Charleston Battery News Release - www.charlestonbattery.com

Monday, July 13, 2015

CHARLESTON, S.C. - By American standards, Charleston (founded 1670) is a historic city, and the Battery (founded 1993) is a historic soccer club.

For a little context, consider Friday's opponent in our first international exhibition with a team from the English Premiership since 2010. The earliest mention of the town in the historical record appears in William the Conqueror's Domesday Book (census) of 1086, when it was called Bromwic (or "broom village").

The club? It dates to 1878 -- a full 10 years before its founders got together with 11 other clubs to form England's historic Football League.

Another way to look at it? The Battery began play during the first Clinton administration. West Brom began playing "Association Football" while former Ohio governor Rutherford B. Hayes was in residence at the White House.

The Battery and West Brom will kick off their first-ever meeting at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Blackbaud Stadium on Daniel Island. Gates open at 6 p.m.,with tickets starting at $25 and available at charlestonbattery.com or over the phone at 843.971.GOAL (4625).

The Anglophile's Team

Just how "English" is this historic English club?

Of the three nicknames embraced by the team, the first is local vernacular for a common bird otherwise called the Song Thrush ("The Throstles"), the second has been around so long that not even fans can agree where it came from or what it even means ("The Baggies"), and the third, "Albion," is a 6th century B.C. Greek translation of whatever the original inhabitants of England called the place. Today it's favored by poets.

You get the picture. If West Brom were a breakfast, it would be "Full English."

There's a homey, eccentric charm to both town and club that reflects a side of the English personality that Americans typically celebrate, even if we don't fully understand it. The little municipality sits just beyond the outskirts of England's second largest city, Birmingham, equidistant to the next "big" town over, Wolverhampton. Both rival cities boast big-time soccer clubs.

And yet little West Bromwich -- with a population roughly equal to that of Mount Pleasant (75,000) -- has spent the majority of its history competing in the top tier of English football. In a league ruled by behemoths, plucky West Brom has been punching above its weight for more than 136 years.

Despite the fact that they're most famous for bouncing up and down in the stands at The Hawthorns chanting "Boing boing boing," West Brom fans are widely considered among the most loyal and intelligent in the Premier League. People have even done studies on such things over there.

But as a team from the industrial "West Midlands" (think of the region as the large, landlocked area northwest of London, southeast of Liverpool and east of Wales) competing for international fans in the globally televised era of EPL ascendancy, Albion has suffered for lack of glamour. Mid-table football with an occasional chance of relegation is not every soccer fan's preferred forecast.

Still, there's an undeniable attraction to this club, with it's white and blue stripes, its old championships, proud traditions and entertaining quirks. That West Brom has succeeded while larger clubs from more lucrative and less competitive markets (we're looking at you, Leeds and Sheffield) have failed is a testament to Albion's staying power.

But to fully understand what The Baggies up against, study these numbers from Transfermarkt.com.uk: $607 million, $604 million, $553 million and $467 million. That's the total market value of the top four teams in the EPL last season -- Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City and Arsenal, respectively.

West Brom slotted in at a mere $116 million, 17th lowest in the 20-team league and significantly less than two of the three teams relegated to the Championship in May.

That's viewing West Brom from an Anglo-Centric perspective. From a North American point of view, you'd need to combine the total market value of the seven most valuable MLS franchises (Toronto, New York City FC, Seattle, Los Angeles, Orlando, Columbus and Montreal by Transfermarkt estimate) to exceed the value of West Brom's 13th place EPL finish in 2014-15. Which means the talent on this smallish preseason roster isn't exactly chopped liver.

West Brom departed on its nine-day, three-city tour of the Southeastern United States on Sunday, with stops set for Orlando, Charleston and Richmond. Their first job is preparing the core of what will become The Baggies' 2015-16 EPL squad for a new season of football.

But they're also working a second angle: Introducing their proud brand to a new generation of American soccer fans still looking for an EPL team to call their own.

Here at the Battery, we're happy to help introduce them to the Charleston audience.

West Brom 2014-15 in review

After a near-disastrous 2013-14 campaign that saw the Baggies finish just above the drop zone, Albion reset with a new manager – Alan Irvine – and a raft of new signings, including $16.5 million forward Ideye Brown.

Fans disliked the choice of Irvine nearly as much as they disliked the club’s new pinstriped home shirt, and when the team surrendered a two-goal lead to lose 3-2 at Queens Park Rangers on Dec. 20, the countdown began. A Boxing Day defeat by Manchester City and a 2-0 loss at Stoke City on Dec. 28 provided the final straws.

Exit Irvine, enter English turn-around specialist Tony Pulis, a move bolstered by the January acquisition of Manchester United veteran and Scottish international Darren Fletcher.

West Brom’s rise looked tentative at first, and included back-to-back defeats to West Midlands rivals Aston Villa. But with Fletcher in the captain’s armband organizing central midfield and 21-year-old Saido Bernahino providing the goals, Albion went undefeated in five matches (including wins over Man U and Chelsea) between April 18 and May 18 to secure a mid-table 13th place finish.

West Brom 2015-16 outlook

The big news from the summer break as far as many fans are concerned? Albion are back to their (quasi) traditional blue-and-white stripes, with Asian bookmaking company TLCBET in the sponsor spot. Fans are generally pleased.

In typical fashion for a small-market club, West Brom has yet to make a big splash in the summer transfer market. After the big-name stars are bought and sold, teams like Albion go bargain hunting, often at the last minute.

They haven't been idle, though, picking up Wigan winger James McClean and chasing several others, including rumored target and QPR defender Steven Caulker. Goalkeeper Ben Foster is recovering from an injury and could miss the start of the season. But with Fletcher and homegrown hero Berahino returning, hope springs eternal.

West Bromwich Albion Facts

Founded: 1878 (as "The Strollers")

Nicknames: The Baggies (origins unclear), The Throstles (the song thrush on their crest) and Albion (an archaic name for England).

Stadium: Since 1900, The Hawthorns, a 27,000-seat football grounds.

City: West Bromwich is an English town (population 75,000) located a few miles north of Birmingham in the industrial West Midlands. West Midlands County is the second-most-populous county in England, home to more than 2.7 million people. Location: Think of the West Midlands as the inland area northwest of London, southeast of Liverpool and east of Wales. West Bromwich is northwest of Birmingham and southeast of Wolverhampton.

Rivals: Wolverhampton Wanderers, League Championship (played as "the Black Country Derby") and Aston Villa (in Birmingham), EPL.

Traditions: Their anthem is "The Lord is My Shepherd," and fans have a habit of bouncing up and down while chanting "Boing boing boing."

Hardware: Champions of England: 1. FA Cup Champions: 5. Football League Cup: 1

Coach: Tony Pulis. Well-traveled manager, most recently at Crystal Palace and Stoke City.

EPL: The Baggies have been in the EPL for the last five seasons. Best finish: 8th place, 2012-13. Worst finish: 17th (2013-14). 2014-15 finish: 13th.