Latest news with #JackCharlton
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
Thomas Tuchel discards Southgate's blueprint to build England's mettle
When, in April 1965, a month shy of his 30th birthday, Jack Charlton was called up to play for England for the first time, he was baffled. In characteristically blunt fashion, he asked Alf Ramsey why on earth he had picked him. 'I have a pattern of play in mind,' Ramsey replied. 'And I pick the best players to fit the pattern. I don't necessarily always pick the best players.' Or at least that is the printable version of their conversation that has been left to history. 'You're a good tackler and you're good in the air, and I need those things,' Ramsey continued. 'And I know you don't trust Bobby Moore.' There is a fallacy that the winning of major tournaments is about having the best players. It is not; it is, as Ramsey understood, about picking the right players in the right configuration – even if that means leaving out players who have played very well for you, as he did with Peter Thompson, or leaving the goalscoring darling of the media on the bench, as he did with Jimmy Greaves. England now are in a position not unlike that in which they found themselves in 1965. They have a year left before a World Cup for which they will be one of the favourites, and they have a manager who has made clear he is not concerned by such nebulous concepts as developing the culture or blooding players to be ready three or four tournaments down the line. Thomas Tuchel, no less than Ramsey, knows his job is to win. Tuchel does have one complication that Ramsey did not, which is that he still needs to qualify. England would expect to top their group but the two games against Serbia and the trip to Albania cannot be taken for granted. Saturday's fixture against Andorra, meanwhile, probably can. In that regard it represents an opportunity for Tuchel, a chance to foster team spirit and perhaps test out a couple of theories, even if the tougher test may come in training sessions than at the RCDE Stadium in Barcelona. That's why, for instance, Ivan Toney has been called up. When he left Brentford for Al-Ahli in the Saudi Pro League, it made sense that he should lose his place in the England squad. He had voluntarily taken himself to a lower level and it was a reasonable assumption that his sharpness would diminish as a consequence. But he scored 23 goals in 29 starts this season, playing well enough at least to be entered into the conversation for squad places. After all, his role would almost certainly be as one of two back-ups to Harry Kane, and he remains a formidable converter of penalties. For most players the fact that only 11 of their 23 goals this season were from open play would be a negative, but for Toney it almost works in his favour: he scored 12 out of 12 from the spot, taking his career record to 42 penalties converted out of 44. Quite aside from his physicality and movement, which helped turn the Euro 2024 quarter-final against Switzerland, that is a very useful weapon to be able to bring on for a shootout. So it's understandable that Tuchel wants a look at Toney, to see whether he has lost his edge, to work out whether he can fit into his vision for the team. Tuchel has acknowledged that he would have liked to go to Saudi Arabia to watch Toney in action but, having been unable to fit that into his schedule, it makes sense to see him in a squad environment. Whether he plays against Andorra is probably less important than the impression he has made more generally in this camp. Pre-tournament camps, of course, are always the stuff of legend. West Germany were adamant that the 1954 World Cup was won by the Kameradschaft generated at Spiez on the Thunersee before the tournament. The Italy squad of 1982 and the France squad of 1998 talk about how they bonded against the common enemy of a critical media. Pelé led the 1970 Brazil squad in communal prayer sessions. However it is achieved, a sense of togetherness is vital. Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion With time limited, this international break represents a rare chance for Tuchel and his squad to spend time together, to foster that team spirit – which, having been good for three tournaments under Gareth Southgate, seemed lacking at Euro 2024. That's why Tuchel insisted on warm-weather training and took the squad to the Barcelona grand prix last Sunday. Some tactical work may have been done, but this was far more about trying to recreate the inflatable unicorns of 2018, or at least the bonds they represented. And this is the right time to do it. England cannot take Serbia or Albania lightly, and club commitments restrict the time available during the season. But with no English representation in the Champions League final, before a June qualifier against the team ranked 173rd in the world and a friendly on Tuesday against Senegal, there is some leeway in the calendar. Whether it has worked will become apparent only next summer at the tournament. Either way, this week and the two games to come are not about the result or even about the performance; rather they're about what goes on behind the scenes in terms of refining the squad and engendering the right mentality.
