Just one player survived Gary Megson’s first game in charge of Albion to go on and feature in the promotion-winning victory over Crystal Palace a little over two years later.
Megson took the Baggies from Division One relegation fodder to the Premier League in 25 months, the rebuild beginning somewhat inevitably, with a 1-0 win at Stockport County in March 2000.
The then-Albion boss tore his inherited team to pieces in the first summer of this millennium, culling players left, right and centre, in an effort to transform the fortunes of a club that had endured a 16-year absence from the top-flight.