1998–99 West Bromwich Albion F.C. season
# 1998–99 West Bromwich Albion F.C. season

During the 1998–99 English football season, West Bromwich Albion competed in the Football League First Division.

## Season summary

In the 1998–99 season, local lad and lifetime fan Lee Hughes scored 31 times in the league to finish as top goalscorer in all four English divisions, but the Baggies finished only 12th and Smith was sacked in the summer of 1999.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 10 | Huddersfield Town | 46 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 62 | 71 | −9 | 61 |
| 11 | Grimsby Town | 46 | 17 | 10 | 19 | 40 | 52 | −12 | 61 |
| 12 | West Bromwich Albion | 46 | 16 | 11 | 19 | 69 | 76 | −7 | 59 |
| 13 | Barnsley | 46 | 14 | 17 | 15 | 59 | 56 | +3 | 59 |
| 14 | Crystal Palace | 46 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 58 | 71 | −13 | 58 |
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Fulham (C, P) | 46 | 31 | 8 | 7 | 79 | 32 | +47 | 101 | Promotion to the First Division |
| 2 | Walsall (P) | 46 | 26 | 9 | 11 | 63 | 47 | +16 | 87 | Promotion to the First Division |
| 3 | Manchester City (O, P) | 46 | 22 | 16 | 8 | 69 | 33 | +36 | 82 | Qualification for the Second Division play-offs |
| 4 | Gillingham | 46 | 22 | 14 | 10 | 75 | 44 | +31 | 80 | Qualification for the Second Division play-offs |
| 5 | Preston North End | 46 | 22 | 13 | 11 | 78 | 50 | +28 | 79 | Qualification for the Second Division play-offs |
| 6 | Wigan Athletic | 46 | 22 | 10 | 14 | 75 | 48 | +27 | 76 | Qualification for the Second Division play-offs |
| 7 | Bournemouth | 46 | 21 | 13 | 12 | 63 | 41 | +22 | 76 | |
| 8 | Stoke City | 46 | 21 | 6 | 19 | 59 | 63 | −4 | 69 | |
| 9 | Chesterfield | 46 | 17 | 13 | 16 | 46 | 44 | +2 | 64 | |
| 10 | Millwall | 46 | 17 | 11 | 18 | 52 | 59 | −7 | 62 | |
| 11 | Reading | 46 | 16 | 13 | 17 | 54 | 63 | −9 | 61 | |
| 12 | Luton Town | 46 | 16 | 10 | 20 | 51 | 60 | −9 | 58 | |
| 13 | Bristol Rovers | 46 | 13 | 17 | 16 | 65 | 56 | +9 | 56 | |
| 14 | Blackpool | 46 | 14 | 14 | 18 | 44 | 54 | −10 | 56 | |
| 15 | Burnley | 46 | 13 | 16 | 17 | 54 | 73 | −19 | 55 | |
| 16 | Notts County | 46 | 14 | 12 | 20 | 52 | 61 | −9 | 54 | |
| 17 | Wrexham | 46 | 13 | 14 | 19 | 43 | 62 | −19 | 53 | |
| 18 | Colchester United | 46 | 12 | 16 | 18 | 52 | 70 | −18 | 52 | |
| 19 | Wycombe Wanderers | 46 | 13 | 12 | 21 | 52 | 58 | −6 | 51 | |
| 20 | Oldham Athletic | 46 | 14 | 9 | 23 | 48 | 66 | −18 | 51 | |
| 21 | York City (R) | 46 | 13 | 11 | 22 | 56 | 80 | −24 | 50 | Relegation to the Third Division |
| 22 | Northampton Town (R) | 46 | 10 | 18 | 18 | 43 | 57 | −14 | 48 | Relegation to the Third Division |
| 23 | Lincoln City (R) | 46 | 13 | 7 | 26 | 42 | 74 | −32 | 46 | Relegation to the Third Division |
| 24 | Macclesfield Town (R) | 46 | 11 | 10 | 25 | 43 | 63 | −20 | 43 | Relegation to the Third Division |

## Results

West Bromwich Albion's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |
| - | - | - |

