The story of Nicolas Anelka and the gesture that rocked West Brom

It saw a manager, who had guided Albion to a record eighth placed finish in the previous season sacked, and replaced with a relatively unknown Spanish boss who struggled with the language barrier.

They escaped relegation from the Premier League by the skin of their teeth - and were again left looking for another new chief at the end of the season.

Throw into that condemnation from the Jewish community and the French Government regarding a gesture made by their star striker, and it made for a pretty ugly campaign.

In the summer of 2013, Albion were probably in the best place they had been in the modern era.

Steve Clarke had worked wonders and Albion had managed to finish in the top eight of the Premier League for the first time in their history.

That summer he would go on to strengthen Albion with a handful of signings - including one Nicolas Anelka.

Anelka may have been 34, but he had something to give to a side who were still in top flight terms, relative minnows.

Clarke hoped Anelka could lead the line and potentially produce some of the magic a young Romelu Lukaku had displayed in the previous campaign.

It never happened.

By early December, Clarke had been axed. A fourth straight defeat and just seven wins from 34 games in the calendar year led to Albion dismissing the Scot.

They were two points off the bottom four and in a bit of a muddle. However, things were about to get a whole lot worse.

After Clarke's sacking, Keith Downing was placed in temporary charge until Pepe Mel arrived in early January.

But before a permanent head coach was appointed, Downing had to deal with a controversy that not only rocked Albion and English football - but one that spread across the channel.

Up until December, Anelka's impact at Albion was modest at best.

He had failed to score in seven games - until he netted a brace in a thrilling 3-3 draw away at West Ham on December 28.

But the quality of his display and goals were overshadowed by his celebration that dragged Albion and the striker into an anti-Semitism row.

After one of his goals, the striker performed the quenelle gesture, which is described as an 'inverted Nazi salute'.