The Top Eleven Players in Great Britain 1969-70 Rothmans Golden Boots Award Gordon Banks Stoke City & England, 22 votes Pelé stood unbelievingly, hands raised high. Then he lowered them to applaud. He had just witnessed perhaps the greatest goalkeeping save of all time. It was during the Brazil-England game at Guadalajara in the Mexico ’70 World Cup. Committed to his dive at a rocketing Pelé header, Banks twisted in mid-air as the ball shot off the fast turf, and flicked the ball up and over the bar. Small wonder that Pelé embraced him as ‘the world’s greatest goalkeeper’. Banks has been the integral part of Ramsey’s defence almost since the manager took over. He is Mr. Coolness; Ice Cold at Stoke, and simile you like to associate with this pleasant, happy, talented man. He has already gained a World Cup winners medal in 1966. Now, at 31, he is ready to carry on for another in Germany in four years hence. Epilogue to England, beaten by West Germany, was provided by Jack Charlton: ‘In the bedroom where Gordon lies ill, lies England’s World Cup.’ David Hay Celtic & Scotland, 10 votes Many people outside Glasgow can be forgiven for not having heard a great deal about the surprise selection in the Golden Boots team. The first time many saw David Hay in action was in the televised game against England last April. Taking stock at the end of a momentous first season Hay can reflect, it is not every young player who plays right back in the European Cup final, starts his international career at inside left, and then becomes the main choice of the Sassenach press as the best No. 2 in Britain! Now he joins the ranks of the great modern full backs who are able to overlap like a winger, and operate up and down like an inside forward. Terry Cooper Leeds United & England, 21 votes Terry Cooper is perhaps the most controversial choice of the whole team. For Johnstone proved that he can be beaten. So did the West German substitute Grabowski after Cooper had outthought and outplayed the flying Libuda. Although he has speedily learned the new type full back technique, like many modern players he finds it difficult to re-adjust himself when an attacking winger comes at him. But he provides excitement and wonder with his brilliant dashes on the enemy goal. Cooper was only one of three of the England squad to play in all four games in Mexico. He improved in ability and stature every time, and was the only man to smother the wing gallops of Jairzinho. Mike England Tottenham Hotspur & Wales, 11 votes Mike England, the Welshman whose name causes confusion when he scored in an international match against England, is not everybody’s choice as the main centre back in the Golden Boots team. Some will claim that he is a better player only when ‘propped’ up by Terry Hennessey in the Walsh team, or when he had Peter Collins alongside him in the Tottenham lineup. But whatever criticism is offered against this very fine and sporting professional, we are sure that he would jump at the chance of playing in a rearguard four with Bobby Moore! It must be heart-breaking for a centre forward to play against England. He looks, and is, big. A fierce and accurate header of the ball, he also covers ground in the penalty area as if wearing seven league boots. And when he lopes upfield for corners and free kicks it usually takes two men to cover him. Bobby Moore West Ham United & England, 22 votes There are times when Bobby Moore looks almost too casual on the field. He is casual, but that is because his lightning football brain leaves the necessary body movement until the last fraction of a second. Like a computer, he takes in every possible variation of the action against him before committing himself to a tackle or a pass. At one time Moore suffered from crowd criticism outside London just because he came from a London club. Now he is as popular in the North as amongst his own vociferous Cockney fans. After his displays for England in Mexico Bobby Moore is recognised in many countries as the World’s No. 1 Footballer. He has immense skill and the hotter the situation, the cooler he looks. He has become used to holding up the trophies at great events …. Footballer of the Year; captain of England’s World Cup winning team at Wembley; captain of West Ham United when they won the European Cup Winners Cup, the FA Cup and the American Soccer Knock-Out Cup in New York. A model for all young – and old – players, he is our choice to captain the Rothmans Golden Boots Team, should it ever get mobile as a unit. Billy Bremner Leeds United & Scotland, 19 votes If you are shown a small red-haired midfield player and asked to guess his style of play, it’s not difficult to give the right answer. The game has always had players of this type, with Alex Forbes and Tony Kay more recent examples. But if you are also told your player is Scottish, then your guess cannot be wrong, for the traditional characteristics of the redhead, and the footballer from over the border, make up the all-action fanatical, natural leader that has given so many Football League clubs that sought after ‘will to win’. Billy Bremner has been a stormy petrel (remember that famous picture of fellow but older Scot, Dave Mackay, shaking Billy back to order?) but although his fanatical driving power still inspires Leeds United he has developed into a mature and respected ‘skipper’. A good enough sportsman and player to win the Footballer of the Year award by a record number of votes! The choice for the midfield positions was practically unanimous, and there’s no doubt that ‘Billy and Bally’ would never surrender control of the match, let alone the centre of the field. Alan Ball Everton & England, 19 votes Alan Ball’s performance in the 1966 World Cup final when he reduced the great Schnellinger to a hobbling wreck, will never be forgotten. But last season, Alan produced