Pic from left to right: Laurie Cunningham, Brendon Batson and Cyril Regis

It all started when the Baggies employed a relatively unknown young manager (previously at Cambridge United) by the name of Ron Atkinson. (Yes, yes, racist Ron, etc…)

He inherited a team that included youth-team graduate Bryan Robson, as well as Messrs. Cunningham and Regis. After arriving Atkinson went back to his old club and brought in Brendan Batson and thus history was made when West Brom became the first English team to simultaneously fielded three black players.

The English press began to nickname them the Three Degrees (after the group who were big in the charts at that time) and yes they even got a photo opportunity out of it:

Some fantastic football was being played at West Brom and in 1978 they were challenging for the title in the 1st Division and in the UEFA Cup as well – until they were eventually knocked out in the Quarter Finals by Red Star Belgrade. In that same year they became the first British professional team to play in China. Their three-week tour, comprising four matches, was covered by the BBC TV documentary Albion in the Orient.

Many of their fans consider the highlight of the season to have been the famous 5-3 victory away at Manchester United. This was the last time, to date, that an away team scored five goals at Old Trafford. But at the end of the ’78-79 season, after some fixture congestion, it put paid to their league aspirations when they eventually finished third.

- I don’t know if this next bit of music was recorded during or after this particular period in the sun:

[See post to listen to audio] » Ray King – Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh (West Bromwich Albion)

When I searched for more info about: "Ray King" and "singer" it led me to the an early 70′s London based funk/reggae group called: Cymande (pronounced: Sah-mahn-day), so the timeframe fits.

After listening to some tracks below I am 90% sure that he is one in the same… so here are some more examples (who have been referenced and sampled in popular culture) from Cymande:

» Cymande – Bra

» Cymande – Fug

» Cymande – The Message

» Lots more Cymande here
» Tribute site to Cymande

Postscript: Thanks to Erik Hogstrom for the suggestion/request in a previous post.
As you can see I went down a different route (no pun intended.)

A previous (and funny) example of this was with the (possible) KLF involvement with Huddersfield Town when they got some kid to read out the players names. A bad/sad example would be this Chelsea Hell.

Possibly the best example is brought to you via West Bromwich Albion who sang about their 1968 FA Cup Final appearance against Everton – which they won:

Pictured above: Jeff Astle and Bobby Hope hold the FA Cup aloft

Sorry…should have done a spoiler alert then. Some of you might not have known that the Baggies actually won something way back when. Ah well it’s too late now. The winner was scored by another singing footballer – Jeff Astle – three minutes into extra time.

Some facts for you fact fans, taken from the Wikipedia page:

• That goal meant that Astle had scored in every round of that season’s competition.
• The 1968 Cup final was the first final to be televised live in colour.
• Both teams wore away strips, with Everton wearing bright amber shirts and blue shorts, aping Brazil and West Bromwich Albion in white shirts and shorts with red socks.
• The first substitute to be used in an FA Cup final was Dennis Clarke for West Bromwich Albion.

Now you can go and bore people down the pub with that.

The song done to commemorate the occasion was actually recorded after the event – and the best bit – even gave a mention to the players who were injured. Ah it can’t get better than this.

» Roy Edwards and West Bromwich Albion F.C 1968 – Albion Day

…and a repost of Astle singing:

[See post to listen to audio] » Jeff Astle – Sweet Water [See post to listen to audio] » Jeff Astle – You’re In My Arms

Coming up next: 10 years later.

I mentioned in a previous article that Sir Bobby Robson was on borrowed time. That was August last year.

He defied all the odds and continued to fight, but finally as everyone I’m sure now knows…

I loved that man, so easily likable, approachable and friendly. Which I supposed is all the same thing but I don’t care. When you are eulogizing someone you can get away with it.

He is part of history, of all our history.

He is Ipswich, he is Barca, he is PSV, he is Porto, he is Newcastle, he is England. He is football.

As the man himself said he won bugger all as a player, but as a manager he is unsurpassed.

You can pinpoint exactly where everything started to go wrong for Newcastle. It was when they decided to sack him (they were 5th at the time). But it was Fat Freddy and Douglas Hall, who like Mike Ashley, were running the place into the ground.

