Like the tin says, find a way to make the English National Football team an international powerhouse with an after 1974 (the year they didn't qualify for the World Cup) date.
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Make England A Powerhouse In Football Post-1974
- Thread starter Calcaterra
- Start date
Barry Bull
Donor
It is sort of in OTL? Not THE powerhouse, but certainly one of the major football powers?
Do everything possible to strangle international football in the cradle outside the Empire. Notably no one in the Empire plays football seriously.
If those dirty foreigners persist, change the rules. 12 man teams or some such.
End result. England is the dominant footballing nation in the world. The foreigners can keep their fusball, or soccer or whatever they call it.
If those dirty foreigners persist, change the rules. 12 man teams or some such.
End result. England is the dominant footballing nation in the world. The foreigners can keep their fusball, or soccer or whatever they call it.
Ok, well then, I'll change the tin. I would like to know how to do it after 1974.
There is maybe something in that. England's decline started when Yellow Cards were introduced and skilful player started getting protected rather than flattened.
Therefore England should use their position on the IFAB to ensure International Football had the same relaxed approach to career-threatening injuries as the English league did. The threshold for a red card is picking up the ball or punching the ref in the face, any nasty tackle ends with people being told to shut up and get up. Basically you want to end up with Chopper Harris as a nailed on first choice for England and opponents to be plagued with suspicious fear-related 'injuries' from their star players before they play England. The Hand of God would refer to the time Terry Butcher got away with punching Diego Maradona in the face without the ref noticing, that sort of thing.
The other option is for the FA to make domestic refs as tough as international ones, but where is the fun in that?
A number of ideas for this including most importantly loads of cash invested into grass roots and youth football. This would include an emphasis on technique and fitness. Trying to make all pitches properly drained would help.
Trying to poach talent from aboard earlier especially managers and coaches. Also any decent player with any link to England can change nationality. Like my great grand mother once looked at a person who might have been English in a funny way, Thinking about players from the Commonwealth in particular.
Try to merge the UK associations in to one so we would get a team GB.
Trying to poach talent from aboard earlier especially managers and coaches. Also any decent player with any link to England can change nationality. Like my great grand mother once looked at a person who might have been English in a funny way, Thinking about players from the Commonwealth in particular.
Try to merge the UK associations in to one so we would get a team GB.
Gremlin
Banned
Well from 1974 up to Heysel we had a team in the Champions Cup Final 10 of 12 times with 7 victories.
Without complete fact checking I think most of those teams were basically devoid of non-UK players so the not so simple solution would be having a UK team rather then just England.
Without complete fact checking I think most of those teams were basically devoid of non-UK players so the not so simple solution would be having a UK team rather then just England.
On a similar thread a few months ago I suggested this as a method of ensuring England remains a footballing superpower after 1966:
Admittedly it does require a POD before 1974, as the OP specifies, but it achieves the same goal (unintentional pun).
Admittedly it does require a POD before 1974, as the OP specifies, but it achieves the same goal (unintentional pun).
Would have been worthwhile having England manage to win a few more World Cups and European Championships or at least more have consistent top 3 places in between those big wins, if only to nip the OTL obsession with 1966 in the bud or England's decline in Football being part of a larger theme of national decline post-1970s where everything went wrong (from motor industry, motorcycle industry, etc).