Greatest West Brom Players Ever | Top 10 Baggies Legends
5. Ronnie Allen (1950-1961)
Allen was perhaps the most complete forward to represent the club. The complete footballer. The Puskas-like forward who helped Albion emulate the inspirational football of the great Hungarian side of the 1950s.
Two great feet, played all along the forward line, reinvented the role of the centre-forward by dropping deep, a footballing intellect which won him five England caps. Scored twice in the 1954 FA Cup Final win. A visionary and a true giant of the club. Allen joined Albion from Port Vale in March 1950 and left for Crystal Palace in May 1961.
Subsequently, he returned to act as scouting advisor from January to May 1977 then as manager from June 1977 to December 1977 before leaving to act as advisor to the Saudi Arabian national team. He returned as manager between July 1981and May 1982 and was general manager thereafter until June 1983, later acting as coach and scout at the club.
4. Bryan Robson (1972-1981)
A truly brilliant midfielder, who was perhaps the most celebrated footballer to be associated with the club. Robson could tackle, pass and score goals with ease. Robson got his feet wet in West Bromwich where he was a standout player even in his early years. He started as a reserve player and quickly moved up to the senior team.
Robson experienced top-flight football for the first time during the 1976–77 season, and began to appear more regularly in the side albeit in sporadic positions. His rapid progress was halted however, when he received the first serious injury of his career. Playing at left back, he broke his left leg in a tackle with Tottenham Hotspur striker Chris Jones.
After his return, he went on to enjoy a run in the side and scored his first professional hat-trick, in a 4–0 win against Ipswich Town. Manager Atkinson did leave Robson out of the FA Cup semi-final defeat against Ipswich Town, but recalled him for the latter stages of the league campaign as Albion qualified for the UEFA Cup. In 1978–79 Robson was a key player, starting 41 out of 42 league games and wearing the number 7 shirt on each occasion. He played a major part in Albion finishing third in Division One, their highest league placing for more than 20 years, and reaching the UEFA Cup quarter-finals. He moved to Manchester United shortly afterward.
3. W.G. Richardson (1929-1945)
William ‘Ginger’ Richardson served the club with distinction for 16 years, scoring 202 in 320 appearances. He was the first to 200 league goals (202 in total), scored ten hat-tricks, four goals four times, won one England cap.
Richardson, primarily playing as a centre forward, scored four goals in five minutes for the Baggies against West Ham United at Upton Park on 7 November 1931, a record that is still in Guinness World Records. He scored both of West Brom’s goals when they won the 1931 FA Cup Final, beating Midlands rivals Birmingham 2–1. In the 1935-36 season, he scored 39 goals, which is still the West Brom record for top scorer in the top division of the English football league system.
He is undoubtedly one of the greatest West Brom players ever.
laurie Cunningham hands down