Rob Shepherd on his run-ins with Glenn Hoddle over the years, and why the former England maestro’s off-field ramblings have overshadowed his coaching success.
Glenn Hoddle has sometimes been, shall we say, economical with the truth. There was a classic example just a few days after he had been appointed as Wolves manager in December.
In the role of Sky Sports pundit for that wonderful clash between Arsenal and Chelsea at Highbury on 12 December, Hoddle was asked after the game about a story that had appeared that morning in a Sunday newspaper. The scoop revealed Hoddle had been involved with a consortium seeking to buy Tottenham Hotspur.
Hoddle ridiculed the tale with a disdainful smile. ‘I never said them (sic) things. I just don’t know where they get them (sic) stories from,’ he chortled. Yet the revelations were based on an interview Hoddle gave to one of the few journalists he confi des in. Here is a direct quote: ‘My contacts have already put in two bids for Tottenham but Daniel Levy won’t budge at the moment.’
The hack has the 40-minute interview on tape. To be fair, it was conducted a few weeks before Wolves appointed Hoddle, so the timing of publication didn’t exactly work in Hoddle’s favour, but he had only signed a contract with Wolves until the end of the season, so why lie?
The original diamond geezer
It seems Hoddle finds it hard to resist the odd porkie. I have personal experience. When he was Chelsea’s manager there was a story that Hoddle was trying to lure Ian Wright from Arsenal. At the usual Friday pre-match press conference Hoddle completely rubbished the tale. But just before leaving the training ground I received a call to say that Arsenal had confirmed there’d been an inquiry.
Some hacks felt it was fair game to stick with what Hoddle said and expose his forked tongue. I agreed with others who felt we should offer him the chance to put the record straight. Returning to the dressing-room area I bumped into assistant manager Peter Shreeves and explained how potentially embarrassing the situation could be for Hoddle.
He agreed, but said Hoddle was having a bath. Shreeves went to see Hoddle, returning with a revised version of events that now confirmed rather than denied the interest!
It’s not just the press who suffer. Much to his embarrassment, England defender Gareth Southgate was forced (it was widely reported later) to make up a story about an injury during the 1998 World Cup in France.
To this day, Hoddle refutes the content of the fateful interview that got him the sack as England boss. He maintains he never made warped comments about the handicapped. Was he stitched up? Let’s put it this way – Hoddle didn’t sue.
For a man who claims to have such strong spiritual beliefs, it’s strange he’s so often in denial, which is a pity since he was such a wonderful player to watch. As a coach he’s a sound tactician and offers interesting insights and opinions. He can be decent company too.
At one time, he was regarded as a bit of a diamond geezer by his team-mates. Old Spurs players have plenty of tales about when Hoddle was the life and soul of party nights.
There’s no doubt that he does still have a decent sense of humour, though – so maybe he sees telling a few tall tales as a laugh.
Before that World Cup in France, a group of hacks covering England were invited to a golf day. I was playing in a foursome with England assistant coach John Gorman (no, he wasn’t caddying for Hoddle).
We were a hole ahead of Hoddle’s group. At the third tee I hit an almighty hook. It flew across the second green and went slam into the buggy Hoddle was driving.
Worth a flutter
He fell out as if he had been hit square in the head. For a moment we all feared the worst before he jumped up grinning.
We collapsed laughing at the wind-up, although on reflection some England players, notably Paul Gascoigne, must have wished I had ruled Hoddle out of the tournament. Mind you, I still reckon Hoddle was spot-on to leave Gazza out of the World Cup squad.
Despite his foibles he has an undeniably decent record as a manager. It was a tremendous achievement to lead Swindon Town into the top flight in his first job as player-manager. At Chelsea he set the new era rolling and by luring Ruud Gullit was at the vanguard of attracting top continental stars to the Premiership.
He taught Southampton to punch above their weight, did a respectable job with England and on reflection deserved more time at Tottenham.
Certainly his claim that he can lead Wolves back to the Premiership via the play-offs should not be dismissed as mere hogwash.
William Hill quote Hoddle’s Wolves at 66/1 to win the Championship; 8/1 to win promotion and 4/7 to fi nish in the top half of the table. The price for Hoddle to be a born-again Spurs manager within the next two seasons? 12/1. I think I’ll have a flutter.
