He kept his winners’ medal in coal bucket

JACK CHARLTON will be remembered not just as a World Cup hero for two nations but also as a largerthan-life character with a treasure trove of stories. Here are some of t he more remarkable anecdotes about — or told by — the former defender during his enormously successful playing and management career.

HE URGED BOBBY MOORE NOT TO PLAY THAT PASS

COMMENTATOR Clive Tyldesley remembered a tale told by Charlton about Bobby Moore shortly after the World Cup-winning captain’s death.

Recalling the final moments of that unforgettable day at Wembley in 1966, Tyldesley said: ‘Jack and Bobby had just repelled another West German att ack and t he ball fell to Bobby. Jack recounted that he bellowed across to Bobby: ‘Row Z!’.

Instead of hoofing it out of play, Moore looked up and picked out a long, searching pass, to which Charlton shouted: ‘Nooo!’

The pass ended up at the feet of Geoff Hurst and the rest is history. In his speech, Charlton was said to have recalled: ‘ I still wanted to b*****k him. I still wanted to tell him “don’t ever do that again”.

‘But then I realised — he could do that and I couldn’t. He was different to me, I could never be as good as Bobby Moore.’

HIS 1966 MEDAL WAS IN A BUCKET BESIDE THE FIRE

ANOTHER sign of Charlton’s humility was what he did with the medal he won in 1966.

John Anderson, who played under Charlton for both Newcastle and the Republic of Ireland, said he made an astonishing discovery on a visit to his manager’s home in Northumberland.

He told the PA news agency: ‘I remember myself and Kenny Wharton going up to see him. Remember the World Cup coins that you used to collect with the players’ faces on?

‘He had a gold set of them in a coal bucket and beside them in the bucket was his World Cup winner’s medal.

‘He didn’t blink an eye. “They’re in there” he said, nodding at the coal bucket beside the fire.’

HE WAS KNOWN TO FORGET HIS PLAYERS’ NAMES

CHARLTON could be known to call his players by their positions rather than their names and a story recounted by f ormer I rel and midfielder Liam Brady perhaps explains why.

The mercurial playmaker said of his former boss: ‘Jack Charlton’s first words to me were “You’re number eight, Ian”.

‘I said “Ian Brady was the Moors murderer, Jack”.’

HE FELL ASLEEP IN HIS AUDIENCE WITH THE POPE

THERE were plenty of folk tales from Charlton’s hugely successful spell as Ireland manager, but the one that topped them all was when he promised the team a visit to the Pope during Italia 90 — and came good on that promise.

The excitement of the big day was not quite enough to keep Charlton awake, however, and he recalled in a TV documentary how he drifted off while yards away from Pope John Paul II.

After the Pope had read out his lesson for 20 minutes, Charlton remembered, six other bishops proceeded to get up and read the same lesson in various languages.

Telling the story on Jack Charlton — The Irish Years, Charlton said: ‘We sat through this and I found it very hard to stay awake. I was very aware because there was a bank of photographers over the other side.’

Charlton continued: ‘ The Pope was on the third part of his blessing and he was looking right at me and he had his hand in the air like that (raises hand).

‘As I woke up, I thought he was waving at me so I stood up and waved back at him.’