First viewed : 9 November 1991
This Granada series was very much in the same vein as Best and Marsh-the Perfect Match, inviting the England management duo to share their football nostalgia although the host was Elton Welsby rather than Tony Wilson . Unlike the earlier series, I couldn't find any stills or footage, reflecting a collective will to forget about the ill-fated reign of Turnip Head and his dubiously qualified buddy.
Two things stick in my mind from the show. One was being asked about their footballing heroes and Taylor picking some clogger from Grimsby Town in the fifties of whom no footage survived although the research team dug up a photograph.
The other was a discussion on strikers. When asked for their nomination for best striker , McMenemy asked for a clarification on the criteria then said " until you mentioned technique I'd have said Ted McDougall". McDougall was a prolific goalscorer in the lower divisions but failed to impress as Frank O Farrell's flagship signing at Manchester United . He later rediscovered his goalscoring touch at Norwich and McMenemy's Southampton. The discussion hinged on his poor first touch, McMenemy describing him as having "ten to two feet" , and singleminded approach to goalscoring. Apparently he wasn't happy if the team won without his name appearing on the scoresheet.
I think you're being a wee bit harsh of McMenemy as "dubiously qualified", as he did do a good job making Southampton competitive for a few years, and winning the FA Cup against my mob. And presumably he had something about him to attract the likes of Keegan and Ball to ply their trade at the Dell (hardly the most glamorous of stadiums!).
ReplyDeleteAnd unlike Taylor, at least it could be said he had managed teams known for playing a bit of decent football... it was no surprise England wound up replicating Watford methods of hard work over talent, with the likes of Waddle and Beardsley losing out to the likes of Carlton Palmer and Geoff Thomas. Urgh.
MacDougall was very much a last-ditch desperation signing by O'Farrell, only a couple of months before his sacking, alongside Welsh beanpole/City reject Wyn Davies. His real flagship signings were probably the previous Spring: Ian Storey-Moore, who was top quality but broken down with injuries within months of arriving, and Martin Buchan. The latter would prove to be great signing, but the post-Busby rot had well and truly set in at this point.
MacDougall was moved on in sharp time by Tommy Docherty to West Ham, where he was subsequently battered by Billy Bonds and shifted out to Norwich, where he finally proved his top-flight credentials by winning the Golden Boot in 75/76...
Yes he has a few trophies under his belt and his policy of signing old internationals to make up for his own lack of a playing career worked at Southampton. He came a real cropper when he tried it at Sunderland, his most recent appointment before the England job. Ray Kennedy's "Ray of Hope" and Frank Worthington's "One Hump or Two" are not exactly complimentary about him.
ReplyDeleteInteresting Worthington would put the boot in, as his season at Southampton was the closest he (and the club) ever got to the title! Though I would imagine the Manager had little time for Frank's lifestyle.
DeleteI suspect taking on Sunderland was a case of writing a cheque his talent couldn't cash, added with the lure of taking an old local club from his childhood on. Hard for an ego to turn that one down, perhaps.
And of course, the Mackems are now back where Lawrie left them a couple of decades ago. Plenty of United fans having a good chuckle at that one, trust me.
You'll no doubt be wishing us well at the Stadium of Light next season then ?
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