### Football League First Division

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 8 August 1998 | Barnsley | A | 2–2 | 18,114 | Sneekes, Quinn |
| 15 August 1998 | Sheffield United | H | 4–1 | 16,901 | Carbon, Kilbane, Hughes (2) |
| 22 August 1998 | Port Vale | A | 3–0 | 8,146 | Hughes (3) |
| 29 August 1998 | Norwich City | H | 2–0 | 17,401 | de Freitas (2) |
| 31 August 1998 | Grimsby Town | A | 1–5 | 7,931 | Sneekes |
| 8 September 1998 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 2–3 | 15,789 | Flynn, Kilbane |
| 13 September 1998 | Bristol City | A | 3–1 | 13,761 | Hughes (2), Quinn |
| 20 September 1998 | Bradford City | H | 0–2 | 12,426 | |
| 26 September 1998 | Stockport County | A | 2–2 | 8,804 | Hughes (2) |
| 29 September 1998 | Oxford United | A | 0–3 | 7,437 | |
| 4 October 1998 | Watford | H | 4–1 | 11,840 | Kilbane, Hughes (2), de Freitas |
| 18 October 1998 | Sunderland | H | 2–3 | 14,746 | Hughes (2) |
| 21 October 1998 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 2–0 | 11,842 | Evans, Murphy |
| 24 October 1998 | Swindon Town | A | 2–2 | 8,967 | Hughes, Flynn |
| 31 October 1998 | Ipswich Town | A | 0–2 | 15,568 | |
| 3 November 1998 | Crystal Palace | H | 3–2 | 11,606 | Hughes (3, 1 pen) |
| 7 November 1998 | Birmingham City | H | 1–3 | 19,472 | Carbon |
| 14 November 1998 | Huddersfield Town | H | 3–1 | 13,626 | Hughes (3, 1 pen) |
| 21 November 1998 | Portsmouth | A | 1–2 | 11,144 | Hughes |
| 29 November 1998 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 2–0 | 22,682 | Kilbane, Murphy |
| 5 December 1998 | Bury | A | 0–2 | 5,007 | |
| 8 December 1998 | Crewe Alexandra | A | 1–1 | 5,007 | Hughes (pen) |
| 12 December 1998 | Huddersfield Town | A | 3–0 | 11,947 | Quinn (2), Hughes |
| 19 December 1998 | Tranmere Rovers | H | 0–2 | 13,966 | |
| 26 December 1998 | Port Vale | H | 3–2 | 14,929 | Murphy, Bortolazzi, Hughes (pen) |
| 28 December 1998 | Crystal Palace | A | 1–1 | 19,137 | Hughes |
| 9 January 1999 | Barnsley | H | 2–0 | 15,029 | Murphy, Hughes |
| 16 January 1999 | Norwich City | A | 1–1 | 15,411 | Bortolazzi |
| 23 January 1999 | Watford | A | 2–0 | 11,664 | Sneekes, Angel |
| 30 January 1999 | Grimsby Town | H | 1–1 | 17,843 | Hughes |
| 6 February 1999 | Sheffield United | A | 0–3 | 16,566 | |
| 13 February 1999 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 1–2 | 20,657 | de Freitas |
| 20 February 1999 | Bristol City | H | 2–2 | 16,490 | Hughes (2) |
| 27 February 1999 | Bradford City | A | 0–1 | 14,278 | |
| 2 March 1999 | Stockport County | H | 3–1 | 11,801 | Kilbane, de Freitas, Hughes |
| 6 March 1999 | Oxford United | H | 2–0 | 13,875 | Quinn, Maresca |
| 13 March 1999 | Birmingham City | A | 0–4 | 29,060 | |
| 20 March 1999 | Ipswich Town | H | 0–1 | 15,552 | |
| 3 April 1999 | Sunderland | A | 0–3 | 41,135 | |
| 5 April 1999 | Crewe Alexandra | H | 1–5 | 12,308 | Sneekes |
| 10 April 1999 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 1–2 | 11,158 | Kilbane |
| 13 April 1999 | Swindon Town | H | 1–1 | 9,601 | Hughes |
| 17 April 1999 | Portsmouth | H | 2–2 | 12,750 | Maresca, Quinn |
| 25 April 1999 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 1–1 | 27,038 | Evans |
| 1 May 1999 | Bury | H | 1–0 | 12,918 | de Freitas |
| 9 May 1999 | Tranmere Rovers | A | 1–3 | 10,540 | de Freitas |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| R3 | 2 January 1999 | Bournemouth | A | 0–1 | 10,881 | |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| R1 1st Leg | 11 August 1998 | Brentford | H | 2–1 | 8,460 | Evans, Hughes |
| R1 2nd Leg | 18 August 1998 | Brentford | A | 0–3 (lost 2–4 on agg) | 4,664 | |

## First-team squad

    Squad at end of season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| - | - | - | - |
| — | GK | ENG | Chris Adamson |
| — | GK | ENG | Alan Miller |
| — | GK | ENG | Phil Whitehead |
| — | GK | ENG | Neil Wypior |
| — | DF | ENG | Daryl Burgess |
| — | DF | ENG | Matt Carbon |
| — | DF | ENG | Paul Holmes |
| — | DF | ENG | Graham Potter |
| — | DF | ENG | Paul Raven |
| — | DF | WAL | Danny Gabbidon |
| — | DF | WAL | Paul Mardon |
| — | DF | AUS | Andy McDermott |
| — | DF | AUS | Shaun Murphy |
| — | DF | AUS | Jason van Blerk |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | ENG | Sean Flynn |
| — | MF | IRL | Kevin Kilbane |
| — | MF | ITA | Mario Bortolazzi |
| — | MF | ITA | Enzo Maresca |
| — | MF | NED | Richard Sneekes |
| — | FW | ENG | Mark Angel |
| — | FW | ENG | Lee Hughes |
| — | FW | ENG | Adam Oliver |
| — | FW | ENG | Brian Quailey |
| — | FW | ENG | Justin Richards |
| — | FW | NIR | James Quinn |
| — | FW | IRL | Mickey Evans |
| — | FW | SUR | Fabian de Freitas |
