THE REVIE PLAN
Taken from THIS SIMPLE GAME THE FOOTBALLING LIFE OF KEN BARNES as told by Jimmy Wagg
The popular conception is that the Blues’ manager of the time, Les McDowall, had looked at the way the Hungarian side had destroyed England at Wembley in 1953, by utilising a deep-lying centre forward. McDowall had then adapted the idea for use at Manchester City.
After honing the system in the reseves, he introduced it into the first team and then pulled the master stroke of linking Don Revie and Ken Barnes as the pivotal characters in his revolutionary new plan.
The press at the time were very much taken with the idea and dubbed City ‘The Magyars of Maine Road’.
This widely held view of how The Revie Plan came into being is dismissed by Ken Barnes as ‘Bollocks!’ “It haf fuck all to do with the Hungarians, we were playing a deep-lying centre forward in the City reserves, before they turned England over at Wembley.
Johnny Williamson was a smashing inside forward in the reserves and he got moved to centre forward, Johnny had an inside forward’s instincts to come deep and link up with the half backs, back then, a centre half expected to mark a centre forward, and a centre forward meant a spearhead, someone looking to get in the box at every opportunity, not someone disappearing towards the halfway line. Back then, I suppose, roles were a bit more regimented and when Johnny dropped off, the opposing centre half didn’t know whether to stick or twist.
It suited me down to the ground. I could push forward and try to exploit the confusion. Traditionally a wing half had been seen, first and foremost, as a defender. Now I had the chance to do what I was best at. I wasn’t the best defensively, but I like to think I could create things going forward. That was my strength, or at least I believed it was.
If I’m honest, the system came about more by accident than planning. Johnny got moved to centre forward to cover an injury as I recall. The rest just happened and then we saw a chance to make something of it. It was all a bit of something and nothing really, but other teams just didn’t get to grips with it.
It worked though, we went over 30 matches without losing.
But I’m telling you straight, we were doing it before the Hungarians got here and the idea that it was a tactical gem from McDowall is nonsense. When he watched us playing the system with the reserves, he wasn’t impressed. In fact I remember him saying we’d never get away with it in the first division.
Les McDowall’s Masterplan? Do me a favour.
The popular conception is that the Blues’ manager of the time, Les McDowall, had looked at the way the Hungarian side had destroyed England at Wembley in 1953, by utilising a deep-lying centre forward. McDowall had then adapted the idea for use at Manchester City.
After honing the system in the reseves, he introduced it into the first team and then pulled the master stroke of linking Don Revie and Ken Barnes as the pivotal characters in his revolutionary new plan.
The press at the time were very much taken with the idea and dubbed City ‘The Magyars of Maine Road’.
This widely held view of how The Revie Plan came into being is dismissed by Ken Barnes as ‘Bollocks!’ “It haf fuck all to do with the Hungarians, we were playing a deep-lying centre forward in the City reserves, before they turned England over at Wembley.
Johnny Williamson was a smashing inside forward in the reserves and he got moved to centre forward, Johnny had an inside forward’s instincts to come deep and link up with the half backs, back then, a centre half expected to mark a centre forward, and a centre forward meant a spearhead, someone looking to get in the box at every opportunity, not someone disappearing towards the halfway line. Back then, I suppose, roles were a bit more regimented and when Johnny dropped off, the opposing centre half didn’t know whether to stick or twist.
It suited me down to the ground. I could push forward and try to exploit the confusion. Traditionally a wing half had been seen, first and foremost, as a defender. Now I had the chance to do what I was best at. I wasn’t the best defensively, but I like to think I could create things going forward. That was my strength, or at least I believed it was.
If I’m honest, the system came about more by accident than planning. Johnny got moved to centre forward to cover an injury as I recall. The rest just happened and then we saw a chance to make something of it. It was all a bit of something and nothing really, but other teams just didn’t get to grips with it.
It worked though, we went over 30 matches without losing.
But I’m telling you straight, we were doing it before the Hungarians got here and the idea that it was a tactical gem from McDowall is nonsense. When he watched us playing the system with the reserves, he wasn’t impressed. In fact I remember him saying we’d never get away with it in the first division.
Les McDowall’s Masterplan? Do me a favour.