Timing as the old saying goes is everything – and given how badly theirs was out during the 1970s, it is no surprise there was precious little joy for the England team through the aforementioned decade.
Indeed, there is often a sense the three men, who for varying lengths of time carried out the role of England manager between 1970 and 1979, were the right incumbent only at the wrong juncture. All this while the international committee of The Football Association, whose responsibility it was to hire and fire the man in charge, appeared to struggle with knowing which day of the week it was.
Leading England to the pinnacle of world football in 1966, Sir Alf Ramsey then oversaw the 1970 Mexico World Cup campaign that resulted in his team exiting the tournament at the hands of West Germany in the quarterfinals.
Even on relinquishing the title of world champions, few doubted Ramsey still had the cachet to remain in post as the new decade unfolded – although a different tune began to be heard when England were eliminated by the Germans at the last eight stage 1972 European Championships, defeat over two-legs revealing Ramsey to be somewhat out of step with how international football was developing.
Had he gone of his own volition at this point the legacy of Ramsey and direction of the England team would not have been confused by failure to qualify for the 1974 World Cup finals. Had Sir Alf called time on his tenure here, his eventual 1974 successor Don Revie may have switched Leeds United for England in the summer of 1972 – Revie already established in the minds of The FA hierarchy as who they wanted next – arriving at a point to guide the team through to the ’74 finals in West Germany.
In the event of there becoming a vacancy after England had been embarrassed by Gunter Netzer and co, Revie would have been prime candidate, FA Vice-Chairman Harold Thompson – a man renowned for his apparent superiority complex – already having decided Brian Clough, outspoken manager of 1971-72 league champions Derby County, was the sort to bring The FA into disrepute.
Should the governing body been unable to lure Revie from Elland Road, their attention would likely have switched to West Ham boss Ron Greenwood.
Long since regarded as a studious and innovative thinker in relation to progressive football, Greenwood could still, just, bask in the glory of an FA Cup and European Cup Winners’ Cup triumph in the past eight seasons. He had also been pivotal in the development of skipper Bobby Moore, Martin Peters and Geoff Hurst, this trio of Upton Park performers each playing a crucial role in England winning the 1966 World Cup – and alongside such feats Greenwood had a personal connection to Thompson, having coached the Oxford University team when the shot-caller at Lancaster Gate was a don at the same establishment.
Yet fate being what it is, Ramsey continued for another couple of years. His reign ended in the on-field ignominy of missing out on World Cup qualification and disrespectful off-field maneuverings by Thompson, who seemingly invested as much spite into the situation as he could, his personal dislike of Ramsey manifesting in treatment described by one newspaper of the time as ‘brutal insensitivity.’
When in July 1974 Revie finally came to succeed Ramsey, who had been relieved of his duties three months earlier, (former Manchester City manager Joe Mercer taking charge of the team for the Home internationals and three early summer friendlies), his stock if anything was higher than it had been two years before. In the ensuing time Leeds reached two major finals in 1972-73 and despite losing both, recovered to become league champions the following season and while doing so played the most exciting football of Revie’s 13 years in charge.
Winning the title for a second time under Revie offered another tilt at the European Cup, a trophy he had always coveted, but even with this incentive on the table was receptive to the overtures of Thompson and agreed to become England manager. With him gone Leeds briefly put his old nemesis Clough in charge, but on being in situ barely six weeks was replaced by former England international Jimmy Armfield – who in turn steered what was effectively Revie’s team through to the 1974-75 European Cup Final, whereupon they lost in contentious circumstances to West German champions Bayern Munich.
Away from the drama taking place at Elland Road, Revie breezed through his first year of international management as England embarked on a nine-match unbeaten run, but what appeared certain qualification for the 1976 European Championship finals came unstuck with two poor results at the end of 1975. The eventuality of not qualifying served to worsen an already deteriorating relationship with Thompson, Revie disenchanted enough to mutter an off the record comment of ‘I left Leeds for this?‘ when being interviewed by a journalist after England had succumbed to defeat against Scotland in May 1976.
