taken from tactical theorems 10
England 1966
Manager: Alf Ramsey
Country: England
Modern Notation: 4-3-3, 4-1-3-2
Era: Early Modern
Honours: World Cup 1966
Contributor: Millie
The “wingless wonders” of 1966 brought England their only international success. They were a development of Ramsey’s 4-2-4 which had brought him success at Ipswich Town. The wingers were push inside and star player Bobby Charlton was asked to play deeper than the front line and create a link between attack and the midfield. Crucially, Nobby Stiles was pulled back and acted as the hard defensive midfielder, as willing to kick his opponents as the ball.
The creativity of Alan Ball, as well as the defensive skills of Bobby Moore helped the side retain its defensive shape and create space despite the lack of wide players. The other DC, Jack Charlton, was not the most talented defender in the country, but his height and ability to clear the ball were complementary to Moore’s unsurpassed ability to read a pass and remain cool under pressure.
Some may argue for the MCs to be pushed up to AMCl/r alongside Charlton to create more of a 4-1-3-2, which is how Stiles described the formation in his autobiography. However, it is clear that Charlton played in a more advanced role than the two central midfielders, though not quite as a forward in his own right.
Position Player (1966 World Cup Final) Role Duty GK Gordon Banks Goalkeeper Defend DL
Ray Wilson
Full Back
Automatic DCl Jack Charlton Centre Back Stopper DCr
Bobby Moore
Centre Back
Cover DR George Cohen Full Back Automatic DMC
Nobby Stiles
Ball winning midfielder
Defend MCl Alan Ball Advanced Playmaker Support MCr
Martin Peters
Central Midfielder
Support AMC Bobby Charlton Trequartista Attack FCl
Roger Hunt
Complete Forward
Attack FCr Geoff Hurst Poacher Attack
Instructions Philosophy Rigid Passing
More Direct Creative Freedom Default Closing Down
Stand-off More Tackling More Aggressive Marking
Man Marking Crossing Default Roaming
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