Express & Star

The Longest Season: How delightful Doris captured Luke Dowling’s heart

Albion’s Premier League campaign kicks off on Sunday when they host Leicester at The Hawthorns.

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Luke Dowling. Photo: WBA/AMA

It’s only seven weeks since Slaven Bilic’s side won promotion in one of the most dramatic seasons of modern times.

And fans can now relive what turned out to be an enthralling 15 months of football in a new book titled ‘The Longest Season.’

Written by the club’s director of communications Martin Swain, the book offers some fascinating glimpses of what went on behind the scenes as Bilic’s side went on to secure automatic promotion to the Premier League.

This week the Express & Star is publishing a series of extracts from the book.

Our final extract focuses on technical director Luke Dowling and a friendship he struck up with a supporter called Doris at a time when Albion's players and staff were calling elderly fans to lift their spirits during the coronavirus outbreak.

So we all got our lists of fans to call and they were all really appreciative.

But I got talking to this one lovely, lovely, lady called Doris who I just fell in love with.

I mean, what a character.

I know we shouldn't reveal a lady's age but she is 81, 82.

And she hates the Villa. Hates them. Albion is her whole world. Honest.

She watches games on TV and then switches them off saying: "No, it's not the same if the Albion aren't playing."

She might be watching a Champions League match and that gets turned off too – 'not as good as the Albion.'

I got Jake (Livermore) to call her one day then gave her half an hour and then called her up and said: "Have you been two timing me with the skipper?

"I don't suppose I'm good enough for you now!"

We had a good laugh, have become friends and stay in touch.

I said to her one day: "You lot didn't like me much when I first started here, did you?"

Now most people when you ask that question would be polite and say 'no, no, it wasn't like that.'

But Doris said: "Yes that's right, but you seem a nice bloke now."

I still call her and I've made her a promise.

Everyone gets medals from the EFL promotion.

I know they are at the stadium but we haven't picked them up yet.

But when I do, I'm straight in the car and driving around to Doris's house and giving her mine – 'there you go love, have that as a momento – you've kept me going all summer.