Jack was the right man, in the right place at the right time
DUNDALK REMEMBERS LEGENDARY REPUBLIC OF OF IRELAND MANAGER JACK CHARLTON
‘HE was the right man, in the right place at the right time’ that’s the conclusion of Des Casey, the Dundalk born President of the FAI when Jack Charlton was appointed manager of the Republic of Ireland back in 1986.
The pair remained close friends since, and this week Des joined the chorus of tributes to the man who led Irish soccer out of the doldrums to the glorious days of Stuttgart, Genoa and New York.
‘He was a very ordinary man, down to earth, who was humble about his achievements as a player and a manager’, Des recalled.
That friendship extended to Jack’s wife, Pat staying with Des and his wife, Mary on visits to Ireland and recently, on the occasion of Jack’s birthday, the families were in touch.
‘We knew that his health had deteriorated in the last year or so, but nevertheless it was sad to hear of his passing, for it is the end of a legend’, said Des.
According to Des, ‘Big Jack’ took the affection showered on him by the Irish people in his stride, for he was really down to earth and never got carried away by all the adulation shown to him by a grateful nation.
‘He had great charisma, enjoyed people and really loved his time in the Irish job’, recalled Des who revealed that the Charlton family was delighted when he got a letter recently on the occasion of Jack’s birthday from the then Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar.
The story of Charlton’s appointment as Irish manager over other notable contenders such as Bob Paisley and John Giles has been the subject of much comment in the past and in the days since his death, and Des has promised to put on record, for historical purposes, the entire background to that appointment.
‘He wasn’t the favourite for the job at the time’, recalled Des who chaired the interviews and the subsequent decision, adding ‘ the thing that impressed me most was that he was a football man, who knew the game inside out and the way he wanted to play’.
He never asked nor was given a contract when appointed, and the FAI knew that in appointing, the first foreigner, and an Englishman at that who would be living outside of the country, that they were taking a risk.
It was a risk they were prepared to take and Des recalled this week contrary to what many believed at the time, ‘Big Jack’ knew the players the Republic had at their disposal when he was interviewed and while he was criticised for the manner in which he allowed his team played, Des revealed ‘ he treated his players as adults not schoolboys’.
Over the initial campaign which took the Republic to the European championship finals in Germany in 1988, Des was at Jack’s side, and the former President admitted ‘ he was great company and it was very special to share in those early achievements when he brought support for the team and the game to a new level’.
Des will always cherish his memories of the ‘Big Man’, who visited Dundalk on a number of occasions for sponsors events, training with the team before the finals in USA in 1994, and visits to the home of the man who appointed him to the Irish job.
‘ They were great times for us all, and Jack loved being part of it all for he had a great affinity with the Irish people and the country’.