DECEMBER 1978: MANCHESTER UNITED 3 WEST BROMWICH ALBION 5

If your television is to be believed, football in England didn’t actually begin until 1992 with the birth of the Premier League.  And the greatest top flight English match of all time? Well that would have to be Liverpool 4 Newcastle 3 in 1996.......apparently.

We, like you, know full well that football was magnificent before 1992 and while that particular match might take some beating as a spectacle, this one certainly runs it close.

In 1978 the political and cultural landscape of the UK was very different to that of today.  Weekly bouts of football violence was often inevitable and racism was an equally prominent feature at all levels of the game.

There is a huge amount of work still to do in tackling racism in England, but that progress has been made at all can be attributed to a select group of trailblazing pioneers. 

Cyrille Regis was not the first black footballer to play in England, but his impact was huge and few could argue that he laid a path for others to follow.  Joining West Brom from Hayes as a raw but explosive 19 year old striker, Regis debuted for West Brom against Middlesbrough in September 1977.  Running from the halfway line and scoring a sublime goal, described by Boro’s David Mills as “sheer brilliance”, a fitting entrance.

Regis’ arrival at the Hawthorns coincided with the dawn of one of the most entertaining era’s in Baggies history and the match we feature today, a 5-3 win for West Brom at Old Trafford, is considered by many to be this team’s finest performance.

This wasn’t a one sided affair either; Manchester United certainly played their part and some magnificent goals are scored, starting with a wonderfully executed volley by  Brian Greenhoff.  The personal duel between Regis and United keeper Gary Bailey is pretty special too, Regis ultimately triumphing with the final goal of the game.

As good as the football is though, the booing of Laurie Cunningham for no other reason than the colour of his skin is a reminder of just what black players had to endure, and Ron Atkinson’s ‘coloured’ comment at the end of the game a further example of how bad things were.

Cyrille Regis is 54 and IBWM salutes a truly exceptional player.

Click the image to watch.