The 42
02-06-2025
- Sport
- The 42
The Irish international who went from a chocolate factory to Bayern Munich trials
A GOOD pub quiz question for Irish soccer aficionados: can you name the nine Irish internationals who made the squad for all three tournaments that the team qualified for during the Jack Charlton era? If you've already read the excerpt for this article, you might have guessed that David Kelly is one of them. The other eight are Packie Bonner, Kevin Moran, Paul McGrath, Ronnie Whelan, Ray Houghton, John Aldridge, Tony Cascarino and John Sheridan. Kelly is probably the least high-profile of that group, but his footballing story is as remarkable as any of them. 'How lucky I was to become a professional footballer is the overriding thought throughout the whole of my career,' Kelly tells The 42. Nowadays, the most talented English-based footballers typically join the academies of top clubs before they are teenagers, with a minority going on to sustain a career. Kelly's journey was the antithesis of that pathway. Until the age of 18, the striker was working as a trolley porter at Cadbury's chocolate factory in Bournville. At the same time, the Birmingham-born star was playing non-league football with Alvechurch. His performances at this level attracted the attention of Walsall. While starring for just over four seasons in English football's third tier, Kelly came onto the radar of Ireland boss Jack Charlton. Kelly's father had moved across the water from Dublin in the early 1960s, not long before the future star was born in '65. 'The brothers and sisters all came over en masse,' he says. 'And everybody settled in Birmingham.' The 59-year-old can still vividly recall the day he received news of his first call-up. Kelly had been called into the England U21 squad earlier that month for a game against Czechoslovakia, but describes the decision on his international future as a 'no-brainer' once 'Big Jack' approached him in a smoky room at Millmoor, which was Rotherham United's ground at the time. 'Jack was there with [Ireland assistant boss] Maurice Setters,' Kelly remembers. 'He went: 'So you fancy coming and playing for me then, son?' I said: 'I'd absolutely love to, Jack.' I said: 'Can I ask a question?' 'Go on.' ''Is it the U21s, or the first team?' He said: 'It's the first team.' 'Am I going to play or will I be on the bench?' 'No, the plan is to play you.' 'I went: 'That'd be brilliant. I'd love to.' And that was the end of the conversation. He turned his back on me, carried on drinking his pint of bitter and smoking his cigar. He and Maurice just turned away from me, and that was the end of it. I just waited for probably five or 10 seconds and thought: 'Right, that's the end of that conversation, I need to go.'' Ireland manager Jack Charlton and assistant manager Maurice Setters (file pic). Billy Stickland / INPHO Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO Kelly was still a Division Three player at the time, and some initially doubted the veracity of his claims of a call-up. 'I got back on the bus at Rotherham with all the Walsall players, and I can remember telling my mate Mark Rees that I'd just been picked for the Republic of Ireland, and nobody believed me. They thought I was telling porkies.' His November 1987 debut in a friendly against Israel at Dalymount Park could not have gone much better. Kelly hit a hat-trick for the Boys in Green, becoming just the fifth player to achieve that feat. To this day, post-war, there are only five others to emulate him — Don Givens, John Aldridge, David Connolly, Robbie Keane and Callum Robinson. His proud father was watching on, as were '1000 cousins, aunts and uncles that I'd never met before'. There were 16 brothers and sisters in his dad's family alone. In a 10-year international career, though, Kelly admits he never felt like he was the first-choice striker. Advertisement In the three tournaments Ireland qualified for, he made one appearance — coming off the bench in the 0-0 draw with Norway at USA '94. But Kelly kept turning up regardless, ending his career with a creditable nine goals from 26 appearances — in the latest squad, Robbie Brady is the only player who has scored more (10 goals from 70 caps). What encouraged him to show up for duty despite the sporadic game time was the squad camaraderie. 'Whoever came in, and I say this quite openly, there were no knobheads in the squad,' he says. 'I knew my place, and I knew there were quality people sometimes in front of me, but I was prepared to dig in and do my best at every opportunity I got. 'I played in the [League Cup] final for Tranmere against Leicester City. And I don't think I went to sleep for three days because I was that excited about playing at Wembley, and that was similar to being away with the Ireland team, because I didn't want to miss out on anything. If everybody was going out, or everybody was having a game of golf, or everybody was going for a drink, training, whatever, I wanted to be involved in all of it.' Probably Kelly's most famous moment in an Irish jersey was scoring the opening goal in a notorious friendly against England at Lansdowne Road, which was abandoned when British hooligans began rioting in the stadium. Kelly's personal feelings on the night are bittersweet. He describes it as one of the biggest disappointments of his career — the fact that potentially scoring the winning goal against the country of his birth was taken away from him. 'But in my house, I still scored that goal. So I still count it. And I will forever do that because, whether I'm remembered quite fondly by whoever, ultimately that was another international goal for me.' Ireland's David Kelly scores a goal despite the efforts of Gary Pallister and goalkeeper David Seaman of England. James Meehan / INPHO James Meehan / INPHO / INPHO The former star these days sees some of his old Ireland teammates now and then. They all met up to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Italia '90 earlier this year, while he will also run into some familiar faces at various English grounds, as he frequently commentates for BBC Radio West Midlands. **** Kelly's career as a footballer was all the more extraordinary when you consider the trajectory of his childhood. He suffered from Legg–Calvé–Perthes disease, a hip disorder. It meant that at one point, his left leg was four inches shorter than the right one, and he was confined to crutches until around the age of 10. 