Just over twelve months later the situation had unraveled to such an extent Revie and The FA appeared willing adulterers in a failing marriage where neither party wanted to file for divorce first. The manager was considering offers from other parties, while his employers were secretly sounding out possible replacements, unaware the present manager was secretly being courted.
In the end Revie walked out of the England job in July 1977 to take a lucrative post as coach of the United Arab Emirates national team. Deciding to announce his decision through a tabloid newspaper, for which he was handsomely paid, before informing The FA of his intention lowered his standing further in the eyes of the English football public, who were far from enamored with what Revie left behind – an England team whose chances of qualifying for the 1978 Argentina World Cup had diminished on the back of some ragged performances.
With odds stacked against them in regard to participating in Argentina, England still needed a manager for their two remaining qualifiers. Involving a trip to bottom of the group Luxembourg and home fixture against leaders Italy, England were three points worse off than the Italians, who were in pole position to reach South America. Three weeks after Revie made his dash for the desert, on 17 August 1977 the FA placed Greenwood in charge until the end of the year, his brief also to include a Wembley friendly against Switzerland on Wednesday 7 September.
Many agreed Greenwood would once have been an ideal candidate to manage England, although now was a yesteryear figure, particularly as he had spent the last three years as General Manager of West Ham, John Lyall in charge of team affairs since 1974.
It may have looked a contrived appointment but one in the short term, at least, that addressed the issue – Greenwood for his first match in charge naming seven of the players who had recently won the league and European Cup for Liverpool (six current Anfield regulars and Kevin Keegan, now playing in West Germany since his summer move to Hamburg).
Familiarity on the pitch, however, soon turned to hostility among the crowd, most of the 42,000 present making known their displeasure long before a lacklustre goalless draw against the Swiss lumbered to a close.
For the visit to Luxembourg a month later, Greenwood went for much of the same in a match where a sizable margin of victory would at least maintain some semblance of hope in reaching Argentina, an improved goal difference followed by victory over Italy giving the group leaders no margin for error.
But a laboured 2-0 success fell short of what was truly needed and while a commendable 2-0 win over the Azzurri in their final qualifying game gave England a two-point lead at the top of the group, Italy had the comfort of knowing they still had a home match with Luxembourg to come – a straightforward 3-0 win in Rome three weeks later securing their World Cup berth. It meant England once again failed to qualify, their failure to rack up big wins against Finland (under Revie) and Luxembourg, proving costly when in the end qualification came down to goal difference.
With the 1978 World Cup the priority for those who had qualified, The FA focused on making a permanent appointment to the position of England manager. From a list of applicants that included current Division One bosses Armfield (Leeds United), Jimmy Bloomfield (Leicester City) and John Bond (Norwich City), along with former international players Tony Waiters and Bobby Moore (the ’66 World Cup winning skipper not receiving the courtesy of a reply), going through the motions interviews were attended by Clough (Nottingham Forest), Dave Sexton (Manchester United), World Cup winner Jack Charlton (Middlesbrough) and Lawrie McMenemy (Southampton).
If outwardly The FA appeared to have a difficult decision to make, any deliberation could be put aside once Greenwood expressed an interest in continuing on a full-time basis, the announcement on 12 December 1977 that he would be in charge until the summer of 1980 coming as a shock to nobody.
As so often the way of things, Greenwood, after a three-match unbeaten run as caretaker, lost the first game of his official occupancy, England going down 2-1 in Munich against reigning world champions West Germany six weeks into 1978, but from there went undefeated until the summer of the following year.
This 14-game undefeated run included a clean sweep at the 1978 Home Internationals (completed with a 1-0 Hampden victory over Argentina-bound Scotland) and when the sequence ended with defeat in a friendly against Austria in June 1979, they bounced back with four consecutive wins to complete qualification for the 1980 European Championships, England easily topping their group in dropping only one point along the way. For the most part this good form held as the finals came closer, their first appearance in a summer showpiece since 1970 giving a generation of England supporters their first taste of tournament football with a vested interest.
