Three friends who attended England's 1966 World Cup final triumph exactly 60 years ago say cheating and the commercialisation of the sport have made football less enjoyable.
Norman Cooper, Derek Scott and Ray Liberty will gather on Thursday to celebrate the anniversary of England's 4-2 extra-time win over West Germany at Wembley.
Cheating and Commercialisation
Remembering Bobby Moore, who famously wiped his hands before meeting the Queen and receiving the Jules Rimet trophy, brought comparisons to the state of today's game.
“It’s their instinct to cheat now,” said Mr Scott, a 78-year-old former accountant, who felt that made the game harder to watch, which his friends agreed with.
“Football’s so different now, there was no cheating, no loads of substitutes coming,” he continued, before Mr Cooper added “no pulling of shirts”.
“It was honest, it was so simple,” said Mr Liberty, 81, who used to work as an artist for advertising agencies and still puts his calligraphy skills to good use by writing up each week’s fixtures on the blackboard in the Nascot Arms in Watford, where the friends met and now regularly drink.
Money and Hype
Beyond the transformation on the pitch, football’s commercialisation leaves a bad taste.
“It was totally different to now,” said Mr Liberty as he sipped ale from a personalised glass kept behind the bar for him. “Now, we’re playing in Mexico, America, and there’s fanatical support, it wasn’t like that then, there was no hype. (This year) there was flags everywhere.
“I appreciated it more back then, it’s been a long 60 years, it’s so enormously different. It was great, we were a little country, everybody had a bit of it, but how lucky we were (to be at) Wembley – that was the place to be.
“I saw the team come in on the bus, of course in those days you could see them, no blacked-out windows. It seemed to be nicer, more simple. Now, it’s not thrashed down my throat, because I don’t want it to be, but it’s all to do with new shirts. It’s money, money, money. I don’t mind being a bit old, we had it when it was better, I suppose.”
Memories of 1966
All three were adamant at the time that Geoff Hurst's contentious second goal did not cross the line, although Mr Cooper said Channel 4’s colourised replay has given him reason to doubt. Had VAR been in use, 60 years of debate would never have happened.
The three fans, who did not know each other at the time of the final but became friends through drinking at the Nascot over the last 20 years, recalled their favourite memories of the day.
Mr Cooper, 79, who retired after a 40-year career as a civil servant in the Ministry of Defence, said his best memory was seeing former Manchester City goalkeeper Bert Trautmann, then an advisor to West Germany, walk on to the pitch before the match. “Beating Germany was good but seeing Trautmann just made it for me, he was a German Mancunian really.”
“I loved the whole thing”, said Mr Liberty. “Right from the first game against Uruguay. I’ve got this (the tournament programme) and I wrote something like ‘this is going to be exciting, it was not a good game, but we’re going to be OK’.
He remembered seeing heavyweight boxer Muhammad Ali outside Wembley before the final, and said: “I was very confident about winning that game. After the game, I thought ‘I need a beer’ and my dad bought me a pint, it went down pretty quickly. (After that) I couldn’t drink any more, I was so emotional, I just had to go home. Now, what would people be doing, throwing it down.”
“I just went straight home”, said Mr Cooper. “I don’t think we realised we were on the verge of history.”
Mr Scott recalled leaving immediately after the game with a friend to holiday in Cornwall. “It was quite an adventure,” he said. “The M4 only went as far as Reading but we stopped in a couple of little villages, and as soon as the locals found that we’d been to Wembley, they were giving us drinks.”
Looking Back and Forward
The three said much of the game was a blur, with the thrill of extra time “pretty unheard of” according to Mr Liberty. Mr Cooper said the 2-1 semi-final victory over Portugal was a “better football match”.
They agreed they might remember the game itself better had they appreciated more what they were seeing. “We didn’t think we’d have to wait another 60 years for them to win,” said Mr Cooper.
“We were world champions and had some really great players,” Mr Scott added.
Mr Liberty said: “That’s what we’re saying about how vastly different it was. (Manager) Sir Alf Ramsey was quiet, but very confident we were going to win. He picked a team he believed in, and they knitted together beautifully. Jackie Charlton’s not everybody’s favourite centre-half, but Bobby Moore, classy, very good captain. We probably had the best goalkeeper (Gordon Banks) in the world.”
When asked whether England might emulate the 1966 trophy win again, Mr Scott said: “Who knows? Everyone has the same opinion of that second half (in England’s 2-1 semi-final defeat to Argentina this year), how we just closed up – ridiculous.”
“I don’t think Mr (Thomas) Tuchel will be in charge by then somehow,” said Mr Cooper. “It’s been a bit of a nightmare (since), hasn’t it? 1996, I thought we had a good chance under Terry Venables after (Paul) Gascoigne’s goal against Scotland.”
Mr Liberty added: “But it doesn’t work like that. So we’re very privileged, all very happy to have been there. What are the chances you’d have three people who were there all at the same pub? I’ll be here on Thursday to raise a glass to the boys of ‘66, especially Geoff (Hurst) as he’s the only one left.”
“I shall be here”, agreed Mr Scott, telling Mr Cooper: “I might even buy you a beer.”
