Today’s bosses think they’re so modern. Pressing high up? We called it closing down and Rushie did that 40 years ago
PAUL JEWELL may be flying under the radar these days, but he is still on English football’s sonar system.
The architect of last-day great escapes, seven years apart, to keep Bradford and Wigan in the Premier League is now director of football at Swindon Town.
Jewel l ’s predecessor ‘ upstairs’ at the County Ground, Tim Sherwood, didn’t have much joy.
But as mentor and the parrot on manager Richie Wellens’ shoulder, he has already presided over one promotion and his acerbic Scouse wit is always worth a listen.
It’s eight years since Jewell – now 56 – slipped out of the dugout and into the background, and he has noticed a change in football’s lexicon since he last prowled the touchline at Ipswich.
“People talk about ‘old school’ managers, and how much the game has moved on,” he said. “But coaches and experts talk a different language now to the one I learned on the shop floor, and much of it is total b*****ks.
“When you hear about a defence playing a ‘ high line’ now, we called it the offside trap. I should know – I spent most of my playing career trying to stay onside.
“When you hear about strikers ‘pressing high’ up the pitch, we called it closing down. Liverpool do it brilliantly, but it’s not a new invention – Ian Rush used to do it 40 years ago and he was the best.
“At home, we’ve all been recycling plastics and bottles for a while but, all of a sudden, football teams ‘ recycle’ possession. We called it keeping the ball.”
One man’s black coffee is another man’s Americano, but Jewell accepts his time as a manager is over.
Swindon owner Lee Power, an old colleague at Bradford, offered him a route back to the technical area two years ago, after the Wiltshire club parted company with Phil Brown, but Jewell wasn’t interested.
“I told him absolutely not, I don’t want to do that any more,” said Jewell. “I’ve been there and done it, some good and some bad, but I recommended Richie because I worked with him at Oldham, and he’s got a bright future.
“But I’m not here to be a backseat driver.
Di rector of football? That title is often given to the bloke who’s after your job, but for me there’s no ulterior motive.
“I ’m just a voice on the end of the phone, someone he can trust, because when your team loses, everyone thinks they know how the manager feels.
“Trust me, they don’t. For every supporter, every player, every chairman who takes defeat personally, a manager feels it a million times worse – and I should know.
“I felt sorry for Richie because Swindon were the best team in League Two last season, but he missed out on the elation of promotion.” Few excelled more, when the stakes were highest, than Jewell. He kept Bradford in the Premier League by beating Liverpool on the last day 20 years ago (celebrating, below).
And in 2007, Jewell’s Wigan prevailed in a g r ipp ing f ina l -day re legat ion shootout with Sheffield United.
“Five times in my career, it went down to the last day, and four times it went my way. I’m proud of that record,” he added. “From the outside, I might have looked like I was relaxed and jokey, but I was like the proverbial duck on the water – floating serenely on top, but paddling furiously for dear life underneath.
“My only regrets were taking on jobs at three fantastic clubs – Sheffield Wednesday, Derby and Ipswich – and not being able to turn it round.”
Coaches talk a different language now but much of it is b******s