WE’RE SO VAIN – England and the 1972 European Championships…….

[email protected] June 29, 2021

It is often said the first step in addressing a problem is recognising there is one. The alternative is to continue in denial until the situation has deteriorated to the point of chaos, conflict and most likely catastrophe as well – this scenario no doubt familiar to those with an interest in the England football team during the 1970s.

In a decade when short-term solutions were unable to offset long-term decay, England lurched from one debilitating drama to another – a fatal lack of vision in respect of how quickly football was progressing beyond the English Channel evident in disjointed performances and confused strategies that would have been mystifying in 1970, unthinkable altogether in the halcyon summer of 1966.

When their defence of the World Cup ended at the quarter-final stage of the 1970 Mexico tournament, Sir Alf Ramsey and his ageing squad returned home to sympathetic noises from the football public and a largely measured response on the sports pages.

The collective appraisal fell somewhere between appreciation for an admirable display in the group game against Brazil, that saw the eventual winners given their sternest examination of the competition, offset by frustration at the 3-2 quarter-final reversal against West Germany – a game England appeared to have in the bag when leading 2-0 after an hour.

While nobody doubted the team gave their all before succumbing to defeat in the stifling heat of Leon, Ramsey raised the hackles of his critics, of whom there were several up and down Fleet Street, for an overly cautious approach when England had established their 2-0 advantage – and also for the substitution of Bobby Charlton which disrupted the balance of the team when West Germany were being held at arm’s length.

Yet even those criticisms were tempered by the fact England had been denied the services of Gordon Banks, the stand-out goalkeeper in world football, who was forced to withdraw from the team on the eve of the match due to a stomach upset – his replacement Peter Bonetti producing an erratic performance completely at odds with the composed manner in which he played for Chelsea.

There was, however, unity between supporters and scribes on one issue – namely the team needing an overhaul now they faced having to qualify for the next World Cup. Four years down the road was beyond the horizon of most, if not all Ramsey regulars, the World Cup winners of ’66 more likely to be feted for past heroics rather than feature when England took the field in Hamburg or Hanover at the 1974 West Germany parade of football superpowers……….

In the event Ramsey saw a number of rebuilding issues become a simple consequence of time and age. Given a World Cup tournament generally becomes a watershed moment for a national team, from the 22-strong squad selected for Mexico, ten, due either to international retirement, age or fall from favour, would never be picked again – yet when England lined-up for their first match since losing in Mexico to the West Germans, on that November night at Wembley against East Germany, Leicester City goalkeeper Peter Shilton was the only new cap.

Indeed, the ten outfield players were all of a pre-Mexico vintage and for a manager renowned for paying no heed to such things, Ramsey appeared to select centre-half David Sadler out of sentiment – axed, like Shilton, when the initial World Cup squad of 28 was cut to 22, the Manchester United defender won his fourth and final cap in a 3-1 victory secured by goals from Francis Lee, Martin Peters and Allan Clarke.

Drawn in a group with Malta, Greece and Switzerland as they sought quarter-final qualification for the 1972 European Championships (the winners of each qualifying group advancing to the last eight), the campaign began three months later with a visit to Maltese capital Valletta.

For a man becoming increasingly skeptical about looking beyond his recognised pool of players, Ramsey awarded first caps to midfielder Colin Harvey (whose first appearance would also be his last), Everton team-mate, striker Joe Royle, Spurs centre-forward Martin Chivers and Derby County centre-half Roy McFarland, who lined up alongside Norman Hunter rather than Bobby Moore – the England captain serving a suspension imposed by West Ham for a breach of club discipline on the eve of an FA Cup tie at Blackpool the previous month.

On a rutted surface closer to Luna landscape rather than international football pitch, England toiled to a 1-0 victory over Malta with old campaigners still forming the spine of the team. Banks and Hunter showed the requisite concentration in keeping the part-time opposition at bay, Alan Mullery was named captain in the absence of Moore, with the only goal scored by his Tottenham colleague Martin Peters.

