timbo
Programmes Room Manager 
QUO fan 4life.
Posts: 2,432
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Post by timbo on May 4, 2020 11:22:38 GMT
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Post by stewart on May 5, 2020 0:07:03 GMT
John Connelly appearing in a 3rd Division match only four years after playing in a World Cup match for England. What odds on that ever happening again?
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2020 11:31:07 GMT
stewart Almost inconceivable as we survey the modern game (that’s when we eventually do get to see those neutral ground contests played out before computer generated spectators), but go forward from Connelly’s appearance to the next tournament (Mexico 1970) and you have a World Cup Quarter Finalist in Bobby Charlton who was playing Third Division football in 1974. In fact Preston almost provided two for the price of one, other than Nobby Stiles not quite fitting the criteria, as although he was kicking a ball about in the 3rd Division alongside Bobby in ‘74, and did go to Mexico as a member of England’s world cup playing squad, Alf never played him. I don’t know if you took time to check through that 1974 squad, whether there were others who made a swift drop down a couple of rungs at club level. Now I wonder, looking in the opposite direction, what would be the biggest gap ? Surely from World Cup winner to playing 3rd Division football, Alan Ball’s 15 year gap between 1966 and 1981 will take some beating. But how about flipping it on its head and going from the 3rd Division (or 1st Division as we’d call it now) to playing at a World Cup ? I’d suggest the opposite has happened here, and it will have become easier. With the tournaments expanded up to 24 teams rather than the 16 of those earlier days, the chances of your country appearing in the finals of the tournament are surely noticeably easier. Also with the Premier League so full of foreign stars, more English talent gets suppressed into the Championship and downwards… resulting in the equivalent standard English player of Championship level 20 years ago, now possibly getting no higher than Division 1. If England had qualified for Argentina 1978, would Peter Taylor, playing 3rd Division football (but already an England International) in 1976 up until his September move in that year to Tottenham, be holding that record ? I’ll remove the video next week, as it’s not at all Torquay United related (which goes for the whole of the post I suppose … Stewart can share some of the blame for that  ) but as there’s so little football to watch, here’s a reminder of just how good 3rd Division Peter Taylor was, as he almost single-handedly destroys Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in an F.A Cup 5th Round tie. |
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Post by stewart on May 5, 2020 13:47:18 GMT
Possibly the most striking example was Roy Bentley, who played at centre forward for England in the 1950 World Cup, then at right back for Reading in Division 3 in the early 1960s.
No need to remove the video. Younger members could learn so much from watching a player of Peter Taylor's quality. Astonishing that he played only three times for England.
Couldn't agree more with your point about the Premier League being too full of foreigners. You have only to go back about 25 years to find that there were usually no more than two or three of them in each team. Perhaps the current medical crisis, and consequent financial problems, will put a stop to this influx.
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) but as there’s so little football to watch, here’s a reminder of just how good 3rd Division Peter Taylor was, as he almost single-handedly destroys Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in an F.A Cup 5th Round tie.