Larry Ryan: When Ireland’s individualists nudged England off their pedestal
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In the well-stocked annals of Ireland’s glorious 1-1 victories over England, one fixture hasn’t endured and magnified in legend as much as some of the others. But it was heralded as loud as any at the time.
It’s 48 years Sunday that Gerry Daly’s second-half penalty leveled his Manchester United colleague Stuart Pearson’s opener in a Wembley friendly.
A match meant to unlock our gateway to the world.
David O’Leary shone on his Ireland debut. Ray Wilkins on his England bow, not so much, bringing down Steve Heighway for the pen. John Giles played his first game after international retirement and was outstanding. Charlie George played his first and only game for England. Kevin Keegan led Don Revie’s men from the front, but Liam Brady ran the show. And everyone accepted this was Ireland finally and properly taking its place among the sophisticated nations of the earth.
That the match took place at all was evidence enough. Now Giles was leading Ireland, we suddenly had organisation and clout and influence. Instead of us playing Poland away again, Gilesy could pick up the phone to his old gaffer Revie and get things done. As Brady put it: “The FA probably wouldn’t have given somebody from the FAI a hearing, but John got it on.”
The Ireland teamsheet was further evidence of our emerging prospects. Every outfield player a regular in the English top flight. While Walsall keeper Mick Kearns was, as Giles later pointed out in his book, “the most important member of the squad”, since he had lifeguard training and had saved Don Givens’ life when pulling him out of the sea at Copacabana Beach two years earlier.
Just 15,000 tickets were sold, but a massive walk-up crowd, most of them Irish, caused consternation at the turnstiles, with the gates locked and many turned away. The eventual attendance was 51,000. The London Irish were well used to walking Wembley Way. Many would be back the following month for the last of the GAA’s regular Wembley exhibitions, Dublin beating Kerry 0-10 to 0-7, Paddy Cullen saving a pen.
Of our comprehensive 1-1 taming of the old enemy, Billy George wrote in the : “This was a result to lift Irish spirits, fashioned from a performance of considerable quality at historic Wembley. Ireland showed all the trappings of their new-found international status in a contest of unrelenting fervour. In their more extravagant moments they outplayed England and were unlucky not to win.”
In the , Mel Moffat was prepared to go a bit further. “Gerry Daly, one of the boy wonders of Manchester United, projected Irish international football into a magnificent new era at Wembley last night when he blasted a penalty kick past England goalkeeper Ray Clemence to give Ireland a well-deserved draw.
“The sky must be the limit for what this Johnny Giles inspired squad can achieve. They exposed England’s lack of true individualists. The likes of Liam Brady and Daly had a field day. The Irish tortured and teased this England team on their own territory. All that was missing was the killer instinct.”
Of O’Leary’s debut, Giles naturally saw present and future crystal clear: “There is no limit to what he can achieve on the evidence of his first international."
While Terry Conroy began a rich tradition of Terrys starring on international duty while swamped in blood and bandage, playing half an hour with a big gash on his head. “Terry didn't want to go off. That was fair enough by me," said Gilesy, in keeping with the time’s attitude to head injuries.
Afterwards, Don Revie was generous in his acclaim of the man he wanted to succeed him at Leeds, who probably wouldn’t have got them to chuck their medals in the bin.
"I warned you all beforehand we were meeting a very useful side. Johnny had this squad together for two years and has them very well organised. He has a small pick but he keeps them together.”
Giles’ own performance was a subplot, having retired earlier in the year after his testimonial. His assistant Alan Kelly talked the gaffer into a return.
“I think I made a contribution by playing, as I said I would beforehand,” Giles said afterwards, fairly pointedly.
Later, in his book, he explained how this contribution came at a price. “So I played against England and played well but there was now a public perception I had pulled a stroke, announcing my retirement to boost the attendance at my testimonial.”
At the time, Tommy Docherty was typically tightlipped and reluctant to give his views. "It is time that Johnny stopped playing, and controlled his side from off the field. I think he stifled the youngsters in his side. He did far too much himself, even taking corners, and free kicks. That sort of thing cannot help the confidence of youngsters.”
Having John Giles show you how it’s done can’t be too bad for confidence, which wasn’t all that suppressed, judging by the account, going full begorrah: "Ireland’s footballing Cinderellas charmed the Wembley crowd and rocked England with their skills and exuberance last night as England reeled to the lilt of Irish laughter and the roars of a predominantly Irish crowd at Wembley.”
Mike Gee of the Press Association reckoned Ireland "thrilled a 51,000 crowd with a magnificent display of attacking football which had England scrambling.
“It was a fitting comeback for player-manager, Johnny Giles, who came so near to fulfilling his dearest wish — to beat the side managed by his old Leeds boss, Don Revie.
“Brady, despite his inexperience, dominated the game from start to finish and no doubt Revie was wishing that he had been born an Englishman.”
Revie did have one individualist of his own. But Charlie George was played out of position on the left and lasted an hour having been subdued by Paddy Mulligan. As George noted in his autobiography, his decision to tell Revie to “go fuck yourself” when subbed may have been a factor in his cap tally finishing on one.
“It wasn't the brightest thing I've done or said in my life but I am not sad or apologetic about it.”
Meanwhile, by Friday of that week, night following day, we had notions. Mitchel Cogley, dad of Fred, wrote in the under the headline: ‘Let’s be honest England no longer a real test for us’.
“It about time that English soccer was removed from the pedestal it has been posturing on for so long. Johnny Giles controlled not only the Irish team, but England's as well, as he imposed his own pedestrian pace on the proceedings."
With Eamon Dunphy at this stage still operating in the Reading midfield, it was also down to Mitchel to decry our celebration of parity.
“I do not regard a draw as a victory. Such a view suggests an inferiority complex which, where English soccer is concerned, must surely be out-dated. And it's no use calling that a moral victory.”
There have been many moral victories in the years since and some moral losses. Giles’ Ireland had some clout and influence but maybe not enough to prevent offside flags going up. And when Giles left, our flirtation with organisation took a hit. We have flirted occasionally with success and sophistication too, though not at the same time.
Our relationship with England has rotated in cycles. These days they have all the individualists and we are having to content ourselves with a search for bastards.
Certaintly, English soccer was not removed from any pedestals. In that regard, there was a small clue, in the very week of our Wembley triumph, in some panic developing back home. Pat O’Hare’s 'Television Scene' column in that Friday's Evening Echo made some effort to calm tensions.
“Arrangements for the transmission of Match of the Day have not been finalised and there is some suggestion that it might be shown on Sunday instead of late on Saturday. I am told that this has to do with the question of some unions not being anxious to work overtime. However, it should all be thrashed out in two weeks.”