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Foundations of statue honouring former West Bromwich Albion striker laid

The foundations for the statue in honour former West Bromwich Albion striker Tony 'Bomber' Brown have been laid outside the club's Hawthorns ground.

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Stonemasons have been working on the area where the statue will sit, outside the main entrance of the East Stand.

It is being created to honour the goalscoring exploits of the man affectionately known by the Albion faithful as 'Bomber' - who scored more than 270 goals in his 20 year stint at the club.

The statue will be unveiled on November 6 at 2pm, and the club are planning to release a small number of free tickets so fans can watch the ceremony take place.

Martin Swain, spokesman for the club, said Albion are doing their utmost to make sure the statue is put in place in secret before the unveiling.

He said: "We are keeping it a secret as to when the statue will go in, but work is being done on the base, and is progressing well.

"We are currently in the process of offering a certain number of tickets for fans who want to witness the unveiling."

Mr Swain said there will be a small ceremony at The Hawthorns, to be attended by a number of Albion legends, prior to the unveiling.

Former managers Ron Atkinson, Bryan Robson and Johnny Giles will be present, alongside former players Cyril Regis and Graham Williams.

Commentator John Motson, who is good friends with Brown, and commentated on his goal which won promotion for Albion in 1976 will also be there.

Between 1961 and 1981, Brown, who joined Albion as a schoolboy, made 720 appearances, scoring 279 goals.

He also helped the club win the League Cup in 1966, the FA Cup in 1968 and promotion back to the top flight in 1976 before being part of club's hugely exciting team of the late 1970s.

The statue was set to be unveiled earlier in the year, but the date was moved back due to a clash with the FA, who unveiled a statue of England's first black footballer, Arthur Wharton, last month.

Mr Swain added: "We didn't want it clashing so we moved it back, and the only thing we weren't sure about was the weather, but the long term forecast looks like it will be clear, so the weather should be fine."

See also: Baggies to open first shop in West Bromwich.

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