Following the sad loss of Terry Venables last week, Pete Spencer has written a series of obituary articles – this is the third in the series, you can read part one here, part two here and part three here.
Venables returned to England and answered a plea from the new owner at Crystal Palace, Mark Goldberg. Goldberg had just blown his life savings on wrestling the club from Ron Noades. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the financial clout to handle a high-level club and his error in not buying the ground from the former owner resulted in the club almost going out of business.
Venables left. His next move was to work with Robson, then Middlesbrough boss. They were battling against relegation from the Premier League. He galvanised them to such an extent they ended 14th.
Once that project was complete he continued as a sort of hired gun or fixer as Leeds United called on his services to replace David O’Leary. O’Leary had built a fine young side which reached the Semi-Finals of the UEFA Cup then the Champions League. But again financial problems behind the scenes hampered the new boss.
Ferdinand was sold to Manchester United and then Jonathan Woodgate was also offloaded. The exciting young crown jewels were being sold off beneath him and with results declining the club pushed him before he could jump.
Venables’ only other notable managerial/coaching position after that was as assistant to Steve McClaren for the England team during the Euro ’08 qualifying campaign. McClaren had been chosen after his impressive work as Alex Ferguson’s assistant at Manchester United but his desire to have overall control of things appeared to result in him listening less to Venables than perhaps he should have.
For Venables, it was a sort of redemption to be working for The FA again after how it ended last time. A sort of redemption never afforded to Ramsey.
Venables wanted him to adopt three at the back as a formation. Eventually, McClaren resisted for the crucial away game in Croatia. On a disastrous night for England, they lost 0-2 with one of the goals coming from a backpass to goalkeeper, Paul Robinson, who missed his kick when the ball hit a divot.
It was suggested McClaren immediately binned the idea and listened less and less to his assistant. When England failed to qualify for the tournament both men were sacked.
If you want to get an idea of the effect the man had on football, wherever he went, you need only listen to those who played alongside, and under him. They all point to him either being the best coach they ever worked with, or he made the biggest difference of anyone in their careers.
He described himself as a “players’ man” and few would disagree with him. His ability to talk to players in a way they understood, rarely raising his voice but also keeping a necessary distance so he could discipline if needed later on, were all qualities which set him apart from the rest.
He will be sorely missed.
