Justified or a little harsh?

TROUBLESOME TIMES

By now we have become accustomed to hearing that the position of the England manager is the "impossible job". Expectations of the media and public alike enforce emphatic praise when the Three Lions perform well, and then come down on them like a ton of bricks when they play badly.

With Graham Taylor it was more of the latter, his tenure at the helm is best remembered for England's failure to qualify for the 1994 World Cup, the already intense criticism placed against him beforehand reached fever pitch by the time the result arrived.

The year is 1990, the World Cup in Italy has seen England deliver their best result since they triumphed on home soil in 1966, coming so close in reaching the final. Furthermore the nation has a new hero in Paul Gascoigne and a lot of pride has been restored in English football. But it was also the end of an era, after eight years Bobby Robson departed and headed for the Netherlands to manage PSV Eindhoven. Applicants to succeed Robson included Howard Kendall and Joe Royle, Terry Venables was also reported to show interest. But it was Graham Taylor who accepted the position and was appointed on 23 July.

In 2012, BBC commentator John Motson claimed that he felt that Graham Taylor was "absolutely the right choice", however that view was not shared by many, you could be forgiven for thinking none at all. Taylor had been successful as manager of Watford for 10 years. given the fact he guided them from the Fourth Division up to the First Division in the space of just five years. The 1982-83 season saw the newly promoted Watford finish second in the league and thus win a place in the UEFA Cup where they reached the third round. Taylor also took Watford to the 1984 FA Cup Final where they were beaten 2-0 by Everton. In 1987, Taylor became the manager of Aston Villa and he again led his team to the runners up spot in 1989-90. However, the crucial factor missing, which was no doubt noted by the media, was trophies. This led some to question whether he could win the respect of the players.

Nonetheless, for the first two years of Taylor's time as manager, the results on the scoresheet did not necessarily show that the negativity surrounding his appointment was entirely justified. England suffered just one defeat in that time, a 0-1 loss to Germany at Wembley on 11 September 1991. But his tactics were coming under the scrutiny of the press, furthermore there were questions regarding whether he fundamentally knew what his strongest side was. Following Italia 90; Peter Shilton, Terry Butcher and Bryan Robson had retired from international football and Taylor was struggling in his quest to bring new blood into the squad, he also faced criticism for ignoring some established talents. In 1991, Peter Beardsley played in what would be his last game for England for nearly three years. Chris Waddle would never be selected again after October '91 despite being in the form of his life at Marseille and being voted the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year in 1993 during his time at Sheffield Wednesday.



The selection of Gordon Cowans over
Paul Gascoigne in a Euro qualifier against
the Republic of Ireland was an example of
Taylor's questionable decision making. Taylor
said he feared that Gazza would "lose his head"
in a "bruising encounter".

Qualification for Euro 92 was unconvincing to say the least, the Three Lions were placed in a group containing; the Republic of Ireland, Poland and Turkey. Jack Charlton's Irish side had memorably defeated England at Euro 88 and caused them headaches in the first game of Italia 90, in qualifying for Euro 92 they proved to be just as stubborn. The two games between them ended in 1-1 draws. Both encounters against Turkey saw England win by 1 goal to nil, but their final qualification against Poland on 13 November 1991 would see England only just make it to the finals. England had defeated the Poles 2-0 at Wembley but in Poznan it looked as though England were heading for defeat, Poland were 1-0 ahead until a late equaliser by Gary Lineker spared England's heartache.

In fairness, England could have travelled to Sweden with some pride as they had up to then endured an unbeaten 1992, including a 2-1 win against France who they were scheduled to face in their group. England were also due to play the hosts and Yugolsavia, who were subsequently excluded from the tournament due to the Civil War, Denmark took their place and were England's first opponents.

The squad however was considered weak in comparison to their World Cup side of 1990, though again in Taylor's respect he was unlucky; injury curtailed England's most gifted player, Paul Gascoigne and deprived of them of the talent of John Barnes. Taylor also found himself considerably short of defenders, with Lee Dixon, Rob Jones and Gary Stevens all ruled out. Mark Wright's late injury meant Taylor tried to call up Tony Adams until UEFA intervened stating that it was too late.  In the meantime, the absentees resulted in Taylor taking on Keith Curle, who only had 2 caps to his name, playing out of position at right back for the first game against the Danes. England actually started brightly but failed to take advantage of any opportunities to open the score, David Platt missed a good chance. Denmark quickly began to outplay England and very nearly sneaked a win, John Jensen's shot coming off the post after beating Chris Woods. The otherwise rather drab contest ended at 0-0.



Stuart Pearce was headbutted by
Basile Boli when England played
France

In the next game against France, Taylor decided to dispense with a right back altogether, and brought in a young Alan Shearer to partner Lineker up front, but still England couldn't score, Platt's diving header went inches wide of the post, and Stuart Pearce hit the bar with a free-kick, once the game ended at 0-0.



Gary Lineker's England career ends on a very flat note

The result meant that England had to beat Sweden if they were to advance from the group. After four minutes, England took an early lead when David Platt volleyed in a cross from Gary Lineker, the 1-0 scoreline remained until half time and England in fact wasted chances to extend their lead, Tony Daley missed an opportunity to provide the ball to Gary Lineker in the open after a pass from Platt. The hosts entered the second half with renewed energy and equalised after 51 minutes, thanks to a header from Jan Eriksson. With half an hour remaining, Taylor made the decision which would attract the most criticism placed towards him at that time; substituting Gary Lineker, who was in his final game before international retirement and was 1 goal short of equalling Bobby Charlton's record for the most England goals. Lineker threw off his captain's armband in disgust and the bemused England fans turned on Taylor. To make matters worse, 8 minutes from time, Sweden's Tomas Brolin made mince meat of England's uninspiring midfield comprising of Andy Sinton, Neil Webb and Carlton Palmer, the Parma forward played a one-two with striking partner Martin Dahlin and scored a superb goal to send them through, England's wretched record at the Euro's continued as they exited the tournament.

