Ally Robertson: West Brom in China will be very different

Back in 1978, I was part of the Albion squad that went on a diplomatic trip to the Far East in a trailblazing tour that will live long in the memory,

The Chinese government had invited the England national team to come but when they couldn't make it, Sir Bert Millichip, who was Albion chairman at the time, said we would step in.

None of us had been there before, but it was a fantastic experience and a huge culture shock.

We played a game in front of 90,000 people in Peking, as it was called then, but the crowd wasn't allowed to make any noise. It was like playing in silence, you could hear a pin drop, and the words 'man on!' echo around the stadium.

They started the cheer at one point but then the loud speaker came on and told them to be quiet! It was remarkable.

One thing I'll never forget is throwing water all over Sir Bert.

There was no alcohol in China at the time but the British Embassy brought some beers to our hotel in Shanghai and after a few little drinks you do the occasional silly thing.

My party piece was throwing water over people, but I thought it was Derek Statham I was drenching. Turns out it was the chairman!

The next morning Big Ron pulled me down from my room and sat me down next to Bert. I had already packed my bag but all he said was 'Alistair, I think you had too much to drink last night, don't let it happen again', and then he started laughing!

Mind you, hopefully none of our players do anything like that to the new owner this summer.

The standard of football is guaranteed to be better this year. The teams we played weren't as good as Third Division sides, and we swept all of them aside.

But now the Chinese clubs are luring some of the best players to their country with extortionate wages.

In five or six years there will be even more players in the Far East. Footballers go where the money is, they always have.

Before this country it was Italy, but the Premier League is in for a wake-up call. If someone offered you 10 times your wage to do the same job in China would you go?

Players can head to the Chinese Super League and in two seasons they'll be made for life, it's a very attractive proposition.

China are becoming big players in the world of football, and this pre-season tour is just another small aspect of that.

It's going to be fantastic for the current crop of Albion players though. When we went there were no cars, no buses, Peking was full of bikes.

We went to a tea plantation and the 60,000 workers weren't paid in money, they were paid in food by how many bags of leaves they picked.

In Shanghai, there was nothing on that little island in the middle and there were probably 20 little boats sunk in the harbour, rotting.

Now, when I see it on the news it is littered with high-rise buildings. It's unbelievable. I would love to go back and see how much it's changed.