Gaffers (2 page)

Figurehead: a person nominally having a prominent position, but no real authority.

Collins Concise dictionary

Johnny Carey, was Ireland’s manager for a twelve-year period from November 1955 to February 1967 and is also regarded by many as the first big-name Irish footballer. With his success in the English League, he paved the way for footballers from Ireland to make it in English football. A natural leader on and off the pitch, Carey is a Manchester United legend and still ranks as one of the greatest players to have ever played for both the Red Devils and Ireland. A natural sportsman on the pitch, he was a charismatic gentleman off it and was fondly referred to as ‘Gentle John’. Before Carey, Alex Stevenson, one of only three players born in the Republic of Ireland to have played for Glasgow Rangers, presided over the team, but he, like Johnny after him, had very little input into team selection. During Stevenson’s stint as manager, from 1953 to 1955, Johnny Carey was the captain of the team.

As a Manchester United player Carey played in an incredible nine different positions, including goalkeeper, and won all the English game had to offer at the time. As a manager he had spells with Blackburn Rovers, Everton, Nottingham Forest and Leyton Orient and he was the first high-profile English-based manager to coach the Irish national soccer team. A truly modern and versatile footballer, who was revered in Ireland, the role of coaching the national side was made for Johnny, with the pipe-smoking Dubliner staying at the helm for twelve years.

EARLY LIFE

Born in 1919 in Dublin, Carey was an all-rounder when it came to sport, playing minor Gaelic football for Dublin and junior football for Home Farm. And in his formative years Carey was a keen swimmer, as well as being a ball boy at tennis matches at the Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club. The skills he learned in those early days, whether it was the concentration and ball-watching skills he acquired from being a ball boy or the sheer strength of mind he gained from swimming, formed the basis for his successful career in football – nothing he learned was wasted.

It was a swimming race that gave an early glimpse of the determination that was to become a hallmark of Carey’s career. Entered in a 100-yard contest by his father at a time when the young boy could only swim forty yards, Carey delayed the start of the next race while he slowly but determinedly finished the full course.

Football and Gaelic soon took over Johnny’s life. However, in those days soccer was considered to be a foreign game, so Johnny was banned from Croke Park and effectively forced to choose one sport over the other. Thankfully for Ireland and Manchester United fans, he chose soccer and moved on from Home Farm after signing for St James’ Gate in 1936 at the age of seventeen.

In 1936, after only a few weeks with the St James’ Gate team, Johnny’s talent was spotted by Manchester United. The story goes that the Red Devils’ chief scout and general fixer Louis Rocca was in Dublin to cast his eye over another young player but instead found himself focusing on the young Carey, who even at such a young age was head and shoulders above all the others on the pitch. The renowned talent-spotter wasted little time in agreeing a £250 fee with St James’ Gate.

Apparently when Johnny arrived in Manchester, he saw a newspaper banner that read ‘United Sign Star’ and he un-characteristically jumped to the conclusion that he must be the subject of the article. However, on buying a paper he found out that the ‘star’ in question was Blackburn Rovers’ Ernie Thompson, and a mere two lines at the bottom of the page were devoted to the acquisition of Johnny Carey. As it happened, despite the low-key arrival of Carey and the big fanfare for Thompson, it was Carey who left the biggest impression on Old Trafford, while Thompson’s United career was over almost before it began.

Johnny made his League debut on the left of midfield in September 1937 and that season celebrated promotion with Manchester United to the First Division. He also made his international debut in what was a momentous first year in English football for the young man. But just as his career was really taking off and gathering pace, the Second World War broke out, and he was faced with a very big decision. Hailing from Ireland, which was and is a neutral country, he had the right to go home if he wished, but the highly principled Carey reckoned that as he earned his crust in Britain he should stay and fight for the country, so he joined the British army.

Carey continued to play football during the Second World War, appearing in the wartime regional leagues, a league competition that replaced the football league from 1939 to 1945. The league divided England into three sections as travel was limited, with a Northern League, a Southern League and a London League. During the war a lot of football stadiums actually became military bases and when players were not fighting they were free to guest for any team in the league. Carey appeared in 112 games, scoring forty-seven goals. His impressive skills could be seen on the field as a guest player for several English clubs, including Liverpool, Manchester City, Middlesbrough and Everton, and he played a number of times for Shamrock Rovers as well as in a League of Ireland XI. Carey served with the British army in Italy and the Middle East, and he also played football as the guest of a number of Italian sides. He received several offers from clubs to remain in Italy, but although his feet might have left Manchester, his heart never did, and he returned to United when the war ended.

It 1945, when something like normal football service was resumed, change was afoot. A new era was dawning at United with the arrival of Matt Busby, a manager who would change the face of football in Manchester. Busby was quick to recognise Carey’s natural authority and leadership skills, so he decided to make him club captain. But Busby was not only impressed with Johnny Carey’s leadership qualities, he was also impressed with his versatility. Carey was a great passer of the ball, and he was ahead of his time in terms of positional play. Having played in all positions for United, under Busby he found his home and made the right-back slot his own.

The club soon reaped the benefits when Carey captained the club to the 1948 FA Cup final, United beating a Stanley Matthews-inspired Blackpool 4–2, despite being 2–1 down at half-time. Carey’s half-time team talk was said to have laid the groundwork for the team to turn things around and win.

In 1952 Carey achieved his ultimate reward. Having finished as runners-up four times between 1947 and 1951, Manchester United were finally crowned First Division champions. In all, Carey played 344 games for United and scored eighteen goals. He finally retired as a player in 1953. He will always be remembered as the first non-UK footballer and the first Irishman to captain a winning team in an FA Cup final and to win the First Division title.

INTERNATIONAL CAREER

Carey began his international career in 1937 when there were in effect two Ireland teams, chosen by the rival associations. The IFA and the FAI claimed jurisdiction over the whole of Ireland, ensuring that Carey was a dual internationalist, not only playing for but also captaining both Ireland teams. In fact, such was the set-up at the time that several notable players played for both teams. Amazingly, in 1946 Carey played for the IFA XI in a 7–2 loss to England before facing them again three days later for the FAI XI in a more morale-boosting 1–0 loss. In 1947 he also captained a Europe XI that played a Great Britain XI at Hampden Park. In 1949 he was voted Footballer of the Year and
that same year captained the FAI XI to a 2–0 win over England. In doing so Ireland became the first non-UK-based team to beat England on their home soil.

In all, Carey appeared for the FAI on no fewer than twenty-nine occasions between 1937 and 1953, scoring three goals. He made his debut against Norway in a World Cup qualifier that ended 3–3, while his first goal came in a 3–2 win over Poland in 1938. He captained Ireland no fewer than nineteen times, with his last game for the FAI’s national team coming in 1953 in a 4–0 win over Austria.