Respect for Gareth Southgate, some sympathy for Harry Kane – but considerable disappointment with England’s overall performance, particularly the lack of creativity.
As you’d expect them to, the men who filled English football stadiums in the 1950s and ’60s – and are the stars of When Footballers Were Skint – watched the World Cup with a critical (and knowing) eye.
Peter McParland, the Aston Villa forward who scored five goals for Northern Ireland at the 1958 World Cup, commended Southgate for his effort and for uniting the team with his ‘Go with me’ rallying cry.
Otherwise, though, he thought England were a moderate side, below standard even, and with little creative flair. Had they been placed in another group they might not have qualified for the knockout rounds.
He was particularly critical of England’s performance against Colombia, a match in which they took the lead and looked capable of winning comfortably. But they lacked ideas, created very little and in the end were fortunate to survive the penalty shootout.
Four of McParland’s goals in the 1958 finals, in which Northern Ireland reached the quarter-finals, were from open play. The fifth was a volley from a Danny Blanchflower free kick. ‘We were a footballing team with a creative midfield,’ he said. ‘There was Bertie Peacock and Jimmy McIlroy and then there was Danny Blanchflower, who orchestrated the whole thing.’
Terry Allcock, a consistent scorer for Bolton Wanderers and Norwich City from 1953-69, reckons England were ‘over-publicised as being successful. How many chances did we create? Very, very few.’
For this he blamed the absence of a creative influence in midfield and poor technique in front of goal. ‘The England players needed two touches to control the ball and none had the sort of balance Paul Pogba showed when he scored that goal for France in the second half of the final.’
He referred, of course, to Pogba’s skilful finish in the 58th minute after Luka Modric blocked his right-foot shot from just outside the penalty area. The Manchester United player’s response was to whip in the rebound with his left foot.
Gordon Milne, an outstanding midfielder for Liverpool in the 1960s, was also disappointed by England’s finishing but he felt Harry Kane, who scored five of his six goals in the first two matches, was unfairly criticised.
‘Hoddle [commentating for ITV] said Kane should have made more runs but for a striker to do this with any chance of success the ball has to be played more quickly from deep positions – whether your name’s Harry Kane or Gary Lineker.
‘The way England built up slowly meant opposition defences pushed up to the edge of the 18-yard box and the match was being played in only a quarter of the pitch. If you hang on to the ball for too long you reduce your chances of playing the clever pass, a mistake France didn’t make in the final.
‘The long ball has got a bad name but there’s a difference between the long ball and the long pass. What’s wrong with the long pass?’
Kieran Trippier and Harry Maguire were the two England players who received general approval for their performances – and there was a mention, too, for the occasionally used Chelsea’s Ruben Loftus-Cheek. ‘There was a bit of madam about him,’ was McParland’s approving assessment, a compliment taken, apparently, from the Malcolm Allison phrase book.
Jon Henderson || @hendojon || CLICK HERE: When Footballers Were Skint