This is an accepted version of this page
 Kinnear in 2009 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Joseph Patrick Kinnear[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1946-12-27)27 December 1946 | ||
| Place of birth | Dublin, Ireland | ||
| Date of death | 7 April 2024(2024-04-07) (aged 77) | ||
| Place of death | Mill Hill,London, England[2] | ||
| Position | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1964–1965 | St Albans City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1965–1975 | Tottenham Hotspur | 196 | (2) |
| 1975–1976 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 16 | (1) |
| Total | 212 | (3) | |
| International career | |||
| 1967–1975 | Republic of Ireland | 26 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1983 | Al-Shabab (assistant manager) | ||
| 1984 | India | ||
| 1987 | Nepal | ||
| 1989 | Doncaster Rovers (caretaker) | ||
| 1992–1999 | Wimbledon | ||
| 2001–2003 | Luton Town | ||
| 2004 | Nottingham Forest | ||
| 2008–2009 | Newcastle United | ||
| 2013–2014 | Newcastle United (Director of Football) | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Joseph Patrick Kinnear (27 December 1946 – 7 April 2024) was an Irish professionalfootball manager and player. As adefender, Kinnear spent the majority of his career spanning ten seasons withTottenham Hotspur and one withBrighton & Hove Albion. With Tottenham he won theFA Cup, theLeague Cup twice, theCharity Shield, and theUEFA Cup. After Spurs, Kinnear played for Brighton for the 1975–76 season. Having been born inDublin, Kinnear played and wascapped 26 times for theRepublic of Ireland national team. After his playing career, he managedIndia,Nepal,Doncaster Rovers,Wimbledon,Luton Town,Nottingham Forest, andNewcastle United.
Kinnear moved to England at the age of eight. His father died when Kinnear was young and his mother brought up five children on acouncil estate inWatford.[3] Kinnear captained his school and the Hertfordshire team and was noticed bySt Albans City.[4]
Kinnear made an impression as a player with St Albans City.[3] His talent as a defender was recognised and, in 1963, aged 17, he moved toTottenham Hotspur as an amateur footballer.[3] Learning his footballing skills under the managership ofBill Nicholson,[5] Kinnear made his Tottenham debut on 8 April 1966 in a 4–1 home defeat byWest Ham United.[6][7] Kinnear had just played his first international game and three days later, in February 1967,Phil Beal broke his arm, which put him out of the rest of the season. This allowed Kinnear to play more regular football for Tottenham in the right back position and, by the end of the season, he went on to play in the1967 FA Cup final, beatingChelsea, a game Tottenham won 2–1.[4][8] Kinnear made almost 200 league appearances for Tottenham, scoring two league goals. He won four major honours during his time at the club:[9] the FA Cup in 1967; theUEFA Cup in 1972[10] and theFootball League Cup on two occasions (in1971[11] and1973).[12] In 1975, he moved to Brighton, where he made 16 appearances before retiring aged 30.
Kinnear wascapped 26 times by theRepublic of Ireland, scoring no goals.[13] His debut came in the 2–1 defeat byTurkey on 22 February 1967.[14]
After his retirement from football in 1977, Kinnear spent five years inSharjah in the United Arab Emirates managingSharjah andAl-Shabab (alongsideDave Mackay),[15] also spending time coaching in Malaysia.[16] He spent three months coachingIndia[15] and one year coachingNepal,[17] later returning to England to assist Mackay atDoncaster Rovers.[18]
Kinnear briefly took charge of Doncaster after Mackay's departure in 1989, but was replaced byBilly Bremner after a consortium completed their takeover of the club.[15] Kinnear was appointed reserve team manager ofWimbledon later that year before being appointed manager at the club followingPeter Withe's dismissal in January 1992. Kinnear led the Dons to a 6th-place finish in thePremier League in the1993–94 season.[19] He was votedPremier League Manager of the Month three times by the end of the season as Wimbledon finished above more established teams includingLiverpool,Aston Villa,Everton andTottenham Hotspur.[20]
The next season Kinnear continued to defy the odds and Wimbledon finished 9th in the league.[21]
It was reported that Kinnear turned down the chance to replaceJack Charlton as manager of theRepublic of Ireland national team in 1996 because theFAI did not offer him enough money.[22] Kinnear then guided Wimbledon to semi-finals in both of the major domestic cup competitions in 1997 as well as finishing 8th in thePremier League.[19] When Wimbledon were taken over by new Norwegian owners after the end of that season, it was widely reported that Kinnear would be axed as manager in favour of Norwegian coachÅge Hareide, but no change happened and Kinnear remained as manager for a further two seasons.[23]
Kinnear continued in his role as Wimbledon until he suffered a heart attack before a league game againstSheffield Wednesday in March 1999. He stood down in June of that year and was replaced at Wimbledon byEgil Olsen.[15][24] Wimbledon were relegated from the Premier Leaguethe following season.[25]
Before returning to football management withLuton Town, Kinnear was a front runner to replaceMartin O'Neill atLeicester City,[26] and also considered taking over the strugglingSheffield Wednesday.[27] Instead, Kinnear would be briefly involved asdirector of football atOxford United during the2000–01 season.[28] In January 2001, he resigned, reportedly because of poor health.[28] Kinnear's lack of input at Oxford was seen as the real reason behind his move away.[27] Just a few weeks later he was handed a similar role at Luton Town,[28] who were battling against relegation from what was then theSecond Division, as were Oxford. On arrival, Kinnear demoted then-managerLil Fuccillo and appointed himself manager of the team.
