With significant investment in the team including the likes of Rob Hulse and, eventually, Artim Sakiri, much was expected of the Baggies as the season kicked off at Walsall. Indeed, Albion were amongst the promotion favourites, but nobody told the Saddlers! After dominating much of the first half, it turned into the Paul Merson Show as Walsall ran away with it. But we always lose the first game of the season these days!!

Rob Hulse opened his Baggies account with a brace in midweek as, being back in Division One, Albion had to compete in the first round of the League Cup. Brentford were duly dispatched 4-0 even though they made hard work of it until Lee Hughes came on to replace Dichio with 20 minutes left. The following Saturday, the Sky cameras were at the Hawthorns for the first time in a 5.35pm kick off. Sakiri marked his introduction to English football with a screamer to cancel out Blake's early goal - it turned out to be his only goal in what was a disappointing season for the Macedonian. But the real joy for Baggies fans was saved for the last three minutes. Hulse had grabbed his third goal in two games to give Albion the lead just after half time, but the Ninja came on as a sub once more and scored his first league goal since he came home more twelve months previously with a twenty yard volley. Two minutes later, he added a second to give the scoreline a flattering look.

There were memories of 2001-02 for the rest of the month as Albion ground out a series of three 1-0 wins that took the Baggies to the top of the table. Two more goals for Hughes and another for Hulse grabbed the nine points, but it was new signing Thomas Gaardsoe that was really starting to impress at the back. With Big Dave still recovering from injury, it was good to see the Dane settling in alongside another new signing in Joost Volmer. The other new player that was performing well was James O'Connor with a series of tigerish displays in the middle of the park - talk about flattering to deceive.

So, after a seemingly disastrous start, the end of month report was very satisfactory with Albion sitting on top of the table with 12 points from 15, a point clear of Reading.

After finishing August with a first league win in Derby for 84 years, Albion finally broke their 19 year hoodoo that Ipswich had held over the Baggies with a 4-1 win. Again, the scoreline flattered the Baggies but there was a very encouraging performance from another new signing, Bernt Haas, as he was beginning to look like a useful right wing back.

Although Albion were sitting proudly on top of the table, the performances were nothing to write home about. However, with so many new players, Albion were very much the Chelsea of Division One and it would obviously take a while for the new players to gel together properly, wouldn't it?

The first real test of the season came in the midweek trip to Wigan. The Latics were two points behind the Baggies before the game. It was a tight game and a certain Geoff Horsfield grabbed the winner for the home side, and they went top with Albion dropping down to fourth. Four days later, there were more question marks as Albion failed to win again. Alassane N'Dour made the first of only two league starts (the second wouldn't be until February), and in an impressive performance he set up the opener for Hulse. Palace equalised but when Koumas fired in a sublime free-kick in the last minute, the points seemed to be on their way up the M1 but the prolific Andy Johnson (obviously not Albion's AJ who is anything but prolific) equalised in the fifth minute of injury time.

Albion got back to winning ways at Hartlepool in a tough second round cup tie as they came from behind for the second time this season - it was to become a recurring theme. Clement scored his only free kick of the season to equalise after Dobie had been the victim of a professional foul that saw United reduced to ten men. It was an early example of a Megson substitution changing a game - both Dobie and Clement had come off the bench.

The home game against Stoke proved to be costly. Three points were secured, but the bizarre sendings off for AJ and City's Eustace not only spoiled the game as a spectacle, but the resulting suspension for AJ coincided with an alarming dip in form the following month. The following game against Millwall was rare for one reason - it was Albion's best first half performance of the season. Albion put in many superb second half displays but for some reason, they never seemed to get going in the first 45 all season - the Millwall game was the exception as Albion played some terrific football and took a well deserved 2-0 lead. Unfortunately, they managed to concede just before the break and the second half proved to be a nervous affair. One other thing to note from the Millwall match was an excellent performance from one Sekou Berthe who came on for Koumas after just ten minutes - he looked like a promising signing but he made only two further appearances.

