Greaves: It’s the European equivalent of the Carling Cup

Every man and his dog has it in for the Europa League at the moment and, frankly, I can understand why. What used to be a great competition has become the European equivalent of the Carling Cup – not worth being in unless you get to the final. It’s sad to say that because I always thought the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup – the competition’s first incarnation – was such an interesting idea and it holds some fond memories for me.

When I was a Chelsea player, I always considered it a great honour to represent London alongside Fulham’s Johnny Haynes and Tottenham’s Danny Blanchflower. Being a Londoner only added to the prestige for me – and you even earned a cap if you played five games for your adopted city. Back then, the deal was you got a cap after playing five games, but our clubs weren’t always keen to cough up – so most of us only ever made it to four. Eddie Bailey, who played for Spurs and was on the coaching staff when I joined them, would moan like hell about that.

The only fella we knew who won a cap was Jimmy Logie … and he was Scottish. Eddie would chunter: “I’m a Londoner born and bred, and those b******* won’t give me a cap. The only bloke who has one is from bloody Edinburgh.” But it was great to play with those players. the London XI got to the final in 1958 and played Barcelona over two legs. I scored the opening goal in the first game, a 2-2 draw, but didn’t play in the second. I’d like to think that was a factor in us losing 6-0, although an injury to our keeper Jack Kelsey didn’t exactly help.

Barcelona knocking in six … things haven’t changed much. They were pioneering days in European football and none of us knew what the game would become. We used to get massive crowds, but with the advent of television and modern technology the game has moved on and grown. Had we had the TV coverage and scrutiny back then, I’m convinced you’d be reading a column penned by a European Cup winner. Spurs won the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1963, but we should have won the European Cup the season before.