It is part of the tragedy of life that what we did last tends to remain fresher in the memory than what we did best. It is part of Joe Kinnear’s tragedy that his final stint as a manager, at Newcastle in the 2008-09 season, contained one of the great openings to a press conference …
Kinnear: “Which one is Simon Bird?”
Simon Bird: “Me.”
Kinnear: “You’re a cunt.”
Bird: “Thank you.”
There followed an extraordinary back and forth in which it became apparent that Kinnear was furious about stories he hadn’t read and was then outraged by the temerity of journalists asking if he could clarify how long his contract was. The press officer’s plaintive appeal that everything that had been said was off the record added a pitch-perfect note of bathos to what was widely regarded as a highly comic scene, and enormous credit must also go to whoever it was who asked sarcastically: “Any knocks?” to end the silence after the press officer begged everybody to return to football.
After Kevin Keegan’s resignation in September 2008, Kinnear was reportedly the 25th choice to succeed him. For his first press conference to degenerate into such farce only amplified the sense of chaos. Kinnear’s reign ended eight months later with Alan Shearer as caretaker coach, overseeing relegation as Kinnear recovered from a heart bypass. A return to the club as director of football between June 2013 and February 2014 was characterised by confused interviews. Kinnear was diagnosed with vascular dementia in 2015.
It’s not unfair to recall Kinnear’s ill-fated days at St James’ Park. They did happen and they are part of his story – and it might not be possible to laugh off that opening press conference had he picked on somebody without the self-possession and lucidity of Bird – but it would be unfair to recall only that.
Born in Dublin, Kinnear and his four siblings were brought up by his mother on a council estate in Watford. He had impressed playing amateur football with St Albans City when he was picked up by Tottenham in 1965. He was only 20 when he was part of Bill Nicholson’s young Tottenham team that beat Chelsea in the 1967 FA Cup final, and he went on to win two League Cups and the Uefa Cup as part of a Tottenham team that was rather more solid than the stereotype would have it.
A record of two goals in 196 league appearances for Tottenham tells its own story: he was an old-school full-back, whose priority was defending. Teammates liked him for his energy and reliability; female fans liked him for his dark good looks. Jimmy Hill said there was “a sort of happiness about him” in those days. After training, Kinnear and his great friend Dave Mackay would spend their time at the dog track in Walthamstow. He always swore with abandon.
He also played 26 times for the Republic of Ireland and finished his career with a season at Brighton, but it was what came next that was remarkable. Rather than taking the standard route into management, Kinnear worked in Sharjah for a number of years before stints as the national coach of India and Nepal. Only in 1987 did he return to the UK, working as assistant to Mackay with Doncaster.
It was in January 1992 that Wimbledon turned to him to replace Peter Withe and it was there that Kinnear really found his home as a manager. His direct style and laid-back approach, often dashing off to watch the racing on television, proved the ideal fit for a club that still hankered after the days of Dave Bassett and Bobby Gould. Kinnear was manager of the month three times in 1993-94 as Wimbledon finished sixth, their joint best ever finish. It wasn’t a one-off: they finished in the top 10 twice in the following three seasons as well and in 1996-97 got to the semi-finals of both cup competitions.
Results declined after the club was taken over by a Norwegian consortium but it was only his first heart attack, in March 1999, that led to Kinnear being replaced by Egil Olsen, whose first season in charge ended in relegation. Neither MK Dons nor Wimbledon have played in the Premier League since.
There was one further success as Kinnear, appointed director of football at Luton, made himself manager and, after overseeing relegation to the fourth tier at the end of 2000-01, led them to promotion at the first attempt having radically overhauled the squad. Although he saved Nottingham Forest from relegation to the third tier in 2003-04 he was sacked before Christmas.
Kinnear had an energy and a drive and a capacity to inspire players but his impact proved shorter- and shorter-lived as the game became increasing tactical. It was as a player that he probably really touched the heights, as an unfussy and consistent defender at a time when Spurs were forging their reputation as a great cup side. The sadness is that one sweary rant towards the end of his career came to overshadow all of that.
He became almost a joke figure, a foul-mouthed dinosaur, but he had been an effective manager and a very fine player.
