 F23 A13 Pts 31 GD 10
HOME FORM
P8 W6 D0 L2 F13 A6 Pts 18 GD 7
HEAD TO HEAD
We’ve just got the edge on the Baggies for league wins – from 130 matches, they’ve won 41, we’ve won 52, and there’ve been 37 draws.
LAST 6 MEETINGS
19/04/03 Sunderland 1 West Brom 2 (Stewart 70)
21/12/02 West Brom 2 Sunderland 2 (Phillips 56, 64)
05/01/02 Sunderland 1, West Brom 2 (Phillips 12 – FA Cup 3rd Round)
03/04/99 Sunderland 3 West Brom 0 (Phillips 22, 48; Clark 26)
18/10/98 West Brom 2 Sunderland 3 (Melville 67, Bridges 80, Ball 86)
13/04/98 West Brom 3 Sunderland 3 (Quinn 17,50; Phillips 28)
TRIVIA
– Best league win: 12-0 vs Darwen in 1892.
– Worst league defeat: 3-10 vs Stoke in 1937.
– Record transfer fee received: £5m from Coventry for Lee Hughes (August 01)
– Record transfer fee paid: £2.5m to Coventry for Lee Hughes (August 02) – !!
They’ve won the FA Cup 5 times and been FA Cup runners-up 5 times
The club was formed in 1879 by employees at the town’s Salters Spring Works. Only 4 years after their formation they entered the FA Cup for the first time. They won the competition only 9 years after their formation, in 1888.
They were one of the founding member teams of the Football League.
The Baggies moved to The Hawthorns in 1900.
They were one of the last league teams to appoint a full time manager.
The West Ham line-up that the Baggies beat to win the league cup in 1966 included Messrs Moore, Peters and Hurst – who went on to World Cup glory 3 months later.
Ron “Spotters badge” Atkinson managed the Baggies from 87/88 before leaving for Man Utd, taking player Bryan Robson with him.
Former Sunderland manager Denis Smith managed at West Brom from 97 – 99 but was sacked only days before the start of the 99/00 season.
They call local rivals Wolves “The Tatters” or “The Dingles” and Villa “The Seals”.
How did the ‘Boing’ thing come about? Well there are a few different theories – one being that a Dutch pop combo released a record called ‘Poing’ and the supporters adopted both the song and accompanying actions and started doing it at matches. Another theory is that at a freezing cold Hull v WBA match some time ago, freezing Baggies’ supporters started jumping up and down to keep themselves warm, chanting “Come on you baggies” over and over again, really quickly.
Famous Baggies’ supporters: Frank Skinner, Lenny Henry, Julie Walters, Cat Deeley, Ronnie Wood, Five Live’s Adrian Chiles, and Ian and Glenn from Judas Priest.
Credits: WBA, Fans FC, Birmingham Council, Link, Rough Guide to English Football, Soccerbase, streetmap.co.uk, Boing!, BBC, National Rail.