Big Jack gave us back our national pride
2020 hasn’t been a good year but it got a little worse over the weekend when news broke of the death of one of Ireland’s favourite adopted sons, Jack Charlton. He was 85.
The country’s former soccer manager passed away on Friday at his home in Northumberland after a long illness. Born in the coal mining town of Ashington on the outskirts of Newcastle Jack was the eldest of four boys. At age 15 he started work with his father in the pits but it was the connection with his mother’s side of the family, the famous Milburn brothers, that led to a successful Leeds United trial where he signed as an apprentice in 1950.
Although he was quite a late developer Jack grew into a towering, uncompromising and gnarled defender. He was one of the cornerstones of Don Revie’s great side that won every honour in the English domestic game. Jack would remain at the Elland Road club for 23 years making a club record 773 appearance, one ahead of the great Billy Bremner.
Alongside his younger brother Bobby he lifted the World Cup with England in 1966 and would go on to win 35 international caps. Of his more talented brother, Jack once said ‘There are piano players and piano movers. Our kid Bobby is good at playing football. I’m good at stopping people playing football’.
Following his retirement in 1973 he managed Middlesbrough (with a young Graeme Souness in the side) to the Second Division title by a massive 15 points becoming the first manager outside the top flight to win the Manager of the Year award. He later managed Sheffield Wednesday and Newcastle and also applied for the England managers role but never received a reply to his application.
With Northern Ireland qualifying for both the 1982 and 1986 World Cup finals, it was hard for the FAI not to look on enviously.
What intrigued the top brass in Merrion Road was that the North’s UK based manager Billy Bingham seemed better equipped to scout potential talent than his Irish based counterpart.
Following some morale sapping results Eoin Hand’s term was coming to an end so an approach was made to the association’s first choice replacement, recently retired Liverpool manager Bob Paisley. The Anfield club however rebuffed the approach as Paisley was acting in an advisory role to their new young manager Kenny Dalglish.
Several other candidates were also interviewed including former Celtic legend Billy McNeill and Arsenal boss Terry Neill but the 18 man selection committee, led by local man Des Casey, eventually decided on Charlton.
The rest as they say is history. There followed a decade of unprecedented success for the Irish soccer team including qualification for Euro 88 and the World Cups of Italia 90 and USA 94. Out went the silky skills of Brady and O’Leary in favour of new pragmatic and blunt tactics.
No fannying about with the ball, quick transfer from back to front, chase them down the channels and into the corners. Charlton’s rudimentary style and simple football philosophy of putting the opposition under pressure and forcing mistakes was hugely effective.
Almost singlehandedly he transformed us from one of European soccer’s minnows into a rising power of the world game that saw us ranked the sixth best team in the world in August 1993. Many politicians and business commentators credit the emergence of the Celtic Tiger economy to our sporting success of the early 1990s of which soccer was a major part.
I only came across Big Jack on one occasion which was in the Nuremore Hotel in Carrickmacross. During the early 90s Charlton and his players would regularly used the Co Monaghan hotel as a training base in preparation for upcoming games. Following a two day training course from work, myself and several work colleagues were staying over at the hotel and came across the Irish squad in the hotel restaurant.
I got chatting with Stephen Staunton who introduced me to his manager saying we played Gaelic football together. Jack was very engaging and came over to our group for handshakes and photos.
Later that evening while having some refreshments, an over fussy barman insisted on us leaving the main bar as it was reserved solely for the Irish squad. Charlton intervened however and insisted on our group remaining. Shortly afterwards he ushered his somewhat peeved players off to bed while himself and members of his non playing staff remained for further refreshments, some tall stories and a bit of a sing song.
Big Jack will always be remembered for his larger than life persona, his honesty and decency and for bringing lots of pride and joy to the country. But he also touched something deep down and profound in the Irish psyche that helped reawaken our sense of national identity. Ní bhéidh a leithéid ann arís.