Gaffers (19 page)

‘We ended up finishing fourth in that campaign, and even though I knew I was not going to get offered another term in charge, I didn’t want another campaign anyway. That third campaign had been tough. I had a young family, and they often suffered as a result of my commitments to the team. After six years in the job I knew what it was like to be a hero and then the opposite. At that time I was managing St Patrick’s Athletic and also running a business in Dublin, so it was very demanding.

‘The Ireland manager’s job was part-time before Jack Charlton, but it was very much a full-time commitment. I tried to get as involved as I could. I would fly to England the Wednesday before a game and watch the match that had the most Irish players in it. Even though I was part-time, I worked full-time on the role. I would scout the opposition – I travelled to Moscow to see Russia play Denmark, and I watched France play – and I would try to exploit any weaknesses I saw. I’d head over to England quite regularly to see the players in action. It was very full on.

‘In those days Manchester United versus Spurs was a good game for Irish players. As soon as the match was over I would be in the secretary’s office ringing around to the other clubs to see
if the players could get over to Ireland as soon as possible. I also wanted to know about any injuries as soon as possible. If you had left it to the FAI, you would only find out on the Monday or maybe the Tuesday who was not available. I tried my best to change things in other ways for the team – for example, travel arrangements and hotels. Ireland used to stay in the Green Isle Hotel and then train over in Crumlin. The pitch was not in a good state, and we had to travel over there. I changed it so that we stayed out by the airport in the International Hotel, as it was called then. We then trained over the road. And I would always interact with the travel agent about the flights and hotels for away games. I know that Johnny Giles, for example, was never involved in this side of things, but I felt it was one area that I could improve upon.

‘We only had two days preparation, so there was not much time for tactics. We only had one winger at a time, so I played a 4–3–3 system. I tried to keep it as simple as possible, and I played a system to suit the players. Jack did the opposite. He had a system, and the players had to fit into it. It’s hard to argue with his philosophy, as he got results, but I think the football we played was more attractive, if not quite cavalier. It’s disappointing that we did not qualify for a major tournament.

‘There were strong characters in my team, although not as many as there were in Jack’s and Mick’s teams, and if they were out, you really missed them. Since the retirement of Roy Keane, Ireland are missing that a bit, although Richard Dunne is a strong character in the team. These are men who do not need telling what to do. The likes of Kevin Moran, Andy Townsend, Paul McGrath, Mick McCarthy, Ronnie Whelan and Ray Houghton were all men who knew what was needed.

‘My last game in charge was a 4–1 defeat to Denmark. They had a great team then, with Michael Laudrup one of their stars. I indulged myself that day, and my experiment answered a couple of questions I had. We played a 3–4–3 system but were rubbish and could not handle the system or the Danes. We scored first through Stapleton, but they hit back with four. I had Kevin Moran man-mark Laudrup, with Lawrenson as sweeper, but the players were not used to it. They all played 4–4–2 and 4–3–3 with their clubs. It confirmed what I knew, though, about the preparation needed. Competitive matches were about getting results, and you could not try out new things in these games, while you were often missing the big names for the friendlies. I remember playing against Israel and adopting a diamond formation. Again, we lost, as the players were not used to it. One day’s preparation was not enough.

‘If you look at my record, my win ratio at competitive level is quite good. Out of twenty-three competitive games I won nine, drew five and lost nine, while in seventeen friendly games my record is two wins, four draws and eleven defeats – big difference.’

After the close call of the 1982 qualifying tournament, expectations were high for the European qualifiers in 1984. However, Eoin and Ireland failed to deliver once again, finishing third in their qualifying group, four points off group winners Spain and runners-up Holland. Following this Eoin decided once again to combine a club job with the national job and became the manager of St Patrick’s Athletic. A disappointing eleventh place finish in the League saw Eoin leave the club after only one season. Two successive third place finishes were followed by a fourth place for Ireland in the qualifying groups for the 1986 World Cup. That
campaign saw Ireland suffer a humiliating defeat to Norway (who were not the international force that they became in the 1990s and 2000s) and the team appeared to be moving backwards. Hand finished the term of his contract and parted ways with the FAI. He was later replaced by Jack Charlton.

According to Johnny Matthews, ‘the general feeling was that Eoin was definitely unlucky during his time as Ireland manager. He narrowly failed to qualify for the World Cup, missing out to a late goal and having a genuine goal disallowed. The FAI should have given him more time. He suffered from the fact that he had not played at the highest level and was not a big name.

‘Hand was and still is the youngest-ever manager of Ireland, and he probably needed more experience or even a guiding hand in the set-up – a bit like Steve Staunton received – to help his development. A lot of kudos goes to Jack and the work he did, but the groundwork for that was laid by Eoin. He was the initial advocate of the FAI’s grandparent rule – or “find an Irishman” rule, as I call it – that became popular under Jack Charlton.’

