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Terry Venables




  Fullname Terence Frederick Venables
  Nickname El Tel The Godfather of Football
  Cityofbirth London
  Countryofbirth England
  Youthyears 1958-1960
  Youthclubs Chelsea
  Years 1960-1966<br>1966-1969<br>1969-1974<br>1974-1976<br>1977
  Clubs Chelsea <br> Tottenham Hotspur <br> Queens Park Rangers <br> Crystal Palace <br> St Patrick's Athletic
  Caps(goals) 202 (26)<br>115 (19)<br>179 (19)<br>14 (0)<br>2
  Nationalyears 1964
  Nationalteam England
  Nationalcaps(goals) 2 (0)
  Manageryears 1976-1980<br>1980-1984<br>1984-1987<br>1987-1991<br>1993-1996<br>1996-1997<br>1997-1998<br>1998-1999<br>2000-2001<br>2002-2003<br>2006-
  Managerclubs Crystal Palace <br> Queens Park Rangers <br> FC Barcelona <br> Tottenham Hotspur <br> England <br> Portsmouth <br> Australia <br> Crystal Palace <br> Middlesbrough ''(head coach)''<br> Leeds United <br> England ''(assistant manager)''


Terence Frederick Venables (born January 6 , 1943 in Dagenham , London ) is the Assistant England National Football Team manager and a former English international footballer. He has also been employed as the manager of both the English national football team and the Australian National Football Team , as well as management stints at various clubs in England.


PLAYING CAREER

Venables joined Chelsea as an apprentice in 1957 and signed as a Professional for them in 1960. He emerged as the captain and one of the key players in the Chelsea side which challenged for honours in the 1960s , narrowly missing out on League and FA Cup success, and winning the League Cup in 1965 . But Venables' deteriorating relationship with his manager, Tommy Docherty , an equally strong personality, culminated in him and seven other players being sent home for breaking a pre-match Curfew and ultimately led to his sale to Tottenham Hotspur for £80,000 in 1966. He made 202 appearances for Chelsea and scored 26 goals.

He played 115 League games and scored 19 goals for Spurs, with the highlight being an FA Cup Final win over his old side in 1967 . In June 1969 he transferred to Queens Park Rangers F.C. for £70,000 playing 179 games and scoring 19 goals, eventually in 1974 he transferred to Crystal Palace F.C. for the same fee, but only played 14 games for them before being appointed manager in June 1976. The Guardian, ''Terry Venables factfile'' , 8-July-2002.

As well as receiving two International Cap s for England, Venables was the first to play at all international levels ( Schoolboy , Youth , Amateur , Under-23 , and for the Full International Team ). BBC Sport, ''Ask Albert - Number 5'' , 19 February 2001.


MANAGERIAL CAREER

He took over as manager of Crystal Palace when they were in the Third Division, he coached them to the Second Division in 1977 and The First Division (now The Premiership ) in 1979. After a mid-table finish in 1980 he left that October for Queens Park Rangers , whom he led to promotion as Champions in 1983 and a very respectable 5th place in the First Division the following season. He also guided Rangers to the FA Cup final in 1982 whilst still a second division side, but lost in a replay against Tottenham Hotspur.

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''. Venables was recommended by Bobby Robson , a good friend of the Barcelona President and who himself, years later, would take over the team. Terry used a very English system, a classic 4-4-2, which took advantage of outstanding defenders like Gerado, Migueli and Julio Alberto and a very hard-working midfield led by the superb German, Bernd Schuster . During his three seasons in Catalonia , Venables led the club to the Spanish Title and League Cup but lost in the final of the first post- Heysel European Cup to Steaua Bucharest on Penalties . He was sacked in September, 1987 , after failing to repeat his title success at the Camp Nou .

On 23 November 1987, he returned to the UK to manage Tottenham Hotspur. His success with the north London team was varied, with the side finishing in mid-table for most of his tenure, though they did win the FA Cup in 1991 and finished 3rd in 1990 . Venables had brought both Gary Lineker and Paul Gascoigne to Spurs and was a favourite to replace Bobby Robson as England national football team manager when the job became vacant in 1990 but doubts about his probity led him to be passed over. After a failed £20m bid to take over Spurs with Larry Gillick Venables was appointed chief executive by Alan Sugar who had won the takeover battle against Robert Maxwell in June 1991. A clash of personalities developed and Sugar dismissed Venables on 14 May 1993 , over his business dealings. After gaining a temporary injunction he was reinstated, but lost a 3-day high court hearing and ordered to pay costs.

By November 1993, the England national football team had reached a nadir under Graham Taylor , who resigned after being unable to take England to the World Cup finals. Venables, though not active in the game, seemed to have the presence and charisma that could re-ignite some patriotic pride and achievement. He was appointed manager on 28 January 1994 .

However, the speculation coincided with Venables' business dealings falling under some scrutiny and censure. The Football Association 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, including a famous 4-1 demolition of the Netherlands , and only ended in the bitter disappointment of losing to Germany on penalties in the semi-final.

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 . He purchased a 51% controlling interest in the club for £1 in February 1997 but left in controversial circumstances in January 1998. His company Vencorp received a £300,000 bonus in the summer of 1997 and he is thought to have been paid around £250,000 upon leaving the club, but he left them bottom of the First Division . BBC Sport, ''Venables quits Portsmouth taking a tidy profit'' 13 January, 1998.

This period ran parallel with a spell coaching the Australian National Team . His side swept through the Oceania World Cup Qualifiers but were beaten in a Play-off by Iran on away goals, a match often referred to as the most tragic moment in Australian football history.

