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After two full seasons of being gradually coached in the Liverpool way, the progress of young central defender Phil Thompson was such that his England debut was reassuringly inevitable. Thompson, a lanky and hard stopper who could also play the ball when required, was called up experimentally by Don Revie for a friendly against Wales in March 1976. As there was no major summer competition in the offing, with England unable to reach the European Championship finals, Revie felt able to look at some of the more promising players making waves in the game, and Thompson received his call. Playing alongside stalwarts such as Tommy Smith and Emlyn Hughes had made sure Phil was well schooled, and he took his chance well with an assured full debut as England won the game 2-1.
Revie called him into his Home International squad and Thompson started each game, partnering the equally youthful Brian Greenhoff in wins over Wales and Northern Ireland without conceding a goal. Revie then placed the more seasoned Roy McFarland alongside Thompson for the final game against Scotland, and England lost 2-1. Revie, however, had liked what he saw and in the summer of 1976 he used the US Bi-Centennial Tournament to take a particularly green squad. Phil was one of six starting players with ten caps or fewer as England were beaten 1-0 by Brazil in Los Angeles; he was one of an astonishing 11 of 13 used at some point or other during the next game against Italy in New York who was not more than ten caps into his international career. Yet England won 3-2, having come from 2-0 down, and Thompson rose to meet a corner in the second half to get the equaliser. Some of the newer players were let down gently by Revie after returning home; others not so, and Phil was now an established England defender with a World Cup qualification campaign ahead.
Thompson marshalled the defence expertly at Wembley as England started their bid to reach the 1978 competition with a passable 2-1 win over Finland, but Revie then dropped him - typically of Revie's England tenure - to reshuffle and overfill the defence in a disastrous tactical move designed to nullify the Italian attacking threat in Rome. Italy won 2-0 and England's campaign was already on the rack. Shortly afterwards, Thompson suffered an injury while playing for Liverpool which ruled him out of their bid for a domestic and continental treble, including a glorious European Cup win in Rome, and the lack of fitness followed by the clamour for places meant that he missed two whole years of international football, during which time Revie turned his back on the job, England failed to get to the World Cup finals and Ron Greenwood became the new man in charge.
Phil finally returned to the England team as a substitute for Dave Watson as England drew 1-1 with the Republic of Ireland in a qualifier for the 1980 European Championships (the photo above is during the game). It was October 1978; two years and 12 days since his last England cap. Ron Greenwood then restored Thompson to the starting eleven as England beat Czechoslovakia in a friendly, and over the next 12 months Phil would gradually be blended into the defence alongside Watson as Thompson's ageing club skipper Emlyn Hughes was phased out of the international set-up. (Matthew Rudd)
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