 

Tomas Brolin scores to send England crashing out of
Euro 92

Taylor was vilified greatly by the media back home, most notably by The Sun which began its "turnip" campaign with the headline: " SWEDES 2 TURNIPS 1".

Some respect was handed to Taylor when he admitted to making mistakes soon after England's elimination from the tournament but ultimately, this was short lived. On 9 September 1992, England were defeated 0-1 by Spain and Taylor was depicted by The Sun as a "Spanish Onion".

Qualification for the 1994 World Cup saw England drawn in a group which featured; the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Turkey and San Marino. Never easy, but England were expected to qualify. Their first game was against Norway on 14 October 1992 at Wembley, David Platt put England in front after 55 minutes after a cross from Stuart Pearce, but Norway, confident following their 2-1 win against the Dutch, equalised through Kjetil Rekdal. The game ended at 1-1 and fans showed their disapproval with chants of "Taylor out!". On 18 November England defeated Turkey 4-0 after a convincing performance, Gascoigne in particular played a strong game, scoring twice. However, Alan Shearer, who had also scored against Turkey, would suffer an injury soon after the game, effectively ending his contribution to England's qualifying campaign. Captain, Stuart Pearce also suffered an injury which kept him out of the squad until the following September.

On 17 February 1993, England played their next World Cup qualifier against minnows San Marino, the first half saw England play poorly, (2-0 up at half time against San Marino is not exactly a difficult feat) and the fans booed the players loudly, John Barnes taking a severe hammering. In the second half, Platt scored his third and fourth goals of the game, with two more goals coming from Carlton Palmer and Les Ferdinand. On 31 March, England defeated Turkey 2-0 in Izmir with goals from Platt and Gascoigne, and then came their first encounter with the Netherlands on 28 April at Wembley. England couldn't have started brighter, John Barnes scored from a free kick and then David Platt gave them a 2-0 lead after 24 minutes. The Dutch were in serious danger of waving goodbye to their hopes of qualifying, following their defeat at the hands of Norway and a draw with the Poles, Dennis Bergkamp pulled a goal back but the Netherlands still looked to be heading for another defeat. England's fortunes took another severe battering though as Paul Gascoigne's cheek bone was shattered by the elbow of Jan Wouters. Then in the dying moments of the game Des Walker, drained of form and suffering a loss of confidence, brought down Marc Overmars in the penalty area, Peter Van Vosset scored from the spot and the game ended 2-2. This game was an example of Taylor's bad luck throughout his time as manager.

England's next game was against Poland on 29 May. Their performance was lacklustre, Poland took the lead after 36 minutes with a goal from Dariusz Adamczuk. On an infamous 1994 documentary covering Taylor's qualifying games, he notoriously exclaimed; "Do I not like that!" as the Polish breakthrough on goal. England substitute, Ian Wright scored an equaliser in the 85th minute to make the final score 1-1, but Taylor faced intense criticism once again. Worse was to come when England faced Norway four days later, Taylor opted to make changes of personnel and tactics, which led to further criticism. In what was a crucial game against a Norwegian side topping the qualifying group and looking strong, Taylor was taking a huge risk. Lee Sharpe and Lee Dixon came on as wing-backs, while Carlton Palmer and Platt occupied the midfield as Paul Ince was suspended. Gascoigne supported Teddy Sheringham and an unfit Les Ferdinand up-front. Des Walker, Tony Adams and Gary Pallister formed a back three. England's qualification hopes took a nosedive as Lars Bohinen and Øyvind Leonhardsen ensured a 2-0 win for the Norwegians, by now the English media were calling for Taylor's head, the defeat spawned the headlines "NORSE MANURE", "OSLO RANS" and "THE END OF THE WORLD".

"We made a complete mess of it. I'm here to be shot at and take the rap. I have no defence for our performance" was what Taylor had to say on reflection, although honest he could not escape the hostility of the press. One week later, morale would sink even lower; England were selected to participate in a four-team tournament in the United States, named the U.S. Cup. Prior to their game against the U.S. Taylor said to the press; "In football, you're only as good as your last game, and at the moment we're poor. You can always lose any game, to anyone. It's how you lose that matters. That was the thing that shocked us all in Norway. We would have been looking for a win here anyhow, but if we'd won last week it wouldn't have been considered essential. Now it is. Whether we like it or not, people expect us to beat America, and there is definitely more intensity about this game because of our performance in the last one".

On 9 June, England were beaten 2-0 by the United States, an experience described as "humiliating" and covered in The Sun as "YANKS 2 PLANKS 0!" Taylor was practically public enemy number one as far as England fans and the media were concerned.

Back to the World Cup qualifiers and Taylor handed the captaincy back to a recovered Stuart Pearce from David Platt. On 8 September, England faced Poland and this time provided promising performance, a 3-0 win delivered Taylor some hope of making it to the United States the following summer. A victory against the Netherlands on 13 October would see the verge of qualifying. The game in Rotterdam was again very closely contested; the Dutch put the English under pressure early on but England responded with a string of counter attacks. Platt headed the ball just wide and Tony Adams had a shot cleared off the line by Erwin Koeman, Tony Dorigo hit the post with a 35-yard free-kick after 25 minutes. Then, two minutes before half-time England were fortunate to have a Frank Rijkaard goal disallowed for offside, even though replays showed that the goal was legitimate.  Their luck ran out later in the second half when David Platt was fouled by Ronald Koeman as he raced in on goal. To the disgust of Taylor, the German referee did not send Koeman him off for a professional foul. The Dutch charged down Dorigo's free-kick, with Dutch players clearly exceeding the limitations of the rules. Just minutes later Koeman took an identical free kick outside the England penalty area. His first shot was blocked, but it was ordered to be retaken because Paul Ince was not within the required 10 yards. Koeman scored at the second attempt to give the Dutch the lead. England nearly equalised when Paul Merson hit the post with a free-kick, only for Dennis Bergkamp to extend the Netherlands' lead moments later, despite using his arm to control the ball, for 2–0 win. Taylor was irate on the touchline, berating the officials and referee as the significance of the result sank in.

