Jack Charlton
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John Charlton (8 May 193510 July 2020) was an English
footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
and
manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...
who played as a defender. He was part of the England national team that won the 1966 World Cup and managed the Republic of Ireland national team from 1986 to 1996 achieving two World Cup and one European Championship appearances. He spent his entire club career with
Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...
from 1950 to 1973, helping the club to the
Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
title (1963–64), First Division title ( 1968–69),
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
(
1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...
),
League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
( 1968), Charity Shield ( 1969),
Inter-Cities Fairs Cup The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, sometimes referred to as the European Fairs Cup, Fairs Cities' Cup, or simply as the Fairs Cup, was a European Association football, football competition played between 1955 and 1971. It is often considered the predecess ...
( 1968 and
1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...
), as well as one other promotion from the Second Division (1955–56) and five second-place finishes in the First Division, two FA Cup final defeats and one Inter-Cities Fairs Cup final defeat. His 629 league and 762 total competitive appearances are club records. He was the elder brother of former Manchester United forward
Bobby Charlton Sir Robert Charlton (born 11 October 1937) is an English former footballer who played either as a midfielder or a forward. Considered one of the greatest players of all time, he was a member of the England team that won the 1966 FIFA World ...
, who was also one of his teammates in England's World Cup final victory. In 2006, Leeds United supporters voted Charlton into the club's greatest XI. Called up to the England team days before his 30th birthday, Charlton went on to score six goals in 35 international games and to appear in two
World Cups A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
and one European Championship. He played in the World Cup final victory over West Germany in 1966, and also helped England to finish third in Euro 1968 and to win four
British Home Championship The British Home Championship * sco, Hame Internaitional Kemp * gd, Farpais lìg eadar-nàiseanta * cy, Pencampwriaeth y Pedair Gwlad, name=lang (historically known as the British International Championship or simply the International Champio ...
tournaments. He was named
FWA Footballer of the Year The Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year (often called the FWA Footballer of the Year, or in England simply the Footballer of the Year) is an annual award given to the player who is adjudged to have been the best of the season in ...
in 1967. After retiring as a player he worked as a manager, and led
Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...
to the Second Division title in 1973–74, winning the Manager of the Year award in his first season as a manager. He kept Boro as a stable top-flight club before he resigned in April 1977. He took charge of
Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...
in October 1977, and led the club to promotion out of the Third Division in 1979–80. He left the Owls in May 1983, and went on to serve Middlesbrough as caretaker-manager at the end of the 1983–84 season. He worked as Newcastle United manager for the 1984–85 season. He took charge of the Republic of Ireland national team in February 1986, and led them to their first World Cup in
1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...
, where they reached the quarter-finals. He also led the nation to successful qualification to
Euro 1988 The 1988 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in West Germany from 10 to 25 June 1988. It was the eighth UEFA European Championship, which is held every four years and supported by UEFA. The tournament crowned the Nethe ...
and the 1994 World Cup. He resigned in January 1996 and went into retirement. He was married to Pat Kemp and they had three children.


Early life

Born into a footballing family in
Ashington Ashington is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, with a population of 27,864 at the 2011 Census. It was once a centre of the coal mining industry. The town is north of Newcastle upon Tyne, west of the A189 and bordered to the ...
,
Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...
, on 8 May 1935, Charlton was initially overshadowed by his younger brother
Bobby Bobby or Bobbie may refer to: People * Bobby (given name), a list of names * Bobby (actress), from Bangladesh * Bobby (rapper) (born 1995), from South Korea * Bobby (screenwriter) (born 1983), Indian screenwriter * Bobby, old slang for a constabl ...
, who was taken on by Manchester United while Jack was doing his
national service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...
with the
Household Cavalry The Household Cavalry (HCav) is made up of the two most senior regiments of the British Army, the Life Guards and the Blues and Royals (Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons). These regiments are divided between the Household Cavalry Regiment sta ...
. His uncles were Jack Milburn (
Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...
and
Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. ...
),
George Milburn George William Milburn (24 June 1910 – 24 June 1980) was an English footballer who played for Leeds United and Chesterfield. Biography Milburn was a member of the famous Milburn footballing family. His cousin Jackie, known as Wor Jackie, p ...
(Leeds United and
Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...
),
Jim Milburn James Milburn (21 September 1919 – 1 January 1985) was an English professional footballer who played as a left-back for Leeds United (220 appearances, 17 goals) and Bradford Park Avenue (90 appearances, 10 goals). He was a member of the famo ...
(Leeds United and Bradford Park Avenue) and Stan Milburn (Chesterfield,
Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
and
Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...
), and legendary Newcastle United and
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
footballer
Jackie Milburn John Edward Thompson "Jackie" Milburn (11 May 1924 – 9 October 1988) was a football player principally associated with Newcastle United and England, though he also spent four seasons at Linfield. He was also known as Wor Jackie (particularly ...
was his mother's cousin. The economy of the village of Ashington was based entirely on coal mining, and though his family had a strong footballing pedigree, his father was a miner. The eldest of four brothers – Bobby, Gordon and Tommy – the tight finances of the family meant that all four siblings shared the same bed. His father, Bob, had no interest in football, but his mother, Cissie, played football with her children and later coached the local school's team. As a teenager she took them to watch
Ashington Ashington is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, with a population of 27,864 at the 2011 Census. It was once a centre of the coal mining industry. The town is north of Newcastle upon Tyne, west of the A189 and bordered to the ...
and Newcastle United play, and Charlton remained a lifelong Newcastle supporter. At the age of 15 he was offered a trial at Leeds United, where his uncle Jim played at left-back, but turned it down and instead joined his father in the mines. He worked in the mines for a short time but handed in his notice after finding out just how difficult and unpleasant it was to work deep underground. He applied to join the police and reconsidered the offer from Leeds United. His trial game for Leeds clashed with his police interview, and Charlton chose to play in the game; the trial was a success and he joined the ground staff at Elland Road.


