Originally published in Hot Press in July 1994:

Joe Kinnear is happy proving the Crazy Gang’s critics wrong at Wimbledon but if the call came, he’d drop everything to take over as the next Ireland manager. Stuart Clark meets the colourful character who wants to follow in Jack’s footsteps and reclaim the beautiful game from the men in blazers.

Sure, Romario’s shown a few deft touches and there are a couple of Nigerians who might make it onto the Munchies’ sub bench but, two weeks in, the star of the USA ‘94 has to be Joe Kinnear.

Besides giving Bill O’Herlihy heart attacks with his use of such wonderfully descriptive technical terms as “big girl’s blouse” and “steaming Jessie”, the Delboy of TV soccer pundits has treated the viewing public to cheery anecdotes like the time Vinnie Jones threatened to rip off another player’s head and, quote “shit in the hole.” I bet the switchboard melted after that one.

“There’s a tendency within football to mind your “P’s and Q’s and sweep things under the carpet,” reflects the Wimbledon manager. “That’s not my style, though. If I’m asked a question, I’ll answer it as honestly and straightly as I can, even if it does sometimes get me into trouble.

“For instance, I’ve been up to the F.A. more times in the past two years than Terry Venables and been fined £30,000 for expressing my views on the standard of refereeing too harshly. It’s a bugbear of mine that there are no professional referees in the game. The Premiership is a massive business, turning over tens of millions of pounds, yet some of the most important decisions affecting it are being made by blokes who are paid £50 a week for what’s essentially a hobby. I’m determined to see that change and if it costs me a few grand every now and again, so be it.”

Although Kinnear’s best known these days for trying to keep a rein on the Crazy Gang, his association with top flight football dates back to the sixties when he joined Tottenham as an apprentice right back. Quickly making the number 2 shirt his own, he spent 12 years with the North London club, picking up a variety-pack of medals along the way and only leaving White Heart Lane when Brian Clough and Peter Taylor persuaded him to become part of their re-building plans at Brighton. Joe’s career was brought to a premature halt two seasons later when he broke his leg for the second time and with the bank manager knocking at the door, he turned his attention to coaching.

“I went to Lilleshall and got my F.A. coach’s badge under Bobby Robson and Dave Sexton and then, with not a lot happening at home, decided to chance my arm overseas. The first job was as National Coach of Malaysia and then I spent two years in charge of the Indian team which prompted that famous quote of Harry Harris’ in the Mirror - ‘Joe Kinnear, sitting in his office overlooking Mount Everest’.

“From Katmandu, I went to Dubai where the head of state, Sheikh Mohammed, gave me a blank cheque to re-organise their F.A. The rule in that part of the world is no trophies, no job but we were fortunate enough to win the regional championship five years in a row and thanks to the tax-free generosity of the Sheikh, I was able to see my contract out and return home with enough money to buy myself a house and my mum a house.”

Having witnessed the level of skill in the Gulf first-hand, Joe’s not in the least bit surprised that Dubai’s neighbours, Saudi Arabia, nearly managed to pull off a major shock against Holland.

“What let them down when I was there,” he recalls, “was the physical side of their game. They’re all brothers or cousins or members of the same tribe and they’re slow to get stuck in case they injure each other. That caused terrible problems against European sides, in particular, but the Saudis now have beefed themselves up and together with the technical ability that’s always been there, are capable of giving anyone a game. They’re a bit naive still when it comes to free kicks and set plays but in a couple of years they could be another Nigeria.”

As anyone suffering from World Cup sleep deprivation will tell you, Kinnear is a big fan of the Super Eagles and has even reached a tentative agreement to bring their 6ft 2” striker Rashidi Yekini to Selhurst Park next season.

“There were times during their 3 - 0 win against Bulgaria,” he enthuses, “when they reminded me of a raw Brazil. I heard about Yekini, who’s their main goalscorer, from Bobby Robson. He’s been playing in Portugal and we’re hoping to get him for pre-season training and take it from there. My big concern is that if he has too good a World Cup, we won’t be able to afford the bloke.”

