Samba in the Smethwick End

Twenty years ago, West Bromwich Albion had the most exciting team in English football. At its heart were Laurie Cunningham, Cyrille Regis and Brendon Batson, three players not only spearheading Albion's championship challenge, but simultaneously showing that black Britons had a role to play in our national game. Regis and Cunningham played for England, Cunningham was among the first wave of English footballers to play abroad, smashing more barriers when he signed for Franco's beloved Real Madrid. Though Cunningham's life was tragically cut short, Regis and Batson have continued to break new ground, Regis as a coach, Batson as an administrator with the PFA. Their journey through the national game has been inspirational, illustrating the folly of prejudice at every turn, offering role models for the likes of Ian Wright to emulate. While Regis and Batson have prospered, their sporting home has floundered. From the high watermark of the early 1980s when Albion, Villa, Wolves and Birmingham all occupied the top flight, the subsequent years have seen West Midlands football in turmoil, as Liverpool, London, Manchester and Tyneside have enjoyed success.
How could such a hotbed of the game fall from grace so quickly and for so long? "Samba in the Smethwick End" explores the lives and legacy of the footballing "Three Degrees" and the rise and fall of the region that gave them their fame.