Confucius apparently said there is no such thing as coincidence. There is a purpose to everything. So then, what have scousers Paul Jewell and Paul Cook got in common? Without wanting to state the obvious, they both share the same Christian name, and they are both from Liverpool. But is there more to this than meets the eye? Well, they both played in the same Wigan team between the years 1984 to 1988. They parted company at around the same time. Paul Cook moved to Norwich City and Paul Jewell left for Bradford City.
It is said they were good friends, and of course, they were both die-hard Liverpool fans. Jewell started his career at Anfield but could not break into the first-team. Interestingly, age-wise there is not much to choose between them either. Paul Jewell is 56, and Paul Cook is 54. The Wigan Athletic connection is intriguing too. They both played for Wigan and went on to manage them. In his second season in charge, Jewell took the Latics up as champions of Divison Two, and they entered the upper half of the English professional football league system for the first time in their history!
Then he got them promoted again. On the very last day of the 2004/2005 season, they were promoted to the Premier League, which was a remarkable achievement in itself. Jewell eventually arrived at Ipswich via Derby County in January 2011, having saved Wigan from relegation in the top flight of English football. Sadly, he could not replicate those man-management skills at Portman Road. Was it entirely his fault? Or was there something in the water? What we do know is that he has never managed another club since.
It is only very recently that another former Town boss Roy Keane has been recommended for the Celtic post, as has not taken charge of a club since leaving the Blues back in 2011. It looks as if the Ipswich job is becoming a poisoned chalice for football managers. Paul Hurst has gone backwards and I would think the same thing would apply to Paul Lambert if he is brave enough – or stupid enough, to take on another managerial post. Jim Magilton got his fingers burned too, and he now finds himself as the sporting director at Dundalk! Jewell is doing much the same at Swindon these days, so it seems that after the Ipswich job, the future in football management is bleak.
And returning to the main theme of this article, what is it about Wigan and Ipswich, and football managers from Liverpool? Joe Royle left the club by mutual consent in 2006. In October 2018, Royle was appointed as a director at Wigan Athletic, following the club’s takeover. He remains in that role to this day and once again, Ipswich was Joe Royle’s last managerial post.
