Terry Venables

[roversdude]

RIP great manager

[DonnyNoel]

RIP. Euro 96 was such a great time to be a teenage football fan after the doldrums that had come after Italia 90.

[Scooter]

RIP El Tel. Just read the news. I didn’t realise he was ill. Great football man and should have won Euro 96

[bobbymax]

I interviewed him once or twice just after he left the England job. I was only a jobbing journo but he was still gracious and chatty. Nice bloke! RIP

[Poshrover]

Terry Venables, the Polar Opposite to Southgate. He had personality, charisma, innovation and attack minded. Would have loved him managing this England team today.
RIP Terry, a great manager and a great man.

[Sammy Chung was King]

He brought hope to the England side, in the 96 Euros . But for a fraction we could have been in the final. Tactically he was as good as they come, a real shame he’s passed away.

[Branton Rover]

He was a brilliant coach nobody had heard of the Christmas tree’ formation which is basically what all teams now play if not exactly the split striker like then, but certainly with one up. He also was an innovator he believed strongly in the plastic pitches QPR installed. Okay he got that one wrong. When he arrived at Barcelona as head coach the powers that be said “what’s the first thing you’re going to do?”  He said “I’m going to sell Diego Maradonna. The owners signed disclaimers stating they had nothing to do with that decision and that it was wholly Venables decision. They then asked him who he was going to sign as a replacement he said “Steve Archibald”. They went on to win La Liga with Archibald becoming something of a cult hero in Catalonia.

[rover-n-out]

RIP Terry, ace England manager and Karaoke King!

[tyke1962]

My favourite England manager of all time , that 4-1 battering of the Dutch at Euro 96 was one of the best England performances I've ever seen .

Iconic tournament , hosting a major tournament for the first time in my lifetime that I could remember , Badiel and Skinner , THAT GOAL by Gazza against Scotland .

The penalties against the Spanish and of course the heartbreak against Germany , it seems almost impossible for Gazza not to get something on that when it was the Golden Goal .

RIP Tel , thanks for the memories .

[Campsall rover]

Just heard
Vey sad to hear.Was a top guy.
Very good England manager. Got the players playing with a smile on their faces. Great team spirit.
Absolute travesty the FA disposed with his services due to some unfounded stuff about his business dealings or something to that effect.
Just so typical of our FA. When we get a top manager they don’t keep him and when one is available like Clough was back in the 70’s they completely ignore him.

[Branton Rover]

Not really FA more F-up

[Lesonthewest]

Brilliant coach & always had a smile on his face, gutting he didn't win the Euros in '96, the football we played was top draw. Sad sad news. RIP.

[Harrogate Rover]

The job of a football manager is to make the fans dream. Terry Venables did that as a player, club manager, and absolutely as England manager in that one glorious Summer when 'Football came home'. He would have managed England to a trophy had he been backed. Typical of the FA to take fright at his off-field stuff while turning a blind eye to many bigger problems, he was probably too confidently working class for them.

[tyke1962]

They often say a manager's character is represented by his team , there's no doubt that applies to Tel and his boys of Euro 96 .

All against the background of Britpop and a country way more comfortable with itself than today , when the ST George's flag wasn't considered far right , at least that's how it seemed .

The sending of the Scots back up the A1 with their tails between their legs plus the almost inevitable Scotty moment and Gary Mac's bottle job penalty miss and minutes later Gazza scores the greatest England goal of all time .

The drubbing of the Dutch was a master class five days later , the SAS giving Blind and co a torrid time , Kluivert and Berkamp passengers and in Adams and co's pocket , that Dutch team had some class players but not that night .

We even won a penalty shootout against the Spanish , Stuart Pearce and the 6 year wait for redemption from that night in Turin , the balls of the man , the emotion , wow .

The crushing semi final defeat to the Germans , it was 6-6 before Southgate stepped up , even we didn't look like missing
up until that point , oh well .

Tel was magnificent in defeat despite the obvious pain etched inside his soul and a few million more of us .

And then it was over , I guess the cockney wide boy geezer was too much for the stuffed dummies that call themselves the FA .

Replaced by a god bothering idiot who had some questionable views on people with disabilities , didn't pick David Beckham for the first two games of France 98 and shyt himself at the thought of letting a 17 year old kid loose on the biggest stage until he had to .

I'd have loved to see Tel with that squad that left for the German world cup in 2006 but by the then the FA preferred a Swedish bloke who despite liking a shag was as dull as dishwater just like his team was but what did he care anyway .

Iconic England manager was Tel , he made that England team cool , so cool we still loved him and them even when we didn't win the tournament .

Every time they play that song from Euro 96 I think of that four weeks .

It was a pleasure Tel .

[Bentley Bullet]

You were a top lad Tel.

RIP.

[Colin C No.3]

Up there with Bobby Robson as top England managers.

He swept the Nation along on a fantastic footballing journey in the 96 Euros.

Short sighted FA robbed us of an England manager who was a man of the people just as they did with Bobby.

I could listen to him talking football forever.

RIP Tell.

[Mike_F]

I can't put it any better than Tyke. As a lad just turning 15 during Euro 96 it was a magical Summer adorned with memories that will stay with me forever. Such a shame those pillocks at the FA let Terry go. I read the autobiography that he released a few years later and his love for and knowledge of the game were immense. RIP Terry.