England Legends - Tom Finney

As a festive treat, TheFA.com has a series of seven articles with England Legends, one from each of the match programmes in 2007, today it's Sir Tom Finney;

“I remember beating Portugal 10-0 – And they were meant to be good”

Even in a golden age for English football, playing alongside Billy Wright and Stanley Matthews, one Preston-born ex-serviceman had the skill to shine out: Tom Finney

As England call-ups go, Finney’s was certainly unusual. Serving in the Royal Armoured Corps in 1945, the 20-year-old was reclining in his billet when a guard burst in with instructions to report to the duty officer.

“The officer handed me a telegram from The FA,” recalls Finney, now 85. “I could hardly take it in. Here I was, a footballer without much experience, stationed in a foreign country [Austria], being told that I was to play for my country. It was unbelievable.”

The game against Switzerland – an unofficial international played by an England team that had barely met each other – was disappointing. “We lost,” says Finney. “The Swiss were too good. We played like a team of strangers – which we were.” But things could only get better: he went on to bag 76 caps, visit three World Cups and score 30 goals for his country. “I consider it the golden age of the game,” says Finney, still President of Preston North End, where he played for his entire career.

If the 1950s were the game’s golden age, Finney – and his mate Stanley Matthews – were the era’s shining lights. “Tom Finney would have been great in any team, in any match and in any age, even if he had been wearing an overcoat,” said his Preston team-mate Bill Shankly, while a popular joke was that “Finney should claim income tax relief for his ten dependents.”

He was the ultimate team player, with a masterful technique, and could play right-wing, left-wing and centre forward (“I was mostly used down the right, but if I could have my time again, I’d play up front,” says Finney now). He could shoot with both feet, was quick, a superb passer and an excellent header of the ball.

He was also fiercely patriotic. “28 September 1946 was my proudest day as a footballer,” he says of his full non-wartime debut against Northern Ireland in Belfast. “Ask any footballer who has been chosen to represent the land of his birth, and he will tell you that no feeling quite compares.”

Things started well. “It wasn’t until two-and-a-half years and 15 caps into my career that I sampled a defeat – against the Scots, of all people,” he says. He found himself in exalted company, too. “After I scored against Scotland at Wembley, Field Marshal Lord Montgomery came into the dressing room,” he recalls.

“He said ‘Congratulations, it was a fine goal from a man who fought with me’.”

With the likes of Matthews, Billy Wright and Nat Lofthouse also in the side, England were a major force. “It was a time we could really hammer teams,” says Tom.

“I remember beating Portugal 10-0 in Lisbon in 1947 – and they were meant to be good. We beat a great Italy side 4-0 and played them off the park. I guess England was a little bit ahead in terms of coaching, in some ways.”

Given that, it’s strange how they didn’t do well in World Cups. In 1950 they were beaten 1-0 by
the USA. The two following tournaments were equally disappointing. “Why we fared so poorly remains a mystery,” says Finney.

“We were among the favourites, but it never quite happened. It was difficult in 1958 because of the Munich air crash. We lost several players and it affected the mood of the squad.”

Nevertheless, Finney’s England memories are overwhelmingly positive. “After travelling the world representing my country for 12 years, I could only offer my grateful thanks to those who made it possible,” he says. “I would willingly have paid The FA to play.”

Born: April 5 1922, Preston

Clubs: Preston North End

England: 1946-58, 76 appearances, 30 goals.

First game: Ireland, 28 September 1946

Last game: USSR, 22 October 1958