Post by Macmoish on Oct 7, 2010 17:27:14 GMT
And don't include Magilton-Buzsaky 
Sport.co.uk
Top Ten: Manager vs Player bust-ups
Jonny Abrams
Roberto Mancini vs Carlos Tevez! Rafael Benitez vs Sulley Muntari! Manager-player bust-ups are very much en vogue again so, to celebrate, Sport.co.uk remembers ten other such clashes to have shocked and amused us over the years…
1. Brian Clough vs Nigel Jemson/Roy Keane – Two separate incidents, only one winner. After a 19 year-old Jemson had attempted a few unsuccessful step-overs in a Nottingham Forest reserves match against Derby County, Clough asked him to stand up in the dressing room at half-time. “Have you ever been hit in the stomach?” enquired Clough paternally. When Jemson replied that he hadn’t, Clough punched his midriff and is reputed to have said: “You have now, son. Don't you ever try those fancy tricks again while your mum and dad are in the stand.” Clough also punched a young Roy Keane to the floor for under-hitting a back pass against Crystal Palace. "I only ever hit Roy the once,” said Clough later. “He got up, so I couldn't have hit him very hard."
2. Mick McCarthy vs Roy Keane – Perhaps that early dent to Keane’s pride (and body) was the root of his brazen willingness to undermine managerial authority, which came to the fore in 2002 as Republic of Ireland were preparing for that summer’s World Cup finals. Keane’s fervent criticisms of those preparations to the Irish Times sparked ‘clear the air’ talks with Ireland boss McCarthy but, judging by the current Wolverhampton Wanderers manager’s statement afterwards, the talks ended up somewhat less than civil: "I cannot and will not tolerate being spoken to with that level of abuse being thrown at me so I sent him home." McCarthy also described Keane’s tirade as “obnoxious, degrading to me and downright rude", adding “I have never witnessed such an attack from any human being. It was vicious and it was unjust.” Niall Quinn later revealed that Keane would have been back in the squad had he apologised.
3. Sir Alex Ferguson vs David Beckham – After seeing his Manchester United side go down 2-0 to Arsenal in an FA Cup 5th round match, Ferguson unleashed his infamous hairdryer on his defeated players – an experience which many of them may already have been well used to, except for one peculiar twist. In the midst of unloading his wrath, Ferguson kicked a football boot which flew across the room and gashed Beckham just above his left eye. “Just f***ing patch him up,” Ferguson ordered his physio and the Scotsman made light of the incident soon afterwards, saying "It was a freakish incident. If I tried it 100 or a million times it couldn't happen again. If I could I would have carried on playing!" Both parties insisted that it was water under the bridge but Beckham left for Real Madrid a year later.
4. Alan Shearer vs Joey Barton – During his short, unsuccessful spell as caretaker manager of Newcastle United at the end of the 2008-09 season, Shearer brought Barton back into the side for a trip to Anfield, only to see the controversial midfielder sent off for this horrible tackle on Xabi Alonso. In the dressing room after the game, Shearer is believed to have told Barton that it was a mistake to bring him back into the side, to which the ‘feisty’ Scouser is reported to have replied: "I'm the best player at this club – you’re a s*** manager with s*** tactics." Cue a mano a mano brawl from which they had to be separated. One of those cases in which both parties had a salient point.
5. Martin O’Neill vs Nigel Reo-Coker – Having played much of his football for Aston Villa at right-back, former West Ham United captain Reo-Coker had just been restored to his favoured central midfield position when a training ground ‘disagreement’ with O’Neill led to him grabbing his manager by the throat in front of ‘stunned onlookers’ (tabloid-isms ahoy!). Reo-Coker was suspended by the club for their next game, with O’Neill saying: “There was a confrontation between Nigel and myself. It usually happens between players really. There was no wrestling to the ground as reported in one newspaper. That was a figment of the onlookers' imagination. There was enough for me to treat the incident seriously enough. Nigel will not play against Portsmouth and come Monday it will be forgotten about. I make the rules. I am the manager and custodian of the football club so my rules apply. Players have to get used to my rules. It's as simple as that.”
6. Brian Laws vs Ivano Bonetti - In 1996, Grimsby Town manager Brian Laws accused one of his players – namely fans’ favourite Ivano Bonetti – of not trying hard enough during a 3-2 defeat to Luton. The Italian gave him a bit of lip back, for which he was promptly rewarded with a face full of chicken wings that shattered his cheekbone (before being sold to Tranmere at the end of the season). Here is a poor quality but hilariously The Day Today-ish reconstruction of the incident.
