Wednesday, 28 October 2015

ALFRED TAKES OVER FROM WALTER

I am afraid I have just missed an important anniversary, when on the 25th October 1962, Alf Ramsey was plucked from a successful club managership at Ipswich Town FC, to be named as the next England manager, with the prospect of taking the national team to the home based World Cup finals.

Ramsey had inherited an England team that had been educated and brought into the modern world of football by Walter Winterbottom, who as an ex-teacher and "amateur" coach, had revived England's fortunes a little after the dreadful post war slump.

Appointed in 1946, he was part of an "International Selection" committee, which was a bit more advanced than the previous arrangement, whereby an England FA official and a "trainer" usually from a London club alone, ran the team selected by the FA. He also had the title of the first "Director of Coaching".

Ramsey had played for Southampton and Spurs as a defender and after this playing days, taken the Suffolk club from Football League Division 3 South to the First Division Championship in 1962, an remarkable effort midst all the success of Spurs' Double year (1960-1) and the competition set by other clubs such as Wolves, Burnley, Manchester United and Everton.

Ramsey had played 32 times for his country and captained it three times. Ramsey confidently predicted that England would triumph in 1966, and he was right!

Have a look at these other blogs which document some of his achievements.

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