Welcome to our next look back in time at the calendar year which was 1970. When we were last here, we looked at how Leeds United finished what had been a very promising season empty-handed after falling just short in the league title race (to Everton), the FA Cup Final (to Chelsea) and the European Cup (defeat to Celtic in the semi-final). In addition to Leeds’ woes, Manchester City had made the nation proud by winning the European Cup Winners’ Cup in a 2–1 victory over Górnik Zabrze of Poland in Vienna, Austria.
Now, with the domestic season all done and dusted earlier than usual in order to assist England with their preparations for, hopefully, retaining the World Cup in Mexico, the spring of 1970 was upon the nation. As ‘Back Home’, the official England World Cup song performed by the squad, continued to ride high in the charts, society was once again gripped by a potentially unhealthy combination of jingoism and naive optimism, exposing all concerned to the strong possibility of ‘Pride coming before a fall’.
As the only one of the Home Nations to take part in the month-long jamboree in Mexico, England had the stage to themself, just as they had done four years earlier on home ground when the Jules Rimet trophy had been wrestled from West Germany after extra time. Now, general opinion considered England to have a better side and to be among the strong favourites to take the trophy again.
Exactly what this resounding confidence was based upon is not totally clear as since the Wembley success four years earlier, England had not exactly pulled up many trees. They had only just made it to the final stages of the 1968 European Championships by a single point, ahead of Scotland who they had drawn with and lost to in the two matches of the 1967 and 1968 British Home Championships that served as the qualifying process, and although Spain had been defeated in the quarter-final over two legs, the semi-final had been lost by a single goal to Yugoslavia.
England had fared slightly better in the Home Championships, with three victories in the annual competition since 1966, but their chances were still being played up rather excessively by the media.
Mexico ’70 and teething problems!
As manager, Sir Alf Ramsey had kept faith with certain members of the squad that had served him so well in 1966 while at the same time overseeing the integration of new blood. Still essential to the cause were such stalwarts as Bobby Moore, Bobby Charlton, Alan Ball, Geoff Hurst, Gordon Banks, and Martin Peters, while other players such as Jack Charlton and Nobby Stiles were still in and around the squad. Coming through the ranks were players such as Alan Mullery, Francis Lee, Keith Newton, Terry Cooper, Colin Bell, Jeff Astle and Norman Hunter, while others such as Peter Osgood, Emlyn Hughes and Allan Clarke were all stating a claim, too.
The tournament kicked off on 31 May with the host nation playing out a goalless draw with the Soviet Union, while England were due to make their bow two days later in Guadalajara against Romania.
However, before England embarked on their defence of the trophy the side had its concentration and preparation severely affected by the notorious Bobby Moore ‘Bracelet Saga’. Accused of stealing an item of jewellery in a shop in a hotel in Bogota, Colombia, Moore was detained and it looked for a while that England might have to start the tournament without their talisman captain.Â
One shudders to think what the media’s reaction would be nowadays if future England captains such as Wayne Rooney, John Terry or Steven Gerrard had been accused similarly, but at the time support was very much in supply for Moore, and the accusations against him were widely dismissed by Fleet Street.
Although the exact details of this rather strange affair have never been totally defined or clarified, the fact of the matter was that Moore was eventually released and so was in the lineup to face the Romanians.
 ‘Back Home’ Harold Wilson, the Labour Prime Minister, was grateful for the distraction the World Cup was providing the nation with, as the predicaments of Ramsey and his boys were taking people’s minds off the upcoming General Election, due to take place two days before the final.Â
Doing badly in the polls, an England success – Wilson reasoned in perhaps a classic example of ‘clutching at straws’ – would increase his personal chances of success as the nation, in general, would be in a good mood and less likely to be calling for change.Â
England kicked off against Romania with a line-up as follows: Banks in goal; Keith Newton, Moore, Terry Cooper, and Brian Labone in defence; Alan Mullery, Alan Ball, Martin Peters, and Bobby Charlton in midfield, with Geoff Hurst and Francis Lee up front.Â
On a hot and humid day, England struggled to get going, with chances few and far between. The second half followed a similar format before 1966 hero, Geoff Hurst, once again came to the nation’s rescue with the only goal of the game in the 70th minute of the match. Although hardly a convincing performance, it was at least two points gained and England’s defence of the trophy was underway.Â
Also in the group were Czechoslovakia and the favourites, Brazil. These two sides met 24 hours after England’s clash with Romania and despite the Czechs taking the lead after just eleven minutes and still being on equal terms with an hour gone, it was to nobody’s great surprise that Brazil eventually ran out 4-1 winners.
Brazil, and ‘the greatest save ever’
Next up was the clash between what many a wise owl predicted would be a dress rehearsal for the final itself: Brazil v England. Television was experimenting for the first time with a panel system whereby the Great and the Good from football discussed matters back in the studio. Led by Jimmy Hill and Brian Moore, ITV pioneered the system that would later become commonplace around the world and were joined in the studio by the ‘Englishman, Irishman and Scotsman’ trio of Malcolm Allison, Derek Doogan and Paddy Crerand amongst others.
England made one change from the side that had defeated Romania, with Tommy Wright replacing the injured Keith Newton. The match was shown live on television and has gone down in folklore as one of the best ever by two evenly-matched sides. The match was played at midday due to television restraints and as a result kicked off in 98-degree temperatures. After just ten minutes came the moment for which the match is most notably remembered to this day when Gordon Banks pulled off what is widely considered to be ‘the best saver ever’.
