The 1980′s marked the last time an Albion player made the England team and the last time the Baggies won at Stoke, explains Steve Madeley.

Whether it’s Bullseye or leg warmers, the 80s are back in fashion.

Albion are hoping for their own early-80s revival this week to lift the mood of a difficult season. Yet Scott Carson could kick things off in Berlin, by becoming the club’s first England international since 1984.

More vitally for Tony Mowbray and Co, they will look to end a 26-year wait for a victory at Stoke when Premier League action returns on Saturday.

For one week only Albion will look to turn back the clock in a hunt for success. All eyes at the Hawthorns will turn to Germany, where Carson can start the process of rewriting the Baggies record books.

The last time an Albion player turned out for England, Cagney and Lacey, TJ Hooker and Leslie Crowther’s The Price Is Right were batting for primetime TV supremacy.

It was 2 June 1984, as Steve Hunt faced the USSR as a substitute at Wembley, President Ronald Reagan was facing anti-nuclear protesters on a visit to Ireland and the miners’ strike was rumbling on.

John McEnroe was ruffling feathers at Roland Garros, England’s batsmen were being peppered by Holding, Garner and Marshall and Margaret Thatcher was welcoming South African premier PW Botha to Chequers, as Hunt stepped off the substitutes’ bench to replace John Barnes in a 2-0 defeat.

A new four-bedroom home was available in Ironbridge and the Express & Star was advertising a visit to Villa Park by evangelist Billy Graham. The Baggies could not have imagined then that it would take more than 24 years for their next England cap to come along.

If the signals from Berlin about experimentation from Fabio Capello are to be believed, the wait will end with Carson taking part in the friendly against the Germans.

The appearance would mark the latest significant step in Mowbray’s quest to establish the Baggies back in the big time, although the manager insists the occasion would be all about Carson.

Mowbray said: “It doesn’t even register as a personal thing. The club is still a long way from where I want to take it. It’s about Scott Carson and he made his England breakthrough elsewhere.

“I assume he has been brought back because of the experience he has of being around the England set-up and the England goalkeeping department knowing and understanding his qualities.

“We’re just try to give him a platform to showcase his talents and to try to grow as a goalkeeper. On a personal level I don’t see it as anything for me to be proud of.

“If he can play for England then hopefully it will show him he is at the right club, playing at the right level. He has had enough work to do this year, which is one way of a goalkeeper showcasing his talents.

“If he gets the call-up we’ll be delighted for him but it’s more important that he’s fit and ready to go again on Saturday because I’m sure he’ll have plenty to do then.”

The trip to Stoke on Saturday gives Albion the chance to end an even longer wait that has been a source of considerable pain.

Ever since Ally Brown, Peter Eastoe and Cyrille Regis handed a free-scoring Albion a 3-0 victory at the Victoria Ground, Stoke on their own patch have been a constant thorn in the Baggies’ side.

That win on 8 September 1982 was the last Albion success on Stoke territory.

It was a Wednesday evening and Baggies fans who stayed at home could have watched To The Manor Born, Whicker’s World or Mike Yarwood on TV.

Jim Bowen and ‘Bully’ were bringing darts to the mainstream and the Dukes of Hazzard were entertaining Saturday teatime audiences.

The Express & Star was advertising Datsun Cherrys for £3,578 and Sanyo video recorders ‘with fast forward, rewind and option remote control’ for £399.95.

The paper featured an advertisement offering return train tickets to Blackpool, Southport and Rhyl for £4. The Baggies won at Stoke on their way to a top-half finish in the old First Division.

Since then they have lost 12 and drawn four of their 16 visits to the Victoria Ground and then the Britannia Stadium.

On Saturday, they have the chance to end the long wait for win at Stoke, with the two promoted sides meeting on the back of heavy defeats to top-drawer clubs at the weekend.

Midfielder Robert Koren is braced for the inevitable aerial bombardment, but he insists the Baggies must focus on their own game.

He said: “We need to try to play on our own level and hopefully we will score some goals. It’s a long time since we won away at Stoke so hopefully this will change.

“Of course the manager always gives us some information about how they play and where they are dangerous. We know Stoke are dangerous from set-pieces and especially throw-ins.

“We will practice for it this week and do our best on Saturday. But we need to think about how we will play and create chances and hopefully we will score more goals than them and get some points.”