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Picture the scene, the World Cup is being displayed in London, as part of the build up to the country hosting the tournament that summer. A rare stamp auction is being held at Westminster Central Hall and the Jules Rimet trophy has pride of place as the centrepiece of the day. Yet, at some point on that Sunday afternoon, someone broke in to the case that was housing the trophy and stole it. The exhibition had only started 24 hours earlier on March 19th and the trophy had round the clock security.
It was a strange affair and despite someone claiming to have the trophy and would return it for a ransom of £15,000. Oddly, the trophy was only valued at £3,000 and when it was stolen, the thieves had ignored stamps worth over £3 million to take the Jules Rimet trophy. Over the next few days, leads and false alarms led the police in circles. Even when the career-criminal Edward Bletchley was arrested when claiming to be acting as a fence for the real thieves, the trophy still hadn’t resurfaced.
The F.A. had been sent the lining of the trophy, which was removable, but other than that the trail had gone cold. Blame was being fired at all corners and Scotland Yard had over 100 detectives working on the case. It was an embarrassment for all concerned and proved that the F.A. have always had an ability to create confusion and chaos for a lot longer than the recent World Cup bidding scandals.
One week later, David Corbett was taking his dog, Pickles, for his daily walk when the dog found a parcel under his owners hedge. Sniffing away, Corbett went over to see what Pickles had found and was shocked to discover the parcel was in fact the Jules Rimet trophy, wrapped with newspaper and tied up with string. Despite handing the trophy in at his nearest police station, Corbett was actually an early suspect but the suspicions proved false.
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Pickles was thrust in to the mainstream and became the most famous dog in England for most of the year. Along with his owner, his picture appeared around the world and both of their lives changed forever. The trophy was returned to the F.A. in April and was kept under lock and key for the remainder of its stay in England. As a reward, Corbett received £6,000 from the F.A. which was an enormous sum of money for the day, enough to buy a large house at the time.
Of course, the rest of the tournament lives on long in the memory due to England’s victory that summer but the story didn’t finish in March for Corbett and Pickles. Both were invited to the England celebration dinner as guests of honour, receiving a standing ovation from the squad, manager Alf Ramsey and the F.A. Pickles was even given the honour of being able to lick all the plates clean after the reception and was spoilt rotten. Unfortunately, Pickles died the following year, but still 44 years on, his name is legendary in England in one of the strangest moments in World Cup history. Oddly, the trophy was stolen again in 1983, from the Brazilian F.A. and was never recovered.

World Cup Legends #3: Pickles The Dog

World Cup Legends #3: Pickles The Dog - World Soccer Talk

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I think it’s apt to finish this series with perhaps the player who is often held up as the reason that allowed footballers to earn the wages that they do in this day and age. Yet, to simply think of Johnny Haynes’ only contribution to football was being the first player to earn £100 per week would do this wonderful player a major disservice.
Haynes was a fabulous player and possibly one of the greatest players ever to represent England. A real “one club man”, Haynes personified footballing skill, humility and loyalty like few others and is held in almost deity like reverence at Craven Cottage to this day. Haynes showed such loyalty to his club, perhaps beyond the call of duty.