With Greenwood in charge of a team who were effective rather than exciting, England were drawn in Group Two along with Belgium, host nation Italy and Spain, a draw and defeat in the opening two matches bringing the necessity of beating Spain by two goals in their final game to progress further – a 2-1 win creditable in most circumstances, but on this occasion insufficient in having the required effect.
Built on a solid nucleus of Liverpool players and boosted further by the dependability of Keegan, Trevor Brooking, Steve Coppell and Ray Wilkins, having shown moments of promise in each fixture at the European Championships, England had good cause for optimism when viewing qualification for the 1982 World Cup Finals.
Continuity was to the fore when Greenwood signed a new two-year contract in the autumn of 1980, the qualification route leading to Spain not especially difficult with England overwhelming favourites to secure one of the two places on offer in a group populated by modest opposition.
The 4-0 sweeping aside of Norway that set things in motion was no more than to be expected, although a 2-1 October 1980 defeat in Romania came as something of a surprise, the subsequent 2-1 home victory over Switzerland yielding two more points but little in the way of plaudits.
Through the spring and summer of 1981 came notice something was amiss, a six match winless run incorporating a dropped qualification point when the Romanians came to Wembley, a dispiriting home defeat to Scotland, but worst of all a calamitous 2-1 reversal in Switzerland at the end of May that left hopes of reaching Spain in a parlous state – the second half goal from substitute Terry McDermott (Liverpool) that reduced the arrears was England’s first in five matches, but no consolation whatsoever in light of a largely inept performance.
Seven days later a much-improved display saw England register a notable 3-1 win over group leaders Hungary in Budapest. But if that victory brought Greenwood momentary respite from increasingly antagonistic Fleet Street football scribes, there was nowhere for him or the players to hide following the 2-1 autumn loss against the part-timers of Norway.
Rated 67th in the world they were the lowest ranked team to beat England (14th at the time), since such statistics were compiled, the humiliation on par with that of the 1950 World Cup defeat to the United States. Into folklore as gone the excited observations of Norwegian commentator Bjorn Minge who at the final whistle referenced a series of English figureheads, before announcing ‘Your boys took a hell of a beating‘ – the England team heading to hell in a handcart on the evidence of this sterile 90 minutes.
Still leading the group by a point, but with only one match to play, England could only look on as Hungary, Romania and Switzerland played their games in hand, the Romanians now those most likely to join the Magyars in heading to the World Cup. Yet as inquests were being conducted into why England had played so poorly in winning just one of their seven matches through 1981, a return most likely to see them miss out on going to Spain, Group Two was taking some curious twists with Hungary having the best of what now, in effect, was a three-team mini tournament.
As things transpired Romania and Switzerland frittered away vital points and on sharing a goalless draw in the penultimate group game put England in the enviable position of needing to beat the already-qualified Hungarians at Wembley on Wednesday 18 November to claim second place – the necessary achieved through a 16th minute goal from Ipswich striker Paul Mariner on a night when visitors showed little in the way of attacking intent.
Not only had England received a fortuitous reprieve, but the September nightmare in Norway would also prove their last defeat with Greenwood at the helm, England arriving at the 1982 World Cup on the back of six straight wins with only one goal conceded – quiet confidence giving way to increased expectation when they opened their campaign with an impressive victory over a strong French side containing such talents as Platini, Giresse and Tigana.
Playing in their first World Cup for twelve years and the first for which they had qualified through a group since 1962, a goal from midfield lynchpin Bryan Robson after just 27 seconds put England on course for a 3-1 win over France. This triumph was followed by comfortable victories over Czechoslovakia and Kuwait, all three achieved without contributions from Keegan and Brooking, both of whom were in the squad despite battling to overcome pre-tournament injuries.
