Day Albion fans went on a Shrewsbury goalmouth rampage at mock funeral of Baggies' boss - and his coffin ended up in the groundsman's shed

First they tugged at the Station End goalpost, and then down it came, as Shrewsbury Town hosted West Brom in a match in which nothing rode on the result, but which gave away fans a chance to release some pent-up frustration.

West Brom officials had feared there might be trouble at the Baggies' last game of the 1991-92 season, and they weren't wrong.

The tone was set when supporters arrived carrying a coffin bearing the name of the manager, Bobby Gould, who could later reflect that the Gay Meadow was the place of both his footballing "birth" and footballing "death".

It was at Town's ground that he made his Football League debut as a teenage apprentice for Coventry City in 1963, when he spent the entire 90 minutes trying to find a way past Shrewsbury centre half Peter Dolby. And it would only be a few days after the fans' protest at that 1992 Gay Meadow match that he would be sacked as West Brom boss.

Gould, whose playing career had included a spell at Wolves, was never a good fit at the Hawthorns after being brought in to succeed Brian Talbot, and had been advised against taking the job by his mate Don Howe.

However, he jumped at the chance, arriving in February 1991. But he couldn't save Albion from their lowest ebb, dropping down to the third tier for the first time in their history, despite being unbeaten in their last nine games of the season. It was Gould's first relegation of any kind.

The following season hopes of a quick return were dashed and he couldn't even get them into the promotion play-offs. Even before that, various factors contributed to a toxic atmosphere. He had stormed out of the player-of-the-year awards, and was getting it in the neck from the local media.

He had never seen eye-to-eye with assistant Stuart Pearson, the fans' choice for manager, who had acted as caretaker boss before his arrival.

So, to that eventful match on Saturday, May 2, 1992, in which he arrived at Shrewsbury's ground to "Gould Out!" chants and would leave with them ringing in his ears. The pitch invasion by Baggies fans came at, or just before, the end of the match - according to one supporter, it ended five minutes early.

Albion won 3-1 and finished a disappointing seventh in the Third Division table while for their part Shrewsbury Town were already doomed to relegation.

Gould recalled: "It was tradition on the last game of the season for all the travelling supporters to get dressed up in holiday swimwear and sunglasses.

"So to try to soften the blow I asked the players to wear sunglasses and help share the disappointment with the fans.

"On appearing on Gay Meadow with the lads before the game, little did I know that the three or four thousand that had travelled up to Shropshire had brought a cardboard coffin with ‘Rest In Peace Bobby Gould’ on the side.

"There is a follow-up to that story as in 1995/96, when I was manager of Wales, I returned to Gay Meadow to watch a player.

"Little did I know that the first person to greet me was the groundsman. He led me over to his shed, opened the door and there before my very eyes was the coffin."

It should be mentioned that in another interview Bobby remembered the tale slightly differently, saying it was while returning to the Hawthorns as Cardiff boss to watch one of the midfielders that the groundsman told him he had the coffin in his shed.

In any event, while that day in Shrewsbury over 30 years ago was indeed a portent of his imminent "death" at WBA, new life would follow, as Gould, who is now 79, went on to various other managerial roles, with inevitable ups and downs, as well as becoming a successful football pundit.