Retro Football

Retro FootballBringing you football the way it used to be.

Inside:

Sir Alf Ramsey TributeFarewell to Saltergate

Belfast CelticLeitch’s Great Grounds

plusPhotos

Competitionsand much more

GREAT PLAYERS + GREAT GAMES = GREAT MEMORIES

Issue 3 - July 2010Free to football fans everywhere

England’s most successful manager

Alf Ramsey celebrateswith his team in 1966

Memories in Black & White No.1

Popular, but contoversial Chelsea striker Peter Osgood in a match against Southampton, a teamhe later joined.

RetroFootball

Bringing you football the way it used to be.

Welcome to the July edition of Retro Football.

As the World Cup enters its final stages, the subject still on most people’s lips is the dire performances of the England team. Whatever the cause of the shambolic displays this summer,there is an apparent lack of passion from many of the grossly overpaid stars of today.

So let’s get away from the disappointments of this summer for a while, as we take a look back to football’s great days, when most players played for the love of the game, not solely for itsfinancial rewards.

Inside this issue we get an insight into the work of architect Archibald Leitch, the designer ofmany main football stadia We salve the World Cup wounds by remembering England’s greatestmanager, Sir Alf Ramsey, and pay tribute to the past with a review of the short existence of trouble-stricken Irish club, Belfast Celtic.

Top this all off with our usual features and a look at the last ever game at Saltergate, home ofChesterfield, and I hope you will find much to interest you inside.

Enjoy the magazine.

Nick Smalley FMAEditor

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In each of our remaining issues this year, we are offering a limited numberof low cost advertising spaces in Retro Football for use by businesses, clubs,individuals or organisations.

A full page advert in Retro Football costs just £125, that’s with everythingincluded so there are no hidden costs to find.

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Dodgy 70s Haircut Competition Enter our competition and you could win one of two prizes of 10,000 computer games on DVD.

Who is the player pictured and who is his famous TV personality daughter?

Ask the Editor:The Drunken Referee

After seeing some poor refereeing at the World Cup, Claire Morrison of Torquay emailed to ask:

“Is it true that a few years ago, a World Cup referee had been found to be drunk whilst officiatingat a top level football match?”

The answer is yes, Claire, but not in a game at World Cup level. In a 1-1 draw between Naftanand Vitebsk in the Belarus Premier Division, Siarhei Shmolik, who had been a FIFA-listed refereesince 1993, and had officiated in England’s 6-0 defeat of Luxembourg at Wembley in 1999,was seen to be drunk whilst in charge of the whistle.

Mr Shmolik was voted Belarus’ best referee the previous year, but those attending the leaguematch watched in surprise and some amusement as he staggered around - staying mainly in thecentre circle - clearly unable to keep up with play. Bernd Stange, the Belarus coach, who was atthe game said later, “It was beyond my comprehension. He was making gestures like a clown.”

The referee refused to issue any yellow or red cards, despite there being some nasty tacklesfrom both sides, then at the end of the match, he had to be helped off the pitch by another official,waving to the crowd as he staggered to the tunnel, as if he was a drunken uncle taking his leaveof a family wedding.

Shmolik was taken to hospital by concerned Belarus FA officials, where huge alcohol levels werefound in his system. Allegations were made that he had been on a Vodka binge just before thematch, but Shmolik claimed that back pain had been the reason for his bizarre performance.

At a hearing, the Belarus Football Federation dismissed the bad back claims and the 43 year oldwas banned from refereeing for life.

Got a question? Email it to retrofootball@btinternet.com

Email your answer to retrofootball@btinternet.com by 30th July 2010.

Two correct entries drawn atrandom will get the prizes. Ian Winger from Penrith andJane Cook from Dundee correctly named the formerNewcastle and England starMalcolm MacDonaldas the player in last month’sphoto competition.

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Sir Alf Ramsey

England’s MostSuccessful Manager

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Sir Alf Ramsey:England’s Most Successful Manager

As England’s World Cup Team returned home from South Africa, following their poor Group Stageperformances and a drubbing by adversaries Germany, many were asking if their displays weremerely an aberration, a quirk of fate or, is it that Fabio Capello is no longer the right man for theEngland manager’s job.

