It’s unlikely that Kobbie Mainoo, when he finally hangs up his football boots after what is hopefully a stellar career, will need to look for work. He certainly won’t end up running a chippy.
Mainoo has the world at his feet. Still just 19, the midfielder stands on the verge of greatness as England take on Spain in the final of Euro 2024 in Berlin. Just nine caps into his international career, he has become a vital cog in his country’s bid to win their first major tournament since 1966.
The last time England lifted silverware under Sir Alf Ramsey, two Manchester United players were in the starting line up. Nobby Stiles and Sir Bobby Charlton could be emulated by two more United stars on Sunday night if Luke Shaw gets the nod at left back to join Mainoo from the first whistle.
There was a third United player in that famous squad, however. John Connelly played the first game against Uruguay and was then dropped as Ramsey switched to his ‘wingless wonders’. He never kicked a ball again for England and had to wait until 2009 before receiving his World Cup winners’ medal after the Football Association petitioned FIFA to give the full squad – and not just the 11 players who played in the final – their rightful recognition.
It was a bittersweet moment for Connelly. He had arrived at the tournament in great form, started the first game and was unlucky to hit the woodwork twice. On another day, he would have been man of the match and the hero, but a 0-0 draw prompted Ramsey to make changes and go with a formation he kept with all the way to the final.
Connelly, who sadly passed away in 2012, insisted he didn’t have any regrets, even if his life could have turned out very differently.
“Uruguay didn’t come out at all in that game, it was horrendous really,” Connelly recalled to the Lancashire Telegraph back in 2010. “They would mark in zones and there was nowhere to go.
“I had scored two or three on the tour to Scandinavia before the tournament and things were going well for me. But I hit the crossbar and the upright. For the second one, Jimmy Greaves pulled the ball back from the by-line and I just got on to it and hit the near post.
“There’s inches between success and failure, and you do sometimes think about, ‘What if?’.
“I did have a feeling I might be left out because they had the panels in the press, and they were saying that they might leave certain people out and bring others in.
“Alf came up to me and said, ‘I’m leaving you out’. I said, ‘You’ve always been fair to me’. He said, ‘I’m not being fair with you, but it’s something I’ve got to do’.
“I was terribly disappointed, because there were no subs in those days so once you were out of the team you were out of it.
“But Alf was the best manager I ever worked with. He was superb as a tactician and he was great in man management. Winning the World Cup was all due to Alf.”
England’s performances and results improved as the tournament went on, similar to this year’s Euros under Gareth Southgate. The final at Wembley saw England famously win 4-2 against West Germany to lift the Jules Rimet trophy, and Connelly was left in the stand watching as his United teammate Stiles did his famous jig on the pitch.
“We were all sat in the stands for the final, kicking every ball,” he added. “Of course I would have loved to have been on the pitch, even just as a substitute.
“It was brilliant to win the World Cup and the atmosphere was fantastic, but people do remember the team but not the squad. I accept that. I sometimes wonder if it would have been better to have come in for the second game, rather than playing that first one against Uruguay.”
That 1965-66 season, Connelly had played his part in helping United reach the European Cup semi-final. The campaign prior, he had won the league title with United, picking up his second championship medal after winning it six years earlier with Burnley. In total he made 80 appearances for United, scoring 22 goals.
He left United immediately after the World Cup final, moving to Blackburn Rovers for £40,000. He played another 149 times and then had a spell at Bury before hanging up his boots in 1973.
After retirement, the winger opened up a fish and chip shop in Brierfield known as “Connelly’s Plaice”, running it for 31 years with his wife Sandra. It was a far cry from the glory of his playing days but he added: “I have loved every minute of it.”
As he did in his football days, even with not making the pitch in 1966. “I have no regrets,” he said. “I had a good career. I was very lucky.”