Club career

Charlton played for
Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...
's
youth team In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team in the future i ...
in the Northern Intermediate League and then for the third team in the Yorkshire League; playing in the physically demanding Yorkshire League at the age of 16 impressed the club's management, and he was soon promoted to the reserve team. Charlton was given his first professional contract when he turned 17. He made his debut on 25 April 1953 against
Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...
, taking
John Charles William John Charles (27 December 1931 – 21 February 2004) was a Welsh footballer who played as a centre-forward or as a centre-back. Best known for his first stint at Leeds United and Juventus, he was rated by many as the greatest all-ro ...
' place at centre-half after Charles was moved up to centre-forward. It was the final
Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
game of the 1952–53 season, and ended in a 1–1 draw. He then had to serve two years' national service with the Household Cavalry, and captained the Horse Guards to victory in the Cavalry Cup in
Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
. His national service limited his contribution to Leeds, and he made only one appearance in the 1954–55 season. Charlton returned to the first team in September 1955, and kept his place for the rest of the 1955–56 season, helping Leeds win promotion into the First Division after finishing second to
Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...
. He was dropped in the second half of the 1956–57 campaign, partly due to his habit of partying late at night and losing focus on his football. He regained his place in the 1957–58 season, and stopped his partying lifestyle as he settled down to married life. In October 1957 he was picked to represent the
English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engl ...
in a game against the
League of Ireland The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally us ...
. Leeds struggled after Raich Carter left the club in 1958, and
Willis Edwards Willis Edwards (28 April 1903 – 27 September 1988) was an English professional football player and manager. Biography Edwards was born in the mining village of Newton, North East Derbyshire, not far from Chesterfield and Alfreton. Like many b ...
and then
Bill Lambton William Lambton (2 December 1914 – 16 September 1976) was an English football player and manager. He played in goal for Nottingham Forest, Exeter City and Doncaster Rovers, although he made just three Football League appearances in total wi ...
took charge in the 1958–59 season as Leeds finished nine points above the relegation zone. Jack Taylor was appointed manager, and failed to keep Leeds out of the relegation zone by the end of the 1959–60 campaign. During this time Charlton began taking his coaching badges, and took part in
the Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the ...
's coaching courses at
Lilleshall Lilleshall is a village and civil parish in the county of Shropshire, England. It lies between the towns of Telford and Newport, on the A518, in the Telford and Wrekin borough and the Wrekin constituency. There is one school in the centre of ...
. Leeds finished just five points above the Second Division relegation zone in the 1960–61 season and Taylor resigned; his replacement,
Don Revie Donald George Revie OBE (10 July 1927 – 26 May 1989) was an England international footballer and manager, best known for his successful spell with Leeds United from 1961 until 1974, which immediately preceded his appointment as England manage ...
, was promoted from the United first team, and initially he was not fond of Charlton. Revie played Charlton up front at the start of the 1961–62 season, but he soon moved him back to centre-half after he proved ineffective as a centre-forward. He became frustrated and difficult to manage, feeling in limbo playing for a club seemingly going nowhere whilst his younger brother was enjoying great success at Manchester United. Revie told Charlton that he was prepared to let him go in 1962, but never actually transfer listed him.
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
manager Bill Shankly failed to meet the £30,000 Leeds demanded for Charlton and though Manchester United manager Matt Busby was initially willing to pay the fee he eventually decided to instead try an untested youngster at centre-half. During these discussions Charlton refused to sign a new contract at Leeds, but felt frustrated by Busby's hesitance and so signed a new contract with Leeds whilst making a promise to Revie to be more professional in his approach. The 1962–63 season was the beginning of a new era for Leeds United as Revie began to mould the team and the club into his own liking. In a game against Swansea Town in September, Revie dropped many senior players and played Charlton in a young new defensive line-up:
Gary Sprake Gareth Sprake (3 April 1945 – 18 October 2016) was a Welsh professional footballer. A goalkeeper, he played for Leeds United and Birmingham City and also won 37 caps for Wales. Sprake became known during his career as a brilliant goalkeeper ...
(goalkeeper),
Paul Reaney Paul Reaney (born 22 October 1944) is an English former international footballer. He played primarily as a right-sided full-back. He made 745 first-team appearances at Leeds United from 1962 to 1978, winning six major trophies under Don Revi ...
(right-back), Norman Hunter and Charlton (centre-back), and Rod Johnson (left-back). With the exception of Johnson, this defensive line-up would remain consistent for much of the rest of the decade. Charlton took charge of the defence that day, and insisted upon a zonal marking system; Revie agreed to allow Charlton to become the key organiser in defence. Aided by new midfield signing
Johnny Giles Michael John Giles (born 6 November 1940) is an Irish former association football player and manager best remembered for his time as a midfielder with Leeds United in the 1960s and 1970s. After retiring from management in 1985, Giles served as t ...
, Leeds put in a strong promotion challenge and finished fifth, before securing promotion as champions in the 1963–64 campaign, topping the table two points ahead of Sunderland. Other players that began to make their mark on the first team included Billy Bremner,
Paul Madeley Paul Edward Madeley (20 September 1944 – 23 July 2018) was an English footballer, who played for Leeds United and the England national team. During his career with Leeds, Madeley played in a variety of different playing positions which led to ...
and
Peter Lorimer Peter Patrick Lorimer (14 December 1946 – 20 March 2021) was a Scottish professional footballer, best known for his time with Leeds United and Scotland during the late 1960s and early 1970s. An attacking midfielder and the club's youngest-ever ...
. Leeds made an immediate impact on their first season back in the top flight, however the team gained a reputation for rough play, and Charlton said in his autobiography that "the way we achieved that success made me feel uncomfortable". They went 25 games unbeaten before losing to Manchester United at Elland Road – their title race meant that the two clubs built up an intense rivalry. Leeds needed a win in their final game of the season to secure the title but could only manage a 3–3 draw with
Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...
at St Andrew's – Charlton scored the equalising goal on 86 minutes but they could not push on for a winner. They gained some measure of revenge over Man United by beating them 1–0 in the replay of the
FA Cup semi-finals The FA Cup semi-finals are played to determine which teams will contest the FA Cup Final. They are the penultimate phase of the FA Cup, the oldest football tournament in the world. Location The semi-finals have always been contested at neutra ...
. Leeds met
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
in
the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
at
Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...
, and the game went into extra-time after a goalless draw.
Roger Hunt Roger Hunt (20 July 1938 – 27 September 2021) was an English professional footballer who played as a forward. Eleven years with Liverpool, he was the club's record goalscorer with 286 goals until being overtaken by Ian Rush. Nonetheless, ...
opened the scoring three minutes into extra-time, but seven minutes later Charlton headed on a cross for Bremner to volley into the net for the equaliser; with seven minutes left
Ian St John John "Ian" St John (; 7 June 1938 – 1 March 2021) was a Scottish professional football player, coach and broadcaster. St John played as a forward for Liverpool throughout most of the 1960s. Signed by Bill Shankly in 1961, St John was a key me ...
scored for Liverpool to win the game 2–1. United again competed for honours in the 1965–66 season, finishing second to Liverpool in the league and reaching the semi-finals of the
Inter-Cities Fairs Cup The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, sometimes referred to as the European Fairs Cup, Fairs Cities' Cup, or simply as the Fairs Cup, was a European Association football, football competition played between 1955 and 1971. It is often considered the predecess ...
. It was the club's first season in European competition, and they beat Italian side
Torino Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. T ...
, East German club
SC Leipzig 1. Fußballclub Lokomotive Leipzig e.V. is a German football club based in the locality of Probstheida in the Südost borough of Leipzig, Saxony. The club may be more familiar to many of the country's football fans as the historic side VfB Lei ...
, Spanish club
Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...
and Hungarian outfit
Újpest Újpest (; german: Neu-Pest, en, New Pest) is the 4th District in Budapest, Hungary. It is located on the left bank of the Danube River. The name Újpest means "New Pest" because the city was formed on the border of the city of Pest, Hungary i ...
, before they were beaten 3–1 by Spanish side
Real Zaragoza Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league system. Zaragoza holds its home games at L ...
at Elland Road in a tiebreaker game following a 2–2 aggregate draw. Charlton caused controversy against Valencia after he and defender Vidagany began fighting after Vidagany kicked Charlton in an off-the-ball incident; Charlton never actually struck the Spaniard, who hid behind his teammates. The 1966–67 season proved frustrating for United, despite the introduction of another club great in the form of Eddie Gray. Leeds finished fourth, five points behind champions Manchester United, and exited the FA Cup at the semi-finals after defeat to
Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
. They made progress in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, beating DWS (Netherlands), Valencia,
Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...
(Italy) and
Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...
(Scotland) to reach
the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
, where they were beaten 2–0 on aggregate by Yugoslavian outfit
Dinamo Zagreb Građanski nogometni klub Dinamo Zagreb ( en, Dinamo Zagreb Citizens' Football Club, link=yes, italics=yes), commonly referred to as GNK Dinamo Zagreb or simply Dinamo Zagreb (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. Dinamo ...
. At the end of the season he was named as the Footballer of the Year, succeeding his brother who had won the award the previous year. During the award ceremony he told a number of amusing stories and won a standing ovation from the crowd; this started him on a successful sideline as an
after-dinner speaker Public speaking, also called oratory or oration, has traditionally meant the act of speaking face to face to a live audience. Today it includes any form of speaking (formally and informally) to an audience, including pre-recorded speech delive ...
. Charlton developed a new ploy for the 1967–68 season by standing next to the goalkeeper during corners to prevent him from coming out to collect the ball; this created havoc for opposition defences and is still a frequently used tactic in the modern era. However, for the second successive season Leeds finished fourth and exited the FA Cup at the semi-finals, this time losing 1–0 to Everton at
Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...
. They finally won major honours by beating Arsenal 1–0 in
the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
of the
League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
; Terry Cooper scored the only goal of the game despite allegations that Charlton pushed goalkeeper
Jim Furnell James Furnell (born 23 November 1937 in Clitheroe, Lancashire) is a former English footballer, who played as a goalkeeper. Career Furnell started his career at his local club Burnley, signing at the age of 17. As third-choice keeper he only pla ...
in the build-up to the goal. Leeds then went on to lift the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup after beating
CA Spora Luxembourg CA Spora Luxembourg was a football club, based in Luxembourg City, in southern Luxembourg. It is now a part of Racing FC Union Luxembourg. History Spora was founded in 1923 as an amalgam of Racing Club Luxembourg and Sporting Club Luxembourg, ...
,
FK Partizan Fudbalski klub Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Партизан, ; en, Partizan Football Club), sometimes known as Partizan Belgrade in English, is a Serbia, Serbian professional football club (association football), football ...
(Yugoslavia), Hibernian (Scotland), Rangers (Scotland) and
Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...
(Scotland) to reach
the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
with Hungarian club Ferencvárosi. They won 1–0 at Elland Road and drew 0–0 in
Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
to claim their first European trophy. Charlton helped Leeds to their first ever
Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
title in 1968–69, as they lost just two games to finish six points clear of second-place Liverpool. They secured the title with a goalless draw at
Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892. ...
on 28 April, and Charlton later recalled the Liverpool supporters affectionately called him "big dirty giraffe" and that manager Bill Shankly went into the Leeds dressing room after the match to tell them they were "worthy champions". United opened the 1969–70 campaign by winning the Charity Shield with a 2–1 win over Manchester City, and went on to face realistic possibility of winning the treble – the league, FA Cup and
European Cup The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
. However they missed out on all three trophies as the games built up towards the end of the season, and the league title was the first to slip out of their hands as Everton went on to build an insurmountable lead. They then bowed out of the European Cup after a 3–1 aggregate defeat to
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...
, including a 2–1 loss at
Hampden Park Hampden Park (Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden''), often referred to as Hampden, is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The -capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland. It is the no ...
in front of a UEFA record crowd of 136,505. They took two replays to overcome Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-finals (Bremner scored the only goal in 300 minutes of football), but lost 2–1 in the replayed final to Chelsea after the original 2–2 draw, in which Charlton opened the scoring. Charlton took responsibility for
Peter Osgood Peter Leslie Osgood (20 February 1947 – 1 March 2006) was an English footballer who was active during the 1960s and 1970s. He is best remembered for representing Chelsea and Southampton at club level, and was also capped four times by Englan ...
's goal in the replay as he was distracted from marking duties as he was trying to get revenge on a Chelsea player who had kicked him. Charlton caused controversy early in the 1970–71 season as in an October appearance on the Tyne Tees football programme, he said he'd once had a "little black book" of names of players whom he intended to hurt or exact some form of revenge upon during his playing days. He was tried by the Football Association and was found not guilty of any wrongdoing after arguing that the press had misquoted him. He admitted that though he never actually had a book of names he had a short list of names in his head of players who had made nasty tackles on him and that he intended to put in a hard but fair challenge on those players if he got the opportunity in the course of a game. Leeds ended the season in second place yet again, as Arsenal overtook them with a late series of 1–0 wins despite Leeds beating Arsenal in the penultimate game of the season after Charlton scored the winning goal. The final tally of 64 points was a record high for a second-placed team. In the last ever season of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup they beat
Sarpsborg FK Sarpsborg Fotballklubb is a Norwegian football club from Sarpsborg, Viken. It was founded on 8 May 1903. Sarpsborg is one of the most successful teams in the Norwegian Football Cup, with six titles and twelve finals in total. In 2007, the club m ...
(Norway),
Dynamo Dresden Sportgemeinschaft Dynamo Dresden e.V., commonly known as SG Dynamo Dresden or Dynamo Dresden, are a German association football club based in Dresden, Saxony.Grüne, Hardy (2001). Enzyklopädie des deutschen Ligafußballs 7. Vereinslexikon. Ka ...
(Germany),
Sparta Prague ) but refer to Spartans as "''Rudí''" ( en, The Dark Reds/The Maroons).'' Letenští'' , ground = Generali Česká pojišťovna Arena , capacity = 19,416 , clubname = Sparta Prague , image = Sparta Praha logo.png , image_size = 160px , fu ...
(Czechoslovakia), Vitória (Portugal) and Liverpool to secure a place in the final against Italian club
Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...
. They drew 2–2 at the
Stadio Olimpico The Stadio Olimpico (English: ''Olympic Stadium'') is the largest sports facility in Rome, Italy, seating over 70,000 spectators. It is located within the Foro Italico sports complex, north of the city. The structure is owned by the Italian Na ...
and 1–1 at Elland Road to win the cup on the
away goals rule The away goals rule is a method of tiebreaker, tiebreaking in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. Under the away goals rule, if the total goals scored by each team are equal, the ...
. They had the opportunity to win the cup permanently, but lost 2–1 to
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
at Camp Nou in the trophy play-off game. Leeds finished second in the 1971–72 season for the third successive time, this time ending up just one point behind champions
Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 188 ...
after losing to
Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
at Molineux on the final day of the season. However Charlton managed to complete his list of domestic honours as Leeds beat Arsenal 1–0 in the
FA Cup final The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the most attended domestic football events in the world, with an official atten ...
; he kept
Charlie George Frederick Charles George (born 10 October 1950) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward. George began his career as a youngster with Arsenal and was part of their 1970–71 League and FA Cup Double-winning team ...
to a very quiet game as Leeds successfully defended their slender lead. Charlton was limited to 25 appearances in the 1972–73 campaign and suffered an injury in the FA Cup semi-final against
Wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; plural, : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been reco ...
which ended his season. After failing to regain his fitness for the final, he announced his retirement. Madeley played in his place but
Gordon McQueen Gordon McQueen (born 26 June 1952) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a centre-back for St Mirren, Leeds United and Manchester United. McQueen also represented Scotland. Playing career Club McQueen was a goalkeeper as a ...
had been signed as his long-term replacement. He played his testimonial against Celtic, and was given £28,000 of the £40,000 matchday takings.


