by Trevor Keane
While at West Ham, his stature continued to grow, and he soon found himself tasting European football for the first time when he was selected in the London XI side that competed in the first Inter-Cities Fairs Cup final on 1 May 1958. The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup was a precursor to the UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) Cup and was a tournament that mixed football with trade shows. The first competition was to be held over two seasons to avoid clashes with national League fixtures. However, because it was also planned to correspond with international trade fairs, in the end it ran over into a third year, the tournament commencing in 1955 and eventually finishing in 1958.
The first competition included a group stage and also featured some representative teams instead of clubs, hence Cantwell’s appearance for a London XI managed by Chelsea chairman Joe Mears. They reached the final after topping a group that included a Basel and Frankfurt XI, and also the Swiss club Lausanne-Sport. Their eventual opponents in the final were a Barcelona XI. Unlike the London team, Barcelona was effectively made up of players from FC Barcelona, with one player from RCD Espanyol. After a 2–2 draw at Stamford Bridge, Barcelona won the return 6–0. The London XI only competed in the first tournament. All future Inter-Cities Fairs Cups would be contested by individual clubs from London instead.
Cantwell only played one game in the tournament, and that was the final itself, and he did not feature in the first leg that ended 2–2, instead appearing in the 6–0 thrashing in the return leg. His future Ireland playing and coaching partner Charlie Hurley also featured in the tournament, playing in the group stages in a 3–2 victory over Frankfurt.
Between 1953 and 1960 Cantwell made 245 League appearances and scored sixteen League goals for West Ham. His performances began to get noticed and such was his level of skill and versatility that he caught the eye of one of the greatest managers ever. Matt Busby knew a good player when he saw one, and in November 1960 he shelled out £29,500, then a record for a defender, to sign Cantwell. Manchester United were in a state of rebuilding at that time, following the tragedy of the Munich air disaster, but the club was slowly moving forward again.
In a seven year spell with United, Cantwell made 144 appearances and scored eight goals, playing alongside some of the greatest players ever to pull on the red jersey, including Denis Law, Bobby Charlton and George Best. The highlight of his time with the club was undoubtedly the 1963 FA Cup final, the first trophy won by United after the Munich disaster, making it an important building block on the road to recovery. Leicester were the favourites to win the match, but he led the club to a 3–1 win. Cantwell himself acknowledged the turmoil of those times when he commented on the number of captains the club had had that season, but the Cork player was the man of the day and even had time to cause some ructions of his own when he hurled the famous FA Cup in the air.
That win was a turning point for United. The season after, they finished runners-up to Liverpool, and they went one better the season after, winning the League. At that stage, though, Cantwell was not a regular starter on the side, only providing cover for Tony Dunne, Bill Foulkes and Shay Brennan. They won another League title in Cantwell’s final year in 1967, although by that point he was playing even less and only made four appearances during the Championship-winning season. However, such was his stature at United that in the season they won the League and Cantwell was on the periphery of the team, he still retained his role as club captain.
THE INTERNATIONALIST
Cantwell made his Ireland debut against Luxembourg in October 1953, and over a fourteen-year period he became a permanent fixture in the team, playing in almost every outfield position. He eventually took over the captaincy in 1957. He was a natural leader, and as Mick McGrath, the former Blackburn defender, points out: ‘Noel was a great public speaker and not afraid to tell the committee that ran the show what he was thinking. He would often have a natter with Joe Wickham, who was an official at the FAI, asking him, “How come we can’t have lighter shirts like the England team?” Our shirts at the time were very heavy, and it did not help on the pitch, especially if it was raining. But it was all about money – or the lack of it. It was the small things that needed changing. For example, the England players would get a cap a game, and we would get a cap a season. They would write the fixtures you’d played in on the cap. Noel highlighted this sort of thing on behalf of the players.
‘There were a lot of hangers-on in the Ireland set-up at that time. The committee was made up of the local committees from Limerick, Cork, Galway and Dublin. But Noel was great. He wanted to see some changes. We were frustrated with the old socks and shirts and the lack of tracksuits. He wanted us to be professional, and he pushed for what these days would be considered the basics.’
However, it was on the field that he was most invaluable, proving to be surprisingly assured in front of goal for a defender. In the 1960 European Nations Cup, Ireland was drawn against Czechoslovakia in the qualifying round. Ireland won the first leg 2–0 at Dalymount Park, with Cantwell getting the second goal. The return leg saw Ireland lose an early penalty, but they were still in with a chance of qualification until three goals in a twenty-minute spell in the second half saw them limp out.
The qualification for the 1964 European Championship saw Cantwell net four goals, including two against Iceland and a further two in a 3–2 victory over Austria. His second goal was a last-minute penalty that sealed a quarter-final place against Spain, which the team lost 7–1 on aggregate.