On 14 January 1998, he was disqualified by the high court from acting as a company director for seven years under section 8 of the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986 for alleged mismanagement of four companies - the London drinking club Scribes West Ltd, Edenote plc, Tottenham Hotspur plc and Tottenham Hotspur Football and Athletic Company Ltd. BBC Business news, ''Seven-year director's ban for Venables'' 14 January, 1998.
The case was brought by the Department Of Trade And Industry who cited instances of bribery, lying, deception, manipulation of accounts and taking money that should have been given to creditors. BBC Sport, ''Venables fans' choice despite flaws'' , 11 October, 2000.

In the same year he returned to Palace, who had just been taken over by Mark Goldberg , and then relegated from the FA Premier League , for a brief period, before leaving acrimoniously in January 1999 , as the south-London club went into administration.

He was then briefly the favourite to take over as manager of the beleaguered Welsh National Football Team in 1999 following the resignation of Bobby Gould during the disastrous Euro 2000 qualifying rounds. The position went to Mark Hughes .

In September 2000, he was widely regarded as the favourite to succeed Gianluca Vialli at Chelsea and at one point it had been reported the that he had been given the job. The Blues job eventually went to Claudio Ranieri .

His first experience of the FA Premier League came in 2000 when under-fire Middlesbrough manager Bryan Robson appointed him as his assistant in a bid to help the club avoid relegation. The club eventually finished 14th and survived. However, Venables felt Teesside too remote a base for his media and business interests and he left the club in 2001 .

In July, 2002, Venables joined was sold to Newcastle United without Venables' knowledge, in an attempt to meet mounting debts. With the club spiralling towards relegation, Venables was sacked in March 2003 . BBC Sport, ''Venables leaves Leeds'' , 21 March, 2003.

He was set to become the technical director of the Newcastle United Jets , and participate in the replacement for the Australian National Soccer League , the A-League in 2005 . However, his many commitments in the UK prevented him from taking up a role within the club, subsequently his agent announced that he did not sign any deal with the club.

On May 27 2006 Venables guided the England Legends and Celebrities squad to victory in the charity Soccer Aid programme. {Link without Title}

In May 2006 he nearly returned to full time management with Middlesbrough F.C. and was close to accepting the post, but after much agonising he decided that at his current age he wasn't able to manage a Premier League football club full time.

In August 2006 he agreed to become the assistant manager in the new England coaching setup under Steve McClaren .


OTHER INTERESTS

In 2002 Venables recorded a single for the World Cup together with the band Rider . ''England Crazy'' reached number 46 in the UK charts.

In addition to his widespread business interests, Venables has co-authored four novels with writer Gordon Williams and is credited as co-creator of the ITV detective series '' Hazell ''. Having been a football pundit for BBC since the mid-80s, he left for ITV in 1994, following a legal dispute with the corporation over allegations made against him in the Panorama programme. Terry Venables is rumoured to be a talented jazz singer, although not much is known of his work.

In 1990 Terry Venables co-devised the board game, "Terry Venables Invites You To Be... The Manager" . This is a football management game and is a cross between the Game Of Life , Risk and Trivial Pursuit .


TRIVIA


Venables described the Baddiel and Skinner hit 'Three Lions' as 'a real key tapper' whilst being in charge of the England team.

Venables is Left-handed .

Is also affectionately known as ''Terry Vegetables'', or ''El Tel'' (during and after his time in Barcelona).
Some Leeds United fans refer to him as "Hell Tel"

Venables appeared on the cover of Morrissey 's single ''Dagenham Dave''.

He was Arsenal player George Graham's best man.


HONOURS

;As a player
Chelsea

  • F.A. Cup winner - 1967


;As a manager
FC Barcelona

  • F.A. Cup winner - 1991



BIBLIOGRAPHY


Football

  • Venables, T & Hanson, N (1995) ''Venables: The Autobiography'' ISBN 0-14-024077-2

  • Venables, T (1996) ''Venables' England: The Making of the Team''ISBN 0-7522-1664-3

  • - (1997) ''The Best Game in the World'' ISBN 0-09-918562-8



Fiction

  • Venables, T & Williams, G (1973) ''They Used to Play on Grass'' ISBN 0-583-12077-6

  • - (1994) ''Hazell Plays Solomon'' ISBN 0-14-024416-6

  • - (1994) ''Hazell and the Menacing Jester'' ISBN 0-14-024418-2

  • - (1995) ''Hazell and the Three Card Trick'' ISBN 0-14-024419-0



REFERENCES






EXTERNAL LINKS



  Before Malcolm Allison
  Title Crystal Palace FC Manager
  Years 1976-1980


  Before Tommy Docherty
  Title Queens Park Rangers FC Manager
  Years 1980-1984


  Before César Luis Menotti
  Title FC Barcelona Manager
  Years 1984-1987


  Before Doug Livermore & Trevor Hartley <br>Caretakers
  Title Tottenham Hotspur FC Manager
  Years 1987-1991


  Before Graham Taylor
  Title England National Football Team Head Coach
  Years 1993–1996
  After Glenn Hoddle


  Before Raul Blanco <small>( Caretaker )</small>
  Title Australia National Football Team manager
  Years 1997–1998
  After Raul Blanco <small>( Caretaker )</small>


  Before Ron Noades & Ray Lewington (caretakers)
  Title Crystal Palace FC Head Coach
  Years 1998-1999


  Before Bryan Robson
  Title Middlesbrough FC Head Coach
  Years 2000-2001<br>(with ''' Bryan Robson ''' as Manager)


  Before David O'Leary
  Title Leeds United AFC Manager
  Years 2002-2003


  Before Tord Grip
  Title England assistant manager
  Years 2006-