Taylor vents his anger at the officials as England's hopes of
qualifying for the World Cup are all but over

San Marino's Davide Gualtieri celebrates his goal
after just 8 seconds of play on a dark day for
English football 

17 November 1993, the last day of World Cup Qualification for the UEFA teams, and it was still possible that England could scrape into the World Cup finals; they had to rely on Poland to defeat the Netherlands and put a in a big score against San Marino. Tall order, but in football anything could happen. That statement would prove true in the game, but for the wrong reason. Just 8.3 seconds after kick off, Stuart Pearce underhit a pass back to David Seaman, the ball fell into the path of San Marino striker, Davide Gualtieri and to the disbelief of the English supporters, San Marino found themselves 1-0 ahead, Gualtieri had scored the fastest goal in any World Cup discipline in history, a record which still stands to this day. It took 20 minutes for England to respond, they eventually won the game 7-1 but it was now irrelevant, the news came through that the Netherlands had beaten Poland 3-1 in Poznan. It was now official, England had failed to qualify for the 1994 FIFA World Cup.



The Sun's front page headline on
Graham Taylor's resignation

On 23 November 1993, Graham Taylor announced his resignation. Upon his departure, he had this to say;  "No one can gauge the depth of my personal disappointment at not qualifying for the World Cup, this is the appropriate course of action in the circumstances. If we didn't qualify, it was always my intention to offer my resignation."

Graham Taylor's three year tenure as England manager has unsurprisingly gone down as a failure, for sure his tactics and team selections were unconvincing and deserving of the criticism he received. But on the otherhand he had cruel look at times, injuries robbed England of a stronger squad at times when it was needed. Taylor at least had the attitude that displayed passion, something not seen by Sven-Goran Eriksson and more recently Fabio Capello and he did look like he had the respect of the players, he also had the decency to honestly reveal his mistakes. To an extent, he was bullied out by the press. Unfortunately for him, the "Turnip" tag and "Do I not like that" are perhaps the two most familiar concepts one thinks of when we reflect on Graham Taylor.

"What happened?": England at Euro 88

Three games and three defeats. Those words instantly give the impression of calamitous mediocrity but there was a lot more to it than that, it seemed as it if it could go wrong, it went wrong for Bobby Robson's Three Lions.



England's tournament gets underway against
the Republic of Ireland, it wasn't long before smiles turned to frowns

All too often in football, players and teams alike are quickly judged by some on one infamous performance, and with England this happens frequently. After Italia 90 and Euro 96, the Three Lions were hailed as national heroes, despite the fact when one thinks about it, they only really played well against the Dutch and the Germans in both tournaments. Then there was Euro 88, perhaps their most notorious blunder since their debut in an international tournament at the 1950 World Cup, and their defeat at the hands of the United States. Qualification for the finals in West Germany had seen England drop just a single point, a goalless draw with Turkey, which was subsequently followed by defeating them 8-0 at Wembley. Furthermore, they conceded just one goal throughout the entire process, coming against Yugoslavia in a 4-1 win. No-one laughed when England were tipped as one of the tournament's heavyweights, but they returned with the image of Grade A villains.

What should of been a success in the eyes of many fans and the players, the tournament instead produced what first appears to be disastrous turn of events, the figures say it all. Three losses, two goals scored and seven conceded. However we should stop for a moment and take into account some points of consideration. The first game against the Republic of Ireland saw England fall victim to a shock deficit, and struggle to recover. The second game against the Netherlands was an excellent contest, England were taken aback by the phenomenal talent of Marco van Basten. Finally, the third game against the Soviet Union featured an England side, already mathematically eliminated, turn up with the desire to just go home.

In fairness, they were perhaps overconfident going into the first game, being too dependent on Bryan Robson and Gary Lineker for goals. Hardly surprising as Lineker was top scorer at the 1986 World Cup with 6 goals, moreover the Barcelona striker had scored the most goals in their Euro 88 qualification group. While Robson had scored 21 goals prior to the finals, coupled with Lineker's 26, England probably assumed they were guaranteed victory, and those watching could put their mortgage on a Lineker or Robson goal.

Their defence was also suspect, Terry Butcher, a very reassuring defender missed the tournament through injury. The young pair of Mark Wright and Tony Adams made up the centre-back partnership, with Adams claiming he felt lost without Butcher's presence. Des Walker would not receive his first England cap until after the finals. The relatively inexperienced at international level, Dave Watson made it into the squad but found himself in unfamiliar territory.



Ray Houghton celebrates his
match winning goal for Ireland

Nevertheless, England's first game kicked off on 12 June 1988 in Stuttgart. Nothing much was expected of Jack Charlton's Irish side but they came out determined. So much so, that England were completely taken by surprise when Ray Houghton opened the score in the sixth minute following a poor clearance attempt by Kenny Sansom. John Aldridge won a header for Ray Houghton to nod the ball past Peter Shilton. By the time the first 45 minutes were up, England had not fully recovered from shell shock.