International career

With Charlton approaching his 30th birthday, he was called up by Alf Ramsey to play for England against
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
at
Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...
on 10 April 1965. The game ended 2–2 despite England being forced to end the game with nine men after picking up two injuries; he assisted his brother Bobby for England's first goal. Ramsey later said that he picked Charlton to play alongside Bobby Moore as he was a conservative player able to provide cover to the more skilful Moore, who could get caught out if he made a rare mistake. The defence remained relatively constant in the build up to the
1966 FIFA World Cup The 1966 FIFA World Cup was the eighth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in England from 11 July to 30 July 1966. The England national football team defeated West Germany 4-2 in the ...
:
Gordon Banks Gordon Banks (30 December 1937 – 12 February 2019) was an English professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, he made 679 appearances during a 20-year professional caree ...
(goalkeeper), Ray Wilson (left-back), Charlton and Moore (centre-backs), and
George Cohen George Reginald Cohen (22 October 1939 – 23 December 2022) was an English professional footballer who played as a right-back. He spent his entire professional career with Fulham, and won the 1966 World Cup with England. He was inducted int ...
(right-back). After playing in a 1–0 win over
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
the following month, Charlton joined England for a tour of Europe as they drew 1–1 with
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
and beat
West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
1–0 and
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
2–1. He played in a 0–0 draw with
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
and a 2–1 win over
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
to help England win the
British Home Championship The British Home Championship * sco, Hame Internaitional Kemp * gd, Farpais lìg eadar-nàiseanta * cy, Pencampwriaeth y Pedair Gwlad, name=lang (historically known as the British International Championship or simply the International Champio ...
, though sandwiched between these two games was a 3–2 defeat to
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
– the first of only two occasions he was on the losing side in an England shirt. He played all nine England games in 1965, the final one being a 2–0 win over
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
at the
Santiago Bernabéu Stadium The Santiago Bernabéu Stadium ( es, Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, ) is a football stadium in Madrid, Spain. With a current seating capacity of 81,044, it has been the home stadium of Real Madrid since its completion in 1947. It is the second-larg ...
. England opened the year of 1966 on 5 January with a 1–1 draw with
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
at
Goodison Park Goodison Park is a football stadium in the Walton area of Liverpool, England. It has been the home stadium of Premier League club Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892. Located in a residential area 2 miles (3 km) north of Liverpool ...
; Ramsey's managerial ability was demonstrated during the game as the equalising goal came from Bobby Moore, who was allowed to surge forward as Charlton covered the gap he left behind in defence. Charlton played in six of the next seven international victories as England prepared for the World Cup. The run started with impressive victories over West Germany and then Scotland in front of 133,000 fans at
Hampden Park Hampden Park (Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden''), often referred to as Hampden, is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The -capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland. It is the no ...
. He scored his first international goal with a deflected shot on 26 June, as England recorded a 3–0 victory over
Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
at the
Helsinki Olympic Stadium The Helsinki Olympic Stadium ( fi, Helsingin Olympiastadion; sv, Helsingfors Olympiastadion), located in the Töölö district about from the centre of the Finnish capital Helsinki, is the largest stadium in the country, nowadays mainly used ...
. He missed the match against
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
but returned to action with a headed goal in a 2–0 win over
Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...
at Idrætsparken. England drew 0–0 in their opening group game of the World Cup against
Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
after the South Americans came to play for a draw. They then beat
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
2–0 after a "tremendous goal" from Bobby Charlton opened up the game shortly before the half-time whistle. England beat
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
2–0 in the final group game, with Charlton assisting
Roger Hunt Roger Hunt (20 July 1938 – 27 September 2021) was an English professional footballer who played as a forward. Eleven years with Liverpool, he was the club's record goalscorer with 286 goals until being overtaken by Ian Rush. Nonetheless, ...
after heading the ball onto the post. England eliminated
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
in the quarter finals with a 1–0 win – their efforts were greatly aided after Argentine centre-half Antonio Rattín was sent off for dissent, after which Argentina stopped attacking the ball and concentrated of holding out for a draw with their aggressive defending. England's opponents in the semi-finals were
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
, who had giant centre-forward
José Torres José ("Chegüi") Torres (May 3, 1936 – January 19, 2009) was a Puerto Rican-born American professional boxer. As an amateur boxer, he won a silver medal in the junior middleweight division at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne. In 1965, he d ...
to compete with Charlton for aerial balls. Late in the game Charlton gave away a penalty by sticking out a hand to stop Torres from scoring;
Eusébio Eusébio da Silva Ferreira (; 25 January 1942 – 5 January 2014), nicknamed the "Black Panther", the "Black Pearl" or "O Rei" ("The King"), was a Portuguese footballer who played as a striker. He is considered one of the greatest players of ...
scored the penalty but was largely contained by
Nobby Stiles Norbert Peter Stiles (18 May 194230 October 2020) was an English footballer and manager. He played for England for five years, winning 28 caps and scoring one goal. He played every minute of England's victorious 1966 FIFA World Cup campaign. In ...
, and England won the game 2–1 after two goals from Bobby Charlton. West Germany awaited in
the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
at
Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...
, and they took the lead through
Helmut Haller Helmut Haller (; 21 July 1939 – 11 October 2012) was a German footballer who played as a forward. At international level, he represented West Germany at three World Cups. At club level, he played in both Germany and Italy, and won Italian l ...
on 12 minutes; Charlton felt that he could have blocked the shot but at the time he believed that Banks had it covered, though it was Wilson who was at fault for allowing Haller the chance to shoot. England came back and took the lead, but with only a few minutes left in the game Charlton gave away a free kick after fouling
Uwe Seeler Uwe Seeler (; 5 November 1936 – 21 July 2022) was a German footballer and football official. As a striker, he was a prolific scorer for Hamburger SV and also made 72 appearances for the West Germany national team. Widely regarded as one of ...
whilst competing for an aerial ball;
Wolfgang Weber Wolfgang Weber (born 26 June 1944) is a German former footballer best remembered for scoring the last-minute equaliser for West Germany in the 1966 World Cup final. Playing career Weber, a central defender with 1. FC Köln in 356 Bundesli ...
scored the equalising goal from a goalmouth scramble created from the free kick.
Geoff Hurst Sir Geoffrey Charles Hurst (born 8 December 1941) is an English former professional footballer. A striker, he became the first man to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final when England recorded a 4–2 victory over West Germany at Wembley St ...
scored two goals in extra-time to win the game 4–2. After the World Cup England lost the annual Home Championship to Scotland after a 3–2 defeat in April 1967, Charlton scored for the second successive international game running after also finding the net against Wales the previous November. He injured his foot during the game as he broke two
sesamoid bone In anatomy, a sesamoid bone () is a bone embedded within a tendon or a muscle. Its name is derived from the Arabic word for ' sesame seed', indicating the small size of most sesamoids. Often, these bones form in response to strain, or can be pres ...
s in his big toe. As his career went on he began to miss England games with niggling injuries so as to avoid friendly games in favour of playing important matches for Leeds;
Brian Labone Brian Leslie Labone (23 January 1940 – 24 April 2006) was an English footballer who played for and captained Everton. A one-club man, Labone's professional career lasted from 1958 to 1971, during which he won the Football League championsh ...
would take his place in the England team during Charlton's absences. He was named in the squad for
UEFA Euro 1968 The 1968 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in Italy. This was the third UEFA European Championship, an event held every four years and organised by UEFA. The final tournament took place between 5 and 10 June 1968. It ...
, but did not feature in either of England's games. He won five caps in 1969, helping England to a memorable 5–0 win over
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
and scoring in a 1–0 win over Portugal from a corner taken by his brother Bobby. In mid-1970, Ramsey named Charlton in his squad of 22 for the 1970 World Cup in
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
. However, he favoured Labone over Charlton and only picked Charlton for his 35th and final England game in the 1–0 group win over
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
at the
Estadio Jalisco The Jalisco Stadium is a football stadium located in Guadalajara, Mexico. It is the third largest Mexican football stadium behind Estadio Azteca and Estadio Olímpico Universitario. The facility is located in the city of Guadalajara, Jalisco, 4 ...
. England lost in the quarter finals to West Germany, and on the flight home, Charlton asked Ramsey not to consider him for international duty again. He had agonised over how to break the news to Ramsey, and eventually said: "Great times ... absolute privilege ... getting older ... slowing down ... not sure I am up to it any more ... time to step down." Ramsey listened, then agreed with him: "Yes, I had reached that conclusion myself."


