"On one occasion Nat Lofthouse. rising to head a
centre from Tom Finney, suddenly found a defender's legs
wrapped around him in approved wrestling fashion. Picking
himself off the ground, Lofthouse received the shock of his
life when the referee, after whistling up for a foul, awarded
it against him." "Then another incident followed which not
only we but also the Italian players deplored. After Lofthouse
and an Italian defender had gone down in a tackle, bottles
were hurled on to the pitch and Nat missed cutting his right
eye on a piece of glass by a fraction of an inch." "Things
turned nasty in the second half when Nat Lofthouse was pelted
with coins and bottles."
- Billy Wright |
|
|
"INEPT
ENGLAND THREW AWAY CHANCES"
Daily Herald |
Officials |
Italy |
FIFA ruling on substitutes |
England
Party |
Referee
Alois Beranek
52 (15 January 1900), Wien, Austria |
The
Continental ruling of allowing a substitute to replace an injured player
prior to the 44th minute, and a goalkeeper at any time, is in place.
"During the interval aircraft swooped over the field, dropping a parachute
carrying gifts from a Swiss firm of watches for the players and officials."
- Monday, 19
May1952, The Derry Journal. |
Linesmen |
tbc |
tbc |
|
|
Italy
Team |
|
Rank |
No official ranking system established; ELO rating 3rd |
Colours |
Blue crew-necked jerseys, white shorts, black socks. |
Captain |
Silvio Piola |
Manager |
C. Beretta.
Party chosen on Thursday, 1 May 1952. Team chosen on Saturday, 17
May. |
Italy
Lineup |
1 |
Moro, Giuseppe |
31 123 days |
16 January 1921 |
G |
UC
Sampdoria |
7 |
0 |
2 |
Giovannini, Attilio |
27 293 days |
30 July 1924 |
RB |
FC
Internazionale Milano |
10 |
0 |
3 |
Manente, Sergio |
27 160 days |
10 December 1924 |
LB |
Juventus FC |
1 |
0 |
only app
1952 |
4 |
Mari, Giacomo |
27 214 days |
17 October 1924 |
RHB |
Juventus FC |
5 |
0 |
5 |
Ferrario, Rino |
25 163 days |
7 December 1926 |
CHB |
Juventus FC |
1 |
0 |
6 |
Piccinini, Alberto |
29 114 days |
25 January 1923 |
LHB |
Juventus FC |
4 |
0 |
7 |
Boniperti, Giampiero |
33 319 days |
4 July 1928 |
OR |
Juventus FC |
14 |
2 |
8 |
Pandolfini, Egisto |
26 91 days |
17 February 1926 |
IR |
AC Fiorentina |
5 |
2 |
9 |
Piola, Silvio, injured off 75th min. |
38 232 days |
29 September 1913 |
CF |
Novara Calcio SpA |
34 |
30 |
final app
1935-52 |
10
|
Amadei, Amedeo |
30 297 days |
26 July 1921 |
IL |
SSC Napoli |
12 |
7 |
11 |
Capello, Gino |
31 351 days |
2 June 1920 |
OL |
Bologna FC 1909 |
9 |
3 |
unused substitute: |
not known |
team notes: |
Piola injured his foot that required him to leave the field from the
75th to 85th minutes. |
|
2-3-5 |
Moro - Giovannini, Manenti - Mari, Ferrario, Piccini -
Boniperti, Panolfini, Piola, Amadei, Capello |
Averages: |
Age |
29 years 50
days |
Appearances/Goals |
9.3 |
3.9 |
|
|
England
Team |
|
Rank |
No official ranking system established; ELO rating 4th |
Colours |
The 1949 home
uniform -
White collared jerseys, blue shorts, red socks.
|
P 24th of 43, W 14 - D 5 - L 5 - F
63 - A 35. |
Captain |
Billy Wright |
Manager |
Walter Winterbottom, 39 (31 March 1913), appointed as FA national director of coaching/team manager on 8 July 1946; |
record 26th of 90, W 16 - D 4 - L 6 - F 62 - A 32. |
Trainer: Jimmy Trotter (Charlton Athletic FC) |
P 44th of 139, W 29 - D 8 - L 7 - F 131 - A 51. |
|
³ |
Team chosen by Selection Committee
headed by Arthur Oakley,
on Wednesday, 14 May. |
England
Lineup |
|
one
change
to the previous match
(Elliott>Rowley) |
FINAL league positions
(3 May) |
|
|
Merrick, Gilbert H. |
30 113 days |
26 January 1922 |
G |
Birmingham City FC
(FL2 3rd) |
4 |
4ᵍᵃ |
2 |
Ramsey, Alfred E. |
32 117 days |
22 January 1920 |
RB |
Tottenham Hotspur FC
(FL RU) |
20 |
1 |
the 24th player to reach the 20-app milestone |
3 |
Garrett, Thomas |
26 80 days |
28 February 1926 |
LB |
Blackpool FC
(FL 9th) |
2 |
0 |
4 |
Wright, William A. |
28 102 days |
6 February 1924 |
RHB |
Wolverhampton
Wanderers FC (FL 16th) |
41 |
3 |
=most apps |
5 |
Froggatt, Jack |
29 183 days |
17 November 1922 |
CHB |
Portsmouth FC (FL
4th) |
6 |
1 |
6 |
Dickinson, James
W. |
27 24 days |
24 April 1925 |
LHB |
Portsmouth
FC (FL 4th) |
18 |
0 |
7 |
Finney,
Thomas |
30 43 days |
5 April 1922 |
OR |
Preston
North End FC (FL 7th) |
37 |
20 |
8
|
Broadis, Ivan A. |
29 152 days |
18 December 1922 |
IR |
Manchester City FC (FL 15th) |
3 |
1 |
9 |
Lofthouse, Nathaniel |
26 265 days |
27 August 1925 |
CF |
Bolton Wanderers FC
(FL 5th) |
6 |
5 |
10
|
Pearson, Stanley C. |
33 128 days |
11 January 1919 |
IL |
Manchester United FC
(FL CHAMPIONS) |
8 |
5 |
final app
1948-52 |
716 |
11 |
Elliott, William H. |
27
59 days |
20 March 1925 |
OL |
Burnley FC (FL 14th) |
1 |
0 |
the fifteenth Burnley player to represent
England |
unused substitutes: |
Ronnie Allen (West Bromwich Albion FC
(FL 13th)),
Eddie Baily (Tottenham Hotspur FC
(FL RU)),
Bill Eckersley (Blackburn Rovers FC
(FL2 14th)),
Bill Nicholson (Tottenham Hotspur FC
(FL RU)),
Jackie Sewell (Sheffield Wednesday FC
(FL2 Winners)) and