So at the end of September, Albion still had a 100% home record and sat in a satisfactory second place, one point behind Sheffield United and a point ahead of Wigan

Albion made it four wins on the trot and moved back to the top of the table with a comfortable 2-0 win at Gillingham in October's first match - the defeat at Wigan seemed like a blip. But they faced another real test when second-placed Sheffield United visited the Hawthorns ten days later. It was the first of three home games in a week that, if the 100% record could be maintained, would see Albion really take a grip of Division One.

It was not to be as AJ's suspension kicked in and boy how they missed him. It proved to be Berthe's last game in an Albion shirt when he was culpable for the first Blades goal, although personally he was otherwise fairly solid. But the Baggies never really got going and were shell-shocked after United went 2-0 in the first half. Albion's performances under real pressure were becoming a concern as their two biggest games so far had ended in defeat. Albion dropped out of the automatic promotion places, but it proved to be the last time this season.

A wonder goal from Koumas grabbed three points against champions-to-be Norwich masking another below par performance, although it did see a promising debut from the latest new signing, Paul Robinson. Bottom side Wimbledon visited the Hawthorns three days later. The Milton Keynes-bound team brought about 30 fans to the Hawthorns after they had lost 6-0 at Forest the previous weekend, and the 22,000 Albion fans (an excellent crowd in the circumstances) were expecting a repeat performance. Albion battered Wimbledon but failed to score somehow and McAnuff grabbed a late winner - it was slightly unfair in comparison with the rest of Wimbledon's season as they still had many of their better players at that point, but it was definitely a real low point.

But October finished on a high as a Rob Hulse brace helped Albion to an easy win at Rotherham to regain top spot before the Baggies travelled to St James's Park, Newcastle for a third round league cup tie. Robson left Shearer out of the starting line-up and failed to bring him on even as Newcastle failed to dispose of the Baggies in 90 minutes. It was a fantastic rearguard action from Albion, maybe more desperate than the one in the next visit to the North East, but the result was the same. After an Ameobi own-goal and a Laurent Robert equaliser sent the game into extra-time, Shearer finally came off the bench 8 minutes later. But three minutes after that, Albion's own substitute, Lee Hughes, grabbed a winner after good work from Gaardsoe and Clement, and the Baggies had themselves another famous victory.

October had proved to be a mixed month, but it ended with Albion a point clear of Wigan at the top of Division One, and the fans looking forward to a fourth round Carling Cup tie with Manchester United.

Albion remained unbeaten throughout November, but there were signs of disquiet from certain sections of the fan base as Albion failed to score in either of their two home games. Sunderland could consider themselves unfortunate not to leave the Hawthorns with all three points, and the Sky TV punters were treated to another nil-nil draw when another top six side, Reading, visited a fortnight later. But the game in between was anything but goalless.

Saturday 8th November 2003 will live long in the memory of any Albion fan who was present at Upton Park. I remember sitting slumped in my seat after twenty minutes after seeing some utterly abject defending hand West Ham a 3-0 lead. There was no inkling of what was to come and I was wondering whether this team was capable of promotion - the next seventy minutes left me in no doubt that they were. Rob Hulse nicked a goal back when David James and Christian Dailly had a communication problem, but hope was really reborn when he crashed in a thunderous shot from 25 yards fifteen minutes later. When Defoe received his marching orders on the stroke of half-time, I felt there would be only one winner. Unbelievable as it was, the second half had a feeling on inevitability about it - Albion were well on top but it took twenty minutes for them to grab the equaliser. Once they did, thanks to Deane's own goal, it seemed only a matter of time, and many Hammers fans thought the same as they streamed from the stadium. When a deflected shot from Hughes found the net with 13 minutes left, the exodus from the home fans was as staggering as the comeback, as the Baggies fans went wild. It is certainly one of my favourite Albion memories of all time.

