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Goal.com's Top 50 English Players: Tom Finney (5)
Goal.com's top 50 countdown of the greatest ever English players continues with a man at number five, Tom Finney, whom many regarded as England's most complete footballer ever...
Jun 23, 2009 2:00:39 PM
No.50 - John Terry
No.15 - Alan Shearer
No.14 - Paul Gascoigne
No.13 - David Beckham
No.12 - Dixie Dean
No.11 - Alan Ball
No.10 - Peter Shilton
No. 9 - Gary Lineker
No. 8 - Duncan Edwards
No. 7 - Kevin Keegan
No. 6 - Jimmy Greaves
The paucity of surviving film footage of Tom Finney in his prime does the man scant justice, yet he was undoubtedly one of English football's purest talents, a man of whom his former club-mate, Bill Shankly, declared, "Tom Finney would have been great in any team, in any match and in any age ... even if he had been wearing an overcoat."
During the 1940s and 50s, Finney was a genuine superstar, contesting the right-wing berth in the England team with Stanley Matthews, but possessing the versatility to switch seamlessly to the left wing and even centre-forward so that both talents could be accommodated in the same line-up.
At club level, Finney was wholly synonymous with Preston North End, his hometown club, and his loyalty to the Lilywhites both defined and restricted his career. Though he insisted unglamorous Preston were not a one-man team, others joked, "Tom Finney should claim income tax relief . . . for his 10 dependants."
Finney was born at home in a street next to Preston's Deepdale stadium, and despite enduring persistent ill-health as a child, showed exceptional promise with a ball at his feet. North End asked the frail-looking 4ft 9in 14-year-old to join their groundstaff, but his father wanted Tom to complete his apprenticeship as a plumber before signing professionally.
As a result, with the maximum wage offering little incentive for players to switch clubs, 'The Preston Plumber' was able to supplement his modest earnings from football with a second income throughout his career.
When he did finally sign professional forms, the Second World War broke out, and League football was promptly suspended. But he began to make a name for himself in wartime matches, and in 1940-41, Preston were Northern regional champions and won the Wartime Cup. It was the only final Finney ever won, though sadly it didn't count as an official honour.
He was soon drafted into the Royal Armoured Corps, and saw front-line combat in Montgomery's Eighth Army in Egypt as a tank driver and mechanic, also playing for a forces side, The Wanderers, against various Egyptian teams. In one game, future movie star Omar Sharif played against Finney for King Farouk's XI.
Towards the end of the war, Tom was picked for an unofficial England friendly against Switzerland, becoming one of a select few who, because of the conflict, played for England before making their club League debuts.
He duly made his League bow for Preston in August 1946, aged 24, and quickly established himself as one of the country's top forwards – training by night while helping to meet the strong post-war demand for plumbers by day. Within a month, he earned his first official England cap, scoring in a 7-2 victory over Northern Ireland. He went on to win 76 caps, score 30 goals and appear in three World Cups for his country.
What marked him out for greatness was his complete mastery of the ball and a razor-sharp appreciation of the positioning and movement of others on the pitch. His dazzling footwork was used to bring out the best in his team-mates. He was supremely comfortable playing the ball with either foot, enabling him to switch wings with ease, and had a thunderous shot in both.
His dribbling skill, based on speed and exceptional balance, was mesmeric, and the accuracy of his passing sublime. For good measure, Finney was exceptional in the air, packing great power into his headers. A contemporary newspaper article stated that, "If all the brains in the game sat in committee to design the perfect player, they would come up with a reincarnation of Tom Finney."
It was a package that forced opponents onto the back foot, making things happen. Feinting to go inside or outside at pace, he would routinely beat one defender after another before producing a telling cross or having a crack at goal himself, and at one stage he was England's leading all-time scorer.
"It was usually considered that a winger should be a provider," said Tom, "but I always worked on the theory that the man in the best position should accept the responsibility."
When England beat Italy 4-0 in Turin in 1948, Finney's impressive two-goal performance led to an intriguing postscript. For in 1952, Palermo - looking to mount a strong challenge for Italy's Serie A title - offered 30-year-old Finney a £10,000 signing on fee, £130 a month in wages, bonuses of up to £100 a game, a Mediterranean villa, a luxury car and free travel to and from Italy for his family. They also offered Preston a £30,000 transfer fee.
The sums involved were astronomical at that time, but under the infamous retain-and-transfer system, Preston told him he would play for them or no-one. "Players didn't have the power in those days," Finney recalled much later. "I accepted it."
In 1952-53, shortly after Finney had resisted that Sicilian temptation, he endured the frustration of seeing Arsenal pip North End to the First Division championship by the narrowest of margins - 0.099 of a goal at a time when goal average was used to separate teams on the same number of points.
