Profile of Glenn Hoddle on Famous Like Me

Glenn Hoddle (born October 27, 1957 in Hayes, Hillingdon) is a football manager and former player for Tottenham Hotspur and England, currently employed as manager for Wolverhampton Wanderers. He was an immensely skilled attacking midfielder with sumptuous ball skills.

Playing career

Hoddle joined Tottenham as a schoolboy, making his debut as a 17 year old in 1975. Within two years, he was a regular in the centre of the Spurs midfield, creating plenty of goals and scoring a few spectacular ones of his own. Spurs were relegated from the top flight in 1977, but with Hoddle as a centrepiece of the team, won promotion again the following year. He scored on his full England debut in 1979 and won the FA Cup with Spurs in 1981 and 1982 and the UEFA Cup in 1984.

Though regarded as a genius with the ball at his feet, Hoddle was regarded as an enigmatic player because his work off the ball was not of the highest standard, and as a result international managers were wary of playing him all the time. That said, he made two World Cup squads (1982 and 1986), playing an important role in the latter campaign when England reached the quarter finals. He also featured in the European Championship squads of 1980 and 1988, making his final England appearance during the latter tournament.

Hoddle announced in 1987 that he would be leaving Tottenham at the end of the season to pursue ambitions abroad. His final game for the club was the FA Cup final in which Spurs lost to Coventry City. He then joined AS Monaco, under the management of Arsène Wenger and alongside fellow England player Mark Hateley.

Also in 1987, he released pop single Diamond Lights with Spurs and England colleague Chris Waddle and reached the Top 20 in the UK. In 2003 the song was voted number 14 in Channel 4's All-Time 'Worst Ever' Singles Poll.

Managerial career

In 1991 he returned to England to take the job of player-manager for Swindon Town. He developed a reputation for encouraging attractive, open football and guided the team to promotion to the FA Premier League in 1993.

Hoddle left Swindon for Chelsea where he finished his playing career whilst acting as manager. His 3 year spell there was the beginning of Chelsea's march back to pre-eminence in English football which was carried on by Ruud Gullitt (who Hoddle brought to Chelsea as a player), Gianluca Vialli, Claudio Ranieri and latterly Jose Mourinho. After his 3 year spell at the Bridge Hoddle left for his controversial spell as England manager.

As England manager, Hoddle enjoyed a degree of success. The team qualified well for the World Cup in 1998 where they were narrowly defeated by Argentina in the second round. In the long term the team prospered from Hoddle promoting David Beckham and Michael Owen but for many this was too little too late.

Hoddle has caused a deal of controversy during his managerial career. He was derided by the national press for his insistence on using faith healer Eileen Drewery to guide his teams. In 1999 he was sacked as England manager after making public comments about disabled people that were deemed inappropriate and offensive, once his comments had been condemned by Tony Blair on talk show This Morning. Hoddle had claimed in an interview with The Times that disabled people were paying the price for sins committed in previous lives.

After losing the England job, Hoddle became manager of Southampton before quitting suddenly and acrimoniously when a vacancy arose to manage his beloved Tottenham. This did not work out for him, and he was sacked by Tottenham in 2003 ironically following a 3-0 defeat by his previous club. This met with the approval of disgruntled supporters, who nevertheless still worship him as a player. By now, unfortunately for him, Hoddle's reputation for encouraging attacking and entertaining football had been joined by a reputation for poor communication with his players.

A plan to return to Southampton was shelved when unforgiving fans of the club voiced their protest, recalling the methods which Hoddle used to leave them. In December 2004 he was appointed manager of Wolverhampton Wanderers. He also currently works as a summariser and pundit for Sky Sports.

Summary of clubs managed

• Swindon Town 1991-1993 (as player manager)
• Chelsea 1993-1996 (as player manager until 1995)
• England 1996-1999
• Southampton 2000-2001
• Tottenham Hotspur 2001-2003
• Wolverhampton Wanderers 2004-present

Quote

Bob Wilson once remarked of Hoddle:

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

Hoddle lost his job as England manager immediately after being quoted as saying:

You and I have been physically given two hands and two legs and a half-decent brain. Some people have not been born like that for a reason. The karma is working from another lifetime.

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