7. Tony Pulis vs James Beattie – After losing 2-0 to Arsenal, Pulis ordered his Stoke City players back in for extra training on the Sunday having previously told them that they could be off until Tuesday so they could go out in London on Monday night to celebrate their Christmas party. Striker Beattie – who had spent weeks organising the party - objected on the grounds that the performance wasn’t bad enough to warrant the cancelation, which, naturally, was music to Pulis’ ears. He squared up to Beattie in the visitors’ dressing room and the pair reportedly exchanged punches before the club masseur dragged the manager away. Beattie subsequently fell out of the first-team fold and is now at Rangers.
8. Walter Smith vs Michael Ball and Richard Dunne – After missing training on New Year’s Day 2000, presumably having been celebrating like it was 1999, then Everton manager banned then youngsters Ball and Dunne from the club for a week. However, upon their return, they were each then handed a fine of two weeks’ wages, an extra punishment which they believed was not permitted in the terms of their contracts. They took their case to an FA tribunal before they dropped it due to “adverse publicity”. A year later, Smith caught the pair laughing on the team coach after an embarrassing League Cup exit to Bristol Rovers and they were both banned for the Toffees’ next game, which they promptly lost 3-0 at home to Ipswich Town. Before long, both Ball and Dunne were sold, to Rangers and Manchester City respectively.
9. Trevor Francis vs Alex Kolinko – Then Crystal Palace substitute goalkeeper Kolinko claimed that Francis, his manager, had punched him in the face during an early season draw with Bradford City in 2002. Francis claimed that Kolinko had laughed after Bradford scored, with Kolinko retorting publically: "I was not laughing in the dugout. The manager punched me on the nose. I have not been given an explanation why he did it. My nose is very sore and bruised." The following February, Latvia international Kolinko was fined two weeks’ wages for refusing to play in a Division 1 match against Leicester City.
10. Gordon Strachan vs Aiden McGeady – The pair were reported to have clashed repeatedly during their years together at Celtic, with the root of the difference believed to be Strachan’s view of McGeady as a disobedient maverick with no regard for tactical instructions, twinned with McGeady’s conviction that he was being singled out unfairly. However, he was not the only Celtic player to fall foul of Strachan – just ask Bobo Balde, Thomas Gravesen, Derek Riordan and Charlie Mulgrew.
Honourable mentions…
…go to those managers who took on their whole team. The case of Brian Clough vs Leeds United is legendary – but what about John Sitton and Neil Warnock?
WARNOCK VIDEO (PRE-QPR)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=im85NY4NKt4&feature=player_embedded
blog.sport.co.uk/Football/875/Top_Ten_Manager_vs_Player_bust-ups.aspx
Sport.co.uk
Top Ten: Manager vs Player bust-ups
Jonny Abrams
Roberto Mancini vs Carlos Tevez! Rafael Benitez vs Sulley Muntari! Manager-player bust-ups are very much en vogue again so, to celebrate, Sport.co.uk remembers ten other such clashes to have shocked and amused us over the years…
1. Brian Clough vs Nigel Jemson/Roy Keane – Two separate incidents, only one winner. After a 19 year-old Jemson had attempted a few unsuccessful step-overs in a Nottingham Forest reserves match against Derby County, Clough asked him to stand up in the dressing room at half-time. “Have you ever been hit in the stomach?” enquired Clough paternally. When Jemson replied that he hadn’t, Clough punched his midriff and is reputed to have said: “You have now, son. Don't you ever try those fancy tricks again while your mum and dad are in the stand.” Clough also punched a young Roy Keane to the floor for under-hitting a back pass against Crystal Palace. "I only ever hit Roy the once,” said Clough later. “He got up, so I couldn't have hit him very hard."
2. Mick McCarthy vs Roy Keane – Perhaps that early dent to Keane’s pride (and body) was the root of his brazen willingness to undermine managerial authority, which came to the fore in 2002 as Republic of Ireland were preparing for that summer’s World Cup finals. Keane’s fervent criticisms of those preparations to the Irish Times sparked ‘clear the air’ talks with Ireland boss McCarthy but, judging by the current Wolverhampton Wanderers manager’s statement afterwards, the talks ended up somewhat less than civil: "I cannot and will not tolerate being spoken to with that level of abuse being thrown at me so I sent him home." McCarthy also described Keane’s tirade as “obnoxious, degrading to me and downright rude", adding “I have never witnessed such an attack from any human being. It was vicious and it was unjust.” Niall Quinn later revealed that Keane would have been back in the squad had he apologised.
3. Sir Alex Ferguson vs David Beckham – After seeing his Manchester United side go down 2-0 to Arsenal in an FA Cup 5th round match, Ferguson unleashed his infamous hairdryer on his defeated players – an experience which many of them may already have been well used to, except for one peculiar twist. In the midst of unloading his wrath, Ferguson kicked a football boot which flew across the room and gashed Beckham just above his left eye. “Just f***ing patch him up,” Ferguson ordered his physio and the Scotsman made light of the incident soon afterwards, saying "It was a freakish incident. If I tried it 100 or a million times it couldn't happen again. If I could I would have carried on playing!" Both parties insisted that it was water under the bridge but Beckham left for Real Madrid a year later.