As with a lot of Ireland’s greatest players of that generation, while they tasted success with their clubs in England, a lack of success with Ireland was a sore point, and the 1966 World Cup in England was the closest that Cantwell and his compatriots came to qualifying. Ireland had been drawn with Spain and Syria, who later withdrew when they backed a protest by the African countries over their allocation of places in the finals, in group nine. The protest by the African countries was based on the FIFA rule that the winner of the African zone was required to play a play-off against the winner of the Asian or the Oceania zone for a place at the 1966 World Cup. Syria supported the African stance and promptly withdrew from the qualification campaign as a result. With Syria now out of the picture it was a straight fight between Ireland and Spain. Ireland won the home match in Dalymount with a 1–0 win courtesy of an own goal; however, they lost the second leg 4–1.
Cantwell was the most experienced Ireland man on the pitch in Spain, with thirty-one games under his belt – five players that day had less than ten caps, and there was a distinct lack of experience in the team. In fact, and bear in mind that this was a qualifier for the World Cup finals, Eric Barber, a striker, made his debut for Ireland that day: ‘I remember I was called into the squad for the match against Spain in Seville. I was with Shelbourne at the time and had received some good press coverage and was in good shape. We were flying over on the Monday, three days before the game. I woke up that morning and had the worst toothache and my jaw was swollen. We were leaving at 12.00 p.m., and I figured I had time to get into Mercer’s Hospital and have someone have a look at it. I told the doctor the situation and was given an injection to help the pain, but it made me pass out.
‘I only woke up at 12.10 p.m. I panicked and rushed out of the hospital to get a taxi to the airport. Little did I know that the team had held the plane back for me. I actually spoke to Noel first and not Johnny [Carey]. He asked me, “Did you not get the itinerary?” and I explained what had happened. I was petrified, and I don’t think he believed me. Even though Johnny was in charge, Noel was the captain and a real leader in the Ireland set-up.
‘I was on antibiotics over there, and they had a bad effect on me. I was not feeling the best, and, looking back, I don’t think I should have played, but I was eager to be involved. We lost 4–1, and I hardly had a touch. I think Johnny Carey should have maybe taken the decision not to play me, but I don’t think he had the heart to do it.
‘Both Noel and Charlie played in the match, and the
y took turns in the changing-room before the game to speak to us. Noel and Charlie were big men of the game and very influential players. Charlie was a 6-foot 3-inch centre-half, and he could head the ball almost to the halfway line. Noel was a tough man, a bit like Roy Keane, although maybe not as outspoken. He liked to do things his way, and he had very little time for the officials who were involved with the FAI at the time.’
Despite the defeat, it was not all doom and gloom. These days qualification for a major tournament often hinges on the difference between goals scored and goals conceded, especially when the teams finish level on points. As both teams had won a game each it was decided that they would meet again in a play-off match. The play-off was to be held in a neutral venue – initially it was decided that the game would be played in London, but then it was decided to play the game in Paris. This move to Paris ensured that there were more Spanish than Irish in the stands, although the crowd had little bearing on the outcome. Ireland put on a credible show and came close, before losing 1–0.
In all Cantwell won thirty-six full international caps for Ireland and scored fourteen goals. He made his final appearance for his country away to Turkey in a European Championship qualifier in February 1967. It was fitting that in his last game of international football for Ireland he scored a penalty in the final minute, although sadly for him he did not end his career with a victory, as Turkey won 2–1. The match also marked the end of Johnny Carey’s reign as manager.
MANAGER
During Cantwell’s time with West Ham, the club was a hotbed of future thinking, led by Ted Fenton. While his peers, managers and fans thought of Cantwell as a shrewd and intelligent footballer, he was not alone at West Ham, surrounded as he was by players who all understood how the beautiful game should be played.
His time at West Ham was also the beginning of his integration into a group of players who were all destined to become managers. He played alongside John Bond and Malcolm Allison, who would later lead Manchester City to success, as well as Frank O’Farrell and Dave Sexton, who both went on to manage Manchester United.
In those days, the coaching of the kids at West Ham was the responsibility of one or two of the senior players, most notably Noel and Malcolm Allison. In fact, the pair were instrumental in the development of a young Bobby Moore, encouraging the manager Ted Fenton to introduce him to the first team. Those early years allowed Cantwell to develop the skills that he would later hone at Coventry, where he helped to shape a squad of talented players.
When training had finished for the day, Cantwell, Allison, Sexton and Bond would spend hours after training at a local café talking football and tactics, using the condiments of the café to work out their strategies. O’Farrell would also join them on their coffee trips, and he remembers this time as laying the foundations for their managerial careers: ‘I remember after training each day we would go to Casatori’s Italian café near the ground and talk football. This was around the time that the famous Hungarian national football team came to England and surprised everyone with their skills and tactical ability. Malcolm Allison was the main organiser of the get-togethers. He had done some national service with the English army and had seen the difference in the footballing skills between the footballers of Eastern Europe (where he was based) and their English counterparts. Dave Sexton, John Bond, Noel Cantwell and I would move spoons and salt cellars around and argue over tactics.
‘Ted Fenton, the manager of West Ham at the time, was very open-minded, and he would allow us to practise some of the tactics we came up with in training. In those days Noel was a very forthright character with a lot to say. He knew how to get his point of view across, too.