this non-stop style week in, week out to help his club, Everton, win the League championship. He is the perfect example of the modern ‘all-purpose footballer’, clearing from his own goalmouth one moment, shooting for goal the next, and like Bremner he is now using his fiery qualities to his club’s advantage, and avoiding trouble with referees. Like his partner in the ‘Golden Boots’ team, Alan is a footballer who makes others play. He is a driving force, and a fine example who plays only to win. It would be difficult to imagine a more devastating midfield ‘team’. Jimmy Johnstone Celtic & Scotland, 11 votes The sight of a winger streaking down the wing, beating his full back, and centring for three other forwards is a rarity in modern football. So Jimmy Johnstone’s performances for Celtic were welcomed with particular enthusiasm last season. He follows in a long line of trickery ball playing Scottish wingers, and is no doubt inspired more than most by the fine players around him. The way he tore poor Terry Cooper apart in the European Cup semifinal, this ensuring double marking in the Cup Final against Feyenoord, stamped him as one of the game’s top ‘attractions’. When his side are under pressure he is quite capable of working in midfield but the thought of him in the ‘Golden Boots’ team centring to Ron Davies and Geoff Hurst would be enough to give any opposing defence nightmares, and ensure capacity attendances wherever they played. Ron Davies Southampton & Wales, 13 votes The big occasion brings the best out of Ron Davies. England will confirm this after their last two matches against Wales, as will Manchester United and Chelsea who have conceded four goals apiece to the Southampton centre forward on their own grounds. His ability in the air is perhaps second to none in the First Division and there’s no doubt that he Hampshire club would have little difficulty finding a buyer willing to pay £ 200,000 for him. His spectacular headed goals often tend to detract from his excellent ball control, which for a big man is surprisingly good under the severe pressure that the modern ‘striker’ has to endure. Geoff Hurst West Ham United & England, 14 votes Geoff Hurst will always be remembered for his World Cup final hat-trick in 1966. He has had his fair share of glory but as one of the first of the modern ‘strikers’ who was forced to operate without wingers, Geoff has had to suffer frustrations that older centre forwards never faced. Packed defences, all possessing one or two limited but effective ‘markers’ make life a misery for front runners who usually have to ‘hunt’ in twos. Geoff has taken rough treatment on the field and criticism from the game’s less perceptive critics, without resorting to any type of retaliation. He, like Ron Davies, has remained a fine example of the modern professional. His qualities as a player have never been questioned since he became an England regular in 1966 and the fact that he has withstood the pressures of four years at the top, in the game’s hardest position, says all that needs to be said about this character. George Best Manchester United & Northern Ireland No British eleven would be complete without George Best. He is fast becoming a legend in his own lifetime and has already carved his name into the record books of soccer. A fabulous performer, whose object is to get on with the sorcery and goal scoring of his game, but unhappily whose temperament occasionally lets him down when his aims are roughly halted, by uncompromising defenders. He resents these assaults, and sometimes finds it too much to bear when referees fail to spot the offenders. No British player can compare with George when he is on top form, while his wealth and ‘pop star’ image has given professional football a new standing in the eyes of the teenage fans. Playing in this ‘Golden Boots’ side, George would be in his element and no doubt would add the final flamboyant moments of sheer class to the two million pounds worth of talent on show. Players that received also votes but did not manage a place in the team were: Martin Peters, 9 votes Billy McNeil, 7 Francis Lee, 6 Tery Hennessey, 5 Paul Reaney, 5 Bobby Charlton, 3 Peter Osgood, 3 Johnny Giles, 2 Alan Mullery, 2 Brian Labone, 2 Keith Newton, 2 Tommy Gemmell, 2 Rod Thomas, 2 Tommy Wright, 2 Colin Stein, 1 Bob McNab, 1 Bobby Moncur, 1 Peter Houseman, 1 Allan Clarke, 1 Ralph Coates, 1 John Greig, 1 The panel that selected this team was: Peter Batt, The Sun Frank Butler, News of the World David Coleman, BBC Brian Glanville, Sunday Times Geoffrey Green, The Times Desmond Hackett, Daily Express Jimmy Hill, London Weekend TV Alan Hoby, Sunday Express Alan Hughes, Goal Brian James, Daily Mail Ken Jones, Daily Mirror Bernard Joy, Evening Standard Bob Oxby, Daily Telegraph Frank McGee, Sunday Mirror Hugh McIlvanney, Observer David Miller, Sunday Telegraph Roy Peskett, Rothmans Football Yearbook Laurie Pignon, Daily Sketch Vic Railton, Evening News Donald Saunders, Daily Telegraph Maurice Smith, People Tony Williams, Rothmans Football Yearbook
I couldn't resist. Unfortunately Rothmans didn't keep this "Golden Boots" Eleven for all issues. Would have been great to have a official "Best XI" for each season from 1969-70 to 2004-2005.
[Thank you for such a pleasant walk down memory lane, "Greg". The contemporary comment on George Best is quite intriguing IMO...]
The most telling thing to me was the part on what (then) "modern" full backs were expected to do around 1970. Pretty much exactly what current "modern" full backs are expeted to do. Yet I've seen a variety of comments by internet users who think that offensive full backs overlapping etc. pp. is one of the main ingredients of what constitutes "modern" football and a by-and-large new development which clearly distincts modern football from old football, like that of 1970. ...