I remember seeing Willie coming out of the Hawthorns one day wearing a long black leather coat, he looked really menacing! Fantastic!
I was on a coach travelling to Filbert Street when I heard Willie Johnston had signed for the most boring Albion Don Howe team (pre Pulis) I had ever witnessed.
Memory I have is (v Bristol Rovers I think) we were winning easily and Willie had tormented a young full back. Late in the game he nut megged the poor lad got to the bye line and crossed it. Rather than look up to see where the ball went he carried on his run, stood on the wall of the Brummie and raised both hands in salute. Box office, pure box office.
Today he'd probably be booked.
Been thinking about this for a time....I have concluded...has to be big Cyril........so naturally powerful...
Chippy was the best, Laurie the most naturally gifted, but for sheer brilliant wingplay and outrageous entertaining it has to be Willie. His acceleration from a standing start is probably still the fastest i have seen.
How many winger's today do you see walk up to a full back with his hands on his hips, knock the ball past and then gone? He had that many ways of beating a player. I once saw him down the Brummie knock the ball on the inside of a fullback run off the pitch behind the goal and come back on to collect his own pass. Many back's became totally embarrassed and tried to chop him, and it became more entertaining then.
Most memorable moment was at Derby in the Cup when we beat them 3-2 at the old Baseball Ground. He had scored a brilliant individual goal and was playing in front of the home fan's who stood on the halfway line who were giving him stick.In response he trapped a forty yard pass with his arse right in front of them.
The bigger the occasion, the more stick, the better he became.
A wonderful entertainer, worth the admission price alone.We won't see his like again, football has become too dull.
He had the devil in him did Willie 😎😆
Talking of crowd interaction.........was anyone at Stoke the night their fan along the sidelines threw the ball in David Speedie’s face when he went to collect it for a throw in and Speedie threw it straight back in his face and got booked😆😆