Joe Kinnear, the former long-serving Tottenham defender who also managed the likes of Wimbledon and Newcastle during a long career in football, has died at the age of 77.
Kinnear had been battling vascular dementia since 2015 and his passing was announced by his family in a short statement released on Sunday.
It read: “We are sad to announce that Joe passed away peacefully this afternoon surrounded by his family.”
Kinnear spent a decade as a Tottenham player after joining from non-league club St Albans as a teenager in 1965, starting the 1967 FA Cup final win over Chelsea at the old Wembley under legendary manager Bill Nicholson.
He made more than 250 appearances for Spurs in total across all competitions, winning two League Cups in 1971 and 1973 - beating Aston Villa and Norwich respectively - and the Uefa Cup in 1972, when Tottenham overcame English rivals Wolves over two legs.
Kinnear, who was born in Dublin but moved to England as a child, also earned 26 senior international caps for the Republic of Ireland between 1967-75 and spent the final season of his club career at Brighton before hanging up his boots in 1976 at the age of 30.
As a manager, he was best known for a seven-year stint in charge at Wimbledon between 1992-99, leading the plucky Dons to multiple top-half Premier League finishes and two domestic cup semi-finals in 1997.
Kinnear also coached Luton, Doncaster and Nottingham Forest as well as in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Malaysia, India and Nepal.
His final job came at struggling Newcastle, surprisingly replacing Kevin Keegan as an interim fire-fighter in 2008 four years after being sacked by Forest.
Kinnear’s short stint in charge was perhaps most remembered for an X-rated rant at a journalist that occurred during a pre-match press conference. He later needed a triple heart bypass operation as Chris Hughton took the temporary reins and he was eventually replaced by Alan Shearer, who could not keep the Magpies in the Premier League.
Kinnear made a shock return to Newcastle as director of football under Mike Ashley in the summer of 2013 but resigned his post in February 2014 after the club went two straight transfer windows without making a permanent signing.
In 2021, Kinnear’s family publicly announced that he was in the late stages of vascular dementia, having first been diagnosed in 2015.
We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of former player, Joe Kinnear.
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) April 7, 2024
The thoughts of everyone at the Club are with his family and friends at this incredibly sad time 🤍 pic.twitter.com/p22a3IOloK
In a statement that followed their 3-1 Premier League win over Nottingham Forest on Sunday, Tottenham said: “We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of former player, Joe Kinnear.
“The thoughts of everyone at the Club are with his family and friends at this incredibly sad time.”
Everyone connected with Wimbledon was deeply saddened to hear the news that our former manager, Joe Kinnear, has passed away.
— AFC Wimbledon (@AFCWimbledon) April 7, 2024
A true legend of the Club, Joe gave us some amazing memories that we treasure.
Our deepest condolences go to his family at this difficult time 🕊️ pic.twitter.com/goeKQbS935
AFC Wimbledon wrote: “Everyone connected with Wimbledon was deeply saddened to hear the news that our former manager, Joe Kinnear, has passed away.
“A true legend of the Club, Joe gave us some amazing memories that we treasure. Our deepest condolences go to his family at this difficult time.”
We are saddened to learn that our former manager Joe Kinnear has passed away at the age of 77.
— Luton Town FC (@LutonTown) April 7, 2024
Our thoughts are with Joe’s friends and family at this time, Rest in Peace 🧡 pic.twitter.com/3GKbACN2uy
Luton said: “We are saddened to learn that our former manager Joe Kinnear has passed away at the age of 77.“Our thoughts are with Joe’s friends and family at this time, Rest in Peace.”
