Joe Kinnear obituary

10/04/2024 21:27

Tottenham defender and Ireland international who kept Wimbledon in the top division as manager in the 90s

Joe Kinnear, who has died aged 77, had a lively and successful career in three footballing arenas – as a trophy-winning defender with Tottenham during the 1960s and 70s, as a 26-cap international with Ireland, and as a combative, resourceful manager of Wimbledon in the 90s, when they defied the established order by maintaining their status as members of the Premier League throughout his seven-year reign.

A fleet-footed right-back, Kinnear won the FA Cup, League Cup (twice) and Uefa Cup with Spurs, while for Ireland he was a regular pick across three European championship and two World Cup qualifying campaigns from 1967 to 1975. But of the three elements of an eventful sporting life, his time with Wimbledon was probably the most impressive, given that he was leading a team that barely had any right to be mixing it in the top division.