Duncan Edwards and Tommy Taylor, Ireland took the lead in the third minute through Alf Ringstead. Some of the biggest names of the day had to wait until the ninetieth minute to salvage a draw, when Bristol City legend John Atyeo scored for the visitors. In all Charlie made forty appearances for Ireland, scoring two goals, with both coming in the same game, a 4–1 victory over Norway in Oslo in May 1964. Charlie played as a striker that day. His final match in a green shirt was a 2–1 defeat to Hungary in June 1969.
MANAGEMENT
Despite his stature in the game, Hurley’s time in management was relatively uneventful and short-lived. A five-year spell with Reading was his only foray into club management in English football. At the time that he took over at Reading they were in the bottom tier of English football, the Fourth Division, and it was not until 1976 that Hurley guided the club to Division Three. Unfortunately, he could not keep them there and after one season they were relegated again, so Hurley left the club.
Steve Hetzke was a defender at Reading and later Sunderland, and he remembers Hurley from his time in the lower divisions with Reading: ‘The club needed a change of direction, and for Charlie it was his first job in management since his retirement as a player. He initially started off in a player-manager role. I think he wanted to be one of the lads, but he learned very quickly and soon realised he couldn’t do it.
‘The surprising thing about his appointment was that he brought no one in with him. He had no one experienced that he could bounce ideas off or be his yes man. He needed a mentor, someone experienced in football to help his development as a manager, and I think long term that may have been his downfall. He found it hard at the start, but as time went on he got more and more into it. When he first took the role he adopted an open office, where everyone was welcome to talk to him, but as time went on he learned quickly and took the stance that if you wanted to talk to him, you better have a good reason. It was all part of his development as a manager.
‘I remember his first pre-season in charge. All we did was running for the first few weeks. It was the turncoat syndrome: as a player you hate running, and then as a manager it’s one of the first things you enforce. It was quite funny, though, as we asked him why all the running, and he said it was to get us fit. When we then asked him, “Do you like it?” he replied, “No, that’s why I’m at the back.”’
The change from being a player to a manager can be very hard. You go from being one of the lads to being the man in charge. You have to change your approach to the players. Hetzke recalls Robin Friday, who was a real character in the Reading team in those days and would have been a handful for even the most experienced of managers, not to mention a rookie: ‘Robin was a rock star in the lower divisions in those days, and he is regarded as a legend of the game by Reading and Cardiff fans. He was a colourful character, well known in and around Reading. To be honest, I am not sure how Charlie handled him at all. I remember one time we were heading to an away game, and we were all on the bus waiting, but there was no sign of Robin. So we contacted his house, and his wife said he was on his way. Well, we went to pick him up when suddenly around the corner came Robin, dressed in a blue velvet suit, with cherry-red shoes, a T-shirt and a multicoloured scarf that was hanging down to his feet. It was clear that he had never made it home. Charlie looked at him almost in disbelief. I mean, if you could have taken a picture, you would have captured Charlie with his mouth wide open. To make matters worse, Robin, as calm as you like, just said, “Morning, gaffer” and went to the back of the bus to go to sleep. There was no apology, nothing. Charlie didn’t say a word, but it was all over his face, which was red with anger. The fact that
MANAGEMENT
Despite his stature in the game, Hurley’s time in management was relatively uneventful and short-lived. A five-year spell with Reading was his only foray into club management in English football. At the time that he took over at Reading they were in the bottom tier of English football, the Fourth Division, and it was not until 1976 that Hurley guided the club to Division Three. Unfortunately, he could not keep them there and after one season they were relegated again, so Hurley left the club.
Steve Hetzke was a defender at Reading and later Sunderland, and he remembers Hurley from his time in the lower divisions with Reading: ‘The club needed a change of direction, and for Charlie it was his first job in management since his retirement as a player. He initially started off in a player-manager role. I think he wanted to be one of the lads, but he learned very quickly and soon realised he couldn’t do it.
‘The surprising thing about his appointment was that he brought no one in with him. He had no one experienced that he could bounce ideas off or be his yes man. He needed a mentor, someone experienced in football to help his development as a manager, and I think long term that may have been his downfall. He found it hard at the start, but as time went on he got more and more into it. When he first took the role he adopted an open office, where everyone was welcome to talk to him, but as time went on he learned quickly and took the stance that if you wanted to talk to him, you better have a good reason. It was all part of his development as a manager.
‘I remember his first pre-season in charge. All we did was running for the first few weeks. It was the turncoat syndrome: as a player you hate running, and then as a manager it’s one of the first things you enforce. It was quite funny, though, as we asked him why all the running, and he said it was to get us fit. When we then asked him, “Do you like it?” he replied, “No, that’s why I’m at the back.”’
The change from being a player to a manager can be very hard. You go from being one of the lads to being the man in charge. You have to change your approach to the players. Hetzke recalls Robin Friday, who was a real character in the Reading team in those days and would have been a handful for even the most experienced of managers, not to mention a rookie: ‘Robin was a rock star in the lower divisions in those days, and he is regarded as a legend of the game by Reading and Cardiff fans. He was a colourful character, well known in and around Reading. To be honest, I am not sure how Charlie handled him at all. I remember one time we were heading to an away game, and we were all on the bus waiting, but there was no sign of Robin. So we contacted his house, and his wife said he was on his way. Well, we went to pick him up when suddenly around the corner came Robin, dressed in a blue velvet suit, with cherry-red shoes, a T-shirt and a multicoloured scarf that was hanging down to his feet. It was clear that he had never made it home. Charlie looked at him almost in disbelief. I mean, if you could have taken a picture, you would have captured Charlie with his mouth wide open. To make matters worse, Robin, as calm as you like, just said, “Morning, gaffer” and went to the back of the bus to go to sleep. There was no apology, nothing. Charlie didn’t say a word, but it was all over his face, which was red with anger. The fact that
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