He could not save the club from relegation, despite purchasing strikerSteve Howard for £50,000 on transfer deadline day. In the summer of 2001, Kinnear released the majority of the relegated squad, and brought in a number of his own men over the course of the season, including future captainsKevin Nicholls andChris Coyne, along with wingerJean-Louis Valois. The team stormed to promotion under Kinnear's guidance, finishing runners-up toPlymouth Argyle in the Hatters' first promotion in 20 years.[29]
The next season was disappointing for the Hatters, as they were expected to compete for promotion, but in the end they only managed a 9th-place finish. In May 2003 the club was sold to a consortium, led byJohn Gurney, which led to Kinnear and his assistantMick Harford being sacked in mysterious circumstances, citing aNorthampton Town employee's signature on the letters which confirmed the dismissal.[30][31]
Kinnear was out of work untilNottingham Forest offered him the manager's job in February 2004, taking over fromPaul Hart.[32] Forest were in the bottom third of the league table when he took over, but he would have an immediate impact on the club.[32] Kinnear was able to get the club up to 14th position by the end of the2003–04 season.[33] The followingseason began with talk of promotion,[34] but would go badly for Forest and Kinnear, with just four wins from the first 23 games in the league that year. A 3–0 defeat by rivalsDerby County atPride Park,[35] signalled the end for Kinnear, with his resignation coming on 16 December 2004.[35][36] Nottingham Forest were 22nd in theChampionship table following Kinnear's departure, the club appointedMick Harford to take over as interim manager. Forest would ultimately be relegated at the end of the season,[33] afterGary Megson had been appointed as the full-time replacement to Kinnear.[37]
Kinnear was without a club following his departure from Nottingham Forest for almost four years and had not been involved in the top flight since 1999, there were rumours about joining several clubs during this time includingQPR.[38] On 26 September 2008, Kinnear was named as the interim manager ofPremier League sideNewcastle United until the end of October,[39] following the shock resignation ofKevin Keegan who had publicly berated the owners and directors of the club, suggesting corruption and lack of clarity over who was in charge of the squad.[40] The initial one-month period was extended for an additional month, keeping Kinnear atSt James' Park until the end of December.[41]
On 2 October 2008, Kinnear launched a verbal tirade at theDaily Mirror journalist Simon Bird, calling him a "cunt".[42][43]He swore over 50 times in the first five minutes of the interview.[44] The club's press officer tried to order the assembled journalists not to publish any extracts from the tirade, but Kinnear himself gave the journalists permission to write up whatever they wanted from his remarks. Later in the interview, he announced that he would no longer deal with the national media while he was Newcastle manager, and that he would only speak to local newspapers from then on, with first team coachChris Hughton handling all other interviews.[42] Following the rant, Kinnear was nicknamed 'JFK' as in Joe 'Fucking' Kinnear.[45]
Kinnear's first two games in charge, against Everton andManchester City, both ended as 2–2 draws.[46][47] Kinnear's first win at Newcastle was againstWest Bromwich Albion. Newcastle won the match 2–1, with the first goal coming fromJoey Barton, who was making his first starting appearance for Newcastle since being released from prison during the summer.[48] He then followed this up with a surprise win against fifth-placed Aston Villa to lift Newcastle off the foot of the table and out of the relegation zone. Two goals fromObafemi Martins secured the 2–0 victory.[49]
On 31 October 2008, Kinnear stated that 22 November would be "D–Day" with regards to the sale of Newcastle United and his position as manager.[50] This turned out to be untrue, as Kinnear was confirmed as being in charge for another month after Newcastle's 0–0 draw withChelsea.[51] On 28 November, Kinnear was named as the permanent manager of Newcastle until the end of the 2008–09 season.[52]
Kinnear continued his event-filled season in charge by getting sent off on 6 December after a confrontation with refereeMike Riley during a 2–2 draw withStoke City, having been up by two goals for most of the match.[53] After that disappointing draw with Stoke, they followed with wins againstPortsmouth andTottenham Hotspur, which was Newcastle's fifth consecutive league victory against the North London team.[54]
