Joe Jordan (footballer) - Playing and Management Style

Playing and Management Style

As one of the nominees for a public vote organised in April 2010 by STV to name 'Scotland's Greatest Team', Jordan was described as an "uncompromising, old fashioned centre forward who was never afraid to put his head where it hurts for club and country", adding that during the 1970s and 1980s "there were few more fearsome sights in world football" than Jordan.

In a 2007 list compiled by The Times Jordan was ranked as the 34th hardest man in the history of the game, with the citation "There have been few more fearsome sights in the European game than 'Jaws' Jordan without his front teeth." David O'Leary, when reflecting on his entire playing career as a defender (spent mostly at Arsenal between 1975 and 1993) he said of Jordan that he was the most combative forward he had ever faced. He has also been described as a powerhouse in aerial play.

Citing his dislocation of Milja Aleksic's jaw in 1980 as an example, The Independent described in 2011 how Jordan was a player who "did not stand for nonsense on the pitch". According to The Herald writing in 2010, alongside his strong play, which due to the way the game was played at that time was almost a necessity if forwards wanted to succeed, Jordan also had a refinement to his game.

Having joined Tottenham as a coach, early touchline disputes with Roy Hodgson and Paul Ince led to tabloid characterisations of Jordan as Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp's “leading attack dog". Following the clash with Gattuso, playing on his hardman reputation, The Independent listed the "Five reasons not to mess with Joe Jordan". Redknapp has said of Jordan as a coach that "You could put your life on him...He is quiet, but when he says something, it is worth listening to."

In coaching, Jordan is described by The Herald as still having the presence and natural authority he had as a player, and of having an enigmatic solemnity about him. In the same interview, while living in Bristol, Jordan was described as having the intensified Scottish patriotism of an exile, who was willing to seize the opportunity to manage the Scottish national team since 2002.