Shane Long:
Albion signed Long from Reading in August 2011 for a fee potentially rising to £6.5 million after he completed a 25 goal season in the Championship prior to become Albion’s record transfer signing.
He started his Albion campaign with a bang with 2 goals in 2 against Man Utd and Chelsea. He went on to score 8 goals in his first season as a Baggie, becoming a fans’ favourite in the process as a result of his non-stop running for the team. Shane started the second season how he finished the first, helping The Baggies to 7 points from their first 3 games against Liverpool, Tottenham and Everton; winning two penalties in the 3-0 win against Liverpool and scoring in the win vs Everton. Long continued to please The Hawthorns faithful by scoring 11 goals in all competitions as Albion finished the season in 8th; their highest ever Premier League finish.
Long was on the verge of moving to Hull on deadline day in August 2013 before Clarke pulled the plug on the deal, in the final hour of the window. Shane continued with The Baggies to score 3 goals in 17 appearances (most of them as a sub) before completing a £7 million move to Hull in the January transfer window after rejecting 2 contract offers and only having 6 months left on his current deal. Long’s performances over the years pleased The Baggies fans but the revelation of his contract rejections left fans bitter on how he left.
Paul McShane:
The Irishman joined Albion along with Luke Steele as part of a deal that sent ‘Keeper Tomasz Kuszczak in the other direction to Old Trafford after relegation to The Championship for the 2006/07 campaign. Mcshane played just one campaign for The Baggies, scoring 3 times in 42 appearances before being transferred to Sunderland for £1.5million.
McShane was signed by The Tigers after one season for The Black Cats, on loan for the first season, being recalled after 6 months to finish the campaign at Sunderland. McShane was later signed by Hull and has spent 5 good seasons there since joining on a permanent deal, despite being loaned out to Barnsley and Crystal Palace during that spell. He has played 111 times for Hull, scoring 4 times.
Curtis Davies:
The Hull Vice-Captain made 73 appearances in 2 full seasons as an Albion player in, both, The Premier League and The Championship. He left under controversial circumstances by resigning the captaincy, after being Albion’s youngest ever captain, and handing in a transfer request. Davies didn’t help his cause when he signed for bitter rivals Aston Villa, initially on loan, but later moved for a record received amount, an initial £8million.
Davies endured a little over 3 seasons for Villa before moving to Midlands rivals Birmingham City after making 12 appearances on loan at Leicester. The centre-back made 106 appearances for Blues, scoring 12 goals in the process, before making the switch to Hull at the start of the season for £2.25 million. He has been ever-present for The Tigers this year, making 29 appearances so far, scoring 4 goals. He has also captained the team throughout in the absence of Robert Koren from the starting line-up.
CAPTAIN KOREN
We’ve got the best midfield in the world; Morrison, Gera, Brunt and Teixeira, Robert Koren and Jonooo.
The Slovenian captain started his career with Slovenian side Dravograd, after graduating from their youth side, before being transferred to Celji after making 129 appearances for Dravograd. He went on to score 22 times in 78 appearances for Celji until he attracted the interest of Norwegian side Lillestrøm in 2004.
Robert soon became regarded one of the best players in the Tippeligaen at the time due to his attacking presence. He spent 3 years at Lillestrøm, scoring 19 goals in 75 appearances for the club, before making his switch to West Brom in 2007. He scored his first goal for Albion in the 7-0 home win on the final day of the 2006/07 season at home to Barnsley to secure a 4th placed finish. Sadly, despite beating bitter rivals Wolves in the semi-finals, Albion failed at the final hurdle to the hands of Derby and were left to fight it out in The Championship for another season.
Koren was an important part in his first full season at the Hawthorns, being described by Tony Mowbray as a ‘model pro’. Albion won the league and finished on 81 points to be promoted to The Premier League. Sadly, however, Albion did not succeed in The Premier League and finished bottom of the league; The Baggies accumulated just 32 points, despite being praised for their style of football.
The Slovenian was, again, a big part of Albion’s campaign under new manager Robert Di Matteo as they got promoted straight back to The Premier League. Despite his good performances and his status as a fans’ favourite at The Hawthorns, Koren’s contract was not extended and he joined Hull on a free transfer.
Robert cemented another fans’ favourite status at The KC Stadium after scoring a series of spectacular goals for The Tigers and he was soon given the responsibility of club captain. Koren has been a big part of the first-team at Hull throughout his 4 years there. In his time with the club, he has achieved promotion to the Premier League, helped Hull get to Wembley in The F.A Cup and has scored 28 goals in 140 appearances for Hull.
For, both, Albion and Hull, Koren has been a true professional and we wish him every success in his future
endeavours, as long as it's not against us!