HAGAN DOES NICELY

I have written about English coaches going abroad, having varied success on several occasions. Dear old Roy Hodgson would have been one!

A success story that cropped up on the wireless recently was about Jimmy Hagan. I don't know why it was news but his life story was the subject of a Talksport moment and the article was based Roger Barnard's book.

Born in January 1918 in Washington, County Durham, Jimmy first turned out for the local colliery team. His father's had trodden the turf modestly at Newcastle United, Cardiff City and Tranmere Rovers. An English schoolboy international, Jimmy started on Liverpool's groundstaff and went to Derby County at 15 years old, turning out 30 times for the first team. He then joined Sheffield United for a fee of just under £3000, staying with the Blades for 20 years and retiring in 1958. He played 361 games for them scoring 117 goals from inside forward.

He stepped up to the senior international side during the war, playing 16 games and scoring 11 goals. But when the hostilities finished he found it difficult to get selected for England, competing with Len Shackleton, Raich Carter and Wilf Mannion. He was selected once, featuring in a 0-0 draw in Denmark, Of course, Stanley Matthews and Tom Finney were in the team too, so it was talented to say the least.

After the war he refused to sign on to United's books full time having gained a job as a chartered surveyor. So he turned out part time. At one point in his career, 1951, he turned down a transfer for over £32,000 to Sheffield Wednesday, who therefore suffered from a lack of goals and were subsequently relegated to Division Two at the end of the season. If he had gone through with the transfer it would have been a British record.

Management was the next stage for him and he had developed his own brand of "coaching". Did he have any coaching qualifications? He started at Peterborough United in 1958 leading them into the Fourth Division in 1960 and winning the league title in 1960-1 with 134 goals scored during the campaign. Luckily he had Terry Bly at centre-forward, setting an all time individual record of 52 goals.

Peterborough replaced Gateshead who were not re-elected and in that season second to the Posh were Crystal Palace.

Jimmy took over at West Brom in 1963 and upset a few modern footballers with his "puritanical" methods. But his ways got the Baggies to the League Cup in 1967 against QPR, and as a Second Division side beat their "superiors" in the first League Cup final to be held at Wembley. The following season things didn't go too well and  he was dismissed, taking a job as a driving instructor and then he scouted for Manchester City.

Portugal called and some how he took over at Benfica in 1970 where he had considerable success winning the national championship three times (1971-73), the Taca de Portugal, national cup, (1972) and had a narrow semi-final loss against Ajax in the European Cup.

Towards the end of his time with Benfica, the legendry Eusebio broke the national league record with 40 goals. The team scored a total of 101 in the season. Eusebio described Hagan as a "strong disciplinarian" but the players realised the benefit of his methods. Hagan eventually fell out with the club over an issue of Eusebio's testimonial! So he left.

He then went to Estoril, Sporting Lisbon, Boasvista (National Cup in 1979), Vitoria Setubal and Belenenses finally retiring in 1981.

Hagan died in 1998 at 80 years old.