For a man who had spent the most of the previous thirty years involved in professional football, first as a successful player then trophy-winning manager, commencement of the 1974-75 season must have felt very strange to a now unemployed Sir Alf Ramsey.
The first post-war campaign to find him without gainful employment in the game, since being unceremoniously sacked as England manager by The Football Association in April 1974, (ending an eleven year tenure that included leading the host nation to World Cup glory in 1966), Ramsey had been involved with ITV, providing match analysis in their coverage of the recent World Cup in West Germany, another to have been won by the home country.
It had been the failure of England to qualify for the tournament finals that precipitated the end of Sir Alf being in charge of the national team, his Lancaster Gate employers perversely waiting six months before taking action – Ramsey’s team consigned to their non-qualifying fate on failing to beat Poland at Wembley in October 1973.
Indeed, to his detractors Ramsey had come to be regarded as retrograde, an overly cautious tactical approach held responsible for England going from world champions to also-rans. The progressive style of play adopted by West Germany and especially Holland in recent years gave rise to the notion England had fallen behind on his watch, while enforcing the theory Ramsey, now 53, had too long persisted with methods that were outdated.
Renowned as a reserved, sometimes aloof figure, his entry into the world of punditry brought observations that were insightful if somewhat tentatively delivered, Ramsey very much an elder, austere statesman among the outspoken, snappily dressed figures also pontificating on the play.
Despite the reverence shown toward him by programme anchor-man Brian Moore, longevity as a pundit never a looked a possibility. Ramsey, his manner unfailingly polite, showed a reluctance to be critical, when those around him, the collar and cravat brigade, could be disparaging at the drop of a (fedora) hat.
Thus television exclusives, like his critics in Fleet Street, deemed Sir Alf to be yesterday’s man. This perception appeared to have also taken hold in the boardroom of several high-profile English clubs as within six months of him being sacked by The FA, Leeds United, Liverpool, Chelsea, QPR, West Ham United, Manchester City and Spurs (with whom Ramsey won a League Championship medal in 1951), all changed the man in charge – Ramsey apparently never considered a candidate when each position came vacant, a bewildering state of affairs given a World Cup winning boss was available.
Despite having credentials unique in a British manager, those responsible for hiring (and firing) the manager at such places, were perhaps wary of his single-minded tendencies and disregard for those beyond the confines of the players, Ramsey barely able to hide disdain for FA committee types during his time spent managing England.
Furthermore, he had never enjoyed cordial relations with football reporters and at a time when more and more managers were endearing themselves to journalists with wisecracks and pithy comments, Sir Alf, for all his achievements, remained steadfastly brusque – for the most part treating each question as if it were loaded or intended to trick him. Therefore appointing Ramsey came with the potential of alienating the press along with other possible headaches for the club hierarchy.
During the early weeks of the 1974-75 season, Ramsey affirmed his hope of one day returning to club management (‘I still feel I have a lot to give‘), in an interview with the Sunday Mirror, although while English football remained reticent in providing the opportunity, overtures began arriving from the continent.
Atletico Madrid were one notable foreign outfit to make him an offer, but most astonishingly of all he was sounded out by Dutch big-guns, the three-in-a-row early 70s European champions, Ajax. Astonishing in the sense they had pioneered, at club level, the concept of ‘total football‘ – the very strategy against which Ramsey’s methods were perceived as old hat.
Such propositions were flattering but respectfully declined, Ramsey so redoubtably English in demeanor it would take some leap of imagination to picture him working overseas at this time, saying as much himself, (‘I want to continue to work with English footballers‘ – allusion perhaps to job opportunities to have recently come his way), in the same Sunday Mirror interview.
Yet the 1974-75 campaign would come and go without him involved in any capacity, Ramsey looking on as his successor Don Revie enjoyed a positive start as England team manager, a nine match unbeaten run taking them through to the autumn of 1975.
The sequence ended with a 2-1 away defeat in a crucial European Championship qualifier against Czechoslovakia on October 30 1975. This reversal, which put the skids under their hopes of reaching the finals in Yugoslavia the following year (England would subsequently fail to qualify), caused such a stir, the return of Sir Alf Ramsey to the English game that week, was barely noticed.
In a development that was as vague as it surprising, Ramsey accepted an invitation to join the board of Birmingham City. It was, he said opportunity to, ‘Learn something new about another aspect of the business. Directorship is part of football I have never experienced.’