The 13th November was a sad day for Albion fans as Michael Appleton finally lost his battle against a knee injury and officially retired. I was privileged enough to see him play in an Albion shirt many times, and it is a crying shame that I will never get to see that again.

A point at Cardiff in the next away game was encouraging, and Albion signed off the month with an impressive 3-0 away win at Forest, thanks to a remarkable display from Jason Koumas. Unfortunately, it would be some time before he reached those heights again. The biggest cheer, however, was reserved for Darren Moore as he came on as a late sub in his first appearance since suffering a knee injury in the clash with Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink in April.

An eventful month ended on another sad note when Lee Hughes was involved in a fatal car accident. He left the scene of the accident and was eventually charged with dangerous driving, something that remained hanging over him for the rest of the season.

Despite the frustrating home performances, Albion were on top of the table at the end of November, a point clear of Norwich with a game in hand.

At the end of December, Albion fans looked back on it as a disappointing month, but it started with such promise. It may have been a second string Man Utd side that visited the Hawthorns, but it still contained Ronaldo and Forlan alongside a World Cup winner in Kleberson. In all honesty, an excellent Albion performance saw them comfortably beat the champions, and they could also afford to miss a penalty - a second Premiership scalp put the Baggies in the quarter-finals to face Arsenal.

West Ham came to the Hawthorns next looking for revenge and Albion were a little fortunate in the manner of the equaliser, an own goal from Mullins, but a draw was a fair result. A late winner grabbed the points at Valley Parade, but it proved to be the last win of the year. The frustration started against Crewe the following Saturday when the visitors twice took the lead before Gregan managed somehow to deflect the ball into the corner of the net to snatch a point. Albion were unlucky to go out in the next round of the Carling Cup as a young Arsenal side won 2-0, but an uninspiring performance in the next match at Highfield Road saw Coventry grab the points with a late goal. What was more frustrating was the 45 minutes it took to find the car afterwards! However, that game did see the debut of the most important mid-season signing, Geoff Horsfield - although I never guessed it at the time.

After opening his Albion account by scoring against his old club in September, Gaardsoe got the first of his important late goals on Boxing Day when he rescued a below par Albion with an equaliser against Derby. And there was more frustration a few days later when the Sky punters were treated to another goalless draw as Albion failed to breakdown Wimbledon in Milton Keynes - it was a dire game but an injury to Gregan saw Darren Moore get his first start of the season. He played in all but two of the remaining games.

Albion went into the New Year in poor form and, having been four points clear at the top after the win at Bradford, they were now five points behind Norwich but still in second place.

With no league schedule on New Year's Day, the first game of 2004 was a return to Forest, this time in the FA Cup. Forest were without a win for some time and a repeat of the 3-0 win in November was expected. Although Albion were the better side, Forest nicked it by a single goal. However, there were positive signs in that Megson had finally chanced a 4-4-2 formation for the first time since that 4-1 defeat at Barnsley in the third game of his first full season, with Clement sitting in front of the back four. I thought it worked well given the players had never tried it before, but the diamond-like formation was not seen too often in the rest of the season. That game also saw the first appearance of the season for Lloyd Dyer, who was to make a significant impact in the run in.

The first home game of the year had somehow developed into a must-win game in the eyes of many supporters, despite the healthy league position - I was one of them as I felt we needed to halt a slide in form. Thankfully we did, although if Walsall had taken one of the excellent chances they had early on when Merson was allowed to run riot, it could've been a very different game, and perhaps a different season. The only negative was an injury to Koumas, whose free kick had opened the scoring, although his recent poor form could have led to him being dropped anyway. The second goal was the first in an Albion shirt for Geoff Horsfield as he started to show what he was capable of, and Dyer had a significant role in the goal as he made an impressive impact from the bench.

With no more FA Cup ties, Albion had only two more games in January, both of which produced satisfactory results. A creditable 1-1 draw at Turf Moor was followed with a comfortable 3-1 win against Watford thanks to an excellent second half display - something that became a feature of the remainder of the season. The Horse was instrumental in the turnaround in form as he scored another three goals to add to his first against Walsall. The Watford game also saw a debut for another two new signings, Irish international Mark Kinsella and forward Delroy Facey.

