Pre-season is now largely restricted to a string of friendly games, but in the dim and distant past, there was a fashion for playing tournaments, with a trophy to be won at the end of it.  

One such in the early ‘70s was the Watney Cup. Invitations were sent out to the two top scoring teams in each division, as long as you hadn’t been promoted or qualified for Europe, and the tournament took place over a week.   

The 1971 intake featured the Albion, Manchester United, Carlisle United, Luton Town, Halifax Town, Wrexham, Crewe Alexandra and the Fourth Division Colchester United side that had only recently knocked Don Revie’s mighty Leeds United out of the FA Cup. You can see what’s coming can’t you? 

Albion were under new management in Don Howe, former right-back and club captain of this parish, returning home after coaching Arsenal to the double the previous season. After his new side had won at Wrexham and then Halifax, Howe looked set to get his hands on silverware in his first weeks back at the club, not least because the final was to be played at The Hawthorns on 6 August 1971, and the opponents were Colchester United. 

The game was not the procession that was expected, as you can see from the video highlights here. A see-saw game ended 4-4, Jeff Astle grabbing a late equaliser to send the game to penalties, which Albion lost 4-3 with Len Cantello and Ray Wilson missing from the spot.  

The Colchester captain who lifted the trophy was Bobby Cram, a former Throstle himself and the man who had succeeded Howe in the number 2 shirt when he had left for Arsenal. Cram became Albion’s penalty taker and someone that a young up and comer, Tony Brown, admired. 

“Bob was a smashing lad, great to be around in the dressing room. He was one of the very few who had a car in them days. He had a Vauxhall Cresta from America with the bench seats, an incredible thing it was back in the early ‘60s! He’d give the younger lads like me a lift sometimes, up to Dartmouth Square instead of catching the bus to our digs or whatever, and to get in that car was very impressive back then. A bit glamorous was Bobby, he had these blonde locks and this nice car! He was well liked by all the players, quietly spoken fella, good company. 

“Bobby was the penalty taking king! He was one for blasting them and he had a great success rate. He’d just put the ball down, run up and really belt it and he scored plenty for us like that. When he left, I was fortunate enough to take over from him – if he’d gone earlier, I might have scored another dozen goals! I just followed in his footsteps because he was a tough act to follow, he very rarely missed, and there was no way he was going to give the job up.  

“I remember when Bob went, we had a discussion in the dressing room – who’s going to take the penalties now then? I volunteered because I’d done the job in the reserves and the third team. Early on, in the third team, I placed them, tried to put them in the corner. But you get in the first team in front of 30,000, and I don’t think I had the confidence initially to do that. I just took them the way Bob did, drilled with pace, and that worked for me straight off.” 

Ironically, Bobby missed his penalty in the Watney Cup final shootout while Bomber scored his - but it was Bobby Cram who lifted the cup.