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In 1953 against the mighty Magyars we played in a 1, 2,3.5 standard English football line up as it was the only one we knew in those days
Goalkeeper, Right Back Left Back Right Half Centre Half Left Half, Right wing inside right centre forward inside left and left winger.numbered in that order 1 -11.
We did NOT play 2-3-5 against the Hungarians. Herbert Chapman's Arsenal had pioneered the W-M formation (3-2-2-3) involving a withdrawn centre-half, as a result of the change in the offside law in the 1920s. The W-M formation was still in vogue in the 1950s and is what England played that day. Poor Harry Johnston, the England number 5, didn't know what to do with the Hungarian number 9 causing havoc in midfield. If he pushed up, it left a massive gap in the middle of the defence. If he didn't push up, Hidegkuti continued to pull the strings unhindered.