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.

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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.

I don’t care who sues me, but we were fiddled out of it by a referee and linesman. It was as bent as you could get and, fortunately today, that couldn’t happen with TV cameras and modern technology. When we played the first game against Benfica in Lisbon, there was only the radio commentary and no cameras – so no one could see what was going on. I beat the full-back to score and had a goal disallowed for offside. They scored their third goal where the ball was knocked down by one bloke’s hand and into the net by another’s fist.

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Then at White Hart Lane in the second leg I must have been five yards onside, I ran through two defenders, knocked the ball in the back of the net and it was still given offside. Dodgy things did go on then, particularly in Europe. It wasn’t a sophisticated place and I think the word ”bung” was in regular use. Anyone who saw those games will say the same. The following year we won the Cup Winners’ Cup, beating Atletico Madrid 5-1 in the final after no one had given us a chance.

They were the holders and favourites but we played brilliantly and what enhanced it was that we were the first British team to win a major European trophy. Now we have the second-rate Europa League. Asking why UEFA continues with it is like asking why Europe continues with the euro. Who knows the answer to that? Anyway, a merry Christmas to you all and see you in 2012.