In the second half however, England came back stronger and did everything except one crucial thing, score a goal. Gary Lineker missed enough chances to earn the title of Euro 88's top scorer in 45 minutes after Ireland's keeper Packie Bonner played like a man possessed. Lineker's uncharacteristic sloppy performance emphasised the fact that this was just not England's day. It was later established that Lineker had been diagnosed with hepatitis B. The Irish nearly found themselves two goals up when a shot from Ronnie Whelan hit the cross bar. But it could not be denied that England outplayed the Irish in the second half. In essence the result mirrored that of an FA Cup shock, where the losing side does not usually play a bad game, but rather just comes out on the wrong side of the score line.

Bryan Robson scores the equaliser
against the Netherlands

England were down but not out, their next game was against the Netherlands, who had also suffered a defeat in their first game against the Soviet Union. Many fans back at home skived off work to see the real England turn up against the Dutch in Dusseldorf on 15 June. They played well in the first half and were unlucky not to find the target. Gary Lineker had a shot come off the woodwork and Glenn Hoddle's free kick hit the cross bar. Low and behold, it was the Dutch who were ahead as the half time whistle blew, van Basten scoring in the 44th minute. This time, England hit back with Lineker and Bryan Robson exchanging one-two passes, allowing Robson to burst into the box and lift the ball over Hans van Breukelen after 53 minutes. Thereafter, it was an incredibly close game, until talismanic van Basten turned Tony Adams inside out to finish from 18 yards after 71 minutes. Four minutes later he scored again from close range, ruining Peter Shilton's 100th England appearance and ensuring a second defeat for England.

Only this time the defeat was twice as painful, as the news came in that the game between the Republic of Ireland and the Soviet Union had ended in a 1-1 draw, England were now out of the tournament.Cue the torture from the press.

In Frankfurt on 18 June, England were comprehensively thrashed by the Soviet Union in the third game, and they obviously could not wait for the final whistle to go. After just 3 minutes, Glenn Hoddle's mistake gifted the Soviets an early lead, Sergei Aleinikov beating Chris Woods and scoring the opener. Tony Adams equalised after 16 minutes but just before the half-hour mark the Soviets were back in front thanks to a goal from Alexei Mikhailichenko. 17 minutes from time, Viktor Pasulko put the USSR 3-1 ahead and rubbed more salt into England's wounds. The Soviet Union topped the group while England headed for home rock bottom and pointless.

So the fans were incensed at the Three Lions' performance. Bobby Robson submitted his resignation, just as further vilification arrived following an insipid 1-1 draw in a friendly with Saudi Arabia, spawning the infamous headline: "In the name of Allah, go!"

Robson's resignation was denied, at the time Brian Clough was hailed as his successor but he was unpopular with the FA. England's fortunes turned around as they qualified for Italia 90 without conceding a goal, and we all know what happened next. Because of that, Bobby Robson is fondly remembered. Euro 88? Well that was just a blip.

The year that had it all

TRIUMPH AND TRAGEDY

We often hear cliched sentiments such as "this season had it all", but 1982 literally had everything. A season that just about began in South Africa in January thanks to a drivers strike produced 11 different winners by the time of the sixteenth and final race in Las Vegas in September. Nine consecutive races were won by nine different drivers. There was the incredible finale at Monaco, the phenomenal charge from the back of the grid to victory for John Watson in Detroit, the ongoing attempts to finally accomplish mid-race refuelling by Brabham and the surprising but fully deserved success of Keke Rosberg, the Flying Finn.

On the other end of the scale there was the tragic loss of the mercurial Gilles Villeneuve, regarded by many then and still some now as the fastest and most spectacular driver in the history of the sport. Formula Ones darker side also claimed the life of the young Italian driver Riccardo Paletti. Frenchman, Didier Pironi's career came to an abrupt end after a dreadful accident in qualifying for the German Grand Prix, just when he looked set to clinch the championship.

1982 marked the high point of the FISA-FOCA war, FISA President Jean-Marie Balestre had introduced a clause into the drivers' super licences which stated that they must drive for the team they were currently contracted to and no others. Leaders of the Grand Prix Driver's Association, Didier Pironi and the returning ex-World Champion Niki Lauda organised a strike, this subsequently did not go ahead and 26 cars started the opening race of the season. Balestre imposed fines of between $5000 and $10,000 for the striking drivers, an action which resulted in FISA being criticised for their handling of the situation. The process of reaching this compromise position took several weeks and contributed to the cancellation of that year's Argentine Grand Prix, scheduled to be the second race of the year.

Alain Prost's left rear tyre makes a bid for freedom

In the race itself Alain Prost recovered from a puncture to take victory ahead of Carlos Reutemann's Williams and his Renault team mate Rene Arnoux. Hardly surprising considering the advantage that the turbocharged cars had in the altitude of the Kyalami circuit. Round two in Rio de Janeiro produced a thrilling race in soaring temperatures, Gilles Villeneuve spun off whilst leading on lap 29, that left local hero and reigning World Champion Nelson Piquet to take a popular victory ahead of the very impressive Keke Rosberg in the Williams. Although this was just on the track, Piquet and Rosberg were later disqualified when their cars were discovered to be underweight. Thus Alain Prost inherited the win with John Watson 2nd and Nigel Mansell 3rd.

Nelson Piquet collapsed on the podium in Brazil,
showing the effort of driving a ground effect car in
searing heat

The Brazilian Grand Prix was the last for Argentine, Carlos Reutemann who left the sport after 10 years. The man who had missed the 1981 championship by just 1 point was replaced by Mario Andretti for the United States Grand Prix West, before Irishman Derek Daly filled the vacancy for the rest of the year.