This quartet of players, along with Geoff Hurst, Francis Lee and Moore, would all have advanced into their thirties by 1974 – leaving midfield dynamo Alan Ball the only ’66 redoubtable with a realistic chance of still being on the scene in three years’ time.

On the home front 1970-71 had unfolded into a season where Leeds United and Arsenal turned the league title into a two-horse race, but for the April qualifier against Greece at Wembley Ramsey overlooked the claims of mercurial Highbury whizz-kid Charlie George and instead awarded a first cap to his Arsenal club-mate and midfield mixer Peter Storey, who was selected at full-back.

At a time when the pioneering ‘total football’ philosophy of Dutch champions Ajax was carrying them to the European Cup Final, on the rise in England were a new breed of highly-skilled ball players whose artistry brought an extra dimension to the attacking intent of their respective clubs, George joined in this ‘off the cuff’ brigade by the likes of Alan Hudson (Chelsea), Tony Currie (Sheffield United) and Rodney Marsh (QPR) – their flair (and haircuts) giving them eye-catching status to fans and press alike. For the moment, however, Ramsey remained unconvinced of what they had to offer and turned a deaf ear to the growing clamour for them to be incorporated into his plans.

After Greece, who offered little in reply, were swept aside by goals from Chivers, Hurst and Lee, a month later England moved on to the return against Malta. In cruising to a 5-0 victory, Chivers (2), Lee and Clarke were all on target before Chris Lawler (Liverpool) weighed in with a debut goal to complete the scoring, he and Terry Cooper (Leeds United) forming the first recognised full-back pairing since Mexico.

Generally selected as sweeper or defensive midfielder by Anfield boss Bill Shankly, Emlyn Hughes had filled one of the berths since Mexico, Lawler and Cooper remaining in tandem through four of the next five matches as England emerged with two wins and a draw from the 1971 Home Internationals and scored a 3-2 October win over Switzerland in Basle – Hurst, Chivers and an own goal securing two more qualification points for a team who despite their square peg/square hole appearance, looked short on creativity.

When Switzerland arrived at Wembley on Wednesday 10 November, they faced an England team showing five changes from the meeting just a month before (the Football League unhelpfully scheduling League Cup replays for that week, while the two players withdrawn through injury both played for their clubs the following weekend). Mike Summerbee returned after two years spent in the international wilderness, the Manchester City winger marking his recall by scoring in the tenth minute, but otherwise there was little to enthuse over.

The Swiss equalised before half-time and found little trouble in taking a point as England found inspiration in short supply – Marsh given a seven-minute cameo as much to stem a slow hand-clapping crowd as tactical switch.

Recognising their lack of invention had been exposed, on the December visit to Athens where a point was required for last eight qualification, Manchester City schemer Colin Bell appeared in the starting XI for the first time since a Mexico group game against Czechoslovakia 18 months before. But in adding much needed creativity, Sir Alf erred on the side of caution in defence and by selecting Hughes and dependable Leeds’ utility man Paul Madeley as his full-backs, England fielded a backline of four central defenders, Moore and McFarland now recognised as the first-choice central pairing.

With a clean sheet and goals from Hurst and Chivers the end justified the means, England qualifying for the latter stages with something to spare. It did not, however, prevent critics bemoaning a low-risk, pedestrian style of play that was not only tough on the eyes, but perceived to be out of step with developments on the continent.

Not that Ramsey would have been overly concerned as he opened his presents on Christmas morning 1971, England after all were ten games into an unbeaten run stretching back to June 1970 and had scored over twenty goals in that time, gripes about the team lacking width countered by evoking the phrase ‘wingless wonders’ – a term attached to a team of world-beaters he happened to have managed.

Besides, if Holland were that far-sighted in their thinking, then why, unlike England, had they not qualified for the European Championship quarterfinals? Ramsey perhaps concluding the flamboyance of Dutch stars like Johan Cruyff could produce moments of crowd-pleasing brilliance, much like those individualists the newspapers were hounding him to pick, but a flash of dazzling skill was not the same as serving the greater good as his tried and tested charges could be relied upon to do.

