# 1978–79 West Bromwich Albion F.C. season

During the 1978–79 English football season, West Bromwich Albion F.C. competed in the Football League First Division. The club enjoyed their highest league finish since 1953–54 when they were runners-up.

## Season summary

West Bromwich Albion enjoyed one of their finest seasons to date during Ron Atkinson's first season in charge of the Midlanders, finishing in third place – nine points behind champions Liverpool – to qualify for the UEFA Cup. Integral to Albion's success were the "Three Degrees", Brendan Batson, Laurie Cunningham and Cyrille Regis, but Cunningham left at the end of the season to join Spanish side Real Madrid. The season was also memorable for club legend Tony "The Bomber" Brown as the goal he scored in a 2–1 defeat against Leeds United in February was his 209th Football League goal for the club, overtaking Ronnie Allen's club record in the process.
Albion made two big money signings during the course of the season, bringing in David Mills from Middlesbrough in January 1979 for a club record £516,000. Mills however struggled to get into the team and when he left the club for Sheffield Wednesday in 1983 it was for half a million pounds less than Albion had paid for him. Willie Johnston, who had been sent home from the 1978 FIFA World Cup after failing a drug test, left the club for Vancouver Whitecaps on a £100,000 deal.
Albion's form the previous season had meant that they had qualified for the UEFA Cup and it proved a comparatively successful campaign in Europe for the club. Albion reached the quarter-finals, having defeated Galatasaray, Braga and Valencia before losing to Red Star Belgrade. Albion had reached the quarter-finals of the 1968–69 European Cup Winners' Cup but this season represented the first occasion on which they had successfully negotiated three rounds of a European competition in one season.
Cunningham, Regis and Derek Statham were named in the First Division PFA Team of the Year.

## Kit

West Bromwich Albion's kit was manufactured by English company Umbro.

## Squad

| Name | Pos | FL apps | FL goals | FAC apps | FAC goals | FLC apps | FLC goals | UEFA apps | UEFA goals |
| Tony Godden | GK | 42 | 00 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ? | 0 |
| Brendan Batson | DF | 41 | 00 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 0 | ? | 0 |
| Derek Statham | DF | 39 | 01 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ? | 0 |
| John Wile | DF | 42 | 02 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 0 | ? | 0 |
| Ally Robertson | DF | 39 | 00 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ? | 0 |
| Martyn Bennett | DF | 01 | 00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ? | 0 |
| Tony Brown | MF | 31 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ? | 2 |
| Bryan Robson | MF | 41 | 07 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ? | 2 |
| Willie Johnston | MF | 07 | 00 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ? | 0 |
| Len Cantello | MF | 32 | 03 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ? | 0 |
| John Trewick | MF | 21 | 03 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ? | 1 |
| Mick Martin | MF | 01 | 00 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ? | 0 |
| Laurie Cunningham | FW | 40 | 09 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | ? | 3 |
| Cyrille Regis | FW | 39 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 0 | ? | 4 |
| Ally Brown | FW | 41 | 18 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 0 | ? | 1 |
| David Mills | FW | 18 | 03 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kevin Summerfield | FW | 02 | 01 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ? | 0 |
Sources: Key:
* Pos = position in which player generally featured
* GK = goalkeeper
* DF = defender
* MF = midfielder
* FW = Forward
* FL = Football League
* FAC = FA Cup
* FLC = Football League Cup
* UEFA = UEFA Cup
* apps = appearances in competition
* goals = goals scored in competition

