by Trevor Keane
Despite returning to North End as a coach, Kelly did not have to wait too long before he got his chance to be a boss, and in 1983 he was appointed manager of the team. His first full season at the club saw them finish sixteenth in Division Three. Following a bad run of results over the Christmas period of the next season, he resigned in February 1985. Kelly’s time at Preston North End had come to an end after almost twenty-seven years of service, but with Alan junior soon to take his position between the posts at Deepdale, the Kelly legacy at the club would continue.
Life away from Preston began with a brief coaching spell with Everton before Kelly made the biggest decision of his career and decided to go to the USA. He spent the remainder of his life there, beginning his state-side adventure in Washington DC before later moving to Maryland.
In America he continued to coach, spending five seasons with Washington’s DC United, where he helped produce talented goalkeepers such as Mark Simpson, Tom Presthus and Scott Garlick, who all recall Kelly fondly. For Mark Simpson, himself now a coach at DC United, you get a sense that Alan Kelly senior was more than a coach. He was a man who was respected and a good guy to have around. His time spent in America, much like his time spent at Bray and Preston, seems to have left a lasting impression on the people he interacted with, and you get a real sense of who he was from them: ‘Alan was so straightforward and as far away from being a complicated man as I ever met,’ says Simpson. ‘To me he was not just a coach but also a friend. Some of my fondest moments in his company were outside of football. I was thirty years old when I met him, and even though there was a thirty-year age gap between us, we got on really well. Alan would never BS you, and I appreciated that.
‘He was always telling stories – they used to come thick and fast. The funny thing was he used to tell a story and then a month later he would come in and tell the same story again, although it would be just as funny the second time round. If you said anything to him, he would just tell you to go away and continue talking.
‘We used to catch up every now and again at the DC reunions. I met him in 2007 and again in 2008. Sadly he won’t be with us this year, and we will miss him. When we caught up it was like we had never been apart.
‘Alan was very humble, and it almost felt like he did not want people to know about his achievements. I think he is the only Ireland goalkeeper inducted into the Hall of Fame, and he had a stand named after him at Preston. He was a legend of the game. During training we used to tease him about it. But in a nice way. We would call him “the Legend”.
‘Joking aside, Alan was a massive influence on my career. Not only while I was playing but also since I have become a coach. The game itself might have changed, and still be changing, but the basic concepts of positioning and mental strength remain the same. As a goalkeeping coach he was old school. He would push me, Tom [Presthus] and Scott [Garlick] hard. He was a good motivator and always on your side. His philosophy was for us to do the basic things well, not to drop our heads and to have good starting positions. He helped raise my game and my understanding of it.
‘Alan came to DC United in 1997. The season before we had won the Championship in the first season of Major League Soccer. For me personally it was a Cinderella story. Before I joined DC I had played futsal [indoor soccer] for eight years, which was prior to the advent of the MLS. It was played on converted hockey pitches. Futsal helped me dispel the myth about keepers and their footballing skills. In futsal the keeper is almost like a defender and has to be able to pick a pass, so when the MLS was starting I felt I had an edge over other keepers, and I decided to give it a go. I went on trial with 160 other players all hoping to get drafted for DC. I missed the boat the first time, as I was injured, and in the trial I played for seventy-five minutes but was not picked; I returned to lower league football. However, about ten days later I got my big chance, as the goalkeeper at DC was injured. I was thirty at the time, and this was my big chance. The first season I started on the bench, but I was patient and eventually got my chance.
‘Even though we had won the Championship, there really wasn’t much goalkeeping coaching. For one thing, there was no coach, and we only had two goalkeepers. We trained with the team and our training was mainly six-a-side on big pitches. When Alan joined the team nothing changed at first. He basically observed us and our training. The first major change he introduced was that we did not train with the team any more. We would do our warm-ups and then practise diving and catching crosses. Later on when we joined in the five- and six-a-side games Alan would be behind the goals, whispering advice into our ears.’
