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When Sir Trevor Brooking and Keith Robson met up a few days ago their memories drifted back to the thrilling encounter against Eintracht Frankfurt, one of West Ham United’s greatest European triumphs.
On a famous evening when it never stopped raining, Brooking glided over the boggy surface to score twice, and Robson rifled home the other as West Ham overturned a 2-1 deficit from the first leg to win 4-3 on aggregate and reach the 1976 Cup Winners’ Cup final.
So many fans flocked to Upton Park that the gates were locked two hours before kick-off, when the surrounding roads were jammed, with a sea of people preventing the West German side’s coach from making its way to the stadium. Running out of time, Eintracht changed into their kit on the coach and arrived with about 30 minutes to go to encounter the most raucous of atmospheres.
Billy Bonds, the West Ham captain, has recalled how he knew his side would win when he looked over at his opposite number as the players lined up in the tunnel and saw how intimidated he was by the thunderous roar that awaited them.
“I don’t think the German lads wanted to play,” Robson recalls. “It must have been frightening for them playing at a tight stadium. The crowd never stopped singing, we dominated and could have scored four before half-time.”
West Ham moved to the London Stadium in 2016 but Eintracht can expect a fervid atmosphere when they arrive for the first leg of their Europa League semi-final tie on Thursday.
Robson, now 68 and living in Norwich, played 14 matches for Newcastle United before joining West Ham for £60,000 in 1974. The forward, who became affectionately known by his team-mates as “mad Robbo”, scored four times in the European run, in which they defeated Reipas Lahti, the part-timers from Finland, and Ararat Yerevan, of the Soviet Union. The trip to what is now Armenia was complicated by all their food, including prawn cocktails, for the trip being pinched by staff when in transit at Moscow airport.
They recovered from 4-0 down at half-time in the first leg of the quarter-final away to Den Haag to lose 4-2 before beating the Dutch side 3-1 to progress on away goals.
In the first leg of the semi-final in West Germany, Brooking tapped the ball across for the late Graham Paddon to strike from 30 yards but Eintracht came back twice to take a slender lead to east London.
Eintracht, though, were hampered by losing Günter Wienhold in goal for the two-legged tie, with the gloves going to Peter Kunter. The 34-year-old had hardly played and spent time in the sauna and gym trying to get into shape. To make matters worse, Kunter wore contact lenses and, according to one team-mate, that made it harder for him to deal with the conditions in the second leg, something he denied.
After a goalless first half, Brooking stole the show. He headed in Frank Lampard’s cross for the opening goal and then released Robson, who was clean through on goal when the ball became stuck in the mud. The winger performed a pirouette to get the ball onto his left foot and drilled it into the top corner. The crowd went crazy and, with 12 minutes remaining, Brooking ran on to a through-ball and made light of the sluggish pitch by cutting inside and curling the ball past Kunter.
They survived a late onslaught despite conceding a goal and Brooking celebrated by sipping champagne in the dressing room. “Ron Greenwood, the general manager, and John Lyall, the manager, were fairly confident we would lift the cup,” he says. “Billy Jennings and I went out to celebrate. The other lads were married and went home.”
When Robson moved from the North East to London he had not long lost his father, Thomas, and briefly boarded with Lyall and his wife, Yvonne, who also persuaded him to return home after matches to prevent homesickness. “The lads used to rip me in training calling me ‘John’s boy, manager’s boy’,” he says. “John was a nice person. Trevor was a top lad but he used to take the piss out of my accent and put on a voice and say, ‘Can you speak properly down here?’ I was a totally different player to what they had, I would attack defenders.”
Pat Holland took one of several early chances West Ham had in the final against Anderlecht at the Heysel Stadium before Lampard’s wayward back-pass allowed Rob Rensenbrink to equalise. Robson’s near-post header made it 2-2 in the 68th minute but Anderlecht went on to win 4-2.
“We were so disappointed, we had to get out somewhere and went to a club,” Robson says. “We should have won.”
It was an eventful season for Robson. His goal against Coventry City moved West Ham to the top of the First Division in November but he had to wait until the Eintracht game for his next goal. During that barren spell he was sent off for punching George Burley in a 2-1 defeat by Ipswich Town. “After he kicked me a few times, I said, ‘Next time you do that I will knock your teeth out’ — and I did,” he says.
After his playing career, he worked as a machinist and in the baggage department at Norwich airport. He was on duty on the day in 2012 when Arsène Wenger’s Arsenal took a
14-minute flight from Luton to play Norwich City, losing 1-0. “Wenger was moaning about not wanting to go through security,” he says. “I said, ‘If you don’t, you might as well go back. Where have you come from?’ He said, ‘Luton.’ I swore. ‘F***ing Luton — are you having a laugh?’ ”
Robson’s runners-up medal has been gathering dust in a drawer. “I don’t remember the last time I took it out and if you came to my home, you wouldn’t think I played football. I’ve more pictures of my labrador.
“I’m pleased I had the honour to play for West Ham.”
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