JACK CHARLTON was a football legend.
A World Cup winner with England and a Leeds United legend, Big Jack also oversaw a golden period for Irish soccer.
Under Charlton’s stewardship, the Republic of Ireland qualified for their first ever European Championship and their first ever World Cup, going all the way to the quarter-finals in the latter.
A unique character on and off the pitch, Charlton also had a particular way with words, which is why it’s well worth revisiting some of his very best quotes.
15. Tactics
"Of course it was a method of play you had to change because people get the idea once they have played against you."
14. Psychology
“It was a game we should have won. We lost it because we thought we were going to win it. But then again, I thought that there was no way we were going to get a result there.”
13. Work
“Nothing is given to you. You’ve got to work for it.”
'Guinness is better for you'12. Guinness
According to John Aldridge, if Charlton ever caught one of his players drinking a glass of coke, he would reprimand them: “What are you drinking that sh*t for? Guinness is better for you.”
11. Smoking
“After Ireland’s famous penalty shootout win over Romania at Italia 90, Charlton said: “I started smoking again. I hadn’t smoked in about two years.”
10. Suspicions
“I'm always suspicious of games where you're the only ones that play it.”
'I was very good at stopping other people playing football'9. Marketing
“Man United have shops all round the world. It’s a big money spinner, plus the fact that they change their strip every five minutes.”
8. Football
"I wasn't very good at playing football. But I was very good at stopping other people playing football"
7. Names
According to Alan McLoughlin, during one game against the Netherlands, Charlton told Mick McCarthy to “stay tight on Van Cleef”.
“Mick had to tell Jack that Lee van Cleef was a dead Hollywood film star!” McLoughlin explained in his autobiography.
'Can we go now please? I’d like a beer'6. Geography
“We probably got on better with the likes of Holland, Belgium, Norway and Sweden, some of whom are not even European.”
5. Substitutions
Ray Houghton recalls the time Charlton substituted him during a 1994 World Cup qualifier against Northern Ireland.
“I said: ‘I’m the only one getting any chances.’ He said: ‘You’re the only one missing chances.'”
4. Days
“I've seen them on television on a Sunday morning most days of the week.”
'If in winning we only draw we would be fine'3. Fame
Towards the end of his reign, when pundit Eamon Dunphy was calling on the manager to resign, Charlton lamented: “My refusal to answer questions from Dunphy was the biggest mistake I ever made. I made Eamon very, very famous.”
2. Winning
“If in winning we only draw we would be fine.”
1. Drink
After a 3-0 loss to Portugal, Charlton famously asked the media during his post-match press conference: “Can we go now please? I’d like a beer.”
See More: Jack Charlton, Republic Of Ireland, Soccer, World Cup
