Johnny Nic’s 10 most maverick managers includes three former Leeds bosses – and fans only liked one
Bring your dinner and let John Nicholson talk you through the top 10 most maverick managers English football has coughed up, with Leeds particularly present
Neil Warnock
Indestructible old geezer who has a house near me. Lack of eyebrows gives him a strange appearance. Looks like a Widow Twankey. Has gained eight promotions; behaviour on the touchline can be bizarre and controlling. Seems to revel in hatred. Now Aberdeen boss aged 76 until the end of the season. Still no eyebrows.
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Barry Fry
An unusual character who looks like he owns a chip shop. He has been boss or director of Peterborough since 1996. When boss at Birmingham and suffering a bad run of form, performed a kind of voodoo by weeing on each corner flag. Think this is why no-one puts the ball in the quadrant any more. Must have a strong pelvic floor to start and stop mid-stream. Didn’t take the job too seriously and is always game for a laugh. Probably loves batter.
Chris Wilder
Like every Yorkshire dad. Very Sheffield. Doesn’t like having sandwiches eaten in front of him. Seems to conflate eating with lack of respect. Very passive aggressive. Has a chip on his shoulder and is professionally miserable in a very Yorkshire way. Brexiteer who hasn’t got the Brexit he voted for. Is part of the English cabal who they feel suffer from discrimination because they’re English. Has got a face like a bulldog chewing a wasp.
Brian Clough
Revered ex-manager of Nottingham Forest who always called a spade a shit shovel. Hit fans and often promised to kiss them. Notorious drinker. Made the green sweatshirt iconic. Should have been given the England job but the blazers saw him as dangerous. Born in Middlesbrough near Don Revie. Prolific goalscorer. Made the phrase “young man” the kind of thing that would always be a self-identification.
Felix Magath
Had an alternative approach. Would wrap injuries in cheese. He was an odd character who did well in Europe but alienated players at Fulham with his quirky, cheese-based physiotherapy. Looked like he is a woodland creature, possibly a hamster.
John Sitton
Had the old-school approach of screaming until he bled. Famously offered to fight players. Because there is little more effective managerial technique than to beat the players up while they eat their lunch. Now a taxi driver. Did the knowledge. The very embodiment of late ’80s, early ’90s school approach. The fact his rant was at the centre of a television programme preserves the row in all its poetic glory.
Malcolm Allison
Genuinely innovative coach in the early ’60s who, when at Palace, invited Page 3, soft porn actress Fiona Richmond into the communal bath in a fit of uber 1970s behaviour. Later bossed Mddlesbrough and was not very good. Famously wore a fedora, smoked cigars and lived it large with champagne for breakfast.
Marcelo Bielsa
Much admired and influential coach who was fond of a touchline bucket to sit on. Loved by Leeds. Got his players to run faster and longer than anyone else. Famously wide open. His team could win or lose 6 or 7 nil. Very popular figure who looked like a dishevelled maths teacher. Nothing contrived about his tramp-like fashions
Ian Holloway
For a while he was an interesting figure. Then became self-aware and purposely said mad things in a Bristol accent. Broadcasters continue to be fooled by his shtick. Affects ignorance of modern culture when it suits him. Applied for the Motherwell job last year but didn’t get the gig. Wants to be taken more seriously now, but that West Country burr makes it hard.
Martin Allen
Anyone whose nickname is Mad Dog is liable to be a loose cannon. Martin is famously short-tempered and seems to be permanently angry. May be able to tear your face right off your head with one scowl. Has managed eight clubs once and Barnet five times. In an era of emotional empathy, his brusque, not to say violent approach would likely see him prosecuted for crimes against humanity.