Tributes have been pouring in for England legend Tom Finney, who died at the age of 91 on Friday.
Finney, the first player to win two Footballer of the Year awards, was known as one of the greatest wingers to have played the game and was famed for his double act with Stanley Matthews.
‘The Preston Plumber’ spent his entire playing career with Preston, scoring 210 goals in 473 games, while he also grabbed 30 in 76 England internationals.
Jimmy Armfield said: “He, in my opinion, is one of the really great footballers that this country has produced.
“Even going back to his early days, the Italians tried to snatch him away from England – but he wouldn’t leave Preston. He was a loyalist as well.
“As much as anything else, and it’s hard to explain to many people today, but it was the way he played and the way he carried himself – his whole demeanour of life. Really, Preston will be a very sad place.”
The legendary Liverpool boss Bill Shankley once said of Finney: “Tom Finney would have been great in any team, in any match and in any age… even if he had been wearing an overcoat.”
Finney played in three World Cups during a career which was interrupted by the Second World War, and retired in 1960 without ever having won any major silverware.