So as we moved in February, Albion had reduced the gap to Norwich to two points, and were five ahead of Sheffield United in third.

February started and ended with defeats, but there were two vital wins against play-off hopefuls in between. The game at Preston was apparently one of the worst performances of the season, although I didn't witness it. Gregan's performance against his old club was so poor as to cause Megson to drop his skipper for the next game - it was a move that perhaps should've been made a month earlier, and one that certainly had the desired effect when he returned to the staring line up a different player.

The news that Russell Hoult was to have an epidural to try to ease a back problem came as a big shock - thankfully, it worked and he missed only two games rather than the nine months it could've been. He was a notable absentee as Murphy failed to command the area in quite the same way, but Albion did win both games with him between the sticks.

The first was another crucial game against Cardiff that saw a rare headed goal from Clement. When the visitors equalised with eleven minutes left, Albion rolled up their sleeves and showed the mettle that would see them through to promotion - it was fitting that Hughes got the winner after all the abuse that the Cardiff fans had meted out. Once again, Dyer came on as a substitute and had a hand in the decisive goal - his reputation was growing.

Danny Dichio burnt his bridges with Megson and most Albion fans by criticising the atmosphere in the dressing room saying he didn't understand how Albion continued to get results - Megson's comeback was perfect - "That says it all, he doesn't understand."

The next win at Bramall Lane was even more satisfying. In the first return to the ground since the infamous "Battle" two years previously, Albion played well but fell behind. As against Cardiff, they showed true grit and determination and goals from Big Dave and Gaardsoe secured the points. But it was a surprising tactical move by Megson that made the difference - he replaced N'Dour and Kinsella with Volmer and Gregan switching back to a 3-5-2 and it changed the game. It proved to be N'Dour's last game for the club, and Volmer made just one more as a sub in the next game.

With the fans upbeat once more, they looked forward to the home game against struggling Rotherham. The postponement of Norwich's game at Sunderland meant that Albion could draw level on points with the leaders with a win, but they turned in an inexplicably poor performance and lost to a 73rd minute goal.

The month end saw Albion still three points behind Norwich having played a game more but still three clear of Wigan in third. Eyes were also on Sunderland who, although in tenth place, had three games in hand thanks to a cup run and a poor winter in the North East and could draw level with Wigan if they won them all.

The unbeaten run that ultimately won promotion for the Baggies started with a top-of-the-table clash at Carrow Road. Sky TV may have been disappointed with Megson's approach to the game, but it was a stroke of tactical genius to bring back the transfer-listed James Chambers to do a man-marking job on Huckerby. He may have been fortunate to get away with that challenge, and Albion may have done little in the way of attacking, but Megson decided a point at the home of the league leaders would be a good result, and he succeeded in nullifying Norwich as an attacking force.

The last Albion goal of the season at the Smethwick end gave Albion a half time lead they just about deserved against Coventry in the next match; two more in the second half gave the Baggies a comfortable win. Dyer made yet another impressive substitute appearance but it was new boy Facey that made the third goal for Kinsella. Back on TV at Crewe, Albion had to come from behind once again to secure the points and Dyer was instrumental once again - his cross set up AJ for the equaliser and his throw to Horsfield set up Hughes for a very cheeky winner.

Coming from behind was becoming a habit and they had to do it again in a crucial mid-week game against Wigan. Coming into the game, the Latics were nine points behind with a game in hand, so it was a real six pointer. Paul Jewell's team were set for a battle and were far more physical than Albion, lucky to have only five players booked and one sent off. The Albion players managed to refrain from the disgraceful tactics that some of the visitors were employing and not a single Baggie was booked. Even so, a dubious penalty with 17 minutes left gifted Wigan the lead in a game which looked as if one goal would win in. Thankfully, it didn't. Five minutes later, Hughes was brought down for the game's second spot kick, which he converted himself, before the Gaard himself grabbed another one of those vital goals in injury time, with Dyer involved once again - it was a big, big moment.