Following a 5–1 defeat byLiverpool on 28 December, Kinnear re-affirmed his belief that the Newcastle squad lacked strength in depth – with the manager having fielded a makeshift side due to injuries and suspensions resulting from the 2–1 Boxing Day defeat byWigan Athletic – and stated that he was looking to improve the side with transfers in the January window.[55] In January, Kinnear secured the signings ofPeter Løvenkrands,[56]Kevin Nolan[57] andRyan Taylor.[58] The latter had been signed in a part exchanged deal withCharles N'Zogbia. N'Zogbia had frequently stated in the press, via his agent, that he wished to leave after Kinnear mispronounced his name during an interview in which he called him "insomnia".[59] He also stated that he would not consider a return to Newcastle as long as Kinnear was the manager.[60]Shay Given was also sold toManchester City for £7m.[61]
On 7 February 2009, Kinnear was taken to hospital after feeling ill, hours before Newcastle's away game against West Brom.[62] The club stated that it was just precautionary and thatChris Hughton would take charge of the team. Newcastle won 3–2, their first win since Christmas.[63] It was later announced Kinnear would require a heart bypass operation[64] and thatAlan Shearer would take over the managerial role for the remainder of the season.[65] Joe Kinnear's contract officially expired at Newcastle on 30 May 2009.[66]
On 16 June 2013, in a series of telephone interviews Kinnear claimed he had been appointed asdirector of football for Newcastle United.[67] In aTalksport interview over the telephone on 17 June 2013, Kinnear stated he had replaced "Derek Lambesi" (mispronouncing the name ofDerek Llambias) as the club's director of football, had signedDean Holdsworth at Wimbledon for £50,000 (actually £650,000), soldRobbie Earle (who retired a year after Kinnear left), signed goalkeeperTim Krul when he was previously manager (Krul was actually signed by Graeme Souness three years prior) and had been awarded the LMA Manager of the Year award three times despite only winning the award once. He also incorrectly stated he had never been previously sacked.[68][69] Kinnear claimed to have signedJohn Hartson on a free when he in fact paid £7.5 million for the striker. He also mispronounced the names ofYohan Cabaye,Hatem Ben Arfa,Shola Ameobi and others in the Talksport interview.[70][71] The appointment, a three-year contract, was confirmed by Newcastle United on 18 June.[72] The confusion around Kinnear's appointment to the role was criticised by former club chairmanFreddy Shepherd in an interview withBBC Sport.[73] Kinnear drew criticism when the 2013 summer transfer window closed with Kinnear failing to make a single permanent signing,[74] lone recruitLoïc Rémy having been signed on loan fromQueens Park Rangers. This criticism intensified at the end of the 2014 winter transfer window with Kinnear failing again to make a permanent signing, this after the £20 million sale of midfielder Yohan Cabaye, withLuuk de Jong having been brought in on loan fromBorussia Mönchengladbach.[75]
On 3 February 2014, Kinnear resigned from his position of director of football at Newcastle.[76]
In 2021, it was announced that since 2015 Kinnear had been living withvascular dementia.[77] He died from complications of the disease on 7 April 2024, at the age of 77.[78][79]After his death, his family donated his brain to a study researching a possible link between dementia and having a career in professional football. It was confirmed that Kinnear hadchronic traumatic encephalopathy which had led to his dementia and eventual death.[80]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Tottenham Hotspur | 1965–66 | First Division | 8 | 0 | ||||||||
| 1966–67 | First Division | 20 | 0 | |||||||||
| 1967–68 | First Division | 31 | 1 | |||||||||
| 1968–69 | First Division | 24 | 0 | |||||||||
| 1969–70 | First Division | 9 | 0 | |||||||||
| 1970–71 | First Division | 35 | 0 | |||||||||
| 1971–72 | First Division | 21 | 0 | |||||||||
| 1972–73 | First Division | 24 | 1 | |||||||||
| 1973–74 | First Division | 7 | 0 | |||||||||
| 1974–75 | First Division | 17 | 0 | |||||||||
| Total | 196 | 2 | 24 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 258 | 2 | ||
| Brighton & Hove Albion | 1975–76 | Third Division | 16 | 1 | ||||||||
| Career total | 212 | 3 | ||||||||||
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| India | 1983 | 1984 | 13 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 030.8 |
| Nepal | 1987 | 1987 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 054.5 |
| Doncaster Rovers | March 1989 | June 1989 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 009.1 |
| Wimbledon | 19 January 1992 | 30 May 1999 | 364 | 130 | 109 | 125 | 035.7 |
| Luton Town | 8 February 2001 | 23 May 2003 | 122 | 56 | 28 | 38 | 045.9 |
| Nottingham Forest | 10 February 2004 | 16 December 2004 | 44 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 034.1 |
| Newcastle United | 26 September 2008 | 7 February 2009 | 18 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 022.2 |
| Total | 583 | 216 | 166 | 201 | 037.0 | ||
Tottenham Hotspur
Nepal
Luton Town
Individual
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| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |