World Cup 1966: Alfie's Boys

It was 50 years ago that England won the Football World Cup and Sir David Jason presents an enjoyable documentary about how the terse manager, Alf Ramsey manage to cajole his team to become the eventual winners.

The opening match featuring England was tense and ended in a nervous draw but the competition came alive when Bobby Charlton scored a spectacular goal against Mexico and England's tournament came alive. We see highlights and controversies of the matches as England progressed and of course the final with that phantom touchline goal.

Contributors include Franz Beckenbauer, Martin Peters, Jimmy Greaves, Sir Geoff Hurst, Sir Bobby Charlton, Jack Charlton, Gordon Banks, George Cohen, Terry Venables and Tina Moore.

It was the high point for the England football team, interesting to note that Ramsey did not have game plan from the off but it evolved to the wingless wonders as the tournament went on. We also get to hear from the player's wives very much shunted out of the limelight even after England won the tournament. When the players had a victory dinner, the wives were shunted to an anteroom.

There was a more in depth BBC documentary about the 1966 England World Cup team made in 1986 which featured interviews with many of the players and archive footage from that programme is used here. Sadly several players have now died such as Bobby Moore and Alan Ball and a few are in ill health such as Nobby Stiles who has memory problems. One notable contributor here is Jimmy Greaves who did not take part in the 1986 series who still has not quite come to terms as being the nearly man in the World Cup winning side.

The 1966 World Cup Final was notable mostly for Kenneth Wolstenholme's memorable comment: "They think it's all over ... it is now!" Geoff Hurst's third goal ensured that England would lift the Jules Rimet Trophy with a 4-2 win over West Germany.

This documentary recreates a footballing environment very different from today's. Sir Alf Ramsey had enjoyed a successful managerial career with Ipswich Town before becoming the England manager; when in post, he was strict in his discipline as well as highly brusque with the Press. He might not have been the greatest tactician, but he had an instinctive grasp of what would work on the pitch and what wouldn't. Hence his decision to leave Jimmy Greaves, England's most prolific goal-scorer, out of the side in the latter stages of the World Cup.

England's players were paid very much less than they are today, and it seemed that their commitment to playing for their country was much more sustained. They took pride in wearing the national team colors, even though there were some highly diverse personalities in the side. Jack Charlton was an abrasive personality, the kind of person who would not necessarily get on with the more phlegmatic Martin Peters. Bobby Moore was a gentlemanly player, whose outward calm contrasted with the more aggressive Nobby Stiles. Yet it was Ramsey's major achievement to unify all the members of the side into a coherent unit.

Sadly some members of that wonderful team are no longer with us. Bobby Moore died of liver cancer at the age of only fifty-one, while Alan Ball also passed away quite young. Others have not aged well: Ray Wilson and Nobby Stiles were too ill to be interviewed, while Martin Peters and Jackie Charlton experience memory problems. Nonetheless all the players who were interviewed were proud of their achievement; it might not have rendered them financially secure for life, but the memories will always be with them.