England's Under-21 title the first since ex-Watford winger Callaghan

Baddiel, Skinner and the Lightning Seeds have had to regularly update the words because it was ’30 years of hurt’ when they first released it for the Euro 96 finals in this country – since then they have had to biennially increase 30 by two with each passing tournament failure.

Someone who may well have played Three Lions at one of his many and varied DJ sets in the years since he played professional football is Nigel Callaghan.

The former Watford and Derby County winger is almost as well known for his work on the decks as his skills on the flank, but for anyone who watched Graham Taylor’s Hornets in the early 80s ‘Cally’ was one of the attacking triumvirate that also included Luther Blissett and John Barnes.

He’s a keen member of the Former Players’ Club (https://formerplayersclub.com) which allows him to stay in touch with his old teammates, including England internationals like Blissett and Barnes.

Callaghan never played for England though, and the surprise he didn’t went beyond WD18 such was his incredible crossing, dribbling and shooting ability.

He did, though, play for his country’s Under-21 side when they won the 1984 European Under-21 Championship – the last time the Three Lions had avoided another year or two of hurt at a senior or Under-21 major tournament until the current crop of youngsters beat Spain 1-0 last weekend to repeat the achievement.

However, had it not been for a change of Under-21 manager, he might not have been involved.

“It was really weird because back in those days, when I was a youngster playing for Graham Taylor, the bloke in charge of England Under-21s was Howard Wilkinson,” Callaghan said.

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“Wilkinson was at Leeds at that time, and him and Graham didn’t really get on. He was a critic of the way we played at Watford because we were direct. Wilkinson wanted 20 passes across the back before you went forwards!

“So when I got into the Under-21 squad, I was always on the subs bench and I wasn’t getting a look in. I’m guessing someone else picked the squad and Wilkinson had to get on with it.

“Then something happened and he was replaced by Dave Sexton, and as soon as that happened I played every game for the Under-21s.

“If Dave hadn’t taken over when he did, I don’t think I would ever have got a game.”

There were 30 teams in the 1984 tournament divided into six groups of four and two groups of three. The winner of each group went into the quarter-finals.

England topped Group 3 comfortably, winning five of their six games and only losing away to Greece.

Scotland also progressed but were beaten Yugoslavia in the last eight.

Meanwhile, England had the ‘road of hell’ to navigate: a quarter-final with France, then a semi-final with Italy, followed by a final against Spain, all games played home and away over two legs.

Callaghan recalled: “We certainly didn’t get to the final the easy way: two games against France and then two against Italy, and then Spain.

“France, Italy and Spain had some brilliant players in their Under-21 squads, but I think it’s fair to say we also had a really good side.”

In quarter-final first leg in February 1984, England thrashed France 6-1 at Hillsborough with Mark Hateley scoring four.

The return leg a month later at the Stade Robert Diochon in Le Petit-Quevilly drew a crowd of 20,000 who saw Hateley score the only goal in a 1-0 win that completed a 7-1 aggregate rout.

That French team included Basile Boli (45 caps for France, famous for once headbutting Stuart Pearce) and Claude Puel (ex-Southampton and Leicester manager).

The first leg of the semi-final was at Manchester City’s old Maine Road ground, and goals from Mark Chamberlain, Mel Sterland and Mich D’Avray gave England a 3-1 win over Italy.

The second leg in April ’84 was played in Fiorentina’s Stadio Artemio Franchi, and a 12th-minute goal from former Man City manager and current Italy boss Roberto Mancini gave the hosts a 1-0 win.

However, England reached the final 3-2 on aggregate, overcoming a team that had former Watford defender Filippo Galli playing.

The first leg of the final on May 17 was played in Sevilla’s Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium. Some 35,000 fans saw Mel Sterland score the only goal in the 51st minute to put England in the driving seat.

Cally didn’t play in the first leg – no surprise given it took place two days before Watford’s first-ever FA Cup Final appearance.

Cally lets fly at Vicarage Road (Image: Watford Observer)

However he was back for the second leg at Sheffield United’s Bramall Lane, where a crowd of 11,478 saw Hateley give England the lead five minutes after half-time: the then-Portsmouth striker ended the tournament as top scorer.

Two minutes later Howard Gayle added a second, and England had completed a 3-0 aggregate victory to lift their first major silverware since the 1966 World Cup.

