Sport.co.uk meets...Cyrille Regis
Posted by Sport.co.uk on: 08 September 2010 - 13:56
Author: Jonny Abrams
Cyrille Regis is the poster boy for Midlands football, having played for all of West Bromwich Albion, Coventry City, Aston Villa and Wolverhampton Wanderers in a career which all started with him becoming one of British football’s first black icons as a part of Ron Atkinson’s exciting young Baggies side of the late seventies and early eighties. A member of the Coventry side which famously defeated Spurs in the 1987 FA Cup final, Regis is to this day afforded legend status by those denizens of Hawthorns and Highfield Road (ok, the Ricoh Arena) who used to admire the bustling centre-forward play of his finest years, during which time he was awarded five England caps.
On the eve of the release of his autobiography Cyrille Regis: My Story – the autobiography of the first black icon of English football, which tracks his migration from the French Caribbean to a racially divided West London in the 1960s through to his post-retirement work in the community – detailing, of course, his eventful and highly noteworthy playing career along the way – Sport.co.uk caught up with the great man to natter about his former clubs, reminisce about some of his greatest triumphs and discuss the cultural significance of his rise to prominence…
What do you think of the squad that Roberto Di Matteo’s put together at West Brom?
He’s done a good job. I think they know their parameters financially, in terms of what they can bring in, and I think that’s the only way forwards, looking at the state of Portsmouth and other football clubs who’ve been relegated. Jeremy Peace has run the club very, very well financially and he knows where they stand, but they’ve got a good-looking squad there so hopefully they can gel together and consolidate themselves in the Premier League.
Do you think they’ve got enough up front beyond Marc-Antoine Fortune?
Well, they’ve bought the Russian lad Peter Odemwingie, they’ve got Simon Cox, they’ve got Roman Bednar and Ishmael Miller, so they probably feel they’ve got enough firepower. Personally, though, scoring goals is the money end of the business so you think, “What if they could go out and get a top drawer striker for five, six or seven million pounds?”, but it all comes round to the finances and I’m sure they’re happy with what they’ve got.
What do you remember about the famous 5-3 win at Old Trafford?
I’ve got it on tape and, wherever I go in the country now, everybody says they remember that game. I would say that was the signature game for the Albion side of the late seventies – we had a very good side with a lot of flair, a lot of young players, and we were a great side to watch. That game epitomised what we were at the time.
What do you think about the likely signing of Marlon King for Coventry City?
He’s paid his dues, he’s done his sentence and he’s free to carry on working like anybody else. He’s not going to be costing a lot of money and Aidy Boothroyd got the best out of him at Watford, so they know each other, and he’s a big, strong player. If he’s free and he’s still got the desire and appetite to play football, then why not? There’s going to be some flak coming from fans but footballers are quite resilient, strong characters and, as long as you do it on the pitch, people will slowly forget your misdemeanours.
Do you think Chris Coleman was harshly treated? And what do you think of Boothroyd as his replacement?
It’s all about results. Towards the back end of last year, Chris did fantastically to get the side up to 8th or 9th place and you thought, ok, they’re solidifying. But, all of a sudden, Coventry plummeted and ended up towards the bottom of the league and sadly he lost the job. Aidy Boothroyd took Watford up so he’s got experience of success and he’s strengthened the squad with some good players – buy only time will tell.
How did you celebrate winning the 1987 FA Cup final against Tottenham? It must have been quite a relief after losing all those semi-finals at West Brom!
We went back to the Brand’s hotel in Coventry with the staff, directors and wives and girlfriends and we were breaking open bottles of champagne until five or six in the morning. A truly memorable night!
Do you think Gerard Houllier’s the right appointment for Aston Villa?
I think he’s the best out there. I think they gave themselves a criteria of experience and someone who’s been in the Premier League, and Gerard Houllier’s had great experience at Liverpool and in France. He’s a great ambassador for football. He’s about and he’s still got the appetite. Villa’s a very big club with big expectation levels and very passionate fans, so I’d like to see him get Kevin MacDonald in his staff as he knows the place and the people there. If he does that then I think he could do a very good job. He’s got the pedigree, he’s got a good football brain and he’s got the experience so, with a few younger guys underneath him, perhaps it could work.
Should Villa fans have retuned their expectations for this season by now, given the departures of Martin O’Neill and James Milner?
