I'm 32, my first game was a 1-1 draw with Hull City in Division 2 in 1989. The next game we attended was a 7-0 win over Barnsley a few weeks later, Goodman scored a hat-trick and Albion was in my blood. I was dragged by my old man from the Rainbow Paddock through the BRE round to the Halfords Lane for the protests following the 4-2 FA Cup defeat to Woking. Tim f'n Buzaglo et al. Relegation, failure to come straight back up, then the fantastic play-off games with Swansea City and Port Vale. Years of mediocrity followed the departure of Ossie, but there were still heroes in stripe. Super Bob Taylor, Alan Miller, Andy Hunt, Kevin Donovan, Craig Shakespeare, Pesch, Richard Sneekes, Hughesy, Killer, Peggy Ashcroft, Enzo Maresca, Larus Sigurdsson. We finished midtable for 7 seasons, then got desperately mired at the bottom in the 99/00 season, Megson came in and after a hectic deadline day kept us up by 3 points, from then on we have gone from strength to strength, but I for one can never forget the darkest days, the club hemorrhaging cash, so close to oblivion. It makes me appreciate these good times all the more.
