Lions in the Wilderness by Clive and Joe Hetherington – Review
By Karl Hornsey
As England fans recover from their second successive European Championship final defeat, this excellent book by Clive and Joe Hetherington is a timely reminder that those supporters may actually be getting a little spoilt. While Gareth Southgate and the squad were criticised, in some cases quite rightly too, for their performances, it’s worth remembering the 1970s, a decade in which England lost not only their World Cup crown in the heat of Mexico, but also subsequently failed to take part in even the final stages of any of the major tournaments. While semi-finals have seemingly become the norm now, England lost any standing on the global stage despite a number of high-profile managers and players, and the authors have put in the hard yards of research and interviews to make this an outstanding account of those times.
Bearing in mind that the ‘70s were also a period of phenomenal success for English clubs sides in European competition, the failure on the international scene becomes even more of a mystery on the surface, but scratch beneath that, as the Hetheringtons have done, and things start to become a little clearer. A mistrust of the maverick, be that the mercurial Brian Clough, who was persistently overlooked for the top job, or the likes of Frank Worthington, Stan Bowles and Rodney Marsh on the field, was certainly one of the factors in consigning England into perennial onlookers rather than challengers.
“Divisive names”
The inevitable end of Sir Alf Ramsey’s rein in charge, cackhandedly managed by the blazers at the FA, came about following the infamous failure to beat Poland – goalkeeping clown and all – at Wembley, and his demise, along with the appointment of Don Revie are well documented here. Revie will always be one of the most divisive names in English football and, irrespective of any fan’s thoughts on his Leeds United side of the time, the way he upped and left the England job, not to mention his curious time in charge, is an utterly fascinating story.
As well as England’s failure to reach the finals of major tournaments, the decade is also well known for the uprise of hooliganism, the occasional ‘invasion’ of the Tartan Army during their British Championships battles at Wembley and, thankfully covered here, the all too slow development and integration of black players into the England set-up, culminating in Viv Anderson becoming the first black player to represent the senior side. So, while we’re all playing armchair pundit and bemoaning how badly England have played this last few weeks, yet still with the prospect of them being just 90 minutes away from another major final, just think back to having to wait an entire decade to even be involved in the finals. Never had it so good? Well maybe not, but this excellent work is a must for any supporter.
‘Lions in the Wilderness: England’s Decade of Decline’ by Clive and Joe Hetherington is published by Pitch Publishing