He was clearly enthused by the prospect of again having a role, however minimal, within the game. ‘After taking a break I feel fresh and anxious to be taking an active part,’ he said, adding ‘I’m fully prepared to devote as much time, energy and application as Birmingham require.’ But for their part the club were quick to state Ramsey would be a background figure, chairman Keith Coombs announcing:
‘Sir Alf will not have executive powers and he will not interfere with the playing side of the club.’
When Ramsey formally took up the appointment in early January 1976, moving one local paper to write, ‘It seems Birmingham City have taken on Sir Alf to do nothing except be there,’ the club were once again locked in their, by now, perennial struggle against relegation. Under Scottish manager Willie Bell, they avoided going down in 1975-76 by three points in finishing fourth bottom and had four to spare on finishing thirteenth the following season.
Through the period Ramsey kept a low profile and barely spoke to the press, content it seemed just to be involved in football. Meanwhile Birmingham City had the prestige of having Sir Alf among their directorial party, those on the back pages who once derided him now showing a degree of contrition as England had begun to flounder badly in the Revie era.
But when Birmingham began the 1977-78 campaign in disastrous fashion, five straight defeats, (including a League Cup exit at second division Notts County), became one bad run too many and Bell was sacked in early September.
As an insurance policy Sir Alf was as comprehensive as they came and while the St Andrew’s board sought their next full-time incumbent, Coombs offered Ramsey the post of interim first team manager, without ruling out the possibility, ‘He may feel like staying longer than he anticipates at the moment‘ of Sir Alf being a long-term candidate – especially when the first person they approached, Jack Charlton of Middlesbrough, turned down the job inside a week of Bell departing.
By way of irony, the first game on Ramsey taking charge was a visit to Ayresome Park where he would cross swords with Charlton, his World Cup winning centre-half of 1966. Ramsey not only made a triumphant start as Birmingham recorded their first victory of the season, but was victorious in four of his first five matches – one of which was a notable local derby success at Villa Park, the team climbing from bottom of the table to thirteenth in the process.
They took a 5-2 thumping at Ipswich, the club he had guided to the second and first division title in successive seasons prior to managing England, but recovered with a three match unbeaten run that lifted them to the dizzy heights of 11th. Their most concerted spell of good results in four years caused Ramsey’s fellow Birmingham directors to cease negotiating with current Wales boss Mike Smith who had been tipped to take charge and instead appoint Ramsey to the post of ‘Football Consultant‘ – manager in all but title – Sir Alf resigning as a director to take full charge of team affairs.
With a clutch of experienced players at his disposal (Malcolm Page, Terry Hibbitt, Pat Howard, Gary Pendrey, Tony Want along with goalkeeper Jimmy Montgomery), Ramsey quickly forged them into his long-preferred 4-4-2 formation. For goals they were reliant, overly so, on gifted forward Trevor Francis, whose consistency as a scorer had largely been responsible in keeping Birmingham in Division One through the past two seasons – his strike rate making him the undisputed idol of the St Andrew’s crowd and also the subject of persistent transfer rumours.
Francis netted for the ninth time that season in a 1-1 draw at Leicester on Saturday 19 November, but in achieving a third game without defeat had collected their last point for a month, failing to score through the six weeks that followed. The next five matches brought defeats against Norwich City, league leaders Nottingham Forest, Manchester City and West Ham, the only respite a goalless draw with Everton.
With the visit of Bristol City on December 27 Francis returned to the scoresheet in a 3-0 win and while he would net twice more when Chelsea were the visitors to St Andrew’s on New Year’s Eve, the Stamford Bridge side would prevail from an astonishing game by the odd-goal in nine, City slipping back down the table to 18th.
If such a free-scoring contest was not the sort of fixture associated with Ramsey sides of the past, two remarkable away wins through January showed the old master could still conjure an effective game plan.
On January 2nd 1978, Francis and teenager Kevin Dillon were on target as Birmingham won 2-1 at Old Trafford, but nineteen days later they took an even bigger scalp in defeating reigning European champions Liverpool 3-2 at Anfield. The counter-attacking prowess of the visitors at one stage established a 3-0 lead, before they were forced to withstand intense late pressure in leaving with the points.
