Over the Line by Dr Alexander Gross

Author:Dr Alexander Gross
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pitch Publishing
Published: 2022-06-15T00:00:00+00:00

12 March 1975

England 2-0 West Germany

Wembley Stadium

Don Revie was the outstanding candidate to become the new England manager in the summer of 1974, having led Leeds United to two league titles, one FA Cup, one League Cup and two Inter-Cities Fairs Cup titles in the 13 years since he became player-manager at the end of the 1960/61 season. Revie accepted the offer from the FA in July, after caretaker manager Joe Mercer had overseen seven matches.

The new era got off to a flying start in a European Championship qualifier against Czechoslovakia in October, when England scored three goals after a double substitution from Revie with 25 minutes remaining. Gone were Banks, Moore, Peters and Hurst, leaving Ball as the only World Cup winner in the squad. The new era was also signalled by England’s first use of the Admiral home shirt that featured red and blue stripes from the neck to the cuffs, as well as the manufacturer’s logo. The FA’s pursuit of commercial opportunities after the Ramsey era was thus manifested on the field of play.

The eagerly awaited friendly match against world champions West Germany in March 1975 marked the 100th time England played at Wembley, and it also happened to be the 400th recognised DFB international. It was just the third match of Revie’s tenure, yet he was already exhibiting a tendency to make changes and experiment with the team. In the three games against Czechoslovakia, Portugal and West Germany, he used 21 different players from 13 clubs and awarded five debut caps. For this match, an FA Cup quarter-final replay between Leeds and Ipswich Town on the preceding evening meant that Revie had to do without Hunter and Madeley, and could not give an expected debut to Ipswich left-back Kevin Beattie. There were thus two debutants at full-back in Leicester City’s Stephen Whitworth and Ian Gillard of Queens Park Rangers. Assured of their place, meanwhile, were Liverpool team-mates Keegan and Ray Clemence, the successor to Banks in goal.

Southampton forward Mick Channon had won 12 caps under Ramsey and was also favoured by Revie, while Newcastle United striker Malcolm Macdonald, who finished the 1974/75 season as top goalscorer in the league, looked to secure a place in the side. As one of English football’s so-called mavericks, Macdonald had been unable to earn Ramsey’s trust but was now in irresistible form. Another flamboyant player with a similar reputation, Stoke City’s Alan Hudson, was given his international debut here in the number ten shirt, a decision welcomed in The Guardian by the headline ‘Revie gives Hudson chance at last’. Hudson claims that Ramsey had unjustly imposed a three-year suspension on him for failing to report for an under-23 international when suffering from an injury.

Three days before the game, Revie handed Ball the captain’s armband, which had been worn by Hughes under Mercer and in Revie’s first two matches. This was a disputed choice since Ball had been sent off five times in his career, most notably in the defeat in Poland in 1973 that precipitated Ramsey’s downfall.

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