It’s worth noting that was a Spain side which included goalkeeper Andoni Zubizaretta, who went on to be capped 126 times at full international level and won just about every trophy in domestic and European club football in nine years with Barcelona.

Meanwhile, up front was Real Madrid legend Emilio Butragueno, who played more than 450 times for the club from the Bernabeu.

England included the likes of Man Utd keeper Gary Bailey, Tottenham’s Gary Mabbutt and Nottingham Forest midfielder Steve Hodge, who later made two Watford appearances in the 1995/96 season.

Hodge was one of very few of that Under-21 squad that went on to enjoy a sustained spell on the senior side, along with Everton defender Gary Stevens and striker Hateley.

“The whole thing seemed to happen really quickly,” said Callaghan.

“We got good write-ups in the papers, but because of the FA Cup Final and then going straight into the Euro Under-21 Final, it was all a bit of a blur.

“It took 39 years for England to win that tournament again, and that shows just how much of an achievement it was for us to win it in 1984.

“And, without taking away anything from the boys that won it this year, we had to beat Spain twice to do it!”

Cally had a theory as to why so few of that trophy-winning Under-21 side went on to enjoy significant careers with the senior England team.

“I did think Bobby Robson had his favourites back in those days, and I don’t think many of us stood much of a chance,” he said.

“Trevor Steven went straight from the Everton first team into the England senior team, even though he was young enough to play for the Under-21s.

“Because Bobby had his favourites it was always going to be hard for the Under-21s to break through.

“Trevor Steven made that right-wing position his own for a few years, I don’t think Bobby was looking for change and so I didn’t get a look-in.

“He liked the squad he had, he wanted to keep them together for as long as he could and bring in the odd new player when he had to.

“If you look at the players that were in the England first team around that time, they were in the team for four or five years.”

Cally in action against Liverpool. (Image: Watford Observer)

Had he been Nigel Callaghan of Arsenal or Nigel Callaghan of Manchester United, might he have stood more chance?

“Yeah, possibly I guess,” he said.

“For me, Luther Blissett and John Barnes to get into international football for England at the age we were while playing for Watford was a big achievement.

“We were the unfashionable side in what was the old First Division. Arsenal and Tottenham and the likes got all the sponsorship deals. Watford players weren’t fashionable.”

Cally recalled an example of how players at the bigger clubs got all the perks of being a professional footballer at that time.

“In the early 80s I was DJ-ing and Graham knew about it. He knew I only did it on a Saturday night,” he said.

“I was properly getting into it, and I found out through a friend of mine who was also a DJ that there was a disco agency in Watford.

“He told me he was going out to DJ on a cruise during the summer. He said you only have to work 11pm to 2am, you get treated like a passenger and you can take a friend with you and get a holiday out of it.

“I fancied that, so he put me in touch with bloke, and the first one I went to work on was to the fjords in Norway.

“I got on the boat and there was Perry Groves and Tony Parkes: they’d got a free holiday each because they were players at Arsenal and Spurs.

“They weren’t even regulars in the first team – I’m playing every week for Watford and I had to work for my cruise!”

However, Callaghan is still very grateful for his experiences with England Under-21s and particularly the timing of those 1984 finals.

“It was good for me, because straight after losing the FA Cup Final to Everton at Wembley, I was playing in the second leg of the Euros final and helping England win it. That took some the hurt out of the FA Cup Final for me,” he said

“Losing the FA Cup Final was horrible.

“You’re hyped up all week with cameras at the training ground, Saint and Greavesie popping along, there’s so much publicity in that week leading up to the game.

“The night before the game we stayed in a hotel and when we got up for breakfast Michael Barrymore was there with TV cameras.

“The build-up is massive, you’ve even got cameras on the coach from the hotel to the stadium.

“Then you’re out on the pitch before kick-off and everything is so hyped up.

“But within 90 minutes we’d lost the game, and you just really want to go up the steps, get your runners-up medal and get off the pitch.”

Playing for Watford against them from up the road... (Image: Watford Observer)

On a personal level, Callaghan didn’t feel he did himself as much justice as he could that day at Wembley.

“I didn’t have the best game, I’ll say that,” he admitted.

