This always does my head in,i could pick a team now and pick a different one tommorrow,having supported the Albion for so long it's hard to leave anyone out.
From the players i have seen and from a totally biased perspective.
John Osborne,
-as well as being a first class keeper he was also a showman of the highest order and a very witty man.I like to be entertained when i go to the Albion.
Brendan Batson,
-I have seen Don Howe play but can't really remember much enough about him to make a fair comparison.Batson was for a time in my opinion the best right back in the country.
John Wile,
- hard,classy at times and a tremendous leader of the team,the pictures of him in the semi at Highbury sum him up perfectly.
Ally Rob,
-saw him make his debut as a 17 year old against Man U and he played like a veteran.Met his dad a few months before when i went to Dunfermline.
Ally and Wile took no prisoners away from home.
Derek Statham,
- we have been blessed with great fullbacks at Albion,my first number 3 was Graham Williams,great captain and player,hard as nails and won two cups with us.
Ray Wilson who followed him was another superb player and very underated by the media.
We then didn't have a recognised left back for a couple of years,we had odds and sods,Len Cantello even played there.
Enter Derek Statham,another 17 year old,scored a superb solo on his debut and never looked back.The best left back i have seen at the Albion or elsewhere.
Graham Lovett,-
he was talked of as the new Duncan Edwards,skilful,powerful had the lot.No doubt in my mind that but for his accidents he would have become a true great.
Tony Brown,-
no explanation required.
Bobby Hope,-
the powerhouse of the Albion midfield, could put a ball on a sixpence acccording to Shanks,how many non Liverpool players did Shanks compliment?
Clive Clark-,
like fullbacks we have had some great wingmen,Cunningham and Johnston are worthy to grace any side at any level.
But Chippy was the man for me.
Exceptionally fast,could beat 3 players at a time,a great crosser of a ball,and 98 goals from the wing,some with his head.
98 goals,that secures his place alone.
Derek Kevan-,
my first Albion hero and the stuff that legends are made of.Remarkable goalscorer.The legendary TANK.
Jeff Astle-,
those of us who were lucky enough to see him in his pomp will know the rapport he had with the Brummie,i have never seen that before with a player and i doubt i will again.
Kids today whose parents can't remember him still have his name on their shirts.
We have had some great number nines,but when you think of an Albion number 9,only one name springs out at you.
Thats my team and there are lots of great players i have left out that are worthy of a place,but it's all about opinions.
