Cyrille Regis - a tribute

[dave.woodhall]

http://thebirminghampress.com/2018/01/cyrille-regis-1958-2018/

[Toronto Villa]

A really well written article that clearly articulates the sacrifice he made, and others of his generation to help break down those racial barriers and gain acceptance of black footballers and maybe to a lesser extent black men and women within society. Britain isn't cured of racial hatred but the actions of pioneers like Regis who took so much on the chin has weakened its grip. It always makes me think back about my dad, who died a while back and to whom I wasn't particularly close. But he came to England in 1970, a modestly educated Indian man and worked long shifts at British Steel on Bromford Lane. I can't even begin to imagine how toxic that environment, and Birmingham generally for working class people of colour must have been back then.

[olaftab]

Good article and any problem if I share this outside this forum?

[Percy McCarthy]

Beautifully done and worthy of the man.

[JD]

Brilliant article Dave, very well written and a great tribute to a fantastic person.

[RichardBatchelor]

Great article.

[garyshawsknee]

Well done Dave, very fitting article. Trailblazer and a gentleman. For such a great player, how comes he only ended up at Coventry in his prime ?

[Brend'Watkins]

Very good piece.

[Scratchins]

Marvellous read Dave and a fitting tribute to the legend.
I was in Smethwick for the bye-election and remember well the vitriol. I was also pushed in the back at a bus stop in the early 60’s by an old man muttering “don’t let the n*g-n*g on” as I stood back for a black girl. Racism was casual, everywhere and accepted. I saw signs ‘no dogs, no Irish, no blacks’ on property to let.
Black players were said to be lazy and not up for the fight (!) then along came Cyrille and the others and things began to change for the better.
How could you denigrate a bloke knocking in the goals for you?
There is still a way to go but thanks to Cyrille and the others we have hopefully moved away from the common acceptance of racism.

[boozey182]

That's a great article Dave.

[dicedlam]

Great piece Dave.

''He remained grounded, appreciative and had the humility that’s often found in those who have the most to boast about''.

I had the pleasure to meet Cyrille at a re-union dinner held at the Ricoh, marking the anniversary of the Coventry 87 cup win.
What intrigued me the most about him was he was more interested in who you were than talking about himself. Our conversation went very quickly away from football to him asking me questions on who I was, did I have a family, how old were my kids and showing genuine interest in what I did for a living.

Cyrille was one of the most amiable, likable persons that I have ever had the pleasure to meet.

R.I.P. Big Guy.
 

[Percy McCarthy]

Good point about how he made things better for people of every colour, which I had never really thought about before.

[darren woolley]

Very nice article Dave.

[Hookeysmith]

Great piece Dave befitting of the man

I read elsewhere that I cannot think of a player that had played for the 4 biggest midlands clubs and was respected by the supporters all of them - a huge and unique achievement

A beast on the field and a complete Gentleman off it

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Great piece, Dave.

I never knew this:

Years before football became fashionable the New Musical Express put Cyrille Regis on the front cover, a sign that the battle he was fighting was about more than football, and one of the first, tentative, indications that society was beginning to change.

The headline? 'The Human Face of Football'. How right they were.