‘The conversations that took place between us were to inspire a golden period of entertaining football, with Allison the first to put his money where his mouth was when he inspired Manchester City to the League title, the FA Cup, the Cup-Winners’ Cup and the League Cup in a spell-binding burst of success between 1968 and 1970. Noel didn’t enjoy the same success as a manager. However, there was no doubting that he would get involved in management. In fact, the only surprise was that it was not with United, where he had ended his playing career.’
Over the years, many observers of the game have speculated as to why Cantwell never took the reigns at Old Trafford, and while in many respects Busby and Cantwell were very similar – both were men of integrity and natural leaders, they liked and respected each other, they were obsessed with football, and they liked to analyse and study the game – they were also very different. They both had their own ideas on how the game should be played. The bottom line for both was exciting and attacking football, but Busby believed in natural instincts, adventure and richly talented players, while Noel was more philosophical and from a more theoretical school, believing passionately in the benefits of careful coaching.
This difference of opinion was apparent from their early days at Old Trafford. Soon after his arrival at Old Trafford, Cantwell, who would have been familiar with Carey’s languid style from his days with Ireland and would have expected a more tactical and strategy-based management system in England, told friends that he was taken aback by Busby’s pre-match talks, which apparently involved little more than wishing the players all the best and telling them to enjoy themselves. This also formed the basis of Johnny Carey’s style of management, especially with Ireland, and this laid-back attitude must have been difficult to accept by a thinker of the game. Used to the tutelage of Ted Fenton and his café meetings with his West Ham teammates, Cantwell would have been looking forward to receiving complicated tactical insights from Busby. These insights were not forthcoming, however, and Cantwell was appalled to discover Busby believed that if he had to tell his footballers how to play, he wouldn’t have signed them in the first place. Indeed, later in life Noel went on to describe the Matt Busby approach as being ‘so simple it was frightening’. However, while Johnny Carey held little power within the Irish set-up, Busby held all of the power at United and to challenge his way would have been detrimental to Cantwell’s United career.
Shortly after retiring from international football, Cantwell was approached by the FAI to become the manager of the Ireland team. He agreed and indicated to the FAI that Sir Matt Busby would release him as required. Prior to his appointment, both Charlie Hurley and Cantwell had already looked after team affairs for a double match with Czechoslovakia; however, with the team requiring stability and a manager, Cantwell, who had also managed the Ireland Under-23 team for a match against France, was the FAI’s first choice and was appointed Ireland manager. Despite his appointment to the Ireland side, Cantwell was also being sought to manage clubs in England.
In fact, a move into club management was imminent, but instead of assuming United’s reins, Cantwell took over from Jimmy Hill at newly promoted Coventry City, guiding them clear of relegation during their first term in Division One. This proved to be disastrous for the Republic of Ireland team, however, as he had to resign from his role as Ireland manager due to his commitments with Coventry and was only in charge for one game, a 2–2 draw with Poland.
Over the next four years, he impressed at Coventry, leading the Sky Blues to sixth place in 1970, ensuring qualification for the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. That first European campaign saw them perform admirably before they bowed out at the hands of the mighty Bayern Munich.
There were more relegation battles for Cantwell and his Coventry team, but despite the pressures he was intent on building for the long term, launching a successful youth policy. Unfortunately, Cantwell would not be around to see his plans come to the fore, because he was sacked in March 1972 – as the chairman rather eloquently put it at the time, ‘results have not come up to expectation’ and ‘we want jam today, not tomorrow’.
Of this first experience of being fired, Cantwell later reflected, ‘The sack came as quite a shock. I had no idea what to do for a living. For seven months I was kicking my heels.’
After his stint at Highfield Road,
the then home of Coventry, Cantwell took a job in the USA with the New England Tea Men. However, the move did not last long, and after seven months he was back in the UK.
Surprisingly, despite his name in the game, the only other English club he managed was Peterborough United, in two separate spells. During his first stint as manager at London Road, he took over a team that was struggling at the foot of the Fourth Division and managed to turn their fortunes around and lead them to promotion some eighteen months later, in 1974. At the time of his appointment, Peterborough were not only struggling at the bottom of the table, but their gate receipts had also dropped, and it was a brave move.
Cantwell began the task at hand by giving twelve players a free transfer, leaving him with a playing staff of only ten. Then, foregoing a summer holiday, he went about buying new players with a budget of just over £30,000. As with any club struggling at the bottom, Cantwell needed experienced performers, men he knew would be suited to life in the Fourth Division. He was now his own man again, and the only way was up, but he wanted to do it with the team playing the stylish football he believed in.
Peterborough won the title in his first full season in charge and in doing so entertained the fans with flowing football. The supporters had taken their Irish manager to heart and had nicknamed him ‘the Messiah’.
With his reputation restored, Cantwell was back in demand and the lure of another club proved too much, so in 1977 he left Peterborough for a second stint in America, again coaching the New England Tea Men. At the time, he was reported to be one of the highest-paid managers outside the English First Division. In a five-year spell in the USA, Cantwell managed the franchises of New England and Jacksonville, winning the Eastern Division Championship of the North American Soccer League (NASL) in 1978 with the New England Tea Men. The Tea Men franchise then moved from New England to Jacksonville, and Cantwell moved with them, managing them for one year in 1981.