Retro Football makes no apology for throwing fuel onto the fire, by reminding everyone of one ofCapello’s predecessors. A man whose career began as a player, on to league management andfinally, to the status of World Cup winning England boss in the national side’s golden era.

Dagenham-born Sir Alfred ‘Alf’ Ramsey is best known for winning the 1966 World Cup withEngland, the only manager to do so. Many professionals and supporters of the game considerRamsey one of the greatest ever British managers.

As well as the England job, Ramsey’s career also included an eleven-year playing stint beforeembarking on a very successful term as manager of Ipswich Town. Known as a very proudcharacter that worked his players hard in training, Ramsey was unlike most managers in that heallowed his players to refer to him as “Alf”.

Alf Ramsey began his professional playing career with Southampton in 1944. He was a greatreader of the game, quickly establishing himself as a capable right-back, he caught the attentionof Tottenham Hotspur for whom he made more than 250 appearances between 1949 and 1955,scoring twenty four goals. Most of these came from the penalty spot.

Earning himself the nickname, ‘The General’, as a further reflection of his success, during hisplaying career, ‘Alf’ earned thirty-two England caps, three of which were as captain.

Ramsey hung up his boots in 1955 and took on his first managerial role with Ipswich Town of theThird Division South. In eight years as Ipswich boss, he proved himself a shrewd and competentmanager, taking the East Anglia minnows to the old First Division in 1962 for the first time in theirhistory, and against all the odds. In a remarkable spell, Ramsey’s Ipswich were transformed froma struggling Third Division side to the leading club team in the country.

It was during his time with Ipswich that Ramsey began to develop a system of tactics that helater applied to the England team of 1966 and achieved great success. When so many managersand teams used natural wingers as an attacking option, Ramsey opted for more defensiveminded midfielders who joined the attack not out wide, but through the middle of the field.This revolutionary tactic proved to be very effective in both domestic and international footballand was a reflection of Ramsey’s managerial capability and tactical astuteness.

After being appointed England manager in 1963, Ramsey’s first act was to predict the winner ofthe next World Cup in 1966... England. His confidence was not shared by many but Ramsey setabout achieving his bold ambition just as he did at Ipswich.

The key to Ramsey’s success was his ability to get the best from his players. He achieved thisby adopting a strict regime that did not offer special treatment to any player, regardless of theirability or status within the squad. As a result, in the lead up to the World Cup finals in 1966,Ramsey had 22 players that were performing at their highest level.

In preparation for the tournament, Ramsey appointed young defender Bobby Moore as Englandcaptain for the World Cup. This proved to be one of Ramsey's finest decisions and set the tonefor the Cup itself.

Ramsey’s England were drawn against Uruguay, Mexico and France in the group stages of thecompetition. After a disappointing 0-0 draw in the opening game against Uruguay, England weresoon on track for Ramsey’s prediction with 2-0 victories against both Mexico and France.

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As is usually the way with England though, just when things were looking up for Ramsey andEngland, injury struck, as influential striker Jimmy Greaves was sidelined. Secondly, Ramseyfaced a battle with FIFA, who were calling for Nobby Stiles to be removed from the Englandsquad after a vicious tackle against the French. In a statement of loyalty to his player, Ramseypledged to quit as England boss if Stiles was removed. Stiles remained with the team and wenton to play a key role en route to victory.

After a reasonably comfortable qualification round, England’s next opponents were Argentina.Known for their rough style, the South Americans did not disappoint as captain Antonio Rattinrefused to leave the field after being sent off. It was in this game that Ramsey decided to adopthis ‘wingless’ style and switched from a traditional 4-3-3 to 4-4-2 with Martin Peters and Alan Balleither side of Bobby Charlton and Nobby Stiles in midfield. It proved to be a masterstroke as itwas Peters who set up Greaves’sreplacement, Geoff Hurst, for thedeciding goal in a 1-0 win. However,as an act of protest against theArgentine style of play, Ramsey didnot allow his players to swap shirtsafter the game.Having reached the semi-finals, itwas becoming clear that Ramsey’sprediction was not as far-fetched asfirst thought. Despite coming upagainst the tournament's top scorer,Portugal's Eusebio, in the semi-finalEngland triumphed 2-1, setting up afinal with West Germany at Wembley.What is probably England’s finestsporting achievement came on the 30th July 1966.

