INTRODUCTION

The following account of Cyrille Regis' playing career - and a bit more - over a period of 25 years, does not pretend to be a biography in the fullest sense of the word. This book is more of a statistical record of one of the greatest strikers of his era - and he was certainly a wonderful marksman, moreso of course with his first club, West Bromwich Albion and his second, Coventry City with whom he won an FA Cup medal in 1987.

Signed by Albion in 1977, he made a sensational start to his professional career by scoring on his debut for the Baggies and immediately he became a hero with The Hawthorns' supporters. I was one of them who quickly became a fan of the 'Big Fella.'

Over the course of time I saw Cyrille score some superb goals - with both feet and his head - and his powerhouse style, especially in the late 1970s and early eighties, was a sight to behold - and there were quite a few defenders, good ones at that, who always struggled to control and master 'Smokin Joe.'

I have aimed to feature in this book everything about Cyrille's appearances and goalscoring feats in the professional game, and there are details too of his non-League exploits before he entered the bigtime with Albion 25 years ago.

With the help of one or two of his former colleagues and friends, journalists, managers and others, the life and times of Cyrille Regis, master goalscorer, a great charachter, a quiet, unassuming gentleman, are contained in this book.

Enjoy reading about the footballing life of Cyrille Regis. I, along with thousands of other soccer supporters, certainly enjoyed watching him in action, for club and indeed country. And this book is a tribute to what he achieved in the game - and realistically he hasn't finished yet!

Tony Matthews