Some thoughts on the passing of Martin Peters

It has been a truly dreadful few weeks. We have lost the manager who transformed the football club; the captain who was integral both to that transformation and its consolidation; and then, yesterday, the man who was, without doubt, simply the best player ever to play for the team. Martin Peters was at the time, and remains, the highest profile player ever to sign for Norwich. In the whole history of the game there can’t even be, I suppose, as many as 300 players who have appeared for a winning World Cup team. The number who have actually scored in a final is much fewer. England’s 50 plus year failure to even come close to matching the achievement of 1966 has led to a suggestion that the players’ fame over the years has been magnified beyond what it was at the time. I’m not so sure. One of the most exciting events of my boyhood was when Nobby Stiles came to Carrow Road with Middlesbrough. I got his autograph! Those 11 players inspired awe from the start. Martin arrived carrying a huge weight of fame and expectation, but if it was a burden, he never let it show. His play, particularly during his first 3 full seasons, was simply astonishing.

It's easiest to set out the attributes that he didn’t have. He didn’t have the blistering pace of a Huckerby. He didn’t need it. His football intelligence was such that he knew where the ball was likely to be before anyone else. There has never been anyone better at finding space. He didn’t have the rocket shot of a Ryan. But that didn’t matter. He could always place the ball out of the keeper’s reach. He wasn’t as good a captain as Duncan, and this may be his only slight flaw. Both men led by example, but Duncan also led by kick-up-the-arse. Martin was a reserved man, but Big Dunc could be heard all over the county.

Martin Peters was the perfect all-round midfielder. He could pick a full range of passes with either foot. He was excellent with the dead ball. He carried far more aerial threat than any other midfielder that we have had in the past 50 years. He was fit and hard-working. Decades before the concept was invented, he was the very epitome of the box-to-box midfielder. There has always been a suggestion, generally justified, that any “cultured” player (especially one developed by West Ham) is a soft touch. Martin was different. He was a fierce competitor and there was an “edge” to his play: he didn’t often have to, but if required he could “dish it out”. And then there was the “ghosting” – the ability to appear unnoticed by the opposition (and often some spectators) in absolutely the right place to score a goal.

The true greats, in my opinion, possess four things. Innate ability, football intelligence, physical fitness and a good character. Paul Gascoigne, for example, may well have been even more naturally gifted than Martin – but injury and his struggles to deal with his fame led him to achieve less than he perhaps should have done. Peters made the most of his considerable footballing ability: he won domestic trophies, European trophies and a World Cup. He captained his country. I do not understand why he wasn’t knighted – many far less worthy sports people have been.

He has an exalted place in English football’s pantheon. Among outfield players he ranks with Bobby Moore and Bobby Charlton – no-one since has had similar stature. From an earlier time, reputation suggests that perhaps Edwards, Finney and Matthews were also that good. Add in Gordon Banks and that gives an idea of where Martin Peters stands in English football history.

If I had to sum him up it would be that he did very flashy things on the football pitch in a very unflashy manner. I was 14 when he signed, and 19 when he left – so I did appreciate how good he was – but I think my view of him has strengthened as English football has failed to produce anyone to match him. He was a legend, a truly great player. We’ll probably never see his like again – but gosh, wouldn’t it be wonderful if we did?

RIP Martin.

Posted By: Winged Eel Creosote, Dec 22, 03:03:03