‘Everything was geared to preparing us for games and building our concentration,’ says Tom Presthus. ‘The success of DC at that time meant that the main purpose of the goalkeeper in the team was not to keep us in games but to be alert enough to make one or two saves when called upon. One of Alan’s key coaching skills was to help us concentrate for those moments.
‘He had a number of sayings he would call upon during training. For example, “one save and one save only” and “kick the ball off your face”, which basically meant that you were to use any part of your body to make a save, be it your hands, face or, if required, private parts.
‘Alan had a good sense of humour. He was very witty and liked a laugh. I had not seen him for a while – it must have been nearly four years – but when we finally caught up it was like we had never been apart. I can’t imagine anyone would have ever thought ill of him. He had a glass of White Zinfandel, and although it was hard to get old football stories out of him – he left that to others – he sat and talked for hours about things outside of football.
‘He was very loyal to us goalkeepers. If you had a bad game, he would protect you in front of the managers and coaches, but behind closed doors he would tell you how it was and give you his opinions. He exposed your problem to you and would be tough on you, but in front of everyone else he supported you.
‘We won the Championship again in 1997 and 1999, while we reached the finals in 1998. I think in the USA nobody really had any idea about his standing in the game. He probably did not get the respect he deserved, outside of the people he worked with. That said, Scott, Mark and I had the utmost respect for him and his achievements.’
Scott Garlick actually began his goalkeeping career in Ireland: ‘It’s funny, you know, but before I played in America with DC United, I played for Waterford United, so I was very familiar with Alan Kelly senior and also his son Alan junior, who was with Sheffield United at that time.
‘When I actually met him, he was great. I mean, he was a legend of the game, and from the first day we hit it off. On a personal level, he was very good for my career. He lobbied for me and helped prepare me for my first start for DC. I suppose my game had evolved more than that of other American keepers from my time spent in Ireland. The football there was similar to in England. There were lots of crosses and the ball was constantly in and around the box, so in that respect I was a bit ahead of other keepers in the country.
‘I remember my first game, though. I let in a bad goal, as I tried to dribble the ball out of the box and was caught out. As I looked over to Alan his expression said, “I want to kill you”, but he was very supportive and later told me, “We all do it, so forget about it and learn from it.”
‘Even though he had high standards he brought a human element to coaching. A lot of coaches do not understand keepers, and sometimes goalkeeping coaches side with the manager of the team, but Alan always had our back. We worked for him, and he defended us.
‘Alan was very old school. His training was influenced by the way he played the game. We would work on building strength and saving shots. And he had a good shot on him. He would fire the ball at us from all over the pitch. He kept it simple. We worked with medicine balls to build our strength, and he worked us like boxers. He’d jam the medicine balls into our stomachs to build us up.
‘Alan was a very humble man. There were no airs or graces about him, especial
ly given what he had achieved in the game. You could go and have a drink with, and he really did like a glass of white wine. We met a couple of times at DC Championship reunions, and I appreciate having had the chance to meet up with him again. He never got the credit for the part he played in those Championships, but he was a massive part of the success at DC. He helped create a dynasty there. We won the Championship with four different keepers playing, and anyone at a top club will tell you it is not easy to replace a keeper. Think of United after Schmeichel or Chelsea without Cech, and you see how important the role of goalkeeper coach is. He kept us competitive and ready for action.’
THE FAMILY
Both Alan Kelly’s sons followed in their father’s footsteps and became goalkeepers. His eldest son Gary began his career with Newcastle United in 1984, under Jack Charlton. In five years he made just over fifty League appearances for the club before he had spells with Blackpool (month loan), Bury, West Ham (loan) and Oldham. Gary’s career wound down with shorts spells at Northwich Victoria, Sheffield United and Leigh Genesis.