Wimbledon’s links with Nigeria don’t end there.

“John Fashanu got picked for their World Cup squad but was worried about his fitness. He cracked an ankle at the end of last season and the specialist was recommending he go in and get it scraped, so that’s what happened. It’s a shame because it could be Fash’s last chance to play in a World Cup but he’s out there now commentating for Nigerian TV and hopefully putting a good word in for us with Yekini!”

There was a time when playing for Wimbledon gave you about as much of a chance of winning an international cap as Ian Paisley has of becoming a G.A.A. All-Star. Now, though, with the Dons finishing a credible sixth in the Premiership and old boys like Terry Phelan and Denis Wise proving themselves at the highest level, South London is no longer the footballing Chernobyl it once was.

“That’s not a bad analogy,” Kinnear laughs. “Ireland’s never been in a position where it can afford to overlook the less fashionable clubs but under Graham Taylor, certainly the England camp’s attitude towards Wimbledon players was that they were contaminated. He’s only just got the job but by taking three of our lads - Holdsworth, Barton and Scales - for England “B”, Terry Venables has shown that he’s got a different attitude and will pick entirely on merit.”

As a Premiership manager, what sort of relationship does Joe have with his international counterparts?

“Extremely good. Terry and myself were players and roommates together at Tottenham and I see him most Saturdays when I drop by his club in Knightsbridge, Scribes. Other than that, he phones up from time to time to check on players and have a gossip. Jack and Maurice are the same, they’re always keen to know who we’ve got coming through the ranks and our young centre-half, Fitzgerald, has made a dozen or so appearances for the Under 21s.”

Joe was gently berated by Johnny Giles in Hot Press’ World Cup Special for letting El Tel get his hands on Dean Holdsworth before Jack. He felt that the striker’s decision not to declare Ireland might have been connected to worries that as a “foreign” player his value to teams like Manchester United and Blackburn, who are in Europe, would be diminished. If indeed the UEFA ruling was a factor, isn’t there a danger that the Republic will become progressively starved of young talent?

“What happened is that someone suggested Deano had an Irish grandfather but when he was looking for proof, he couldn’t find any. I tell you one thing, he was desperate to play for Ireland and Jack was desperate to have him because with the injury to Niall Quinn, we’re short a natural goalscorer. Even when he was in the frame for England “B”, his attitude was ‘tell Maurice Setters if they want me for the World Cup, I’ll be over in the morning’. It may still happen - he’s got lawyers and solicitors and people here delving back through old birth certificates. The fact that he played that time for England ‘B’ doesn’t matter because it’s not considered a full competitive game.

“It was the same situation with Vinne Jones. He got connected to an Irish great great grandfather but there was no evidence to back it up. Personally, I think at the time he’d have been an asset to the Irish squad.”

I said it a few weeks ago as a joke but having just seen Luis Garcia run rings, squares and parallelograms round the Irish defence, I seriously wonder whether someone with Vinnie’s, er, unique talents mightn’t have slowed him down a little. He may not be the most graceful of players but as Paul Gascoigne’s undercarriage will testify, he’s great at getting to grips with opponents.

We mustn’t forget that Kinnear was himself a Republic of Ireland international, winning 25 caps between 1966 and 1975 under no fewer than five managers.

So sad to hear of the passing of Joe Kinnear.

Dublin born, despite his London accent, here he is playing the ball into Don Givens in Dalymount Park in 1974 for a famous goal.

