Gaffers (15 page)

‘The team spirit under Johnny was great. As I said, he involved everyone, and he was very approachable. Even if you were in the squad and on the bench, he made sure you felt like you were part of the team. I remember one time we were training out at our base near the airport and Johnny arranged for Pelé, who
was in the country with UNICEF, to come out and meet us. Pelé shook every one of our hands. It was fantastic.’

Jimmy Holmes, who is Ireland’s youngest-ever debutant, played thirty times for the national side before an injury during a challenge for the ball in an international game ended his career: ‘I remember the game. It was against Bulgaria in Sofia in 1979. It was very unfortunate. It was a 50–50 ball, but, you know, when it’s your country you don’t pull out of them. That was it for me.

‘In all I played for Ireland for eight years, and it was an amazing experience. Giles was the best manager I played under. He was a perfectionist and really looked after his body. And it showed, as he kept playing with Ireland until he was thirty-nine, which was some achievement.

‘The FAI did not have a lot of money, but they did the best they could. We sometimes used to get frustrated travelling with the press and fans, but there was always good banter. I remember Johnny would say to us that if a hotel was not great – and there were some dodgy hotels – we should show our professionalism on the pitch. Johnny brought a more professional approach and attitude to our game. He was a great man for pulling you aside and having a pep talk with you. Some players need that approach.’

John Wilkes senior, who would later coach under Giles at Shamrock Rovers, reckons that Ireland were maybe not ready to move forward as fast as they had in such a short space of time: ‘I think that when Johnny came in, Ireland was still in the doldrums internationally. The FAI had set about revamping the set-up and change was taking place. In those days if you were at an Ireland match the fans would cheer when the goalkeeper kicked the ball out long to the centre-forward. However, Johnny
wanted to play football a different way, and the supporters might not have been ready for it. They were not used to seeing the keeper roll the ball to the defender and build from the back. It was about possession and passing, but Johnny got a lot of stick for it, as it was perceived as negative football. [Irish football was used to a kick and rush game where the idea was to get the ball to the front men as fast as possible, but Johnny’s system was to keep possession, with the idea that if you had the ball then the other team could not score.] The perception was that Johnny’s system was to kill games off, hold onto the ball and play for draws, but the truth is his teams never played for 0–0 draws. He wanted to win, but win playing in a certain way. I still think it was unfortunate he left when he did. I think if he had been there for 1982 when we lost out on goal difference he would have made a difference, but in the end his private life was being affected by the public criticisms.’

While he was manager of Ireland, Giles also managed West Bromwich Albion and Shamrock Rovers. His time at Albion was very successful, with the club being promoted to the First Division in 1976 and then not only staying afloat, but finishing an impressive seventh in his first season managing in England’s top division.

John Wilkes senior was a youth-team coach with Shamrock Rovers and was part of the new-look backroom team under Giles: ‘I first encountered Johnny through my work with youth-team football at Cherry Orchard. I had run a successful youth team there, and a lot of players from the 1975 team had been signed by Shamrock Rovers, so I had a reputation and was known in youth football. I had been recommended to Johnny, and we spoke about what he was trying to achieve and set up. He had taken the reins at Shamrock Rovers under the Kilcoynes [the club’s owners] and wanted to re-establish the youth setup. Johnny took the job at a large financial loss, especially compared to what he could have earned in England. The idea of his appointment was right, but I don’t think the investment was there to back it up. Johnny believed in the project, and his heart was definitely in it. He wanted to get the youth scheme up and running, with players who would play football a certain way. He wanted to play a passing game, but the pitches in Ireland in those days were not suitable for that kind of approach. Johnny had come from a full-time background in England, and his preparation and training were way ahead of what we had here. In those days part-time footballers only trained twice a week – Johnny changed that, though. Johnny brought a more professional and full-time approach to the training set-up: even though the players were part-time, the commitment was full-time. Players would come in at weekends for training, and on Sundays before a game we would have a light training session followed by lunch followed by the match. It was unheard of in those days.