'It didn't stop me playing football on crutches when I was five, six, seven and eight, I was just a little bit different. 'I was pretty good with four legs…. Well, three and a half. 'We're all built very differently, and we all cope with different stresses at different points in all of our lives and stuff. 'I was a really happy kid. I was happy living in Weoley Castle when I was a child. My family were great. And I was playing football from the age of 10 for four different teams, four days a week. Because that's what I wanted to be, a professional footballer. 'Once I got into the last year of primary, I was up and running properly. And then when I went to senior school at 11, I played everything — basketball, cricket, rugby, squash, tennis, anything that was available. 'If you're determined enough, then your obstacles are there to be jumped over, aren't they?' In this context, Kelly's 18-year career as a professional looks even more impressive. And it might have been even better had a move to German giants Bayern Munich come to fruition. 'My agent, Dennis Roach, had a friend over at Bayern. Walsall permitted me to go because I was out of contract a couple of weeks later, and I had a trial game with the reserves versus the first team. 'I scored quite a lot of goals when I was playing. I scored a hat trick in the first game. And they offered me a contract. 'But the problem was, back in the day, there were only two foreign players allowed at each club. And they had already got their quota. So they wanted me to sign for Bayern, and then I would be loaned out to another German team until they got rid of somebody. And then I would go back to Bayern a couple of months later. 'The rules were completely different back in the day, and I just couldn't see where going over there and then not playing for the team that you signed him for was the best idea. So I ended up going to West Ham.' David Kelly pictured during his time with Derry City. INPHO INPHO Perhaps fittingly, Kelly's final game as a professional came on Irish soil. 'I went from Motherwell to Mansfield, then to Derry City within the space of about six months. I was trying to convince myself I was still okay to play, but it wasn't the case. I should have made the decision myself to retire, but I was so keen to continue playing. 'Jim Roddy, who was the owner of Derry, was a friend of a friend, and he asked me to go over and play. 'I said to him: 'If I can get a coaching job, I need you to shake my hand and say: 'Thanks ever so much. We'll just rip the contract up.' Take into consideration that I hadn't done any coaching badges or anything up to that point. 'I had played with Ray Mathias. He was [previously] part of John Aldridge's staff. He got the Tranmere job and invited me to go over, and Jim Roddy, bless him, released me from my contract.' The Derry stint lasted only a couple of months, but the veteran striker ended on a high note, playing in the 2002 FAI Cup final 1-0 win over Shamrock Rovers at Tolka Park. The fact that Kelly featured at all was a minor miracle. He was already coaching at Tranmere, who allowed him to return for this climactic encounter. He was due to travel from Birmingham on the morning of the final. After waiting for around three hours at the airport, his flight was cancelled. Kelly then proceeded to drive to Heathrow Airport — a distance of more than 100 miles — and fly to Dublin from London. 'I got there [to Heathrow] at 11.20, breaking a few speed limits on the way,' Kelly later told The Irish Independent. 'There, the girl on the desk told me a flight had just gone, but I found out that it was delayed and it wasn't going until 12.35. I thought: 'Great, I've got enough time to be at the ground an hour before kick off.' 'We got into Dublin at 1.40 only to be told there was no space at the airport to dock and we had to wait on the side of the runway for 20 minutes. I eventually got out of the airport after two o'clock, and two garda motorcyclists got me to the ground in 10 minutes. It was fantastic, like being with the Irish team again.' Since then, Kelly has worked many jobs in football — invariably as an assistant manager. Billy Davies, Dean Smith and Mark Robins are among the bosses he has coached alongside, while he was recently Troy Deeney's number two at Forest Green Rovers. While happy doing his radio work, Kelly is open to a return to coaching and says the League of Ireland would be of interest should an opportunity become available, citing the 'improved standard' compared to his time as a player there. 'I've applied for a few managerial jobs, not been able to get them, but such is life; there are lots of candidates out there. So again, going back to how I'm built, you move on and do something else. 'I've been an assistant to fabulous managers, some massive characters. We've been hired and fired on numerous occasions at different places. 'But I'm blessed by the fact that everybody that I've got involved with and work with, I'm still friends with to this day, so I'd like to get back in. But if I can't, I can't, that's part of life.'
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
🎥 Celebrating Leeds cult hero Pablo Hernández on his birthday 🎂
Leeds United have been graced by some iconic figures across their influential history. Names such as Billy Bremner, Jack Charlton, Norman Hunter, John Charles, and Eddie Gray highlight an illustrious past, while some closer to home such as David Batty, Lucas Radebe, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, and so many others, are remembered fondly in Yorkshire. Advertisement And then there are the cult heroes, too, of which Pablo Hernández is certainly among them. Having arrived at Elland Road already on the wrong side of 30, the Spanish midfielder would go on to become a fan favourite during his five seasons at Leeds, helping the club back into the Premier League for the first time since their heartbreaking relegation in 2003/04. Across his best-ever return on a personal level, Hernández would net 36 goals in 175 appearances, while also bringing home three consecutive club Player of the Year honours from 2017-2020. He may not be the most honourable name in club history, but El Mago will be remembered as one of their own. 📸 Stu Forster - 2021 Getty Images
