Stanley Matthews - Style of Play

Style of Play

Franz Beckenbauer said that the speed and skill Matthews possessed meant that "almost no one in the game could stop him". John Charles noted that "he was the best crosser I've ever seen – and he had to contend with the old heavy ball". Johnny Giles said that "he had everything – good close control, great dribbling ability and he was lightning quick. He was also an intelligent player, who knew how to pass the ball".

Before 1937–38 he had scored 38 goals in four seasons, and full-backs began to mark him more tightly; because of this he decided to drop deeper to collect the ball and aim to play pinpoint crosses as opposed to going for glory himself. Though he would never again score more than six goals in a season, this made him more an effective team player and a greater threat to the opposition.

When running along Blackpool's beach, at 7 am, no matter the weather, Matthews wore shoes that contained lead, so that when he changed into his football boots, his feet felt light, giving himself the impression that he could run faster. Having trained to a level of fitness few other players would reach, by the mid 1950s he was able to cut back on his intense training as his level of fitness was by-then ingrained in his body. He never smoked, instead he was very conscious of every item of food and drink he consumed, and he maintained a rigid daily training regime from childhood up until his old age. The only time he knowingly consumed alcohol was when drinking champagne out of the FA Cup in 1953.

In addition to his attention to detail in diet and fitness, he also afford close scrutiny to his kit. 1950–51 he struck a boot sponsorship deal with the Co-op, though he instead began wearing a more lightweight pair of boots he had discovered on show at the World Cup – at the time they were not available to buy in England. He would wear the customized boots until his retirement, though they were so delicate that he got through countless pairs every season.

An avid student of the game, in the 1950 FIFA World Cup Matthews stayed on to watch teams such as Brazil and Uruguay compete in the tournament after England's elimination – the English FA, manager and media all returned home to, as Matthew's said, "bury their heads in the sand." In fact he regularly condemned the 'blazer brigade' at FA in his autobiography, slating them as 'conservative' by pointing out their Old Etonian background, their poor treatment of players and supporters, their arrogance in ignoring competitions they did not control (the World Cup and European domestic competitions), and their deeply conservative nature (such as only sanctioning the use of floodlights in 1952 despite artificial lighting having been experimented with as far back as 1878, and their insistence on using outdated kit such as heavy 'reinforced' boots). Writing about the fact that the FA allocated only 12,000 of the 100,000 available tickets for the 1953 FA Cup Final to Blackpool supporters, Matthews said "I couldn't make my mind up whether they were dunderheads or simply didn't care about the genuine supporters who were the lifeblood of the game".

He was never booked or sent off throughout his entire career, and teammate Jimmy Armfield noted that Matthews would never retaliate to the many extremely physical challenges opponents would often make to try and take him out of the game. Indeed he ran the full gauntlet of emotions that all footballers run, but always retained a level-head on the pitch, never losing his temper or allowing his emotions to affect his game.