‘The likes of Johnny Fullam, Alan O’Neill, Alan Campbell, Pierce O’Leary and Jim Beglin all came through the system, and they understood what Johnny was trying to achieve and how he wanted to play. It was a different style of management for these players. Johnny liked to talk calmly and constructively. This was new to a lot of people. Also, his retention of information was unbelievable. He could remember aspects of a game and analyse it as if he had a monitor in front of him. It was an interesting and illuminating time, especially from the coaching side of things. Sadly, it all comes back to results. With the setup that was in place Rovers were expected to win everything in sight. Results were hard to come by, and in the end he turned to the big names such as Ray Treacy, Eamon Dunphy and Eoin Hand to help the team fight and scrap for wins.

‘When there was no sign of that dominance, I think people, including Johnny himself, became disillusioned, and in the end he left Rovers by mutual consent. You would think that it would have been good for the League to see a team set up professionally and have a good youth set-up, but there was a lot of opposition to what Rovers were trying to achieve. Barriers were put up to stop us. Professional apprentices were prevented from playing in the local Leagues. Then when a good player came through the system, they were sold to fund the project, the likes of Alan Campbell, Pierce O’Leary and Jim Beglin all being sold on. Personally, it was a great experience working with Johnny, and my time in the game afterwards at schoolboy level was pretty successful, much of which I attribute to what I learned from him. He was a superb person to work with.’

JOHNNY GILES THE FOOTBALL PUNDIT

Since retiring from the everyday hustle of football management, Giles has settled into a career as a pundit and forms part of the team for RTÉ’s Champions League coverage and also their Premier League show. Giles also writes columns for
The Evening Herald
, a Dublin-based newspaper, as well as being involved in radio. His columns and punditry are renowned for their honesty and insightfulness. His relationship with the shows’ other pundit, Eamon Dunphy, forms the basis for the success of both shows.

Here are some of the more entertaining Johnny Giles quotations from his role as football pundit:

Johnny Giles achieved fantastic success as a player and as a manager, and then made a success of his career in TV. It is a testament to the man that he will always be remembered as one of Ireland’s most successful gentlemen of football.

JOHNNY GILES’ CLUB MANAGERIAL HONOURS RECORD:

FAI Cup – Shamrock Rovers 1978

JOHNNY GILES’ IRELAND RECORD:

Total number of games in charge: 38
Total number of wins: 15 (ratio 39.47%)
Total number of draws: 9 (ratio 23.68%)
Total number of losses: 14 (ratio 36.84%)
Biggest win: 4–0
v
. Turkey
Biggest defeat: 4–1
v
. Czechoslovakia
Longest run without defeat: 8 games

Alan Kelly senior will long be remembered as one of the true legends of Irish football. A fantastic goalkeeper who played at the highest level in England, Kelly was a hero to fans wherever he played. Whether it was with Drumcondra in Dublin, Preston North End in England, the Republic of Ireland or, later in his career as a coach with DC United in America, Kelly always demonstrated devotion and loyalty to a game he clearly loved.

Over the years Ireland has produced some fantastic goal-keepers. From Gerry Peyton and Packie Bonner right through to Shay Given, it seems to be in the genes of Irish football to produce goalkeepers of world-class ability. However, to many people Alan Kelly is the father of Irish keepers.

While footballing siblings are not uncommon, and there are a number of sons who have followed their fathers into football, it is very rare to come across a footballing dynasty and rarer still to find a goalkeeping dynasty. However, that is what Alan Kelly senior and his sons achieved. Alan senior and his youngest son Alan were full Ireland internationals while eldest son Gary was
an Under-21 and B international; these achievements, coupled with his own net-minding talents, ensured that Alan senior would long be remembered in footballing circles.

Kelly is also the only Ireland manager to have a 100 per cent record, winning his only game in charge in 1980. Other commitments prevented him from taking the job on full-time, and just as with Seán Thomas in the 1970s, we will never know how successful he could have been.

EARLY LIFE AND PRESTON NORTH END

Born in Dublin in July 1936, Alan Kelly began his career with Bray Wanderers before making the short move to Dublin to join Drumcondra. A two-year stint with the north Dublin side saw him impress enough to make the move to England with Preston North End. Preston would become Kelly’s life – he spent fifteen years there as a goalkeeper before moving into coaching and later management with the club. In all he made 513 appearances for Preston, with 447 in League games which to this day remains a club record. However, it could have been much more had a shoulder injury, suffered in a game against Bristol City in 1973, not curtailed his career at the age of thirty-seven, considered young by today’s goalkeeping standards.