Managerial career


Middlesbrough

Charlton was offered the job as manager of
Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
club
Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...
on his 38th birthday in 1973. He declined to be interviewed for the position, and instead handed the club a list of responsibilities he expected to take, which if agreed to would give him total control of the running of the club. He refused a contract, and would never sign a contract throughout his managerial career. He took a salary of £10,000 a year despite the chairman being willing to pay a lot more; his only stipulations were a gentleman's agreement that he would not be sacked, assurances that he would have no interference from the board in team affairs, and three days off a week for fishing and shooting. He decided to first repaint Ayresome Park and to publicise the upcoming league campaign so as to generate higher attendance figures. Charlton took advice from Celtic manager
Jock Stein John "Jock" Stein (5 October 1922 – 10 September 1985) was a Scottish football player and manager. He was the first manager of a British side to win the European Cup, with Celtic in 1967. Stein also guided Celtic to nine successive Scottish ...
, who allowed him to sign right-sided midfielder
Bobby Murdoch Robert White Murdoch (17 August 1944 – 15 May 2001) was a Scottish professional footballer, who played for Celtic, Middlesbrough and Scotland. Murdoch was one of the Lisbon Lions, the Celtic team who won the European Cup in 1967. He later ...
on a free transfer. Besides Murdoch the club already had ten players who Charlton moulded into a championship winning side:
Jim Platt James Archibald Platt (born 26 January 1952) is a former footballer who played as a goalkeeper for Northern Ireland. Playing career During his career, Platt won 23 caps for Northern Ireland, an amount largely restricted due to the presence of ...
(goalkeeper), John Craggs (right-back), Stuart Boam and
Willie Maddren William Dixon Maddren (11 January 1951 – 30 August 2000) was an English professional football player and manager. A one-club man, he made all his professional club appearances for Middlesbrough between 1968 and 1979, and went on to manage ...
(centre-backs),
Frank Spraggon Frank Spraggon (born 27 October 1945) is an English former footballer who played in the Football League for Middlesbrough and Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, ...
(left-back), David Armstrong (left midfield),
Graeme Souness Graeme James Souness (; born 6 May 1953) is a Scottish former professional football player and manager, and current TV pundit. A midfielder, Souness was the captain of the successful Liverpool team of the early 1980s, player-manager of Ranger ...
(central midfield),
Alan Foggon Alan Foggon (born 23 February 1950) is an English former professional footballer. His regular position was as a forward. Early life Foggon was born in West Pelton, County Durham before moving to nearby Craghead where his father had taken up ...
(attacking midfield),
John Hickton John Hickton (born 24 September 1944) is an English former professional footballer who played in the Football League as a striker for Sheffield Wednesday, Middlesbrough and Hull City, and in the North American Soccer League for Fort Lauderdal ...
and David Mills (forwards). Some of these players were already settled at the club and in their positions, whilst Charlton had to work with some of the other players. He moved Souness from left midfield to central midfield to compensate for his lack of pace and coached him to play the ball forward rather than side to side as was his instinct. Foggon was played in a new role which Charlton created to break the offside trap set by opposition defenders, an extremely fast player he was instructed to run behind defenders and latch on to the long ball to find himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper. Middlesbrough secured promotion with seven games still to play of the 1973–74 season, and Charlton actually told his team to settle for a point away at
Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...
so they could win the title at home but his players ignored his instruction to concede a goal and the title was secured with a 1–0 win at
Kenilworth Road Kenilworth Road is an association football stadium in Luton, Bedfordshire, England. It has been the home ground of Luton Town Football Club since 1905. The stadium has also hosted women's and youth international matches, including the second ...
. They won the title by a 15-point margin (at the time only two points were awarded for a win); in contrast promoted Carlisle United (3rd) finished only 15 points ahead of
Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...
(20th), who were relegated. He was named Manager of the Year, the first time that a manager outside of the top-flight had been given such an honour. He continued to manage and change every aspect of the club, and took the decision to disassemble the club's scouting network to instead focus on local talent in
Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...
and
Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...
. His only major new signing of the 1974–75 season was Terry Cooper, a former Leeds United teammate. They adapted well to the First Division, finishing in seventh place, but would have finished fourth and qualified for Europe had
Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 188 ...
not scored a last second goal against them on the last day of the season. Building for the 1975–76 campaign he signed
Phil Boersma Philip Boersma (born 24 September 1949 in Kirkby) is an English former professional footballer, who played as a midfield/striker for Liverpool and Middlesbrough among others. Life and playing career He began his career with Liverpool, signin ...
from
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
to replace Murdoch, but Boersma never settled at the club and was frequently injured. They finished in 13th place, and went on to win the
Anglo-Scottish Cup The Anglo-Scottish Cup was a tournament arranged for teams in the English and Scottish football leagues during the summer for several years during the 1970s. It was created in 1975 as a new incarnation of the Texaco Cup, with a similar format t ...
with a 1–0 win over
Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...
. They also reached the semi-finals of the
League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
, and took a 1–0 lead over Manchester City into the second leg at
Maine Road Maine Road was a football stadium in Moss Side, Manchester, England, that was home to Manchester City F.C. from 1923 to 2003. It hosted FA Cup semi-finals, the Charity Shield, a League Cup final and England matches. Maine Road's highest atte ...
, where they were soundly beaten 4–0. However teams had begun to learn how to combat Charlton's attack strategy and left their centre-backs on the outside of the penalty box to neutralise the threat of Foggon. Despite the team's steady progress the club's board voted to sack Charlton in July 1976 after becoming increasingly concerned that he was overstepping his authority in negotiating business deals on behalf of the club and choosing the club's strip. However, the club chairman overruled the decision and Charlton remained in charge. With Hickton coming to the end of his career Charlton tried to sign
David Cross David Cross (born April 4, 1964) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, director, and writer known for his stand-up performances, the HBO sketch comedy series '' Mr. Show'' (1995–1998), and his role as Tobias Fünke in the Fox/Netflix si ...
as a replacement but refused to go above £80,000 and Cross instead went to
West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
for £120,000. Middlesbrough finished the 1976–77 campaign in 12th place and Charlton left the club at the end of the season on the belief that four years was an optimum time with one group of players and that he had reached his peak with them – he later regretted his decision and stated that he could have led the club to a league title if he had stayed and signed two more top quality players. He applied for the job of
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
manager after
Don Revie Donald George Revie OBE (10 July 1927 – 26 May 1989) was an England international footballer and manager, best known for his successful spell with Leeds United from 1961 until 1974, which immediately preceded his appointment as England manage ...
quit the role and after
Brian Clough Brian Howard Clough ( ; 21 March 1935 – 20 September 2004) was an English football player and manager, primarily known for his successes as a manager with Derby County and Nottingham Forest. He is one of four managers to have won the Engl ...
was ruled out by
the Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the ...
but did not receive a reply to his application, and he vowed never to apply for another job again and instead wait until he was approached.


