When West Brom announced that they had signed Luke Moore, a striker for Aston Villa, in 2008, it appeared as though they had pulled off a coup.
Moore had advanced through the ranks at Villa Park and made 91 appearances in the first squad, where he recorded two assists and 15 goals.
Moore left Villa Park in January 2008 to sign a loan deal with West Brom, a rival team from the West Midlands that was vying for promotion to the Premier League at the time.
Moore, according to The Mirror, underwent a move in which he joined on loan until the end of the season and then became a permanent member for a sum of £3.5 million.
Following the Baggies’ promotion to the Premier League prior to the 2009–10 campaign, there was a great deal of hope that Moore would succeed immediately in the highest echelon of English football. However, that was not the case at all.
Luke Moore’s time at West Brom was very underwhelming
Moore struggled in front of goal and didn’t score in his 10 league appearances after joining the Baggies on loan in the Championship. This was concerning, but with the club getting promoted, it was expected that he would improve.
That was not the case, though, as Moore made just five Premier League starts, played just 23 games in all competitions, and scored just once as the Baggies were demoted to the Championship after just one season due to injuries and poor play.
The striker’s preseason performances impressed new manager Roberto Di Matteo, who chose to keep Moore at the Hawthorns despite the summer transfer rumors.
Although he had a good start to the new season—getting a brace against Peterborough United on the third weekend—it didn’t endure, as he ended up scoring just four goals in 29 appearances overall.
Moore’s stint at The Hawthorns was obviously failing, as evidenced by the fact that he was let to sign a loan with Derby County following just one early League Cup appearance in the 2010–11 campaign.
That was the last of his Baggies tenure, and he permanently left the team in January 2011 to sign with Swansea City.
He made 65 appearances for West Brom in all, managing just two assists and five goals in an extremely disappointing stint.
Luke Moore’s form slightly improved after leaving West Brom
Luke Moore joined a Swansea side that were building for promotion during the 2010/11 season, and he scored three times to help the club reach the play-offs.
He came off the bench in all three of the play-off games, helping Swansea reach the Premier League for the first time in their history.
With the club in the Premier League, he struggled for playing time, although he did play 20 times in total, making three starts and scoring two goals, including the winner against Manchester City.
| Luke Moore’s senior career – Transfermarkt | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Club | Season(s) | P | G | A |
| Aston Villa | 2003-08 | 91 | 15 | 2 |
| Wycome Wanderers (Loan) | 2003-04 | 6 | 4 | 0 |
| West Brom | 2008-11 | 63 | 5 | 5 |
| Derby County (Loan) | 2010 | 13 | 4 | 1 |
| Swansea City | 2011-13 | 61 | 11 | 8 |
| Elazigspor | 2013-14 | 17 | 0 | 0 |
| Chivas USA | 2014 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Toronto FC | 2014-16 | 46 | 7 | 7 |
During the 2012–13 season, Moore scored five goals in 19 games before departing the team to briefly play for Elazigspor in Turkey before making an attempt to enter the Major League Soccer.
Moore’s football career ended in 2016 after stints with Chivas USA and Toronto. It was a somewhat nomadic conclusion to his professional career.
Moore enjoyed some success at both Aston Villa and Swansea before retiring early at the age of thirty. However, West Brom supporters will always remember Moore as a complete bust.
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