In Formula One's history World Champion's have come out of retirement and struggled to recapture their former glory (Michael Schumacher's difficult 2010 campaign a prime example), but Niki Lauda famously predicted he would be a winner again within 3 races. Low and behold, the third race of the season in Long Beach, California was won by the Austrian with Keke Rosberg coming home 2nd, again protests regarding the legality of the Ford powered cars (Williams and McLaren being the prime contenders along with Lotus, Tyrrell and Brabham before their switch to BMW Turbo power mid-season) were lodged although this did not prove successful and the top 2 positions remained the same. Gilles Villeneuve was excluded from 3rd place however as Ferrari's innovative and ugly rear wing did not comply to the regulations. After three races Prost was leading the championship with 18 points, from Lauda on 12 with Rosberg and Watson tied for third sport with 8 points apiece.



Villeneuve's radical rear wing did not
conform to the regulations

The San Marino Grand Prix saw FISA-FOCA relations hit rock bottom, in response to the disqualification of Piquet and Rosberg at the Brazilian Grand Prix, the majority of the FOCA teams led by Bernie Ecclestone boycotted the event, though Tyrrell, Toleman, Osella and ATS opted to race. The decimated field left Renault and Ferrari untroubled at the front, although both the French cars retired. Thus the Ferrari's of Villeneuve and Pironi were left to battle for the lead in front of the delighted tifosi, in the end it was Pironi who defied his team orders by overtaking Villeneuve in the dying moments of the race to take the victory. The Canadian was incensed at Pironi's betrayal, his body language on the podium emphasised how enraged he was by Pironi's actions. He was quoted afterwards as saying, "I'll never speak to Pironi again in my life."

The expression of Villeneuve (far left) says it all as
team mate Didier Pironi sprays the champagne

Alas, Villeneuve, still not on speaking terms with his team mate when the F1 circus moved on to the Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder, was killed in a violent accident after he clipped the back of the March driven by Jochen Maas, just as Pironi had set a faster qualifying time. Ferrari withdrew Pironi's car from the event. The race was held under a cloud and it was John Watson who triumphed after a mistake by Keke Rosberg promoted the Ulsterman into the lead. Not for the first time in 1982, the results changed as Niki Lauda was excluded from third place when his car was discovered to be underweight in post-race scrutineering. Eddie Cheever's Ligier was promoted to 3rd.

GILLES VILLENEUVE
(18 January 1950 - 8 May 1982)

Riccardo Patrese loses it at Lowes...

Monaco was next, Ferrari ran just one car out of respect for Villeneuve (who coincidentally had won at Monaco in 1981). This race proved to be the one that nobody seemed to want to win, Rene Arnoux led comfortably early on until he spun at the Swimming Pool complex, handing the lead to his team mate Alain Prost. The French dominated proceedings until rain began to fall in the closing stages, with two laps remaining Prost crashed out. Riccardo Patrese's Brabham inherited 1st place only to spin at Lowes hairpin and hand the lead to Didier Pironi. Unbelievably the Ferrari ran out of fuel just half a lap away from the chequered flag, the Alfa Romeo of Andrea de Cesaris which would have taken the lead also ran out of fuel.

While Derek Daly lost all the gearbox oil from his Williams which ground to a halt. BBC's commentator James Hunt was startled, "Well we've got this ridiculous situation where we're all sitting by the start-finish line waiting for a winner to come past and we don't seem to be getting one!". In the end the "lucky" winner was Patrese, who bump started on the downhill gradient towards Portier and drove steadily across the finish line. Pironi and de Cesaris was classified 2nd and 3rd. In the championship, Prost still led despite not scoring since Brazil. Watson was second with 17 points and Pironi moved to third with 16.

... but he had the last laugh amongst the chaos and took
his first career victory

 



Back to front: Watson came from 17th on the grid
to win in Detroit

The streets of Detroit played host to seventh round. The new venue was poorly organised, so much so that Friday's Qualifying session was postponed and 2 hour-long sessions were held on Saturday. The unpredictability of the season again was evident as Nelson Piquet, the reigning World Champion failed to qualify after numerous problems with the BMW engine. On Sunday, John Watson's McLaren sliced through the field like a hot knife through butter, in one single lap he managed to overtake team mate Lauda, Eddie Cheever's Ligier and Pironi's Ferrari, amazing considering everyone else had spent the race trying and failing to overtake anybody. After starting 17th he took an outstanding famous victory. The Ulsterman also took the lead in the championship with 26 points, six points ahead of Pironi. 

The next race in Canada unfortunately saw the 23-year-old Italian, Riccardo Paletti die after his Osella slammed into the rear of Pironi's stalled Ferrari. His car caught fire whilst the doctors attended to him, Paletti already suffering severe chest injuries from the crash was without a pulse by the time the fire was extinguished, a further 25 minutes past before he was finally extracted from the car and taken to hospital where died shortly after arriving. 1981 World Champion Nelson Piquet won the race in the turbocharged Brabham BMW ahead of his team mate Riccardo Patrese, the Italian still running the normally aspirated Ford DFV engine. Watson's third place extended his lead in the championship to 10 points.

RICCARDO PALETTI
(15 June 1958 - 13 June 1982)

On a more entertaining note, qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix saw the first of two televised fights between drivers. Brazilian Chico Serra felt his fellow countryman Raul Boesel had spoilt one his flying laps, the heated argument between the two in the pit lane turned into a brawl!

Didier Pironi took a dominant victory at the Dutch Grand Prix to close the points deficit to John Watson to just a single point, the Ulsterman having failed to score. A highlight of the race was Rene Arnoux escaping unscathed from a frightening accident at the infamous Tarzan corner, caused by a stuck throttle. Furthermore, Ferrari recruited Patrick Tambay to replace the late Gilles Villeneuve.

