Being a regular for your Country, Captaining your Club team to the top flight Championship and playing in the semi-finals of the European Cup are fairly impressive playing credentials, new

Born in Liverpool on 5^th April 1948, Roy joined nearby Tranmere Rovers and as an 18 year old he got into their first team at centre half. He spent a successful season there, playing 35 of their 46 games in Division Four, that season saw the Wirral side finish 4^th and win promotion for only the second time in their history, Dave Russell was Manager, a canny Scot who'd previously coached Denmark to an Olympic football medal in the 1948 London games.

A certain Brian Clough moved from Hartlepool to Derby County in 1967 and he spotted some potential in young McFarland and snapped him up for The Rams to replace Bobby Saxton. Clough writes in his autobiography, published in 1994, "Roy McFarland became, in my humble opinion, the best England Centre Half in post war years. He was that good, he would not have looked out of place in any outfield position." Clough and his assistant Peter Taylor turned up one night just after the start of the 1967 season at Roy's house in an attempt to sign him from under the noses of Liverpool, his father had to drag him out of bed and Cloughie wouldn't leave until he'd signed! £25,000 was the now laughable fee. Roy regretted signing the next morning but was soon to change his mind.

That signing was the key to success, in came Ron Webster, Kevin Hector, Alan Durban, The Rams won the Division Two title in Roy's first year, successive promotions in his first two seasons as a player, they finished 4^th in the top flight behind Everton, Leeds and Chelsea at their first attempt, a disappointing 9^th in 1970-71 before winning the Championship in 71-72 by a single point from three teams, Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester City, and Roy was Captain.

McFarland's defensive partnership with Colin Todd was legendary at the Baseball Ground, Alan Hinton, John O'Hare and Kevin Hector shared the scoring duties with John McGovern and Archie Gemmill ball winners and creators.

By then, Roy had become a familiar face on the International scene. Described as a "Neil Franklin type" of player, essentially a stopper who could play sweet football, his International career saw him win Football League representative honours, 5 caps for the U 23's but it was his full England debut, on February 3^rd 1971 in Valetta, Capital City of Malta, that brought him to a wider audience. A Martin Peters goal gave England a narrow 1-0 win, but only once during the game did keeper Gordon Banks have to make a save or telling intervention, in his book Banks of England, he recalls, "Cini, Malta's centre forward, got clear of McFarland and I had to make a diving save.  My shorts were torn and my leg graze, it was the worst pitch I'd ever played on." Norman Hunter was Roy's central defensive partner, Alan Mullery his Captain.

His Wembley International bow came in April 1971, 3-0 winners over Greece, Bobby Moore his partner in defence, then came a 5-0 win over Malta and a   1-0 win in Belfast, four clean sheets in four games! Scotland's Hugh Curran ended that run in game No 5, a 3-1 England win, he missed the 3-1 Wembley defeat at the hands of West Germany in 1972 but returned for the goalless return in Berlin. By the end of 1971-72, Roy had won 10 caps, 9 wins and a draw in Germany. He had become a permanent fixture.

1972-73 saw County on a brave European Cup adventure. Roy scored the Club's first ever goal in such company, in a 2-0 first leg win over Zeljeznicar Sarajevo, County won 4-1 on aggregate, he scored their first goal in the next round in a superb 3-0 win over European superstars Benfica and then helped keep a clean sheet at the Stadium of Light. The Quarter Finals saw Cloughie's men behind for the first time, losing 1-0 at Spartak Trnava but a Kevin Hector brace gave them an aggregate victory and a semi meeting with mighty Juventus, backed by the Fiat empire of the Agnelli family, even then, Aristocrats of Europe.

Juve included Dino Zoff, the then most expensive player ever Pietro Anastasi and Franco Causio plus many other great Italian Internationals. The zebras were good enough to beat anybody in the World, but there have been whispers, as the years have gone by they became shouts, that German referee Schulenburg may have been "influenced" by the home side. In a day when bookings were rare, both McFarland and Gemmill got first half cautions, meaning they were suspended from leg two, the Juve sub, German Helmut Haller, had been spotted in the ref's room before the match and he was there again at half time! County lost 3-1, drew the home leg 0-0 and their great adventure was over. That season they finished 7^th in Division 1.

A third place was followed by a second Championship in 74-5, Dave Mackay had taken over as Manager by then, Roy missed almost all of that season through injury, but typically came back for the run in, played in 4 games and helped keep 4 clean sheets! Amazingly The Rams were 4^th in the table before those final 4 games, but still clinched the title.

Between Derby's two crowns, Roy's England career carried on but it reached a low point in June 1973, his 17^th cap but first defeat, 2-0 in Poland in a crucial World Cup qualifier. A week later, defeat in Italy by the same scoreline

Before, on October 17^th 1973, a couple of weeks after a morale boosting 7-0 victory over Austria, the antics of Polish keeper Tomaszewski, dubbed by Clough as "a clown" earned a 1-1 draw for the Poles and elimination from the World Cup for England. It was Roy's partner Norman Hunter's missed challenge that allowed Domarski to break the hearts of a Nation.

Back into the European Cup. Slovan Bratslava beaten 3-1 after a 1^st leg loss, then one of the great ties of all time. Over 30,000 crammed into the Baseball Ground to see Real Madrid, the most successful European team of all time. Netzer, Del Bosque, Brietner, Camacho, Pirri, great stars. Derby, McFarland, Todd, Francis Lee, Charlie George and David Nish, a fine side too. The effervescent George bagged a hat trick, two of them penalties, in an unbelievable 4-1 win. 120,000 packed the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium for the return. Bruce Rioch was injured, Lee suspended, but the lead seemed good enough. Martinez scored early on for Real but at half time it was still 4-2 on aggregate to Derby.

Martinez made it 2-0 on the night and Santillana levelled the aggregate scores with Real ahead on away goals. Charlie George put County back ahead but Pirri levelled it. Extra Time. A weary County bowed out when Santillana scored again, never since have County played in a European Cup tie, but what an end to their brief flirtation with glory.

The Rams finished 4^th in 1975-76, 15^th and then 12^th before, in 78-79 just avoiding relegation. They did lose top flight status in 1980, Roy played in less than half of the games, John Duncan had by then also joined County. The following season saw McFarland end his Derby career, a 2-1 home defeat against Preston North End an inauspicious end to a career at County that saw him score 44 League goals in 434 games, it would have been more but for some niggling groin injuries.

His England career ended in similar disappointment, a crucial 2-0 loss in Rome against the Italians, his 28^th cap at a time when far fewer Internationals were played than they are now.

Roy then turned his hand to what we know him for now, Management, with Bradford City, he was to move to Valley Parade as a Player Manager.

BY PHIL TOOLEY

Read about Roy The Manager next time

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