Younger son and namesake Alan junior started his career at Preston North End who were in the Fourth Division. After seven years he moved on to Sheffield United and remained there until 1999, when he transferred to Blackburn Rovers. He stayed with this team until his retirement in 2004. He also won thirty-four caps for the Republic of Ireland, and was a member of the 1994 and 2002 World Cup squads, although as a reserve he did not play in any of the games. Following in his father’s footsteps, Alan is now involved with the Irish team and is currently their goalkeeping coach.
Sadly, Alan Kelly senior died in May 2009, but through his sons the Kelly name will live on in the footballing world. Kelly senior will never be forgotten and such was the impression that he made on his former clubs that both Bray and Preston honoured his achievements. At Bray he was named an honorary life president, while Preston ensured that his name will forever be etched in North End folklore when they named a stand at Deepdale the Alan Kelly Town End in his honour.
ALAN KELLY’S CLUB MANAGERIAL HONOURS RECORD:
1997 MLS Supporters’ Shield winners
1997 MLS Cup Champions
1998 CONCACAF Champions Cup Champions
1998 InterAmerican Cup Champions
1999 MLS Supporters’ Shield winners
1999 MLS Cup Champions
ALAN KELLY’S IRELAND RECORD:
Total number of games in charge: 1
Total number of wins: 1 (ratio 100.00%)
Total number of draws: 0 (ratio 0.00%)
Total number of losses: 0 (ratio 0.00%)
Biggest win: 2–0 v . Switzerland
Biggest defeat: none
Longest run of games without defeat: 1
9
EOIN HAND
In football it is often possible to look back and identify a defining moment in the fortunes of a particular team or player. The career of Sir Alex Ferguson offers a prime example of this. Many people will recall that back in 1989 Manchester United had spent large sums of money on the likes of Gary Pallister and Paul Ince, and the team was expected to win the League. However, after a good start (they beat Arsenal 4–1) United’s form took a dive, and the team went on a run that included a 5–1 defeat at the hands of their neighbours Manchester City. The media and fans alike were calling for Ferguson’s head, but the board held firm, and later that season United won the FA Cup with a 1–0 replay win after the first game ended 3–3. History will tell you things turned out for the best. But it took a lucky win in the FA Cup to kick-start an era, and if things had not gone Ferguson’s way, modern-day football would be very different.
Eoin was in charge of the Ireland team for five and a half years, from May 1980 to November 1985, and his reign ensured that he would be best remembered as the nearly man of Irish football. Eoin was the youngest man ever to manage the Republic of Ireland and with a bit more luck could have enjoyed the popularity, success and legacy that Jack Charlton did. Football – not to mention life in general – is filled with ‘what if ’ moments, and that’s what makes it the game it is. People love to read about failure just as much as they like to read about success.
Possibly the most enduring image of Hand’s time in charge of Ireland was the picture beamed around the world of him with his head in his hands following a late goal conceded to Belgium. It told of the heartbreak of being so close to success. Sport needs nearly men, however, and Hand’s tenure, despite its positives, ranks as one of the ‘nearly’ moments of Irish sport.
EARLY LIFE
The journey for Eoin Hand began in Dublin, where he was born in March 1946. He started his footballing career as a winger with Stella Maris, a noted Dublin feeder club famous for the footballers it has produced, including John Giles, Eamon Dunphy and Stephen Carr, before moving to centre half – it was in this position that Eoin started to make an impression. As a young seventeen-year-old, Hand caught the eye of Swindon Town and was signed up. However, the move was short-lived, with Eoin being released following Swindon’s relegation to Division Three, and after only one season in England he returned to Ireland to rebuild his career in League of Ireland football. In the 1965–1966 seasons he played for Dundalk before moving to Shelbourne FC and then to Drumcondra, where he enjoyed his greatest success as a player. His performances for this club saw him catch the eye of English sides once again and in October 1968 he was signed by Portsmouth FC for a transfer fee of £8,000. A more mature Hand soon settled into life in English football. A year after making the move to Portsmouth, Hand received his first call-up to the Irish squad and over the course of six years he would go on to win twenty caps.
