For most West Brom fans, their team’s epic 5-3 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford just over 30 years ago is particularly memorable. For then coach Ron Atkinson, it represented one of the most bizarre half-time team talks he ever delivered.
‘I went in and told them that they didn’t deserve to be losing 3-2 and that there was no reason in the world why we should not grab an equaliser,’ recalled Atkinson. ‘They all just sat there and looked at me like I was mad. Then Tony Brown said: “Boss, it’s 3-3. I have just equalised.” ‘Bomber had just run through and put the ball in at the Stretford End but I had heard a whistle blow. ‘I thought it had been too late. I thought it was half-time already. And there he is staring at me as if I had just lost my marbles. So I just told them: “Fair enough. Then go and get me a winner then”.’
Ron Atkinson
This is proper classic stuff. Marvell at the way Laurie Cunningham ignores the racist booing from the terraces to set up Albion’s first goal, or the hilariously crude manner in which Stewart Houston shamelessly tries to hack him down en route to scoring in the second half. United manager Dave Sexton nominates Steve Coppell as man of the match, although Coppell doesn’t even seem to be playing on the highlights reel. Of the eight goals, at least five are as good as anything the Premier League has offered so far this season.
Atkinson’s Albion had a young Bryan Robson in the centre of midfield and were graced by three incredibly talented black players, Laurie Cunningham, Cyrille Regis and Brendon Batson. It was unheard of at the time for an English team to be so racially mixed. The trio were then nicknamed ‘The Three Degrees’.
‘We arrived at Old Trafford playing great football, I look at the way Arsenal play now and think that’s the way that we used to knock it about. So I wasn’t really surprised to see us playing like that on the day at Old Trafford. We had a very powerful team and could be quite direct when we needed to be. Robbo was beginning to come into his own and Derek Statham was one of the best left-backs I have seen. But players like Laurie and big Cyrille were superb. Laurie was so light and so delicate. He could have run on snow without leaving footprints. We were capable of some smashing stuff and it was certainly one of the most enjoyable spells of my time in the game. My only regret was that we should really have gone on to win the league that year and we didn’t.’
Ron Atkinson
Hindered by an end-of-season fixture pile-up, Albion finished third in the old First Division, United ended ninth, and they reached the last eight of the UEFA Cup. Atkinson would of course move to United as Dave Sexton’s successor two years later, taking the likes of Robson with him. WBA have never reacher the same heights since.
Increasingly middle-aged and increasingly disillusioned by modern football, I want to share with you how good football used to be before it was ruined by money. 
