[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

I'll be honest: my love of football - something which has, at times in my life, felt like the only thing keeping me sane - these days seems to bleed away at a constant rate.  Every time I hear a player say they're just "concentrating on their football" and "playing for the team" after being linked with every club from Manchester to Darfur, and spotted riding into a local strip club on a pissed hippo.  Every time I hear a commentator say "he's won his side a penalty there", as opposed to "he's cheated like an absolute helmet there."  Every time I hear a pundit blame the performance of the England team on foreign players in the Premier League, whilst ignoring the elite clubs whose pointless, predatory and ruinous acquisition of young English talent makes their youth systems look like a footballing equivalent of Fred West's basement.  Every time I see a player wearing gloves on a sunny day and not being immediately and indefinitely imprisoned.  Every time I see a minted ex-player peddling carefully-woven faux-nostalgia on behalf of Barclays (up yours, Alan Shearer) or Sky Sports (up yours, Thierry Henry).  Every time I see Tim Lovejoy doing anything, anywhere, ever.  A thousand papercuts which drain my passion and pride in a sport which once meant more than anything to me.

But this Saturday, for the first time in a long time, Albion are doing something which dresses those wounds and restores a bit of my faith in football.  There'll be no sponsors, no squad numbers and no names on shirts.  There'll be remembrance and celebration of a man who lived and breathed West Bromwich Albion.  There'll be the all-important launch of an organisation to support those who've been permanently scarred by the sport.  And with any luck, there may even be three points to take us towards survival, though I don't doubt that Leicester will be out to scupper that any way they can.

Saturday is a big match and an even bigger occasion.  Saturday is Astle Day.





Whatever happens on the pitch, I'm hoping for a memorable day.  Some might argue that our current crop of players aren't fit to wear the 1968 shirt; perhaps that's true, but we've seen and supported far worse in many of the years between.  Yes, we need a few 1968 performances out there which we didn't see against QPR, but a bit of 1968 support from the stands wouldn't go amiss either.  Let's give it everything we've got, in the name of the King.

Classic Match

West Bromwich Albion 3-0 Leicester City

Football League Championship: 2nd April 2010

Albion take well-deserved revenge on the Foxes for lumbering us with Joe Mattock.  Robert Koren's big Baggies swansong.

[aries22]

Great photo, Ska'd, and one I bought on eBay before the owner took it off, and I copied it for my two nephews and an old school mate. I was standing right behind the line of Astle's shot as it bent left to right and caught Gordon West on the wrong foot. Never forget that day.

[talkSAFT]

Fantastic article, Ska'd, and I'd forgotten all about Joe Mattock...... Good to see Nigel Pearson enjoying the game!

Nostalgically Saturday will be 57 years to the day since my 1st Albion game, when Albion finished the season in a disappointing 4th place (after challenging Wo1ve5 for most of the season).
What a great day that was for me as an 8-y-o..............Oh, and we beat Leicester 6-2 that day! (Bobby Robson hat-trick + 2 from Brian Whitehouse, and 1 from The Tank. Ronnie Allen was my hero, but Ray Barlow was majestic.)

[betterthanbaird]

Brilliant post Ska'd, the pissed hippo part had me in stitches.

Going to this one and hopefully I'll get my first good atmosphere at albion. I think we'll all be up for it and I think the players will too.

Leicester will need a win and will definitely go for it, similar to the QPR game except we will really turn up.

I can't see us losing because it's Jeff Astle day and it'll be good to see the old kit and everything especially for younger fans like me who have no idea.

Hopefully Anichebe for Ideye but I don't know who'll be given the number 9. Gardner out for Yacob and Morrison wide (or play McMan if he's fit) and Dawson will get his place back from Baird.

Side note Villa in the bottom 3 if Qpr beat them today

[drewks]

GREAT post Ska'd - had the goosebumps and laughter in equal measures!

Got my ticket for an all-too-rare visit and REALLY looking forward to the day. I really hope the team can turn up to this one too and give a performance to match the great Albion team of Jeff (he was my first hero!)'s era - well, at LEAST the effort.
I fear that Leicester may be more focused on this game than us, but even if that DOES prove to be the case and we lose, I'm going to enjoy the day and the atmosphere, which I think will be like no other we've experienced for a long time - and rightly so.
Long live The King, and immense credit and sympathy to the whole Astle family

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Going to post a few old Astle pictures and videos on here over the course of the week to help get us in the mood. First up, from 1966, Albion's "999 Squad":

[talkSAFT]

I had that old B'ham Mail photo in my scrapbook: John Kaye, the King, and Ray Crawford (who we'd just bought from Ipswich). Any 1 of those 3 would do nicely on Saturday. (I don't remember Jeff wearing a belt with those shorts!)

I might be a bit of a fossil,
But, I'm just Jeff's greatest Apostle.
I saw most of his goals
From New-castle to Wolves,
Then we'd sing his name loud down The Throstle*.

(* for younger posters The Throstle Club was the Supporters Club that used to be on the East Stand Car Park

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Jeff in action against Coventry City at Highfield Road, Boxing Day 1970.

[betterthanbaird]

 Excellent Ska'd, videos are better than pictures though

[Stairs]

Always a cracking post and this is very special. Lived my childhood wearing the number 9 and pretending to be the great man.