Emlyn Hughes - The 70s

The 70s

If Hughes' long international career would prove to be unfulfilled, his club career was about to hit every height there was. In 1971, Liverpool reached the FA Cup final, losing 2–1 after extra-time to Arsenal, who completed the then-rare 'double' of League title and F.A. Cup. Hughes was seen being barely able to control his devastation as he collected his losers' medal, upon which BBC commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme remarked: "Emlyn Hughes there, really absolutely sick."

Hughes soon established a reputation for charging upfield from his defensive midfield position on long, complicated runs, and constantly berating referees. As a footballer, he had his share of both admirers and critics – some said he was a great player, others said he was a good player in a great team.

Hughes was still a full back for England, featuring regularly in Ramsey's team. Hughes played as England's interest in the 1972 European Championships ended at the two-legged quarter final stage, with West Germany again victorious.

In 1973, Hughes won his first League Championship title with Liverpool FC and his first European honour with the UEFA Cup. He scored both goals in a memorable win over Merseyside rivals Everton at Goodison Park, and also became captain after Tommy Smith had a publicised falling-out with Shankly, who nonetheless kept him in the team. Smith and Hughes' relationship soured as a consequence, although it never affected their football.

At this stage of Hughes' career, there was a low with England to go with a high with Liverpool. In October 1973, Ramsey selected Hughes to be left back as England entertained Poland at Wembley. Victory would guarantee a place at the 1974 World Cup finals. Anything else would take Poland through.

England dominated the match but were denied constantly by the charmed antics of Polish goalkeeper Jan Tomaszewski. Then Poland had a breakaway after a misplaced tackle by Norman Hunter in the second half, and only Hughes and goalkeeper Peter Shilton were back to defend. The ball was spread across to Jan Domarski who shaped to shoot from the edge of the area. Hughes flew into a last-ditch tackle but Domarski's shot evaded his block and slipped under the body of Shilton and into the net.

England equalised through an Allan Clarke penalty but couldn't find the winning goal. Although some questioned whether Hughes' attempts at a tackle had unsighted Shilton, Hughes emerged rightly blameless for the Poland goal, with the emphasis placed on Hunter's initial mistimed tackle and Shilton's desire to hold rather than merely stop the ball, which in the end meant he did neither. Ramsey was sacked six months later.

At the end of that season, a now-famous smile was back on Hughes' face when Liverpool reached the FA Cup final and destroyed Newcastle United 3–0. Hughes, as skipper, received the trophy from The Princess Anne, whom he would encounter again later in his professional life. It was a good month for Hughes, as he was also appointed England captain – as successor to Bobby Moore – by caretaker boss Joe Mercer. Hughes led out England for the first time on 11 May 1974 in a Home International against Wales in Cardiff, which England won 2–0.

Hughes captained England for every one of Mercer's seven games in charge, and initially maintained the role when Don Revie was appointed as Ramsey's permanent successor. However, after the first two qualifiers for the 1976 European Championships, Revie decided to drop Hughes from the team. He gave the captaincy to his former Blackpool team-mate Alan Ball, and Hughes appeared only twice for England in 1975.

With his international career seemingly in tatters, Hughes nevertheless remained a solid and successful leader with Liverpool, now under the guidance of Bob Paisley following Shankly's retirement. Liverpool won nothing in 1975, but achieved another League Championship and UEFA Cup double in 1976. The following season was the most eventful in Hughes' career.

It began with a shock recall by Revie, who played Hughes in the second qualifier for the 1978 World Cup, although he did not return the captaincy to him – this was now held by Hughes' clubmate Kevin Keegan, leading to a peculiar situation of a club captain being instructed and led by one of his charges. Hughes was now predominantly a central defender, and played in a tactically-disastrous team against Italy in Rome which marked the lowest point of Revie's tenure as England manager. England lost 2–0.

Revie selected Hughes for further games through the early part of 1977, during which time Liverpool were heading towards an unprecedented 'treble' of League Championship, FA Cup and European Cup. Ultimately, they would win the title but then lose the FA Cup final to bitter rivals Manchester United, with Hughes again cutting a sickened figure as he climbed the Wembley steps to receive his losers' medal, although he did manage to lead Liverpool on a lap of honour afterwards. However, the smile was restored 4 days later when he captained Liverpool to a historic 3–1 win over Borussia Mönchengladbach in Rome to win the European Cup. His season ended with some individual glory, when he was voted the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year.

Revie gave Hughes the England captaincy back for a Home International match against Scotland when Keegan was unavailable, before selecting him for the squad which would tour South America in the summer. During this tour, Revie secretly engineered his departure from the England job, and when Ron Greenwood took over, he returned the captaincy to Hughes. England left too much to do after the defeat to Italy to qualify for the World Cup, but Hughes nonetheless celebrated a 50th cap when England beat the Italians 2–0 in the final qualifier at Wembley at the end of 1977.

In 1978, Hughes was in the Liverpool team which lost its first ever League Cup final to Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest after a replay. The league title went to Forest too, but Liverpool managed to retain the European Cup with a 1–0 win over FC Bruges at Wembley, with Hughes lifting the trophy for a second year running. Hughes' place was now under regular threat from a talented young Scottish defender named Alan Hansen who had arrived the previous season for a mere £100,000 from Partick Thistle. The following season, Hughes made just 16 appearances, enough to earn his final title medal. Paisley decided to let him go and sold him to Wolverhampton Wanderers for £90,000 in August 1979. Hughes left Liverpool after 665 appearances and scoring 49 goals for the club. His 59 appearances for England while at Liverpool made him the club's most capped player until Welsh striker Ian Rush broke the record more than ten years later.