| BIOGRAPHY by Mathew Rudd.
May 1966-World Cup 1966.
Famously dubbed as "ten years ahead of his time" by his
club manager Ron Greenwood, the tag stuck with Martin Peters through his
good and bad times with England, though the consistency and wit which
ran through his game and career as a whole meant he was more often on
form than not. Peters had a calming nature as both young man and
competent footballer, with his ability to play as a traditional box to
box midfielder enhanced further by a sublime range of passing, enviable
temperament and a knack of popping up when it mattered to score a very
healthy number of goals for a man of his position. After settling into a
West Ham team which was a treat to watch, Peters earned his first
England cap at the age of 22 when Alf Ramsey decided he had the
potential to eclipse the threat posed by traditional widemen as he
schooled his squad in the ideals of a fluid side which didn't need
natural width. Martin made his debut in a 2-0 win against Yugoslavia and
he stayed in position for the next game - a 3-0 win over Finland in
which he opened the scoring - and then reverted back to the role of keen
learner and quick thinker in the background as Ramsey experimented and
re-shaped his plans, with the World Cup's big kick-off merely a
fortnight away. Peters played in the final warm-up game as England
defeated Poland 1-0 in Chorzow, and Ramsey was convinced. Martin was in
the squad which would compete for the 1966 World Cup, although he was
not selected for the team which opened the tournament drably against
Uruguay at Wembley. The goalless draw compounded the presence of the
natural width in the squad, and Ramsey felt vindicated in his plan to
dispense with orthodox outside players and instead use freedom from the
centre and the fitness of the full backs to provide the work down the
touchline when it was required. Peters was recalled for the second group
game against Mexico and never looked back. His fifth cap came in the
2-0 win over France and the sixth won over the last few nagging doubters
as he chased a ball to the left flank and swung an immaculate centre on
to the head of clubmate Geoff Hurst at the near post to see off a fiery
Argentina side 1-0 in the quarter-finals.
The youth of Peters and the similarly impish midfielder
Alan Ball was complemented by their stamina and willingness to graft. In
attack, they were positive and versatile, charging down the flanks when
needed and taking up positions of menace when the ball was on their
opposite side. In defence, they were sharp, quick and tough, getting
their bodies behind the ball and, when required, in its way. There was
ample room for chief creator Bobby Charlton to weave his magic behind
two main goalscorers as a consequence, and England's route to the final
was secured with a 2-1 win over Portugal in the semi-finals in which
Charlton scored twice and Peters, winning only his seventh cap, was
outstanding. In the final itself, Peters became the biggest hero in
English football for approximately a dozen minutes, and would become one
of the biggest for life a little later. England and West Germany played
a nervous, tight and mutually respectful final at Wembley which was
threatening to go either way after Helmut Haller had given the Germans
an early lead, only for Hurst to head home skipper Moore's free kick to
equalise. The second half had seen Peters give his lot and more for the
cause, but the game was in its last quarter of an hour before the reward
arrived and the single most thrilling moment of Martin's magnificent
career sent his nation into raptures. Ball thumped in a high corner to
the edge of the German box where Hurst took control, twisted to his
right side and tried a shot from distance. The ball deflected high into
the air and seemed to be falling into the path of Jack Charlton as it
looped downwards, only for Peters to step in and confidently fire home a
half volley to put England 2-1 ahead . Martin
was seconds away from being the main headline-maker, but Wolfgang
Weber's heart-stopping equaliser prompted extra-time. The kerfuffle over
Hurst's second goal as it bounced down from the crossbar, followed by
his immortal clincher with the last kick, made sure he got the main
headlines but Peters, who spent extra-time running and tackling as if
his life was dependent on it, got his medal and emerged as a genuine
hero who had not only contributed to England's finest hour but had put
in a fantastic individual performance himself. The aftermath of it was
that Martin was now an England mainstay, aged just 22, and expected to
be at the heart of the team for up to the next two World Cup campaigns.
With humour and modesty, Peters justtreated each game and occasion as
equally as the previous one, honing further his obvious gift for
dictating the pace of a game, getting into goalscoring positions and,
just as his skipper Bobby Moore was outstanding at reading the
opposition, Martin was a master at reading his own team-mates, thereby
knowing exactly where he needed to be to contribute and round off an
attack. Peters, on the strength of a fantastic World Cup, had become one
of England's truly irreplaceable players.
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