West Brom squad of the century: The strikers

But with so many top stars having graced The Hawthorns – who would make the ultimate Baggies squad from those who have played for the club over the past two decades?

With the country in lockdown – and with fans looking for their football fix – we asked Albion supporters to put together a dream team of players who have performed from January 1, 2000, onwards.

In keeping with a World Cup format, there were just two rules.

The first was that they had to name three goalkeepers, while the second was that the squad had to be balanced with every position covered in the event of an injury or suspension.

A fantastic 82 supporters spent time mulling over their heroes to whittle down their squads to just 23 names.

The results have been revealed in the Express & Star throughout this week. Today, in the final segment, we divulge which strikers made the cut.

STRIKERS

Football is all about sticking the ball in the back of the net.

And this squad certainly isn’t going to be short of goals with three strikers receiving more than 70 votes while the fourth spot is taken up by a genuine Baggies legend.

KEVIN PHILLIPS

It is Super Kevin Phillips who can now lay claim to being Albion’s best striker of the 21st century after receiving a whopping 74 votes in this poll.

Snapped from Villa for a bargain £700,000, his first season at The Hawthorns saw him fire the Baggies into the play-offs where he went on to net a brace against Wolves.

Incredibly, though, that was just a taster of things to come.

In the 2007/2008 campaign, Phillips scored 24 goals from 30 starts to ensure Albion were promoted as champions.

And that form saw his crowned Championship Player of the Year as well as Albion’s Player of the Year.

PETER ODEMWINGIE

Finishing just one vote behind Phillips – and partnering him up top in this team – is Peter Odemwinge after he received 73 nominations.

In his first season at the club, the Nigerian netted on his debut, became the first Albion player to score in four consecutive Premier League games and bagged 15 league goals.

Thanks to his blistering pace and eye for a goal, Odemwinge continued to find the target regularly over the next two seasons before his relationship with the club deteriorated and there was that infamous failed move to QPR.

ROMELU LUKAKU

Romelu Lukaku completes the trio of strikers to top 70 votes in this survey with the Belgian named in 72 of the squads submitted.

Now one of the world’s most famous hitmen, Lukaku joined Albion on loan from Chelsea in 2012.

That year he netted 17 Premier Leagues – ironically more than any of the strikers at Stamford Bridge. He also scored a perfect hat-trick in a 5-5 draw with Manchester United.

BOB TAYLOR

Completing the quartet of forwards is the great Bob Taylor – a player whose name is sung at The Hawthorns every week.

Albion’s eighth highest goalscorer of all time, Taylor scored a staggering 96 times in 238 games for the Baggies between 1992 and 1998.

But he is eligible for this squad – and received 27 votes – after returning to the club in 2000 and once again making a huge impact.

It was Gary Megson who sanctioned a £90,000 move to bring Taylor back to the club with the Baggies in the thick of a relegation battle.

The striker then fired his team to Division One survival by netting five goals in eight games.

And in 2002, the striker completed a fairytale script by scoring the goal that fired Albion into the Premier League.

BEST OF THE REST

In total, 17 different forwards received a nomination to be included in the squad of the century.

Had five strikers been selected, Dwight Gayle would have made the cut having amassed 20 votes.

Salomon Rondon (15 votes), Shane Long (12 votes) and Jay Rodriguez were the other players to hit double figures.

Diomansy Kamara, Saido Berahino and Nwankwo Kanu received eight, seven and five votes respectively.

Lee Hughes was named in four of the squads submitted while Jason Roberts made it into three.

Nicolas Anelka, Roman Bednar, Geoff Horsfield and Ishmael Miller all received a single nomination.