Rest in peace Joe.pic.twitter.com/zwoGaC9vpG

— FootballWalkingTour (@FootballTourDub) April 7, 2024

“It was very different back then to what it is now,” he laughs again. “I’ll give you an example. For my first cap, I played on Saturday in the Cup Final against Chelsea, Spurs winning 1 - 0. The next day we did the usual bus ride through North London. Monday morning I flew to Dublin airport where I met the team, shook hands and got straight on a flight to Turkey. We played the game in Ankara on Tuesday afternoon, again winning 1 - 0, and flew home the following day. We had about thirty minutes to practise set pieces and there were a couple of lads front he League of Ireland whose names I didn’t even know.

“That’s why it took us until the 80s to qualify for anything. There was another occasion in 1968 when Tottenham were playing A.C. Milan at White Heart Lane in the Cup Winners’ Cup and Johnny Giles was on European duty somewhere else with Leeds and the idiots at the F.A.I. arranged a match against the Germans at Dalymount Park for the following night. So you’d have six first team members absent and, no disrespect, these part-timers from Dundalk and Limerick trying to fill in for them. It was only when Liam Tuohy and then Johnny Giles took over as manager that the national team was taken seriously.”

While Jack Charlton’s more or less committed himself to staying where he is until the European Championships, post-1996 it's a fair bet he’ll be going on permanent fishing vacation. Having set a precedent, the F.A.I. might be happy to bring in an outside replacement but if they were to buy Irish there are only two logical candidates - Joe Kinnear and Mick McCarthy.

Mick would probably be the fans’ choice, his Italia ‘90 heroics forever engraved on the national psyche and his ability to command respect from players another important consideration. He has, however, yet to prove himself as anything other than an adequate manager and unless he succeeds in taking Milwall to the Premiership and keeping them there, the smart money has to be on his crosstown rival.

“Put this in the biggest type you’ve got: ‘Joe Kinnear wants the Ireland job!’ I’ve had a taste of it abroad and to manage my own country would be a dream come true. On the other hand, there’s a train of thought that says you’d have to be fucking daft to try and follow Jack because short of winning the European Championship or World Cup, you’re always going to be living in his shadow.

“The biggest problem his successor’s going to have is finding replacements for the players who’ve got too old. Alan Kelly’s demonstrated he’s got a safe enough pair of hands to take over from Packie and there’s not much to choose between Jason McAteer and Ray Houghton but where’s the new Paul McGrath?

"There are a lot of risks involved but I’m as brave as they come and if the F.A.I. gave me the nod, I’d be very proud and honoured to accept the challenge.”

For the time being, though, Joe’s allegiances lie firmly with Wimbledon, his goal next season to pick up a trophy and take the Crazy Gang into Europe. They would’ve got there in 1988 but for the Heysel disaster and the prospect of tussling with the likes of A.C. Milan and Barcelona obviously appeals to their manager.

“We’re not going to win the league,” he confesses, “because you need a massive squad for that and when we get injuries, I have to rely on young homegrown kids who are spirited but short of big match experience. On the day, though, we proved by beating Manchester United, Blackburn and Newcastle at home last season that we can take on anybody and win.

“This is the first summer I haven’t had to ring rounds and try and offload players to balance the books. There are huge offers on the table for Holdsworth, Barton, Scales and Earle but if we do sell it’ll be for the benefit of Wimbledon Football Club rather than the bank. With Yekini possibly up there as well to bolster the attack, I see no reason why we shouldn’t finish in the top three or four and get to Wembley for either or both the cups. Next stop then is the San Siro!”

Sam Hammam’s pockets are deep but they’re not bottomless, the suggestion being that if the Dons were to get relegated to the Endsleigh League, they might not get the chance to fight this doomsday scenario, preferring instead to concentrate on the giant steps forward that have been taken over the past 12 months.

“All of a sudden, Wimbledon has become an incredibly high profile club. We had seven live games on TV last season which came to over £1.5 million, ten Match Of The Days which was worth another half-million and what that means is that for the first time in the club’s history, we covered ourselves financially. We came sixth in the league, a wonderful performance, and I picked up three Manger of the Month Awards and got voted Manager of the Season.