Indeed, if being told who should be in the team and why by the press went in one ear and out the other, then criticism from loud-mouthed managers like Brian Clough and Malcolm Allison was more of an annoyance – pontificating on television in their sharp suits on how England should play in more adventurous fashion missed the fundamental point of football management, namely the man in charge being judged on results.

As ever when confronted with such barbs Ramsey maintained a dignified, if irritated silence and saved his truculence for the inevitable battles to follow – the changing nature of football as 1972 dawned evident in his mistrust of the maverick player, the intransigence of The Football League with regard to fixture scheduling and worse still, club managers conspiring against their players being released to play for England……………

At the January draw for the European Championship quarterfinals, when England were fifth out of the hat it came with a sense of certainty West Germany would immediately follow. The first-leg London meeting was sure to evoke memories of the finest two hours in English football from six years before – but they had lost twice to the West Germans since, who despite having never won at Wembley would see being at home for the second leg to their favour.

Having also emerged from their qualifying group unbeaten, it was a pairing that would result in one of the strongest teams going out – the West Germans, built on a nucleus of six Bayern Munich players, now recognised as the most accomplished international side in Europe.

From an English perspective the two impending fixtures brought incentives to ponder, but also practicalities to overcome. If England prevailed, they would stand a good chance of winning the tournament (the rest of the field comprising of Italy, Belgium, Hungary, Romania, Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union) particularly as they were in running to stage the semi-finals and final, which given an unbeaten home record stretching back five years would be a distinct advantage.

The first leg of the quarter-final, however, was scheduled by UEFA for Saturday 29 April 1972, which coincided with the final Saturday of the league season in England – the Football League reluctantly calling off all top-flight games affected by the England fixture, destination of the league title thus decided in a series of early May midweek games.

If Ramsey thought his preparations had been blighted by failure to arrange a warm-up game in the early spring of 1972 due to a congested domestic programme (England going into the match not having played for five months), then they were hampered further when centre-back McFarland withdrew from the squad through injury – a move that triggered all manner of consequences, not least when the player turned out for Derby, managed by Brian Clough, in a crucial league game 48 hours later.

For once Ramsey did not remain aloof and attacked Clough with angry candour: ‘This man calls himself a patriot, but he has never done anything to help England. All he does is criticise us in the newspapers and television.’

Due to the difference in their personalities, it is unlikely he and the witty, verbose, often self-promoting Teessider would have ever become friends, but thereafter Ramsey, according to one biographer, barely spoke to Clough again.

To compensate for the loss of McFarland, Sir Alf was no doubt tempted to go with the like-for-like squad replacement that was Liverpool central defender Larry Lloyd, yet instead went for the unorthodox ploy of switching Moore to the role of stopper, with Hunter drafted to play in the position normally occupied by the England captain. From early on he looked uncomfortable in a role Ramsey always assigned to a combative, aerially dominant figure such as Jack Charlton, Brian Labone or McFarland, the uncertainty of who should be doing what transmitting through the team.

‘I was made uneasy by the lack of cohesion between Norman and Mooro,’ reflected goalkeeper Banks later – but it was not only in this area of the pitch where confusion had taken hold.

In selection Ramsey had opted against picking Mullery as a midfield ball-winner and in his team-talk barely mentioned blonde West German play-maker Gunter Netzer, who went on to dominate the match. His dribbling skills and incisive runs from the centre of the field caused havoc with an England team who often looked in disarray, the Borussia Monchengladbach man an instrumental figure as West Germany recorded a thoroughly deserved 3-1 win, their first on English soil.

With Netzer to the fore, the visitors fast-paced counter-attacking game, made England look ponderous by comparison and when Moore was harried into a 27th minute error, the alert Uli Hoeness fired West Germany ahead. Fielding five of the team – Banks, Moore, Ball, Hurst and Peters – who beat the Germans to lift the World Cup six years before, while their opponents played with a fluidity embracing new tactical trends England appeared shackled to the rigid 4-4-2 of yesteryear, West Germany playing quickly through midfield in providing scope for Netzer to instigate or support attacks.