As Hand recalls, ‘I made my debut under Charlie Hurley. I had gone back to England and settled into the Portsmouth side and was playing good football. The call-up came from the FAI, and I made my way home for the game. I did not start but eventually came on as a sub for Mick Leech, who was actually a centre-forward. Charlie said to me, “Go up front.” I replied, “I have never played there in my life,” and he turned to me and said, “Aye, sure, go on there.”
‘I played for Ireland for six years and won nineteen caps, although I argue it’s twenty, as I played in a game versus a West German B team. I think if that had been nowadays it would be about thirty or forty caps, given the amount of international games that countries now play. I never scored on home soil but managed two away goals, against Chile in Santiago and the USSR in Kiev.
‘The highlight of my playing career for Ireland was a match against France in 1972 when we beat them 2–1. I played in midfield that night and set up a goal. It was a wet evening, and I remember I chased down a lost ball, won it and crossed it in for Ray Treacy to score. In that game I had a collision with the French goalkeeper, and the press were telling me that in the return game France had singled me out for some treatment. The word was that Raymond Domenech, who famously went on to become manager of France, was assigned to do a hatchet job on me. However, in the first five minutes I went in strong on him and did not see him again for the rest of the game.’
Hand stayed with Portsmouth until being released in 1976. He decided to move to South Africa, where he was offered a role as manager of Amazulu FC, a Durban-based club: ‘My final game for Ireland was a 4–0 win over Turkey in which Don Givens scored four goals. Afterwards I had a chat with Johnny [Giles] and told him that I had committed to an offer in South Africa. I had fallen out with Ian St John at Portsmouth, as he’d said to me that it was highly likely that he would try out a youngster for the next campaign. It turned out that the youngster was David O’Leary.’
The spell in South Africa was to be shortlived, however, as the club failed to deliver on the promises made prior to his appointment. Hand returned to Ireland and was persuaded by Johnny Giles to return to playing at Shamrock Rovers. Rovers had a young squad and Giles needed the experience of Hand to help guide the team. Only nine games into his spell with Rovers, Hand made the move back to England, to Portsmouth. He left Port
smouth for the second time in 1979, having made almost 280 League game appearances for the club.
MANAGERIAL CAREER
Hand’s previous experience in South Africa had not put him off management and after leaving Portsmouth he took the chance to become player-manager for Limerick FC. He made an immediate impression, with Limerick winning the League title in his first season. According to Johnny Matthews, ‘Limerick was the making of him and set him up for the Ireland job. I was one of his first signings. Despite having doubts about the eighty-mile round trip for training, Eoin sold his vision to me, and I signed. Eoin was a good player and a good manager, probably one of the best I have played under, and I played under about thirty.
‘That Limerick side was full of local players, which was the key to their success. We used to train together during the week, and the morning before a game we’d have another session and a meal. It helped create a real bond within the team. Despite being a young manager at the time Eoin was meticulous in his preparation. We used to travel overnight for games and even had a fitness coach, which was rare in League of Ireland football in those days.
‘Eoin was very insightful and a good tactician. Gerry Duggan and I were the two wingers, but there was not the same rigidness that there is today. We had carte blanche to take on defenders and would swap wings on a regular basis. It was very much attacking football. I think nowadays coaches are all trained the same way and learn the same methods and use the same tactics. Eoin was different. He hated terrible soccer. If were we up against a six-foot centre-half, there was no point in hitting in high balls, so Eoin would switch things around. He’d move someone like Johnny Walsh, who was only five feet six inches, up front from midfield, and we would start playing the ball into his feet. Eoin was very adaptable and could change formations depending on the situation.
‘Every week Eoin encouraged us to go out and play, and he kept us all on our toes. We had a small panel of about sixteen players, and each week you had to prove you were good enough to start. Eoin had no problem giving you a bollocking if you messed up, and you were never guaranteed to be in the side. Some weeks you would be on the left, other weeks on the right and at other times not in the team at all. It kept things fresh.
