Ralph Coates

says Ralph Coates of England and Burnley

Eleven words spoken by Alf Ramsey, the England manager, gave me my greatest ever football thrill. It was on the eve of last year's full international match against Northern Ireland at Wembley Stadium that Sir Alf quietly took me on one side in the lounge of the hotel at Hendon where his squad was staying and said: 'You are playing tomorrow. Go out and play your natural game.'

We won 3-1 and I can recall almost every kick. That was quite a night for me, the boy from Hetton in county Durham who a few years earlier had arrived at Burnley's Turf Moor ground as an unknown centre-forward.

Although there were 100,000 people inside Wembley on my England debut night I can say honestly that as soon as the first whistle went to signal the kick-off I forgot completely about the crowd. I could have been running around a quiet strip of parkland or on the beach at Blackpool for all I knew about the onlookers.

My second biggest soccer moment came a few weeks later after Sandra, my wife, took aphone call at our house from Turf Moor requesting that I report without delay to see Mr Jimmy Adamson, the Burnley manager. When I got there he said I had been selected by Sir Alf to go to Mexico with the England World Cup party. You can imagine how elated I felt at that news. I was flying high. It is history now, of course, that I did not get into the final pool of 22, but just the same it was a wonderful experience and something I shall remember with pleasure for the rest of my life. For more than three weeks I shared a bedroom with Allan Clarke, of Leeds United, with whom I first became friendly some years earlier when Sir Alf picked us both for Under-23 duty. That included visits to Greece, Bulgaria and Turkey.

In the sunshine of Mexico, Allan and I spent many hours talking about football, about things at home, and life in general, and naturally we got to know each other pretty well. Now when we play Leeds he usually comes across to me on the field and says with a smile: 'Hey, Ralph, how's the altitude affecting you this afternoon?'

Being with a World Cup party in a faraway place is not unlike being in a class at school; you get to know everyone, but some better than others. When I first went into an England squad I felt rather overawed and didn't say very much. These days I still don't say much, but it does not worry me to go on the field alongside famous names such as Bobby Charlton and Alan Ball, the two players in English football whom I most admire. My favourite player of all, though, is Eusebio.

Among defenders I have to pick out Paul Reaney, and I don't say that because he is another Leeds man with whom I have shared a room on a representative match trip. Then there is Tony Dunne, of Manchester United, such a quick and talented full-back. The first time I played against Tony was at Old Trafford and I thought I was in form at that time. But he had a few shocks for me that day. He marked me so well that in the end I had to admit that I hadn't got an answer to him.

Another good defender with whom I have had some great tussles is Chelsea's Ron Harris. Ron was kind enough recently to call me 'the forward I least like playing against'. All I can say is 'Thankyou very much for the compliment, Ron, and you are not exactly an easy opponent to face, yourself!'

It is strange how in football players sometimes start off in one position and yhen after joining a professional club find themselves being brought along in a different role altogether. When I arrived at Burnley, as I have said, I was a centre-forward they had spotted playing for Hetton Juniours. I wore the number nine shirt in Burnley's team in the Football Association Youth Cup. Then later on I made a debut in the First Division at inside-right against Sheffield United. Around that period Burnley were plagued by injuries to wingers and so they put me in the team at outside-left for a spell.

The first time I played in midfield was by sheer accident because we were playing Grimsby in a League Cup replay in September, 1968, and Arthur Bellamy got injured. I was switched to the middle line and found that it was quite good being a schemer for a change!

The best description I can think of for my most useful position is a 'midfield-based right winger'. In midfield I am definitely more involved in the game and can dictate the course of play to some extent, whereas if I am stuck on the wing all the time I have to rely on other players to get the ball. I use the word 'dictate' because although Martin Dobson is captain at Burnley I am given more or less a free hand to switch myself around according to how the game is progressing.

Up to that Grimsby match, which we won 6-0 incidentally, I had always thought of myself as a striker but I had often kidded the other Burnley players that I was 'the best schemer on the staff'.

One thing I cannot guarantee is playing my best in every game, but I can, and I do, promise 90 minutes of 100 per cent effort by keeping myself as near to the peak of fitness as is humanly possible. i think that most people would say that my biggest asset is my burst of speed. I certainly like to use this as much as I can to break from a deepish position down the right flank and then lay the ball across the goal for someone like Paul Fletcher or Martin Dobson, both of whom are very good at heading the ball. Paul came to Burnley from Bolton and after playing alongside him for only a couple of games I realised what a good prospect he is. I reckon that over the next few seasons he will score a lot of goals in the First Division and will become a famous player.

Even in midfield I have to rely on those around me to give a pass for football, you must always remember, is a team game. In our side there is none better at passing the ball than Eric Probert who is very young to be playing regularly in Division One but remarkably mature in temperament and build. Eric is a player who can time a pass to perfection and there have been matches when it has been a joy to play next to him. Another player who uses the ball well is John Angus, the 'veteran' of our team and a man who has lined up behind me on the right-hand side of our eleven so many times over the seasons.

I am often asked by people what is it like with a small town First Division club. My answer is that Burnley are the club that brought me into football and a good life and without their help in so many different ways I would not be where I am now. Although I was born in the North-East corner of England I have great affection for Burnley and by that I mean the town, its people and the football club.

Footballers usually have particular grounds on which they like playing and others they dislike. Apart from Turf Moor, where the supporters always shout me on, I like Filbert Street, Leicester the best. I always seem to have a fair match their and Burnley can point to some good results in front of a crowd that I have always found very fair-minded.

One ground I am not nearly so keen to play on again is the huge , bowl-like San Paulo Stadium, in Naples, Southern Italy, where Burnley were concerned in a nightmarish riot after a Fairs' Cup match. i don't mind admitting to you that I was scared stiff with some of the things that were happening. I have never moved quicker than when the final whistle brought it all to an end and it was a relief to get on the plane at Naples Airport after the team bus had been escorted away from the ground through angry Naples fans by seven military vehicles.

I think our 3-0 aggregate win had something to do with the fury of the Naples team and the Italian fans!

The Football Association Yearbook - 1970/71

Reproduced by Jez Wilson September 1998

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