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Glenn Hoddle

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Glenn Hoddle
Personal information
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Attacking midfielder

Glenn Hoddle (born 27 October 1957, Hayes, London) is an English football manager and former footballer who played as an attacking midfielder for Tottenham Hotspur, AS Monaco, Chelsea and Swindon Town and at international level for England.

In 2007 he was inducted into the National Football Museum Hall of Fame which cited him as one of the most gifted English footballers of his generation exhibiting "sublime balance and close control, unrivalled passing and vision and extraordinary shooting ability, both from open play and set pieces".[1]

He has been manager of Swindon Town (earning promotion to the Premier League), Chelsea (taking them to the FA Cup final), Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur (reaching a League Cup final) and most recently Wolverhampton Wanderers.

As manager, he took England to the World Cup second round in 1998 only to lose to Argentina on penalties.

Playing career

Hoddle started his career in the Watford F.C. youth system.

Tottenham Hotspur

Hoddle joined the club as a schoolboy apprentice in April 1974 following the recommendation of another Tottenham legend, Martin Chivers. He successfully overcame knee problems in his early teens and collected England Youth caps prior to making his first-team debut as a 17-year-old substitute against Norwich City in August 1975. Spurs drew 2–2. Hoddle was forced to wait until February 1976 to start a First Division match and immediately announced his arrival with a spectacular strike past Stoke City and England goalkeeper Peter Shilton.

The talented playmaker flourished under the management of Keith Burkinshaw and despite the club's relegation to the Second Division in 1976–77 after 27 seasons of First Division football, a Hoddle inspired Spurs side won promotion to the top flight at the first attempt. As Tottenham's transitional phase continued, Hoddle's enigmatic and often controversial international career began in December 1976 against Wales in an Under-21 fixture. He would collect another seven caps at that level and play twice for the England 'B' team prior to scoring on his full international debut against Bulgaria in November 1979.

The 1979–80 campaign heralded the emergence of Hoddle as a top-class player, the 22-year-old midfielder scored 19 goals in 41 league appearances and was deservedly awarded the PFA Young Player of the Year award at the end of the season. Hoddle's attacking skills, utilised both in the center of midfield and on the wing, were simply breathtaking and often at odds with the ingrained British football philosophy of tireless running and a strong work ethic. His sublime balance and close control, unrivalled passing and vision and extraordinary shooting ability, both from open play and set pieces, made Hoddle the most gifted English player of his generation.

In 1981, he starred as Spurs won the FA Cup for the sixth time, defeating Manchester City in a memorable replay and the following season Tottenham retained the FA Cup (Hoddle scored in both the Final and Final replay) and finished the League campaign in fourth place, the club's best league position since 1971. Hoddle performed as the midfield fulcrum in many of these successes and also contributed magnificently as the team reached the final of the League Cup, losing 3–1 to Liverpool, and the semi-final stage of the European Cup Winners Cup. During the summer of 1982, Hoddle played in two of England's matches in the opening group phase of the FIFA World Cup, starting against Kuwait after a substitute appearance in a 2–0 victory over Czechoslovakia.

Hoddle's involvement in the following three seasons was limited by a number of niggling injury problems (he started only 76 of a possible 126 league matches) but nevertheless, Hoddle proved to be the architect behind the team's 1984 UEFA Cup triumph despite missing the Final due to fitness concerns. In October 1983, he dazzled the White Hart Lane crowd with a phenomenal second-round display as Spurs won 6–2 on aggregate against a Feyenoord Rotterdam side containing the legendary Johan Cruyff. Such was the quality of his performance in both matches, the Dutch legend entered the Tottenham dressing room and offered Hoddle his shirt as a sign of respect.

Spurs came close to further honours in the next three seasons, reaching third place in the First Division and the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup in 1984–85 and another FA Cup Final in 1987, losing 3–2 to Coventry City, the only time the North London club has experienced defeat in the final of the famous knock-out competition. The unexpected loss to the Midlands side was Hoddle's last match for Spurs as newly-appointed AS Monaco manager Arsène Wenger brought him to the principality for a fee of £750,000. Between 1975 and 1987, the gifted playmaker scored 110 goals in 490 first-team matches in all competitions, only four players (Steve Perryman, Pat Jennings, Gary Mabbutt and Cyril Knowles) have made more appearances in a Spurs shirt. At international level, Hoddle won 44 caps for England during his Tottenham career.