Dave Langan enjoyed his most productive spell in an Ireland jersey under the tenure of Eoin Hand and fondly recalls Hand as one of the nicest men he ever came across: ‘He was very good for me and my career. He gave me the most caps of any manager I played under, and he was always giving me good press. Eoin was different from his predecessor Johnny Giles, in that whereas Johnny was never too worried about the opposition and concentrated more on the players and their formation, Eoin focused more on the opposition and their players.

‘Eoin was not just a good manager, he was also a great singer and loved to be involved in the singsong after the game. He was a young manager at the time, but he and his assistant Terry
Conroy were a good team. I remember at one stage I was out injured for eighteen months, and Eoin would ring and ask me how my treatment was progressing and when I’d be able to return. It was great management, and made you feel wanted.

‘I think he liked my work rate. Eoin liked his players, quite naturally, to give 100 per cent. I remember one match in particular. We were playing Argentina, and Eoin asked me to man-mark Diego Maradona. It was one of the highlights of my career and a great show of faith in my ability. I didn’t get a roasting, either, although it was a friendly, so I am not sure if he was on top of his game. That said, I have never seen a player like him. His balance was amazing, and he’d just bounce off you.’

In 1988 Hand was appointed manager of Huddersfield Town and remained there until 1992. His career in management finished with a brief spell in charge of Shelbourne in 1994: ‘Managing Ireland opened doors for me though, and helped raise my profile, especially in England. It was a great help, and managers knew who I was from dealing with me at international level. It was a great experience. When I took over I was thirty-four years old and when I left I was thirty-nine. I probably knew more at the end than I did at the start. It seems, though, that there is an unwritten law that you never get a second chance to manage your country.

‘When I was Limerick manager I was full-time with part-time players. When I was Ireland manager I was part-time with full-time professionals. It was not until I managed Huddersfield that I was finally full-time with full-time players. A manager’s job, whether it is supposed to be full-time or part-time, is an 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. job.

‘After the Ireland job I headed to Saudi Arabia, where the
standard was not as good but the money was much better. It was a role whereby I had to develop skills rather than work with the finished article. When you were working with the top players you never had to worry about their skill level.’

At the age of sixty-three, Eoin Hand remains an integral part of football in Ireland. Commuting between his home in Kerry and Dublin, Hand is the FAI’s player-support service manager, a role that involves helping young players. His assistant from his management days with Ireland, Terry Conroy, is also involved in the FAI player-welfare group. This represents part of the FAI’s commitment to football and gives guidelines to parents and guardians to help them encourage young people to play football. It also aims to enable coaches to maximise players’ enjoyment and potential. This is a massively important role in the future of Irish football, and it’s a testimony to what Hand has to offer that he is involved.

EOIN HAND’S CLUB MANAGERIAL HONOURS RECORD:

League of Ireland: Limerick FC 1980
FAI Cup: Limerick 1982

EOIN HAND’S IRELAND RECORD:

Total number of games in charge: 40
Total number of wins: 11 (ratio 27.50%)
Total number of draws: 9 (ratio 22.50%)
Total number of losses: 20 (ratio 50.00%)
Biggest win: 8–0
v
. Malta
Biggest defeat: 0–7
v
. Brazil
Longest run without defeat: 5 games

Good things come in pairs. Just like Bonnie and Clyde, Lennon and McCartney, Barbie and Ken, and Batman and Robin, the pairing of Jack Charlton with the Ireland soccer team was a match made in heaven. After the lack of success under Eoin Hand, and because of the perceived lack of a big-name Irish manager to lead the national side, the FAI took an unprecedented risk when they decided to appoint a man from outside Ireland. Their decision to hire an Englishman as the next Ireland manager was probably one of the bravest moves they ever made, and they certainly reaped the rewards.

While it is fair to say that Jack Charlton might not have been the first choice of the fans, he did not have to wait long to change people’s minds, and he will forever be etched in Irish footballing folklore – and not too many Englishmen can claim that honour. The man transformed Irish football in the 1980s and secured Ireland’s status as one of the most feared teams in Europe, with his own unique brand of football, albeit one that was often criticised. However, few can doubt the success that was
achieved, not to mention the heroes he helped create for young footballers around the country. His success contributed to the increased popularity of soccer in Ireland, really challenging the supremacy that the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) enjoyed at that time.

In an amazing six-year period from 1988 to 1994, Charlton guided Ireland to sixth place in the FIFA world rankings, the highest Ireland have ever reached in these rankings, not to mention two World Cups and one European Championship. In total Charlton reigned supreme for ninety-four matches. During that time a legend was born.

EARLY LIFE

The future Ireland manager was born John Charlton in Ashington, Northumberland, on 8 May 1935 into a family that had a strong tradition in the game. And it was not just any family, but probably one of the most famous in English footballing history. ‘You have to remember, football was part of me,’ Jack says. ‘I was brought up in a footballing family. My mother was a Milburn [ Jack’s cousin was Jackie Milburn, who played for Newcastle, while his uncles George and Jack both played for Leeds, as well as Bradford and Chesterfield respectively] and my brother Bob was a player [with Manchester United], so I was involved with football at a young age, and I understood it.’