Terry Venables – A Career in Football
The name Terry Venables conjures up many images for football fans of all ages. For me, I will always associate Venables as the England manager at the 1996 European Championships.
For others, it may be his time earlier in his managerial career with the so-called ‘Team of the 80s’ at Crystal Palace or Queens Park Rangers. Other fans who are based abroad may remember his time in Barcelona or even his time in charge of the Australian national team.
Those who are older will remember Terry Venables as a player. In his sixteen years as a player, Venables played for four teams across the capital – Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United and finally Crystal Palace. He won two England caps whilst at Chelsea when he played against Belgium and Holland in 1964.
Venables’ first team debut at Chelsea came on 6th February 1960, when they lost 4-2 against West Ham United. He still featured for the youth team and won successive FA Youth Cups in 1960 and 1961.
Chelsea went through mixed fortunes during Venables’ time at the club, with relegation from the First Division in 1961/62 and then promotion the following season. They won the League Cup in 1965 and reached two FA Cup Semi-Finals before he moved to North London to join Tottenham Hotspur.
Bill Nicholson paid Chelsea £95,000 for Venables’ services, but the two had a strained relationship and after only three years at White Hart Lane, Venables moved to Queens Park Rangers in 1969 for £70,000.
This was the turning point in his career, and having obtained his FA coaching badges whilst at Chelsea, Venables was able to use these to provide some coaching during training at Loftus Road.
In 1972/73 (Venables’ penultimate season at QPR), the club finally won promotion to the First Division after so narrowly missing out the previous season. It was the first time that they had reached the top flight.
A move to Third Division side Crystal Palace in 1974 would see the end of his playing career but also the start of his coaching career. Manager Malcolm Allison offered Venables a coaching role at the club during the 1975/76 season and the club went on a remarkable run to the FA Cup semi-final.
Malcolm Allison resigned at the end of the season and Venables became the first team manager. The club won promotion to the Second Division in his first season and were starting to play some very good football.
Promotion to the First Division was secured in the second season and Venables was building a very good side. However, this didn’t last and he left Selhurst Park to take over as manager of Queens Park Rangers, the club he left six years earlier.
QPR were in the Second Division at the time, but Venables managed to get the club to the 1982 FA Cup Final where they lost in a replay to Tottenham Hotspur. His time at Loftus Road was to be short-lived though as his coaching attracted the interest of Spanish giants Barcelona.
Venables had a successful spell at the Nou Camp, winning La Liga in 1985 which meant that they qualified for the European Cup the following season. Barca fans had endured seeing their bitter rivals Real Madrid winning the competition on several occasions and this was their perfect opportunity to see what it felt like to be the greatest side in Europe.
Sadly for Barcelona and Venables, they fell short after losing to Steau Bucharest on penalties. Just over a year later, Venables was shown the door but he wasn’t out of the game for long as former club Tottenham Hotspur came calling.
He joined Tottenham in November 1987 and brought Gary Lineker and Paul Gascoigne to join him at White Hart Lane. They would go on to win the FA Cup in 1991 and reach the semi-final of the same competition in 1993 before Venables left the club at the end of that season.
The Football Association named Venables as the successor to Graham Taylor in January 1994, meaning that he would be taking charge of England at the 1996 European Championships.
England’s performance at the Championships was something of a mixed bag. It started with a dull 1-1 draw before a 2-0 victory over the Auld Enemy Scotland. They saved the best until last in the group stages with a resounding 4-1 victory over Holland, one of the pre-tournament favourites.
England were lucky to avoid defeat against Spain in the Quarter Final, with the Spanish having two goals unfairly ruled out. Their luck continued in the penalty shootout and it was through to the semi-final where Germany lay in wait.
England fell heartbreakingly short, losing on penalties just as they had six years earlier at the 1990 World Cup. Venables’ time as the national team manager was over as it had been announced before the tournament that he was stepping down.
A surprising move came along next when Venables went Down Under and became manager of the Australian national team. They were so close to reaching the 1998 World Cup, only to lose on away goals to Iran in the Play-Off.
A short spell at Crystal Palace in the 1998/99 season was followed by time at Middlesbrough as Head Coach in the 2000/01 season.
His final managerial job came at Leeds United in the 2002/03 season, where the club were in huge financial trouble. Players were having to be sold off to try and claw back some of the huge debts owed by the club and Venables was fired two months before the end of the season.
Venables was a pundit on television for many years and was widely respected in the game. News of his passing in November 2023 at the age of 80 was mourned greatly by the footballing world. He was a fantastic coach and many players and managers respected him in the game.
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