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Martin Peters
| Category: | Male Player |
| Year Inducted: | 2006 |
| Principal English Clubs: | West Ham United (1960-69), Tottenham Hotspur (1970-74), Norwich City (1975-79), Sheffield United (1980) |
| Other Teams: | Ascoli, Internazionale, Juventus, Sampdoria |
| International Record: | England 67 caps, 20 goals |
| Honours: | Club UEFA Cup / European Cup Winners Cup, 2 League Cups |
| International FIFA World Cup |
Profile by Robert Galvin, the author of Football's Greatest Heroes, the official book of the National Football Museum Hall of Fame:
Alf Ramsey sat down in front of a small group of football reporters and began listing the England team for the game against Poland in Katowice. ‘Gentlemen, the line-up is: Banks, Cohen, Wilson, Stiles, Jack Charlton, Moore, Ball, Greaves, Bobby Charlton, Hunt and . . .'
The reporters were ready to fill in the last blank space. For days, the papers had been saying that John Connelly, the Manchester United left-winger, would play in what everyone also assumed would be Ramsey's first-choice eleven for the World Cup. There was a pause, and then Ramsey announced the last name on his team-sheet: ‘Martin Peters.'
The reaction of the reporters was one of genuine shock. Peters had emerged seemingly out of nowhere. Back in January, he'd been busy planning his summer holiday; oblivious to the thought of playing in the World Cup.
Now, barely seven months later, and with only 180 minutes of senior international football behind him, he was being pitched into England's final warm-up game, with the tournament only six days away.
It was barely two months since he made his England debut, at the age of 22. But a lack of experience wasn't his only challenge; Ramsey was also asking him to play out of position – on the left side of midfield. Naturally right-footed, Peters had been doing most of his work for West Ham on the other side of the pitch. ‘Alf was gambling with me, in 1966,' Peters wrote later. ‘He knew it, and I knew it.'
Peters, much to his frustration, was familiar with the experience of playing in different positions. ‘A general dogsbody' was his description of his role as a utility man, forever filling the gaps when team-mates were injured or suspended. ‘His versatility did work against him,' Ron Greenwood, the West Ham United manager, said later.
The turning point came when he missed out on selection for the FA Cup Final in 1964. Fed up, he demanded an answer to the question: ‘What's my best position?' The following season Greenwood found a solution, by handing Peters a ‘free' role – and an automatic place in the team – operating in the space behind the forwards.
Meanwhile, Ramsey had begun searching for wide players who could offer a threat in attack and protect the back four, in order to make his ‘Wingless Wonders' system work. Remarkably, after working so hard to find a specialist role at club level, it was Peters' versatility – once the source of so much frustration – that interested Ramsey. Defensively, Peters could draw on early experiences at West Ham as an emergency full-back and central defender. ‘Martin was very strong in the tackle,' Ray Wilson, the England left-back, recalled later. ‘He didn't shy from putting his foot in and he was good in the air.'
A decade later Ron Greenwood detailed Peters' attributes as an attacker. ‘Martin often played a key pass one-touch – the kind of passes that others would deliver after taking a touch,' Greenwood said. ‘He had an uncanny sense of timing. He knew when to move and where to move. Importantly, he never gave up. He would make runs into the opposition penalty area again, again and again.' Once there, his ability in the air, positional sense posed a constant threat at the far post. He could also finish: in 1965-66 Peters scored 11 goals in the First Division.
For the record, England beat Poland 1-0. Ramsey was now convinced. As the official FA history published two decades later put it: ‘Peters was the missing link. He seemed to materialise on the field only when it mattered – and his entry into the England side was the same.'