Perhaps Alf Ramsay got it right picking a team rather than names. I think I remember right when thinking Jimmy Greaves - a prolific goal scorer - was not there in the final. He may not, of course, have been a right back.
Wingless Wonders to 4 Right Backs & a Bucket of Vindaloo
Not sure when the wingless wonders name came in - didn’t Terry Paine go to the World Cup in 1970?
Cant remember if he got a game, butt I do remember thinking at some time back then that how the f@&k can we expect to win games without wingers, and again not sure f we did!
Paine was in 66 squad.
Never played
Paine did play in '66, in the first game, a 0 - 0 draw against Mexico. He got concussion in the first half and payed the rest of the game as a virtual passenger as subs weren’t allowed at that time.
Now you’ve made me go and check wicki to refresh my failing memory!
In the 66 squad, played against Mexico, and was injured in his 19th international, and never played for Ramsay’s “wingless wonders” again.
Being left out of the final, he was in good company with Jimmy Greaves, John Conelly and Ian Callaghan.
I had a vague memory link Of Paine and Mexico, so at least that is cleared up.
He did eventually get a World Cup winners medal, presented to him by Gordon Brown many years later, after FIFA had relented about only the 11 players getting a medal.
Now here’s one to test your memory - saints beating wolves 9:3, and eventually buying the goalkeeper! I saw this game, and was horrified when Tony Knapp scored an own goal in less than 5 minutes!
Ee by gum those were the days!
I was in the Chocolate Boxes for that game. Knapp’s OG came in the first minute, the ball skidding off his blonde crew-cut past Tony Godfrey. We led 5 - 2 at half time and completed our scoring by 60 minutes. Yes we bought Wolves goalie Dave McLaren the following season after Campbell Forsyth had broken his leg.
PEDANT ALERT!
Paine did play against Mexico but we won 2-0. He was the first to congratulate Bobby Charlton after his 35 yarder.
The opening 0-0 was against Uruguay.
Indeed it was Uruguay for the first game and he played against Mexico for the second game, slight mix-up in my version of the truth.