Sheffield Wednesday

In October 1977, he replaced
Len Ashurst Leonard Ashurst (10 March 1939 – 25 September 2021) was an English football player, manager and administrator. He spent most of his playing career with Sunderland, making 458 appearances, the second most in the club's history. He retired a ...
as manager at
Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...
, who were then bottom of the Third Division. He appointed as his assistant
Maurice Setters Maurice Edgar Setters (16 December 1936 – 22 November 2020) was an English football player and manager. As a player, he made more than 400 appearances in the Football League for Exeter City, West Bromwich Albion, Manchester United, Stoke City, ...
, who had experience managing at that level but had effectively ruled himself out of another management job after taking
Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...
to court for unfair dismissal. The two agreed that while the standard of football in the division was low the work rates were high and so the best way to make progress would be to play long balls into the opposition penalty area whilst recruiting big defenders to avoid being caught out by opposition teams with similar tactics. He took the "Owls" to mid-table safety with a 14th-place finish in the 1977–78 season, though they did suffer embarrassment by being knocked out of the
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
by
Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division One West and Divisio ...
side
Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...
. His priority in summer 1978 was to find a target man for
Tommy Tynan Thomas Edward Tynan (born 17 November 1955) is an English retired professional footballer. A hard working striker with flowing blonde hair, Tynan was signed as an apprentice for Liverpool by manager Bill Shankly after winning a talent contest ...
to play alongside and he found it in
Andrew McCulloch Andrew McCulloch may refer to: *Andrew McCulloch (civil engineer) (1864–1945), Chief Engineer of the Kettle Valley Railway in Canada *Sir Andrew McCulloch (British Army officer) (1876–1960), commander of 52nd Lowland Division from 1934&ndas ...
, who arrived from
Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...
for a £70,000 fee. He signed
Terry Curran Edward Terence (Terry) Curran is an English former professional footballer whose career lasted from 1975 to 1988. Curran was an attacking midfielder, who could also play as a winger, and as an out and out striker. During his 13-year career ...
as a winger but eventually moved him up front to play alongside McCulloch. He sold goalkeeper Chris Turner to Sunderland and replaced him with the bigger
Bob Bolder Robert John Bolder (born 2 October 1958) is an English former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He started his career with local team Dover F.C. before moving to Sheffield Wednesday at the age of just 19. He played over 200 games whilst ...
. He further raised the average height of the team by signing uncompromising centre-half
Mick Pickering Michael John Pickering (born 29 September 1956) is an English former professional association football, footballer who played as a Defender (association football), central defender. Career Born in Mirfield, Pickering played for Barnsley F.C., ...
from
Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
. The team failed to advance in the league, finishing the 1978–79 season again in 14th spot. They did make their mark on the FA Cup in the Third Round by taking eventual winners Arsenal to four replays before they eventually succumbed to a 2–0 defeat. Charlton's major acquisition for the 1979–80 campaign was signing
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
international midfielder
Ante Miročević Ante Miročević (born 6 August 1952) is a former Montenegrin footballer who played as a midfielder. He earned six caps for Yugoslavia. He was the first player playing in a club from Montenegro to earn a cap for the Yugoslavia national team. Clu ...
for a £200,0000 fee from FK Budućnost Podgorica. Miročević proved unable to handle the British winter but otherwise added flair to the team in fairer weather. Wednesday went on to secure promotion with a third-place finish and Curran finished as the division's top-scorer. As the 1980–81 season came around Wednesday had young talent such as Mark Smith, Kevin Taylor,
Peter Shirtliff Peter Andrew Shirtliff (born 6 April 1961) is an English football coach and former player. As a player, he made more than 500 appearances in the Football League playing as a central defender for Sheffield Wednesday, Charlton Athletic, Wolverham ...
and
Mel Sterland Melvyn Sterland (born 1 October 1961 in Sheffield) is an English former professional Association football, footballer who played in the Football League for Sheffield Wednesday F.C., Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds United F.C., Leeds United and in t ...
breaking into the first team. The club were comfortable in the
Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
, finishing in tenth position. Wednesday pushed for promotion in the 1981–82 season but ended just one place and one point outside the promotion places and would have actually been promoted under the old two points for a win system that was replaced by the three points for a win system at the beginning of the campaign. In building for the 1982–83 campaign, Charlton signed experienced defender Mick Lyons from Everton and by Christmas Wednesday were top of the table. The club had a limited squad and successful cup runs took their toll, as did injuries to McCulloch and
Brian Hornsby Brian Hornsby (born 10 September 1954) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder for Arsenal, Shrewsbury Town, Sheffield Wednesday and Carlisle United in the English league. He also had short spells playing abroad ...
as they drifted down to sixth place by the close of the season. They reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup, losing 2–1 to
Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...
at
Highbury Highbury is a district in North London and part of the London Borough of Islington in Greater London that was owned by Ranulf brother of Ilger and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Roads. The manor house was sit ...
with key defender Ian Bailey out with a broken leg sustained the previous week. Charlton announced his departure from Hillsborough in May 1983 despite pleas from the directors for him to stay. In March 1984, Malcolm Allison left
Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...
and Charlton agreed to manage the club until the end of the 1983–84 to help steer the club away from the Second Division relegation zone. He was unpaid except for expenses and only took the job as a favour to his friend Mike McCullagh, who was the club's chairman. Middlesbrough ended the season in 17th place, seven points clear of the relegation zone.


Newcastle United

Charlton was appointed manager of Newcastle United in June 1984 after being persuaded to take the job by
Jackie Milburn John Edward Thompson "Jackie" Milburn (11 May 1924 – 9 October 1988) was a football player principally associated with Newcastle United and England, though he also spent four seasons at Linfield. He was also known as Wor Jackie (particularly ...
. Arthur Cox had left the club after leading the "Magpies" to the First Division and key player Kevin Keegan announced his retirement. His first action was to release
Terry McDermott Terence McDermott (born 8 December 1951) is an English former football midfielder who was a member of the Liverpool team of the 1970s and early 1980s, in which he won three European Cups and five First Division titles. He was capped 25 times ...
from his contract, who refused to agree to Charlton's offer of a new contract. He had little money to spend in preparation for the 1984–85 season, though he did have young talents in Chris Waddle and Peter Beardsley. He signed midfielder
Gary Megson Gary John Megson (born 2 May 1959) is an English former football player and manager. He has previously managed Norwich City, Blackpool, Stockport County, Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion, Nottingham Forest, Leicester City, Bolton Wanderers ...
and big striker
George Reilly George Reilly (born 14 September 1957) is a Scottish former footballer. He played for Corby Town, Northampton Town, Cambridge United, Watford, Newcastle United and West Bromwich Albion. Reilly scored the winning goal for Watford against Plymo ...
. The "Toon" finished safely in 14th place, and a teenage Paul Gascoigne was on the verge of breaking into the first team. Charlton resigned at the end of pre-season training for the 1985–86 campaign after fans at
St James' Park St James' Park is a football stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the home of Premier League club Newcastle United F.C. With a seating capacity of 52,305 seats, it is the eighth largest football stadium in England. St James' Park ...
started calling for his dismissal after the club failed to secure the signing of
Eric Gates Eric Lazenby Gates (born on 26 June 1955) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward. Gates' brother Bill was also a professional footballer who played for Middlesbrough from 1961 to 1973. Club career Ipswich Town ...
, who instead joined
Lawrie McMenemy Lawrence McMenemy MBE (born 26 July 1936) is an English retired football coach, best known for his spell as manager of Southampton. He is rated in the ''Guinness Book of Records'' as one of the twenty most successful managers in post-war Englis ...
at Sunderland.


Republic of Ireland

Charlton was approached by the FAI to manage the
Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...
in December 1985. His first game in charge was on 26 March 1986 against
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
at
Lansdowne Road Lansdowne Road Stadium ( ga, Bóthar Lansdún, ) was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) that was primarily used for rugby union and association football matches. The stadium was demolished in 2007 to make way for ...
which ended in a 1–0 defeat. In May 1986, Ireland won the
Iceland Triangular Tournament The Iceland Triangular Tournament was an international football tournament in 1986. All matches were played in Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík. The three teams competing were the Republic of Ireland, Iceland and Czechoslovakia. The Republic of Irel ...
at
Laugardalsvöllur Laugardalsvöllur () is Iceland's national football stadium and the home venue for the Iceland national football team. It is in Reykjavík with a capacity of 9,800. History The idea of building a sport venue in Laugardalur, along with some othe ...
, in
Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
's capital of
Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...
, with a 2–1 victory over
Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
and a 1–0 win over
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
. By this time Charlton had developed his tactics, which were based on the traditional British 4–4–2 system, as opposed to the continental approach of using deep-lying midfielders, as he noted that most of the Ireland international players plied their trade in England. Crucially he instructed all members of his team to pressure opposition players and in particular force ball-playing defenders into mistakes.


