THE football world is a darker place tonight, with the death, aged 91, of Sir Tom Finney. Forget the 11 Heroes of 1966, ignore the claims of Keegan, or Gascoigne or the rest, even today's vastly over-rated Rooney, who have followed him - perhaps George Best was his equal, but, for this Scotsman, there was no finer British footballer than The Preston Plumber - and - I speak from experience, having seen him play.
The Tartan Army gave its highest accolade to Finney. The TA has always recognised class. Alfredo de Stefano, Ferenc Puskas, Stanley Matthews, Franz Beckenbauer, Diego Maradona, Pele, Zinadine Zedane - Hampden has risen to applaud their endeavours.
They also applauded Finney, even when he was inflicting terrible pain on them, inspiring England to Hampden victory after Hampden victory in the decade between 1948 and 1958. To be fair, Scotland enjoyed a great run at Wembley in the immediate post-war era, but even Scottish football writers - those oft-derided: “Fans With Typewriters” recognised Finney’s class. His performance in the 1951 Wembley match, in which Scotland beat ten-man England 3-2 was praised to the heavens by every one of the Scottish football writers on-duty that day.
And why not? He may have been born in that town and played all his club football for Preston, but his career was heavily-influenced by the Scotsmen who have been so identified with “Proud Preston” from the days of the “Scotch professors” who were the backbone of the North End “Invincibles” of the 19th century.
When Finney first went to Deepdale as a ground staff boy before World War II, the Preston team of Bill Shankly, Tommie Smith, Andy Beattie, Frank O‘Donnell, Jimmy Milne and George Mutch spoke with a distinct Scots accent and played the traditional Scottish-style passing game. Shankly was Finney’s “minder” when the precocious 16-year-old first began to torture defenders during the War years, then, when age took its toll on Glenbuck’s finest, the minder’s role was taken-up by Gorbals boy Tommy Docherty. Shankley and Docherty had their differences about football, but not about Finney. These two iconic Scottish managers both rated him the best player they had ever seen.
Finney tasted early success in a War-time Cup-winning Preston side, before service with the Royal Armoured Corps as part of Montgomery’s Eighth Army “Desert Rats” and making such an impression in the Army team that he played for England in a “Victory International” before he had made his official league start for North End - for which club he played a total of 437 games, scoring 187 goals, up until his retirement at the end of the 1960 season.
Stanley Matthews had been an automatic choice as England’s outside right before and during the war, Finney’s arrival gave the England selectors a problem: which of these two outstanding outside rights to pick for the national side? The argument as to which was the greater player continues to this day. Walter Winterbottom, the England manager, found a answer when his selectors dithered - persuading them to pick both, with Finney switching to outside left, where he was equally lethal.
“Matthews was a wonderful winger, a real handful, but, when compared with Tom, Stanley was the easier player to play against”, said Rangers’ Sammy Cox, lauded by the English as the single Scotland full back to tame the “Wizard of Dribble” in internationals.
“You knew what Stanley would do - go outside you, get to the bye-line and cross. Tom Finney gave you more problems, he could beat you on either side, and he was the greater goal threat with his ability to cut inside and score - he was one helluva player”.
Matthews, after World War II, was content to lay-on goals for others, Finney could score too - his 30 goals for England was a record until overtaken by Bobby Charlton, while the Preston man also played inside forward and centre forward for England.
His 76 internationals encompassed the World Cups of 1950, 1954 and 1958. Big Italian clubs offered him a fortune to sign for them, but, a Preston boy he was happy to play out his career at Deepdale, in spite of the club’s comparative lack of success. There are no League Championship or FA Cup-winner’s medals on his escutcheon.
He had one chance at individual Wembley glory, in 1954, just a year after Matthews had inspired Blackpool to FA Cup victory. But, on the day Finney was less than fully-fit, had a rare quiet game and West Bromwich Albion came from behind to lift the trophy.
With no wall-to-wall live football on television during his career, Finney was one player who could put ten or twenty thousand onto a gate. He was a genuine star, but always a quiet, grounded man.
