When England won the Under-21 European Championships recently, it was the first time in 39 years when a watfordfc player was one of the young Three Lions
“Wilkinson was at Leeds at that time, and him and Graham didn’t really get on. He was a critic of the way we played at Watford because we were direct. Wilkinson wanted 20 passes across the back before you went forwards!
Callaghan recalled: “We certainly didn’t get to the final the easy way: two games against France and then two against Italy, and then Spain. The second leg in April ’84 was played in Fiorentina’s Stadio Artemio Franchi, and a 12th-minute goal from former Man City manager and current Italy boss Roberto Mancini gave the hosts a 1-0 win.
Two minutes later Howard Gayle added a second, and England had completed a 3-0 aggregate victory to lift their first major silverware since the 1966 World Cup. Hodge was one of very few of that Under-21 squad that went on to enjoy a sustained spell on the senior side, along with Everton defender Gary Stevens and striker Hateley.“We got good write-ups in the papers, but because of the FA Cup Final and then going straight into the Euro Under-21 Final, it was all a bit of a blur.
“I did think Bobby Robson had his favourites back in those days, and I don’t think many of us stood much of a chance,” he said. “We were the unfashionable side in what was the old First Division. Arsenal and Tottenham and the likes got all the sponsorship deals. Watford players weren’t fashionable.” “He told me he was going out to DJ on a cruise during the summer. He said you only have to work 11pm to 2am, you get treated like a passenger and you can take a friend with you and get a holiday out of it.
However, Callaghan is still very grateful for his experiences with England Under-21s and particularly the timing of those 1984 finals. “He wasn’t the best left-back in the country but he seemed to jinx me. There was him, Chris Hughton and Kenny Sansom – they were the three I found it hard to play against. Other full-backs didn’t bother me, I was confident I could score every time.There was also a feeling in Callaghan’s mind that his performance that day, compared to his opposite number in the winning Everton side, closed the door on his chances of progressing from England Under-21s to the senior team.
There’s always one question any Watford fan wants to ask the players from the ’84 FA Cup Final: what did you think of the Andy Gray goal?
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