Tommy Jackson (soccer player, 1946)

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Tommy Jackson
Personnel
Surname Thomas A. Jackson
birthday November 3, 1946
place of birth Belfast ,  Northern Ireland
position midfield
Juniors
Years station
Ewart's Rec
Men's
Years station Games (goals) 1
1963-1968 FC Glentoran 75 (8)
1967 →  Detroit Cougars (guest) (loan) 12 (0)
1968-1970 Everton FC 32 (0)
1970-1975 Nottingham Forest 81 (6)
1975-1988 Manchester United 19 (0)
1978-1982 Waterford FC
National team
Years selection Games (goals)
1967 Northern Ireland amateurs 1 (0)
1968 Northern Ireland U-23 1 (0)
1968-1977 Northern Ireland 35 (0)
Stations as a trainer
Years station
1978-1982 Waterford FC
1983-1986 FC Crusaders
1987-1993 FC Glentoran
1993-1994 Ballymena United
1 Only league games are given.

Thomas A. "Tommy" Jackson (born November 3, 1946 in Belfast ) is a former Northern Irish football player and coach . The midfielder won the Northern Irish Championship with his home club FC Glentoran as a player and coach. Between 1967 and 1978 he was involved in English professional football. There he celebrated the greatest success of his active career in 1970 at Everton by winning the English championship .

Athletic career

Jackson had been with FC Glentoran in his hometown of Belfast since 1963, where he was initially active in the second team. With the reserve team, the midfielder won the Steel Cup in 1965 and 1966 , making him a lasting recommendation for the A-Elf. He won the Northern Irish championship twice in a row in 1967 and 1968 with Glentoran . What he noticed beyond the club's limits, however, was his performance in the first round of the European Cup in autumn 1967 , in which he took Eusébio in man marking against Benfica Lisbon - the big favorite from Portugal ultimately only just prevailed due to the away goals rule . Before the end of the second championship season 1967/68 he gave in to the advertising of the English first division club Everton and in February 1968 Jackson moved to the "Toffees" for a transfer fee of 9,000 pounds.

After his debut against Nottingham Forest (0: 1) he immediately represented Alan Ball in the important FA Cup semi-final match against Leeds United , and in the midfield duel with renowned opponents such as Johnny Giles and Billy Bremner he held his own - the game ended with a 1-0 win. In the final, however, he was not part of the 14-man squad and so he had to watch the 0-1 defeat against West Bromwich Albion from the outside. Jackson developed his reputation as a reliable supplementary player who was less equipped with technical skill and speed, but had qualities in the field of conquering the ball. Mostly he slipped into the midfield in the substitute role, in case one of the midfield trio with Alan Ball, Howard Kendall and Colin Harvey was missing. In this role, coach Harry Catterick often relied on him and when Everton won the English championship in the 1969/70 season , Jackson was used in 15 games. However, the sporting perspective remained limited and after Everton had undertaken significant transfer activities to defend his title, the club gave him the clearance for a move in October 1970.

A new employer was found in the first division competitor Nottingham Forest. There he was immediately involved in the common fight for relegation, which was still successful in the first year, but ended in the second season with relegation to the Second Division . One of the few highlights in the relegation season was his 1-0 winning goal in December 1971 against the ex-club from Everton. After three more years, the signing of the new coach Brian Clough ensured that Jackson was no longer needed in the squad - in contrast to his compatriot Martin O'Neill , who then developed into a key player in midfield. Since Jackson was considered a no longer needed second division player, it surprised the professional world that he was hired again with Manchester United in July 1975 a first division.

United coach Tommy Docherty initially saw Jackson as the captain of his reserve team, but after his initial training impressions, new ideas matured in him. The first division climber was equipped with a great offensive force and above all with many young players and Jackson should ensure the necessary calm in midfield. This allowed players like Steve Coppell and Gerry Daly to develop better and Jackson led the team to third place in 17 league games in the 1975/76 season . But when the newcomer Gordon Hill pushed into the team and changed the style of play in midfield, Jackson was sorted out one more time. He played mostly in the Manchester United reserve team until 1978 before he returned to his homeland in Northern Ireland. He had turned down trainer offers in England because he wanted to stay active himself.

Northern Irish national football team

On September 10, 1968 Jackson made his debut in Jaffa for the Northern Irish senior team against Israel . The friendly game ended with a 3-2 win for him and his further career was similar to that in club football, as he mostly served as a substitute for regular players such as Eric McMordie , Jimmy Nicholson or Dave Clements and later Tommy Cassidy , Sammy McIlroy or Bryan Hamilton . Regardless, he came to 35 full internationals in nine years. Thanks to his versatility, he helped out if necessary as a left full-back or in the defense center and his sporting climax for Northern Ireland he experienced on May 23, 1972, when he celebrated a 1-0 win against England at Wembley Stadium .

Further successes failed to materialize for Jackson and, above all, Northern Ireland did not qualify for a final round at World or European Championships.

Coaching activities

Jackson was able to point to some notable successes in his employment as player-coach of FC Waterford from 1978, including the double entry into the final of the FAI Cup , which he also won in the second attempt in 1980 against St Patrick's Athletic - Waterford's only second cup win in this regard after 1937. In October In 1980 he was in charge of a league selection that played against Argentina in the River Plate Stadium and lost 1-0 after a goal by Diego Maradona .

His second club coaching station from 1983, after he had ended his own career in the meantime, was the FC Crusaders . There he spent about three years and winning the Gold Cup in 1986 after beating FC Linfield in the final was the only title win worth mentioning. In 1987 he returned to his home club FC Glentoran. Glentoran had previously lost its supremacy in Northern Irish league football and had long been in the shadow of Linfield FC. This changed immediately after Jackson's arrival and in 1988 the club won the "double" championship and Irish Cup . Four years later, Jackson repeated winning the league title with Glentoran. In June 1993, his engagement ended after Glentoran had occupied only one place in the midfield. What followed was a less than spectacular year in the service of Ballymena United before Jackson retired from top division football.

From then on he was more concerned with looking after football schools in Northern Ireland, where he was on the training ground, especially in the summer months.

Title / Awards

As a player

As a trainer

literature

  • Ivan Ponting: Everton Player by Player . Hamlyn, London 1998, ISBN 0-600-59581-1 , pp. 50 .
  • Ivan Ponting: Manchester United Player by Player . Hamlyn, London 1998, ISBN 0-600-59496-3 , pp. 112 .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Jackson, Tommy
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Jackson, Thomas A. (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Northern Irish soccer player and coach
DATE OF BIRTH November 3, 1946
PLACE OF BIRTH Belfast