Rene Arnoux was unhurt in this accident at Zandvoort

Brands Hatch hosted the British Grand Prix in 1982 (at that time the race alternated between Silverstone and the Kent circuit). The race saw the Brabham team continue their innovative streak by and using Gordon Murray's radical strategy of refuelling mid-way through the race to run at the front of the field on numerous occasions, but this was not to be at Brands as Patrese stalled at the start and was assaulted from behind by Rene Arnoux's Renault, and Nelson Piquet retired from the race after just 9 laps. Niki Lauda emerged victorious ahead of Pironi and his new team mate Patrick Tambay. However, the hero of the race was Brit Derek Warwick driving the unfancied Toleman, which had once held the unflattering tag as "the turbo-engined truck" due to the overweight chassis. Warwick was lying in 2nd place until he retired on lap 40.

Derek Warwick proved a star on home soil at Brands Hatch

The French Grand Prix at Paul Ricard brought another tail of inter-team squabbling and disobeying orders. This time it was, quite conveniently on French soil, Renault. Rene Arnoux violated a pre-race agreement with Alain Prost, who was better placed in the championship. Arnoux did not let Prost take the lead and win the race, and just like in Imola with the two Ferrari's the pair's relationship soured. The French crowd however were absolutley thrilled as the two Renault's were first and second, followed by the two Ferrari's driven by French drivers. The Brabaham's master plan of mid-race refuelling came to nothing again as both cars suffered engine failures.

German driver Jochen Mass immediately retired from F1 following the race after a near-catastrophic accident with Mauro Baldi at Signes, the fast corner after the long Mistral straight. Mass's car touched Baldi's, both went off the track and Mass hit the barrier and was then catapulted into grandstands full of people. Miraculously, no one was killed.

While Didier Pironi had picked up third place at Paul Ricard, John Watson had failed to score a point for the third consecutive race, Pironi moved 9 points clear of the McLaren driver in the standings and looked odds on to clinch the crown, but it was not to be. In qualifying for the German Grand Prix,  Pironi ploughed into the back of Prost's Renault and was launched into the air in a crash strikingly similar to that suffered by Gilles Villeneuve three months earlier. Pironi was not thrown from the car but he suffered career-ending injuries to his legs. Patrick Tambay took a bittersweet victory ahead of Rene Arnoux and Keke Rosberg.

Again Brabham's radical strategy went beckoning after Riccardo Patrese suffered another engine failure. Nelson Piquet assumed the lead until he came across the ATS of Eliseo Salazar. The Chilean driver rammed into the reigning champion and a furious Piquet infamously launched a flurry of karate kicks at him in front of millions of television viewers worldwide. Nonetheless, this story has a happy ending as months later Piquet was informed by a BMW mechanic that his engine was about to expire anyway and that Salazar had actually saved the German manufacturer the embarrassment of two engine failures on home turf! Piquet apologised to Salazar over the phone.

 

Nelson Piquet greets Eliseo Salazar affectionately after their clash at
Hockenheim

On to Austria and the ultra-fast Osterreichring. As was often the case at the Austrian Grand Prix, there was trouble at the start, Andrea de Cesaris collied with his Alfa Romeo team mate Bruno Giacomelli and Derek Daly's Williams. The Brabham team were still running the planned pit stop strategy, which by now some were beginning to doubt they would ever live to see. Finally in Austria it happened, Piquet stopped from the lead just before half distance and rejoined in fourth place, he retired on lap 31. His team mate Patrese also managed to stop and the Italian had built up enough of a lead to rejoin 1st. That was until an engine failure sent him spinning off the track and on to the grass banking. Alain Prost looked set for victory before he was robbed by fuel injection problems five laps from home. In the end it was a thrilling duel for 1st place between the Lotus of Elio de Angelis and Keke Rosberg. De Angelis just held on by 0.05 of a second for his first career victory and the first for Lotus since 1978. Unfortunately this would sadly be the last witnessed by Colin Chapman, the famous chairman died in December.

Elio de Angelis holds off Keke Rosberg... just

The Swiss Grand Prix was held at Dijon... in France! Finland's Keke Rosberg finally won his first Grand Prix and suddenly found himself leading the championship, his consistency coupled with this victory left his tally at 42, three ahead of Pironi, who was out of the running, and 12 ahead of Watson. With two races to go, Rosberg was now the favourite for the title.
 

He came so close in Belgium and just about as close as you
get in Austria, but Rosberg finally took his maiden win in
Dijon

For the Italian Grand Prix, Ferrari opted to fill the vacancy left by Pironi with the closest they could get to an Italian driver, 1978 champion Mario Andretti. The Italian-born, American took pole position on his comeback and third position in the race. Alain Prost again retired while leading, ending his hopes of glory, 9 points for a win would have put him just two points adrift of Rosberg. John Watson needed a good result if he was going to take the title. With Rosberg failing to score, it gave him a lifeline but 4th place meant that he had to win in Las Vegas, with Rosberg failing to score. Rene Arnoux took his second win of the year, most appropriately as he would become a Ferrari driver in 1983.

The Caesers Palace Grand Prix, Las Vegas was the hosted the final round of the World Championship for the second year running, which would also turn out to be the last time. Not that the circuit would be greatly missed, the anti-clockwise course which ran round a car park was certainly not a favourite amongst drivers or spectators! The bizarre season delivered its final surprise with the 11th different winner of the year! It was the Tyrrell of Michele Alboreto who took the victory, the Italian's first and Tyrrell's first since 1978. There was an even happier man in 5th place, Keke Rosberg drove steadily to bring his Williams home and become the 1982 World Champion, the Finn had not even scored a point the year before and now he was ahead of them all! Watson finished the race second and was gracious in defeat with American Eddie Cheever ending an impressive season with third place. Vegas was also the last Grand Prix appearance for America's finest, Mario Andretti.

