Manchester United and Chelsea experience not enough for Ray Wilkins with Jordan

Much was expected from a manager with an illustrious past, and Jordan can hope their big win over Palestine will be a sign of better times, writes Andy Mitten.

A 5-1 victory over Palestine was Ray Wilkins’s first success since taking over as coach of Jordan. William West / AFP

Manchester United teammate Lou Macari remembers Ray Wilkins arriving in the dressing room in 1979.

“When Ray Wilkins arrived he out-dressed us all,” Macari has said. “He had a handkerchief in his jacket pocket and shoes from Carnaby Street. The Chelsea players always thought that they were the best-dressed boys.”

Wilkins wanted his style to match the substance because United had paid a club record £825,000 (Dh4.5 million) for the Londoner who had been Chelsea captain at 18.

He was worth it.

He spent five years at Old Trafford and while he was nicknamed “the crab” by his second manager Ron Atkinson for his propensity to move the ball sideways, United sold the player otherwise known as “Butch” for a club record £1.5m fee to AC Milan in 1984 where he spent three years.

Spells at eight further clubs followed though it was at Queens Park Rangers that he most impressed as a player and manager in the 1990s.

The England international with 84 caps also managed at Fulham and was twice assistant manager at Chelsea, latterly to Carlo Ancelotti.

Wilkins was a familiar, serious, face on British television as a football pundit and he worked as a coach at Fulham until February 2014, but the announcement of his appointment as Jordan coach in September caused surprise.

Wilkins took his former United teammate Frank Stapleton as assistant with the emphasis being on performing well in the Asian Cup in a group with Iraq and Palestine.

Wilkins did not have the best start as manager of one of Asia’s most-improved teams with no wins in his first eight games and Jordan only scored two goals.

Better was expected of the team who had reached the play-off for the 2014 World Cup finals where they lost over two legs to Uruguay, but poor form meant they slipped 12 places to 93rd in the world with the 58-year-old Wilkins under pressure.

Jordan’s home form had been their strong point. There they had defensive discipline and hit opponents on the counter attack, with winger Odel Al Saify crossing for his side’s lightweight attack.

Reproducing their previous form in Australia would be a challenge but they performed well and were 0-0 in their opening game against Iraq in Brisbane until the 77th minute when they conceded the game’s only goal.

Tournament debutants Palestine were next in Melbourne and Wilkins enjoyed his first victory as his side triumphed 5-1 with striker Al Dardour hitting four and becoming the first player of the tournament to hit a hat-trick.

Jordan, who reached the quarter-final stage last time under Iraqi coach Adnan Haman, are third in Group D.

Their chances of progressing appear slim ahead of today’s final match against leaders Japan, who inflicted Jordan’s heaviest defeat, a 6-0 win in 2012.

Japan only need a draw to progress and Jordan need to win.

It is a tall order for Wilkins, who these days sports a tracksuit rather than a sharp suit, but the victory over Palestine, who play Iraq, has at least given them hope.

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