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A fearless and cunning goalscorer, Kevin Reeves was still a big fish in a small pond at perennial strugglers Norwich City when Ron Greenwood noticed his effectiveness in front of goal and gave him a debut for his country at the end of 1979. Surprisingly - some said foolishly - Reeves' bow for his country came in the penultimate qualifier for the 1980 European Championships, as England took on Bulgaria (see photo above) at Wembley in a situation where they were within an inch of their first major finals in a decade.
Reeves did little wrong but fellow debutant Glenn Hoddle took the plaudits with a stunning goal which sealed a 2-0 win, thereby negating any impact or significance achieved by Reeves. Despite a successful move to Manchester City early in 1980, Greenwood decided to pursue negligible interest in Reeves again as England prepared for the finals, giving him one more run-out in a 1-1 draw against Northern Ireland in the Home International championship. Reeves played excellently for Manchester City over the following two seasons but Greenwood was not to be tempted by him again. (Matthew Rudd)
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