Rosberg won the title with 44 points, five ahead of Pironi who hung on to second place despite his enforced retirement with 39 points. Watson, also with 39, was classified third by virtue of fewer 3rd places. Prost ended up fourth with 34, much less than he deserved, while Niki Lauda enjoyed a fine comeback season with fifth place on 30. Arnoux ended his four-year tenure with Renault on 28 points and sixth in the final rankings as he dreamed of his first Ferrari. Patrick Tambay with 25 points scored more points in six races than several drivers did in sixteen, to ensure that Ferrari retained him for 1983. Outgoing champion Nelson Piquet endured a frustrating season with just 20 points to his tally, 1 less than his team mate Patrese and 11th in the championship, he would be back with a vengeance the following year.

Despite the trauma of 1982, Ferrari clinched the Constructors Championship with 74 points, five ahead of McLaren with Renault third on 62. Williams finished fourth with 58 and Brabham's combined total of BMW and Ford powered results came to just 41 points.

1982 was a season marred by ongoing political tension and violent accidents. But there was no denying that fans had been treated some incredible racing on the track despite the drama off it. No-one could have predicted the outcome at the start of the year, and no-one could quite believe it at the end.

The perfect Finnish finish, Keke Rosberg, 1982 World Champion

What might have been: Karl Wendlinger

 

AN UNFULFILLED TALENT

One name stands high above the rest when we think of Peter Sauber's Mercedes Sports Car team, a familiar German by the name of Michael Schumacher. However motor racing enthusiasts will recall he had an infamous rivalry with fellow German Heinz-Harald Frentzen when they were up and coming young stars, some even said that Frentzen was quicker than Schumacher.

But we tend to forget the third member of this team, Austrian Karl Wendlinger. A fast, talented driver who's F1 career changed course after a crash in practice for the 1994 Monaco Grand Prix, a cruel shame as the Austrian had endured a promising start to the season in a competitive Sauber Mercedes.

Wendlinger, Frentzen and Schumacher
during their Sports Car days

After winning the 1989 German Formula 3 Championship, Wendlinger landed a drive with the Mercedes-Benz sports car outfit for 1990, fifth place was the final result at the end of the year. He remained with the team for 1991 and that year saw two of the young Mercedes protegés make their first Formula One appearance. The first and the most well known was Michael Schumacher for Jordan at the Belgian Grand Prix. But it was Wendlinger's turn next as he replaced Ivan Capelli in the Leyton House Racing team for the Japanese Grand Prix.

The final two races of 1991 in Japan and Australia saw Wendlinger's Grand Prix career begin quietly, though he did manage to qualify for both races (which may not sound so special now but in 1991, 30 cars entered the qualifying session and only 26 were allowed to start). After starting 22nd in Japan he was involved in an incident on lap 2 which eliminated himself, the two Dallara's of J.J. Lehto and Emanuele Pirro and the Jordan of Andrea de Cesaris. In Australia he started 26th but in the atrocious conditions on race day he spun off on lap 12, two laps before the race was brought to a halt and thus becoming the shortest Grand Prix in history.

So while Schumacher had proved to be an immediate sensation on the Grand Prix scene, Wendlinger had almost gone unnoticed. But his performance had been enough for Leyton House to retain him for 1992, with the team reverting to the March name. With serious financial problems, March were hanging on for dear life, the team recruited pay driver Paul Belmondo to partner Wendlinger.

However, if his performances at the end of '91 had been enough to convince March to sign him, he was downright sensational when the 1992 season opened in South Africa. Wendlinger qualified his uncompetitive March chassis in a scarcely believable 7th position, just one place behind his former Mercedes-Benz team mate Michael Schumacher and ahead of both Martin Brundle's Benetton and Ivan Capelli's Ferrari. Sadly his race ended after 13 laps with an overheating engine but the Austrian had done nothing but impress onlookers with his performance.

Wendlinger performed miracles for the
under-funded March team

Wendlinger repeated his impressive qualifying display with two 9th places in Brazil and Spain, though unreliability and bad luck meant he was unable to achieve a noteworthy result in either race. At the Canadian Grand Prix however he delivered the result which was the highlight of March's 1992 campaign. After starting 12th (again a fine performance in itself), he made it to the end of an attritional race, scoring a 4th place and earning 3 points for his efforts.

The financial woes experienced by March meant that the team had no hope of developing their already outdated chassis, this ultimately meant that Wendlinger was unable to score anymore points finishes during the rest of the season, though he comfortably outpaced his team mate Paul Belmondo, and his replacement Emanuele Naspetti. Wendlinger was replaced himself by veteran Dutch driver Jan Lammers before the Japanese Grand Prix as the team slumped deeper into crisis. An anti-climax to say the least but it was now obvious that Wendlinger was no slouch.

1993 saw Wendlinger join Peter Sauber's fledgling Formula One team and the Austrian continued to impress the F1 fraternity. He regularly qualified in the top 10 and scored 7 championship points to place 12th in the final standings, ahead of his more experienced team mate J.J. Lehto.

Wendlinger finished sixth at the 1993 Canadian Grand Prix
driving for Sauber

Notable performances early in the season included qualifying 5th for the European Grand Prix at Donington Park, and running third in the San Marino before engine failure robbed him of a podium finish. His first points finish came in Canada with a 6th place, he then equalled his career best result of 4th at the Italian Grand Prix. Despite questionable reliability the Swiss team had impressed in their inaugural Formula One season and Wendlinger remained for 1994.

