DAVE JONES insists he is not a man to bear grudges but the wounds of injustice are still not fully healed. Triumph over adversity may be one of football's most frequently used clichés but when the Cardiff City manager leads out his team at Wembley on Saturday for one of the strangest cup final match-ups in modern times, he will almost be able to feel a national outpouring of sympathy for one of the game's genuine nice guys.
Eight years ago Jones' world collapsed. A strong family man, he was arrested for what turned out to be totally groundless allegations of child abuse while he was employed as a social worker on Merseyside between football jobs in the mid-80s. No smoke
without fire? Nonsense, said the judge. Here was a totally innocent man who should never have been in the dock in the first place.
While he fought his corner, he needed football to help him channel his energies into what he did best. Instead he was infamously suspended by Southampton, a decision that still rankles.
When he did return, Jones became the first manager for 19 years to get Wolves into the top flight. Then he was shown the door again when the club – as promoted teams invariably do – began to struggle. Resentment lingers but, says Jones, there is no bitterness.
"I want the opportunity to manage at the top level again because at Southampton the Premiership was taken away from me through circumstances that had nothing whatsoever to do with football. My career was put on hold. At Wolves, I got them up a year ahead of schedule but they wouldn't invest enough afterwards. Every club I have managed I have left in a healthier state than when I joined. When I got to Cardiff, they had sold everything that wasn't nailed down. I had to start from scratch."
With a new 25,000-seater stadium just over a year away from being completed, Wales' top club is finally emerging from decades of under-achievement. The club may be in mid-table in the Championship and heavily in debt but when you consider Jones has never spent more than £650,000 on a player you get some idea of the magnitude of reaching today's showdown with Portsmouth, Cardiff's first appearance in the final since beating Arsenal back in 1927. Not a bad addition to one's CV, especially at a club that almost certainly would have been plunged into administration had a recent court case over debt repayment gone against them.
"We've used 24 players this season and four of them have been goalkeepers," says Jones, a former Everton defender for whom overcoming adversity has been a recurring theme. "The chairman can't give me the money if it's not there. Thankfully the young players have all bought into what we are trying to do. Jo Ledley is worth a lot of money."
Anyone who saw Ledley's wonder goal that beat Barnsley in the semi-finals can testify to that. Cardiff may be underdogs today but Jones wants his blend of youth and experience to scare the pants of Portsmouth. Robbie Fowler, a goalscoring legend but out for virtually the entire season, could win a place on the bench while Trevor Sinclair and 36-year-old Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink are crucial members of a hard-working, unified squad.
"A lot of people told me not to touch Jimmy, that he was arrogant and a bad influence, but he's been the opposite in terms of how to conduct yourself on and off the pitch," said Jones. "I have always believed if you treat people in the right way, you gain respect."
Jones has nothing but praise for his Scottish trio of Gavin Rae, Kevin McNaughton and Steven Thompson. "Each of them brings something to the table. Gavin brings drive and breaks up opposition moves, Kevin brings us a lot of pace even though his distribution could be better."
Jones is not one to court the limelight but, for once, is enjoying being the name on everyone's lips for the right reasons. "This is the best cup competition in the world bar none. When foreign players come across to the country, it doesn't take them long to understand the meaning of it. People say it lost its romance but I looked at Fergie's face when Manchester United lost to Portsmouth. Don't tell me he didn't want to win it.
"I remember as a kid putting the telly on at 10am and watching the whole build-up to the final. A lot of teams would love to swap places with us. We're not stupid and we know how hard it will be. We've worked so hard to get there. Just enjoy the day? Only if we win."
The mild-mannered but fiercely proud Jones seldom lets his guard down. He still gets upset by distasteful chants at away grounds. "It hurts my family. These people are brain-dead, just like the ones who tried to tarnish my name. I still seethe because I live and die by my principles but I know the case will never go away, I'm never going to shake it off. "
The full article contains 872 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
