1961 British Home Championship

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The 1961 British Home Championship international football tournament remained long in the memories of British football fans after four top-class attacking teams tore through each other in high scoring games, netting 40 times in just six matches, a ratio of 6.66 goals a game. England took the British title after an amazing final match performance at Wembley where they put nine goals past Scotland, who refused to surrender and returned with three of their own in a stunning climax. It is useful to note that teams in this period frequently fielded as many as five strikers, hoping to outscore opponents rather than rely on heavy defence. This tactic paid dividends, particularly for England, whose haul of 19 included seven for Jimmy Greaves, whilst both Bobby Charlton and Bobby Smith each scored in each of England's three games.

England had begun the tournament well, administering a 5-2 thrashing of Northern Ireland in Belfast, whilst the Welsh beat a tough Scottish side at home. Welsh hopes of tournament success were disabused in their second match, where England took them apart 5-1, whilst the hapless Irish were again on the reverse of a heavy defeat, losing 5-2 in Glasgow against Scotland. The tournament's final games were equally dramatic, the Welsh storming past Northern Ireland 5-1 to claim second spot, leading to England and Scotland's dramatic finale. The tournament is also notable for those present, which included a medley of stars from the 1950s and young players, who would take the 1960s by storm. This line-up included Danny Blanchflower and Peter McParland for Northern Ireland, Ivor Allchurch and John Charles for Wales, Denis Law and Dave Mackay for Scotland and an England team including Bobby Charlton, Johnny Haynes, Jimmy Greaves and Bobby Robson, some of whom would later win the 1966 FIFA World Cup.

[edit] Table

Team	Pts	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD
England	6	3	3	0	19	6	+13
Wales	4	3	2	1	8	6	+2
Scotland	2	3	1	2	8	13	-5
Northern Ireland	0	3	0	3	5	15	-10

The points system worked as follows:

2 points for a win
1 point for a draw

[edit] Results

October 8, 1960	Northern Ireland	2–5	England	Windsor Park, Belfast
	Billy McAdams 2		Jimmy Greaves 2, Bobby Charlton, Bobby Smith, Bryan Douglas	Windsor Park, Belfast

October 22, 1960	Wales	2–0	Scotland	Ninian Park, Cardiff
	Cliff Jones, Roy Vernon			Ninian Park, Cardiff

November 9, 1960	Scotland	5–2	Northern Ireland	Hampden Park, Glasgow
	Ralph Brand 2, Alex Young, Denis Law, Eric Caldow (P)		Danny Blanchflower, Peter McParland	Hampden Park, Glasgow

November 23, 1960	England	5–1	Wales	Wembley Stadium, London
	Jimmy Greaves 2, Bobby Charlton, Bobby Smith, Johnny Haynes		Ken Leek	Wembley Stadium, London

April 12, 1961	Northern Ireland	1–5	Wales	Windsor Park, Belfast
	Derek Dougan		Cliff Jones 2, Ivor Allchurch, Ken Leek, Mel Charles	Windsor Park, Belfast

April 15, 1961	England	9–3	Scotland	Wembley Stadium, London
	Jimmy Greaves 3, Bobby Smith 2, Johnny Haynes 2, Bryan Douglas, Bobby Robson		Dave Mackay, Davie Wilson, Patrick Quinn	Wembley Stadium, London