There was more heartache for Finney the following season, when he skippered Preston to the 1954 FA Cup final. West Bromwich Albion triumphed 3-2 at Wembley, but there was a consolation for Finney, who was voted Footballer of the Year. Three years later, he became the first player to win the prestigious award for a second time. A year later Preston again finished as runners-up in the League, this time to Wolves.
Finney averaged 13 League goals per season during his Preston career, but his best returns were 23 in 1956-57 and 26 in 1957-58, following manager Cliff Britton’s astute decision to convert him from right-wing to centre-forward, a position in which he stunned most observers by playing even better than he had on the flanks.
However, time and hard knocks were taking their toll, and in 1960, troubled by a persistent groin problem, he retired, having made 433 appearances for Preston and scored 187 goals.
Curiously, however, he made one subsequent appearance for Northern Irish club Distillery against Benfica in the first leg of a 1963 European Cup tie that finished 3-3, finally and fittingly gracing Europe's premier club tournament.
Never booked or sent off, he received the OBE in 1961, became president of Preston North End, a magistrate, and chairman of his local health authority while continuing to run his plumbing business.
In the 1998 New Year Honours list he received a knighthood, and in 2004, Sir Tom unveiled the water feature sculpture 'The Splash', erected outside The National Football Museum at Deepdale and inspired by the iconic 1956 Sports Photograph of the Year showing Finney beating two Chelsea defenders at a waterlogged Stamford Bridge. Preston's ground also boasts The Sir Tom Finney Stand, and the man himself, now 87, still personally answers all his daily fan mail at Deepdale.
HONOURS
FWA Footballer of the Year - 1954, 1957
DID YOU KNOW ... That England's World Cup winning captain, Bobby Moore, explained in Jeff Powell's book 'The Life and Times of a Sporting Hero', that he had played with Finney on an FA tour of Australasia in 1961, saying, "Tom had been one of the giants of the game when I was a boy and had hung up his boots at Preston eighteen months before. As a brash young lad I couldn't understand all the fuss about bringing the old chap out of retirement on that tour. Then we kicked off. It was as if Tom had never been away. That lovely, easy control of the ball, the appreciation of the game, the finishing, much of the change of pace, it just unfolded in front of me. I'd never played with a winger like that and I never would. I was amazed by Tom Finney. He remains the last great England winger."
Graham Lister, Goal.com
No.49 - Tony Currie
No.48 - Terry Butcher
No.47 - Gerry Hitchens
No.46 - Paul Ince
No.45 - George Camsell
No.44 - Wayne Rooney
No.43 - Jackie Milburn
No.42 - Roger Hunt
No.41 - Rio Ferdinand
No.40 - Wilf Mannion
No.39 - Frank Lampard
No.38 - John Barnes
No.37 - Nat Lofthouse
No.36 - Eddie Hapgood
No.35 - Chris Waddle
No.34 - David Platt
No.33 - Phil Neal
No.32 - Johnny Haynes
No.31 - Peter Beardsley
No.30 - Ray Clemence
No.29 - Ted Drake
No.28 - Michael Owen
No.27 - Raich Carter
No.26 - Colin Bell
No.25 – Frank Swift
No.24 - Paul Scholes
No.23 - Tony Adams
No.22 - Martin Peters
No.21 - Billy Wright
No.20 - Geoff Hurst
No.19 - Cliff Bastin
No.15 - Alan Shearer
No.14 - Paul Gascoigne
No.13 - David Beckham
No.12 - Dixie Dean
No.11 - Alan Ball
No.10 - Peter Shilton
No. 9 - Gary Lineker
No. 8 - Duncan Edwards
No. 7 - Kevin Keegan
No. 6 - Jimmy Greaves
|
Tom FINNEY | |
|
Born | 5/4/1922 - Preston |
|
|
76 caps, 30 goals |
|
Clubs | Preston North End |
The paucity of surviving film footage of Tom Finney in his prime does the man scant justice, yet he was undoubtedly one of English football's purest talents, a man of whom his former club-mate, Bill Shankly, declared, "Tom Finney would have been great in any team, in any match and in any age ... even if he had been wearing an overcoat."
During the 1940s and 50s, Finney was a genuine superstar, contesting the right-wing berth in the England team with Stanley Matthews, but possessing the versatility to switch seamlessly to the left wing and even centre-forward so that both talents could be accommodated in the same line-up.
At club level, Finney was wholly synonymous with Preston North End, his hometown club, and his loyalty to the Lilywhites both defined and restricted his career. Though he insisted unglamorous Preston were not a one-man team, others joked, "Tom Finney should claim income tax relief . . . for his 10 dependants."
Finney was born at home in a street next to Preston's Deepdale stadium, and despite enduring persistent ill-health as a child, showed exceptional promise with a ball at his feet. North End asked the frail-looking 4ft 9in 14-year-old to join their groundstaff, but his father wanted Tom to complete his apprenticeship as a plumber before signing professionally.
