Tony CURRIE

England in the 1970s had its fair share of enigmatic talents who needed an arm round the shoulder, and a succession of coaches who found it difficult to do. Tony Currie was one, a silky-skilled, brainy and impossibly cultured midfield ruler whose dominant occupation of Sheffield United's whole game could not go unnoticed. Alf Ramsey thought he was potentially a world beater and gave a 22 year old Currie his debut at Wembley in the 1972 Home Internationals, though Currie's presence alongside the equally individual Rodney Marsh left too many gaps and Northern Ireland won the game 1-0. Ramsey had seen enough for the time being and Currie didn't pull on another England shirt for a further year until Ramsey's experimentation friendlies of June 1973 in Moscow and Turin. Currie excelled himself in the former as England won 2-1, but was overawed in the latter which ended in a 2-0 defeat. Tony's next outing saw him score his first international goal as England thumped Austria 7-0 and then came a final qualifier for the 1974 World Cup which England had to win or face the prospect of not attending the finals in West Germany.

Ramsey, aware that England needed to attack from the off, picked Tony for the side amidst a very offensive line-up. Currie played an individual blinder, disciplined but still positive in his creativity, but England infamously were held at bay in literally every way by Polish keeper Jan Tomaszewski, only beating him with a penalty kick from Allan Clarke which itself was merely an equaliser. Tony was the orchesterator of a mass onslaught of Poland's six yard box as the clock ticked down, but the winning goal could not be found. What a World Cup stage could have done for Currie. He was picked for a friendly against Italy a month later, but after Ramsey's dismissal at the beginning of 1974, caretaker coach Joe Mercer and long-term replacement Don Revie decided not to select him despite some stunning form in the 1974/75 season which saw Sheffield United finish in the top six. It was in September 1975 when Currie finally received a recall after much prompting from the media which decried an English tendency, developed in the 1970s, to ignore or restrict the more charismatic and flamboyant players of the day.

Tony was less of a maverick than, say, Frank Worthington or Stan Bowles, but was still lumped into the category of mistrust. Revie played him in a 2-1 friendly win over Switzerland and then, as was Revie's irritating wont, dropped him again without explanation. Currie joined Revie's old club Leeds the following summer after Sheffield United were relegated, but even this did not enhance his chances, largely because Leeds were now on a sharp decline themselves. (Matthew Rudd)

Don Revie quit acrimoniously in 1977 without ever calling Currie into the fold again, and it was left to Ron Greenwood to give the midfield prober another go, latching on to high praise of Tony's one-man shows for Leeds in 1978 and selecting him for a friendly against Brazil at Wembley, which ended 1-1. The Home Internationals followed and Greenwood, liking what he saw, kept Currie in the team as England overpowered Wales 3-1 in Cardiff, with Tony the delighted scorer of the second England goal, his second at international level and coming a whole six years after his debut. He began the remaining two fixtures of the tournament - 1-0 wins over Northern Ireland and Scotland - and then put away the fourth and final goal of a terrific win over Hungary in a Wembley friendly after coming on as a substitute for Trevor Brooking.

The form and obvious class of Currie in an England midfield which had enough stamina and strength around him to warrant his inclusion was a joy for all to see, and finally England supporters were seeing a talent in bloom at the highest level. The 1978 World Cup had long gone, but there seemed hope for the forthcoming campaign to qualify for the 1980 European Championships. Greenwood, however, omitted Currie from the opening qualifiers - a 4-3 win in Denmark and a 1-1 draw with the Republic of Ireland in Dublin - favouring instead the almost equal flair of Brooking, whose emphasis on teamwork was slightly more noticeable and who had a uniquely telepathic understanding with talisman Kevin Keegan. Currie seemed to become solely a player for the bums on seats afterwards, as Greenwood picked him for a friendly against Czechoslovakia at the end of 1978 (see photo above), plus two of the 1979 Home International games, but only one of the European Championship qualifiers - a 4-0 trouncing of Northern Ireland at Wembley. Currie's 17th cap came in a summer friendly in Sweden which ended 0-0, then injury, an ill-timed move to QPR in the Second Division and the emergence of a certain Glenn Hoddle brought his exciting, unfulfilled international career to an end. (Matthew Rudd)