Euro 1988

Qualification Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to: * Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...
for
Euro 1988 The 1988 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in West Germany from 10 to 25 June 1988. It was the eighth UEFA European Championship, which is held every four years and supported by UEFA. The tournament crowned the Nethe ...
meant winning
a group The First Professional Football League ( bg, Първа професионална футболна лига, Parva Profesionalna Futbolna Liga), also known as the Bulgarian First League or Parva Liga, currently known as the efbet League for spon ...
containing Belgium,
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
,
Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
and
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
. The campaign opened with Belgium at the
Heysel Stadium The King Baudouin Stadium (french: Stade Roi Baudouin , nl, Koning Boudewijnstadion ) is a sports ground in north-west Brussels, Belgium. Located in the Heysel district of the City of Brussels, it was built to embellish the Heysel Plateau in ...
, and though Ireland contained danger man
Nico Claesen Nicolaas "Nico" Pieter Claesen (born 1 October 1962) is a former Belgian football player who works as head coach of RFC Liège. Career Claesen was signed by Tottenham Hotspur in October 1986 by David Pleat who bought him from Standard Liège f ...
, they had to settle for a 2–2 draw after conceding twice from corner-kicks;
Frank Stapleton Francis Anthony Stapleton (born 10 July 1956) is an Irish former professional football player and manager. He is best remembered for his time at Arsenal, Manchester United and as a pivotal player for the Republic of Ireland national team. H ...
and
Liam Brady William Brady (born 13 February 1956) is an Irish former footballer. He found success both in England with Arsenal, where he won an FA Cup in 1979, and in Italy with Juventus, winning two Serie A titles. Brady was capped 72 times for the Ireland ...
scored the goals for Ireland. They then dominated Scotland at
Lansdowne Road Lansdowne Road Stadium ( ga, Bóthar Lansdún, ) was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) that was primarily used for rugby union and association football matches. The stadium was demolished in 2007 to make way for ...
, but failed to find the net and instead drew 0–0. In the return fixture at
Hampden Park Hampden Park (Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden''), often referred to as Hampden, is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The -capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland. It is the no ...
Mark Lawrenson Mark Thomas Lawrenson (born 2 June 1957) is a former professional footballer who played as a defender for Liverpool, among others, during the 1970s and 1980s. After a short career as a manager, he then became a radio, television and internet pu ...
scored an early goal and another clean sheet won the Irish their first win of qualification. The campaign faltered with a 2–1 loss in Bulgaria, though Charlton was furious with referee
Carlos Silva Valente Carlos Alberto Silva Valente (born July 25, 1948 in Setúbal) is a retired Portuguese football referee. He is known for having refereed three matches in the FIFA World Cup, one in the 1986 and two in the 1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From ...
as he felt that both of
Lachezar Tanev Lachezar Tanev (born 1 October 1963) is a retired Bulgarian football midfielder. Tanev has been a licensed FIFA players agent since 1995. Tanev played club football for Spartak Pleven and PFC CSKA Sofia in the Bulgarian A PFG. He also had a sp ...
's goals should not have counted as
Nasko Sirakov Nasko Petkov Sirakov ( bg, Наско Петков Сираков; born 26 April 1962) is a Bulgarian retired professional footballer who played mainly as a striker. He is the major shareholder of Levski Sofia. Part of the Bulgaria national t ...
allegedly pushed
Mick McCarthy Michael Joseph McCarthy (born 7 February 1959) is a professional football manager, pundit, and former player. He was last in charge of EFL Championship club Cardiff City. McCarthy began his playing career at Barnsley in 1977, and he later had ...
in the build-up to the first and he felt that Sirakov was outside the penalty box when he was fouled by Kevin Moran – Valente instead gave a penalty. They picked up another point after a 0–0 draw with Belgium in
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
. Despite not particularly impressing, Ireland then picked up six points with two victories over Luxembourg. They ended the campaign with a 2–0 home win over Bulgaria, Paul McGrath and Kevin Moran the scorers, though Liam Brady (an ever-present in qualification) picked up a two match suspension after lashing out late in the game after being repeatedly kicked by Bulgarian midfielder
Ayan Sadakov Ayan Faikov Sadakov ( bg, Аян Фаиков Садъков) (26 September 1961 – 1 July 2017) was a Bulgarian footballer and a key member of the Bulgarian national team in the 1986 FIFA World Cup. Club career Sadakov began his club career ...
. Despite the victory the Irish had to rely on a favour from the Scots in order to qualify, who duly obliged with a 1–0 victory, courtesy of
Gary Mackay Gary Mackay (born 23 January 1964 in Edinburgh) is a Scottish former footballer, who made over 500 league appearances for Heart of Midlothian and also played for Airdrieonians and the Scotland national team. After retiring as a player, he m ...
– a substitute earning his first cap – in
Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...
to keep Bulgaria one point behind Ireland in the table. The build up to Euro 1988 in
West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
was far from ideal, as key player Mark Lawrenson was forced to retire after injuring his Achilles tendon, Liam Brady picked up a serious knee injury and
Mark Kelly Mark Edward Kelly (born February 21, 1964) is an American politician, former astronaut, and United States Navy captain who has served as the junior United States senator from Arizona since 2020. A member of the Democratic Party, he was electe ...
was also injured. The first match of the tournament was against
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
at the
Neckarstadion Mercedes-Benz Arena () is a stadium located in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany and home to German Bundesliga club VfB Stuttgart. Before 1993 it was called Neckarstadion (), named after the nearby river Neckar and between 1993 and Jul ...
, and Charlton reasoned that the threat posed by English wingers Chris Waddle and
John Barnes John Charles Bryan Barnes MBE (born 7 November 1963) is a former professional football player and manager. He currently works as an author, commentator and pundit for ESPN and SuperSport. Initially a quick, skilful left winger, he moved to ce ...
could be nullified by allowing the English defence to feel comfortable on the ball without allowing them a pass; this made the build-up play slow and containable. His game-plan worked and Ireland claimed a 1–0 win after
Ray Houghton Raymond James Houghton (born 9 January 1962) is a former professional footballer and current sports analyst and commentator with RTÉ Sport. As a player, he was a midfielder, notably playing for Liverpool where he won two First Division titles ...
secured an early lead. He then compensated for a series of injuries by playing
Ronnie Whelan Ronald Andrew Whelan (; born 25 September 1961) is an Irish former professional footballer player who played as a midfielder and sometimes as a defender. He played an integral role in the dominant Liverpool side that won a wealth of titles in ...
and Kevin Sheedy in central midfield, and was rewarded with a great performance and a good point in a 1–1 draw with the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
at the
Niedersachsenstadion Niedersachsenstadion (, ) is a football stadium in Hanover, Lower Saxony, Germany, which is home to football club Hannover 96. The original 86,000-capacity stadium was completed in 1954 and has since been rebuilt several times for various maj ...
, Whelan scoring the goal. To qualify they only needed a point against the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
at the
Parkstadion Parkstadion () was a multi-purpose stadium in Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, that is no longer used to host any major events. The stadium was built in 1973 and hosted five matches of the 1974 FIFA World Cup.Packie Bonner Patrick Joseph Bonner (born 24 May 1960) is an Irish retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper and spent his entire career at Celtic. He earned a total of 80 caps for the Republic of Ireland national football team after making his debut on h ...
that he was forced to abandon after referee
Horst Brummeier Horst Brummeier (born 31 December 1945) is a retired Austrian football referee. He is known for having refereed one match in the 1986 FIFA World Cup. He also refereed one match in the 1988 UEFA European Football Championship in West Germany ...
was less than impressed. Ireland lost the game 1–0 after
Wim Kieft Willem Cornelis Nicolaas "Wim" Kieft (born 12 November 1962) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a centre forward. Kieft went into punditry in 2001, occasionally appearing on football talk show ''Voetbal Inside'' A prolific ...
scored an 82nd-minute goal. England and Ireland were eliminated while Netherlands and the Soviet Union qualified – both teams would go on to contest
the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
, which the Dutch won 2–0.


1990 World Cup

Qualification Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to: * Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...
for the 1990 World Cup required Charlton to mastermind a top two finish in
a group The First Professional Football League ( bg, Първа професионална футболна лига, Parva Profesionalna Futbolna Liga), also known as the Bulgarian First League or Parva Liga, currently known as the efbet League for spon ...
consisting of
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
,
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
,
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
and
Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
. The campaign started on hostile ground at
Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
's
Windsor Park Windsor Park is a football stadium in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is the home ground of Linfield F.C. who own the land the stadium is built on, while the Irish Football Association own and operate the stadium and pay Linfield an annual renta ...
, and he had stand-in goalkeeper
Gerry Peyton Gerald Joseph Peyton (born 20 May 1956) is a football coach and former footballer who is currently the interim coach of Indian Super League club Odisha FC. A goalkeeper, Peyton had lengthy spells with Fulham and AFC Bournemouth. Following his re ...
to thank for the point gained from a goalless draw with Northern Ireland. A series of injuries left only a skeleton squad to face Spain at the Estadio Benito Villamarín, leaving a recall for defender
David O'Leary David Anthony O'Leary (born 2 May 1958) is a football manager and former player. His managerial career began at Leeds United, subsequently managing Aston Villa. He most recently worked as the manager of Al-Ahli Dubai. The majority of his 20-yea ...
, and Ireland were well beaten 2–0. They then left
Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
's Népstadion with a point from another goalless draw, though they were criticised for not taking all two points after dominating the game. The next four fixtures would be played at Lansdowne Road, and all four games ended in victory. First they beat Spain 1–0 after an own goal from Míchel, then they overcame Malta and Hungary with 2–0 wins, before beating Northern Ireland 3–0. Qualification for Ireland's first World Cup was assured at the
Ta' Qali National Stadium The National Stadium, locally also referred to as Ta' Qali, officially known as Grawnd Nazzjonali (Maltese language, Maltese for ''National Stadium''), is a stadium located in Ta' Qali, Malta. The stadium, which also contains the headquarters of t ...
after
John Aldridge John William Aldridge (born 18 September 1958) is a former football player and manager. He was a prolific, record-breaking striker best known for his time with English club Liverpool in the late 1980s. His tally of 330 Football League goals is ...
scored both goals in another 2–0 victory. Ireland's
group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...
opponents in
Italia Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
'90 were England,
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
and the Netherlands. Charlton felt that England's four-man midfield of Waddle, Barnes,
Bryan Robson Bryan Robson OBE (born 11 January 1957) is an English football manager and former player. He began his career with West Bromwich Albion in 1972, where he amassed over 200 appearances and was club captain before moving to Manchester United in ...
and Paul Gascoigne did not offer enough protection to the back four, and he was proved correct when Kevin Sheedy cancelled out
Gary Lineker Gary Winston Lineker (; born 30 November 1960) is an English former professional footballer and current sports broadcaster. He is regarded as having been one of the greatest English strikers. His media career began with the BBC, where he has p ...
's opener to secure a 1–1 draw in the group opener at the Stadio Sant'Elia. A poor performance against a negative Egyptian side at the
Stadio La Favorita Stadio Renzo Barbera (commonly known as La Favorita) is a football stadium in Palermo, Italy. It is currently the home stadium of Palermo F.C. team. The stadium was inaugurated during the fascist era on 24 January 1932, and was originally name ...
meant that neither side scored a goal in a dour draw. They ended the group with a 1–1 draw with the Dutch,
Niall Quinn Niall John Quinn (honorary MBE; born 6 October 1966) is an Irish former professional footballer, manager, businessman and sports television pundit. As a player he was a striker who played top flight football for Arsenal, Manchester City and S ...
cancelling out
Ruud Gullit Ruud Gullit (; born Rudi Dil; 1 September 1962) is a Dutch footballer and subsequent manager who played professionally in the 1980s and 1990s as a defender, midfielder or forward. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all ...
's opener in the 71st minute, after which both sides settled for a stalemate as a draw meant that both qualified ahead of Egypt. Ireland then defeated
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
in the Second Round match at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris which went to
penalties Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penalty ...
after a 0–0 draw, before the whole team had a meeting with
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
at the
Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...
. One of the most iconic moments from Ireland's unexpected success in '' Italia 90'', (the 1990 FIFA World Cup), took place at
Walkinstown Walkinstown () is a suburb of Dublin in Ireland, six kilometres southwest of the city centre. It is surrounded by Drimnagh to the north, Crumlin to the east, Greenhills to the south, and Ballymount, Bluebell, and Clondalkin to the west. Its ...
roundabout, Dublin on 25 June 1990 after Ireland beat Romania on penalties. Crowds emerged from the nearby public houses of the Kestrel and Cherry Tree and invaded the roundabout to celebrate the win. Amateur footage of the joyous scenes became synonymous with Ireland's success that year and epitomised the sense of hope which prevailed throughout the country, especially after a decade of economic recession. After Charlton passed away in 2020, fans gathered at the roundabout to recreate the moment and pay their respects to the past manager. Ireland eventually went out to the host country,
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, 1–0 in the quarter-finals at the
Stadio Olimpico The Stadio Olimpico (English: ''Olympic Stadium'') is the largest sports facility in Rome, Italy, seating over 70,000 spectators. It is located within the Foro Italico sports complex, north of the city. The structure is owned by the Italian Na ...
. A lapse of concentration meant that Italy's
Salvatore Schillaci Salvatore Schillaci (; born 1 December 1964), commonly referred to by his nickname Totò, is an Italian former professional footballer, who played as a striker. During his club career, he played for Messina (1982–1989), Juventus (1989–1992 ...
scored on 38 minutes, and Ireland failed to build up enough chances to find the equalising goal. After returning to
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
over 500,000 people turned out to welcome the team back.


