Joe Kinnear was today named as Newcastle United's interim manager, and to say he was shock choice is the understatement of the decade!
The 61-year-old has been out of football since a disappointing spell at Nottingham Forest in 2004.
Kinnear was not even mentioned in betting for the position this morning.
Initial reaction from Newcastle fans on the NUMad message board has not been positive ... but what the hell did we expect!
LIFE AND TIMES OF DENNIS WISE'S MATE ...
Joe Kinnear played football as a full back for Tottenham Hotspur and the Republic of Ireland national team. Kinnear played for Spurs for ten years, playing in the 1967 FA Cup final against Chelsea, a game Tottenham won 2-1. Kinnear made almost 200 appearances for Tottenham and he was capped 26 times by the Republic of Ireland. In 1975, Kinnear moved to Brighton, making 16 appearances before retiring.
Management
Wimbledon
Kinnear is perhaps more well known for his success as manager of Wimbledon during his tenure(citation needed). Kinnear was appointed manager following Peter Withe's dismissal in January 1992 and after he had spent time coaching abroad, including the Nepal national football team. Kinnear led the Dons to a 6th place finish in the Premier League in the 1993-94 season. The next season Kinnear continued to defy the odds and Wimbledon finished 9th in the league. The achievements are made even more respectable considering the Dons had no home of their own and had a small transfer budget.
It was reported that Kinnear turned down the chance to take over from Jack Charlton as manager of the Republic of Ireland team in 1996. Kinnear, however, took Wimbledon to both the major domestic cup competitions, the FA Cup and the League Cup, semi-finals in 1997 as well as finishing 8th in the Premier League. Kinnear continued in his role as Wimbledon until he suffered a heart attack before a league game against Sheffield Wednesday in the 1998-99 season. He was replaced at Wimbledon by Egil Olsen in June 1999 and the club was relegated the following year.
Luton Town
Kinnear was then briefly involved as Director of Football at Oxford United during the 2000-01 season. However, in January 2001 he resigned due to poor health, yet just a few weeks later he was handed a similar role at Luton Town, who were battling against relegation from what was the Second Division, as were Oxford. On arrival, Kinnear demoted then-manager Lil Fuccillo and appointed himself manager of the team.
He could not save the club from relegation, despite purchasing striker Steve 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 captains Kevin Nicholls and Chris Coyne, along with winger Jean-Louis Valois. The team stormed to promotion under Kinnear's guidance, finishing runners-up to Plymouth Argyle in the Hatters' first promotion in 20 years.
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 by John Gurney, and Kinnear and his assistant Mick Harford were then sacked in mysterious circumstances, which involved an employee of Northampton Town being the person who signed the letters which dismissed both Kinnear and Harford.
Nottingham Forest
Kinnear was out of work until Nottingham Forest offered him the manager's job in February 2004. Kinnear kept the club up, but a poor start to the 2004-05 season meant he was sacked in December 2004.
