Allan Clarke's perfect day, 1970: Leeds at the World Cup
"I was so excited I knocked the glass of water I had been drinking right across the room," Allan's mother Alice told the Walsall Observer.
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By the time of their third and last group game at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, England's manager Alf Ramsey was regretting some of his choices. Mainly, his choice to stay at a Hilton Hotel in the centre of downtown Guadalajara.
England fans had found the hotel and were coming and going at will. As were Brazilian fans, and locals, and the press. The players needed pills to sleep through the noise at night. They had 'entertainer/journalist' Clement Freud peppering them with pre-match jokes ('A union official says to a bulldozer driver, do you realise you're stopping work for hundreds of men with shovels?' 'Yes, and a few thousand more with teaspoons!').
Jack and Bobby Charlton, Allan Clarke, Keith Newton and Emlyn Hughes were all named as being 'in stitches' over that one, and there was talk of England hiring a comic to keep them company at their next tournament. After closer analysis, though, it's doubtful they'd persist with Freud.
Perhaps the players were just desperate for some innocent distraction. Alf Ramsey can't have been too pleased when 'the shapely figure of bikini girl British pop singer Susan Maughan' — famous for 'Bobby's Girl' — appeared for a dip in the pool, not when there were important tactical plans to discuss. But a photo in the Daily Mirror showed Jack Charlton, Allan Clarke, Terry Cooper and Roger Hunt all, apparently, studiously ignoring Susan and thinking of their wives. (Other photos in the file suggest they were taking a keener interest at other moments, while keeping a respectful distance.)
Ramsey wanted a new hotel, but it was gently pointed out that accommodation for a squad of 22 players plus staff and officials was somewhat at a premium in June in Mexico during the Mexico World Cup. All they could do was get through the group stage and get to their next venue, in León. Allan Clarke, for one, would be glad to be out of the Guadalajara Hilton: he'd been confined to watching on TV in his room while his teammates were losing 1-0 to Brazil, blaming his 'minor stomach disorder' on 'drinking ice cold milk'.
Despite their opening win over Romania, defeat to Brazil meant England couldn't take things easy against their final group opponents, Czechoslovakia, despite reports that the twice-defeated Czech players had all but given up, turning on their coach for preparing them badly. England needed at least a draw to qualify, and with just three days' break after the group games, Ramsey also had to keep some players fresh for the quarter-final. What's more, that was going to be a re-run of the 1966 final against West Germany, if England could make it.
So that's how Jackie Charlton got back into the side after a nine-game absence, replacing Brian Labone in defence. And it's how Allan Clarke got in alongside Jeff Astle up front, to make his England debut. Terry Cooper kept his place, because his marauding left wing play — from left-back — was one of the highlights of England's cup so far.
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