Poland Was Better Than I Thought
Remembering that 1973-74 Poland Team
Poland Was Better Than I Thought
It’s time for me to issue another correction.
I made this video just a month ago. It’s been extremely popular.
However, in retrospect, I think that Poland was a much better team than I give them credit for. In other words, it’s likely true that England didn’t lose qualification for the 1974 World Cup so much as Poland won that qualification.
A few things to keep in mind:
England didn’t lose out because of this single match. England’s performance in qualifying was poor overall. It should never have been in this position.
Poland lost star striker Włodzimierz Lubański due to a ridiculous tackle by Roy McFarland in the Poland - England match. Lubański was unquestionably the best player in Poland at the time. Had he not been injured by that awful tackle, Poland might have won the 1974 World Cup.
Poland was an amateur side, sure — but so were all the other eastern bloc sides. “Amateur” in this sense doesn’t mean that it was a bunch of Sunday beer league players going up against the best of the Football League.
A lot of the hype around England came from Brian Clough and the other talking heads that appeared on television at the time. It’s fun to listen to them talk and throw their opinions around — but they’re really not worth all that much. You show your strength on the pitch, not in the interview room.
What do you think?