As Norman Giller of the Daily Express described the incident at the time:Â Carlos Alberto, Brazilian right-back and captain, pushed a carefully calculated pass down the right wing into the path of the skilled Jairzinho, who suddenly and dramatically accelerated past Terry Cooper to the by-line. He then stabbed a centre into the goalmouth that seemed to hang invitingly for Pele, who had instinctively read the situation as only he could. He had got himself perfectly positioned beyond his marker Alan Mullery to meet the ball. The master climbed above the ball and headed it with ferocious power down – and so he thought – into the net. Mullery later reported that Pele shouted ‘Goal!’ as the ball flew off his head. So did most spectators in the stadium, including the commentators sending their descriptive phrases around the world to millions of television viewers and radio listeners. Banks looked rooted on the wrong side of goal but suddenly, with the blurring speed of a panther, sprinted and then dived to his right and somehow managed to get an outstretched hand under the ball to flick it up and away over the bar. Pele stopped dead in mid-celebration to mourn what had somehow become a missed chance.Â
Although it was undoubtedly a save for the ages, the fifty-plus years since have somewhat exaggerated both its quality and its effect on the game. Looking at the video, Banks does indeed do well to make the save, but I would contend that as a goalkeeper of the highest level, he merely did as he was supposed to. Look at it here. Banks does everything right in terms of preparing for Pele’s header – he moves his feet from the near post as Jairzinho starts to prepare the cross, so by the time Pele is leaping to head the ball Banks is already in the middle of his goal. Good goalkeeping but not extraordinary. Pele then heads the ball downwards instead of in a level direction. This has the effect of making the ball bounce three yards from the line, so giving Banks the opportunity to respond and flick it over the bar. Had Pele directed his header in a higher direction, or sent it back in the direction from which it came, Banks would have had no chance of saving it.
In short; yes, it was a good save – excellent, even – but the best ever? Not for me, Clive.
Anywhoo, England finally succumbed to a single-goal defeat courtesy of a goal scored by Jairzinho on the hour mark. England substitute, Geoff Astle, was guilty of missing a golden opportunity to equalise but conventional wisdom had it that the two best sides in the tournament had met and were on course to meet again in a fortnight’s time.
Well, the best-laid plans and all that….
Whilst victory ensured qualification for the quarter-finals for Brazil, England still needed to beat Czechoslovakia in the last group game to be sure of going through. Showing five changes to the side that had lost to Brazil, England once again flattered to deceive and in the end scrambled home by the only goal of the game, a single Allan Clarke penalty. The fact that Clarke was trusted with taking the penalty whilst making his debut for England in the middle of a World Cup tournament seems remarkable now.
Banks of England: tummy troubles
Nevertheless, England were through to the last eight and a resumption of hostilities with old foes, West Germany. For this match, Ramsey reverted back to the side that had started the tournament against Romania.Â
With one notable exception.
Taken ill with suspected food poisoning on the eve of the game was the talismanic Gordon Banks. As with the Bobby Moore ‘Bracelet Saga’, rumours and accusations regarding the precise details of what occurred all those years ago continue to this day, with some going so far as to allege that Banks was deliberately poisoned, or ‘knobbled’, while others dismiss these accusations as the whinging of poor losers.
Despite the shock of losing their inspirational goalkeeper at such short notice, England started the match in fine form and soon took relative control. Despite being thirty-two years of age, Bobby Charlton was still up to the task of controlling a game from the centre of midfield, and although Ramsey had done his best to protect Charlton from the immense heat of Mexico by substituting him in the previous two games, Charlton was in fine form as he went head-to-head with Franz Beckenbaur in the centre of the park. With Martin Peters, another hero from 1966, also having a great game, England took control of the match and with little more than twenty minutes go were sitting comfortably on a two-goal lead.
With the heat getting to Charlton somewhat, Ramsey started to prepare to substitute him as he had against both Brazil and Czechoslovakia. With Charlton reduced to walking pace, he let Beckenbaur run off him for the first time all game, and when the German talisman sent in a shot from the edge of the box, Bonetti dived over the top of it and West Germany were back in the game.
Ramsey then carried out the substitution of Charlton, sending Colin Bell on in his place. On eighty minutes, Ramsey then made another substitution; replacing Peters for Norman Hunter in an effort to shore England’s defence up when it would have made more sense to take off the exhausted Terry Cooper in a straight swap.
With the German tails now well and truly up, two minutes later came the equaliser. Uwe Seeler got on the end of a cross and sent a looping header over the wrong-footed and badly-placed Bonetti for the equaliser. Into extra time, and unlike four years earlier there was only going to be one winner now. Yet again Bonetti could have done better when he failed to deal with a header back across his goal and Gerd Muller was able to pop home from three yards.
The game was up for England, just as it was for Bonetti, who never played for England again, and, ultimately, as it would be for Ramsey less than four years later when England failed to qualify for the 1974 World Cup.
Despite coming into the tournament as defending champions and one of the favourites this time round, England had departed the competition with barely more than a whimper. A side considered to be ‘the best ever’ England team had been beaten twice in four games and had only managed two scrambled 1-0 victories, one of which was courtesy of a penalty.Â
England’s failure came as a big shock and rather than acting as a wake-up call and a reassessment of English football in general, the national game went into decline and it would be another twelve years before England again qualified for the World Cup.
As a side note, time was also up for Harold Wilson and the Labour Party. In the General Election held a week or so after England’s dismal defeat to West Germany, the country voted Wilson out and Ted Heath and the Conservative Party in.
