Jimmy offered us a lesson in humility

JIMMY ARMFIELD was a fine player, a fine manager, a fine broadcaster and a fine man. He was also a beacon of clarity in a modern world of egos and fools. Charged by the Football Association with finding the successor to Graham Taylor, he did the rounds of senior managers and coaches and returned with one name: Terry Venables. It wasn’t the name the FA wanted to hear; it wasn’t a name that was ever particularly popular at Lancaster Gate. Yet it was the right name and England developed hugely under Venables’ stewardship. That his tenure lasted just five competitive matches was because others could not put their misgivings and petty vendettas aside. Armfield was always bigger than that. How many times over the last decade has the game cried out for a man with his sincere and understated rationality? And how equally sad is it that relations between Blackpool’s fans and its owners, the Oyston family, have deteriorated to such an extent that even a human gesture is treated with suspicion? Blackpool have announced that all ticket sales from their game with Charlton on Saturday will be donated to Trinity Hospice, where Armfield was nursed in his final days. This is not enough for some fans to break their continuing boycott of the club — while others do not trust the

owners to be true to their word, particularly as there has been talk of an administration fee. Whether to attend is a genuine dilemma for some fans but while there is no right or wrong action, the one thing Armfield was not is cynical. Attendance is not an endorsement of the current regime, but a tribute to a great Blackpool man. It’s a free pass, really. Fill his stand, sing his name. His family would appreciate that, at least.