"ONE
RAY IN THE ENGLAND RABBLE"
Sunday Mirror |
Officials
from Scotland |
Northern Ireland |
UK ruling on substitutes |
England |
Referee
(black blazer)
Charles Edward Faultless
46 (5
March 1908), Glasgow. |
|
Linesmen |
James Fenton Paisley |
Alexander C.
Brown Glasgow |
|
|
Northern
Ireland
Team |
|
Rank |
No official ranking system established; ELO rating 46th |
Colours |
Green continental jerseys with white v-neck collar/cuffs,
white shorts, blue socks with white tops. |
Captain |
Alf McMichael |
Manager |
Peter Dermot Doherty, 41 (5 June 1913),
appointed October 1951, also manager at Doncaster Rovers FC since June 1949.
Team selected on Tuesday, 21 September 1954. |
Trainer: G.Morgan (Linfield FAC) |
eleventh match, W 1 - D - 2 - L 8 - F 10 - A 29. |
Northern
Ireland
Lineup |
|
Uprichard, W.
Norman M. |
26 165 days |
20 April 1928 |
G |
Portsmouth FC, England |
8 |
19ᵍᵃ |
2 |
Montgomery, Frank J. |
nk |
not known |
RB |
Coleraine FC |
1 |
0 |
only app
1954 |
3 |
McMichael, Alfred |
27
1 day |
1 October 1927 |
LB |
Newcastle United FC, England |
16 |
0 |
4 |
Blanchflower, R.
Dennis |
28 234 days |
10 February 1926 |
RHB |
Aston Villa FC, England |
14 |
0 |
5 |
Dickson, William |
31 201 days |
15 March 1923 |
CHB |
Arsenal FC, England |
12 |
0 |
final app
1951-54 |
6 |
Peacock, Robert |
26
3 days |
29 September 1928 |
LHB |
The
Celtic, Scotland |
4 |
0 |
7 |
Bingham, William L. |
23
58 days |
5 August 1931 |
OR |
Sunderland AFC, England |
12 |
0 |
8 |
Blanchflower, John |
21
193 days |
7 March 1933 |
IR |
Manchester United FC, England |
2 |
0 |
9 |
Simpson, William J. |
24 294 days |
12 December 1929 |
CF |
Rangers FC, Scotland |
5 |
2 |
10 |
McIlroy, James |
22
342 days |
25 October 1931 |
IL |
Burnley FC, England |
10 |
0 |
11 |
McParland, Peter J. |
20
160 days |
25 April 1934 |
OL |
Aston Villa FC, England |
2 |
2 |
reserve: |
Terry McCavana (Coleraine FC). |
team notes: |
Due to an ankle injury, right-back Len Graham (Doncaster Rovers FC)
was replaced by Montgomery on Tuesday, 28 September. Billy McAdam
(Manchester City FC), who was the original named centre-forward, was hospitalised, his place going to Simpson on Wednesday, 29. Danny
and Jackie Blanchflower are brothers. |
Manager Peter Doherty played for Ireland against England on seven
separate occasions from 1935 until 1947, scoring one in 1947. |
Prior to
the match, the Irish team were set up in Newcastle. |
|
2-3-5 |
Uprichard - Montgomery, McMichael - D.Blanchflower,
Dickson, Peacock - Bingham, J.Blanchflower,
Simpson, McIlroy, McParland. |
Averages: |
Age |
25
years 95 days |
Appearances/Goals |
7.8 |
0.3 |
youngest opposing post-war team
so far |
|
|
England
Team |
|
Rank |
No official ranking system established; ELO rating 7th to 5th |
Colours |
The 1949 home
uniform -
White collared short-sleeved jerseys, blue shorts, red socks.
