Playing for your country, we are often told, is the pinnacle in the career of any professional footballer.
It is an honour bestowed on relatively few and while some will play numerous times for the national team in others the experience is far more fleeting. Indeed, with regard to England the list of ‘blink and you missed it‘ international careers is endless (and that is just in the reign of Sven Goran-Eriksson) – for every Geoff Hurst a Francis Jeffers, an Alan Ball for a Michael Ball.
Frequently used where England are concerned is the term ‘one-cap wonder.’ During his six-year tenure, current manager Gareth Southgate has selected eight players whose first outing also appears their last, although the likes of Lewis Dunk and Dominic Solanke have at least experienced the feeling of pulling on the shirt.
With increase in number of tactical substitutions now available to the coach, those adding to the long line of playing just once is likely to lessen. So, if it is any consolation to Nathan Redmond or Jack Cork, they were good players at a time when England were going through a relatively successful period.
Therefore, it is worth sparing a thought for those talents who did not have just one shot – even when the national team were in the doldrums.
Rarely have England been so fitful as they were during the 1970s – and never than through that dark decade have so many talented individuals been denied their moment in the international spotlight.
SAMTIMONIOUS.com hereby gathers together a desperately unlucky dozen……………
KENNY HIBBITT (Wolves): From start to finish of the 1970s the most consistently effective English midfield player not to gain international recognition. Combative, dynamic, capable of sublime passes and (borne out by his impressive goalscoring record), deadly accurate shooting – quite what more Hibbitt could have done to earn an international call-up (apart from sign for a more fashionable club) is hard to fathom.
With England at a crossroads with the departure of Sir Alf in April 1974, Hibbitt (23) and approaching the peak of his form, should have been given a chance in the Home Internationals and summer friendly fixtures England contested after failing to qualify for the World Cup of that year – his credentials boosted further with an excellent display and by scoring the first goal as Wolves beat Manchester City 2-1 in the League Cup Final a few weeks earlier.
Sadly, caretaker boss Joe Mercer overlooked him as did new manager Don Revie – despite Hibbitt scoring seventeen times during the 1974-75 season, four of which came in one game against Newcastle.
HOWARD KENDALL (Everton): It is astonishing to think the 73 England caps won by the glorious Goodison midfield trio of Kendall, Alan Ball and Colin Harvey were split between Ball (72) and Harvey (1). There is no begrudging any of those won by the World Cup winner among them, but otherwise it is something of a travesty.
Indeed, during the 1969-70 season when Everton were playing their way stylishly to the league title, there was, with the Mexico World Cup looming, a case for giving them a try out together for England – Ramsey given his liking for club level communication being repeated on the international stage, surprisingly resisting any temptation to do so.
Who knows, what Moore, Hurst and Peters did in 66 might have been repeated by Ball, Kendall and Harvey in ’70.
Thus, the claims of Kendall, a classy operator with an excellent all-round game would be ignored – and never considered thereafter.
BILLY BONDS (West Ham United): Of our ill-fated twelve, events conspired against Bonds more than anyone else. An unused substitute in the 1977 World Cup qualifier against Italy, he was next named in the squad four years later when a Wembley friendly against Brazil would likely see Bonds, by now 34, finally make an overdue international debut – only to be forced into withdrawing through injury.
During the first ten of an illustrious 21-year Upton Park career, Bonds moved positions from full-back to midfield before settling as a central defender and even if it had only been once, would have served England well in any role during the ’70s.
Known for his tough-tackling and fierce competitive streak, shame he wasn’t drafted for the 1974 visit to Hampden – the visitors unlikely to have gone down so tamely with ‘Bonzo‘ prowling the middle of the park.
GEORGE ARMSTRONG (Arsenal): Here at SAMTIMONIOUS.com nobody sits higher on the managerial totem pole than (Sir) Alfred Ernest Ramsey, his decision to go sans wingers early in the 1966 World Cup tournament vindicated forever. Yet in the years that followed you cannot help but think the great man missed a trick – the touchline trickery and pinpoint crossing of George Armstrong an option England may well have found useful as the 60s gave way to the 70s.
