A fine footballer and perfect gentleman
For the second week running it is my sad task to report on the death of another great footballer from England. Last week it was Cyrille Regis; this time it’s Jimmy Armfield who passed away at the age of 82.
A one-club man, he appeared in the Blackpool tangerine colours for a record 627 times over 17 impressive years. After seven years in management he moved into the media and became a popular commentator on BBC Radio’s Five Live show. He was also regarded as a complete gentleman.
Armfield came from a very different era to what we are experiencing now. For the first half of his career he earned less than £20 a week until the wage ceiling was abolished in 1961. You only have to look at the extraordinary transfer deals this week to see how times have changed.
He first played for Blackpool in 1954, only a year after the famous Matthews FA Cup Final when they beat Bolton Wanderers 4-3. Blackpool in those days were one of the best sides in England and during Armfield’s time the Seasiders finished runnners-up to Manchester United in 1955-56. The following season they came fourth, when Wolverhampton Wanderers were champions.
He attracted all the top clubs and Matt Busby tried to sign him for Man U, but Blackpool wouldn’t budge. Spurs and Arsenal also expressed keen interest. However, Armfield didn’t want to disrupt his family life and was quite happy to stay with Blackpool which he called “my team and my town.”
Armfield was a great admirer of Stanley Matthews and played with him until the legendary winger moved to Stoke City in 1961. “He would beat a fullback, wait for him to recover and then beat him again,” said Armfield. “It was never for show, but for the ruthlessly simple expedient of demoralising an opponent.”
Armfield made his debut for England against Brazil in 1959 at Maracana stadium, but bizarrely played at left back as opposed to his regular right back position. It was a torrid debut against the brilliant Brazilians, but he did enough to keep his place and became a regular fixture in the England line-up at right back until 1966. In all he won 43 caps and was skipper 15 times.
I first saw Armfield “in the flesh” at Wembley in 1961 for that extraordinary 9-3 England victory over Scotland. It was the first time I had seen an overlapping full-back in action and Armfield made several sorties down the right wing, a rare sight for full-backs in those days.
In an article for the Guardian recalling that game, Armfield wrote: “It was incredible that we beat Scotland like that because they had some top players.” He recalled that England had shown good form that year and were scoring lots of goals. “Jimmy Greaves was running hot and we felt that we just had to get the ball to him to score.” Greaves notched a hat-trick in that game.
Armfield was outstanding in the 1962 World Cup in Chile and voted best right back in the tournament. England were beaten 3-1 in the quarter-finals by Brazil who went on to become world champions.
Although he was in the 1966 World Cup-winning squad, Armfield didn’t play because of injury and was replaced by Fulham’s George Cohen who did a good job. Only those who played in the final got the winners’ medal at the time, but after a nationwide campaign to recognise the whole squad Armfield was among those presented with a belated medal in 2009.
His last game for Blackpool against Manchester United on May 1, 1971 was a bittersweet occasion as it saw the Seasiders relegated to the old Division Two. They did not return to the top flight for almost 40 years.
Armfield moved quickly into management and became Bolton boss and was to stay there for three years, winning them promotion to Division Two in the 1972-3 season. In 1974, he made a brave decision taking over at Leeds United with the club in turmoil following Don Revie’s unexpected departure and then Brian Clough being kicked out after a turbulent 44 days.
Armfield did well to last four years at Elland Road and took Leeds to the European Cup final in 1975 after defeating Barcelona in the semis. In the final they lost to Bayern Munich but were on the wrong end of some poor refereeing decisions.
Sacked from Leeds in 1978 and despite offers from top English clubs, Armfield joined BBC radio as a football commentator. It turned out to be an excellent move. He was extremely popular with listeners with his calm approach and perceptive analysis and he won a strong following.
His commentaries carried a certain charm. When Ruud van Nistelrooy scored with a cheeky chip for Man U in 2004, Armfield dryly observed: “In technical terms, that’s what I call a dinky-do.”
In 2008, he was named to football’s Hall of Fame and his statue proudly stands outside Blackpool’s Bloomfield Road stadium, where a stand is also named after him.
Leading the many tributes since Armfield’s death was his former England teammate, Sir Bobby Charlton who commented: “As an opponent, teammate and friend he was, without doubt, one of the most honest and genuine gentlemen I had the honour to meet.”
Former England star Gary Lineker said Armfield was “a wonderful footballer and England captain who went on to be a terrific broadcaster of the game he loved, and most importantly, he was a delightful man.”
In just about every newspaper headline reacting to Armfield’s death appear the words “true gentleman”. That says it all.