This may have owed something to the fact he was never a full-time footballer, to the exclusion of everything else. He lost his mother Margaret when he was only four; his father Alfred re-married and insisted his son complete his apprenticeship in the nearby Pilkington’s plumbing business. Even at a time when he was one of the biggest stars in the world game, after morning training at Deepdale, he would put on his overalls, pick-up his tool bag and fix leaking taps or blocked toilets around Preston.
After retirement from the game and an emotional farewell at his beloved Deepdale, he built the firm up to be one of the biggest plumbing and heating businesses in the North West of England.
His testimonial game brought stars from around Europe to pay tribute. Finney’s original plan had been for Shankly to be one of the linesmen, but the then Liverpool boss insisted on playing one last game behind “Young Tommy” - and got his way.
Finney, with his business to take care of, shied away from management, other than to be player-coach of an England touring side in the Far East in 1961 The young players who were on that tour spoke highly, however, of his man-management skills.
Indeed, one of these young Englishmen, asked a couple of decades later, for a book, to select his best team - made up only of players he had taken the field with or against; on the basis of a couple of matches on that Far East tour, selected Finney. If Bobby Moore thought that highly of him, who are we mere mortals to quibble at his judgement?
Sir Bobby Charlton, another of those English heroes of 1966 and the living conscience of the game in this country is another Finney fan. In his autobiography, charting his long England career he makes it clear, he grew up a Matthews man - regularly, with elder brother Jack, travelling to St James’s Park whenever Matthews played there for Stoke City or Blackpool. Matthews was his hero, until he won his debut England cap, in the 4-0 win over Scotland at Hampden in 1958, which was also Finney’s final appearance against Scotland.
Finney’s run to the by-line and his delivery of the cut-back from which Sir Bobby scored the first - and some still say the best - of his 49 England goals, made the then 20-year-old Charlton realised he was playing with a genius and that Finney was a greater player than Matthews.
Irrespective of the certain retribution to come from Shankly or Docherty, opposing players still targeted Finney for rough treatment; but such was his balance, he was seldom injured, even surviving an extreme kicking from Docherty during the 1955 Wembley international, in which England beat Scotland 7-2.
The Preston chairman called Docherty into the board room for censure on the Monday morning, but Finney interceded on his friend’s behalf, insisting there were no hard feelings - the emphatic English victory, he reckoned, had scarred Docherty more than the Scot‘s attentions had him.
In retirement, which he broke to appear for Irish League club Distillery, against Benfica in the European Cup in 1963, he wrote an insightful football column for the News of the World for many years. He became president of North End, who named a stand after him, while a statue of him, “The Splash“, inspired by a famous newspaper of Finney running through an on-pitch puddle at Stamford Bridge stood outside the English Football Hall of Fame, which was inaugurated at Preston‘s ground. This institution has now moved to Manchester, but, the statue remains at Deepdale. He was naturally one of the founding inductees, but, even without home bias, he was a shoo-in. He was also Footballer of the Year twice, in 1954 and 1957.
He joined the North End board, then became Chairman, before being given the honorary title of Life President. He was given the Freedom of Preston, and Honorary Fellowship from the Preston-based Lancashire Polytechnic - now the University of Central Lancashire, and an honorary LLD doctorate from the nearby University of Lancaster. He was made OBE in 1961, immediately following his retirement. This honour was upgraded to CBE, in 1992, then, in 1998, he followed Matthews into the ranks of footballing knights.
It has been suggested that shared experiences in fighting Germany twice in the first half of the 20th century meant that while there was still rivalry, in the first two decades following VE-Day, there was none of the hatred between Scottish and English fans, which has developed since 1966 and all that.
Before then, Scotsman and Englishman could, and often did, stand together on the terraces and admire the play of Finney and Matthews on one side and Young and Reilly on the other. That doesn’t happen today, indeed, you might argue that, since Finney, only Sir Bobby Charlton has managed to become equally-admired on both sides of the Solway.
Tom Finney was a marvellous player, arguably the greatest-ever and one Englishman the Tartan Army would dearly have loved to have seen in a navy blue jersey. We shall not see his likes again.
Both David Beckham and Finney wore the number seven shirt for Preston North End and England, in the eyes of most football historians, that’s as close as Beckham ever came to Finney.
“Is David Beckham as good as Tom Finney?” Tommy Docherty was asked at the height of Beckhamania.
