Despite being one of the twelve founding members of the English Football League in 1888, West Brom never looked like a team with a consistent league form, but churned out some amazing talents in their cesspool of ambition and success as well as players who have redefined established parameters.
In a rigmarole of ideologies throughout their 143-year rich history, West Brom have defined expectations for a huge part of their initial years. With a number of talented players entertaining the Hawthorns over the years, it’s hard to compile a list which is spot on. But here we go about the onerous, yet the enviable job of listing the 10 greatest West Brom players ever, based on consistency, longevity, success, impact, loyalty and dedication.
10) Cyrille Regis (1977-1984)
Nickname ‘Smokin Joe’ by the press had much more to do with the fact that Cyrille Regis’ build was like that of boxer Joe Fraizer. But as an explosive striker in front of the goal, he was electric during his prolonged career.
Cyrille Regis played professional football for 19 years but the most prolific part of his career was when he played for West Brom from 1977 to 1984. A brace in the debut match against Rotherham United and a goal in his league debut over Middlesbrough was the beginning of 82 career goals which he scored for the Magpies. His long-range powerful strike against Norwich, in 1982, earning him the goal of the season award.
Winning the Young Player of the Year while he played for West Brom in 1979, he went on to represent Coventry City, Aston Villa, Wolverhampton Wanderers, and the Wycombe Wanderers during his ply but never achieved the feat like he did with Albion. With the success he had at Hawthorns he is widely regarded as one of the greatest West Brom players ever.
9) Bryan Robson (1975-1981)
Even though he’s best known for his career with Manchester United where he served as captain during their European Cup win and three FA cup wins. Bryan Robson began his career with West Bromwich Albion and was a standout player even in his early years.
He started as a reserve player and quickly moved up to the senior team experiencing top-flight football for the first time during the 1976–77 season. In 1978–79 Robson was a key player, starting 41 out of 42 league games and wearing the number 7 shirt on each occasion. He played a major part in Albion finishing third in Division One, their highest league placing for more than 20 years, and reaching the UEFA Cup quarter-finals. With close to 200 career games for the magpies, Robson scored 40 times. He moved to Manchester United shortly afterwards.
23 years after his departure as a player, Bryan Robson returned to his old club West Bromwich Albion as a manager in 2004. When Robson took charge at the Hawthorns, they were struggling to keep up in the Premier League and on Christmas Day they were at the bottom of the table. However, Robson and his players defied all the odds to stay up in that season but the following year came to bite him back. West Bromwich Albion were relegated with two matches left to play in 2005–06 season and Robson left the club “by mutual consent” the next year after a disastrous start to the championship. Thus, his life as a manager was a complete contrast to his status as a club hero when he had taken to the field as a player. But he is still counted among top West Bromwich Albion players of all time.
8) John Wile (1970-1983)
An amazing servant for the club with over 600 career appearances, John David Vile arrived first at Hawthorns in December 1970.
Forming an impenetrable centre-half partnership with Ally Robertson during the glorious years of 1970s, Wile captained the baggies to success. He is widely remembered for his sound, composed and uncompromising defending with the incident of blood pouring from a head wound during the 1978 FA Cup semi-final against Ipswich at Highbury is pretty famous. In 2004, he was named as one of West Bromwich Albion’s 16 greatest players, in a poll organised as part of the club’s 125th-anniversary celebrations.
7) Jeff Astle (1964-1974)
“The King” Jeffrey Astle played 361 games for West Bromwich Albion and scored 174 goals in an enduring career of over a decade. A supreme leader of the line and a protege of Tommy Lawton, Jeff Astle signed for West Brom for a fee of £25,000 in 1964. He holds an extraordinary feat of scoring in every round of the FA Cup of 1967-68, along with the only goal of the final. Astle also scored in the 1970 League Cup Final and became the first man to score in both Cup finals.