With maximum points England finished top of the group and along with the exciting Brazilian team of Zico, Socrates and Falcao were one of only two sides to advance with a 100 per cent record. From being fortunate to be there England were now being talked of as genuine contenders, yet fate was about to conspire against them.
The structure of the 1982 World Cup was such those who qualified from the first stage found themselves in another group – this one comprising of three teams – with the side finishing top of this Round Robin progressing to the semi-finals (this format was subsequently dropped by FIFA and never used again). Curiously the winners of the first groups received no advantage in the next draw, England landing in a ‘group of death’ with West Germany and the host nation, while France found themselves in a section with Austria and Northern Ireland.
Opening phase two with an encounter against the West Germans, both sides had periods of dominance in what proved a hard-fought, but ultimately goalless encounter – a result that meant to reach the last four England in their match against Spain on July 5 would have to win by two goals, this after West Germany had overcome the Spanish with a 2-0 victory.
On a humid night in Madrid England toiled without making much headway. With twenty-five minutes left, Greenwood made one last throw of the dice by sending on injured duo Brooking and Keegan, both of whom would have chances to score – a sitter in the case of Keegan – yet incessant pressure was unable to alter the outcome. When the final whistle sounded on another 0-0 draw, England after not losing a match while scoring six with only one conceded were heading home, West Germany going forward to face France in the semi-final.
On exiting the competition Greenwood announced he was stepping down as manager with immediate effect, stating it was never his intention to continue beyond the ’82 World Cup. The beginning and end of his time in charge were notable for their lack of fanfare, although the national team were now a far more creditable entity than when he took the role five years before. Inheriting a unit who had failed to win eight of their 11 previous matches Greenwood signed off with nine wins and two draws.
In guiding England to the finals of both major tournaments that came along on his watch, Greenwood brought them out from ten years, give or take, in the international wilderness, although just below the surface is a more complex story. When England lost fixtures to Switzerland and Norway for the first time he was attacked by the press, but in a era just before total escalation of the tabloid war criticism focused mainly on tactics and team selection rather than vilification of a personal nature that went the way of his immediate successors Bobby Robson and Graham Taylor.
With 33 wins from his 55 matches in charge and only four defeats in 26 major competition fixtures, a feeling persists the Greenwood-era should be more fondly remembered than it is. Yet only a handful of performances (the ’77 win over Italy while he was caretaker, winning in Hungary during qualification for the World Cup and the tournament defeat of France), spring to mind as truly memorable.
His reluctance to give Glenn Hoddle, the most creative England player of the time, a role best suited to his talents (when selected at all) was at odds with the purist principles Greenwood espoused at West Ham, the manager more often than not opting for functionality rather than finesse in his approach to international football.
Perceived by some as aloof and dogmatic, his unwillingness to make tactical adjustments when England could be seen needing fresh impetus to liven a performance reflected what occurred at Upton Park – where year after year under Greenwood West Ham played attractive, thoughtful football, but in 13 seasons of his stewardship finished in the top ten only four times.
To some the part he played in nurturing the talents of Moore, Hurst and Peters, who each had major input into the crowning glory of 1966, outweighed his achievements as England manager, noted football scribe Brian Glanville alluding to such in his obituary of Greenwood, who died at the age of 84 in February 2006.
It is, however, impossible to miss the positive overtones of him selecting Nottingham Forest full-back Viv Anderson as the first black player to play for England, Greenwood having signed and fielded black players throughout his years at West Ham.
The cultural significance of Anderson lining up for England in 1978 at a time when racist chanting was not uncommon in stadiums cannot be overlooked either in the moment or for the years ahead – the timing for Ron Greenwood to be manager of England, not so out as often thought.
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NEIL SAMBROOK is the author of ‘MONTY’S DOUBLE‘ – an acclaimed thriller available in paperback and as an Amazon Kindle book.
