On This Day – 5th December
Paul Gascoigne became manager of Conference North side Kettering Town on this day in 2005, despite having no managerial experience!
Gazza was one of the most gifted English players of all-time but his troubles off the pitch stopped him from becoming one of the world’s greatest players. His career was very similar to George Best, who had problems with alcohol and other distractions that took his focus away from the game. Both player’s careers are looked on with more questions about what more they could have achieved if they had taken different paths.
Gascoigne’s record at Kettering wasn’t too shabby, winning two, drawing two, and losing two of his six games in charge. He brought in former Arsenal midfielder Paul Davis as his assistant. However, after just 39 days in charge, Gascoigne was shown the door by the club’s new chairman Imraan Ladak.
Ladak blamed Gascoigne, stating the former England star was constantly drunk. Gazza claimed that Ladak kept interfering in team matters, which made his job impossible. It was a sorry end to what could have been Gascoigne’s opportunity to carve out a career in management.
About Author
1 thought on “On This Day – 5th December”
Comments are closed.