## Results
### First Division

| Date | Opponent | Result | Albion Scorers |
| 19 August 1978 | Ipswich Town | 2–1 | A. Brown, T. Brown (23,674) |
| 22 August 1978 | Queens Park Rangers | 1–0 | Howe (own goal) (15,481) |
| 26 August 1978 | Bolton Wanderers | 4–0 | A. Brown 2, Cunningham, Regis (24,095) |
| 2 September 1978 | Nottingham Forest | 0–0 | (28,239) |
| 9 September 1978 | Norwich City | 2–2 | Cunningham, Robson (23,893) |
| 16 September 1978 | Derby County | 2–3 | Regis, Cunningham (23,772) |
| 23 September 1978 | Liverpool | 1–1 | Cunningham (35,864) |
| 30 September 1978 | Chelsea | 3–1 | Regis, Wile, T. Brown (21,022) |
| 7 October 1978 | Tottenham Hotspur | 0–1 | (33,068) |
| 14 October 1978 | Leeds United | 3–1 | T. Brown, Regis 2 (25,931) |
| 21 October 1978 | Coventry City | 7–1 | Cantello, Cunningham 2, Regis 2, T. Brown, Statham (29,409) |
| 28 October 1978 | Manchester City | 2–2 | Regis, Robson (40,521) |
| 4 November 1978 | Birmingham City | 1–0 | Trewick (32,131) |
| 11 November 1978 | Ipswich Town | 1–0 | A. Brown (21,980) |
| 18 November 1978 | Bolton Wanderers | 1–0 | A. Brown (22,278) |
| 25 November 1978 | Aston Villa | 1–1 | T. Brown (36,166) |
| 9 December 1978 | Middlesbrough | 2–0 | Regis, Cantello (19,865) |
| 16 December 1978 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 3–0 | A. Brown 2, T. Brown (29,117) |
| 26 December 1978 | Arsenal | 2–1 | Robson, A. Brown (40,055) |
| 30 December 1978 | Manchester United | 5–3 | T. Brown 2, Cantello, Cunningham, Regis (45,091) |
| 1 January 1979 | Bristol City | 3–1 | A. Brown 2, Wile (35,768) |
| 13 January 1979 | Norwich City | 1–1 | Regis (20,081) |
| 3 February 1979 | Liverpool | 1–2 | A. Brown (52,311) |
| 24 February 1979 | Leeds United | 1–2 | T. Brown (29,846) |
| 3 April 1979 | Coventry City | 3–1 | Robson, A. Brown, Mills (25,676) |
| 14 March 1979 | Chelsea | 1–0 | A. Brown (20,472) |
| 24 March 1979 | Queens Park Rangers | 2–1 | A. Brown, Cunningham (21,063) |
| 26 March 1979 | Derby County | 2–1 | Cunningham, A. Brown (19,801) |
| 4 April 1979 | Manchester City | 4–0 | Trewick, Power (own goal), Mills, Summerfield (22,960) |
| 7 April 1979 | Everton | 1–0 | A. Brown (29,593) |
| 13 April 1979 | Southampton | 1–1 | Regis (22,063) |
| 14 April 1979 | Arsenal | 1–1 | T. Brown (28,539) |
| 17 April 1979 | Bristol City | 0–1 | (30,191) |
| 21 April 1979 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 1–1 | Robson (32,395) |
| 24 April 1979 | Birmingham City | 1–1 | Robson (19,897) |
| 28 April 1979 | Middlesbrough | 1–1 | A. Brown (18,083) |
| 1 May 1979 | Everton | 2–0 | Mills, Robson (30,083) |
| 5 May 1979 | Manchester United | 1–0 | Regis (29,960) |
| 8 May 1979 | Southampton | 1–0 | A. Brown (17,499) |
| 11 May 1979 | Aston Villa | 1–0 | Trewick (36,991) |
| 14 May 1979 | Tottenham Hotspur | 0–1 | (24,789) |
| 18 May 1979 | Nottingham Forest | 0–1 | (30,510) |
source:

### FA Cup

| Date | Round | Opponent | Result | Albion Scorers |
| 9 January 1979 | Third | Coventry City | 2–2 | Cunningham, A. Brown (38,046) |
| 15 January 1979 | Third (replay) | Coventry City | 4–0 | Batson, T. Brown 2, A. Brown (36,175) |
| 26 February 1979 | Fourth | Leeds United | 3–3 | Cunningham, A. Brown, Regis (35,434) |
| 1 March 1979 | Fourth (replay) | Leeds United | 2–0 (AET) | Wile, A. Brown (32,143) |
| 10 March 1979 | Fifth | Southampton | 1–1 | A. Brown (33,789) |
| 12 March 1979 | Fifth (replay) | Southampton | 1–2 (AET) | Cunningham |
(25,755)
Source:

### League Cup

| Date | Round | Opponent | Result | Albion Scorers |
| 29 August 1978 | Second | Leeds United | 0–0 | (25,188) |
| 6 September 1978 | Second (replay) | Leeds United | 0–0 (AET) | (29,316) |
| 2 October 1978 | Second (2nd replay) | Leeds United | 0–1 | (8,164) (Played at Maine Road) |
NB: The second replay was held at the neutral venue of Maine Road.

### UEFA Cup

| Date | Round | Opponent | Result | Albion Scorers |
| 13 September 1978 | First (1st leg) | Galatasaray | 3–1 | Robson, Regis, Cunningham (38,443) |
| 27 September 1978 | First (2nd leg) | Galatasaray | 3–1 | Robson, Cunningham, Trewick (26,380) |
| 18 October 1978 | Second (1st leg) | Braga | 2–0 | Regis 2 (31,283) |
| 1 November 1978 | Second (2nd leg) | Braga | 1–0 | A. Brown (30,086) |
| 22 November 1978 | Third (1st leg) | Valencia | 1–1 | A. Brown (47,746) |
| 6 December 1978 | Third (2nd leg) | Valencia | 2–0 | T Brown 2 (36,118) |
| 7 March 1979 | Quarter final (1st leg) | Red Star Belgrade | 0–1 | (95,300) |
| 21 March 1979 | Quarter final (2nd leg) | Red Star Belgrade | 1–1 | Regis (C. 35,987) |
Source:

### Friendlies

* 21 February: West Bromwich Albion 0–0 Nottingham Forest