Bit distracted by "other" football occurring this week, but here goes, as I wait for another hurdle for our boys to jump!
England started their 1966 World Cup campaign with a disappointing 0-0 draw with Uruguay at Wembley. In that match England fielded nine of the players who would later play in the World Cup Final. Jimmy Greaves and Manchester United's John Connelly were the two players who didn't make the final, being replaced by the goalscorers in the final, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters! Well done Sir Alf!!
Jimmy Greaves, below left, then of Chelsea, was England’s first-choice striker (inside right!!) at the beginning of the 1966 FIFA World Cup, but a shin injury in the third group match v France (won 2-0 at Wembley) forced him to miss the rest of the tournament.
Geoff Hurst (right) took his place, and despite Greaves being fit again later in the tournament, Hurst was retained by Sir Alf Ramsey (you know...the manager!!) and the West Ham forward scored a famous World Cup Final hat-trick to win the trophy!!
Thirty-three years after the event, Jimmy was finally presented with a World Cup medal along with the other surviving members of the England squad who hadn’t made Alf Ramsey’s starting team in 1966. But it was a token gesture to a footballer who didn’t need golden baubles to validate his genius. Greaves had already cemented his legend years earlier thanks to 479 career goals during a spectacular career with Chelsea, AC Milan, Spurs, West Ham and England!!!
Even now it is hard to believe that the last of his 57 England caps came at the age of 27, when most professional footballers are just about to enter their peak. He scored 44 times for his country including a record six hat-tricks at a strike rate of one goal every 1.29 games.
Greaves is England's fifth-highest international goalscorer with 44 goals, which includes an English record of six hat-tricks, and is Tottenham Hotspurs''s second-highest all-time top goalscorer. Greaves is the highest goalscorer in the history of English top-flight history, with 357 goals. He finished as the First Division's top scorer in six seasons, more times than any other player and came third in the 1963 Ballo d'Or rankings. He is also a member of the English Football Hall of Fame. Jimmy died on 19 September 2021 (aged 81) following a period of time when he beame a successful television pundit!
| Senior career* | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1957–1961 | Chelsea | 157 | (124) |
| 1961 | AC Milan | 10 | (9) |
| 1961–1970 | Tottenham Hotspur | 321 | (220) |
| 1970–1971 | West Ham United | 38 | (13) |
| 1975–1976 | Brentwood | ||
| 1976–1977 | Chelmsford City | 25 | (13) |
| 1977–1979 | Barnet | 51 | (16) |
| 1979–1980 | Woodford Town | ||
| Total | 604 | (395) | |
| International career | |||
| 1957–1962 | England U23 | 12 | (13) |
| 1959–1967 | England | 57 | (44) |
| 1965 | United Kingdom | 1 | (1) |
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