As the summer arrived it was fair to say that 1981 was not going well for England manager Ron Greenwood. Just a year before hopes had been high as England prepared for the reformatted European Championship finals, but events on and off the pitch proved a pointer to the future.
Finishing third in their group behind Belgium and hosts Italy, sadly the main mark England left on the tournament were the images of rioting fans and tear gas during their 1-1 draw against the Belgians. But at least Greenwood had managed to get England into the finals of a major tournament, a crumb of comfort to provide after the setbacks of the 1970s.