But this entry isn’t to dwell on that, it is to celebrate his life.

Newcastle made amends for their past mistake by hosting a charity benefit match for the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation, in which members of the 1990 England team took on a Germany team.

It was only last Sunday (July 26th) and the man himself was there (as I said, fighting to the end).
Before the match there was a ceremony to present Sir Bobby with the UEFA Lifetime Achievement Award:

Singing Nessun Dorma above was Tenors Un Limited.

When the sun is setting tonight go out and stand on your balcony or on your doorstep or wherever and remember when…

[See post to listen to audio] » Luciano Pavarotti – Nessun Dorma

(If you were going to ask. Yes I do have one song done about Sir Bobby, but it’s so bad that it should remain unknown.)

Further YouTubery:
- BBC Sports Personality Of The Year: Lifetime Achievement Award
- Eircom Soccer: Eircom International Personality of the Year Interview
- BBC Inside Out: Sir Bobby Robson’s 75th birthday
- ChronicleLive: Sir Bobby Robson’s Night of Knights

Lastly…
Donate to the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation via the Justgiving page.

Update: The F.A has opened an online Book of Condolence.

This season the more interesting end of season finish isn’t the challenge for the title, it’s the one where a team plays so badly and look certain for the drop. But the others come in and say: “No, we are much worse than you…” and then go and prove it.

Apart from though – looking at their performances the last couple of matches – it is the Baggies who are actually putting up a bit of a fight to keep themselves in there.

Just one win for them, a result at home on Saturday against an increasingly disappointing Wigan and they would be only 1 point behind the two North East clubs* above them.

*Those two will be playing each other on Monday (11th May) and you can’t see anything but a dour draw can you.

I’m pulling for West Brom and hoping they can survive because as you know there are two other West Midland teams coming up next season and if they play their cards right (or wrong as the case may be) – it is still possible for West Brom to play themselves out of it and for Sunderland to replace them.

Just imagine it, all the clubs from the North East to go down, to be replaced by the West Midlands…

Actually that’s given me another thought: On his 5 Live show Danny Baker is putting together a Totalitarian League. – I propose another league which teams from a certain area who would get to play in the Premier League for one season and one season only. And this would include all areas, no exception. I know that there’s lots of Prem League clubs gathered in London and in the Lancashire areas, but this would be split up so that three from West Lancs would come in and then three from East Lancs. – With London it would be the same: 3 from West, 3 from East, etc…etc. And it doesn’t matter if they are all Premier League standard – the East London teams would include Leyton Orient, West Ham and Dagenham & Redbridge.

I’ve gone wandering off there… back to the subject in hand and a couple from the Baggie’s legend that was Jeff Astle:

[See post to listen to audio] » Jeff Astle – Sweet Water [See post to listen to audio] » Jeff Astle – You’re In My Arms

[I reserve the right to repost these at a future time as a tribute to the man.]

Sir Bobby admits defeat in battle against cancer

Former England manager Sir Bobby Robson has admitted he will lose his battle with lung cancer ‘sooner rather than later’.

Robson has been battling a fifth bout of the illness and has accepted doctors’ prognosis that he is unlikely to beat it.

Speaking to The Sun, he said: ‘I have accepted what they have told me and I am determined to make the most of what time I have left.

‘I am going to die sooner rather than later. But then everyone has to go some time, and I have enjoyed every minute.

‘I have been fortunate to survive this long. It is thanks to the doctors and their dedication.’

Sir Bobby, who took England to the brink of a World Cup final in Italy in 1990, has enjoyed a football career spanning six decades – from playing days with Fulham and England, to managerial triumphs first with Ipswich and then as national coach at two World Cups, to continental coaching appointments.

He later returned to his native north-east to take over at Newcastle and most recently spent a short time as consultant for the Republic of Ireland.

» Full article

- Here is the legend accepting a Lifetime Achievement Award at the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year last December:

Update: Video removed from YouTube. Can still be watched via the BBC

- TWTD : An independent website for news and views about Ipswich Town has set up a poll and somebody has started a campaign to get the North Stand named after Sir Bobby.

- You can vote in the poll and sign the petition but what would be a more fitting act right now is to donate to the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation via the Justgiving page