The Jack Charlton Appreciation Thread

SlickRic

tomorrow, it will be 25 years to the day (unless i'm severely mistaken!) since 'Big' Jack Charlton took over as Republic of Ireland football manager.

needless to say, this appointment, coupled with being blessed with a golden era of talent such as McGrath, Whelan, Houghton, O'Leary, Bonner, Aldridge, Quinn, etc...brought this country onto the world stage.

it was a fúcking great time to be Irish, and especially be an Irish kid.

i was 8 years old for Italia 90 for instance, and i still remember that Sheedy goal, that Bonner save, and Bonner's fatal slip in the quarter finals.

i was 12 years old, and i remember Houghton's dink over Pagliuca like it was yesterday.

and Jack, although he had his detractors as a result of his "put 'em under pressure" mantra, still oversaw the only time our country has reached the QF of a World Cup.

enjoy the nostalgic montage below, and show your appreciation to Jackie and his army....!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBoMWaJ_iag

missingtime

Still get goosebumps when I hear "Timote against Bonner"

Remember running around the sitting room in my knock off pennys irish jersey

Fittle

I was old enough to be in th pub watching (unfortunately) and the same as missingtime, I still get goosebumps watching. I only recently told my 8yr old about the memories of Euro 88/Italia 90 and showed him a scrap book of newspaper clippings of parts of it (I was such a nerd;))...great memories:D

ctrl-alt-delete

Was the very same age as yourself, and have the very same stand out memories as you mentioned above, what a time it was to be a kid!

Had the privilege to meet Jack and Packie Bonner not so long ago in Dublin Airport, Bonner was on his way to Glasgow, the flight before mine to Newcastle - which was the one Jack was getting on too - was great to see such legends of my childhood.

I remember the Irish Permanent ad's plastered up not too long after the Romania game saying that Packie saves with Irish Permanent, and the plastic faces of the 1990 (I'm sure it was) squad that you stuck on your window - I can't remember where they came from, but I remember every house in my estate having them hanging in the windows!

Great great memories.

The Muppet

I love Jack, his success as Ireland Manger Lifted the county as a whole, not just on the pitch. We could do with another Jack today.

keano_afc

Great memories, I was 10 in Italia 90, can remember sitting on the kerb outside my house when Italy beat us just gutted.

Yes he benefitted from a great generation of players, but also had to contend with getting unfashionable Ireland recognized in an era where teams like us just werent wanted at the top table (look up some of the referreeing decisions that used to go against us in the 70's and 80's). He had a way of doing things but was a good man manger (Brady might disagree) who got the best out of players.

_blank_

the midfield got awful neck pain though.

gimmick

Looking forward to the hardcore LOI brigade saying he held back the progress of the domestic game :rolleyes:

Dun laoire

Jack Charlton Legend. Never ever to be forgotten

BeanFlicker

Absolute Legend of a man, fantastic character, I don't think you could ever experience another true great like him

That video brings major goosebumps, I was very young at the time but have relived those moments & have to say it brings tears of joy to my eyes

bohsboy

I always remember the qualification group for euro 88 with Big Jack.

We started with a fantastic 2-2 draw away against Belgium in the Heysel Stadium with a last minute penalty. Only a couple of months before that, Belgium were semi finalists in Mexico '86. We beat Scotland away in Hampden Park and were absolutely robbed in Sofia against Bulgaria with a dreadful penalty awarded against us late on. Jack drove them on for the rest of the group games and then Gary Mc Kay did the unthinkable in Sofia and sent us on our way. Great days, what a buzz around the country.

In hindsight I really would love to have seen how far we could have gone if we kept the ball on the floor because we really had one of the best teams in the world at the time but never fully realised it!

But, respect to Charlton!

master-t

Excellent post! I was only a nipper in 1990 (4 years old) but I still remember being thrown around a room when Packie saved that peno. I have looked at some family photos from around that time and there I am in some Italia 90 Jumper and T-shirt

I remember more vividly that goal against Italy and being on the streets celebrating like we won the whole tournament. Only the Irish......

What strikes me is this. These periods that Jack was in charge and the 3 tournies - 88, 90 and 94 - were some very tough times for Ireland as a nation. We were prob more broke than we are now, the nation was in pieces and we were essentially a 3rd world counrty.

What Jack did, from memory and looking back at photos, was give us something to actually celebrate and cheer. It was hope for a nation who were....at the time.....hope-less. Not just Jack of course, the players played their part.

