{"podcast":{"title":"It Was What It Was : The Football History Podcast","slug":"it-was-what-it-was-the-football-history-podcast-6903590","podcast_index_feed_id":6903590,"rss_url":"https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/6633aa7d28201200122f5638","website_url":"https://shows.acast.com/it-was-what-it-was","image_url":"https://assets.pippa.io/shows/6633aa7d28201200122f5638/1727688311940-b629b5f2-5b0c-4058-9540-42e310dbd6d0.jpeg","author":"The Overlap","episode_count":167,"summary":"Welcome to The Overlap's football history podcast, It Was What It Was. Each week Jonathan Wilson and Rob Draper will be talking about the key episodes in football history that have shaped the footballing world. The show will be discussing the best stories from football's past, giving insights to the personalities involved. the tales from behind the scenes and the impact they left. Join us at Football University! If you enjoy the podcast please hit subscribe to never miss an episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","last_synced_at":"2026-06-09T14:22:37.386183+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/it-was-what-it-was-the-football-history-podcast-6903590"},"episode":{"title":"Football's Coming Home: How England Won The 1966 World Cup | Part One","slug":"football-s-coming-home-how-england-won-the-1966-world-cup-part-one","published_at":"2026-06-09T04:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/it-was-what-it-was-the-football-history-podcast-6903590/football-s-coming-home-how-england-won-the-1966-world-cup-part-one","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/it-was-what-it-was-the-football-history-podcast-6903590","url":"https://shows.acast.com/it-was-what-it-was/episodes/1966-world-cup-part-1","audio_url":"https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/6633aa7d28201200122f5638/e/6a2190321ddbe06b3ae4d05b/media.mp3","summary":"To listen to the full four-part series instantly, subscribe to our Patreon where listeners can enjoy ad-free listening, our World Cup Wednesdays, bonus editions and live Q&A episodes. Rob Draper and Jonathan Wilson begin a four-part series revisiting England’s 1966 World Cup win by focusing on Sir Alf Ramsey’s background and the conservative England setup he inherited, including the FA selection committee and a poor early World Cup record. They argue Ramsey, often caricatured as dour, was socially conservative and xenophobic but tactically radical, demanding control of selection and modernizing England with a system-focused approach influenced by his Ipswich success, zonal marking, and experiments that questioned traditional wingers. They discuss his reserved personality, class and heritage issues, a reported instance of backing a player convicted of gross indecency, and why blaming 1966 for later English insularity is misguided. Ramsey’s early England results are mixed, but a 1964 Brazil trip helps crystallize his shift away from 4-2-4, and by April 1965 the emerging core includes Banks, Moore, Jack Charlton, and Nobby Stiles. 00:00 Meet Alf Ramsey 01:49 Ipswich Miracle Title 03:28 Ending Selection Committees 05:20 England World Cup Woes 06:50 Dour Yet Radical 09:23 Xenophobia And Origins 14:14 Was 1966 A Curse 17:28 Ramsey Playing Roots 20:36 Ipswich Tactical Experiments 24:38 Brutalism And Football 27:27 Brutalism Meets Football 31:21 Ramsey Blueprint Emerges 33:02 First Camp Shock Therapy 36:43 Early Results and Doubts 40:05 Brazil Trip Reality Check 40:43 Curfew Crackdown 46:16 Tactics Shift and New Spine 47:51 Jack Charlton and Stiles Debut 53:19 Foundations of 1966 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","meta_description":"To listen to the full four-part series instantly, subscribe to our Patreon where listeners can enjoy ad-free listening, our World Cup Wednesdays, bonus ed…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3301,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/it-was-what-it-was-the-football-history-podcast-6903590/episodes/football-s-coming-home-how-england-won-the-1966-world-cup-part-one/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/it-was-what-it-was-the-football-history-podcast-6903590/football-s-coming-home-how-england-won-the-1966-world-cup-part-one.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}