One big game was followed quickly by another as Crystal Palace visited the Hawthorns in the midst of a fantastic run that was to carry them into the play-offs. For the first time this season, Megson dropped Jason Koumas whose performances had been below par of late. Albion played well and were the better side but left it late to grab the points. It was not until Megson changed things around replacing the impressive Sakiri and Kinsella with Dyer and Koumas - once again, it made the difference. It was great to see Big Dave get his first Hawthorns goal of the season meeting an exquisite Koumas corner, before Dyer secured the points with his first senior goal with four minutes left. It was a great moment and it was obvious that the whole team was delighted that the youngster had scored - even Sakiri, who Dyer had replaced, sprinted down the touchline to congratulate him. No team spirit, eh Danny?

Promotion was in touching distance at the end of March. Back level on points with Norwich having played the same number of games, Sunderland were the only real threat eight points behind with a game in hand. Both Norwich and Albion were still to visit the Stadium of Light.

Another Sky game to start the month, but this time it was real entertainment. Albion played poorly in the first forty-five and deservedly went in a goal down. Koumas had started on the bench again, but Megson changed things around at half time. Koumas came on along with Murphy after Hoult's back appeared to be troubling him once again. The Welshman changed the game - Albion were by far the better side from the first whistle of the second half, but they couldn't make the breakthrough. Dyer came on and within a few minutes, a Koumas free kick and Lloyd's second goal of the season had put the Baggies ahead. There was still time for Ipswich to equalise, but Albion showed their never-say-die attitude once again, and the Horse grabbed a 94th minute winner.

With two tough away games coming up, three points against Gillingham on Easter Saturday were vital. Sunderland and Norwich had both won on Good Friday to put the pressure on, and Albion made heavy weather of it, but yet again it was substitute Dyer who set up the goal with a shot that was forced in on the line by Hughes. In a tough match on Easter Monday, Megson must have gone ballistic when Dichio was allowed to give Millwall the lead. Koumas got himself sent off thanks to some ill-advised challenges and some professionalism from Dennis Wise, but Albion managed to get back on level terms before Gaardsoe was dismissed in that bizarre incident late on - thankfully, the red card was rescinded allowing Tommy to play in his tribute at Reading.

And so we moved to the biggest game of the season. A point would be good enough against Sunderland and Megson got it absolutely right tactically. He started with a defensive line-up but an attacking bench just in case things went wrong. They did go wrong within half an hour but not in a way Megson had planned - he was forced to make an attacking substitution when Big Dave was injured; Koumas replaced him. But Clement was on the field to drop into the back three and the balance of the side was maintained with JK doing a great job in closing down in the middle. Tactically, it could not have worked better - the players did everything that was asked of them and more. The winner was the moment of the season and the moment that really clinched promotion.

Sunderland fell to pieces losing 3-0 at Palace and, in an early kick-off before Albion's game against Bradford, they drew 0-0 at Wigan to finally confirm Albion's return to the Premiership. The players' huddle when the final whistle went at the JJB was poignant and showed how much it meant. It was then a fantastic party atmosphere during the game, and maybe it would've been better if the season had ended there.

The hoards of Vikings at the Madejski Stadium was a site to behold even if the game was not. And then the season petered out as it was obvious that the Championship was not high on Megson's list. I'm not as angry as I was at the time, as I've had time to reflect and I'm now looking forward to the Premiership, but I'm still annoyed particularly at the performance at Stoke. But they tried harder against a very good Forest side, and there was a good atmosphere afterwards.

But all in all, what a season!! That ten match unbeaten run was, in my eyes, a greater achievement than the run that got us promoted two years ago. In those ten games, six were against teams that were going for either automatic promotion or the play-offs, and the pressure to succeed was immense.

All we've got to do now is stay up!!

Come on you Baggies!