Haynes was born in 1934 in Kentish Town, London, and signed for the Cottagers in 1950 on schoolboy terms. What seems to distinguish Haynes from his contemporaries of the time was the fact that Fulham were not a “big club” in the Football League rather a mid table Second Division side, yet such was the level of his abilities that the majority of his England caps were awarded whilst Fulham were a Second Division side, almost unthinkable these days.
He continually turned down the offers of bigger clubs, A.C. Milan and Tottenham both unsuccessfully tried to sign him, but for him playing football for the club he loved was more than enough. It was Haynes unique ability as a playmaker, a role that didn’t really exist until he created it that made him such a player that was coveted so much.
In tandem with Bobby Robson, Haynes’ ability to ping passes seemingly at will to any area of the pitch to unlock opponents that caused the Fulham faithful to dub him “The Maestro”. He would often place a towel in front of the clubhouse at Craven Cottage and fire passes from the centre circle, honing his passing skills every day.
There seemed to be nothing he couldn’t do with a football and his passing coupled with his goalscoring exploits made him an fearsome opponent. He dragged Fulham to promotion in the 1958-59 season, scoring 26 goals in just 34 appearances. Fulham had never played at the top level in English football before in their history, but the rest of the decade would see them constantly struggle to impose themselves in the division.
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Yet regardless of his abilities as a player, he would often show his frustration at his team mates lack of abilities by giving out an earbashing, but given the captains armband at only 21, it was to be expected. He also often would revel in the creation of a goal more than actually scoring and had given penalties to team mates even when on a hatrick. Haynes set record after record for Fulham throughout his career, with appearances, goals scored, most goals in a game and most hatricks scored.
It was Haynes England career that caused him such disappointment, with the surprising defeat to USSR in the 1958 Quarter Finals followed by the exit to Brazil in the 1962 World Cup at the same stage. The Brazilians had worked out that to stop England, you simply had to stop Haynes and put a man marker on him. Haynes didn’t get a kick and England limped out to the eventually Champions. Yet he was instrumental in Englands 9-3 demolition of Scotland in 1961, setting up 5 goals and scoring 2.
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Haynes never played for England again, but whilst Walter Winterbottom was replaced as England manager by Alf Ramsey, Haynes was involved in a motorbike crash which caused knee ligament damage, ruling him out for nearly a year. Once he returned toward the end of the 1962-63 season, he still turned out for Fulham as regularly as he used to, but he was just missing that yard of pace which had given him an edge. The media continually clamoured for his return to international duty, but Haynes confided in Bobby Charlton “Alf knows I don’t have it in me to play for England again and so do I”.
As the sixties went on Fulham perpetually flirted with relegation, finishing 20th in both the 1964-65 and 1965-66 season. The 1966-67 season saw Fulham rise to the dizzy heights of 18th but it was a false dawn. The following season, they finished rock bottom, 6 points from safety and then had the ignomy of a consecutive relegation to the Third Division by finishing bottom of the Second Division, this time 9 points from safety.They wouldn’t trouble the top division again until 2002.
Haynes however continued to stay and try and help the cause, but Fulham could only finish 4th and he retired from professional football at the end of that season. He surprisingly moved to South Africa and became player manager of Durban City actually winning the South African championship in 1971, thus gaining his only medal in his entire career. He stayed in South Africa until 1984, when he returned to live in Scotland until his death in 2005.
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At the end of his career Haynes summed up the wage breaking story with panache. “When the chairman paid me £100 a week, he was as good as his word, but he never gave me a pay rise in the rest of my time at Fulham!”. 
He passed away on his birthday, 17th October 2005, aged just 71. Fulham renamed the Stevenage Road Stand the Johnny Haynes Stand on November 27th 2005 and a statue of him was unveiled on the 18th October 2008 outside the ground.
Alan Mullery : “He was the only reason I went to Fulham as a young boy of 15 leaving school. He was my hero, the captain of England and Fulham”
Bobby Moore : “Once you get used to watching that perfection you realised the rest of the secret. John was always available, always hungry for the ball, always wanting to play. I loved watching the player. Later I learnt to love the man.”
<ul>
<li>Played 658 games for Fulham and scored 158 goals in all competitions</li>
<li>Won 56 caps and scored 18 goals for England</li>
<li>First footballer to get an agent</li>
<li>First footballer in England to receive £100 per week</li>
<li>Captained England 22 times</li>
<li>First player to play for England at Schoolboy, Youth, Under-23, B and Full team</li>
</ul>

Legends Of English Football: #11 Johnny Haynes

Legends Of English Football: #11 Johnny Haynes - World Soccer Talk

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Ah, Sir Tom Finney, one of the finest exponents of footballing skill ever to wear the shirt of England is a living legend. A gentleman and a true star of the post war game, Finney epitomises everything that was great about those halcyon days of English football. Born in Preston, in 1922, Finney is a rare breed of footballers that saw active service in the Second World War and continued playing up to 1960.
Finney has become somewhat of a national treasure, which of course he should be, for both his performances for England and Preston North End. Signing for his hometown club, Finney’s career was stopped in his tracks by the outbreak of World War II but his father had made him complete his plumping apprenticeship before he could sign professional terms with the club.
Unlike most of his contemporaries, Finney wasn’t too old to be called up to serve his country and found himself in the Royal Armoured Corps, serving in Africa under General Montgomery. He saw action with the 8th Army in Egypt, but still managed to find the time to play football in Army matches. Returning to the UK in 1946, Finney’s footballing career finally took off aged 24, making his debut in August and was picked for England within a month.