4. Alan Shearer vs Joey Barton – During his short, unsuccessful spell as caretaker manager of Newcastle United at the end of the 2008-09 season, Shearer brought Barton back into the side for a trip to Anfield, only to see the controversial midfielder sent off for this horrible tackle on Xabi Alonso. In the dressing room after the game, Shearer is believed to have told Barton that it was a mistake to bring him back into the side, to which the ‘feisty’ Scouser is reported to have replied: "I'm the best player at this club – you’re a s*** manager with s*** tactics." Cue a mano a mano brawl from which they had to be separated. One of those cases in which both parties had a salient point.
5. Martin O’Neill vs Nigel Reo-Coker – Having played much of his football for Aston Villa at right-back, former West Ham United captain Reo-Coker had just been restored to his favoured central midfield position when a training ground ‘disagreement’ with O’Neill led to him grabbing his manager by the throat in front of ‘stunned onlookers’ (tabloid-isms ahoy!). Reo-Coker was suspended by the club for their next game, with O’Neill saying: “There was a confrontation between Nigel and myself. It usually happens between players really. There was no wrestling to the ground as reported in one newspaper. That was a figment of the onlookers' imagination. There was enough for me to treat the incident seriously enough. Nigel will not play against Portsmouth and come Monday it will be forgotten about. I make the rules. I am the manager and custodian of the football club so my rules apply. Players have to get used to my rules. It's as simple as that.”
6. Brian Laws vs Ivano Bonetti - In 1996, Grimsby Town manager Brian Laws accused one of his players – namely fans’ favourite Ivano Bonetti – of not trying hard enough during a 3-2 defeat to Luton. The Italian gave him a bit of lip back, for which he was promptly rewarded with a face full of chicken wings that shattered his cheekbone (before being sold to Tranmere at the end of the season). Here is a poor quality but hilariously The Day Today-ish reconstruction of the incident.
7. Tony Pulis vs James Beattie – After losing 2-0 to Arsenal, Pulis ordered his Stoke City players back in for extra training on the Sunday having previously told them that they could be off until Tuesday so they could go out in London on Monday night to celebrate their Christmas party. Striker Beattie – who had spent weeks organising the party - objected on the grounds that the performance wasn’t bad enough to warrant the cancelation, which, naturally, was music to Pulis’ ears. He squared up to Beattie in the visitors’ dressing room and the pair reportedly exchanged punches before the club masseur dragged the manager away. Beattie subsequently fell out of the first-team fold and is now at Rangers.
8. Walter Smith vs Michael Ball and Richard Dunne – After missing training on New Year’s Day 2000, presumably having been celebrating like it was 1999, then Everton manager banned then youngsters Ball and Dunne from the club for a week. However, upon their return, they were each then handed a fine of two weeks’ wages, an extra punishment which they believed was not permitted in the terms of their contracts. They took their case to an FA tribunal before they dropped it due to “adverse publicity”. A year later, Smith caught the pair laughing on the team coach after an embarrassing League Cup exit to Bristol Rovers and they were both banned for the Toffees’ next game, which they promptly lost 3-0 at home to Ipswich Town. Before long, both Ball and Dunne were sold, to Rangers and Manchester City respectively.
9. Trevor Francis vs Alex Kolinko – Then Crystal Palace substitute goalkeeper Kolinko claimed that Francis, his manager, had punched him in the face during an early season draw with Bradford City in 2002. Francis claimed that Kolinko had laughed after Bradford scored, with Kolinko retorting publically: "I was not laughing in the dugout. The manager punched me on the nose. I have not been given an explanation why he did it. My nose is very sore and bruised." The following February, Latvia international Kolinko was fined two weeks’ wages for refusing to play in a Division 1 match against Leicester City.
10. Gordon Strachan vs Aiden McGeady – The pair were reported to have clashed repeatedly during their years together at Celtic, with the root of the difference believed to be Strachan’s view of McGeady as a disobedient maverick with no regard for tactical instructions, twinned with McGeady’s conviction that he was being singled out unfairly. However, he was not the only Celtic player to fall foul of Strachan – just ask Bobo Balde, Thomas Gravesen, Derek Riordan and Charlie Mulgrew.
Honourable mentions…
…go to those managers who took on their whole team. The case of Brian Clough vs Leeds United is legendary – but what about John Sitton and Neil Warnock?
WARNOCK VIDEO (PRE-QPR)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=im85NY4NKt4&feature=player_embedded
blog.sport.co.uk/Football/875/Top_Ten_Manager_vs_Player_bust-ups.aspx