Euro 1992 qualifying

Qualification for
Euro 92 The 1992 UEFA European Football Championship was hosted by Sweden between 10 and 26 June 1992. It was the ninth UEFA European Championship, which is held every four years and supported by UEFA. Denmark national football team, Denmark won the 19 ...
in Sweden left Ireland facing
a group The First Professional Football League ( bg, Първа професионална футболна лига, Parva Profesionalna Futbolna Liga), also known as the Bulgarian First League or Parva Liga, currently known as the efbet League for spon ...
of England,
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
and
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
. They opened in style with a 5–0 home win over the Turks and then drew 1–1 home and away with the English; Ireland were the better team than England in both encounters and Charlton said that they "twice let them off the hook" after Houghton missed easy chances in both games. A 0–0 draw at home with Poland followed, and they were then leading 3–1 in the return fixture in
Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...
but conceded two late goals to end the match at 3–3. Ireland beat Turkey 3–1 in
Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
despite the intimidating atmosphere of the
İnönü Stadium İnönü may refer to. People with the surname * İsmet İnönü (1884–1973), Turkish soldier, statesman and the second President of Turkey * Erdal İnönü (1926–2007), Turkish physicist and politician, and the son of İsmet * Mevhibe İnön ...
, but were denied a place in the tournament as England scored a late equalizing goal in Poland to secure the point that would take them above Ireland in the group.


1994 World Cup

To qualify for the 1994 World Cup in the US, Ireland had to finish first or second in a seven team group of Spain,
Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...
, Northern Ireland,
Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
,
Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
, and
Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
. Lithuania, Latvia and Albania proved to be little threat to the Irish, and both home and away fixtures against these three teams earned Ireland the maximum two points. The two most difficult fixtures – Denmark and Spain away – ended in goalless draws, and John Aldridge had a goal disallowed for offside against the Spanish which even Spain manager
Javier Clemente Javier Clemente Lázaro (; born 12 March 1950) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. Forced to retire from playing in his early 20s through injury, he embarked on a coaching career with his first managerial ...
said should have stood. Ireland then beat Northern Ireland 3–0 at home before settling for a 1–1 draw with Denmark. The qualification campaign was then derailed in the opening 26 minutes of the home tie with Spain as the Spanish took a three-goal lead; the game ended 3–1, with John Sheridan's late consolation eventually proving crucial at the end of the campaign. The final game was in Belfast against Northern Ireland during a tense period of
The Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "i ...
. Jimmy Quinn put Northern Ireland into the lead on 74 minutes, but four minutes later
Alan McLoughlin Alan Francis McLoughlin (20 April 1967 – 4 May 2021) was an Irish professional footballer and coach, who played as a midfielder for the Republic of Ireland and various English club sides, most notably Swindon Town and Portsmouth. His most notab ...
scored the equalising goal to allow the Republic of Ireland to secure second place in the group due to their superior goals scored tally over Denmark. When Quinn scored Northern Ireland assistant manager
Jimmy Nicholl James Michael Nicholl (born 28 December 1956) is a Northern Irish former professional Association football, footballer who played for several clubs, including Manchester United F.C., Manchester United and Rangers F.C., Rangers. He was mainly a ...
shouted "Up yours!" to his counterpart
Maurice Setters Maurice Edgar Setters (16 December 1936 – 22 November 2020) was an English football player and manager. As a player, he made more than 400 appearances in the Football League for Exeter City, West Bromwich Albion, Manchester United, Stoke City, ...
(Charlton's assistant); in response to this Charlton approached Northern Ireland manager
Billy Bingham William Laurence Bingham (5 August 1931 – 9 June 2022) was a Northern Ireland international footballer and football manager. As a player, his first professional club was Glentoran, whom he played for between 1948 and 1950. Making the move ...
at the final whistle and told him "Up yours too, Billy". In the build up to the World Cup Charlton gave out first caps to Gary Kelly,
Phil Babb Philip Andrew Babb (born 30 November 1970) is a sports television pundit and former professional football player and manager. As a player he was a central defender who made over 370 league appearances during his career, most notably spending ...
and
Jason McAteer Jason Wynne McAteer (born 18 June 1971) is a former professional footballer. His primary position was in centre midfield, though he was also an able right winger and full-back. During his professional career from 1992 to 2007, McAteer played ...
; he had difficulty convincing McAteer to join Ireland as he first had to turn down an approach by
the FA The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world an ...
to play for the England under-21s. He scheduled difficult matches before the tournament and Ireland picked up positive results by beating both the Netherlands and
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
away from home. Ireland opened the group stage of the tournament by beating Italy 1–0 at the
Giants Stadium Giants Stadium (sometimes referred to as Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands or The Swamp) was a stadium located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in the Meadowlands Sports Complex. The venue was open from 1976 to 2010, and it primarily hosted sp ...
, Ray Houghton scoring the winning goal on 11 minutes. They then fell to a 2–1 defeat to
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
at the Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium, during which Charlton had a pitch-side argument with an official who was preventing substitute John Aldridge (who went on to score the consolation goal) from taking the pitch minutes after his teammate Tommy Coyne had left the pitch and sat down on the bench. For his arguing, Charlton was suspended by
FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
for the final group game against
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
, and had to watch from the commentary box as Ireland qualified with a 0–0 draw. They faced the Netherlands in the Round of 16; Dennis Bergkamp put the Dutch ahead on 11 minutes after
Marc Overmars Marc Overmars (; born 29 March 1973) is a Dutch former professional footballer and director of football at Belgian Pro League side Royal Antwerp FC. He was previously director of football at Ajax. During his football career, he played as a win ...
took advantage of a mistake by
Terry Phelan Terrence Phelan (born 16 March 1967) is a football coach and former professional footballer. He is the technical director of Indian I-League 2nd Division side South United FC. Nicknamed "The Scuttler", he played as a left-back from 1984 to 20 ...
, and
Wim Jonk Wilhelmus Maria "Wim" Jonk (born 12 October 1966) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player, who is the current head coach of Eerste Divisie club FC Volendam. In his career as a midfielder, he won a variety of national honours ...
scored the second and final goal of the game from 30 yards after Packie Bonner fluffed an otherwise routine save. For his achievements Charlton was awarded the
Freedom of the City of Dublin The Freedom of the City of Dublin is awarded by Dublin City Council after approving a person nominated by the Lord Mayor. Eighty-two people have been honoured under the current process introduced in 1876. Most honourees have made a contribution ...
in 1994 by Lord Mayor
Tomás Mac Giolla Tomás Mac Giolla (; born Thomas Gill; 25 January 1924 – 4 February 2010) was an Irish Workers' Party politician who served as Lord Mayor of Dublin from 1993 to 1994, Leader of the Workers' Party from 1962 to 1988 and President of Sinn Féin ...
, the first Englishman to be given the honour since 1854.


Euro 1996 qualifying

Ireland failed to qualify for
Euro 96 The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in England from 8 to 30 ...
, despite a strong start to
the group The Group may refer to: Film and television * ''The Group'' (Australian TV series), 1971 situation comedy produced by Cash Harmon Television for ATN7 * ''The Group'' (Canadian TV series), 1968–70 music variety on CBC Television * ''The Group ...
, when they won their opening three games, including a 4–0 win against Northern Ireland. The Republic's next game was also against Northern Ireland, although the result was a 1–1 draw. From that point onwards the Republic stuttered badly as injuries struck down key players Roy Keane,
Andy Townsend Andrew David Townsend (born 23 July 1963) is a former professional footballer and sports co-commentator for Premier League Productions and CBS Sports. As a player he was a midfielder who notably played in the Premier League for Chelsea, Aston ...
, John Sheridan and
Steve Staunton Stephen Staunton (born 19 January 1969) is an Irish football manager, scout and former professional footballer. He played as a defender (association football), defender with two separate spells each with Premier League sides Aston Villa F.C., A ...
. After beating the highly fancied
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
, the Irish then endured an embarrassing 0–0 draw to
Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarchy ...
(this was Liechtenstein's only point in their ten matches), before losing twice to
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
, on both occasions by three goals to one. Although they defeated
Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
, Ireland needed to beat Portugal in
Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
to qualify outright, but lost 3–0. They finished second in the group, ahead of Northern Ireland on goal difference, but as the worst performing runners-up they had to win a play-off game at
Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892. ...
against the Netherlands; Ireland lost 2–0 after a brace from
Patrick Kluivert Patrick Stephan Kluivert (; born 1 July 1976) is a Dutch former football player, coach and sporting director. He played as a striker, most notably for AFC Ajax, FC Barcelona and the Netherlands national team. He was part of Ajax's Golden Gen ...
. Charlton resigned shortly after the game.


