artemis778

Can anyone recall a documentary made in the 1970's on Jack Charlton
as a football manager? It received quite a bit of media attention because
of Charlton's unusual management style- best described as
'let's all get in the bath together after match' style which was guaranteed to
attract tabliod attention in the 70's. I know of 'Charlton's Champions'(1974)
from the BFI site- is this the one, or were there others? Books on
Charlton shed no light, which is a bit puzzling.

Brigger

Not sure if it`s the same one you ask about, but is it the one where he made his (in)famous claim about having a Little Black Book of players he was going to `Do` if he got the chance.

zandycap

Well i dont think it could have been made in the first half of the 1970s as Jackie Charlton didn't become a manger till then. He famously became manager of the (old)second division Middlesbough, where he led them to promotion back to the top division in his first season by such a huge margin that he was given the Manager Of The Year award. I think that was 74-75

PS: i have just looked at imdb and it says he was in some tv prog named "play soccer" in 1975

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes

artemis778

Looks like 'Charlton's Champions' the best hope then.
Curiously, that doesn't seem to be listed in the TVTimes
for an April transmission in 1974- the date I have associated with it,
even in the different ITV regions. Must delve further.
Thanks for the replies

gadgetman2000

I can shed some light on the 'Play Soccer' reference in the thread below, as I was in the programmes. There were actually two series made, and they were football coaching programmes. From memory there were 5 or 6 episodes in each of the two series. They were filmed during the early summer of (I think) 1975 and 1976, when Jack was manager at Middlesboro. The majority of the players were from my school, Framwellgate Moor, in Durham, and there were also some 'Boro trainees, one of who, Stan Cummins, went on to be a pro at several teams. At the time Jack said he would be the first million pound footballer......

The series were made by Tyne Tees Television, but as far as I'm aware the only remaining footage of it is a short clip that has been shown on 'It'll be Alright on the Night' where Jack is on the end of a free kick that catches him right where it hurts.

We filmed each series in a week, getting sunburned in the process, and as 12 and 13 year olds had a great time. Jack swore like a trooper and our lack of skill drove him mad, but he was always approachable, humerous and treated us well.

The series was accompanied by a book that features two of my friends in posed shots.

I have very fond memories of the two summer sessions - it's a shame the footage appears to be gone.