Sir Alf Ramsey, who managed England to World Cup glory in 1966, was born on this day, 96 years ago - and former FA Historian David Barber recalled the time he worked alongside a true Three Lions legend.
Ramsey was a right-back who played for Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur and was capped 32 times for England.
Known as a deep-thinker about the game, he was appointed Ipswich Town’s manager in 1955. He was 35 and had just retired as a player. Ipswich were then in Division Three (South).
“I remember him as being very serene as he moved around our offices, always immaculately dressed in suit and tie and polished shoes”
With the astute Ramsey in charge they won Division Three (South) in 1956-57, Division Two in 1960-61 and Division One in 1961-62.
Unfashionable Ipswich had gone from the third tier to League Champions in five years and that achievement had not gone unnoticed by The FA.
Ramsey was appointed Walter Winterbottom’s successor as England team manager. His period in charge started inauspiciously - with a 5-2 defeat by France in the European Nations Cup in February 1963 - but things started to click into place during a three-match tour at the end of that season.
England won 4-2 in Czechoslovakia, 2-1 in East Germany and 8-1 in Switzerland. Ramsey made Bobby Moore his captain for the first time and had superstars in his team like Gordon Banks, Jimmy Greaves and Bobby Charlton.
Three years later England were World Champions and a year after that Alf was knighted.
Barber said: "I joined the FA staff as a teenager a few weeks after the Mexico World Cup in 1970.
"There were four of us in the International Department: Alan Odell (International Secretary), Margaret Bruce (Mr Odell’s PA), me and Sir Alf. Our partitioned offices were initially within the Council Chamber at 22 Lancaster Gate.
"Sir Alf still lived in Ipswich but would come into the office most days. His desk was only a few feet from mine.
"I would make him a cup of tea on his arrival - milk, no sugar, and always in a pea-green cup and saucer - and he would often start the day by checking all the match reports in the newspapers to see who had played well.
"These included the Saturday evening papers like ‘The Green ‘Un’ and ‘The Pink ‘Un’.
"I remember him as being very serene as he moved around our offices, always immaculately dressed in suit and tie and polished shoes.
"At the same time he was very friendly and down to earth and was always interested to know which matches I had been to.
"Even in those days I watched a lot of amateur football and he might have greeted me with “How did Redhill get on last night?”
"I did all sorts of errands for Sir Alf as his assistant. I would take a film of an England match and a projector and run it through for the squad at their hotel… and find myself sitting between Bobby Moore and Geoff Hurst! Or I would go to one of the big West End cinemas and buy tickets for that evening’s performance for them.
I"t was clear that the players loved Alf. The banter was always good. He passed away in 1999 at the age of 79, his unique place in football history assured."
Sir Alf Ramsey was born in Dagenham, Essex, on 22 January 1920