Personal life

Charlton married Pat Kemp on 6 January 1958, and his brother Bobby acted as his best man. They had three children: John (born in January 1959), Deborah (born 1961) and Peter, who was born just after Charlton senior played in the 1966 World Cup final. During the 1960s he ran two clothes shops in
Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
, and he also later operated the club shop at Elland Road. Charlton was a keen amateur
fisherman A fisher or fisherman is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishers and fish farmers. Fishers may be professional or rec ...
and took part in
field sports Field sports are outdoor sports that take place in the wilderness or sparsely populated rural areas, where there are vast areas of uninhabited greenfields. The term specifically refer to activities that mandate sufficiently large open spaces and ...
. Politically, Charlton was a
socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
. He was a founding supporter of the
Anti-Nazi League The Anti-Nazi League (ANL) was an organisation set up in 1977 on the initiative of the Socialist Workers Party with sponsorship from some trade unions and the endorsement of a list of prominent people to oppose the rise of far-right groups i ...
. Along with his wife, he was a supporter of the UK miners' strike of 1984-85, and lent two of his cars to striking miners for travelling to pickets. He appeared on ''
Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a " castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (usu ...
'' in 1972 and 1996, and chose to take with him ''
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' is an 1876 novel by Mark Twain about a boy growing up along the Mississippi River. It is set in the 1840s in the town of St. Petersburg, which is based on Hannibal, Missouri, where Twain lived as a boy. In the nov ...
'' and ''
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn ''Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' or as it is known in more recent editions, ''The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'', is a novel by American author Mark Twain, which was first published in the United Kingdom in December 1884 and in the United S ...
'' by
Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...
, the ''Encyclopaedia of How to Survive'', a spyglass, and a fishing rod. Charlton was the subject of '' This Is Your Life'' in 1973 when he was surprised by
Eamonn Andrews Eamonn Andrews, (19 December 1922 – 5 November 1987) was an Irish radio and television presenter, employed primarily in the United Kingdom from the 1950s to the 1980s. From 1960 to 1964 he chaired the Radio Éireann Authority (now the RTÉ A ...
. He was appointed an
Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(OBE) in the 1974 Birthday Honours. In 1996, he was awarded honorary Irish citizenship. The honour amounts to full Irish citizenship; it is the highest honour the Irish state gives and is rarely granted. In 1994, he was made a
Freeman Freeman, free men, or variant, may refer to: * a member of the Third Estate in medieval society (commoners), see estates of the realm * Freeman, an apprentice who has been granted freedom of the company, was a rank within Livery companies * Free ...
of the city of
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
, and was given an
Honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...
of
Doctor of Science Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...
(D.Sc) by the
University of Limerick The University of Limerick (UL) ( ga, Ollscoil Luimnigh) is a Public university, public research university institution in Limerick, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Founded in 1972 as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick, it beca ...
on 9 September 1994. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Distinguished Service Award for the Irish Abroad in 2020. In 1997, he was appointed a deputy lieutenant of
Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...
. Charlton was inducted into the
English Football Hall of Fame The English Football Hall of Fame is housed at the National Football Museum in Manchester, England. The Hall aims to celebrate and highlight the achievements of the all-time top English footballing talents, as well as non-English players and man ...
in 2005 in recognition of his contribution to the English game. There is a life-size statue of him at
Cork Airport Cork Airport ( ga, Aerfort Chorcaí, ) is the second-largest of the three principal international airports in Ireland, after Dublin and ahead of Shannon. It is located in Cork City, south of the city centre in an area known as Farmers Cross ...
in Ireland, representing him sitting in his fishing gear and displaying a
salmon Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...
. On 4 December 2019, he was made a Freeman of the City of Leeds along with the other members of the Revie team of the 1960s and 1970s, but was unable to attend the ceremony. He revealed in his 1996 autobiography that he had a strained relationship with his brother Bobby. Jack felt Bobby began to drift away from the Charlton family following his marriage to Norma, who did not get along with their mother. Bobby did not see his mother after 1992 until her death on 25 March 1996 as a result of the feud, though he and Norma did attend her funeral. Though the two brothers remained distant, Jack presented Bobby with his
BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award The BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award is an award given annually as part of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremony each December. The award is given to a sportsperson "who has made a major impact on the world ...
on 14 December 2008.


Death

Charlton died at his home in
Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...
on 10 July 2020 at the age of 85 after suffering from
lymphoma Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). In current usage the name usually refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enlar ...
and
dementia Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...
. The following day his former club
Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...
won 1-0 over Swansea City with a last minute winner; the goalscorer Pablo Hernández dedicated his goal to Charlton. On 20 July, ten days after his death, Irish fans gathered at Walkinstown roundabout in Dublin to recreate the highwater mark of Ireland's success at the 1990 World Cup under Charlton and to pay their respects. ''
Put 'Em Under Pressure "Put 'Em Under Pressure" was the official song to the Republic of Ireland national football team's 1990 FIFA World Cup campaign in Italy. Background Produced by U2's Larry Mullen, it featured an intro by Moya Brennan. The song was created by Mu ...
'', the official song of the
Republic of Ireland national football team , FIFA Trigramme = IRL , Name = Republic of Ireland , Association = Football Association of Ireland (FAI) , Confederation = UEFA (Europe) , website fai.ie, Coach = Stephen Kenny (foot ...
's 1990 campaign, (which features soundbites of Charlton uttering the eponymous phrase) was played at 12:30pm synchronously with all national radio stations to remember the man who had led Ireland to their first-ever major tournament at Euro '88, as well as two World Cups in Italy (1990) and USA (1994). Charlton became the 12th player from the 1966 FIFA World Cup squad to die, after Bobby Moore (1993), Alan Ball (2007), John Connelly (2012), Ron Springett (2015), Gerry Byrne (2015),
Jimmy Armfield James Christopher Armfield, (21 September 1935 – 22 January 2018) was an English professional football player and manager who latterly worked as a football pundit for BBC Radio Five Live. He played the whole of his Football League career at B ...
(2018), Ray Wilson (2018),
Gordon Banks Gordon Banks (30 December 1937 – 12 February 2019) was an English professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, he made 679 appearances during a 20-year professional caree ...
(2019),
Martin Peters Martin Stanford Peters (8 November 1943 – 21 December 2019) was an English footballer and manager. As a member of the England team which won the 1966 FIFA World Cup, he scored the second of England's four goals in the final against West Germa ...
(2019),
Peter Bonetti Peter Philip Bonetti (27 September 1941 – 12 April 2020) was an English professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper for Chelsea, the St. Louis Stars, Dundee United and England. He was known for his safe handling, lightning reflexes a ...
(2020) and Norman Hunter (2020).


Career statistics


Club


International

:''Scores and results list England's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Charlton goal.''


As a manager


Honours


Player

Leeds United *
Football League First Division The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...
: 1968–69 *
Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third ti ...
: 1963–64 *
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
: 1971–72 *
Football League Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...
: 1967–68 * FA Charity Shield: 1969 *
Inter-Cities Fairs Cup The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, sometimes referred to as the European Fairs Cup, Fairs Cities' Cup, or simply as the Fairs Cup, was a European Association football, football competition played between 1955 and 1971. It is often considered the predecess ...
: 1967–68, 1970–71 England *
British Home Championship The British Home Championship * sco, Hame Internaitional Kemp * gd, Farpais lìg eadar-nàiseanta * cy, Pencampwriaeth y Pedair Gwlad, name=lang (historically known as the British International Championship or simply the International Champio ...
: 1964–65, 1965–66, 1967–68, 1968–69 *
FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
: 1966 *
UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition is contes ...
third place: 1968 Individual *
FWA Footballer of the Year The Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year (often called the FWA Footballer of the Year, or in England simply the Footballer of the Year) is an annual award given to the player who is adjudged to have been the best of the season in ...
: 1967 *
English Football Hall of Fame The English Football Hall of Fame is housed at the National Football Museum in Manchester, England. The Hall aims to celebrate and highlight the achievements of the all-time top English footballing talents, as well as non-English players and man ...
: 2005 * PFA Team of the Century (1907–1976): 2007


Manager

Middlesbrough *Football League Second Division: 1973–74 *
Anglo-Scottish Cup The Anglo-Scottish Cup was a tournament arranged for teams in the English and Scottish football leagues during the summer for several years during the 1970s. It was created in 1975 as a new incarnation of the Texaco Cup, with a similar format t ...
: 1975–76 Sheffield Wednesday *
Football League Third Division The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following th ...
third-place promotion: 1979–80 Republic of Ireland *
Iceland Triangular Tournament The Iceland Triangular Tournament was an international football tournament in 1986. All matches were played in Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík. The three teams competing were the Republic of Ireland, Iceland and Czechoslovakia. The Republic of Irel ...
: 1986 Individual *English Manager of the Year winner: 1974 *
Philips Sports Manager of the Year The Philips Sports Manager of the Year is an award for the person considered the most outstanding Irish sports manager or coach of a particular year. The award is contested by the twelve winners of the year's Philips Sports Manager of the Month ...
: 1987, 1988, 1989, 1993


See also

* ''
Put 'Em Under Pressure "Put 'Em Under Pressure" was the official song to the Republic of Ireland national football team's 1990 FIFA World Cup campaign in Italy. Background Produced by U2's Larry Mullen, it featured an intro by Moya Brennan. The song was created by Mu ...
'', the official song to the Republic of Ireland national football team's
1990 FIFA World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second time (the first being Me ...
campaign in Italy.


References


Specific


General

* * *


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Charlton, Jack 1935 births 2020 deaths Deaths from lymphoma Sportspeople from Ashington British Life Guards soldiers English miners English footballers England international footballers Association football central defenders Leeds United F.C. players English Football League players 1966 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 1968 players 1970 FIFA World Cup players FIFA World Cup-winning players English football managers English expatriate football managers Middlesbrough F.C. managers Sheffield Wednesday F.C. managers Newcastle United F.C. managers Republic of Ireland national football team managers English Football League managers UEFA Euro 1988 managers 1990 FIFA World Cup managers 1994 FIFA World Cup managers English Football Hall of Fame inductees Deputy Lieutenants of Northumberland Officers of the Order of the British Empire English Football League representative players English autobiographers English male non-fiction writers English expatriate sportspeople in Ireland 20th-century British Army personnel FA Cup Final players English socialists Footballers from Northumberland People with acquired Irish citizenship