Wendlinger's former Mercedes-Benz team mate Heinz-Harald Frentzen made his debut for Sauber in 1994, reuniting himself with Peter Sauber. A works engine deal with Mercedes-Benz and a new car, completed with a strong driver pairing provided a recipe for a fine season for the team. At the first Grand Prix in Brazil, Wendlinger finished 6th scoring a point. All chance of repeating the feat at the second race in Aida faded after he was attacked from behind by Michele Alboreto's Minardi. But in the tragic San Marino Grand Prix, Wendlinger finished 4th. After the first three races, Wendlinger had scored 4 points while Frentzen had scored 2, encouraging signs for the promising Sauber Mercedes outfit.

Hopes were high for 1994 and Wendlinger delivered some strong
performances in the opening races

Sadly for the talented Austrian driver, the next event in Monaco would see Wendlinger's F1 career take a severe blow. During Thursday morning's first practice session he lost control of the car on the exit of the tunnel under braking for the Nouvelle chicane. Upon impact with the armco barrier, Wendlinger's head struck the water filled lining due to the low cockpit sides present on F1 cars at that time. Wendlinger was removed from the car and taken to hospital unconscious and would remain comatose for two weeks. Sauber withdrew Frentzen's car from the race.

Although Wendlinger recovered from his injuries to return to the Sauber team for 1995, it was clear he was not the same driver as the one who had proved himself as a potential star of the future before his colossal accident. Just before, ironically, the Monaco Grand Prix he was rested by the Sauber team. A brief comeback in the final two races of the season in Japan and Australia was the final chapter in Wendlinger's short F1 career, the Austrian exited the sport just as quietly as he had entered it.

It is a shame that Karl Wendlinger never got a real chance to show his true potential in F1, especially when one considers that Michael Schumacher went on to become the undisputed king of the sport and Heinz-Harald Frentzen also tasted success. It is fairly safe to say that Wendlinger might have joined them had fate not intervened, he certainly had the speed and talent to do so.

After F1, Wendlinger once again competed in sports cars along with touring cars and he claimed the FIA GT Championship in 1999.

Remembering Sid Watkins

Sid Watkins

 (6 September 1928 - 12 September 2012)

Last week came the sad news that the long time FIA Medical Delegate, Professor Sid Watkins had left us. From 1978 to 2004, Watkins made a significant contribution to the improvement of safety in Formula One and made his mark as an immensely likeable man whom the sport admired.

 

Watkins was personally appointed as the official Formula One doctor in 1978, this was during the era that medical facilities present at a Grand Prix were of poor quality; a fine example came just weeks after Watkins arrival, at the 1978 Italian Grand Prix where Swedish driver Ronnie Peterson suffered a fatal accident. It was here that Watkins began to make his presence felt, he demanded that Bernie Ecclestone should provide a much higher standard of safety equipment, an anaesthetist, a medical car and a medical helicopter would be present at Grand Prix events. This came into force at the very next race at Watkins Glen. Moreover, a medical car containing Watkins would follow the racing cars for the first lap of the race should an incident occur and help would be required. So this became the norm for every Grand Prix that has taken place ever since.
 

In 1982, Watkins proposals prevented another fatality in a season which had already witnessed the deaths of Gilles Villeneuve and Riccardo Paletti. Didier Pironi, formerly Villeneuve's Ferrari team mate suffered a violent accident at the ultra fast Hockenheim circuit in Germany. A much improved medical team resulted in Pironi receiving significantly better attention than the calamity seen at Monza four years previously. Although Pironi never raced in Formula One again, it was a sigh of relief that another Formula One death had been avoided. 

12 years later at the infamous 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, Brazilian driver Rubens Barrichello endured a violent accident during the Friday Qualifying session. He was knocked unconscious and his tongue was blocking his airway, medical teams treated him at the site of the crash, and he was quickly taken to the medical centre. Barrichello credits Watkins with saving his life.

Unfortunately that terrible weekend delivered what was perhaps Sid Watkins most poignant moment for which he is renowned for. He had formed a close friendship with legendary Brazilian driver, Ayrton Senna over the course of the three-time World Champion's career. In Saturday's Qualifying session, Austrian rookie driver Roland Ratzenberger crashed his Simtek Ford at the flat out Villeneuve corner at the Imola circuit, he succumbed to a basal skull fracture in hospital later that day. Watkins recalled in his memoirs that Senna was so distraught upon hearing the news of Ratzenberger's death that "he broke down and cried on my shoulder." Watkins ultimately tried to persuade Senna not to race the following day. He advised Senna to quit by saying, "What else do you need to do? You have been world champion three times, you are obviously the quickest driver. Give it up and let's go fishing," Senna responded, "Sid, there are certain things over which we have no control. I cannot quit, I have to go on."

Watkins and Senna, 30 April 1994

 The following day came the accident which claimed the life of Senna, Watkins attended to Senna trackside:

"He looked serene. I raised his eyelids and it was clear from his pupils that he had a massive brain injury. We lifted him from the cockpit and laid him on the ground. As we did, he sighed and, although I am not religious, I felt his spirit depart at that moment."

This accident again changed the face of safety in Formula One, and Watkins became chairman of newly formed FIA Expert Advisory Safety Committee.

18 months later, at 1995 Australian Grand Prix, Mika Hakkinen crashed heavily in the Friday Qualifying session. Watkins medical team arrived quickly on the scene and noticed that the Finn was bleeding profusely, Watkins performed an emergency cricothyroidotomy which saved his life. This accident underlined how much the medical assistance had improved since Watkins became the official FIA doctor.

Mika Hakkinen suffers a horrific accident, 10 November 1995.
The Flying Finn recovered to become World Champion in 1998 and 1999.

There has not been another fatality in Formula One since the tragic loss of Ayrton Senna. It is fitting that Watkins tireless efforts to making the sport safer earns him the enormous credit which he thoroughly deserves.