In 1987, Hoddle also found himself in the pop charts, with the single Diamond Lights making the UK Top 20 in a duet with Spurs and England team-mate Chris Waddle. Glenn Hoddle is considered one of the greatest players to ever wear the Spurs shirt. Although his tenure as a manager was largely unsuccessful, he will always be remembered by Tottenham fans for his on-pitch achievements.

AS Monaco

Hoddle announced in 1987 that he would be leaving Tottenham Hotspur at the end of the season to pursue a career overseas where his style of play would be appreciated by continental managers and supporters, and to play European level football with English clubs banned after Heysel. He joined AS Monaco alongside George Weah and fellow Englishman Mark Hateley and immediately inspired the club to the 1988 Ligue 1 championship, its first league title in six seasons. Hoddle was voted the Best Foreign Player in French football and would guide the team to the quarter-finals of the European Cup in the 1988–89 campaign. Arsène Wenger was the coach who brought him to Monaco and ironically Hoddle would go on to face his former manager in the heated North London Derby as manager of Tottenham Hotspur. Sadly, a severe knee injury curtailed his career at the highest level and in December 1990, the 33-year-old left the club by mutual consent having helped to improve the standing of English footballers in foreign countries.

During his three and a half year spell in France, Hoddle represented England nine times, making his international farewell against the Soviet Union in June 1988. He returned to England and signed for Chelsea on a non-contract basis, leaving Stamford Bridge in March 1991 without playing a senior match to assume his first managerial post as player-manager of Swindon Town.

England international career

Though regarded as a genius with the ball at his feet, Hoddle was considered an enigmatic and unreliable player to international managers guilty of over-emphasising hard work and physical prowess instead of technical ability and attacking creativity. He was included in the 1982 and 1986 FIFA World Cup squads, playing an important role in the latter campaign when England reached the quarter-finals against Argentina. Hoddle was one of the England players left behind by Diego Maradona as he burst from inside his own half to score his second goal in England's 2–1 defeat. Hoddle also featured prominently in the European Championship squads of 1980 and 1988, making his 53rd and final international appearance during the latter tournament.

Hoddle's talent is widely appreciated abroad; less so in England. Arsène Wenger, who worked with him at Monaco, recalled: 'His control was superb and he had perfect body balance. His skill in both feet was uncanny... I couldn't understand why he hadn't been appreciated in England. Perhaps he was a star in the wrong period, years ahead of his time.'

Michel Platini famously attacked the English for neglecting creativity; had Hoddle been born French, he said, 'he would have won 150 caps'. As Jean-Luc Ettori, Monaco's club captain at the time, put it: 'For us Glenn was le bon dieu - he was a god. There's nothing else to say.'

Managerial career

Swindon Town

Hoddle arrived at a troubled club with The Robins badly affected by a financial scandal which had seen them stripped of promotion to the First Division at the end of the 1989–90 season, a controversy which had negatively impacted the team's league form. Hoddle prevented Swindon from slipping into the Third Division and further improvement throughout the 1991–92 season saw the Wiltshire club finish ninth, just missing out on a play-off place. Swindon reached the new Division One play-offs in 1993 and beat Leicester City 4–3 at Wembley, and were then promoted to the Premier League. The 36-year-old Hoddle was one of the most highly rated young managers in England and many bigger clubs were demanding his services. He eventually returned to Chelsea and was succeeded at Swindon by his assistant and former Spurs team-mate John Gorman.

