Wembley, Wolves wins & a title: A look back at Tony Mowbray's first spell in charge at West Brom

The last manager to win a trophy for the Baggies left long lasting memories and a memorable legacy at The Hawthorns when he left the club following their relegation from the Premier League back in 2009.

In the decade and a half since that day, you will have not have heard a bad word said about Mowbray and his time at Albion.

His three year period in charge, when he took Albion to Wembley on two occasions, before leading them to the Championship title, still gets talked about to this day.

It was and remains arguably Mowbray's most successful spell as a manager and returns to The Hawthorns dugout with as much good grace in the bank as he when he left.

His return will evoke memories of that period between 2006 and 2009, when his free flowing attacking side rattled in 88 goals across the campaign, securing the title on the famous final day at QPR.

Mowbray arrives back at Albion with the club in a very different place, but memories of those three years back in the noughties haven't faded.

Here is a look back on Mowbray's first spell at Albion and how he endeared himself to the Baggies faithful.

Arrival, Wolves wins & play-offs

In mid September 2006, Albion's quest for another immediate return to the top flight wasn't going smoothly.

After two years in the Premier League, the Baggies were back in the Championship and had endured a difficult start to the campaign.

Bryan Robson's side, still stacked with quality players from the previous campaign, were sitting in ninth when he was sacked by chairman Jeremy Peace.

Names were banded around, before Albion paid Scottish side Hibernian £120,000 for Mowbray's services. At the time Mowbray was well known in English football for his playing days at Middlesbrough and Ipswich, but it was his exploits as a manager Albion were keen on.

He had stepped into management with Hibs, and led them to two successive top four finishes in the SPL and qualification for the UEFA Cup in just 28 months in charge.

Mowbray arrived at Albion, alongside Mark Venus, who could go on to be his long time right hand man. And he inherited a squad full of quality players who were just five points off top spot.

Watching from the stands in the final game before he took over, Mowbray saw Albion dismantle Ipswich Town 5-1, and then his start to life at Albion could not have been any better.

A win against the old rivals Wolves, but not just any win, a thumping 3-0 victory on home soil. It was some way to announce yourself to the supporters.

One of Mowbray's big tasks was turning around Albion's form in the road, which he managed to do. However, a tricky run of results towards the end of the campaign saw Albion fade away in the race for automatic promotion.

However, the season was far from done. Mowbray led Albion into the play-offs and they faced the old rivals once more.

After going ahead, Albion were 2-1 down in the first leg at Molineux, before roaring back to take a famous 3-2 victory to The Hawthorns.

In the return leg Kevin Phillips' header handed Albion a 1-0 victory on the night and they were off to Wembley.

What Albion fans still remember fondly is the play-off semi-final success made it four wins over Wolves in one campaign, after a league victory and an FA Cup win at Molineux.

However, the promotion winning ending never arrived. Despite dominating Derby County, Albion were beaten 1-0 and faced a second straight campaign in the Championship.

A re-build and a title charge

Mowbray's first full season in charge at West Brom presented something of a challenge.

Big offers came in from Premier League clubs for some of their star players. Jason Koumas, who lit up the Championship the previous season, Curtis Davies and Diomansy Kamara were all sold.

Other players such as Paul McShane, Nathan Ellington and Darren Carter were moved on, with Mowbray bringing in 14 new players as he shaped his new look Albion.

That summer saw the arrival of Chris Brunt, who signed for £3m from Sheffield Wednesday, and James Morrison, a £1.5m capture from Middlesbrough.

The two would go on to become club legends at Albion.

Mowbray had assembled his new side and they were ready to attack the Championship - and attack they did.

With a silky midfield made up of the likes of Robert Koren, Jonathan Greening, Zoltan Gera and Felipe Teixeira, Albion's attractive, fast paced, attacking brand of football was earning plaudits from all corners.

And with the likes of Kevin Phillips, Ismael Miller and Roman Bednar in front of them scoring goals for fun, Albion were looking like a force to be reckoned with - and they were.

They remained at the top of the table for the majority of the campaign - with Mowbray then leading them to an FA Cup semi-final for the first time in decades.

Albion went toe to toe with a Portsmouth team stacked with international players - but were undone by a dubious Milan Baros goal.

But back to the league and no one was stopping Albion. A late Chris Brunt equaliser in their final home game of the season against Southampton all but saw them promoted.

That left the title to be secured and it was, as they beat QPR 2-0 at Loftus Road on the final day of the season to earn them a league championship for the first time since 1920.

Unsurprisingly, Mowbray was named Championship manager of the season, and went one better by scooping the League Managers Association manager of the year award.

Premier League bow & departure

Albion were set for their fourth Premier League campaign since the turn of the millennium - and it was Mowbray's first foray into the top flight.

He was backed in the transfer window, bringing in the likes of Borja Valero, Gianni Zuiverloon, Jonas Olsson, Scott Carson and Luke Moore for substantial fees.

And the season got off to a good start, with three wins from their first seven games.

But despite continuing to play their attractive brand of football, Albion would then go two and a half months without winning.

A handful of wins did arrive around Christmas, but despite bringing in a handful of players in January the form dipped again.

From the end of January, they went eleven games without a win and the run virtually condemned them to relegation back to the Championship.

Wins against Sunderland and Wigan came too little, too late - and a 2-0 defeat to Liverpool in the final home game of the campaign saw them go down.

However, Mowbray's reputation remained very much in tact, due to the fact Albion still played an attractive brand of football in their quest for survival.

But ultimately a lack of goal scoring fire power and the ability to put the ball in the net at key moments in games ended up costing Albion.

His stock among the fanbase was evident during that final home game of the season, as fans wore masks with Mowbray's face on them, as rumours circulated that he could soon leave the club.

So it proved. In June, after much speculation and despite Albion wanted to keep their title winning boss, Celtic paid the Baggies £2m in compensation and Mowbray departed for the Scottish giants, who he featured 95 times for as a player.