Cyrille Regis
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| Cyrille Regis | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Cyrille Regis | |
| Date of birth | 9 February 1958 | |
| Place of birth | Maripasoula, French Guiana | |
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | |
| Playing position | Striker | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Retired | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1977–1984 1984–1991 1991–1993 1993–1994 1994–1995 1995–1996 |
West Bromwich Albion Coventry City Aston Villa Wolverhampton Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers Chester City Total |
237 (82) 238 (47) 52 (12) 19 (2) 35 (9) 29 (7) 610 (159) |
| National team | ||
| 1982–1987 | England | 5 (0) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Cyrille Regis (born 9 February 1958) is an English former footballer.
Contents |
[edit] Career
Born in Maripasoula, French Guyana and moving to England in his youth, Regis started work as an electrician, playing for amateur team Hayes in his spare time. Spotted by Ronnie Allen, he joined First Division club West Bromwich Albion in 1977 where, under manager Johnny Giles, he teamed up with another black player, Laurie Cunningham, and the following year (under Ron Atkinson) with Brendon Batson.
It was very unusual for an English club to simultaneously field three black players. The Three Degrees, as they became known, in reference to a contemporary vocal trio of the same name, allowed a generation of footballers to enter the game who may previously have been excluded by their race.
A strong and fast traditional centre-forward, Regis was voted PFA Young Player of the Year in 1978 and went on to win five England caps. He earned the Goal of the Season award in 1981–82, for his powerful long-range shot against Norwich City in the FA Cup. Regis was also an FA Cup winner in 1987 with Coventry City, where he 'scored' a fine header before it was disallowed. His final international appearance for England was in 1987 against Turkey at Wembley, which ended in an 8–0 win for the home side, where he came on for the last 20 minutes.
After leaving Coventry in 1991, he was transferred to their arch-rivals Aston Villa and partnered Dalian Atkinson in the 1991–92 season. But in 1992-93 season, his first team chances were limited following the arrival of Dean Saunders, and after Villa finished the first Premier League season in second place, he was transferred to Wolverhampton Wanderers. His spell at the Molineux brought little success, as his first-team opportunities restricted by the excellent form of strikers Steve Bull and David Kelly.
After just one season at Wolves, he signed for Wycombe Wanderers in Division Two.
After one season with The Chairboys, he was on the move again, this time to Chester City. After again striking up an excellent rapport with the fans of his latest club, Regis played his last game in February 1996 in a 2–1 win at Doncaster Rovers, aged 38. He announced his retirement from playing in October 1996, after failing to recover fully from an injury sustained in his final senior game for Chester.
His professional playing career spanned 19 years, where he made an impressive 610 league appearances and scored 159 league goals.
[edit] Off the pitch
Regis became a Christian after a car crash claimed the life of his friend and former team mate Laurie Cunningham in 1989. He and Cunningham had been involved in a similar crash two years earlier.[1]
Since retiring from playing, Regis has worked in a variety of coaching roles before becoming an accredited football agent with The Stellar Group Ltd. Cyrille is uncle of footballer Jason Roberts, for whom he has acted as an agent, and cousin of sprinter John Regis.
In 2004 Regis was voted as West Bromwich Albion's all time Cult Hero in a BBC Sport poll, gaining 65% of the vote.[2] In the same year he was named as one of West Bromwich Albion's 16 greatest players, in a poll organised as part of the club's 125th anniversary celebrations.[3]
Regis and his wife Julia visited water-related projects in Ethiopia in 2007, as part of their continued support for WaterAid.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ Boyden, Malcolm. "Death of a Real pioneer", TimesOnline, 2003-08-09. Retrieved on 2008-01-19.
- ^ West Brom's cult heroes. BBC Sport (2004-11-16). Retrieved on 2007-10-28.
- ^ "The wraps come off 125th anniversary mural", West Bromwich Albion F.C., 2004-08-04. Retrieved on 2008-04-17.
- ^ "Cyrille Regis Daily Diary", Kumani Homes, 2007-10-03. Retrieved on 2008-06-09.
[edit] Bibliography
- Matthews, T (2002) Smokin' Joe: Cyrille Regis - 25 Years in Football ISBN 1-904103-09-X
- Bowler, D & Bains, J (2000) Samba in the Smethwick End: Regis, Cunningham, Batson and the Football Revolution ISBN 1-84018-188-5
[edit] External links
- Official website
- Englandstats.com profile
- Cyrille Regis in the Hayes F.C. Hall of Fame
- Cyrille Regis in the A-Z of Hayes F.C. 1909-
- Cyrille Regis in West Bromwich Albion 125th anniversary greatest XVI
- Entry at The Black Presence in Britain site
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Tony Woodcock |
PFA Young Player of the Year 1979 |
Succeeded by Glenn Hoddle |
| Sporting positions | ||
| Preceded by Denis Smith |
West Bromwich Albion manager Jul-Aug 1999 (caretaker, with John Gorman) |
Succeeded by Brian Little |
| Preceded by Brian Little |
West Bromwich Albion F.C. manager Mar 2000 (caretaker, with Allan Evans) |
Succeeded by Gary Megson |
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Regis, Cyrille |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Footballer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 9, 1958 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Maripasoula, French Guiana |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