“Probably, but you have to remember, Tom is in his eighties now and not the force he was”, was Docherty‘s response.
He was predeceased by Lady Elsie, his wife of nearly 60-years, in 2004 and is survived by his son Brian and daughter Barbara and their families. Their pain at his passing is shared by everyone who cares about genuine footballing star quality.
They also applauded Finney, even when he was inflicting terrible pain on them, inspiring England to Hampden victory after Hampden victory in the decade between 1948 and 1958. To be fair, Scotland enjoyed a great run at Wembley in the immediate post-war era, but even Scottish football writers - those oft-derided: “Fans With Typewriters” recognised Finney’s class. His performance in the 1951 Wembley match, in which Scotland beat ten-man England 3-2 was praised to the heavens by every one of the Scottish football writers on-duty that day.
And why not? He may have been born in that town and played all his club football for Preston, but his career was heavily-influenced by the Scotsmen who have been so identified with “Proud Preston” from the days of the “Scotch professors” who were the backbone of the North End “Invincibles” of the 19th century.
When Finney first went to Deepdale as a ground staff boy before World War II, the Preston team of Bill Shankly, Tommie Smith, Andy Beattie, Frank O‘Donnell, Jimmy Milne and George Mutch spoke with a distinct Scots accent and played the traditional Scottish-style passing game. Shankly was Finney’s “minder” when the precocious 16-year-old first began to torture defenders during the War years, then, when age took its toll on Glenbuck’s finest, the minder’s role was taken-up by Gorbals boy Tommy Docherty. Shankley and Docherty had their differences about football, but not about Finney. These two iconic Scottish managers both rated him the best player they had ever seen.
Finney tasted early success in a War-time Cup-winning Preston side, before service with the Royal Armoured Corps as part of Montgomery’s Eighth Army “Desert Rats” and making such an impression in the Army team that he played for England in a “Victory International” before he had made his official league start for North End - for which club he played a total of 437 games, scoring 187 goals, up until his retirement at the end of the 1960 season.
Stanley Matthews had been an automatic choice as England’s outside right before and during the war, Finney’s arrival gave the England selectors a problem: which of these two outstanding outside rights to pick for the national side? The argument as to which was the greater player continues to this day. Walter Winterbottom, the England manager, found a answer when his selectors dithered - persuading them to pick both, with Finney switching to outside left, where he was equally lethal.
“Matthews was a wonderful winger, a real handful, but, when compared with Tom, Stanley was the easier player to play against”, said Rangers’ Sammy Cox, lauded by the English as the single Scotland full back to tame the “Wizard of Dribble” in internationals.
“You knew what Stanley would do - go outside you, get to the bye-line and cross. Tom Finney gave you more problems, he could beat you on either side, and he was the greater goal threat with his ability to cut inside and score - he was one helluva player”.
Matthews, after World War II, was content to lay-on goals for others, Finney could score too - his 30 goals for England was a record until overtaken by Bobby Charlton, while the Preston man also played inside forward and centre forward for England.
His 76 internationals encompassed the World Cups of 1950, 1954 and 1958. Big Italian clubs offered him a fortune to sign for them, but, a Preston boy he was happy to play out his career at Deepdale, in spite of the club’s comparative lack of success. There are no League Championship or FA Cup-winner’s medals on his escutcheon.
He had one chance at individual Wembley glory, in 1954, just a year after Matthews had inspired Blackpool to FA Cup victory. But, on the day Finney was less than fully-fit, had a rare quiet game and West Bromwich Albion came from behind to lift the trophy.
With no wall-to-wall live football on television during his career, Finney was one player who could put ten or twenty thousand onto a gate. He was a genuine star, but always a quiet, grounded man.
This may have owed something to the fact he was never a full-time footballer, to the exclusion of everything else. He lost his mother Margaret when he was only four; his father Alfred re-married and insisted his son complete his apprenticeship in the nearby Pilkington’s plumbing business. Even at a time when he was one of the biggest stars in the world game, after morning training at Deepdale, he would put on his overalls, pick-up his tool bag and fix leaking taps or blocked toilets around Preston.
After retirement from the game and an emotional farewell at his beloved Deepdale, he built the firm up to be one of the biggest plumbing and heating businesses in the North West of England.