But it was Big Jack who lead the way........driving the Irish Football team around the World in a big Green Bus and in the distance, echos of "When we win the world cup......cos Ireland are the greatest football team.....Ole...Ole..." could still be heard in the 90,000 seater stadiums we just stunned.

keane2097

Wasted the most gifted collection of players the country has ever had playing hoof-ball bullshít imo.

AgileMyth

gimmick wrote: »

Looking forward to the hardcore LOI brigade saying he held back the progress of the domestic game :rolleyes:

Unnecessary dig at supporters of the domestic game. Childish at best.

SlickRic

ok, both 'sides' have had their say now...let's leave the 'LoI brigade' stuff out of it.

or else.

you've all had your warning now.

_blank_

AgileMyth wrote: »

Unnecessary dig at supporters of the domestic game. Childish at best.

he is a supporter of the domestic league though.

keane2097

AgileMyth wrote: »

Unnecessary dig at supporters of the domestic game. Childish at best.

lol reading comprehension

aidan24326

While it's easy to look back on his time with nostalgic rose red glasses, he did in some ways waste the best collection of players we've ever had. Ireland could actually have won Italia 90 if he let them play football rather than chasing around like blue arsed flies after long balls.

And his stubborn refusal to change tactics at USA 94 was suicidal in that heat. Some great memories and all that, but also a feeling of what might have been had he placed more faith in the players we had to actually play rather than just stop the opposition from playing.

ctrl-alt-delete

aidan24326 wrote: »

While it's easy to look back on his time with nostalgic rose red glasses, he did in some ways waste the best collection of players we've ever had. Ireland could actually have won Italia 90 if he let them play football rather than chasing around like blue arsed flies after long balls.

And his stubborn refusal to change tactics at USA 94 was suicidal in that heat. Some great memories and all that, but also a feeling of what might have been had he placed more faith in the players we had to actually play rather than just stop the opposition from playing.

I might agree with 1990, but things somewhat changed in 94 in that we mixed it up a bit too,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvwC0vsJcjI

The above goal would be raved about these days,

How many passes before the goal etc etc . . .

major bill

gimmick wrote: »

Looking forward to the hardcore LOI brigade saying he held back the progress of the domestic game :rolleyes:

:rolleyes: give over!!!

finbarrk

I was behind the goals in Stuttgart, Genoa and Giants Stadium. Great memories.

master-t

It really was a great goal.

And with regards "long ball" - in '94 we were more open with our play, as seen with that goal. The midfield were heavily involved there.

'90 was a long ball game and yes, the debate will rage on. But will we ever be happy? a QF place was a great result for us. Yet people still won't be happy and say we could have gone further.

stovelid

They really were two fantastic summers that I remember so well as a teenager - just old enough to go to pubs too. A part of me thinks we popped our cherry a bit in 1988 and 1990: we'll probably not celebrate with such fervent innocence again and even by 1994, a certain expectation had crept it that has stayed with us. They really were great times in some ways.

As for Charlton, I think his conservatism (and from what you read from ex players) and tactical weakness cost us posssible further progress in 1990. Why bother making a team like we had then play anti-football? Not that I'm against that style with a limited team but JC probably presided over the biggest wealth of talent we ever had in the period 86-94.

Unfortunately, it's also hard to shake the memory of the summer of 1990 where a footballing McCarthyism prevailed here. Anybody who questioned Charlton's tactics or anything to do with the national team suffered genuine abuse - often from those who didn't even follow football. Kind of a with-us-or-against-us vibe. The national enmity toward Dunphy at the time was unbeleivable and a little frightening.

I always liked Big Jack though and I'm sure he's an affable and decent man manager in the El Tel mould and at the end of the day you can't argue with what we acheived in that period but there will always be a nagging what-if feeling that we didn't utilize the talent we had.

OhNoYouDidn't

I think the biggest legacy, and conversely, biggest weakness of Jack's timewas that he turned football into the thing everyone, and I mean everyone, was into in the 80's and 90's. The country literally ground to a halt when the big games were on in a way nothing else could have done. From the yacht set to the hardest west Dublin steo, it united us all. The consequence of that was everyone had an opinion, even if those opinions were daft.

Follow that through to Saipan and the Hand of Frog. Everyone had something to say on it, even those who think football is a type of fruit.

As Stovie says, the vitriol and hate aimed at Dunphy was absolutely outrageous. He was threatening to burst the bubble and it got sinister. It was a great time, but spawned a generation of people who profess to be experts on the game based on two trips to Anfiled in their lives.