Already a mainstay in the Arsenal side when Ramsey guided his men to the top of world football, for the next ten years Armstrong would continue providing top quality service to The Gunners frontline, while not shy as a goalscorer himself.
Present for all the significant fixtures Arsenal would play during a momentous period between 1968 and 1973, Armstrong was revered by the North Bank but never came onto Ramsey’s radar – omitted due to strategy rather than any lack of skill.
ALAN WOODWARD (Sheffield United): From his October 1964 first team debut for the Blades through the next dozen seasons, there were few more prolific goalscoring wingers in English football than the master dead-ball blaster of Bramall Lane.
On being relegated to Division Two in 1968 Woodward scored over fifty goals in the three seasons before Sheffield United made a topflight return – and then to prove first division defences were no barrier to his continued prowess when the opposition goal came into view, he netted fifty more in five years.
His 1973-74 tally of seventeen were worthy of England selection alone, quite apart from smartly delivered corners and free kicks that were also a forte.
DAVE WAGSTAFFE (Wolves): Like Armstrong and Woodward, Wagstaffe was a causality of Ramsey and his approach to international football as opposed to any absence of attributes.
Blessed with a sharp turn of pace, great crossing ability and crashing left foot shot, (his November 1971 piledriver against Arsenal winning ‘Match of the Day’ ‘Goal of the Season‘ for 1971-72), there were few finer sights in early 70s English football than a full-tilt Wagstaffe taking full-backs to the cleaners.
How differently things might have turned out on that fateful Wembley night in October 1973 – a season in which he would win the League Cup with Wolves – had England been operating with ‘Waggy‘ offering genuine width and posing the Poles a constant threat from the left flank.
JIMMY GREENHOFF (Stoke City/Manchester United): One inclusion in the England squad, this for the March 1976 fixture against Wales to mark the centenary of the FAW (and then having to withdraw due to a rearranged league game) does nothing to reflect the esteem in which Greenhoff was held – both in the Potteries and at Old Trafford.
Equally adept breaking from midfield or playing as an out and out forward, after spells with Leeds (his first club) and Birmingham, Greenhoff began to fully realize his undoubted talents with a 1970 move to Stoke – where he scored goals in consistent, often spectacular fashion.
Having played under England boss Don Revie at Elland Road, it could be assumed another crack at winning an international would follow his early 1976 near miss, particularly as he joined Manchester United the following season. Yet as England lumbered through fixture after fixture during this period, the manager decided the attacking guile of Greenhoff was something – despite evidence to the contrary – he could do without.
Having won the League Cup at Leeds (1968), Stoke (1972) and been an FA Cup winner with Manchester United, (Greenhoff credited with the winning goal in the 1977 final against Liverpool), his Wembley glory with United came in tandem with that of younger brother Brian – and while he won 18 England caps between 1976 and 1980, they were never destined to combine at international level.
JIMMY CASE (Liverpool): With his mantlepiece groaning under the number of honours won during a six-year first team Anfield career, Case is the most decorated footballer never to play for England. Four League Championship and three European Cup winners’ medals are the most prestigious in his vast collection – and when Liverpool went close to securing a League, FA Cup and European Cup treble in 1977, on losing to Manchester United in the FA Cup Final, it was Case who scored their goal in a 2-1 defeat.
Even when Ron Greenwood in his first match as caretaker-manager selected six Liverpool players in the England team to face Switzerland at Wembley in September 1977 Case missed out – and if the tenacious midfielder with a fine range of passing and thunderous shot could not receive the nod then, the liklihood was he never would.
For the same friendly fixture teammate Ian Callaghan, admittedly in good form, was recalled to the international scene following an eleven-year absence, leaving Case twelve years younger at 23 to cut a lonely figure at the Liverpool training ground.
