Alf Ramsey was a cultured full-back in the famous Spurs “push and run" side which won the championship in 195 He was capped 32 times for England between 1949 and 1954. After his playing days were oven Ramsey took over as manager of Ipswich Town. In seven years Ramsey took the unfashionable East Anglia club from theThird Division to the top flight, culminating in the league championship in 1961 -62. It was on the strength of this achievement that he was offered the England manager's job in 1963. Ramsey was the first full-time incumbent and he insisted on being given sole responsibility for selection, a freedom that his predecessor had not enjoyed.
Early in his tenure as national team boss he predicted that England would win the 1966 World Cup. That looked a long way off when his side was hammered 5-2 by France in his first game in charge. Three years later; Ramsey fulfilled his promise as his “wingless wonders” triumphed, beating West Germany in the final.
After going out at the semi-final stage of the 1968 European Championship, England went to Mexico to defend their world crown. Many thought that Ramsey’s squad in 1970 was even stronger than that which had won the tournament four years earlier West Germany ended England’s hopes at the quarter-final stage, coming back from 2-0 down to win 3-2. Some thought Ramsey’s decision to take off both Charlton and Peters was instrumental in the defeat.
He survived that disappointment, and another quarter-final exit in the 1972 European Championship, when the Germans again proved to be the stumbling-block. He was finally dismissed after England drew with Poland at Wembley in 1973, a result which meant that England failed to qualify for the 1974 World Cup. Ramsey was knighted in the 1967 New Year’s Honours list. He died in 1999.
World History
