[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

A solitary figure in a tower block watches Albion play West Ham in the League Cup final from their window; the Boleyn Ground, 9th March 1966

Our last match before a cup-enforced fortnight's break sees us paying our first visit to the Taxpayers Stadium to play Hackney Wick United. Life hasn't been entirely kind to Hackney Wick since they relocated from their former home to a soulless, public-funded monstrosity which is unfit to be used as a football venue. Indeed, you could be forgiven for thinking that the famous gypsy curse of St Andrews has followed Messrs Gold and Sullivan of late, bearing in mind the horrendous stewarding problems at the new stadium which led to multiple incidents of violence inside the ground (though granted, no one could ever have predicted that the club formerly known as West Ham might pose any kind of risk of football hooliganism), along with a run of awful league form in the autumn, two recent hammerings by Man City and the departure of star player Dimitri Payet, who for some unfathomable reason didn't fancy the idea of spending every Saturday running around a glorified Legoland castle which is about as lively as a librarian's grave.

Of course, none of this is in any way hilarious. So stop laughing. No, really: stop it now.

Still, things have picked up a bit for Hackney Wick in the league, and since we very kindly beat Stoke for them last week, they've moved up right behind us into ninth place. Hopefully this will serve to remind our boys that we're still fighting to keep our current position; however, as our usual tradition on visits to East London is to come away with a point, I suspect that may well be the likely outcome here.

Of course, it'd be nice to think there's a chance of bringing back all three, though. You have to get your money's worth somehow, don't you?

[BaggieSteve]

Our last match before a cup-enforced fortnight's break sees us paying our first visit to the Taxpayers Stadium to play Hackney Wick United.  Life hasn't been entirely kind to Hackney Wick since they relocated from their former home to a soulless, public-funded monstrosity which is unfit to be used as a football venue.  Indeed, you could be forgiven for thinking that the famous gypsy curse of St Andrews has followed Messrs Gold and Sullivan of late, bearing in mind the horrendous stewarding problems at the new stadium which led to multiple incidents of violence inside the ground (though granted, no one could ever have predicted that the club formerly known as West Ham might pose any kind of risk of football hooliganism), along with a run of awful league form in the autumn, two recent hammerings by Man City and the departure of star player Dimitri Payet, who for some unfathomable reason didn't fancy the idea of spending every Saturday running around a glorified Legoland castle which is about as lively as a librarian's grave.

Of course, none of this is in any way hilarious.  So stop laughing.  No, really: stop it now.

Still, things have picked up a bit for Hackney Wick in the league, and since we very kindly beat Stoke for them last week, they've moved up right behind us into ninth place.  Hopefully this will serve to remind our boys that we're still fighting to keep our current position; however, as our usual tradition on visits to East London is to come away with a point, I suspect that may well be the likely outcome here.

Of course, it'd be nice to think there's a chance of bringing back all three, though.  You have to get your money's worth somehow, don't you?

That's a great write up, Ska'd

[Beefy 1965]

In - form Caroll may miss WBA game with groin injury

Big help if he does , has fitness test in the morning .

[4evaabaggie]

Not Andy, he is never injured ..... is he

Would have put a whistling emojo but none available.

[BaggieMan]

The spectator leaning out of the tower block window is easy - it's young Aries yet again !

Difficult one is who is No:5 in the Baggies shirt?

Answers on a postcard......

[Beefy 1965]

The spectator leaning out of the tower block window is easy - it's young Aries yet again !

Difficult one is who is No:5 in the Baggies shirt?

Answers on a postcard......    

Well here was the team ........

Ray Potter (GK)
Robert Cram
Ray Fairfax
Doug Fraser
Danny Campbell
Graham Williams
Tony Brown
Jeff Astle
John Kaye
Graham Lovett
Clive Clark Scorers:
Jeff Astle

[BaggieMan]

So Mr Beefy, are we saying Johnny Kaye after he switched from centre forward to centre half?

Wonder who it is flat out on the goal-line....  Aries will know having been there hanging out of the window.



Good team that and I remember them all well except Danny Campbell. Was he a regular? Graham Williams captain ?

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Number 5 is Danny Campbell, who was making his first-team debut that night. I think he was a youth player who made the step up, but he was only ever a back-up defender; made about eight appearances between 1966 and 1968.

---

Further to the above, it seems we sold him to Stockport in 1969, but can't find anything on his career after that. Maybe hung up his boots, though he'd have been young for that as he was still only twenty-five.

---

Oh, and lying on the goal-line that's Graham Williams.

[aries22]

The spectator leaning out of the tower block window is easy - it's young Aries yet again !

Difficult one is who is No:5 in the Baggies shirt?

Answers on a postcard......    

Great photo, Ska'd.
BaggieMan, see the linesman on the left in the picture? See the guy in the crowd, 5th one along to the right of the lino and in the 4th row up - is that you?
Ordinarily, I'd have said the number 5 was Stan Jones (having an evening off from his fish and chip shop), and I have never heard of Danny Campbell. I think Martin Peters is the West Ham number 4 and he has clearly 'ghosted in at the far post' (as the newspapers always seemed to say) and is offside.

[4evaabaggie]

The spectator leaning out of the tower block window is easy - it's young Aries yet again !

Difficult one is who is No:5 in the Baggies shirt?

Answers on a postcard......    

It's Jonas Olsson at the start of his career ..... I knew our defence was old but crikey.