Jackie Charlton, A Tribute

The town of Ashington said farewell to Jack Charlton, today (Tuesday 21^st July), as the townsfolk came out in their thousands to honour a local legend and international footballing icon, he was also a pretty good Angler. 

The people of Ashington paid their respects to a bloke who never forgot where he came from as his funeral cortege passed by Beatrice Street, where Jack once lived, and carried on through the town on his farewell lap of honour before heading to Newcastle Crematorium.

“Big Jack” was one of the few footballing folk to represent, as a manager, the rivals to whom he played for. He was also, perhaps, not given the credit he was due for his footballing career.

Coming from the mining town of Ashington it was perhaps expected that he would follow his Dad and go down the pit after leaving school. He didn’t disappoint, though for Jack he spent just 1 day in the bowels of our earth, decided it wasn’t for him and enrolled as a Police cadet.

A career in the force never materialised as Jack when the Police Cadet interview clashed with a trial for Leeds United, there wasn’t an option on career choice.

Elland Road.

After 2 years in the youth team he was signed on professionally by Leeds manager Major Buckley and unbeknown to Jack at that time other clubs’ scouts were watching him too.

When Jack got in to the team at Leeds around 1952 the other players weren’t that impressed with him. He’d obviously got something but he was yet to hone the skills he became famous for.

John Charles helped Jack’s game improve, Charles was moved to Centre Forward so Jack could play at Centre Half and the Welsh International was the perfect player for Jack to learn from. In the 1957/58 season, Leeds were back in the 1^st Division by now, Jack fell out of favour due to his general waywardness at that time of his life. A young man who was womanising and staying out late, he found his appearances reduced, that was until he met the woman who became his wife, Pat. A more settled bloke he got back in the team and became a respected member of the Leeds squad.

 The biggest influence on Jack’s career though was the appointment of Don Revie to the manager’s job. Revie, transformed the fortunes of Big Jack and Leeds United too, turning them in to one of the biggest clubs in the country in the latter half of the 1960’s and early 1970’s. It was under Revie's management that Jack became in international standard footballer. The side that Revie built gained support from people all over the country and as a lad growing up in Derbyshire I remember a fair amount of Leeds United fans from this era along with Derby County (which is expected) Manchester United and Chelsea. The same happened to Nottingham Forest under Brian Clough in the late 1970’s as football people liked what they saw of these legendary teams managed by men who would become household names.

 

The Revie Stand.

Jack’s game improved but his relationship with Revie was frought at the beginning to the point that he refused to sign a new contract. Liverpool and Manchester United both showed interest in the Leeds Centre Half but Bill Shankly wouldn’t put up the £1,500 difference in the clubs’ valuation and Matt Busby wanted to “wait and see” how another player fitted in at Old Trafford before making an offer. The Busby rebuttal made Jack realise how he’d behaved and he went to Revie, apologised and signed the new contract. He never looked back from that episode and stayed with Leeds throughout his playing career.

Revie built the team around Jack and Billy Bremner, Jack becoming renowned for his tackling and heading ability and he organised the Leeds defence, advising the younger players on their positional play, as they became one of the countries top clubs finding success in domestic football and just missing out so many times in the League, the FA Cup as well as Europe.

 Peter Lorimer was one of the young players under Jack’s wing and after a couple of years he turned round to Jack and said 'I'm sick of listening to you telling me what to do all the bloody time.' To which Jack replied, “Good lad, you'll be all right now, then”

His reputation and ability improved so much he was eventually picked by Alf Ramsay for England at the relatively late age of 29. The timing was perfect for Jack as he broke in to the England team in time for the 1966 World Cup and famously ended the tournament on his knees as a World Champion. 

It's unlikely we'll see so many English tournament winners with bald heads and combed over hair as well.

 Jack may not have had the skill of his peers, and he famously questioned Alf Ramsay over his selection, but he was an integral part of that England side and Revie’s Leeds side too.

 The “dirty Leeds” tag was very unfair in an era of hard men and tough tackling. Jack and the other Leeds defenders knew if you fouled around your own penalty box you were giving teams a goal scoring chance. Jack was a great tackler, his heading improved from his early career and he used it to repel the First Division and European teams of the time as well as pitching in with goals at the other end. Without Jack Charlton, Leeds United and England wouldn’t have been so successful.

 

Jack Charlton in action v Real Zaragoza.

Leeds big rivals under Revie were Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United with Derby County in the mix under Clough. The local rivals though were Middlesbrough who Jack went on to manage very successfully, getting them promotion in 1973/74 by winning the 2^nd Division Championship with a massive 15 points gap. In the title winning game at Luton he told his players to get a draw so they could celebrate the championship at Ayresome Park in the next game, he’s reported to have said “the buggers ignored me”.

 Managing the local rivals, Middlesbrough, didn’t alter Jack’s reputation at Leeds and neither did him being an Englishman affect how he is revered in the Republic of Ireland after his 10 year tenure there. Regularly qualifying for the final tournaments of the Euros, famously defeating England 1-0 in 1988 and World Cups, in particular a Quarter Final appearance in 1990 justifiably gave the man the adulation he deserved.

 Jack Charlton may not have been a flair player but he was a bloody good one and his teams got success because he was a part of it.

 R.I.P. Big Jack.

 

Elland Road in 2017/18.

 

 With special thanks to Dave who runs the excellent Leeds United history website The Mighty Mighty Whites for permission to use the Jack Charlton images. You can get his website at www.mightyleeds.co.uk

Bill