Terry Venables
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Terence Frederick Venables, more commonly known as Terry Venables (born January 6, 1943) is an English football manager, who managed the England national football team.
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Playing career
Venables entered professional football in 1960 when he signed with Chelsea, playing over 200 games before leaving for Tottenham Hotspur in 1966. In 1969, he joined Queens Park Rangers before finishing his playing career at Crystal Palace. He was capped twice for England.
Managerial career
On his retirement from playing, he took over the manager's role at Palace whom he coached to promotion to the Football League First Division in 1979. Returning to Queens Park Rangers, he performed the same promotion miracle for them in 1983. His growing reputation bought him offers from some of Europe's most prestigious clubs and in 1984 he took the role of manager at Barcelona, earning the sobriquet El Tel. During his three seasons in Catalonia, Venables led the club to the Spanish title and league cup, only losing in the final of the European Cup on penalties.
In 1987, he returned to the UK to manage Tottenham Hotspur. Though he led them to FA Cup victory in 1991, a clash of personalities developed with club owner Alan Sugar who insisted on authority over footballing matters. Sugar dismissed Venables on the eve of their 1993 FA Cup semi-final against local rivals Arsenal and Venables spent the next few years pursuing his broad and rapidly developing business interests.
By 1993, the England national football team had reached a nadir under Graham Taylor and Venables, though not active in the game, seemed to have the presence and charisma that could re-ignite some patriotic pride and achievement. However, the speculation coincided with Venables' business dealings falling under some scrutiny and censure. The FA struggled to identify an alternative candidate but their discomfort with his soiled reputation for probity was articulated in their appointment of him as England coach rather than under the traditional title of manager. His highest achievement came through his masterful tactical insights during the 1996 European Football Championship. His skill in analysis, coaching and motivation resulted in some of England's best ever footballing performances, only ending in the bitter disappointment of losing to Germany on penalties in the semi-final. However, Venables' business dealings offered a constant distraction and he left the England job shortly afterwards, going on to become a consultant and then chairman at Portsmouth, to a second period at Palace and to a short spell coaching the Australian national team. In 1998, he was disqualified from acting as a company director for seven years under section 8 of the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986.
His first experience of the FA Premier League came in 2000 when Middlesbrough manager Bryan Robson appointed him as his assistant. However, Venables felt Teeside too remote a base for his media and business interests and he left the club in 2001. In July 2002 Venables joined Leeds United as manager. Leeds were already caught in a downward spiral of footballing failure, disappointing revenues and escalating wage costs. Against his public guarantees to the supporters, he could not prevent the sale of the club's most effective and most valuable players to meet mounting debts. Under such circumstances, he was unable to stem the club's decline and he left in March 2003.
He was to become the technical director of the Newcastle United Jets, who will participate in the replacement for the Australian National Soccer League, the A-League, beginning 2005. However, his many commitments in the UK will prevent him from taking up any job with the club, and his agent announced that he did not sign any deal with the club.
Other interests
In addition to his widespread business interests, Venables has co-authored four novels with writer Gordon Williams. He is, as of 2004, a football pundit for ITV.
Bibliography
Football
- Venables, T & Hanson, N (1995) Venables: The Autobiography ISBN 0140240772
- Venables, T (1996) Venables' England: The Making of the TeamISBN 0752216643
- - (1997) The Best Game in the World ISBN 0099185628
Fiction
- Venables, T & Williams, G (1973) They Used to Play on Grass ISBN 0583120776
- - (1994) Hazell Plays Solomon ISBN 0140244166
- - (1994) Hazell and the Menacing Jester ISBN 0140244182
- - (1995) Hazell and the Three Card Trick ISBN 0140244190
External links
- Interview on FA website (http://www.thefa.com/TheFACup/TheFACup/NewsAndFeatures/Postings/2003/03/41932.htm)
- Notice of disqualification as a company director (http://www.insolvency.co.uk/news/0124kk.htm)
- [1] (http://www.ugandandiscussions.co.uk/899/) Venables on the cover of Private Eye.