Since Alf Ramsey had arranged for his wife to be in Mexico, he was in no position to discourage their presence.There was nothing to suggest that the players’ wives were having a lively time; inevitably, however, unsubstantiated stories of late-night partying soon got around, although, surprisingly, they did not reach Ramsey’s ears until after England were eliminated by West Germany in the quarter-finals. It was only then that he heard about one of the players sneaking from the team’s hotel to check up on his spouse.On the weekend before they played through to the 1974 World Cup final against West Germany, the Dutch players were briefly reunited with their partners. There was, of course, a great deal of sniggering along with the bemused reaction of old-timers who were left wondering what the game had come to, and where it was likely to end up if this sort of thing became widespread.I now qualify as an old-timer, and looking around at the events of this week, I’m no less bemused than those guys were 28 years ago. Times have changed, maybe for the worse, maybe for the better. But health farms, five-star dining, limos there and back? Beats me.. The Newcastle United manager Sir Bobby Robson has denied accusations he is involved in a club versus country dispute with Wales over striker Craig Bellamy. Robson withdrew the 23-year-old on the advice of an American specialist, Richard Steadman, who insisted he plays just one game a week in the short-term.Bellamy suffered a slight reaction after taking Newcastle into the next round of the Champions’ League last week by scoring a late winner against Feyenoord.

After consultation with Bellamy, Hughes, the United chairman Freddy Shepherd and the club’s medical staff, the decision to withdraw the player was taken.Robson, who is due to receive his knighthood today from the Prince of Wales on behalf of the Queen at Buckingham Palace, revealed Newcastle have received a series of faxes from angry Welsh fans, but said the move was in the best interests of the player, his club and his country.”I keep reading in the papers about this club v country clash with Newcastle United and Wales – there is no club v country clash with Newcastle United and any country,” he said. “Is Nikos Dabizas away? Is Hugo Viana away? Is Kieron Dyer away? Is Shola Ameobi away? Is Jermaine Jenas away? Is Shay Given away? The debate is not club v country, it’s fitness against selection. If a guy’s not fit, therefore he can’t be up for selection.”Robson added: “We’ve had some unbelievably rude faxes from people, and I understand their frustration, but they don’t know the facts.”. Ruud Van Nistelrooy capped the Netherlands’ 3-1 victory over their old rivals Germany with the third goal in a friendly the Manchester United striker described as a “world-class game”. Germany fought back through Fredi Bobic, who celebrated his return after an absence of nearly five years with a diving header to put the home side level in the 34th minute.Chelsea’s Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink fired the Dutch side back in front with a low drive from the edge of the box on 69 minutes and Van Nistelrooy, a second-half substitute, sealed the win by hammering in a Clarence Seedorf cross 10 minutes later.”It was a world-class game,” Van Nistelrooy said. “The Germans were very strong in midfield and Bobic was outstanding up front We had a lot of problems.

But in the second half we played much better and things went our way. This is a fantastic result for us.”Wales’ Euro 2004 Group Nine rivals Italy salvaged a 1-1 draw against Turkey, England’s Group Seven opponents, in Pescara. In the 28th minute, Emre Belozoglu put the visitors ahead, launching a shot into the top corner before his Internazionale team-mate Christian Vieri levelled with his 14th goal in 29 games for the Azzurri. Vieri drew the Turks’ goalkeeper Omer Catkic and steered an angled shot into an empty net.Although Filippo Inzaghi missed a late chance to win the match, it was another uninspiring night for the Italians and their embattled coach, Giovanni Trapattoni. “Today was a friendly and we played against the third-place team from the World Cup,” Trapattoni said. “If we continue to improve, we’ll qualify.”Two goals from Eric Carri? and one from Olivier Kapo gave France a 3-0 win over Yugoslavia at the Stade de France.