Cyrille Regis

Cyrille Regis (9 February 1958 – 14 January 2018) was a professional footballer who played as a forward.

His professional playing career spanned 19 years, where he made 614 league appearances and scored 158 league goals, most prolifically at West Bromwich Albion and Coventry City.

Born in French Guiana, Regis also won five caps with the England national team.

Regis was born on 9 February 1958 in Maripasoula, French Guiana, the son of Robert Regis, a labourer from Saint Lucia and Mathilde Regis, a seamstress.

His father moved to England in 1962, with the rest of the family, including Cyrille, following a year later.

Cyrille grew up in Harlesden, located in the Borough of Brent, and attended Cardinal Hinsley Maths & Computing College.

At primary school, Regis said that he was a much better cricketer than footballer.

"I was an outdoor child. So I just wanted to play cricket outside, and I played much more cricket back then because football was just another sport I did without any real passion."

After leaving school, Regis trained as an electrician, earning a City and Guilds diploma; he continued to practise the trade until his move into professional football.

The 1975–76 season saw Regis move to Athenian League club Molesey, for whom he scored around 25 goals during his one campaign for the club.

He was then approached by Boreham Wood, but did not join them.

Instead, he went on to join semi-professional Hayes of the Isthmian League, signing on 7 July 1976.

Regis was spotted by West Bromwich Albion's chief scout Ronnie Allen, who recommended that the First Division club should sign him.

With the Albion directors unsure of paying a four-figure fee for such a young, unproven player, Allen offered to fund any initial payment from his own pocket, so sure was he that Regis would make it in the top tier of English football.

The transfer took place in May 1977, for an up-front fee of £5,000, plus another £5,000 after 20 appearances.

Shortly after bringing Regis to Albion, Allen took over as team manager, following the resignation of his predecessor Johnny Giles.

Regis made his first team debut in a League Cup match against Rotherham United on 31 August 1977, scoring twice in a 4–0 win.

Three days later, Regis made his league debut in a 2–1 victory over Middlesbrough.

Again he found the net, taking the ball from the halfway line to the penalty area before scoring with a right-foot drive.

Middlesbrough's David Mills, who later became a teammate of Regis at Albion, described it as "a goal of sheer brilliance".

Regis also scored in his first FA Cup match in January 1978, helping Albion to beat Blackpool 4–1.

A few days later, Albion appointed a new manager, Ron Atkinson.

Ronnie Allen had departed in late December to manage the Saudi Arabia national team and John Wile, the club's captain, had acted as caretaker manager in the interim.

Whilst a West Bromwich Albion player, he played in a benefit match for Len Cantello, that saw a team of white players play against a team of black players.

In 1984, Regis joined Coventry City for a fee of £250,000.

Regis won the Coventry City London Supporters' Club Player of the Year for the 1986–87 season, and regularly comes in high in any legend polls for the club.

With Coventry, Regis won the only major trophy in his career, the 1987 FA Cup.

Johan Cruyff wanted to sign Regis for Ajax as a replacement for AC Milan-bound Marco van Basten, but he accused his own club's directors of delaying the deal until Regis' FA Cup exploits took him out of the Dutch club's price range.

Regis later became the first Coventry player to score a winning goal at Anfield, in their first ever league victory there, a 1–0 win over Liverpool in November 1989.

This came a season after he had also scored in City's first ever top flight victory, a 2–1 win over Aston Villa at Highfield Road.

Before the 1991–92 season, Regis joined Aston Villa on a free transfer, reuniting him with his former manager at West Brom, Ron Atkinson.

He was one of six Villa players who made their debut for the club on the opening day of the season, scoring in a 3–2 win away to Sheffield Wednesday.

Regis made over 40 appearances in his first season for Villa, and finished as the club's leading league goalscorer, joint with Dwight Yorke.

Following the end of 1992–93, Regis moved to West Midlands rivals, Wolverhampton Wanderers.

His stay with Wolves only lasted for one season, during which time he made 22 appearances, scoring twice.

Regis joined Wycombe Wanderers in August 1994.

Forming a striking partnership with Simon Garner, he scored ten goals in his only season at the Buckinghamshire club.

Regis ended his professional career by playing in the Third Division with Chester City.

He scored seven times in 29 league appearances, helping Chester finish 8th, before retiring due to injury in October 1996.

Regis' dual French and British nationality made him eligible to play for either the English or French national sides, but it was England that he chose to represent.