Terry Venables facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Terry Venables

Personal information
Full name	Terence Frederick Venables
Date of birth	(1943-01-06)6 January 1943
Place of birth	Dagenham, Essex, England
Date of death	25 November 2023(2023-11-25) (aged 80)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
1958–1960	Chelsea
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1960–1966	Chelsea	202	(26)
1966–1969	Tottenham Hotspur	115	(5)
1969–1974	Queens Park Rangers	177	(19)
1974–1975	Crystal Palace	14	(0)
1974	→ Canterbury-Marrickville Olympic (loan)	18	(0)
1976	→ St Patrick's Athletic (loan)	2	(0)
Total		528	(50)
International career
	England Schoolboy
	England Youth
1960	England Amateur	1	(0)
1962–1964	England U23	4	(0)
1964	England	2	(0)
	The Football League XI	1	(0)
Managerial career
1976–1980	Crystal Palace
1980–1984	Queens Park Rangers
1984–1987	Barcelona
1987–1991	Tottenham Hotspur
1994–1996	England
1997–1998	Australia
1998–1999	Crystal Palace
2000–2001	Middlesbrough (joint with Bryan Robson)
2002–2003	Leeds United
2006–2007	England (assistant)
Medal record Men's Football Representing  Australia (as manager) FIFA Confederations Cup Runner-up 1997
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Terence Frederick Venables (6 January 1943 – 25 November 2023), known as El Tel, was a famous English football player and manager. He played for big clubs like Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, and Queens Park Rangers. He also played for the England national team twice.

As a manager, Venables achieved great success. He won the Second Division championship with Crystal Palace in 1979. He also led Queens Park Rangers to the 1982 FA Cup Final and won the Second Division title in 1983.

With Barcelona in Spain, he won La Liga (the Spanish league) in 1985. He also guided them to the 1986 European Cup Final. Later, he led Tottenham Hotspur to win the 1991 FA Cup Final.

Venables also managed the England national team from 1994 to 1996. During this time, England reached the semi-finals of the 1996 European Championships. He also managed the Australia national team.

Terry Venables' Early Life

Terence Frederick Venables was born in Dagenham, England, on January 6, 1943. He was the only child of Fred and Myrtle Venables. His father was in the Navy, and his mother was from Wales.

When he was 13, his parents moved to run a pub. Terry went to live with his grandparents, Ossie and Milly. They helped him develop his love for football.

Playing Career: A Midfielder's Journey

Venables was a talented young player. He played for his county and then for England Schoolboys. Big clubs like Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, and Manchester United were all interested in him.

Playing for Chelsea

In 1958, at age 15, Venables joined Chelsea as an apprentice. He felt he had a good chance to play for their first team. He also mentioned that Chelsea offered his father a part-time scouting job.

He won the FA Youth Cup with Chelsea two years in a row, in 1960 and 1961. He made his first team debut on February 6, 1960. Newspapers called him "the new Duncan Edwards".

Tommy Docherty became Chelsea's manager in 1961. He promoted many young players, who were called "Docherty's Diamonds". Venables learned a lot from Docherty, even though they sometimes had disagreements.

Chelsea was relegated in 1962 but quickly returned to the First Division in 1963. Venables helped Chelsea win the League Cup in 1965. He scored a penalty in the final against Leicester City.

Towards the end of the 1965–66 season, Venables and seven other players were suspended by the manager for breaking team rules. This led to Venables being put on the transfer list.

Playing for Tottenham Hotspur

In 1966, Tottenham Hotspur signed Venables for £80,000. He made his debut for Spurs on May 9, 1966.

Spurs had a great 1966–67 season. They finished third in the league and reached the 1967 FA Cup Final. They faced his old club, Chelsea, at Wembley. Spurs won the FA Cup with a 2–1 victory.

Venables played 115 games for Tottenham, scoring 5 goals. He left the club in 1969.

Playing for Queens Park Rangers

Venables joined Queens Park Rangers (QPR) in the Second Division for £70,000. He later said this move changed his life for the better.

QPR earned promotion to the First Division in 1973, finishing as runners-up. Venables played a key role, scoring 19 goals in 177 games for the club. He even helped supervise training sessions.

Playing for Crystal Palace

In 1974, Venables moved to Crystal Palace. He played 14 games in the Third Division during the 1974–75 season. He had to retire from playing due to arthritis on New Year's Eve. After retiring, he took on a coaching role at the club.

International Appearances for England

Venables (middle) with England in 1964 when he played against the Netherlands

Terry Venables played for England at many levels. He is the only player to have represented England as a schoolboy, youth, amateur, Under-23, and full international player.

He earned two "caps" (appearances) for the senior England team in 1964. These were in matches against Belgium and the Netherlands. He was considered for the 1966 FIFA World Cup squad but did not make the final team.

Terry Venables: A Managerial Career

Venables became known as a very successful manager. His achievements led to offers from top clubs in Europe.

Managing Crystal Palace

After retiring as a player, Venables became a coach at Crystal Palace in 1975. He then became the manager in June 1976.

He built a young team at Palace, mostly using youth players and free transfers. The media called them the "Team of the Eighties". In 1977, Palace won promotion to the Second Division.

His team continued to improve. In 1979, they won promotion again, this time as champions of the Second Division. This was a big achievement for the club.