In a thrilling encounter, Ramsey’s team overcame their German opponents 4-2 after extra-timejust as he had predicted three years earlier. It was this match that defined Ramsey’s managerialcareer and demonstrated his tactical astuteness.

Playing 4-4-2, Ramsey’s faith in Geoff Hurst paid off, as the West Ham striker scored a hat trick,while Martin Peters, playing in Ramsey’s newly created midfield role, also scored. No Englandmanager has ever come close to matching the success of Ramsey and it is for that reason thathe is considered by many as the greatest England manager of all time.

Ramsey and England were not so successful two years later when they entered the next majorchampionship. Hosts Italy won the European Championship in 1968 while England could onlyfinish third. Ramsey was knighted in 1970, but in that year’s World Cup, after coming through atough group stage that included Brazil, England were eliminated by West Germany in a rematchof the 1966 Final.

This marked a turning point in Ramsey’s career and the fortunes of the England team, as bothplunged in the years following the defeat in Mexico. The rot firmly set in when the Germans beatEngland again in 1972, knocking Ramsey’s team out of the European Championships in Belgium.It was becoming clear that the success of 1966 could not be matched and, after failing to qualifyfor the 1974 World Cup, Ramsey was sacked as England manager.

Ramsey went on to take on a brief caretaker-manager role at Birmingham City between 1977and 1978.

After suffering from a stroke in his later life, Alf was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, whichwould be the cause of his death in 1999 at the age of 79.

Multi Coloured Swap Stop: Ramsey wouldn’t allow the traditional shirtexchange to take place after a brutal clash with Argentina in 1966.

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Manchester City players show off the 1967-8 League Champion’sTrophy to their supporters.

Memories in Black & White No.2

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The Other CelticBelfast Celtic’s Unhappy History

Belfast Celtic, arguably the greatest club in the history of Irish football were formed in 1891 andfrom 1901 onwards the club played at Celtic Park in West Belfast. Their ground was just off theFalls Road, approximately half a mile from Windsor Park, home of their great city rivals Linfield.Celtic Park was a huge oval shaped arena capable of holding 50,000 fans in its heyday, therewere covered stands at each side of the pitch and banks of open terracing at both ends.

The club was named after Glasgow Celtic with the view of imitating the Scottish-based Irish club"in their style of play, to win the Irish cup and follow their example in the cause of charity."

Admitted to the Irish league in 1896, they won their first championship in 1901. The club movedinto its own ground, Celtic Park, on the Donegal Road, later renamed Paradise. The ground hada capacity of 50,000 with 2,000 seated.

The club was controlled by the Barr family, and secretary Bob Barr is credited with having steeredthe club through the tortuous religious and political circumstances surrounding its formation.Belfast Celtic was run on strictly non-sectarian grounds.

It dropped out of senior football, for no publicly known reason between 1915 and 1917 duringWorld War I, but continued to have outstanding success as a junior club. It left senior footballagain in 1920, after an infamous cup semi-final when a man produced a revolver and fired shotsinto the crowd. This was during the Irish War of Independence, and in October of that year, Britishforces opened fire on players and the crowd at Croke Park, in Dublin.

The club was persuaded back into senior football in 1924, and its return marked the start of aglorious era for the club, which went on to win the league championship 10 times in 16 years andalso the first post-World War II championship.

However, after 14 league championships Belfast Celtic eventually left football in 1949. After amatch at Windsor Park against Linfield, one of the Celtic players was attacked by spectators andnearly killed. At the end of the 1-1 Boxing Day draw, Linfield fans poured over the barriers causing the Celtic players to literally run for their lives. Centre Forward Jimmy Jones was thrownover a parapet and kicked unconscious and ending up with a broken leg. Two other players werebadly injured by the hoardes of opposition fans.

Although Linfield denounced the attack, Belfast Celtic’s directors announced 'enough is enough'and at the end of the 1948-49 season the club was wound up. The ground itself survived formany years as a greyhound track but has now disappeared beneath a shopping centre.

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Celtic Park, West Belfast was the home of Belfast Celtic until security problems caused the club to close in 1949.

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Archibald LeitchThe Grand Designer of the Football Stadium

Archibald Leitch was a Scottish architect, mostfamous for designing those grand old footballstadiums that dominated the skylines of townsacross Britain until recent years.

