Gaffers (10 page)

Meagan himself admits that his interest in the role was not only about being part of history, it was also a means to stay at the top level of the game: ‘I was attracted to the Ireland job mainly because I had just come back from England and was embarking on a new career. I had left Halifax and had come back to Ireland with Drogheda. For me the Ireland job was a way to remain in the big time and feel part of the big league. I had been appointed as player-manager with Drogheda at the time and Charlie Walsh, who was director at the club and on the FAI committee, approached me and asked me if I would
like to be the manager of Ireland. I had no problem saying yes. It would have been very hard to say no, really.

‘There was very little pressure in managing Ireland. It was not like it is nowadays. There were about four or five games a year including friendlies. Of course we all wanted to win, but it was very difficult to qualify for World Cups and European Championships. The likes of Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia and Russia had a massive pool of players to call on, unlike today when they are separated into smaller countries again.

‘My hands were often tied. The selectors were dedicated to the Irish cause, and they helped where they could, but the FAI did not have a lot of money in those days. None the less, one of the main changes I made when I came in as manager was to stop the players from staying in city-centre hotels, moving them out to Montrose instead. You see, at the time I was helping Tony O’Neill with University College Dublin, and Drogheda often used their Belfield training ground, so by moving our base out there the players had nice facilities and a nice hotel. It was something small, but it helped the players.

‘The results weren’t good, though. I think we only managed three draws during my time in charge. Despite doing my coaching badges while I was an Everton player, I can’t ever say I enjoyed coaching or managing. For me it was always about being a player. I loved being involved with the players. Some people coach and some play. I loved playing. I would get a knock and would think, “I can run this off. It’s only a small tweak.” But there eventually comes a time when you have to stop playing.

‘Even now I think back to matches I played in and wonder why I didn’t do this and why I didn’t do that, but at the end of
the day the players and I gave it our all, no matter what team we had out. I think the League of Ireland players were the fall guys for Ireland in those days. Whenever an English-based player pulled out of the squad, the local players had to fill in the gaps, and they always had to be prepared. They were playing against some of the greatest sides in the world, and they were onto a loser before they got onto the pitch.

‘After my career with Ireland I played with Rovers for a bit. They had a young team and wanted me to bring some experience to them. I couldn’t say no. Even if a junior team came and asked me to play I couldn’t say no. I loved playing football. The biggest disappointment for any footballer is finding out that their legs are no longer good enough.’

Turlough O’Connor played in Meagan’s first game and remembers the build-up to the big decision made by the FAI: ‘I was actually in Mick’s first squad. He was passionate about Ireland and about the game. He wanted the players to stand up and take responsibility on the pitch. Mick spent a lot of time preparing things and organising the team, though there was not too much emphasis on the tactical side of it. Instead there was a freedom to express ourselves.

‘That said, Mick was more responsible for the way things were done, especially compared to the previous coaches. Compared to past managers who would have worked with the First XI that were selected by the committees, Mick had the extended freedom to name his own team.

‘He was an excellent manager, though. He was a man-to-man coach. He was a great guy to have a chat with and put an arm around your shoulder.’

For Tony Byrne, playing for Ireland under Mick was not
only an honour, it was also the first time he had played soccer on Irish shores. Despite growing up in Rathdowney in County Laois, Tony and his family had emigrated to England when the future Ireland defender was only twelve. Up to that point he had only ever played hurling: ‘Joe Haverty had recommended me to Ireland and the FAI when I was at Millwall, but I never got a call-up. Then I moved on to Southampton and had a good season in 1969 and got selected to play against Denmark. I did not actually have much interaction with Mick in the build-up to the match. He appeared to be very laid-back, but he was good at motivating the lads. He just told me to go and play, and that was what I did. There was nothing more to it. I think as time progressed, the tactical side of things changed. Liam [Tuohy] was that bit further on from Mick, while Johnny [Giles] was different again, paying so much attention to the details. Each time there was a new man things were different and moved forward.’

Paddy Mulligan was another player who made his debut during what was a real period of transformation for football in Ireland, and he recalls the change that was happening: ‘I did not get my first cap until 1969, by which time Mick Meagan had just taken over, although he was not in charge the day I made my debut. Mick was the first man to pick the team and actually manage it. Under the committee there was a feeling that if you played in England, whether it was for York or Manchester United, you got into the squad. The League of Ireland players had to work that bit harder to make the team. By that time the team spirit was quite low. There was a lot of frustration at the way the team was being run.

‘We played Czechoslovakia and lost 2–0, but we were played
off the park that day and definitely didn’t deserve anything from the game. Mick came in and immediately set about getting some confidence into the guys. He was a smashing fella, and he got us to understand our roles and brought some organisation and camaraderie to the team.