“The slog is a long way from over,” he admits, “but we’re getting there. When we won the F.A. Cup in 1988, beating Liverpool 1 - 0, our attendance actually went down the following season which wouldn’t have happened at any other club. Since I took over, we’ve upped the average gate from 4,900 to 10,000. That’s a testimony to the style of football we play. John Fashanu and Vinnie Jones are the only two survivors from the original Crazy Gang, the other nine I’ve bought and been able to mould into a term that can match its physicality with skill. It’s the same basic game plan as Ireland with Niall Quinn or big Tony Cascarino up front - hassle them, put them under pressure, don’t let them play their normal game and force mistakes, If that makes us spoilers, fine, we’re spoilers.”

Spurs, Liverpool and Everton might have all finished beneath them with ‘The Big Five’ clubs still wielding a disproportionate amount of influence on the game, do Wimbledon ever feel as if they’re gatecrashing an exclusive party?

“Success breeds respect and teams that fail to respect Wimbledon do so at their peril. Occasionally, you get some idiot Chairman saying we don’t belong in the Premiership but that usually because we’ve knocked their club out of the Cup or something. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t get extra satisfaction from beating one of the ‘glamour’ sides. Kenny Daglish has spent £20 million of Jack Walker’s money assembling his Balckburn team, yet we turned them over 4 - 1. Kenny was smiling even less than usual after that one!”

Giant-killing minnows are normally clasped to the media bosom with gusto but in Wimbledon’s case, the coverage afforded them has been less maternal. Particularly interesting were the different reaction to the John Fashanu/Gary Mabutt elbowing incident and the Dean Saunders tackle on Paul Elliot which effectively ended the Chelsea central defender’s career. As far as the tabloids were concerned, Fash was guilty of common assault while Saunders simply mistimed his challenge with no malice aforethought.

“While I have the utmost sympathy for Paul Elliot, I believe it’s up to players, managers and the F.A. to sort its own affairs out rather than involving the courts. What we have creeping in now, unfortunately, is trial by television and individual players are getting stuck in the dock without any defence. After the incident with Mabutt, there was a camera trained on John Fashanu’s every move for the rest of the season which put him under incredible pressure. I found that sad and unnecessary but it's become part and parcel of the game and we have to live with it.”

How does the physical side of football now compare to the days when Joe Kinnear was a professional?

“I broke my leg twice, once against Leeds which I hasten to add wasn’t a Johnny Giles tackle and then at Brighton. On either occasion did I even think of taking legal action because those sorts of injuries are an occupational hazard that can’t be eliminated. The number of seriously bad tackles have probably gone down which, in fairness, could be because more games are being televised and you can’t ruffle someone’s hair without being booked.”

Now there’s a wonderful mental image – Vinnie Jones getting red carded for cynically tossing Ian Marshall’s poodle perm. Of course, the whole violent conduct issue could be resolved if the Football Association were willing to take the initiative but, as anyone who’s dealt with the men in blazers will tell you, that’s a contradiction in terms.

“The fact that the F.A. is tolerated rather than respected has a lot to do with them chopping and changing the rules to suit themselves. The opinions of the Managers Association and the Professional Players’ Association are largely ignored, which is nonsense, and they seem to think the whole game is being run for their personal benefit.”

As a former White Heart Lane man, what does Joe make of the punishment meted out to Tottenham by the F.A. for financial irregularities?

“The fine is one thing but to deduct 12 points and bar them from the Cup bears no relation to the alleged offences and is a smack in the teeth for the players and supporters who’ve done absolutely nothing wrong. It’s the people who do these crimes that should be punished, not the clubs. The only consolation is that they didn’t get relegated which would have been a disgrace, the same way it was when Swindon Town were prevented from going into the old First Division.”

At this point, Joe Kinnear looks at his watch, realises he’s got to prepare for another evening of verbal sparring with Bill O’Herlihy and leaves us with a parting thought.

“The Ireland manager’s job. Make sure you tell them I want it!”