In their first season back in the First Division (1979–80), Crystal Palace even reached the top of the league for one week in September 1979. They finished the season in 13th place, which was their highest league finish ever at that time. Venables left Palace in October 1980.

Managing Queens Park Rangers Again

Venables moved from top-division Palace to Second Division Queens Park Rangers (QPR). He led QPR to win the Second Division championship in 1983, bringing them back to the First Division.

He also guided QPR to the FA Cup final in 1982, even though they were a Second Division team. They lost in a replay to his former club, Tottenham.

In his final season at QPR (1983–84), the team finished fifth in the league. This earned them a spot in the UEFA Cup, a European competition.

Managing FC Barcelona: "El Tel" in Spain

In 1984, Venables became the manager of Barcelona in Spain. He was given the nickname "El Tel" there. He used a classic 4–4–2 system, which is a common football formation.

During his three years in Spain, Venables led Barcelona to win the Spanish league title in 1985. This was their first league title since 1974. He also won the 1986 Copa de la Liga.

Barcelona also reached the final of the 1986 European Cup Final (now the Champions League). They lost in a penalty shootout after a 0–0 draw. This was Barcelona's first European Cup final appearance since 1961.

Venables brought two British strikers to Barcelona in 1986: Gary Lineker and Mark Hughes. Lineker was very successful, scoring many goals. Venables was dismissed by Barcelona in September 1987.

Managing Tottenham Hotspur Again

On November 23, 1987, Venables returned to England to manage Tottenham Hotspur. His time at Spurs had mixed results. They often finished in the middle of the league table.

However, they did win the FA Cup in 1991. They also finished third in the league in 1990. Venables brought star players like Gary Lineker and Paul Gascoigne to Spurs.

In 1991, Alan Sugar took over Tottenham Hotspur. Venables was appointed chief executive. However, disagreements developed between them, and Sugar dismissed Venables in May 1993.

Managing the England National Team

Venables was appointed manager of the England national team on January 28, 1994. He faced a lot of media attention.

England automatically qualified for UEFA Euro 1996 as hosts. Venables used friendly matches to try out players and find the best tactics. He decided to step down after Euro 1996.

He chose Tony Adams as captain for Euro 1996. England drew with Switzerland, then beat Scotland 2–0 and the Netherlands 4–1. Venables called the win over the Netherlands "perfection".

England beat Spain in the quarter-finals on penalties. They were then eliminated by Germany in the semi-finals, also on penalties, after a 1–1 draw. Players praised Venables' tactical knowledge and ability to get the best from the team.

Managing Australia

In November 1996, Venables became the manager of the Australia national team. He led Australia to the final of the 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup, where they lost to Brazil.

His team did well in the World Cup qualifiers. However, they lost a play-off match against Iran. Australia led 2–0 in the second leg but conceded two late goals, missing out on the 1998 World Cup on the away goals rule. Venables left the team after this.

Later Managerial Roles

In the summer of 1998, Venables returned to Crystal Palace. He left in January 1999 as the club faced financial difficulties.

He then became head coach at Middlesbrough in December 2000. He helped the club avoid relegation, and they finished 14th. Venables left Middlesbrough in June 2001.

In July 2002, Venables joined Leeds United as manager. The club was facing serious financial problems. Key players were sold without his full knowledge. Venables was sacked in March 2003.

In 2006, Venables returned to the England set-up as assistant to new manager Steve McClaren. They were both sacked in November 2007 after England failed to qualify for Euro 2008. In 2012, he became a technical adviser for non-League club Wembley.

Terry Venables' Personal Life and Other Work

Venables married Christine McCann in 1966. They had two daughters before divorcing in 1984. He then met his second wife, Yvette Bazire, and they married in 1991.

Venables had various business interests. He also co-authored five novels with writer Gordon Williams. One of his books, They Used to Play on Grass, was very popular. He also helped create the ITV detective series Hazell.

He was a football pundit for the BBC and later for ITV. Venables also had a passion for singing. In 2002, he recorded a song for the World Cup called "England Crazy". In 2010, he recorded a cover of the Elvis Presley song "If I Can Dream", which reached number 23 in the UK charts.

Terry Venables passed away on November 25, 2023, at the age of 80, after a long illness.

Career Statistics

Player

Managerial record

Honours and Achievements

As a Player

Chelsea

• Football League Cup: 1964–65
• Football League Second Division runner-up: 1962–63

Tottenham Hotspur

• FA Cup: 1966–67
• FA Charity Shield: 1967 (shared)

Queens Park Rangers

• Football League Second Division runner-up: 1972–73

As a Manager

Crystal Palace

• Football League Second Division: 1978–79
• Football League Third Division third-place promotion: 1976–77

Queens Park Rangers

• Football League Second Division: 1982–83
• FA Cup runner-up: 1981–82

Barcelona

• La Liga: 1984–85
• Copa de la Liga: 1986
• European Cup runner-up: 1985–86

Tottenham Hotspur

• FA Cup: 1990–91
• FA Charity Shield: 1991 (shared)

Australia

• FIFA Confederations Cup runner-up: 1997

Individual Awards

• Don Balón Award: 1985 (Best Manager in Spain)
• English Football Hall of Fame: Inducted in 1997
• Premier League Manager of the Month: January 2001

Images for kids

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  Venables (middle) with England in 1964 when he played against the Netherlands

See also

In Spanish: Terry Venables para niños