<div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" class="alignright" src="http://epltalk.com/wp-content/uploads/i.dailymail.co.uk/GMF/files/d3/d3415e3e-7b6d-43cc-bf20-442ea4fb2e71.jpg" alt="" width="245" height="352"></figure></div>From that point on, Finney carved his name in to the history of both Preston North End and England. Looking back, perhaps it’s hard to understand why he never left Preston to join a more successful side, but Finney loved Preston and the fans loved him even more. Preston North End famously turned down a move to Palermo in 1952, which would have seen his weekly wage dramatically increased from £14 a week to £120 as well as a signing on fee of £10,000!
“Tom Finney would have been great in any team, in any match and in any age … even if he had been wearing an overcoat.” Bill Shankly
Throughout the 1950’s he continued to excel for England, playing right wing, left wing and as a centre forward. Being naturally two footed and as good on either foot, Finney was a nightmare for defenders to mark as he tended to drift along the front line, losing his markers.
An accomplished header of the ball and with a shot like a rocket, the only thing that surprises people is his relative lack of goals in his career when his abilities are taken in account. Yet, Preston were not a powerhouse of English football, they were relegated in his 3rd season at the club down to the Second Division and they took two seasons to return as Champions. Ironically, this would turn out to be the only winners medal that Finney would ever claim in his career.
“Aye, he’s as good as Tommy – but then Tommy’s nearly 60 now.” Bill Shankly after being asked to compare Trevor Francis with Finney
The 1950’s were a time of almost equality in English football, with 6 different sides winning the league title that decade. With Wolves claiming 3 and Manchester United 2, Preston did finish runners up twice but simply couldn’t mount the consistency that they needed to snatch a title. They finished runners up in 1953 and 1958, 3rd in 1957 but almost got relegated again in 1956, yet Finney kept plugging away.
Finney’s talents were recognised by all around him though and he won the Footballer of the Year award in1954 and 1957, becoming the first player to win it twice and his continued selection in the England side merited his continuing contribution to Preston’s First Division survival. There is no doubt that without Finney, Preston North End would not have been a top Division side.
Amazingly Finney’s two best seasons for goalscoring came back to back towards the end of his career, hitting 54 goals in 75 appearances between 1956 and 1958. The following and ultimately his penultimate season for Preston saw him pick up a groin injury that began to effect his ability. He managed only 16 games in the 1958-59 season, but roared back for the last time the following season. Even at 38 and with a damaged groin, Finney was a class apart. He played 41 games and scored 21 goals, his third highest total in his career and decided to call it a day.
Football wise, Finney only came back once, turning out for Irish side, Distillery in the European Cup but never went in to management. As his Father had advised him before he joined Preston, Finney had completed his plumbing apprenticeship. He’d actually continued to work throughout his football career and continued plumbing after his retirement.
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Finney has been a towering figure since his retirement and is feted as one of England’s greatest players from any age. The Life president of Preston North End, he still replies to his fan mail and is staunch supporter of the Alzheimer’s Society, after losing his wife, Lady Elsie to the disease in 2004. That same year, in July, a statue celebrating the photograph that leads this article was unvieled outside the National Football Museum in Preston. Known as “The Splash” it’s a fitting testament to his legacy.
<ul>
<li>473 games and 210 goals for Preston North End</li>
<li>76 games and 30 goals for England</li>
<li>Played in the 1950, 1954 and 1958 World Cup Finals</li>
<li>Twice Footballer of the Year, 1954 and 1957</li>
</ul>
“I’d never played with a winger like that and I never would. I was amazed by Tom Finney”&nbsp; Bobby Moore

Legends of English Football: #6 Sir Tom Finney

Legends of English Football: #6 Sir Tom Finney - World Soccer Talk

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