Born in Glasgow in 1865, Leitch's early workwas designing factories in his home city,but moved into stadium design after being commissioned to build Ibrox Park, the newhome ground of Rangers, in 1899.

Leitch's stadiums were functional rather thanelegant, and were clearly influenced by hisearly work on industrial buildings.

His first project in England was the design andbuilding of the John Street Stand at BramallLane, Sheffield, which provided 3,000 seatsand terracing for 6,000 and was dominatedby a large mock-Tudor press box.

Even after the Ibrox disaster of 1902, when 26 people were killed when a bank of terracing collapsed, Leitch was still in demand.

Over the next four decades he became Britain's foremost football architect. In total he was commissioned to design part or all of more than 20 stadiums in the UK and Ireland between 1899 and 1939, including those on our list below.

Many of his works have since been demolished for redevelopment (especially following the Taylor Report and the move to all-seater stadiums), most notably the Trinity Road Stand at Villa Park, considered his masterpiece, which was demolished in 2000.

The main stand and thepavilion at Craven Cottage, and the facade of the Main Stand at Ibrox (although the stand has been remodelled) still survive today; both are listed buildings. Leitch also came up with the formula that, for every one person seated, two can stand.

Anfield, LiverpoolAyresome Park, MiddlesbroughBramall Lane, SheffieldCardiff Arms Park, CardiffCeltic Park, GlasgowCraven Cottage, LondonDalymount Park, DublinThe Den, LondonDens Park, DundeeThe Dell, SouthamptonEwood Park, BlackburnFratton Park, PortsmouthGoodison Park, LiverpoolHampden Park, GlasgowHome Park, PlymouthIbrox Park, GlasgowHighbury, LondonHillsborough , Sheffield

Lansdowne Road, DublinMolineux, WolverhamptonOld Trafford,ManchesterPark Avenue, BradfordRoker Park, SunderlandRugby Park, KilmarnockSaltergate, ChesterfieldSelhurst Park, LondonSomerset Park, AyrStamford Bridge, LondonStarks Park, KirkcaldyTwickenham Stadium, LondonTynecastle Stadium, EdinburghValley Parade, BradfordVilla Park, BirminghamWest Ham Stadium, LondonWhite Hart Lane, London

Stadiums designed by Archibald Leitch

Farewell SaltergateThe End of a Leitch Stadium

Saltergate is generally regarded as one of the longest serving football league grounds, havinghad its inauguration in 1871 and continuing in use until the end of the 2009-10 season. Althoughformally known by the name 'The Recreation Ground', 'Saltergate' replaced it in popular usagefrom the 1920s. The ground hosted its first game on 4th November 1871 with Rotherhamproviding the opposition. League football came to Saltergate in 1899 with Chesterfield Town'selection to play in Division Two of the Football League.

The ground's main period of development occurred during the inter-war years, including theerection of a new main stand by Archibald Leitch. After the Second World War, development wasmore limited and Saltergate was the final league ground in England to acquire floodlights, withChesterfield's first home game under lights not being played until the 1967-1968 season.

As the ground increasingly showed its age in the late 20th century, consideration was given tore-developing Saltergate, but these plans were ultimately abandoned, mostly due to practicalities.In 2006, the club's fans voted to relocate from the Recreation Ground to the site of the formerDema Glass factory, near the Chesterfield - Sheffield bypass around a mile from the town centre.

Chesterfield F.C.'s final league fixture at the ground was held on 8th May 2010, ending in adramatic 2-1 win against AFC Bournemouth following an injury time goal from Derek Niven, theclub's longest serving player. Following the goal, there was a brief pitch invasion, which includeda disabled man in a wheelchair.

Two of of the crush barriers from Saltergate's terraces have become museum pieces at theNational Football Museum in Preston and theScottish Football Museum in Glasgow, representingtwo of the last-known examples of once commonplace barriers designed by the Scottish engineerwho designed so many football grounds - Archibald Leitch.

Sunset over Saltergate

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Memories in Black & White No.3

Legendary Russian Goalkeeper Lev Yashinin action in the 1966 World Cup Semi Finalat Goodison Park. Russia fell to a 2-1 defeat

at the hands of West Germany.

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Memories in Black & White No.4Stamford Bridge as it used to be. This view of the packed stadium is thoughtto have been taken sometime during the Second World War.

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