Laurie Cunningham
You’re granted one wish by the football genie.
You can pick just one player from Albion’s history to play for 90 minutes at the peak of their powers in the present day Albion team.
90 minutes more of the player who has meant the most to you and who still sends a tingle down your spine when you see old footage.
For me there is only one and I can feel only pity for anyone too young to have seen him play live.........
Willie Johnston 😎
https://youtu.be/5-4ZBCcIB7A
Laurie Cunningham
Chippy Clark was my first memory....I was only a nipper,and couldn't really evaluate his ability or lack of it,but I got a buzz when he was on the ball
84 games and 21 goals for Laurie.
A beautiful player to watch........like thick creamy chocolate being poured on a cake.
I think a lot of people forget he was only with us for two years from 77 to 79.
Effortless skill.
A shame he left us because like far too many players they don’t realise until it’s too late where their natural footballing home is.
Willie realised it.....Rangers and Albion in equal measure.
Same with Daglish.......Celtic and Liverpool.
Bob Taylor got it right and so did Bully though it peeves me to say it seeing as he and his family were Albion fans.
Odemwingie got it massively wrong.
If Laurie had stuck around I’m sure we’d have won the league in 80-81.
In hindsight his move to Spain cost him his life at just 33.
Such a talent and such a sad end.
For me, either the King or the great Bobby Hope. The latter was the classiest player that I have ever seen.
Cyrille Regis
So powerful and strong, unstoppable. Even in the days when you almost had to assault a player to get carded he simply rode the tackles.
Among his many assets was his ability to actually hit the target with most shots. Contrast that with the awful shots on target stats that our lot posted last season. I believe one game less than 20% were on target!
It has to be Jeff Astle.
Bobby Hope - sublime skill. Best passer of a ball I’ve seen wearing the stripes.
Bomber for me, remember him towards the end of his career under Big Ron, would have liked to see him in his early days, was fortunate to meet him at the Swansea away game just before lockdown, spent quite a while chatting to him and got a great pic with him, me and my lad. I do think Laurie was the stand out best player I have ever seen at the Hawthorns and have great memories of him, so sad he was taken so young...