The introduction of Marsh (now a Manchester City player after being bought by manager Allison the previous month) on the hour made little difference as in their forward play England continued to look laboured, he like Hurst, whose international career ended with the substitution, cutting an isolated figure as West Germany remained in control of the match.

In keeping with every fixture they had played during the ten-year reign of Ramsey as manager, England remained competitive and when they finally fashioned a clear-cut chance Lee levelled from the close range. But rather than herald a spell of pressure for the final thirteen minutes designed at taking a lead to Berlin a fortnight down the road, it was the West Germans who rallied.

When Siggi Held (a German survivor of 1966 along with Horst-Dieter Hottges and captain Franz Beckenbauer) beat Moore for pace, the ensuing foul resulted in Netzer scoring from the penalty spot – English consternation increased by the initial contact on Held appearing to happen outside the box and Banks making a gallant, yet ultimately failed attempt in saving the spot-kick.

Ahead with five minutes left, the green-shirted West Germans repelled one more frantic England attack before sweeping down field once again. Their creative instincts in evidence from first to last, the opportunity prolific striker Gerd Muller had been looking for all night finally came his way – and from fifteen yards he drilled home a low shot as the score began to reflect the Germans overall superiority.

While mitigating circumstances had been found for the 1970 World Cup quarter-final exit, there was no sugarcoating the most comprehensive home defeat England had suffered since being routed by Hungary almost twenty years before – Ramsey on that occasion a player when the home side had been run ragged and shown how outdated and reactionary their football had become.

Being outclassed by West Germany on their own turf came was the most uncomfortable 90 minutes experienced by Ramsey during his tenure, England served notice they were in urgent need of enlightenment. But in terms of approach the nadir arrived two weeks later, Sir Alf addressing the midfield issue by deploying Storey in his customary role of enforcer and with McFarland returning in defence he moved Hunter alongside the Arsenal man in the middle of the field, England opting to fight finesse with brute force.

As an exercise in how to grind out a goalless draw it passed muster with Netzer nullified to the point of anonymity, trouble was England needed to win by three goals in order to progress. Not for a minute, however, in the rain-swept Berlin return did that look a possibility – West Germany aware bigger occasions were on their horizon, England turning to belligerence (‘the whole England team autographed my legs with their studs‘ complained Netzer afterwards) in preventing the aggregate score becoming any worse.

But if they thought a share of the spoils would win back a degree of favour with the press they were very much mistaken, Ramsey accused by one critic as being purveyor of ‘dull, stodgy, joyless football,’ while Frank Taylor of the Daily Mirror wrote:

‘If this was a victory for tactics, give me the glory of adventurous defeat.’

With England out of the competition, Belguim who overcame Italy in their quarter-final, was chosen to host the semi-finals and final, West Germany advancing to beat the hosts 2-1, before easily defeating the Soviet Union 3-0 in the final staged three days later on June 18 in Brussels.

Already through to the 1974 World Cup Finals by virtue of being the host nation, the Germans had marked themselves out as serious contenders to win the trophy, their pool of resources deepened by continual emergence of one top class talent after another.

In England, Sir Alf survived some bitter back-page recrimination that followed the tribulations of April and May 1972, but there was little sense of lessons being learned, England continuing to defend and attack in pretty much the same old way.

Several long-time observers of the national team believed the time was right for a change at the top, Brian Glanville of the Sunday Times chipping in with, ‘most managers have a finite usefulness and he is no exception. This plainly is the time for Ramsey, who has achieved so much, to go.’

Years later Francis Lee, who also played his last match for England the night they were humbled by the Germans, discussed the perception of tactical rigidity with Ramsey biographer Leo McKinstry.

‘We were still playing 4-4-2 in the seventies as it was something Alf believed in,’ he said, ‘but by then the system was becoming outdated. They played three at the back and five in midfield and we didn’t readjust. The reason we got beaten by West Germany at Wembley was because we got murdered in midfield. It did not matter how much effort the lads put into midfield because they were outnumbered – and when you get outnumbered by class acts, it becomes a problem.’

Back in 1972 the only redemption for the manager and his core group of players would be to qualify for the 1974 World Cup.

Surely they had the ability and acumen for that to be achieved.

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