Jack Charlton remembered: FourFourTwo celebrates the everlasting laughs of Giant Jack with those who knew him best

Jack Charlton
(Image credit: Getty)

Jack Charlton, three votes. Johnny Giles, three votes. Liam Tuohy, three votes. Bob Paisley, nine votes. Deep in the bowels of Merrion Square, the FAI were choosing the new Republic of Ireland boss, and it wasn’t looking good for Big Jack.

In February 1986, the Boys in Green had never qualified for a major tournament, and had just had their World Cup hopes ended – beaten in the USSR, then demolished 4-1 by Denmark at Lansdowne Road. Worse still, Northern Ireland had qualified for a second time in succession. Eoin Hand was out, and it was time to decide his replacement. Charlton had been receptive to the FAI’s approach, but some voiced concerns about his acrimonious departure from Newcastle six months earlier. Some wanted a return for Giles or Tuohy, both former Ireland managers. Several people favoured Paisley, Liverpool’s three-time European Cup winner who had retired in 1983 but admitted interest in the vacancy anyway.

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Chris Flanagan
Senior Staff Writer

Chris joined FourFourTwo in 2015 and has reported from 20 countries, in places as varied as Jerusalem and the Arctic Circle. He's interviewed Pele, Zlatan and Santa Claus (it's a long story), as well as covering the World Cup, Euro 2020 and the Clasico. He previously spent 10 years as a newspaper journalist, and completed the 92 in 2017.