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When England Players Were Told To Do Nothing: Alf Ramsey’s Radical 1966 World Cup Plan

In 1966, Alf Ramsey ordered his England players to stop playing, stop training and go home. Sixty years on, with the football calendar more relentless than ever, GRANT BAGE revisits a radically different approach to World Cup preparation.

26.05.26, 08:00 Updated 20.05.26, 23:25

Grant Bage

Grant Bage

It is now 60 years since Alf Ramsey managed English men’s football to its single significant trophy: the 1966 World Cup. And as Thomas Tuchel and his players start thinking about this summer’s tournament some interesting questions emerge about how their predecessors clinched success. For example, on this exact day in late May 60 years ago … what were Alf Ramsey and his England players actually up to?

The perhaps surprising answer is: absolutely nothing

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Grant Bage

Grant Bage Historian and author with a modern perspective on England’s identity. Brings depth, research and a long-term view of where the national side has come from and where it is heading.

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