Bert Williams (Wolverhampton Wanderers FC
(FL 16th)). |
team notes: |
Billy Elliott becomes the 75th different player to be fielded by
Winterbottom. For the first time,
England have recorded four draws in a single season. |
|
2-3-5 |
Merrick - Ramsey, Garrett - Wright, Froggatt, Dickinson
- Finney, Broadis, Lofthouse, Pearson, Elliott |
Averages: |
Age |
29 years 51
days |
Appearances/Goals |
13.3 |
3.2 |
|
|
Match Report by
Mike Payne |
This
first match of England's summer tour turned out to be very disappointing
game with Italy looking the more likely winners. England started well
enough and took the lead after only four minutes with a well-taken goal by
Ivor Broadis. For the next 25 minutes the visitors bombarded the Italian
goal, only to be totally frustrated by an outstanding performance from
goalkeeper Moro.
He
defied all that England could throw at him and made particularly good
saves from Nat Lofthouse and Tom Finney. If England could have added to
their early score in this period of intense pressure then they would
surely have gone on to a convincing victory.
As it was their missed chances enabled Italy
to fight their way back into the game. A minute before half-time Piola
missed a golden opportunity to net an equaliser and England still held
their lead at the break.
Before the change of ends, Italy had shown
their capabilities and in the second half they dominated the game. The
England defenders worked overtime to repel the eager Italians and Billy
Wright and Jack Froggatt were in outstanding form. However, in the 63rd
minute Italy's pressure paid off with Amadei scoring to put his side
level.
For the remainder of the match, urged on by their passionate
crowd, the home side continually pressed forward. England did make one or
two dangerous breakaway raids but neither side could force a winner. For
Piola it was the last chance at international level as he made his 34th
and last appearance. At 39 years old he had been especially recalled for
this game and that missed chance just before half-time ruined the
possibility of a glorious ending to his career.
|
Match Report by
Norman Giller |
Only Billy Wright and Tom Finney remained of
the England team that had conquered Italy 4-0 in Turin in 1948. Ivor
Broadis gave England a fourth minute lead that was cancelled out by a
spectacular solo effort from Amadei in the sixty-third minute. The
idolised centre-forward Piola, who had helped Italy retain the World Cup
in 1938, was recalled for a swansong appearance at the age of thirty-nine.
It ended on a sad note for him when he missed an easy chance for a winner
in front of an empty net. It was the cool heads of Wright and Ramsey that
brought England safely through to a draw when the Italians were
threatening to run riot in the second half.
|
Match Report
as appears in the F.A. Yearbook 1952-53, page 27 |
The
spring tour was on an ambitious scale this
year — three matches played against three countries in the course of
eleven days. Elliott, at outside-left, was the only newcomer to the team
that beat Scotland when on May 18th England walked out into the great
municipal stadium at Florence to meet Italy. In the opening stages England
produced some fast and elegant football, but only one goal. It came in the
fourth minute, when Broadis beat goalkeeper Moro with a low drive into the
corner of the net.
After 20 minutes, though, England's
inside-forwards seemed to tire, and the Italian pressure gradually
increased. The heat may have had something to do with it, though the
Italian team was generally underrated, but England certainly lacked their
customary stamina. The Italians' equalizing goal resulted from a short
throw from Merrick to Elliott, which Amadei, the Italian inside-left,
seized upon and shot into the net from close range. With the game open
play became very rough, and although in the closing phases England
attacked vigorously, the game ended indecisively.
|
In
Other News....
It was on 17 May 1952 that 52-year-old Alicia Roberts was
committed for trial, charged with the murder of her husband,
Jack, 44, two months earlier, in the village of Talsarnau in
Gwynedd. His body had been found to contain an excessive
amount of arsenic that had probably been administered in
several doses over a period of time. His wife's first
husband had died less than three years earlier and when his
body was exhumed was found to contain large amounts of
arsenic. Jack and Alicia had only been married for a year,
but there had been numerous family rows and Jack was thought
to be a hypochondriac. They had eight children between them.
Mrs. Roberts had bought weed killer containing arsenic and
gave a false name and address when signing the register, but
once in police custody, she attempted suicide by cutting her
throat. She was found not guilty of murder in July 1952. |
|
Source Notes |
TheFA.com
Original newspaper reports FIGC |
|
Rothman's Yearbooks
Mike Payne's England: The Complete Post-War Record
Norman Giller, Football Author
British Pathé |
|
cg |