West Brom owe Watford for £250k bargain | OneFootball

West Bromwich Albion owe Watford over the bargain signing of defender Paul Robinson in 2003.

In the summer of 2003, West Bromwich Albion were reeling from their relegation from the Premier League, where they had finished 19th in the top-flight under the management of Gary Megson.

That summer transfer window saw the Baggies bring in what they hoped would be a promotion-winning squad, with the likes of Rob Hulse, James O’Connor, Bernt Haas and Thomas Gaardsoe brought into The Hawthorns.

After starting the season well, there was still something missing and that something wasn’t realised until the signing of Watford left-back Paul Robinson for a fee believed to be in the region of £250,000.

Moving to West Bromwich from hometown club Watford at the age of 24, Robinson was set for a big task to try and adapt, but adapt he did, and more so.

Over the course of the next six seasons, Robinson would go on to make close to 250 appearances for the Baggies and become a fan favourite – all for that bargain fee.

Robinson immediately excelled at West Brom

The Watford-born defender had formed a part of the Hornets side that gained back-to-back promotions in the mid-1990s, to go from the third-tier to the Premier League.

In his first season with West Brom, his job was to again help the Baggies gain promotion to the top-flight and, after making 31 appearances in the then First Division, Robinson and Albion were successful.

Robinson soon established himself as more than good enough to be competitive in the Premier League, too, as he made 63 top-flight appearances over the next two seasons, playing a key role in West Brom’s famous ‘great escape’ at the end of the 2004/05 campaign.

During that remarkable run-in, Robinson even notched an extremely rare goal for his career, and it was an important one too, as he notched the equaliser for West Brom in a 1-1 draw against midlands rivals Aston Villa at Villa Park in mid-April, it was a goal that actually ended up winning the club’s Goal of the Season.

Despite being given his chance and opportunity by Megson at West Brom, Robinson thrived under the management of Bryan Robson, who even touted him as an England player.

Robinson continued to show his class at The Hawthorns and beyond

Upon their relegation from the top-flight in 2006, Robinson remained in West Bromwich and formed a key part, once again, of the side that would win the 2007/08 Championship title under Tony Mowbray with Robinson getting himself into the PFA Team of the Season for the second-tier.

Robinson, again, was a fulcrum of the Baggies’ side in the top-flight and made 35 appearances as they finished rock-bottom in the 2008/09 campaign.

Robinson’s quality was such that another return to the Football League was deemed unlikely, and he instead moved to Bolton Wanderers, where he made 87 appearances across a three-season stint, most notably thriving during the 2010/11 campaign when he kept Marcos Alonso out of the Wanderers eleven.

Robinson continued to play until the age of 39 at as high a level as the Championship, with his excellent reading of the game seeing him move from left-back to centre-back.

For the price of just £250,000, West Brom purchased a defender that would be a fulcrum of their side for over half a decade and helped to ensure two promotions to the top-flight, as well as provide memories that no Baggies supporter will ever forget during their so-called ‘great escape’.

It could well have been that Robinson had gone on to play for England in the mid-2000s, had he left West Brom, but he stayed put and ensured he became a cult hero at The Hawthorns.