“Bottom of the table at the start of today, bottom of the table at Christmas, the curse is over.” The famous commentary line that makes the hairs on the back of the neck of every West Brom fan stand up.
On this day in 2005, West Bromwich Albion were the protagonists in one of the Premier League’s most famous moments, and it was a day unlike what any other football fan will ever experience.
Yes, there have been miraculous survivals since, and there will be again, but the little details that went with The Great Escape mean we as fans will never experience anything quite like it ever again.
OTD: How West Brom completed The Great Escape
First, the backstory. West Brom became the first team to avoid the drop after being bottom of the table at Christmas, having accumulated just 10 points by the end of December. Bookies had given the Baggies a 99% chance of relegation, and despite a turn in fortunes at the turn of the year, it didn’t look much better on the final day.
Albion were rock bottom; not only did they need to win, they needed a set of three perfect results. As it happened, that’s exactly what they got. Crystal Palace were minutes from safety, but a late goal from Charlton meant a 2-2 draw was not enough to save them.
Norwich City were hammered by Fulham, and Southampton lost 2-1 at home to Manchester United.
West Brom did their bit, not least Geoff Horsefield, who found the back of the net with his first touch in the second half before Kieran Richardson secured all three points. But what makes us love football is how it makes you feel, and the football alone does not do that day justice.
Why The Great Escape was my favourite moment as a West Brom fan
It was a unique situation where the away fans were willing us to win as much as we were, Pompey fans couldn’t wait to see their rivals Southampton relegated. Once the second goal went in, nobody in the stands paid a single bit of notice to what was going on on the pitch.
You have to remember, there were no smartphones back then for instant updates, we relied on phone calls home and portable radios, and that’s what made this day so special. There was an old man sat at the end of my row with a boombox of a radio glued to his ear, listening to Tom Ross on The Goalzone, our whole section of the Birmingham Road End was fixated on this man for the final 15 minutes.
Albion were winning, but The Hawthorns remained silent. For seven minutes this old man who had taken on the role of Jeff Stelling was completely still until we noticed he couldn’t catch his breath and his shoulders started to shake, he grabbed the arm of who I assume was his son. I grabbed my dad, I knew what was coming.
He stood up from his chair, proclaiming that Charlton had scored. Rounds of cheers broke out across the stand, and the rumble of seats clattered in the background as the news spread, and we all started celebrating. Those celebrations made their way over to both sides of the Smethwick as Portsmouth fans joined in.
Now everyone remained on their feet once again, fixated on this man counting down the final minutes. Albion had now won, the players were calling their wives on the field, nobody entirely sure if we’d done enough to survive. The old man remained seated.
“What’s going on,” one fan shouted, to which he replied: “Will you shut up, I can’t hear a thing.” Then he jumped up, pockets of fans erupted around him, T-Mobile inflatable fingers went up, confirming we had done it. Waves of fans crashed down the stairs towards the pitch. I looked up at my dad to get the nod to join in.
I was 13 at the time, I joined my mate and we ran straight across the pitch to the Pompey end to celebrate. We passed Zolton Gera on the way, who was already held high by Albion fans celebrating, my mate grabbed one of his boots off his foot. Portsmouth fans called us in to congratulate us. My friend swapped shirts with a fan before proudly walking back towards the Brummie wearing his new Pompey shirt, holding Gera’s boot aloft. The whole experience soundtracked by “Play Up, Pompey”.
With technology how it is today, that feeling of uncertainty and complete euphoria just cannot be replicated. If you could bottle it up and sell it, you could sort Albion’s current financial struggles overnight.
That day is without doubt the best experience I have ever had as a West Brom fan. Admittedly, there aren’t many to choose from if you’re a fan born in the 90s, but we know titles and trophies will be few and far between; it’s single moments like The Great Escape that keep us going.
And like most football fans, our favourite memories often have nothing to do with the football; it’s what happens around it and who you are with. I will not forget that man’s face until the day I die. Nor will I forget the image of my chubby mate squeezed into that Pompey shirt.
Football. There’s nothing like it.