‘We played a Scotland team filled with players such as Billy Bremner, Peter Lorimer and Colin Stein and got a 1–1 draw, which was a great result. It is a simple thing, but Mick picked the players who could play and were in form. Mick knew when to have fun with the players and helped instil a confidence in them.’

Jimmy Holmes was one of the youngsters that Meagan blooded during his time in charge: ‘At the time I made my debut I was actually playing in the reserves for Coventry. Noel Cantwell was in charge of the club. Mick came over and had a look at me in a game against Wrexham, and I must have impressed because I was called into the squad and made my debut against Austria. I came on as a right-back. I was a left-back, though, so when I got on I went over to the left-back Tony Dunne, who was a hero of mine, and said to him, “The manager wants you to go to right-back.” I apologised to him afterwards. We were 3–1 down when I came on with twenty-five minutes to go and ended up losing 4–1.

‘When I first arrived, I went to the hotel to meet the team. We were staying in the Montrose. I got there before the others, and I asked the girl at reception if any of the players were in. She saw my bag, but assumed I was a fan, because she then asked me if I wanted an autograph. She obviously didn’t know who I was.

‘It turned out I was rooming with Don Givens. I was then
introduced to the likes of Terry Conroy, Steve Heighway and Paddy Mulligan, all heroes to me. They were taking the mickey out of me, but it was all in good fun. When I went up to my room that night I got a call from a reporter at the
Irish Press
. He was asking me about all the players and how I was getting on with them all. Well, I told him that they were all brilliant, and I was looking forward to the game. The next morning at breakfast the lads were quoting all the nice things I had said. It turned out that the reporter was Ray Treacy.

‘That introduction helped me to relax and feel part of the squad, though. Mick was a good talker. He was intelligent and knew the game, although there was very little time to coach the players. You came over on the Saturday and then played on the Sunday. Mick had to make decisions based on the opinions of the players’ club managers and more experienced players within the team. It was an exciting time, though, with Mick being the first real manager of the team. It was good to be part of it, and I learned quite quickly.’

Despite the positive impact Mick was having on the team and the new professionalism of Irish football, results were still not in line with the public’s expectations, as Ireland failed to win any of their qualifiers for the 1970 World Cup. A draw with Denmark at home was the only point earned by the team in that campaign. A 3–0 away defeat at the hands of Czechoslovakia was followed by a 4–0 hammering away to a Puskás-led Hungary, the great man himself scoring the killer third goal. The campaign saw Ireland score only three goals, yet they conceded fourteen. These were dark times indeed for the new man in charge and for Irish football in general.

Things failed to improve during the qualifying campaign
for the 1972 European Championship, with the team only securing a single point from a possible twelve available, a 1–1 draw with Sweden in the first group match at Dalymount Park, although they lost the return match 1–0 in Stockholm. Two defeats to Italy followed, including a determined and narrow loss in Dublin in which a Jimmy Conroy goal saw Ireland equalise only to concede a killer second goal midway through the second half. Following this things went downhill, with Ireland suffering two very heavy defeats at the hands of Austria. In Dublin the team could only muster a lone reply to the four goals scored by the Austrians, the solitary Ireland goal coming from a Carroll penalty in the second half. In the away match the Austrian team scored six goals without reply.

That European Championship campaign saw Ireland again score only three goals, yet they conceded seventeen. The 6–0 defeat by Austria proved to be a step too much for the FAI, and Mick Meagan’s time as manager of the team came to an end. But while the results might not have been as good as people had hoped for or expected, the building blocks were certainly being put in place for the future. And to Tony O’Connell, despite the poor results at that time, Mick was quite simply a fantastic manager: ‘He had been a tremendous full-back and that experience in England helped him. The players respected him, and the fact that he had won a League title with Everton only added to that respect.’

Despite the obvious failings of the new project, the FAI persisted with the new approach they had adopted. And in later years Ireland would reap the rewards of the decision to appoint Mick Meagan back in 1969.

MICK MEAGAN’S CLUB MANAGERIAL HONOURS RECORD:

No management honours

MICK MEAGAN’S IRELAND RECORD:

Total number of games in charge: 12
Total number of wins: 0 (ratio 0.00%)
Total number of draws: 3 (ratio 25.00%)
Total number of losses: 9 (ratio 75.00%)
Biggest win: none
Biggest defeat: 6–0
v
. Austria
Longest run without defeat: 1 game

Liam Tuohy is a man who lives and breathes football, a man who was willing to give his all for his country whether as a player, coach or manager. For Liam, personal gain was often set aside for the love of the game and not many have given as much to the Irish game. In a career that saw Liam play in England with Newcastle, and become a Shamrock Rovers legend and manager, an Ireland international and ultimately manager of the national side, Liam gave everything he had to Irish football and deserves his ranking as a legend of the game. In the years after opting out of the Ireland hot seat, his love for the game never diminished, whether it was working with the Under-19 squads in the 1980s or teaching the latest crop of youngsters to come out of Home Farm.