At the height of Astle’s Albion career, the words “ASTLE IS THE KING ” appeared in large white letters on the brickwork of Primrose Bridge, which carries Cradley Road over a canal in Netherton, in the heart of the Black Country. Troubled by injuries he eventually left for a South African club but he is always remembered for his time at West Midlands.
6) Ray Barlow (1944-1960)
Perhaps Albion’s most gifted ever player, Barlow was a supreme footballer with every attribute in the book, making him the perfect midfielder. Ray Barlow is remembered as a footballing artist who played with Albion in the mid-1950s.
Barlow joined West Bromwich Albion in 1944 and helped them to promotion to the First Division in 1948–49 where the team remained in the top flight for the rest of Barlow’s playing career with the club until 1960. With over 400 career matches for Albion, Ray Barlow was part of the 1954 FA Cup winning team under the management of Vic Buckingham. But sadly one of the greatest West Brom players ever, Barlow was criminally restricted to just one England cap.
5) Jesse Pennington (1903-1922)
Pennington was an elegant defender and played left-back for almost 20 years. He made 455 league appearances for the club and served as captain when West Brom won its League title and brought the club to Division Two success. He returned to Albion as a scout between 1950-1960. After retiring, he was made a life member of the club in 1969, a year before he died in Kidderminster.
4) Ronnie Allen (1950-1961)
Ronnie Allen was perhaps the most complete forward ever to represent the magpies. Allen joined Albion from Port Vale in March 1950 and left for Crystal Palace in May 1961. He played over 400 games scoring more than 200 goals during the time period. He scored twice in the 1954 FA Cup Final win.
The Puskas-like forward helped Albion emulate the inspirational football of the great Hungarian side of the 1950s. Subsequently, he returned to act as scouting advisor from January to May 1977 then as manager from June 1977 to December 1977 before leaving to act as advisor to the Saudi Arabian national team. He returned as manager between July 1981and May 1982 and was general manager thereafter until June 1983, later acting as coach and scout at the club.
3) Billy Bassett (1886-1899)
Billy Bassett was West Brom’s first stand-out player. Debuting as West Brom’s youngest player at that time, aged just 19 in 1886, he went on to represent the baggies for another 13 years. He played until 1899 for West Brom and then became the team’s director and then its chairman.
When Bassett became an Albion director in 1905, the club was in deep financial trouble and had a writ served upon them by their bank, but Bassett and returning chairman Harry Keys rescued the club and steadied the ship. So virtually he is the founder of what we know today as West Bromwich Albion. Serving Albion’s chair until his death Mr. Billy Bassett was a Baggie born and bred.
2) W G Richardson (1929-1945)
William ‘Ginger’ Richardson served the club with distinction for 16 years, scoring 202 in 320 appearances. He was the first to 200 league goals, scoring ten hat-tricks, four goals four times.
Richardson, primarily playing as a centre forward, scored four goals in five minutes for the Baggies against West Ham United at Upton Park on 7 November 1931, a record that is still in Guinness World Records. He scored both of West Brom’s goals when they won the 1931 FA Cup Final, beating Midlands rivals Birmingham 2–1. In the 1935-36 season, he scored 39 goals, which is still the West Brom record for top scorer in the top division of the English football league system. He is undoubtedly one of the greatest West Brom players ever.
1) Tony Brown (1963-1980)
“Bomber” Brown made more appearances and scored more goals for West Brom than any other player. Tony Brown joined West Bromwich Albion as an apprentice professional on 13 April 1961, turning professional on 27 September 1963 and immediately getting the call up to the first team squad the following day. Brown scored 279 goals in 720 competitive games for Albion and still holds the place as the record goalscorer for the club in the League, FA Cup, and European competition.
Described as ‘Mr Albion’ by former boss Ron Atkinson, Brown scored the goal which clinched Albion’s promotion in 1976. In his early years with the team, he helped the team win the 1966 Football League Cup Final and the 1968 FA Cup Final. The team also finished as runners-up in the 1967 and 1970 League Cup. Brown was instrumental in leading Albion to win promotion back to Division One in 1976 after relegation.
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