‘Robert Earnshaw admits he still can't explain how West Brom avoided relegation 20 years ago after being bottom at Christmas’

Only four clubs have achieved this feat, but Bryan Robson's West Brom side of 2004/05 was the first to survive relegation after being bottom at Christmas. A key player in this historic achievement was Rob Earnshaw, who scored 11 league goals in 18 starts for the struggling Baggies. Reflecting on that season 20 years later, Earnshaw still marvels at how they managed to stay up. "I still don't know how we pulled it off!" he admits in an interview with FourFourTwo. "Our manager at the time, Gary Megson, was sacked halfway through a tough season. "No team had ever avoided relegation after being in last place at Christmas, but that challenge motivated us. We were determined and had nothing to lose."

Survival Sunday

For the first time since the inaugural Premier League season in 1992–93, no team was assured of relegation going into the final day of the 2004/05 season. West Brom kicked off their game at home to Portsmouth (who were on 39 points but safe from relegation themselves) rock bottom.

Southampton and Crystal Palace were one point ahead of them with Norwich City in the last safe spot, two points from the bottom. Only one would stay up on what branded: ‘Survival Sunday'.

West Brom at one stage had been eight points adrift from safety. But they did their part by beating Portsmouth 2–0. Norwich were the only side to have their fate completely in their own hands.

They required a first away victory of the season at Craven Cottage vs Fulham which would relegate everyone else in the process. Instead, they were thrashed 6–0 and went down.

Southampton, despite leading early on, lost 2–1 at home to Manchester United and were relegated. Meanwhile, at The Valley, Crystal Palace led Charlton Athletic 2–1 in the 71st minute, but Jonathan Fortune equalised for Charlton with eight minutes left and the Saints dropped.

West Brom survived and made history by becoming the first club in Premier League history to avoid relegation after being bottom of the table at Christmas. As all four fixtures ended Sky’s cameras focused on the Hawthorns.

A traditional last-day-of-the-season pitch invasion was underway with Portsmouth fans in the away end joining in celebrations as through losing, they had helped relegate arch-rivals Southampton. Reflecting on the season two decades on, Earnshaw pinpoints a mid-season bonding trip to America as the moment the tide turned for West Brom.

“During a 10-day break without a game, Bryan Robson took us to Florida to get away from it all, which was refreshing. We got together as a team and bonded.

“From then on, results changed. We earned a draw at Old Trafford in our penultimate game and beat Portsmouth at home on the final day. It was a miracle. We had no right to do it, but we really believed in ourselves and showed that we could.”

Twenty seasons later Southampton are the latest club to have been bottom of the table at Christmas. Stats site Opta forecasts their chances of being relegated at 97.8%. In the 19 seasons since West Brom first managed it, only three clubs have managed the great escape.

Swipe to scroll horizontallyTeams bottom of the league on Christmas DayYearTeamOutcome1992Nottingham Forest22nd (relegated)1993Swindon Town22nd (relegated)1994Ipswich Town22nd (relegated)1995Bolton Wanderers20th (relegated)1996Nottingham Forest20th (relegated)1997Barnsley19th (relegated)1998Nottingham Forest20th (relegated)1999Sheffield Wednesday19th (relegated)2000Bradford City20th (relegated)2001Ipswich Town18th (relegated)2002West Ham18th (relegated)2003Wolves20th (relegated)2004West Brom17th (survived)2005Sunderland20th (relegated)2006Watford20th (relegated)2007Derby County20th (relegated)2008West Brom20th (relegated)2009Portsmouth20th (relegated)2010West Ham20th (relegated)2011Blackburn Rovers19th (relegated)2012Reading19th (relegated)2013Sunderland14th (survived)2014Leicester City14th (survived)2015Aston Villa20th (relegated)2016Hull City18th (relegated)2017Swansea City18th (relegated)2018Fulham19th (relegated)2019Watford19th (relegated)2020Sheffield United20th (relegated)2021Norwich City20th (relegated)2022Wolves13th (survived)2023Sheffield United20th (relegated)Get FourFourTwo Newsletter

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