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Portrait of a great man


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Big Jack's first game as Wednesday manager was a night game at Exeter. I didn't go to it but some of the London Owls (I was living in London then) did and they all said we were absolutely terrible. Jack said after that game that things would get worse before they got better and, boy, was he right. Those away games at Cambridge, Wigan and Tranmere within a few weeks of each other at the end of 1977 are amongst my worst memories of watching us. It just seemed that nothing, not even Big Jack, could save us from oblivion.

 

But just as 1977 finished we began to turn the corner, got a couple of good results, and we were off the bottom and slowly but surely we inched our way forward. The change by the end of that season was nothing short of remarkable because there was hardly a Wednesday fan who didn't honestly believe that great days lay just around the corner. It was simply fantastic having a manager who could inspire that level of belief in the fans.

 

And what a backroom team to have. Big Jack as manager with Tony Toms, Maurice Setters and Saint as assistants. And John Harris who was one of the best signings of the lot.   

Edited by fredmciverslovechild
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4 minutes ago, fredmciverslovechild said:

And what a backroom team to have. Big Jack as manager with Tony Toms, Maurice Setters and Saint as assistants. And John Harris who was one of the best signings of the lot.   

 

Tony Toms was a big shandy-drinking, musical theatre-loving, sissy.

 

# RUNS AWAY #

 

:biggrin:

 

 

Edited by DJMortimer
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1 hour ago, WBridgfordowl said:

The right man at the right time.

 

without a shadow of a doubt the best manager we ever had. You needed to be around at the time to appreciate the dire state the club was in and how he pulled us back up and restored our pride.

 

Great, great man.

 

Too right mate .  He saved the club from oblivion.   For me, our greatest manager. 

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4 hours ago, Sham67 said:

 

Too right mate .  He saved the club from oblivion.   For me, our greatest manager. 

I'd go even further to say that at that particular moment in time he was the only man that not only could do it, but was also the only one prepared to take the task on.

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8 hours ago, theowlsman said:

 

Andy Kinder is a mate of mine. He fished for Barnsley Blacks. Still fishes matches now but mostly into venues where it’s all about catching carp. Hayfield, Barston, The Glebe etc. Good lad is Andy.

 

Big Jack would’ve just called him little man though. Big Jack was crap at remembering his players names.

 

may have been just a joke, but during training with Ireland jack was heard to shout "gerrit up to 't Ice cream man" (Casscarino)

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On 27/04/2020 at 13:23, kobayashi said:

Not sure that is fair...Big Jack was my first Wednesday boss and and will always be my favourite Wednesday boss and he certainly built good foundations but the momentum for promotion in 83/84 came from Wilkinson. He brought a level of drive that converted good players into winning players. 

That is what good or great managers do... turn good or decent players in to winners.

 

Great point Sir

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On 27/04/2020 at 04:22, Bearwood Owl1 said:

Just got a copy of his autobiography, written in the 1990s I think, well worth reading. Not only for the Owls section. He writes a thoughtful, if rather sad, epilogue about his (non) relationship with his brother Bobby.

 

Yep, I've read it. He talks about getting stoned a lot.

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