THERE were 18 players that didn’t make the trip to Spain, but made Ron Greenwood’s original 40 player provisional squad that was announced on 10 May before the two warm-up games against Iceland and Finland.
GARY BAILEY – MANCHESTER UNITED
Bailey was born in Ipswich but spent his early years in South Africa. He famously paid his own way for a trial with United in 1977 and took over from Alex Stepney a year later. With big game experience limited, he was tested in the 1979 FA Cup final but crucially was partly to blame for Arsenal’s late winner. It was always going to be hard to squeeze into the squad ahead of the established trio that Greenwood had in place. Bailey did earn two caps in 1985 and went to the 1986 tournament as third choice, only to suffer a severe knee injury from which he never truly recovered.
TOMMY CATON – MANCHESTER CITY
Liverpool-born Caton was honoured at England schoolboy level but failed to break through into the senior team, and this was more due to the fact that he was at a time when England were blessed with many gifted centre backs. While he was at City, Caton was the youngest player to achieve 100 appearances in the First Division aged just 19 and five months. He was named City’s player of the year in 1981/82 and was a real long shot to make the final 22, but time with the squad could prove valuable looking forward. He didn’t get to play in either warm-up game and wasn’t capped at all after the 1982 World Cup.
DAVE WATSON – STOKE CITY
Watson’s last game for England was the warm-up match against Iceland – it was his 65th cap and he is the most capped player never to play for England in a World Cup finals tournament. For a long time Watson was the cornerstone of the England defence, from Sir Alf Ramsey’s last game in charge. He had helped England qualify for the European Championships in Italy two years before, but now aged 35 and with Greenwood opting for a younger group of central defenders, Watson was left at home.
ALVIN MARTIN – WEST HAM UNITED
Martin was actively involved in many of Greenwood’s qualifying campaign squads for the 1982 World Cup, and started in the important 1-0 win over Hungary at Wembley that secured the place in the finals. That was his third cap and it looked very promising for the 23-year-old. Unfortunately, injury kept him out of the squad for Spain but he was a regular player in the following European Championships campaign and made the squad for the following World Cup, in which he started in the second-round game against Paraguay.
RUSSELL OSMAN – IPSWICH TOWN
Another of the exciting Ipswich Town team that were breaking through into the national spotlight. Greenwood saw enough in him to feature in three qualifying games, but unfortunately for Osman two of those were defeats which left England on the brink of not making the finals. It wasn’t all Osman’s fault of course, but he was left out of the remaining qualifying games and couldn’t get past his teammate Terry Butcher and another young centre back Steve Foster in the pecking order. He did go on to five more caps under Bobby Robson, but his last outing for England was a 1-0 defeat to Denmark.
DEREK STATHAM – WEST BROMWICH ALBION
The position of left back is one that has been overly blessed down the years and during Statham’s top years he had to try and overcome the likes of Sansom and Mills. He played a decade for West Brom from 1977, and made just one game shy of 300 appearances for the Baggies. An always steady defender he was always looking for a good run or pass forward. He was capped three times in 1983 but couldn’t make the left back position his own for England.
ALAN DEVONSHIRE – WEST HAM UNITED
Another case of what could have been for a player that showed huge potential. Devonshire’s flamboyant style was always a treat to watch as he skipped past defenders with ease. He was though at a time of Glenn Hoddle who had similar traits and had more support behind him, making Greenwood’s choice to pick the Tottenham man a little easier. Having been given his chance in May 1980 he had to wait two years to add to his two caps. Given a lifeline to make the squad in the warm-up games, he couldn’t do enough to knock his position rival out of favour. Devo went on to make four more England appearances, but a nasty knee injury in early 1984 ended any chance of a recall.
SAMMY LEE – LIVERPOOL
Lee had all the football ability needed to be successful. After signing for his hometown club Liverpool in 1976 aged 19, he became a regular in their side from 1980, helping the Reds become one of the best teams in Europe. His play was sure-footed, with accurate passing and a wicked shot that saw him score 13 times in just under 200 appearances in a decade-long spell before moving on. Always on the periphery of Greenwood’s ideas, he didn’t get capped until after the 1982 World Cup, when he went on to pull on the Three Lions shirt 14 times.
DENNIS MORTIMER – ASTON VILLA
After starting his career with Coventry City, he impressed enough to convince Aston Villa to sign him in 1975. At the age of 30, Mortimer was at the peak of his career and he was part of the hugely successful Villa side that backed up their 1980/81 First Division title by winning the European Cup in May 1982, lifting the trophy as captain. He made England Under-23 and B level appearances, but is often quoted as ‘the best player never to get an England cap’.