Any tactical weaknesses or dogged refusal to play young Irishmen when a journeyman Brit would do were tempered by the hundreds of thousands of kids showing up at clubs across the land, and we are now producing the players at home as a result. The one thing the FAI and clubs didn't do was turn the swell of interest into LoI crowds.

happyoutscan

Good times.

JerryHandbag

Legend, gave me the best memories of my childhood. Its amazing to think back to how the entire country practically shut down for those games in Italia 90.

Paully D

A typical member of the Irish crowd during an Ireland game under Jack Charlton, trying to find the football:

OPENROAD

JerryHandbag wrote: »

Legend, gave me the best memories of my childhood. Its amazing to think back to how the entire country practically shut down for those games in Italia 90.

And in 94, and the main streets virtually empty, fantastic that an Englishman brought so much joy to Irish people and lifted the spirits of a nation.

Another memory of Jack Charlton was his North of English bluntness, really would love to see some of those press conferences on youtube.

JerryHandbag

OPENROAD wrote: »

Another memory of Jack Charlton was his North of English bluntness, really would love to see some of those press conferences on youtube.

Yes he was pretty blunt when asked his opinion on Eamon Dunphy

OPENROAD

JerryHandbag wrote: »

Yes he was pretty blunt when asked his opinion on Eamon Dunphy

Priceless stuff

ctrl-alt-delete

Shook the man's hand as he got off the plane I was getting on in Newcastle tonight.
Then had a chat with Quinn getting onto my flight,jesus I feel like joxer dreaming!

Paully D

ctrl-alt-delete wrote: »

Shook the man's hand as he got off the plane I was getting on in Newcastle tonight.
Then had a chat with Quinn getting onto my flight,jesus I feel like joxer dreaming!

Anything interesting from Quinny mate?

OPENROAD

ctrl-alt-delete wrote: »

Shook the man's hand as he got off the plane I was getting on in Newcastle tonight.
Then had a chat with Quinn getting onto my flight,jesus I feel like joxer dreaming!

:eek: nice one.

Once had a conversation with Niall Quinn in a hotel lift about the English 2,000 Guineas horse race :eek:

ctrl-alt-delete

Paully D wrote: »

Anything interesting from Quinny mate?

Well he couldn't give me a season ticket discount which got him laughing!
Was only chatting for 5 mins on the way out, told him he missed Jack - he was dissapointed!
Didn't get to ask him anything about Sunderland other than the season ticket thing, maybe next time, do see him on flights regular!

ctrl-alt-delete

OPENROAD wrote: »

:eek: nice one.

Once had a conversation with Niall Quinn in a hotel lift about the English 2,000 Guineas horse race :eek:

He is a complete legend and gentleman, the man always makes time for people and has no qualms about mixing with us mere mortals! Have often seen him posing for pictures with people in the baggage area of newcastle airport, well respected man by the locals too for what he is doing in the North East of England.

Paully D

ctrl-alt-delete wrote: »

Well he couldn't give me a season ticket discount which got him laughing!
Was only chatting for 5 mins on the way out, told him he missed Jack - he was dissapointed!
Didn't get to ask him anything about Sunderland other than the season ticket thing, maybe next time, do see him on flights regular!

Nice one! I've seen him a couple of times flying over myself, never really spoke with him though as he was talking to someone else at the time so I didn't want to intrude. Got a picture though

He was on Total Sport on Radio Newcastle from 5pm-7:30pm last night, you should have heard some of the questions that were coming in from callers, people complaining about the signs outside the ground etc, you'd think they'd have vetted the callers before putting them through to Quinny. One comment I liked from him was in response to some doom monger ''we've had some great times over the last year and I'm sorry you couldn't enjoy them as much as everyone else'' :pac: He also called a Mag caller a ''bitter man'' :pac:

I've gone completely off the topic of Big Jack now, but once I start talking about Quinny I can't stop. Apologies!

OPENROAD

ctrl-alt-delete wrote: »

He is a complete legend and gentleman, the man always makes time for people and has no qualms about mixing with us mere mortals! Have often seen him posing for pictures with people in the baggage area of newcastle airport, well respected man by the locals too for what he is doing in the North East of England.

+1

Found him very polite, quietly spoken chap, have huge respect for what he is putting back into the North East.

Paully D

OPENROAD wrote: »

+1

Found him very polite, quietly spoken chap, have huge respect for what he is putting back into the North East.

This sums the man up:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7ca_1oMbuc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKm9tKIlmnI

YouTookMyName

Possibly 2 of the best songs ever

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxD0qAe2dUU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5PT65I2ny8