|
P 43rd & last, W 23 - D 10 - L 10 - F 112 - A 74. |
Captain |
Billy Wright
|
Manager |
Walter Winterbottom, 41 (31 March 1913), appointed as FA national director of coaching/team manager on 8 July 1946; |
record 47th of 90, W 27 - D 9 - L 11 - F 115 - A 74. |
Trainer: Jimmy Trotter (Charlton Athletic FC) |
P 65th of 139, W 40 - D 13 - L 12 - F 189 - A 95,
one abandoned. |
|
³ |
Team chosen by Selection Committee, headed by Harold
Shentall, on Sunday, 26 September. |
England
Lineup |
|
seven
changes to the previous match (Byrne,
Wright, Matthews & Lofthouse remain) |
league position
(26 September) |
|
74 |
|
Wood, Raymond E. |
23 113 days |
11 June 1931 |
G |
Manchester United FC
(FL 3rd) |
1 |
0ᵍᵃ |
734 |
the 15th/16th United player to represent
England |
735 |
2 |
Foulkes, William A. |
22 270 days |
5 January 1932 |
RB |
Manchester United FC
(FL 3rd) |
1 |
0 |
the 15th/16th United player to represent
England |
only app
1954 |
3 |
Byrne, Roger W. |
25 24 days |
8 September 1929 |
LB |
Manchester United FC
(FL 3rd) |
7 |
0 |
736 |
3 |
Wheeler, John E. |
26 68 days |
26 July 1928 |
RHB |
Bolton Wanderers FC
(FL 9th) |
1 |
0 |
the 19th Wanderer to represent
England |
only app
1954 |
5 |
Wright, William A. |
30 238 days |
6 February 1924 |
CHB |
Wolverhampton
Wanderers FC (FL 8th) |
62 |
3 |
most apps
1952-54 |
737 |
6 |
Barlow, Raymond J. |
28 46 days |
17 August 1926 |
LHB |
West Bromwich Albion FC
(FL TOP) |
1 |
0 |
the thirtieth Albion player to represent
England |
only app
1954 |
7 |
Matthews, Stanley |
39 243 days |
1 February 1915 |
OR |
Blackpool FC
(FL 19th) |
39 |
9 |
oldest outfield player |
738 |
8
|
Revie, Donald G. |
27 84 days |
10 July 1927 |
IR |
Manchester City FC
(FL 5th) |
1 |
1 |
the 17th City player to represent
England |
9 |
Lofthouse, Nathaniel |
29 36 days |
27 August 1925 |
CF |
Bolton Wanderers FC
(FL 9th) |
22 |
23 |
739 |
10
|
Haynes, John N. |
19 350 days |
17 October 1934 |
IL |
Fulham FC
(FL2 6th) |
1 |
1 |
the seventh Fulham player to represent
England |
740 |
11 |
Pilkington, Brian |
21 232 days |
12 February 1933 |
OL |
Burnley FC
(FL 18th) |
1 |
0 |
the 16th Burnley player to represent
England |
only app
1954 |
|
|
|
|
reserve: |
Bill Slater (Wolverhampton Wanderers FC
(FL 8th)) |
team changes: |
Tom Finney (Preston North End FC (FL
6th)) was the original named
outside-left, because of fibrositis, his place went to Pilkington on
Monday, 27 September. |
team notes: |
Prior to the match, the England party had practise matches at Maine Road and
Anfield (see below), before leaving for Ireland on Wednesday, 29 September. |
records: |
Seven debutants is the most since
the nine
started the first post-war match, against Ireland. Not since
the match against
Switzerland in December 1948 have two players scored on their
debut. |
|
2-3-5 |
Wood - Foulkes, Byrne - Wheeler, Wright, Barlow -
Matthews, Revie, Lofthouse, Haynes, Pilkington.
notes: sources suggest Revie was playing
as a deep-lying centre-forward. |
Averages: |
Age |
26 years 256
days |
Appearances/Goals |
12.5 |
3.2 |
youngest post war
team so far |
|
|
Pre-Match Notes |
"ENGLAND TEAM TO GET
WEEK'S LEAGUE OPPOSITION.
"Manchester City and Liverpool have been
chosen as the guinea-pigs to test England's team before the first
international of the season—Ireland v. England in Belfast on October 2.
So begins a new era in our approach to international football. The
selected players will be together for a whole week before the game; and
there will be four practise sessions, with the two League clubs supplying
the opposition at Maine-road and Anfield. That, at least, will be an
improvement on the old business of rushing boys over to Ireland on the
Thursday night for one brief get-together—with no opposition—on the
Friday. The practise games will not necessarily be straightforward
90-minute affairs. But the opportunity to try out a variety of moves will
be fully utilised."
- Clifford Webb, The Daily
Herald, Monday, 6 September 1954.
