Giants of Football - 5 Nobby Stiles - The man who hated to lose

Oct 13, 2026

Biographical narrative profiles Nobby Stiles, portraying him as a meek, bespectacled football figure who transforms into fierce fighting intensity on the pitch. The text recounts a 1964 World Cup “witch hunt” tied to an incident against France and the refusal of Sir Alf Ramsey to drop him, then follows Stiles into triumph at Wembley and his shift from widely hated villain to respected character. It also traces his career crossroads in 1971, injuries, and a move to Middlesbrough to restore his path back to Old Trafford.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryStory & Novel

FormatPDF

Pages68

Reading Time1 h 45 min

AccessFree to download

The man who hated to lose

Was it worth it?

At his peak

LONDON BOROUGH OF GREENWICH GREENWICH LIBRARIES RESERVE STOCK(P) GIANTS OF F00TBALL:5NOBBY STILES by PETER KEELING Published byWOLFE PUBLISHING LTD 10 EARLHAM STREETLONDON WC2 992 2.2 Giants of Football—current titles ISBN 723404526 1.GEORGE BESTby DEREK HODGSON 2.CHARLIE GEORGE by JASON TOMAS ISBN 723404534 3.BOBBY CHARLTON ISBN 723404542 by KEN JONES 4.ALAN MULLERY ISBN 723404550 by DOUG GARDNER ISBN 723404569√√ 5.NOBBY STILES by PETER KEELING ISBN 723404577 6.PETER OSGOOD by ROB HUGHES | WATCH OUT FOR OTHER TITLES | | --- | ◎ Wolfe Publishing Limited 1971√Photographs,unless otherwise acknowledged,by Syndication International. Contents CHAPTER ONE The man who hated to lose CHAPTER TW0 The Co/lyhurst Kid CHAPTER THREE Stiles must go CHAPTER FOUR Sir Alf Ramsey's big mistake? CHAPTER FIVE He tackled like a tank CHAPTER SIX Semi-final hoodoo CHAPTER SEVEN 'United will never be the same again' 96・334ST992 PAGE 5 11 19 3 45 52 63 Digitized by the Internet Archivein 2022 with funding fromKahle/Austin Foundation https://archive.org/details/giantsoffootball0000unse THEY EITHER LOVE him or they hate him,butnobody,certainly not his opponents,can disregardhim. Such a man is Nobby Stiles,a meek,bespect-acled,almost professorial figure off the footballfield,who is transformed as though by chemistry,into 1501bs.of fighting soccer fury when he swingsinto battle for club or country. He has been the subject of studies by eminentpsychologists,who have tried to pigeon-hole hisJekyll and Hyde temperament.They found nothingdeep,except what every football supporter inBritain knows,that Nobby Stiles loves to playfootball:and hates to lose. He has been led with bowed head beforedisciplinary committees,for bursts of tempera-ment on the field that have commanded front pagenewspaper space,and known that he would be backbefore long. # The man who hated to lose He was the subject of a witch hunt by FIFAduring the 1964 World Cup which led to Sir AlfRamsey refusing to bend before pressures todrop Stiles after an incident against France. He went on to become the hero of the greatEngland win in that World Cup at Wembley,and moved into soccer folk-history with that happy,toothless jig of triumph holding the Jules RimetTrophy which was captured with fresco qualityby the television cameras. Until that stage in his career he had been thevillain,the Mick McManus of soccer,to every-body except the Manchester United fans. # Was it worth it? He had been universally hated,and when on allsides people reviled him,and even old ladies inthe street shook their fists at him,he began towonder whether it was all worthwhile. Happily the loyalty of his fellow professionais,and the faith Sir Alf Ramsey put in him allowedpeople to see Nobby Stiles the man,and hisunfortunate early image began to fade. Always a players'player the lasting view of himwhen he has finished the game he has adorned willbe that he was a great character,and one of themost honest players the game has had. In fact one of the truest tributes paid to his careerwhen he left Manchester United to join Middles-brough was that the only people to have a badword to say about Nobby were those who didnot know him. Because he never gave less than 100 per cent,Stiles,as a youngster,always found himself introuble.As he matured he lost none of his fire,but added some control,which was partly con-tributed to by a succession of injuries and cartilageoperations,eventually leading to the biggestdecision of his career in the summer of 1971. A man who had to be involved in first teamfootball,Nobby found that still in his prime att28 and only months after being in a World Cupsquad for the second time,he was no longer an 6 automatic choice for the club he had been withfor 14 years. He spent sleepless nights trying to convincehimself that a move away from Old Traffordwould be good for hi

FAQs

Why was Nobby Stiles a focus of controversy during the 1964 World Cup?

He became the subject of a FIFA “witch hunt” after an incident against France, which prompted pressure on Sir Alf Ramsey to drop him.

What changed public perception of Stiles after he was widely disliked?

His role in England’s Wembley World Cup win helped his folk-history image fade from early villain views, and colleagues’ loyalty reinforced respect for him.

What major career decision did Stiles face in the summer of 1971?

Despite being in his prime, he was no longer an automatic choice for Manchester United and chose a move to Middlesbrough to rebuild his career and return to playing against his old club.

Oct 13, 2026

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