Chelsea

In June 1993, Hoddle became player-manager of Chelsea (he retired from the playing side in 1995). His assistant at Chelsea was the former Tottenham manager Peter Shreeves, and they reached the FA Cup final in Hoddle's first season, where they lost 4–0 to Manchester United. But United had done the double, and consolation for their failure to win the trophy came in the form of a Cup Winners' Cup place. Chelsea reached the semi finals of that competition in 1994–95 and lost by a single goal to Real Zaragoza, who went on to beat Arsenal in the final. Hoddle guided Chelsea to the FA Cup Semi Finals in 1995–96, but was unable to take them beyond 11th place in the Premiership – they had occupied this final position three times in four years. He did establish them as a force in cup competitions and made them capable of attracting top-class players – such as Ruud Gullit – to the club.[2]

England

Hoddle's three-year reign at Chelsea came to an end in 1996 when he accepted the England manager's job. He guided England to qualification for the 1998 World Cup, securing the team's entry with a memorable 0–0 draw in Rome against Italy. However, he caused controversy by omitting Paul Gascoigne from the squad and installing supposed faith healer Eileen Drewery as part of the England coaching staff, which led to the team being dubbed "The Hod Squad".[3] They reached the Second Round of the 1998 tournament, losing on penalties to Argentina. Hoddle came under fire after a disappointing start to the Euro 2000 qualifying campaign. Hoddle's time in charge of the national team was, sometime later, praised by Harry Redknapp who believed him to have been the "perfect man for the job".[4]

Dismissal from England job

My beliefs have evolved in the last eight or nine years, that the spirit has to come back again, that is nothing new, that has been around for thousands of years. You have to come back to learn and face some of the things you have done, good and bad. There are too many injustices around."

"You and I have been physically given two hands and two legs and half-decent brains. Some people have not been born like that for a reason. The karma is working from another lifetime. I have nothing to hide about that. It is not only people with disabilities. What you sow, you have to reap."

"You have to look at things that happened in your life and ask why. It comes around.

— Glenn Hoddle, from Matt Dickinson interview[5]

On 30 January 1999, with the England team preparing for Euro 2000, and amidst the fall-out from the previous season's World Cup, Hoddle gave an interview to Matt Dickinson of The Times newspaper in an attempt to defend himself against his critics (over issues such as Eileen Drewery and his faith[6]) and show a strong front for the remainder of the qualifiers.

Dickinson's interview revealed that Hoddle had a "controversial belief that the disabled, and others, are being punished for sins in a former life."[5] Hoddle's comments were criticised by several politicians including Sports Minister Tony Banks and Prime Minister Tony Blair.[7] Public opinion, based upon the immediate media furore resulted in (according to one BBC poll) 90% of respondents believing Hoddle should not continue as English coach.[8] However the BBC survey showed that while many considered his comments insensitive to disabled people, others defended his right to express his religious beliefs by claiming that to sack him would constitute religious discrimination.[9]

Hoddle stated that he was not prepared to resign and claimed his words were misinterpreted and pointed out his contributions and commitment to organisations helping disabled people.[10][11] The Football Association terminated Hoddle's contract on 2 February 1999,[12] which was welcomed by representatives of disabled groups.[13] The disabled rights campaigner Lord Ashley however, while criticising Hoddle's views, defended his right to express them, likening the campaign against Hoddle to a "witchhunt" and considered Hoddle's dismissal "a sad day for British tolerance and freedom of speech"[14][15] a view which was shared by the Daily Mirror and Daily Mail[16] and in several foreign newspapers.[9][17] Some writers considered the remarks were used as a pretext to get rid of him.[18] Hoddle apologised for the offence that had been caused, stating it had never been his intention[19] and continued to fundraise for disabled groups after being dismissed.[20] Much later criticism was made of Hoddle's dismissal on the grounds that he had not been forced out for footballing reasons, with the England side performing considerably worse under Kevin Keegan, his succesor[21]

Southampton

Hoddle was back in football within a year as Southampton manager, succeeding Dave Jones, who had been suspended in order to concentrate on clearing his name in connection with child abuse charges. Although these charges were later found to be false, Jones was not re-instated and Hoddle continued to be manager. Hoddle kept the Saints in the Premier League against all odds but left acrimoniously in March 2001 to return to Tottenham as manager.

Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham's league record in the decade leading up to Hoddle's appointment was disappointing. Hoddle was determined to establish them as a top playing side, and during his first season he had some wonderful opportunities to succeed. Tottenham reached the League Cup final and after winning 5–1 against Hoddle's former club Chelsea FC, Spurs were the favourites but they lost 2–1 to Blackburn Rovers. The club's promising early season form dwindled away into mediocrity and they finished ninth in the Premiership, an improvement on the previous season's 11th place but hardly impressive. Spurs began the 2002–03 season in fine form and Hoddle was named Premiership Manager of the Month for August 2002 after they ended the month top of the league. Although few people expected them to stay there, 10th place in the final table was still disappointing. The pressure began to build up on Hoddle and he was sacked in September 2003 after a poor start to the season, in which the team picked up just four points from their opening six league games and lay in the Premiership drop zone. Ironically, his final game in charge was a 3–1 loss to old side Southampton.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Hoddle was linked with a return to Southampton in early 2004, but opposition from supporters meant chairman Rupert Lowe pursued alternative targets.[22] Instead he returned to management in December 2004 with Wolverhampton Wanderers, again succeeding Dave Jones. Wolves lost only one of remaining 25 games but failed to reach the play-offs because 15 of those games had been draws. Wolves were expected to finish in the top 6 under Hoddle in the 2005–2006 season but again draws cost them with Wolves drawing 19 of their 46 league games. They were also one of the lowest goalscoring teams in the division scoring just 50 goals in the league all season. Wolves finished 7th, 8 points off the playoffs. Wolves fans turned against Hoddle and there were chants against him during the last home game of the season against Watford. [23] The board kept faith with Hoddle, but he stepped down on 1 July 2006, stating differing expectations between himself and the club as the reason for his departure.[24][25] In his time with Wolverhampton Wanderers, the club drew 34 league games in his 76 games in charge, spanning over two seasons.

He has yet to make a return to management. His name was linked with the manager's job at Leeds United (owned by former Chelsea chairman Ken Bates) when Kevin Blackwell was sacked in September 2006, but the job went to Dennis Wise instead.

Football academy

As of January 2008, Hoddle is attempting to raise finance to form the Glenn Hoddle Academy based in Spain. The aim of the academy is to give another chance to young players released by football clubs in England to become professional players.[26]

He had a younger brother, Carl, who was also a footballer (at a lower level). Carl died from a brain aneurysm on 2 March 2008, at 40 years of age.

Quotes

The stand-up comedian Jasper Carrott once remarked of Hoddle:

I hear Glenn Hoddle has found God. That must have been one hell of a pass.[27]

Hoddle's former Chelsea team-mate Tony Cascarino has also commented:

When Glenn tried to be funny, it was time to pass 'round the laughing gas because he was probably the unfunniest man I have ever known. He was also completely besotted with himself. If he had been an ice cream, he would have licked himself.[28]

Career statistics

[29][30] Template:Football player statistics 1 Template:Football player statistics 2 |- |1975–76||rowspan="12"|Tottenham Hotspur||rowspan="2"|First Division||7||1||-||-||-||-||-||-||7||1 |- |1976–77||39||4||1||0||2||1||-||-||42||5 |- |1977–78||Second Division||41||12||2||1||2||0||-||-||45||13 |- |1978–79||rowspan="9"|First Division||35||7||5||1||2||1||-||-||42||9 |- |1979–80||41||19||6||2||2||1||-||-||49||22 |- |1980–81||38||12||9||2||6||1||-||-||53||15 |- |1981–82||34||10||7||3||8||1||8||1||57||15 |- |1982–83||24||1||1||0||3||0||1||0||29||1 |- |1983–84||24||4||3||0||3||1||6||0||36||5 |- |1984–85||28||8||3||0||3||0||6||0||40||8 |- |1985–86||31||7||5||1||5||0||-||-||41||8 |- |1986–87||35||3||6||1||8||4||-||-||49||8 Template:Football player statistics 2 |- |1987–88||rowspan="4"|Monaco||rowspan="4"|Division 1||34||8|||||||||||||||| |- |1988–89||32||18|||||||||||||||| |- |1989–90||3||1|||||||||||||||| |- |1990–91||0||0|||||||||||||||| Template:Football player statistics 2 |- |1991–92||rowspan="2"|Swindon Town||Second Division||22||0||-||-||3||0||-||-||25||0 |- |1992–93||First Division||42||1||1||0||3||1||-||-||46||2 |- |1993–94||rowspan="2"|Chelsea||rowspan="2"|Premier League||19||1||2||0||3||0||-||-||24||1 |- |1994–95||12||0||-||-||-||-||3||0||15||0 Template:Football player statistics 3472||90||51||11||53||11||24||1||600||113 Template:Football player statistics 469||27|||||||||||||||| Template:Football player statistics 5541||117||51||11||53||11||24||1||669||140 |}