DAVID ARMSTRONG – SOUTHAMPTON
Durham-born Armstrong was at Southampton when he was named in the 40-strong squad, but it was his time with Middlesbrough that he put himself in the frame for an international call-up. A virtual ever-present in Boro’s starting eleven – holding the record for consecutive starts at 305. Having made his league debut in 1971, it was his consistency in midfield that finally earned him the first of his three England caps in the summer of 1980 in Australia before that year’s European Championships. He didn’t make that squad, and would not be capped again until October 1982, and then again in May 1984.
STEVE PERRYMAN – TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
After making his Tottenham debut in 1969 he went on to become Spurs’ longest serving player, stepping away from the club after 17 years. His energy in midfield won him many plaudits and awards. In fact, in 1982 he was named Football Writers’ Player of the Year. After 17 Under-21 caps it was a case of too little too late, as he won his first and only senior level cap with 20 minutes to go in the final World Cup warm-up match against Iceland. In his early 30s he would not feature in new boss Bobby Robson’s plans.
PETER BARNES – LEEDS UNITED
Through the late seventies, Barnes was the big hope for England. If he could translate his Manchester City and then West Brom club form to international level then he could become one of the most feared wingers in Europe, if not across the world. For some reason, it never quite happened. There were brief flashes of genius but they were rare amongst the bogged down pressurised play he often brought to the stage at this level. He could count himself unlucky in the fact that he played in five of the eight qualifying games on the road to Euro ’80 only to be left out of the final squad, and with the caps drying up after, only six more, he was also left out of the trip to Spain. At the age of 25 he would not add to his tally of just 22 caps after the summer of 1982.
ERIC GATES – IPSWICH TOWN
Gates was small in stature but big on class. He was part of Bobby Robson’s exciting Ipswich Town team that came close to league title honours, but succeeded in Europe winning the 1981 UEFA Cup. His link-up play with Paul Mariner led some to believe this could carry over to international level, but with so many great attacking midfielders already established in the team, it was going to take something special to make the final 22. He was capped only twice, both times under Greenwood, but couldn’t force his way into being a regular in the team.
PAUL GODDARD – WEST HAM UNITED
Scoring goals wherever he went in a career that lasted over 17 years, spanning six different clubs, Goddard somehow found himself looking from the outside in. It wasn’t that Greenwood didn’t rate him, it’s just that he had more well-established strikers in his squad. After a great start to his career at Queens Park Rangers, it was his time at West Ham that put him on the map. In eight Under-21 outings he scored five goals, but his only full cap came in the Iceland warm-up game. Despite scoring the only goal of the game, it wasn’t enough to put him on the plane to Spain, and he was never capped again.
CYRILLE REGIS – WEST BROMWICH ALBION
Born in French Guiana, Regis had a choice of playing for either France or England, and thankfully he chose the nation where he played his club football. Another player to rise through the ranks of the West Bromwich Albion system under Ron Atkinson, he made several appearances at both Under-21 and B level, scoring three times. Having played twice at full level earlier in the year, he was given a last chance to impress in the Iceland warm-up game. A hamstring injury in that game resulted in him failing to gain a place in the 22. He went on to play for England on two more occasions, the last after a five-year hiatus from the squad in 1987. He has the distinction of being the third black player to play for England behind Viv Anderson and Laurie Cunningham.
TONY MORLEY – ASTON VILLA
Morley was a throwback to wing wizards of the past. Quick on the ball and always thinking ahead, he could run at and scare defenders with his pace and guile. An integral part of the Villa European Cup triumph, he was pushing hard for a place in the finals after being given his debut as part of the team that secured the finals place against Hungary. After three more caps, Greenwood had the tough choice of whether Morley had the right balance for his team in Spain. He missed out on a place and from that moment his career nose-dived. Picked again for two more caps he couldn’t regain the form that had him marked as one of England’s brightest attacking players.
GARTH CROOKS – TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
The pacey Crooks was fast making a name for himself as a consistent goalscorer in the top flight as he helped his Tottenham team win consecutive FA Cup finals in 1981 and 1982. He first made his name with his hometown Stoke City where he scored 48 goals in just under 150 appearances. Winning four caps at Under-21 level he couldn’t break into the senior side and after the 1982 season he rarely hit the heights at club level that his early days promised.
GARY SHAW – ASTON VILLA
Like Mortimer and Morley he was a driving force in the early 80s Aston Villa set-up. His goals helped the team win the title in 1980/81, and aged just 20 he partnered Peter Withe up front in Villa’s European Cup-winning team of 1982. Maybe it was his lack of overall experience that cost him a place in the final squad, but being in the provisional squad was seen as a part of his learning curve after earning seven Under-21 caps, but he never did pull on a shirt as a full international.