Classy Cyrille was true hero to so many
AS A CHILD being drawn into football’s web in the late 70s and early 80s, Cyrille Regis was one of THE players I loved to watch.
That goal of the season he scored for West Brom against Norwich at the Hawthorns in 1982 is one that lives long in the memory and highlights everything you want to see in a top-class striker.
Firstly, there’s the control and skill to roll his marker, then the explosive burst of pace to break forward and leave defenders trailing in his wake, and finally a hammer of a shot into the top corner.
Then Regis wheels away to celebrate, arms aloft and with that beaming smile of pure joy on his face. It’s one of those goals that you never tire of watching – it is simply majestic.
Majestic
Thank goodness there were television cameras there that day to capture it – it’s easy to forget in this day and age of wallto-wall television coverage that it wasn’t like that 35 years ago.
Since his sudden death last Sunday at the age of just 59, the football world has paid many tributes to him. For he was not just a top striker, but also a pioneer and role model for black footballers eager to carve out a career in the game.
In fact, the latest edition of our sister publication, Late
Tackle, published just a few days before his untimely passing, carried a feature about the impact of West Brom’s ‘Three Degrees’ – Regis, Laurie Cunningham and Brendon Batson – in the fight against racism in football.
A couple of decades ago, I was a reporter at the Uxbridge
Gazette when a young lad called Jason Roberts started to make his name at Hayes. Later, I found out that he was the nephew of Cyrille, who became his agent and football mentor.
Jason didn’t do too bad either, scoring goals for the likes of West Brom, Wigan and Blackburn in a lengthy career.
In a touching article on the BBC website, Jason talked about how loved Cyrille was at the Hawthorns.
“I learned a lot more about him when I signed for West Brom myself in 2000, for a then club record fee of £2m,” he said.
Icon
“By then, Cyrille was my agent and came down to the unveiling at The Hawthorns, but the fans were more interested in getting his autograph than mine. It made me laugh and was a recognition of how iconic he was at the club.”
It’s said that Cyrille’s move from Hayes to West Brom in May 1977 – an initial £5,000 plus another £5,000 after 20 appearances - paid for new floodlights at Hayes’ Church Road home.
That ground has sadly been built on now (Hayes merged with neighbours Yeading and now play at the latter old’s home) and the floodlights have gone, but Cyrille Regis lit up many people’s lives. He won the FA Cup with Coventry in 1987 and earned five England caps, but his life was about more than trophies and medals. My brother sent me a text message last week following Cyrille’s death. He wrote that ‘Cyrille was one of your heroes as I recall’. I’d never really thought of it like that before, but I realised he was right. Then again, Cyrille Regis was a hero to many – and will never be forgotten.