His testimonial game brought stars from around Europe to pay tribute. Finney’s original plan had been for Shankly to be one of the linesmen, but the then Liverpool boss insisted on playing one last game behind “Young Tommy” - and got his way.
Finney, with his business to take care of, shied away from management, other than to be player-coach of an England touring side in the Far East in 1961 The young players who were on that tour spoke highly, however, of his man-management skills.
Indeed, one of these young Englishmen, asked a couple of decades later, for a book, to select his best team - made up only of players he had taken the field with or against; on the basis of a couple of matches on that Far East tour, selected Finney. If Bobby Moore thought that highly of him, who are we mere mortals to quibble at his judgement?
Sir Bobby Charlton, another of those English heroes of 1966 and the living conscience of the game in this country is another Finney fan. In his autobiography, charting his long England career he makes it clear, he grew up a Matthews man - regularly, with elder brother Jack, travelling to St James’s Park whenever Matthews played there for Stoke City or Blackpool. Matthews was his hero, until he won his debut England cap, in the 4-0 win over Scotland at Hampden in 1958, which was also Finney’s final appearance against Scotland.
Finney’s run to the by-line and his delivery of the cut-back from which Sir Bobby scored the first - and some still say the best - of his 49 England goals, made the then 20-year-old Charlton realised he was playing with a genius and that Finney was a greater player than Matthews.
Irrespective of the certain retribution to come from Shankly or Docherty, opposing players still targeted Finney for rough treatment; but such was his balance, he was seldom injured, even surviving an extreme kicking from Docherty during the 1955 Wembley international, in which England beat Scotland 7-2.
The Preston chairman called Docherty into the board room for censure on the Monday morning, but Finney interceded on his friend’s behalf, insisting there were no hard feelings - the emphatic English victory, he reckoned, had scarred Docherty more than the Scot‘s attentions had him.
In retirement, which he broke to appear for Irish League club Distillery, against Benfica in the European Cup in 1963, he wrote an insightful football column for the News of the World for many years. He became president of North End, who named a stand after him, while a statue of him, “The Splash“, inspired by a famous newspaper of Finney running through an on-pitch puddle at Stamford Bridge stood outside the English Football Hall of Fame, which was inaugurated at Preston‘s ground. This institution has now moved to Manchester, but, the statue remains at Deepdale. He was naturally one of the founding inductees, but, even without home bias, he was a shoo-in. He was also Footballer of the Year twice, in 1954 and 1957.
He joined the North End board, then became Chairman, before being given the honorary title of Life President. He was given the Freedom of Preston, and Honorary Fellowship from the Preston-based Lancashire Polytechnic - now the University of Central Lancashire, and an honorary LLD doctorate from the nearby University of Lancaster. He was made OBE in 1961, immediately following his retirement. This honour was upgraded to CBE, in 1992, then, in 1998, he followed Matthews into the ranks of footballing knights.
It has been suggested that shared experiences in fighting Germany twice in the first half of the 20th century meant that while there was still rivalry, in the first two decades following VE-Day, there was none of the hatred between Scottish and English fans, which has developed since 1966 and all that.
Before then, Scotsman and Englishman could, and often did, stand together on the terraces and admire the play of Finney and Matthews on one side and Young and Reilly on the other. That doesn’t happen today, indeed, you might argue that, since Finney, only Sir Bobby Charlton has managed to become equally-admired on both sides of the Solway.
Tom Finney was a marvellous player, arguably the greatest-ever and one Englishman the Tartan Army would dearly have loved to have seen in a navy blue jersey. We shall not see his likes again.
Both David Beckham and Finney wore the number seven shirt for Preston North End and England, in the eyes of most football historians, that’s as close as Beckham ever came to Finney.
“Is David Beckham as good as Tom Finney?” Tommy Docherty was asked at the height of Beckhamania.
“Probably, but you have to remember, Tom is in his eighties now and not the force he was”, was Docherty‘s response.
He was predeceased by Lady Elsie, his wife of nearly 60-years, in 2004 and is survived by his son Brian and daughter Barbara and their families. Their pain at his passing is shared by everyone who cares about genuine footballing star quality.
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