In today’s era of football, advertising and commercialism has become very prominent. If a layman were to describe a footballer today, what he would probably refer to more would be the life of the player off the pitch than on it, an illustration that goes on to describe the paparazzi fever the fans are caught up with these days. David Beckham‘s LA Galaxy adventure in the United States is a perfect example to describe how much he works on his public life, to the extent that he almost forgets about his duty on the football pitch.
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With all these factors coming into play, Nobby Stiles must have considered himself a lucky man to play in an era which gave more importance to a player on the field rather than his off field activities, with the only exception being George Best.
Born in Manchester just like the rest of the youth team he played with, Stiles’ appearance was nothing like that of a footballer. Being born in a lower middle class family deprived him of the upbringing he would have wished to have. By the age of 15, he had lost his teeth, he was balding prematurely and comparatively short at 5 and a half feet. His profile almost resembled that of Hollywood farceur Danny DeVito sans the teeth and the extra height Stiles possessed.
” He could have been a cartoon character, he was football’s equivalent of Popeye, have a can of spinach before the game, go out there, little weedy looking man with glasses and no teeth, and when when he walked on that football field, you’d think it was Goliath coming on.”
- Vinnie Jones, actor and former footballer
Stiles was still in the Manchester United Youth academy during the club’s purple patch, which saw the Busby babes leave oppositions stunned, crowds entertained and experts eating their own words when they doubted the lads of Manchester. Despite the likes of Duncan Edwards, Tommy Taylor, Alex Dawson and others, Stiles grew up to love Eddie Coleman the most. Coleman’s influence grew so much on Stiles, that he turned out to be a defensive midfielder.
“Eddie Coleman was my idol. I used to clean everyone’s boots at that time, but I cleaned Eddie’s extra special” - Stiles
Stiles was drafted into the first team squad after the shocking 1958 Munich tragedy, with the news of Eddie Coleman’s death leaving him devastated. Despite losing his hair and teeth, he didn’t lose his character nor his skill or fear of holding and nudging opposition players. His vintage tackling and rash challenges were heavily criticized by fans across the world.
The period between 1960-1980 saw football in the British Empire take a violent turn. A player who didn’t stand up to a fight was immediately removed from the team. Stiles however, never lost a fight in his life. In fact, he was so violent that his front few teeth had to be removed due to a fight. This incident only made his stronger, because as it is, nobody likes to visit the dentist these days. So in all fairness, it was as though he did not feel any pain at all, which also led to his ‘no holds barred’ character.
Nobby Stiles in typically bullish pose “discussing” a decision with the referee at West Ham
“If someone kicked you, you kicked them back. That was the accepted norm. If you didn’t kick them back, you’d just lost a fight, and that would be a misery for the rest of your life” – Pat Crerand
When people and experts look back into the glory days of Manchester United, Denis Law, George Best and Bobby Charlton are the names that are usually chalked up, and once more Nobby is forgotten. A Champion team is formed only when there is a mixture of players, a different blend of players in the side. The inclusion of Stiles in the team provided just that. You had George Best who was the master of dribbling, Denis Law who had almost perfect overhead kicks, Bobby Charlton who could score from distance, and finally Nobby Stiles and Pat Crerand who were the master minds of every United attack.
1966 to 1968 were platinum years for Stiles. He would first be named in the squad by Alf Ramsey, and then go on to become one of the most influential players along with club-mate Bobby Charlton. Bobby Charlton obviously was named the first and the captain of the side, and quite obviously as well, Ramsey chalked up Stiles’ name in the squad to compliment his captain. Sir Alf’s gamble worked as England became only the second team to win the coveted Jules and Rimet trophy after the World War II, beating arch rivals Germany in the final at Wembley.
Midfield maestro – Wrong-footing the German midfield during the 1966 World Cup Final
However, Stiles is remembered for doing the impossible. He man-marked Portugese playmeker Eusebio during the semi final match where the 3 Lions triumphed 2-1. His man marking skills rendered Eusebio completely ineffective even in the 1968 European Champion’s League final, where United beat Benfica 4-1 in a humdinger of a final.
Upon retirement, Stiles like most other players took to coaching. His coaching skills rubbed off particularly on Paul Scholes, whose amazing possession play and man marking has glimpses of Stiles. One more trait of Scholes that Stiles possessed was his rash tackling, which has seen Scholes become the recipient of many red and yellow cards over the years.
On a funny note, Nobby is also famous for his dancing skills. Upon winning the World Cup,
“”…Nobby dancing”, and in the 1998 version, in a reference to the World Cup finals taking place in France, the middle section consists of the line: “We can dance Nobby’s dance, we can dance it in France”.” - Frank Skinner and David Baddiel in the lyrics to “Three Lions”, the England theme song written with the Lightning Seeds for Euro 96: in the 1996 version.
” I think he was a magnificent influence on the team.I think if you look at the best of the Manchester United team that didn’t have Nobby, there may have been something missing….I remember asking Alf Ramsey once, he said that his 1966 World Cup team had 5 world class players and Nobby was one of them” - Sir Alex Ferguson
Along with Billy Bremner and Graeme Souness, Nobby featured in an episode of the show Football’s Hard Men, which shows how strong and invaluable he was for both England and Manchester United by putting his body on the line. He will forever be a legend at Manchester United and England.
