ROBERTO Di Matteo handed Carson the honour of being Albion's club captain following the departure of his predecessor Jonathan Greening to Fulham in August 2009.

He was a virtual ever-present last season and finished the campaign in sparkling form to help clinch automatic promotion.

Only an ankle injury denied him the opportunity of being part of Fabio Capello's squad for England's final World Cup qualifier against Belarus in October 2009.

His presence off the pitch was also crucial to the Baggies' success.

The goalkeeper became Albion's seventh summer signing in July 2008 in a £3.25million move from Liverpool.

He put pen to paper on a four-year-deal, plus a further year's option in the club's favour.

His fee could rise to £3.75million depending on performance-related criteria.

He played 35 consecutive Barclays Premier League games for Albion last term - a run that was only halted by a training ground hand injury, which gave Dean Kiely the chance to grab back his place between the sticks in the final three matches.

He earned his third England cap as a half-time substitute in November's 2-1 friendly win over Germany.

Carson started all-but three of Villa's 38 Barclays Premier League games, and kept 11 clean-sheets, while on a season-long loan in 2007/08.

Before he arrived at The Hawthorns he stood second in the all-time list of England Under-21 appearance-makers with 29 to his name and was part of the team that reached the 2007 European Championship semi-finals.

Then-England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson named him in his 2006 World Cup squad and he made two 'B' international appearances for his country before being handed his senior debut in a 1-0 friendly win over Austria in November 2007.

Five days later, with regular No.1 Paul Robinson out of form, he was thrown in at the deep end in a make-or-break Euro 2008 qualifier against Croatia, which England lost 3-2.

The 6ft 3in stopper joined Leeds as a trainee in September 2002 after being spotted playing for non-league Workington in the FA Youth Cup.

He made his Premier League debut for the Elland Road club against Middlesbrough in January 2004.

And, 12 months later, with Albion tracking Carson, Liverpool beat off a host of clubs, including Chelsea, to snap him up in a £750,000 deal.

A month after making his league debut for the Reds against Newcastle in March 2005, he made his Champions League bow in a 2-1 quarter-final, first-leg win over Juventus to help the Merseysiders on their way to winning the cup for the fifth time.

Carson's chances at Anfield have otherwise been limited and a two-month spell at Sheffield Wednesday towards the end of the 2005/06 campaign was swiftly followed by a season-long loan at then-Premier League outfit Charlton.

The Cumbrian-born custodian featured in all-but two of the Addicks' league clashes.

As well as keeping 11 clean sheets, he made penalty saves in consecutive games against Bolton and Chelsea early in the season.

Despite the Valley outfit being relegated, Carson was voted the Supporters' Player of the Year - the first loan player to receive this award.

Before joining the Baggies Carson had made 94 career appearances, including one as a substitute.

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(UPDATED SEPTEMBER 2, 2010)