Honours

As a player

Tottenham Hotspur

AS Monaco

As a player manager

Chelsea

As a manager

Tottenham Hotspur

England

Managerial statistics

Team Nat From To Record
G W L D Win %
Swindon Town England April 1991 June 1993 115 49 34 32 042.61
Chelsea England June 1993 May 1996 157 53 50 54 033.76
England[31] England September 1996 February 1999 28 17 5 6 060.71
Southampton England January 2000 March 2001 52 22 18 12 042.31
Tottenham Hotspur England April 2001 September 2003 104 41 45 18 039.42
Wolverhampton Wanderers England December 2004 July 2006 76 27 15 34 035.53

References

  1. ^ Glenn Hoddle's induction into Hall of Fame in 2007 – National Football Museum Retrieved April 06 2008
  2. ^ "Family tree of champions Chelsea". BBC. 2005-04-30. Retrieved 2007-12-16.
  3. ^ Perry Tipped To Join The Hod Squad :
  4. ^ Dickinson, M "Pompey boss Redknapp: I'd love England job but I can't see it coming my way", Daily Mail, 22 November 2007 (retrieved 16 December 2007)
  5. ^ a b Dickinson, M "Hoddle puts his faith in God and England", The Times, 30 January 1999. Retrieved December 16th 2007
  6. ^ "Eileen Drewery: Hod, God and the Squad"
  7. ^ CNN/SI - World Soccer - Blair adds voice to wave of criticism engulfing Hoddle - Monday February 01, 1999 12:31 PM
  8. ^ BBC News | Football | You said Hoddle should go
  9. ^ a b BBC News | Europe | World press dumbfounded
  10. ^ BBC News | Football | More bad karma for Hoddle
  11. ^ BBC News | Football | Hoddle awaits fate
  12. ^ BBC News | Football | Hoddle sacked
  13. ^ BBC News | UK | 'A victory for football'
  14. ^ BBC News | UK Politics | Hoddle's position 'untenable'
  15. ^ BBC News | UK | 'A victory for football'
  16. ^ BBC News | UK | Zara's support brings Hoddle to tears
  17. ^ European Soccer / Commentary : Wave of Outrage Sweeps Away English Coach - International Herald Tribune
  18. ^ A reader asks the WSWS to comment on the sacking of England football coach Glen Hoddle
  19. ^ BBC News | Football | Hoddle sacked
  20. ^ BBC News | UK | Hoddle poses with disabled group
  21. ^ http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/27657/Hoddle-just-the-Job
  22. ^ "Hoddle out of Saints race". BBC. 2004-03-03. Retrieved 2007-12-16.
  23. ^ "Hoddle threatened by Moxey's fury". Independent.co.uk. 2006-04-15. Retrieved 2007-07-08.
  24. ^ "Hoddle resigns as boss of Wolves". BBC sport. 2006-07-01. Retrieved 2007-07-08.
  25. ^ "Manager resigns". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 2006-07-01. Retrieved 2007-07-08.
  26. ^ "Game remains a labour of love for English football's greatest enigma, Glenn Hoddle". London: The Times. 2009-01-18. Retrieved 2008-01-19.
  27. ^ "Glenn Hoddle". thefa.com. Retrieved 2006-12-21.
  28. ^ Kimmage, Paul. Full Time, the secret life of Tony Cascarino Scribner/TownHouse 2001. ISBN 1-903650-54-2
  29. ^ Glenn Hoddle career statistics on www.level-k.com
  30. ^ Career statistics on www.world-soccer.org
  31. ^ "England Hall of Fame". FA.com. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
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