Intresting read...
Part of the reason for the ugliness of adults, in a childfs eyes, is that the child is usually looking upwards, and few faces are at their best when seen from below.
- George Orwell, eSuch, Such were the joysf
On a wet and windy evening, two old adversaries went at each other, tooth and nail, in the romantic backdrop of Cagliari. Packie Bonner (whom I met recently) punts the ball down field with familiar gusto, his arms flailing involuntarily as he goes to ground; a ritual resembling something half-way between a swallow dive and a convulsion. A slightly perturbed Bobby Robson looks on disdainfully from his dugout, rooted to his seat. Big Jack looms increasingly obstreperous on the touchline, sensing a comeback. The ball; aimed towards the human tower that is Tony Cascarino, not for the first time, is met by Butcher, but it drops to Sheedy, who never really gets hold of it and it runs on to 2ndhalf substitute McMahon. Macca CANfT control as Sheedy seizes on his hesitance and fires an unstoppable trademark left foot shot past an aging Shilton. Jackfs intuition was right, Bobbyfs hunch fully warranted. The Irish were back in it, and everyone, including my father, went wild.
It was blatantly obvious how much it meant to everyone connected with the Irish national team, and against England it showed. Both England and Ireland would go on to taste unprecedented success during eItalia 90Œ; the Irish reaching the quarters (their best ever performance in a World Cup), England coming within a whisker of the final. It was deemed the most negative, cynical tournaments of them all (due to its lowest ever goal tally & most games decided on the unjustly penalty shoot-out), yet, both nations captured the hearts and imaginations of millions across the globe. The joy and happiness which transpired from their performances and merits is immeasurable, the exploits of both teams in Italy, who at the time were highly criticized in the press, will never be forgotten.
In light of recent events at Stoke City, and antipathy theyfve been faced with, I took a retrospective glance at football, to gain some much needed perspective on the whole ewinning uglyf versus eattractive footballf debate.
In so many ways, Stoke remind me of Big Jackfs Republic of Ireland during eItalia 90Œ; whose much scrutinized long ball tactics, brought them unfathomable successes, exulting Jack Charlton to national treasure status here in Ireland. If stories are to be believed, his popularity is such, he has the freedom of this beauteous country; fishing, golfing, and drinking for nowt, in some of the finest spots it has to offer (What was Paul Jewell thinking?).
Allegedly, since taking the Irish job, the canny Northumberlander has yet to meet the price of a pint, as publicans nationwide wouldnft hear of charging the great man. The endless yarns, of how Jack endeared himself to the Irish, you never tire of hearing, the stories, have now become stuff of legend. It is widely perceived, at the height of his fame, Jackie would offer to buy the whole pub a round of drinks, insisting he paid by cheque, knowing full well it would never be cashed, and that it would be framed and hung on the wall; where it still hangs till this day.
There is no doubt Charlton was and is a man of extraordinary character, and his idiosyncrasies sat well with the Irish public. But what Jack Charlton did for Irish football, in terms of achievement, cannot be underestimated, as he took football from the dark depths and relative obscurity of the back pages, and shoved it firmly into the forefront of the nationfs psyche.
Pulis and Stoke City (better known for their participation in petty lower league football violence in recent years) are going about achieving something similar. And I have to say, despite my grievances in the past, as long as we are competitive in the top division, I couldnft give a monkeyfs whether we play pretty football or not. Even if it means no chances in an away trip to Wigan, and subsequently, we get shown last each week on Match of the Day 2; a result, as Steve McLaren pointed out recently, is certainly a result.
In the current financial climate, needs must, and what is best for this club and its people indubitably takes precedence over anything else. Yes, Stoke City are bringing out the utilitarian in me, just as Big Jack did in so many of us, all those years ago. If Delapfs throw is to be judged by the happiness generated by its outcome, then there is no question of its value to the modern world of football.
As a writer from the Daily Express expertly put it, he did not enjoy seeing the kind of football Stoke are producing, nevertheless, he wishes they stay in this division for years to come, and be able to buy the kind of players capable of producing some quality and innovative attacking football. I think his sentiments are echoed by most of us. But we can only play with what is in our armoury; and a decent goalkeeper, 4 dogged centre-halves (camped on the edge of our own penalty box), 4 strong defensive and combative central midfielders (sitting just in front of our defenders), a big strong defensive-minded attacker (playing anywhere other than attack), and Ricardo Fuller, is, unfortunately, what wefve got. Throw Delap into the mix, and so far, this impenetrable approach, seems to be working.
It is well documented that Big Jackfs Ireland relied heavily on their physical weaponry, yet - Dunphy aside - they received nothing but praise and admiration. They put the balls into the channels, passes were never made in field (in case of interception & vulnerability to the counter-attack), and he infamously favoured great lumps of men in defence and in attack. Fancy football mattered little to Jackie, and to say he liked his players getting stuck in is litotes at its finest (listening to Aldridge describe how he went all out to cripple Romanian genius Hagi for ethe ladsf, knowing an injury had cut short his own involvement, is shamelessly hilarious). If fouling was for the good of the team, then Jack saw nothing wrong with it.
Not only was Jack Charlton a man of immense personality, but he was also a born winner, both as a player and as a manager. But as a manager, like Pulis, he was a pragmatist and his teams rarely gave away soft goals. In fact, he claims, when his first choice centre-back pairing of Mick McCarthy and Kevin Moran played together, his side never conceded from a set-piece or header.
englishfootballpost.com/news/2008/11/10/stoke-tactics-italia-90-jack-charlton-ireland/
