With the 60th anniversary of the 1966 World Cup mere months away, it is time to remind readers that England had played West Germany twice in 1966: once in February and the other match was the World Cup final in July 1966.

The 1960s: decade of renewal

In 1966 everything had the air of being new: the Labour government had won the election in 1964 and aimed to modernize the country and to look forward rather than back. The narrow margin however, suggested that the population was not 100% convinced of Labour’s lofty ambitions. The England manager, Alf Ramsey was only three years into his tenure and the biggest stage for him was only five months away. His counterpart, the German national coach Helmut Schön was only a few months longer in office.

The match at Wembley in February 1966 could have easily been overlooked but a crowd of 75000 indicated that interest in England’s team was sufficient, which surely had to do with the World Cup. David Downing argued that the match itself was relatively unimportant in itself, which should be considered out of touch with reality as it represented Alf Ramsey with another opportunity to test his preferred formation, the wingless 4-3-3.

There was a pre-match reference by Hackett speaking of the “highly regimented German side” but that was almost all there was written about Germany. Geoffrey Green in The Times mentioned the visitors only in passing, acknowledging their „fighting spirit, physical strength, stamina, and devotion to duty’, he argued, ‘it could be a test to reveal our abilities.’ Besides these remarks all focus was on England.

An unconvincing victory

England won the match 1-0 which led Geoffrey Green to write in The Times: “Unconvincing victory for England”, which was a suitable summary for the occasion. The line-ups were far from ideal as players were either injured or not released from their clubs. The Manchester United winger John Connelly for instance was at home to look after his two kids while his wife was in hospital giving birth to their child. This led Desmond Hackett to write that the winger had been left “holding the baby”. The focus of the press coverage was less on the Germans but on England and more critical of Ramsey’s side, despite the victory.

Analysis of the content and language of the match reports reveals an emphasis on two significant linked themes; breaking with tradition and the Wembley crowd. Ramsey, who was inclined to take a long view, seized the opportunity to give first caps to Newton, Hunter and Hurst while giving midfielder Nobby Stiles the number 9 shirt traditionally worn by the centre-forward. The tactically aware Ken Jones, covering the match for the Mirror explained:

‘It may not confuse the disciplined Germans. But then it is not designed to. This is the age of all-purpose players who are required to fill out the framework of an all-purpose system. That is why Stiles is wearing No. 9. And it does not matter.’

As far as Ramsey was concerned the match provided an opportunity to see how players fitted with the 4-3-3 formation to which he now seemed committed to. Critics of English football were inclined to argue that it often lagged behind the latest trends in coaching and tactics. Jones was able to point out that Ramsey was in line with new developments. ‘His faith in a 4-3-3 framework that is rapidly becoming world-wide in application is now carried into a third match.’

For Green the match was a disappointment and made him look to the past rather than the future for inspiration saying that he was ‘all in favour of free thinking and free movement’, but went on to point out that Ramsey’s ‘new methods, which [had] started so well in Madrid in December, seemed to get nowhere.’

In the Express, Hackett took a similar view. Germany ‘always threatened with precise, fast moves’; England had ‘merely plodded ponderously forward, labouring over a plan which gave no scope to enterprise or imagination.’ Like Green he was inclined to look to the past, beyond the ‘tactical corset’ of 4-3-3: ‘The team cried aloud for wingers, for men who could hold the ball, draw the defence or sweep round in the majestic style we once saw from Matthews and Finney.’ Both Green and Hackett were agreed that the Germans had been denied ‘what looked like a perfectly splendid goal’ when a linesman judged that the ball had gone out of play before a cross to Heiss whose finish had been too good for Banks.

Jones, reporting in the Mirror, was more realistic. ‘Certainly’, he conceded, ‘this was not the greatest of England performances but with a streak of experiment running through the side no one really expected it to be.’ Though more sympathetic, he was not uncritical, admitting that 4-3-3 line-up had not allowed England to play ‘with the freedom that Alf Ramsey seeks.’ At the same time, he was critical of the Wembley crowd which had given England the slow-handclap towards the end of the game. An interview with Ramsey allowed the manager to voice his displeasure at this aspect of the match. ‘I thought it was very unfair of the crowd to boo’, Ramsey complained, ‘and it was most extraordinary that they did so after a visiting team’s goal had been disallowed.’

Hackett, responding in the Express, dismissed Ramsey’s remarks as ‘pathetic’. He explained; ‘I am bitterly against slow handclaps and jeers. But I am equally opposed to unworthy cheers.’ He claimed that his view was in line with that of dissatisfied England fans who had made ‘non-stop phone calls’ to the Express. A day later the sports page carried letters from readers which broadly supported the line Hackett had taken. ‘The average soccer fan is fed up with theories, plans, systems, call them what you will,’ claimed one reader. What he wanted to see was ‘free-thinking instinctive football by players operating in their normal club positions.’ It was clear that the modernization project which Ramsey had initiated was not universally popular at this stage.

This text is an extract from my book „Crossing the Line“, which was published by Peter Lang.

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