DUNCAN MACKENZIE (Leeds United/Everton): Those who took their football with a splash of sparkle and fillip of flair, would have welcomed the sight of Mackenzie in an England shirt – yet despite being called up on a number of occasions, his undoubted dazzle was never to illuminate the international scene.
Shame. Throughout the mid-70s England were crying out for a free spirit to provide some imagination to often pallid forward play, his alert football brain and exceptional close quarter skill would have seen them with an extra string to their attacking bow – while at the same time far more interesting to watch.
Initially coming to prominence with second division Nottingham Forest, during his brief 1974 Elland Road tenure Brian Clough paid £240,000 for Mackenzie who lasted significantly longer at Leeds than the manager who signed him – the player ending the 1975-76 campaign as top scorer with sixteen goals.
But with a move to Belgian side Anderlecht in the summer of 1976 even tenuous involvement with the national team ceased, the situation not changing when he returned to England on signing for Everton 12 months later – and while he remained among the most gifted players in the country, many with far less radiance but more perceived reliability collected caps by the dozen.
DEREK PARKIN (Wolves): The early 70s were strange times to be an accomplished English full-back. Sir Alf Ramsey, a former international right-back himself, took the decision to have experienced campaigners (Emlyn Hughes, Paul Madeley, Peter Storey, Colin Todd), fill the berths, even if it was not a position they occupied at club level.
All of which must have left Parkin scratching his head. An orthodox full back who rarely put a foot wrong, his fourteen-year Molineux stay comprising of a club record 609 first team appearances.
Signed by Wolves from Huddersfield Town in February 1968 for £80,000 (a record fee for a full back), his defensive composure combined with willingness to attack made him a strong opponent. Such qualities led to an international call in early 1971, Parkin not taking the field for a fixture against Malta and never selected again.
His subsequent career would include countless solid performances and League Cup winners’ medals in 1974 and 1980.
MERVYN DAY (West Ham United): Breaking into the West Ham first team at the age of just seventeen in August 1973, such was his potential he was talked of as being England goalkeeper for ten years.
Ultimately ten minutes would have given Day the England cap his excellent club form warranted. Proving a key figure as The Hammers won the FA Cup in 1975 (at 19 the youngest goalkeeper to play in the cup final) and reached the European Cup Winners’ Cup Final twelve months later.
While his way to the international stage was presently blocked by Peter Shilton and Ray Clemence, with youth on his side England recognition would surely come with time. Sadly, for Day what it did bring was a succession of injuries, loss of his West Ham first team place to expensively signed Phil Parkes – and in July 1979 a transfer to second division Leyton Orient.
RON HARRIS (Chelsea): Renowned throughout a twenty-year stay at Stamford Bridge for his uncompromising style and tough tackling (scything challenges earning the nickname ‘Chopper‘), often overlooked is that Harris was an assured defender, whether at full back or centre half.
He was seven seasons into his Chelsea career (that had already brought a League Cup success), when at the age of twenty-two became the youngest captain to lead out a team in the FA Cup Final. Despite losing to Spurs in 1967, he lifted the trophy three years later when Dave Sexton’s side overcame Leeds after a final and then replay of bruising intensity – Harris dishing out his share of rough stuff but proving a redoubtable leader all the same.
In 1971 he was skipper when Chelsea won the European Cup Winners Cup and such was his consistency the time for an England cap seemed to have arrived, only for Sir Alf to find preferences elsewhere.
HONORABLE MENTIONS: Dennis Mortimer (Coventry City/Aston Villa – although more of a surprise he was not capped during the early 80s), Bryan Robson (Newcastle United/West Ham United), Gary Owen (Manchester City/West Bromwich Albion), Peter Simpson (Arsenal), Phil Beal (Spurs), Len Cantello (West Bromwich Albion);
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NEIL SAMBROOK is the author ‘MONTY’S DOUBLE‘ – an acclaimed thriller available as an Amazon Kindle book.