"MATTHEWS MISSES
FIRST PRACTISE
"Stanley Matthews, the Blackpool outside-right, was
absent from the England team's practise at Maine-road, Manchester,
to-day―the first of two training spells in preparation for the
international against Ireland on Saturday. Mr. Walter Winterbottom, the
F.A. team manager, said that Matthews was having treatment for a slight
injury, but would definitely take part in the second practise, against
Liverpool at Anfield to-morrow. To-day, a team of Manchester City players
provided the opposition to the England side. The practise was divided into
two periods of 20 minutes each, the first a warming-up spell, and the
second an all-out effort. The England backs tried out a defensive plan
against corner kicks, in which the understanding between the Manchester
United trio, Wood, Foulkes and Byrne was clearly evident."
-
Lancashire Evening Post, Tuesday, 28 September 1954.
"The England team were beaten 3-1 by Liverpool in a 35-minute practise
match at Anfield yesterday. On Tuesday the national side were held to a
2-2 draw by Manchester City at Maine-road. The result of the trial, which
began in heavy rain, could not have worried Walter Winterbottom however.
Before it began he replied to criticisms of the side's performance on
Tuesday, saying: 'It is nonsense to judge the potential of a side, or even
individual players, on a training game. I must emphasise that these are
games to enable players to get the feel of each other's ways. It gives
them an opportunity to play as a team against different opposition, to
work out moves and devise ways of overcoming weaknesses. The result hardly
has any bearing on the matter. Players, far from impressive at practise
often play fine games under the stimulus of match conditions.'
Matthews, who missed Tuesday's training because of a slight thigh injury
played in the eleven, which was:—Wood; Slater, Byrne; Wheeler, Wright,
Barlow; Matthews, Revie, Lofthouse, Haynes, Pilkington.
Foulkes, the
Manchester United full-back, was originally selected to play in the
practise but he received a slight knock at Maine Road, and it was decided
not to risk him yesterday. Salter came into the side. Winterbottom said
that Foulkes was certain to be fit to play in Belfast."
-
The Birmingham Post, Thursday, 30 September
1954.
|
Match Report by
Mike Payne |
England,
home from a crushing defeat by Hungary and failure in the World Cup,
travelled across the Irish Sea for their match against Northern Ireland.
The result followed the usual pattern of previous clashes between the two
sides with England, once again, coming out on top. Every game they have
played in Ireland since 1927, apart from a solitary draw in 1952, had
ended the same way and the fixture now had a monotonous ring about it.
With all the problems of the summer now hopefully behind them, England were now looking to begin a new era.
With seven new caps in the side they were
hoping to open their season with an encouraging performance. Alas, what
followed proved to be an anti-climax as England produced a mediocre
display.
There had been lots of
words both written and spoken since the summer all suggesting ideas and
tactics that England could use to climb back up the football tree. Indeed,
get-togethers had been arranged in both Manchester and Liverpool during
last week to emphasise the concern everyone felt for
improving the side.
But all the talking came to nothing as Northern
Ireland pinned England back for long periods. It, in fact, took England 75
minutes to produce a worthwhile moment.
Ireland were not convincing
or strong enough and despite all their possession they showed little up
front. They missed their chance of victory mainly in the 20-minute spell
leading up to half-time. Simpson was put through by Jackie Blanchflower
and, with England standing vainly appealing for offside, the
centre-forward missed a golden chance, shooting tamely at Ray Wood.
Then, two minutes before the break, Simpson missed another opening
when he headed Bingham's centre straight at Wood's body when it seemed
easier to score. Surely, Ireland would have gone on to win had they taken
either of those two fine chances?
Immediately after half-time, Ray
Wood became the hero for England when he did well to save efforts from
McIlroy, Jackie Blanchflower and McParland. Showing anticipation and
agility, the goalkeeper did all that was asked of him on his debut.
Billy Wright, Ray Barlow and Wood all showed up well in this period
with Wright outstanding in his new role of centre-half. He was rarely
beaten, both in the air and on the ground and showed true world class. He
was the shining beacon in the dullest of dull games.
The other new
players all struggled for England, Johnny Wheeler, Bill Foulkes and Roger
Byrne all looked vulnerable and Don Revie and Johnny Haynes often failed
in their passing.
Despite the criticism of this England performance
they did have the satisfaction of the win. This came thanks to a couple of
minutes of inspired play a quarter of an hour from the end.
Stanley
Matthews, who had began to wander in search of the ball, set up the first
goal. Picking it up in the inside-left channel, he found Brian Pilkington
with a good pass. The winger's touch gave Haynes the chance to at last get
in a defence-splitting pass which found Revie. Haynes then did well to
move into a position to receive Revie's return pass before side-stepping a
defender and shooting past Uprichard.