As a result, with the maximum wage offering little incentive for players to switch clubs, 'The Preston Plumber' was able to supplement his modest earnings from football with a second income throughout his career.
When he did finally sign professional forms, the Second World War broke out, and League football was promptly suspended. But he began to make a name for himself in wartime matches, and in 1940-41, Preston were Northern regional champions and won the Wartime Cup. It was the only final Finney ever won, though sadly it didn't count as an official honour.
He was soon drafted into the Royal Armoured Corps, and saw front-line combat in Montgomery's Eighth Army in Egypt as a tank driver and mechanic, also playing for a forces side, The Wanderers, against various Egyptian teams. In one game, future movie star Omar Sharif played against Finney for King Farouk's XI.
 |
He duly made his League bow for Preston in August 1946, aged 24, and quickly established himself as one of the country's top forwards – training by night while helping to meet the strong post-war demand for plumbers by day. Within a month, he earned his first official England cap, scoring in a 7-2 victory over Northern Ireland. He went on to win 76 caps, score 30 goals and appear in three World Cups for his country.
What marked him out for greatness was his complete mastery of the ball and a razor-sharp appreciation of the positioning and movement of others on the pitch. His dazzling footwork was used to bring out the best in his team-mates. He was supremely comfortable playing the ball with either foot, enabling him to switch wings with ease, and had a thunderous shot in both.
His dribbling skill, based on speed and exceptional balance, was mesmeric, and the accuracy of his passing sublime. For good measure, Finney was exceptional in the air, packing great power into his headers. A contemporary newspaper article stated that, "If all the brains in the game sat in committee to design the perfect player, they would come up with a reincarnation of Tom Finney."
It was a package that forced opponents onto the back foot, making things happen. Feinting to go inside or outside at pace, he would routinely beat one defender after another before producing a telling cross or having a crack at goal himself, and at one stage he was England's leading all-time scorer.
"It was usually considered that a winger should be a provider," said Tom, "but I always worked on the theory that the man in the best position should accept the responsibility."
When England beat Italy 4-0 in Turin in 1948, Finney's impressive two-goal performance led to an intriguing postscript. For in 1952, Palermo - looking to mount a strong challenge for Italy's Serie A title - offered 30-year-old Finney a £10,000 signing on fee, £130 a month in wages, bonuses of up to £100 a game, a Mediterranean villa, a luxury car and free travel to and from Italy for his family. They also offered Preston a £30,000 transfer fee.
The sums involved were astronomical at that time, but under the infamous retain-and-transfer system, Preston told him he would play for them or no-one. "Players didn't have the power in those days," Finney recalled much later. "I accepted it."
CAREER HIGHLIGHT
 Footballer of the Year - twice |
There was more heartache for Finney the following season, when he skippered Preston to the 1954 FA Cup final. West Bromwich Albion triumphed 3-2 at Wembley, but there was a consolation for Finney, who was voted Footballer of the Year. Three years later, he became the first player to win the prestigious award for a second time. A year later Preston again finished as runners-up in the League, this time to Wolves.
Finney averaged 13 League goals per season during his Preston career, but his best returns were 23 in 1956-57 and 26 in 1957-58, following manager Cliff Britton’s astute decision to convert him from right-wing to centre-forward, a position in which he stunned most observers by playing even better than he had on the flanks.
However, time and hard knocks were taking their toll, and in 1960, troubled by a persistent groin problem, he retired, having made 433 appearances for Preston and scored 187 goals.
Curiously, however, he made one subsequent appearance for Northern Irish club Distillery against Benfica in the first leg of a 1963 European Cup tie that finished 3-3, finally and fittingly gracing Europe's premier club tournament.
 The Splash |
In the 1998 New Year Honours list he received a knighthood, and in 2004, Sir Tom unveiled the water feature sculpture 'The Splash', erected outside The National Football Museum at Deepdale and inspired by the iconic 1956 Sports Photograph of the Year showing Finney beating two Chelsea defenders at a waterlogged Stamford Bridge. Preston's ground also boasts The Sir Tom Finney Stand, and the man himself, now 87, still personally answers all his daily fan mail at Deepdale.
HONOURS
FWA Footballer of the Year - 1954, 1957
DID YOU KNOW ... That England's World Cup winning captain, Bobby Moore, explained in Jeff Powell's book 'The Life and Times of a Sporting Hero', that he had played with Finney on an FA tour of Australasia in 1961, saying, "Tom had been one of the giants of the game when I was a boy and had hung up his boots at Preston eighteen months before. As a brash young lad I couldn't understand all the fuss about bringing the old chap out of retirement on that tour. Then we kicked off. It was as if Tom had never been away. That lovely, easy control of the ball, the appreciation of the game, the finishing, much of the change of pace, it just unfolded in front of me. I'd never played with a winger like that and I never would. I was amazed by Tom Finney. He remains the last great England winger."
Graham Lister, Goal.com
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