WELSH FOOTBALL BUILD-UP STARTS HERE TO MASSIVE WEEKEND FOR BLUEBIRDS, SWANS
FOR the 10,000 Swansea City fans in attendance at Deepdale on Saturday, May 2, 1981, it is a moment forever ingrained in their collective memories.
That iconic blue Adidas away kit, the warm spring sunshine, the sight of Alan Curtis racing down the touchline and cutting inside to find Robbie James, the midfielder feeding the ball to the Swansea No.10, who lashes it into the top corner.
It is 3-1, time is nearly up and Swansea are destined for the topflight for the first time in their history.
There’s the image of John Toshack racing from the bench at full-time, Leighton James’ sensational solo effort, of legendary Bill Shankly facing the TV cameras to mark his Liverpool protege’s success.
Yet, Jeremy Charles’ emphatic finish was the moment when Swansea knew the job was done, the three points required to keep Blackburn at bay and secure the final promotion spot were in the bag.
For the striker, one of the unsung heroes of that squad, who could also play in midfield or defence, it was one of the high points of a Swansea career served carrying the surname of one of the city’s most famous sporting families.
Jeremy’s father Mel and uncle John both came through the youth ranks at the Vetch and would go on to achieve great things.
John would play for the likes of Leeds and Juventus with distinction, Mel likewise for the Swans first team and Arsenal. Both would represent Wales at the 1958 World Cup and remain revered figures.
Not that Jeremy – also capped by his country – felt any pressure living up to the family name.
“My father would help out with school teams and going into youth,my uncle John was in charge of those sides and it was great to be able to learn off them both,” Charles told the Western Mail.
“They would never tell you what to do, it was more asking questions of you, whether you could try something different, or if you had thought about part of your play a certain way.
“They never interfered, it was the odd word here and there.”
His debut came against Newport County in the League Cup in 1976 and he made an instant impression, scoring twice after coming on as a substitute for Robbie James. He was six weeks shy of his 17th birthday and had barely left Dynevor School.
Charles would go on to end the season with 26 goals in all competitions.
It was Harry Griffiths – whose sad passing was 40 years ago last week – who gave Charles his chance, before Toshack arrived and built on the foundations of his predecessor.
The results were remarkable, in three years Swansea had gone from the bottom tier to within sight of the First Division.
As the 1980-81 Second Division season neared its conclusion, it became clear the promotion battle would go to the wire.
The top three would be promoted, West Ham were runaway champions and Notts County would finish second.
It was Swansea or Blackburn for the third spot. Howard Kendall’s men were at Bristol Rovers, the Swans away to relegation-threatened Preston. Only goal difference separated them.
“We had beaten Chelsea and drawn with Luton in midweek, Blackburn had won, so we knew we would go up if we won,” recalls Charles.
“But there was also the complication that Preston could avoid relegation with a victory, so there was an awful lot at stake for both clubs.
“There were those nerves there, the pressure is on and you’ve got to go out and win it.
“We spent a few days in Liverpool before the game, we used to spend quite a bit of time up there and Shanks was with us quite a bit at the time.
“With Tosh being an old boy, the gates used to be thrown open for him whenever we were in that part of the world and on occasions, we would train at Melwood.
“It was such a big day, the weather was great and there were thousands of Swans fans who had made the trip.
“But as a player the best thing is getting out there.”
If the players were nervous, then
their manager was wrestling with an inner turmoil.
Toshack knew the team he wanted to select, the problem was it meant leaving out his cousin, John Mahoney.
“Loads of people had come up from Swansea, it was an incredible sight,” said Toshack, speaking to Pete Jones, producer of the forthcoming film Tosh: A Swansea Football Fairytale.
“But I had a very big decision to make: I knew my team – Dave Stewart in goal, Dudley (Lewis), Speedy (Nigel Stephenson) and Wyndham (Evans) at the back. People talk about defensive formations in the modern game but we were the first to do this, three at the back.
“Neil Robinson and Jimmy Hadziabdic were at full-back, I knew I could depend on them. Robbie (James) – God bless him – was the first name on the team sheet.
“Then I wanted to play Charlo, Curt and Leighton, but I had a big decision to make as to who would partner Robbie in midfield.
“I grew up with John Mahoney in Cardiff and he was my cousin and had done a fantastic job for us and was a big fans’ favourite.
“He would have given great balance to the team, but I went with Tommy Craig on the day instead. Tommy lacked John’s aggression, but he had the qualities to give the ball to the key players who could get us goals.
“It was the toughest decision I ever made in football before or since, to leave out my own cousin. John was very upset, but put it to one side and was very encouraging to the players. These days you don’t get professionals like John Mahoney.”
Toshack’s gut instinct would be proved right once the action commenced but, beforehand, he allowed his mentor to address his players as they prepared to take the field.
“Bill Shankly did give us a team talk before we went out,” said Charles.
“He had done a few of them during the season. To be honest, he used to enjoy telling a lot of jokes, so maybe they weren’t team talks in a traditional sense, but having someone like that around was something you would never have thought possible a few years prior.”
Swansea could barely have wished for a better first half. Leighton James’ stunning solo effort – teed up by Curtis and Robbie James – gave the visitors the lead.
Then, who else but Craig should strike to reward his manager’s faith?
But Preston were a long way from done. Alex Bruce pulled a goal back and they laid siege to the Swansea goal as the clock ticked down far too slowly for the visiting fans. Then came the clinching moment. “They really put us under pressure in the second half, they got a goal back and they were pushing and pushing for another and we knew we needed to hold out to make sure it was in our hands,” recalls Charles.
“And then came the break for my goal, with Curt, Robbie and myself involved and it seemed fitting that it was three Welsh lads, three local lads who had a hand in finishing the game.”
The tension was over and the outpouring of emotion continued once the whistle went, Toshack embracing his players and clenching his fists as he approached the away end.
All these years later, ‘Tosh’ still views that day as one of the greatest of his career, with Shankly moved to dub the then-32-year-old ‘the manager of the century’.
For Charles it remains a highlight, and he holds the distinction of being the man to score the final goal of the promotion campaign and the first of Swansea’s maiden top-flight season against Leeds before injury problems struck and financial issues at the club saw him sold to QPR in 1983.
“They mean an awful lot to me, along with the goal I scored for Oxford at Wembley in wining the League Cup in 1986,” he says.
Swansea could yet face another final-day showdown this season, albeit to survive the drop rather than clinch promotion.
And Toshack and Charles have their fingers firmly crossed that their old club can retain their place among the elite.
“My message to the fans is get down to the Liberty now and give the team all the support you possibly can,” said Toshack.
“That’s all I want to say to the Swansea fans.
“I had six Welshmen that day at Preston and they were proud to represent Swansea City, how many local lads are in the Swans team now?
“If the foreign players can show the same desire for the shirt that those lads did back in 1981 we’ll get over the line, but we need to get right behind them.”
That is all to come but, whatever the outcome, that 1981 side will always be assured of their place in Swansea City and football history.
It is hard to imagine their rapid rise being repeated in the modern era.
And Jones is looking forward to bringing the story to the big screen.
“The film is in pre-production and we launch a crowd-fund campaign very soon to raise finance for essential archive footage,” he said.