Within seconds it was 2-0.
Wright again sent Matthews free and swift passing between Matthews, Revie,
Lofthouse and Haynes ended with Revie firmly shooting the second goal.
So, amazingly, England had transformed the match with their only
moments of worthwhile football. It failed, however, to hide all the
problems that the team must face up to. The referee was Mr Faultless of
Scotland! Oh for an England performance of the same name.
|
Match Report by
Norman Giller |
Don Revie and Johnny Haynes got their first
taste of international football together and scored a goal each. There
were five other new caps in a team that had been completely re-modelled
following the quarter-final exit from the World Cup finals: Ray Wood, Bill
Foulkes, Johnny Wheeler, Ray Barlow and Brian Pilkington, who played in
place of the injured Tom Finney. Foulkes, Wheeler, Barlow and Pilkington
were not capped again after this victory.
The Irish worked desperately hard in a bid for their first victory over
England since 1927, but the wind was knocked out of them by two goals inside
two minutes late in the second half. Haynes exchanged a one-two pass with
Revie before shooting wide of Portsmouth goalkeeper Norman Uprichard. Within a
minute it was 2-0, Revie running on to a pass from Haynes and steering the
ball low into the net. Haynes was just nineteen, and he already looked an
assured and confident player who could hit accurate forty yard passes with
either foot.
But the
powers-that-be decided he was too young to trust with the role of midfield
general, and he was dropped along with Don Revie and six other players.
|
Match Report
as appears in the F.A. Yearbook 1955-56 page 26 |
England started the 1954-55 season fully
conscious that great efforts would have to be made if she was to keep
abreast of the intensively trained International teams of the Continent.
Although in the previous season she had won the Home Championship and had
performed by no means badly in the World Cup, the bitter defeats of the
1954 Spring tour, especially by Hungary, still rankled. At a meeting of
managers from many of the clubs whose players had taken part in
International matches it was arranged that the England team should be
given opportunities of practising against club sides. It was also hoped
that it would be possible to keep the team together for several matches
running. At the start of the season, however, owing to serious injury or
loss of form, only few who had played against Uruguay were selected to
meet Ireland; among the seven newcomers were four players who had appeared
in the 'Under 23' side. During the actual season England did well - the
7-2 victory over Scotland clinched the Home Championship and Germany were
beaten 3-1 - but the hopes placed in the younger players,
particularly after the resounding wins of the 'Under-23's' against Italy
and Scotland, were disappointed in the Spring tour to France, Spain and
Portugal. There is no baulking the issue: England has a long way to go
before she reaches the higher standards required to give her back
her old mastery over Europe and the world. The quality of her Continental
rivals is such that success will only come if the rising generation of
players learns to be even faster in getting to the ball, faster in
controlling it, and more intelligent when using it. But the greatest need
of all is far more accuracy and determination in front of goal.
England got away to a lucky start by undeservedly beating Ireland at
Belfast in the first International match of the season by 2 goals to nil.
Except for a short spell in the second half when the two goals were
scored, it was Ireland who played the better football, especially in
mid-field. That they failed to turn this skill to full account was due
partly to some good defensive work by Wright. The goals were scored
within two minutes of each other and both very good ones. Matthews,
Pilkington, Haynes, Revie, Haynes was the pattern of the first one; a
similar movement, commenced this time by a shrewd backpass from Lofthouse,
enabled Revie to make the final score still more unjust to Ireland.
Perhaps, with seven new caps in the England side, it was not to be
expected that the team would at once settle down and become a
world-beating side. All the same, several of the new players were
disappointing.
|
In
Other News....
It was on
3 October 1954 that a conference at Lancaster House in
London, produced a signed agreement by nine countries
(Belgium, Canada, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands,
United Kingdom, United States and West Germany) that the
military occupation of West Germany would come to an end and
that the federal republic would be free to defend itself in
the future. |
|
Source Notes |
TheFA.com
Original newspaper reports
Northern Ireland's Footballing Greats
The Complete Book of the British Charts |
|
Rothman's Yearbooks
Mike Payne's England: The Complete Post-War Record
Norman Giller, Football Author
British Pathé
Drew Herbertson, Scottish FA historian |
|
cg |