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Martin Peters
| Category: | Male Player |
| Year Inducted: | 2006 |
Profile by Robert Galvin, the author of Football's Greatest Heroes, the official book of the National Football Museum Hall of Fame:
One of only two Englishmen to score a goal in a World Cup final, Martin Peters was once described by Ron Greenwood as ‘the answer to a manager's prayer'.
A subtle, elusive midfield player who combined poise, stealth and intelligence, Peters was an automatic choice in the England team for seven years. ‘Not just a great player, but a great one,' Sir Alf Ramsey said, in 1968.
Often bracketed with fellow Hammers and World Cup winners Bobby Moore and Geoff Hurst, Peters was ‘the most gifted of them all, a natural talent', according to Greenwood, their manager at Upton Park.
Nicknamed ‘The Ghost', Peters was a ‘masterly technician with a sure and flexible finish who developed an impeccable timing and understanding of space', according to the official FA history. Time and again, he would arrive, unnoticed, at the point of greatest threat at the critical moment.
And so it was, unforgettably, on the afternoon of 30 July, 1966, when, with thirteen minutes remaining of the World Cup final and the score locked at 1-1, Peters volleyed the ball past Hans Tilkowski , the West Germany goalkeeper. Peters ran off in celebration. ‘I know I had my mouth open, but nothing came out. I was literally speechless with joy,' he later recalled.
Sometimes underrated by fans on the terraces, Peters' reputation within the game was confirmed in 1970 when Tottenham Hotspur signed him from West Ham in a deal worth £200,000.
A member of West Ham's successful European Cup-winners' Cup side in 1964-65, Peters won League Cup and UEFA Cup honours during his time at White Hart Lane. As his career was winding down, he enjoyed a productive stint with Norwich City, helping the Canaries win promotion to the top flight.
‘In some ways, his ability goes over supporters' heads,' Ron Greenwood once said. ‘They're following the ball, so they don't necessarily notice what he's doing for the team in both attack and defence.'
During his career, Peters played in every outfield position for West Ham. This versatility prompted Sir Alf Ramsey to describe him as being ‘ten years ahead of his time' – the type of player ideally suited to the ‘Total Football', the role-switching tactics championed by Ajax and Holland during the 1970s. ‘Martin would have been a sensation on the Continent,' Greenwood said.
Peters was a diligent marker, good in the air, and he tackled strongly, according to Ray Wilson, the England left-back in 1966. ‘Martin was very good defensively, and he gave the team balance as a result,' Wilson added.
Two years before the 1970 World Cup, Alf Ramsey publicly identified Peters as one of the four players who would definitely be part of his squad in Mexico. In the fateful quarter-final against West Germany he scored what everyone thought would be the decisive goal in the quarter-final against West Germany with a trademark finish at the far post. Ramsey then substituted him for the first time in his international career. ‘I'm saving you for the semi-final,' Ramsey said. The Germans, of course, fought back to win 3-2. ‘Years later, Alf told me, in private, that it had been a mistake,' Peters said.
The next World Cup campaign culminated in a vital qualifying game against Poland at Wembley in 1973, for which Ramsey named Peters captain. ‘ It was my sixty-third cap and I was easily the most experienced player in a team, ' Peters recalled. England ' s cruel elimination that night effectively ended his international career.
Assessing his team-mate at both club and international level, Bobby Moore valued, above all, Peters' passing ability. ‘People didn't notice him because he played so many perfect first-time balls – the kind of passes that others would deliver after taking a touch. A great, great player.'