You’ve still got to be very ambitious. Perhaps they need some time to bed in the new manager and new ideas, but they’ve got a fantastic squad of players. I remember, when I was there, Ron Atkinson sold David Platt and bought some good quality players – sadly, the transfer window closing hasn’t helped Villa’s cause in terms of getting other players in but they’ve got into the top 6 for the last few years and this squad is well capable of doing that again.
What do you think of the job Mick McCarthy’s doing at Wolves?
Mick McCarthy’s done an excellent job. He’s had limited resources and has really hand-picked the players that he wants, like Kevin Doyle, who did a fantastic job last year as the fulcrum and spearhead of the side – he works very, very hard. Mick’s straightforward, knows his football and he’s had success as a manager. I hope that Wolves, West Brom, Blues, Villa and Coventry can all be back together in the Premier League because, back in the mid eighties when we were all up there, there was a great atmosphere in the Midlands and we want that back again.
Generally, how were you treated by each new Midlands club you joined? Did many people resent you for having played for rival teams?
No, not at all. I was very well treated at all four of the Midlands clubs I played for. They were warm and appreciative and I class myself as an adopted Midlander. I’ve been there for thirty-five years and the fans have been absolutely superb. They’re salt-of-the-earth people who value good players who give their all, and they work very hard for the money to come and watch you play, so if you give one hundred per cent and show passion and a drive to play football then they’ll back you all the way.
Are you still in touch with Ron Atkinson?
Yes I am.
At the risk of you having covered this subject at length in your book, what did you make of his well-publicised ‘gaffe’ several years ago?
Well, I’ve known Ron for nearly thirty years and I’ve never heard him use that word. He’s still a very good friend of mine and I think he’s at pains to analyse why it was that he said that. But I’ve seen him work with black players and I know what he’s like – I said in my book that his relationship with Dalian Atkinson was like a father and son relationship. He’d be at pains to explain why he said that and he’s paid a very heavy price. But, for me, it’s about forgiveness and he has said sorry. He’s a good friend of mine and I don’t think he’s a racist.
Back in your West Brom days, was being considered among the first black icons of British football a source of pride for you, Laurie Cunningham and Brendon Batson, or were you more dismayed by the context behind such a big issue being made of it?
Well - considering that black people had been in this country since the fifties and had been having all sorts of problems in terms of settling in and adjusting to society – for it to still be there years and years later, albeit in a different way, was very sad, yes. But the likes of myself, Laurie Cunningham, Brendon Batson, Garth Crooks and Bob Hazell , we helped break all those stereotypical views of black players, that they were fancy dans who couldn’t play in the cold weather and had no courage. So it was great to be part of that movement and, if you look at the Premier League now, [black players] are valued and judged only on their playing ability.
Did you think much about the socio-political aspects of your prominence at the time or did you just focus on playing football?
(Laughs) I was 19 or 20 years-old, so I wasn’t that au fait with socio-political views – I was just trying to concentrate on staying in the team. Other strikes want your place, so that’s your main focus. The default setting for young, black players who saw us playing football was: “If they can do it, I can do it.” Therefore we became role models and pioneers so, from that point of view, it was great to be a source of motivation for people to think they could play at the highest level.
Racism is still all-too-rife on the continent, as we saw with Lokomotiv Moscow fans’ banner regarding Peter Odemwingie. Do you think things like that should be considered when a country bids to host a World Cup, as Russia are for 2018?
I would think so but, like most things, you’ve got to take it in context. I think FIFA would [take it into account] if it’s widespread and not just a very small minority in a couple of football clubs, but it’s still something that should be eradicated. I don’t think as human beings that we’ll ever eradicate it but, if it’s just at a couple of football clubs rather than widespread and endemic, then I don’t think it should be a major factor [in considering a nation’s World Cup bid].
Finally, what do you think about all the stick Fabio Capello has been getting from our nation’s media?
Well, everyone that’s been England manager has come under pressure. It’s about results so, if you don’t get results, the pressure comes. The way we just bombed at the World Cup was very sad after we showed so much promise in the qualifiers and, over the five or six games during and leading up to the World Cup, he didn’t really rectify the problem so people were thinking, well, you’re the manager, it’s your job to find what the problems are and rectify them, and he didn’t do so. He’s kept his job so I think we’ve just got to go on and back him but the media are going to question every aspect of his management now. He’s been there before, in terms of managing top football clubs, and footballers and managers are by nature strong characters so I’m sure he’ll deal with it in his own way. But he has to get results.
'Cyrille Regis: My Story - the autobiography of the first black icon of English football' is available from Thursday 9th September for £18.99.
The book features a foreword by England goalkeeper David James and is published by Andre Deutsch.