“It was ironic: the bloke marking me for Everton was John Bailey. He was one of my bogey players that I could never seem to do well against.

“He wasn’t the best left-back in the country but he seemed to jinx me. There was him, Chris Hughton and Kenny Sansom – they were the three I found it hard to play against. Other full-backs didn’t bother me, I was confident I could score every time.

“Bailey was my nemesis really, and I didn’t have the greatest game in the world.”

There was also a feeling in Callaghan’s mind that his performance that day, compared to his opposite number in the winning Everton side, closed the door on his chances of progressing from England Under-21s to the senior team.

“Yeah, I think that game at Wembley might have cost me my place in the senior England squad,” he recalled.

“I was in the ‘shadow squad’ for the senior team party travelling to play friendlies in South America that summer, in case anyone got injured or dropped out.

“Trevor Steven, who was in the Everton team that beat us, wasn’t even in the running for the England squad. Then he played well in the Cup Final and leapfrogged me straight into the first team.”

There’s always one question any Watford fan wants to ask the players from the ’84 FA Cup Final: what did you think of the Andy Gray goal?

“I think if that had been Peter Shilton going up for that cross with Andy Gray, the ref would have given the foul,” said Cally.

“It was definitely a foul, and it would get given today without a doubt. But because it was Steve Sherwood and he wasn’t an international the referee didn’t give him the free kick.

“Andy Gray was just a typical centre forward and he did what centre forwards do.

“When I was at Aston Villa – I spent most of my time at Villa in the reserves so I don’t really count it much – I played in a friendly match and Gray was up front. He’s a great centre forward when you’re a winger, because his runs are really good. I wouldn’t have minded playing with him for a couple of seasons!”

In his Aston Villa days (Image: Action Images)

Since he hung up his boots, Callaghan has become quite a name in the DJ scene, both at home and abroad.

“I love DJ-ing, I still do. It’s a good thing I got into it because I don’t know what else I would have done after I stopped playing football,” he said.

“I’ve never done an office job or anything like that, but being a DJ allowed me to carry on earning good money. At one point I was earning more than I had when I was a footballer.

“I can’t DJ so much now as I’m caring full-time for my Mum who has dementia and Alzheimer’s.”

Sadly, Callaghan has had his own health battles in recent years as well, twice having to undergo major operations to deal with cancer – but when asked, he plays it down.

“I’m ok. I’m diabetic, I take tablets and stuff like that,” was his reply.

“I’ve got myself back into doing some DJ work by streaming on MixCloud at night.

“I can’t go away and DJ because of the situation at home, but family always comes first. Before things changed at home and before the lockdown I was still earning good money as a DJ.

“I was getting plenty of gigs, if I wanted to work abroad then I could. I’m still offered jobs abroad.”

Cally in his 2010 benefit match between Derby and Watford at Pride Park (Image: Action Images)

The wonders of streaming music allow Cally to still reach a global audience as a DJ, as well people much closer to home.

Search for his name on Facebook (or click here) and you’ll find his page: a link there takes you to his Mixcloud page and Watford fans can listen to one of the club’s greats pretty much every night from around 9pm until 2am.

“I first started doing the streaming during the pandemic,” he said.

“Nobody could go out, and I saw a rival DJ was doing a stream. So I got into it by accident: I’d never done streaming before in my life.

“I started off with a few people listening, and then it grew as loads of Watford and Derby fans tuned into it.

“During the first summer of the lockdown, over a Thursday, Friday and Saturday I was getting more than 14,000 views, which was really good.

“I play everything really. When I moved back to England after DJ-ing abroad, I was doing the big nightclubs and I’d be the main DJ in the main room, so it was commercial pop stuff.

“But when I was in Kavos, it would be dance and R ‘n’ B.”

If you tune in, there’s a good chance of having your choice of song played by Cally, and a chat with the man himself.

“On my Mixcloud streams I do play virtually everything, from 60s to current chart tunes. Basically I do it as a request show, so people can come on and ask for a record I’ll try and stick it on. There’s no play list.

“I try to make the people who tune in feel welcome. If any Watford fans read this and fancy tuning in, then it’d be great to have them join me one night.

“I’m streaming virtually every night from around 9/9.30pm and I go on until about 2am.

“You can register which lets you get onto the message board – it’s free, you get a username and then you can say hello.”