Sunday 21 May 2017 20:52, UK
West Brom ended the 2016/17 Premier League season with a top half finish.
Read on for our review of their campaign, complete the views of Soccer Saturday pundit Paul Merson.
Finishing position: 10th (+4)
Total points: 45 (+2)
FA Cup: Third round
EFL Cup: Second round
Top scorer: Salomon Rondon (8)
Season review
West Brom finished in the top half of the Premier League table for the first time since 2012/13 and only the second time in their history. A run of nine wins from 16 games between November and February lifted them well away from the drop zone, and there was also a memorable 3-1 win over Arsenal in March.
New signings Matt Phillips, Nacer Chadli and Jake Livermore impressed in patches, but early cup exits were disappointing for supporters. So too was the poor finish to the campaign.
A nine-game winless run was a disappointing way to end it, but their top-half finish is a cause for celebration. Unlike many of the teams around them, West Brom never looked in real danger of getting dragged into a relegation battle.
EXPERT ANALYSIS - PAUL MERSON
Managerial review
Tony Pulis has been brilliant. They are a team who could be fighting for relegation and they're not. They were safe very, very early and then the hard fixtures came along, plus you have that thing of not fighting relegation so people do take their foot off the gas a little bit. When you do that against the top teams, you're in trouble but that's understandable. It was job done.
Player of the Year: Ben Foster
It has to be Ben Foster. He is a top draw goalkeeper. Some of his performances this season have been as good as anybody else in the Premier League and I am a massive fan of his. You watch some games and a goalkeeper makes four or five saves and you think 'I could have saved that' but he has been outstanding.
He is a top draw goalkeeper. Some of his performances this season have been as good as anybody else in the Premier League.
2017/18 prospects
I don't see them getting relegated but they should be playing their strongest side in the cups. They don't need a lot in the transfer window but could do with a couple of players. They could do with a centre-forward, Salomon Rondon faded a little bit so if they can get a better quality centre-forward, I think they will be alright. West Brom are a decent team and Pulis bought well in both transfer windows so there's not a lot to be done there.