Yet such was the inconsistent nature of their performances the next two fixtures, at home to Middlesbrough and away at Derby in a fourth round FA Cup tie (City having swept passed non-league Wigan Athletic in round three), both ended in defeat. With Birmingham inactive through much of February due to inclement weather and being out of the FA Cup, it provided opportunity to take stock – this enforced lay-off bringing to the fore underlying tension that had developed between Ramsey and star striker Francis.
Frustrated by the lack of tangible success with Birmingham never in contention for silverware, Francis, already capped by England, was concerned his international ambitions we being harmed by playing in a continually struggling team, airing these concerns in a local paper. Ramsey, furious that Francis expressed a desire to leave St Andrew’s through the press, recommended the player be sold to raise funds for overall strengthening of the team.
The situation developed apace when Francis submitted a transfer request which Sir Alf insisted the directors accept. At a board meeting on February 20, Ramsey received his wish with their key man placed on the transfer list – but in the space of three days, the directors, wary of how the news would be received by an already disenchanted St Andrew’s faithful, reversed their decision.
Fearful of the flak they would receive if Francis was sold and Birmingham subsequently relegated, while agreeing there was logic in what Ramsey had proposed, the board effectively placed more importance in keeping Francis than supporting the football consultant – for which there was only one likely consequence.
Rather than depart with immediate effect and leave Birmingham in the lurch, Ramsey gave fourteen days notice of his intention to resign. The frosty atmosphere between Sir Alf and Francis thawed briefly when a goal from their prize asset was enough to earn a memorable home win over Aston Villa, (Birmingham completing the double over their local rivals during the period Ramsey was in charge), and although Francis found the net again at nearby West Brom three days later, it could not prevent a 2-1 defeat.
But the strain of off-field events eventually manifested in an abysmal display at Highfield Road in the next fixture, Birmingham, on Saturday 4 March, suffering a 4-0 hiding at the hands of Coventry City. Feeling short-changed by the directors over their changed stance regarding Francis, Sir Alf, never at ease with players not embracing his team ethos, in a statement to the press on March 8, confirmed he was leaving the club immediately, his 14-day notice period now up.
With Birmingham having dropped to fifth bottom, he took his share of responsibility for the woeful showing at Coventry the previous weekend, ‘I joined the club as a director two years ago in January and that is the worst performance I have seen. They were disgraceful and I must take part of the blame,’ and with that his 28-match tenure (11 wins, 4 draws, 13 defeats), was over and Ramsey gone.
Within a week Jim Smith arrived from second division Blackburn Rovers to take charge at St Andrew’s, under whom Birmingham enjoyed an upsurge in fortunes climbing to a final placing of eleventh on the back of only one defeat in their last 12 games – during which Francis scored a further nine goals in finishing the season with a personal tally of 29.
But the revival did not carry over in to the following season, relegation a racing if not mathematical certainty when Francis became the first British footballer to be transferred for £1 million pounds on being sold to reigning league champions Nottingham Forest in March 1979.
Sir Alf meanwhile returned to a quiet life in Ipswich, his career in football, aside from a brief spell working as an advisor for Greek club Panathinaikos during the 1979-80 season, over for good.
It is sad to reflect Ramsey’s English journey should end with the ignominy of a heavy defeat at Coventry while in charge of Birmingham in the spring of 1978 – although as a manager it had not begun auspiciously either, Ipswich losing 2-0 against Torquay United on the opening day of the 1955-56 season.
Nevertheless, he did pretty well in between.
Authors Notes:
(I) For reference this article drew upon the biographies of Sir Alf Ramsey, one by Dave Bowler, the other by Leo McKinstry, both of which are highly recommended.
(II) It was deeply saddening to learn earlier this week that former Aston Villa striker Gary Shaw had passed away. When reporting the affairs and matches of Shrewsbury Town many years ago I became acquainted with Gary during his spell at Gay Meadow through the 1990-91 season.
With hindsight (and irrespective of the fact we were roughly the same age), I always felt starstruck in the presence of this European Cup winner, the initial hesitancy in seeking Gary out for post-match quotes down to me not him – soon discovering he was obliging and generous with his time.
I was present to see him score a four minute hat-trick in the third division fixture at Bradford City in December 1990 and net the FA Cup fourth round winner against top flight Wimbledon a month later – and while such moments will not be forgotten, I shall recall his good humour and likeable persona with equal affection.
God bless him.
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