Joe Kinnear, who has died aged 77, had a lively and successful career in three areas of football: as a trophy-winning defender with Tottenham during the 1960s and 1970s, as a 26-cap Ireland cap and as a combative and resourceful manager. Wimbledon in the 90s, when they challenged the established order while maintaining their status as members of the first division during his seven years of reign.
Kinnear, a speedy right back, won the FA CupLeague Cup (twice) and UEFA Cup with Spurs, while with Ireland he was a regular selection in three European Championship and two World Cup qualifying campaigns from 1967 to 1975. But of the three elements of an eventful sporting life, his time at Wimbledon was probably the most impressive, given that he managed a team that barely had a right to be mixed in the top division.
Despite being heavily relegated in each year of Kinnear's tenure from 1992 onwards, Wimbledon achieved very respectable finishes of 12th, 6th, 9th, 14th, 8th and 15th in the six full seasons in which he led them in the Premier. League, with a high level. mark in the 1996-97 season, when they reached the semi-finals of the FA and League Cup and at one point appeared to be in a real fight for the league title. After Kinnear was forced to resign due to health problems in 1999, Wimbledon relegated shortly after his departure.
Born in Dublin, he was the son of Margaret (née O'Reilly) and Joe Reddy, a Guinness brewery worker. The marriage broke down when he was young and his mother moved to England and settled with a new partner, Gerry Kinnear, in Watford, Hertfordshire. Joe joined his mother when he was six years old and grew up with his four sisters, taking his stepfather's last name.
His football exploits at Leggatts Way secondary modern school soon led to the captaincy of the Watford and Hertfordshire school teams, and later, while working as a printer's apprentice, he joined non-league St Albans City, where he was discovered by Tottenham scouts. Manager's signature Bill Nicholson As an amateur in 1963, he turned professional two years later, debuting in 1966.
Known for his pace and physicality, by 1967, at the age of 20, Kinnear had fully established himself in the Spurs team, making 28 appearances during the 1966-67 season, including a 2-1 win in the final. of the 1967 FA Cup against Chelsea. , in which he was widely considered the best player of the match. There was a setback when he missed most of the year after breaking his leg in January 1969, but he regained his place on his return and won winners' medals in the 1971 League Cup, 1972 UEFA Cup and the 1972 UEFA Cup. 1973 League Cup finals with victories over Aston Villa, Wolves and Norwich City respectively.
However, not long after the last of those medals, Kinnear began to find his feet under the challenge of a new boy, Ray Evans, and after making just 24 appearances in the 1973-74 and 1974-75 seasons, he decided to move on. to Division Three Brighton in the summer of 1975, having played 258 games for Spurs in all competitions. He lasted just one season at Brighton before retiring with a knee injury aged 30, and also made his last appearance for Ireland during that campaign, in October 1975 against Turkey.
He began his managerial career with coaching jobs in the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, India and Nepal, eventually returning to the UK as assistant manager to his former club mate at Spurs. David Mackay at Fourth Division Doncaster Rovers in the late 1980s. He became caretaker manager there in 1989 when McKay moved to Birmingham City, before moving to Wimbledon as reserve team manager that same year.
To the surprise of many observers, the previously modest south-west London club had established itself in the top flight of English football and had even won the FA Cup in 1988, having been a non-league team 11 years earlier. that triumph. When Kinnear took over the full managerial role in 1992, he did so following a predecessor, Peter Withe, who had made an ill-advised attempt to rid the club of the club's anarchic “Crazy Gang” culture before being sacked after 105 days in charge. post.
By contrast, Kinnear understood perfectly what made Wimbledon tick and was almost immediately able to restore the club's fortunes by re-establishing its sense of underdog spirit and its commitment to direct football.
Gruff, tough and stubborn, although with a witty and joking side, Kinnear was a coach in the image of the Wimbledon players. He was also an excellent coach, he had a fine nose for signing players like Kenny Cunningham, Dean Holdsworth and Marcus Gayle, who could make the step up from the lower divisions to the Premier League and was adept at attracting local talent, including Jason Euell, Neal Ardley and Chris Perry. He was voted League Managers Association Manager of the Year in 1994 and won four Premier League Manager of the Month awards, as many as he has ever received. Jose Mourinho, Mauricio Pochettino either Roy Hodgson.
Kinnear's time at Wimbledon effectively ended when he suffered a heart attack before a match at Sheffield Wednesday in March 1999 at the age of 52. In June of that year he resigned to make way for Egil Olsen as his successor, and relegation came the following season. .
Within two years he re-emerged at Luton Town, where he became manager after initially being appointed director of football. He took his team from Division Three to Division Two in 2003 and kept them there before being sacked by a new set of owners the following year. He then became manager of second division side Nottingham Forest but resigned after 12 months after a series of poor results.
He was subsequently out of the game for almost four years, in 2008 Kinnear was recruited by the Premier League. Newcastle UnitedEdit as their interim manager in a surprise move following the unexpected resignation of Kevin Keegan. After a good start, he was given the permanent job, but within three months (during which he had an often testy, expletive-ridden relationship with the media) he had to resign to undergo heart bypass surgery.
To top off that brief period, five years later Newcastle appointed him director of football on a three-year contract, a position in which he lasted only six months before resigning again. His brief tenure in office was marked by some strange statements and erratic behavior, and within a year he was diagnosed with dementia.
He is survived by his wife, Bonnie (née Arnold), and daughter, Russelle; His son, Elliot, predeceased him.
