West Bromwich Albion
last won a trophy in 1968, when a Jeff Astle goal was enough to beat
Everton 1-0 in the FA Cup final, but manager Tony Pulis has committed
his future to the Baggies and said that he would like at least three
or four years at the Hawthorns to move the club forward.
Despite several
lacklustre performances in January and February, including failure to
register a single shot on target against Aston Villa and Newcastle,
who were both subsequently relegated from the Premier League, and a
shock FA Cup fifth-round defeat by Championship side Reading, Albion
recovered to finish 14th in the Premier League.
Technical director
Nicky Hammond, who joined the club at the end of April, has said that
Tony Pulis will have the final say on transfers during the summer.
Midfielder Stephane Sessegnon, 31, and striker Victor Anichebe, 28,
have already left the Hawthorns after reaching the end of their
contracts, but veteran defenders Gareth McAuley, 36, and Jonas
Olsson, 33, have signed new one-year contract extensions.
Albion scored just 34
goals in the Premier League in 2014/15 – only bottom side Aston
Villa scored fewer – so, while midfielder James Morrison is likely
to sign a new contract, Pulis will, no doubt, be looking to bolster
his attacking options during the summer. QPR winger Matt Phillips is
one possible target, Middlesbrough striker Jordan Rhodes is another,
and Palermo midfielder Franco Vazquez is yet another, although
Tottenham Hotspur and AC Milan are also interested in the latter.
West Brom are rank
outsiders at 1,500/1 to win the Premier League title in 2015/16, and
just 5/2 to be relegated but, with Pulis at the helm, a top six
finish, at 50/1, doesn’t seem entirely out of the question and
staying up, a 4/11, may well be a foregone conclusion.
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