Ghost of Ramsay still haunts England
England 2 – Poland 1
And so it begins. England’s attempt to qualify for the 2022 World Cup - in of all places Qatar - a venue so bizarre that the words corruption and FIFA are indelibly linked. Where major final qualification is required, England tend to do quite well, mid-ranking European football nations rarely offering up much in the way of resistance to derail the train. And with three workmanlike wins against the likes of San Marino, Albania and Poland, England are at it again.
It is nearly fifty-five years since an England side managed by Alf Ramsey won the World Cup. Fifty-five years in which the record of English football can be summed up in two words; inglorious failure. Three semi-final defeats at major tournaments (2 in the World Cup, 1 in the European Championships) mark the pinnacle of the national side’s achievements one in which quarter final exit has become the defining characteristic. Whilst it’s a stretch to suggest that these failings can be solely attributed to Sir Alf, I believe that his legacy continues to haunt England.
It was in the wake of the failed 1962 World Cup campaign that Alf Ramsey replaced Walter Winterbottom as England Manager. In only one of the preceding four World Cup’s had England qualified for the knockout stage. So when Ramsey, shortly after his appointment, declared that England would win the 1966 World Cup on home turf his hubris was met with a certain amount of scepticism. Yet from the off it was clear that he saw his role as one of radical overhaul, the clearest manifestation being his switch to a four-three-three line up in which wingers were replaced by attacking midfield players.
By the time that he had steered England into the knock-out stages of the World Cup he had taken this approach to its ultimate end by removing wingers altogether in what became known as “The wingless wonders”. The symbolism of removing a role that had previously filled by two of England’s greatest players – Stanley Matthews and Tom Finney - was considerable. So too his pragmatism in melding flair with brute force; Bobby Moore next to Jack Charlton, Bobby Charlton next to Nobby Stiles. He also demonstrated great loyalty to his players famously refusing calls from the media and FA to drop Stiles after the latter had injured Frenchman Jacques Simon with a crude tackle. And when Jimmy Greaves, one of England’s most gifted and prolific strikers returned from injury in time for the final, Ramsey kept with a winning team containing a youthful Geoff Hurst. The rest, as they say, is history.
If fifty-five years of failure is a yardstick, then winning a World Cup is an achievement of some gravitas. Yet it is my belief that the foundation of that success, based as it was on pragmatism, dogged what remained of Ramsey’s England tenure and indeed the thinking of subsequent England managers. He had proved you could win with a dearth of flair and as a consequence setting teams up not to lose took precedence over setting teams up to win. Eight years on from his World Cup triumph England were knocked out of the European Championships by West Germany playing what Hugh McIlvanny described as “cautious, joyless football”.
How many times over the ensuing years has this been England’s default setting, the exceptions being the sides of Bobby Robson (1990 World Cup), Terry Venables (1996 Euros) and Glenn Hoddle (1998 World Cup). You would think that the lack of success might engender a change of approach. But not a bit of it. As recently as the 2018 World Cup Gareth Southgate’s much lauded England side still ultimately failed, scraping through to the semi’s with a combination of penalties and goals from set pieces. And two years prior to that was the embarrassment of Iceland.
In mitigation you can only deal with the cards you are dealt and certainly over the last forty years the way in which the national game has nurtured young talent has been marginal at best. But as we enter the twenty twenties there is a sense that that circumstance could be changing. The challenge for Manager Southgate is to embrace that change. But if the less than convincing performance against Poland is anything to go by, then I fear Ramsay’s pragmatism may still be holding sway.
Picking a side with a ratio of seven defensive minded players to four attacking will never dominate. Which is what happened against Poland and particularly during the second half when too often England were on the back foot, playing too deep without the ball. And once again they had to rely on a set piece to secure the win. The ratio therefore needs to shift from 7 / 4 to 6 / 5 with Mason Mount playing alongside either Kalvin Phillips or Declan Rice and either Jack Grealish or Marcus Rashford entering the fray to expand the attacking options.
It is high time the ghost of Ramsey was laid to rest. Sadly, I can’t see Southgate being the man.
©Mark Brennand