SUGAR DADDY
FourFourTwo UK|May 2023
Alan Sugar faced El Tel in court and angry fans in the stands during an eventful nine-year spell as Spurs chairman, which featured plenty of chances for him to hone his "You're fired!" catchphrase...
- Richard Edwards
SUGAR DADDY

The afterglow of Tottenham Hotspur’s most recent FA Cup triumph faded quickly. It was the summer of 1991, Spurs had captured football’s oldest competition for a record eighth time, and yet the club was in a total mess.

Though a debt of £20 million seems piffling today, back in ’91 it represented a crippling millstone around Tottenham’s neck. Worse still, the financial lifeline due from selling Paul Gascoigne, with Lazio offering a world-record £8.5m fee, had just been jeopardised by Gazza injuring himself at Wembley with an extraordinarily bad tackle on Nottingham Forest’s 21-year-old full-back Gary Charles, who ironically got to his feet immediately. Spurs needed money and fast.

Their saviour was a former barrow boy from the East End. Alan Sugar had made a fortune with his electronics company Amstrad, and now he came to White Hart Lane to stabilise Spurs’ parlous finances.

Terry Venables sat alongside Sugar in his opening press conference that June. The former Barcelona head honcho had just masterminded Tottenham to their record-breaking FA Cup final triumph over Brian Clough’s Forest, but he found the boardroom even more alluring than the dugout and moved upstairs to become chief executive.

In Sugar’s words: “He’ll look after the 11 players on the pitch; I’ll look after the £11m in the bank.” What could possibly go wrong?

“EVERY FIGURE HAD MINUS IN FRONT OF IT”

It’s fitting that Sugar would later become best-known for The Apprentice, because when he walked through the doors at White Hart Lane 32 years ago, there wouldn’t have been a better setting for a reality television show – specifically, on how not to run a football club.

この蚘事は FourFourTwo UK の May 2023 版に掲茉されおいたす。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トラむアルを開始しお、䜕千もの厳遞されたプレミアム ストヌリヌ、9,000 以䞊の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしおください。

この蚘事は FourFourTwo UK の May 2023 版に掲茉されおいたす。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トラむアルを開始しお、䜕千もの厳遞されたプレミアム ストヌリヌ、9,000 以䞊の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしおください。

FOURFOURTWO UKのその他の蚘事すべお衚瀺
How Liverpool have changed under new manager Arne Slot
FourFourTwo UK

How Liverpool have changed under new manager Arne Slot

The Reds have had to adapt to life without their legendary boss Jurgen Klopp, But their new managers tactical tweaks showed highly promising early signs

time-read
2 分  |
December 2024
Why Cole Palmer is an absolute genius on a football pitch
FourFourTwo UK

Why Cole Palmer is an absolute genius on a football pitch

Chelsea’s attacking star attracts plenty of mirth for his interviews, but he often displays unrivalled intelligence in the heat of Premier League action

time-read
3 分  |
December 2024
CORINTHIANS X SENNA 2018-19
FourFourTwo UK

CORINTHIANS X SENNA 2018-19

Kit connoisseur Phil Delves looks back at an ultimate 'collab shirt' from South America - one that heralded a black and gold craze

time-read
3 分  |
December 2024
"THE MISSILE SIRENS WOULD START DURING TRAINING, SO WE'D HAVE TO GO INSIDE AND TAKE COVER"
FourFourTwo UK

"THE MISSILE SIRENS WOULD START DURING TRAINING, SO WE'D HAVE TO GO INSIDE AND TAKE COVER"

The Welsh international striker recalls growing up in Africa, humiliation at Derby and air strikes in Israel, not to mention a certain hat-tricks record...

time-read
5 分  |
December 2024
"I SWAPPED SHIRTS WITH ETO'O AFTER MY DEBUT HE PROBABLY USED MINE ON HIS WINDOWS"
FourFourTwo UK

"I SWAPPED SHIRTS WITH ETO'O AFTER MY DEBUT HE PROBABLY USED MINE ON HIS WINDOWS"

The lifelong Magpie opens up about earning Sir Bobby’s trust, his new career in the Middle East, and how Ruud van Nistelrooy knew I wanted to kick him”

time-read
5 分  |
December 2024
"SVEN GOT IN TOUCH TO SEE IF I'D BE KEEN ON PLAYING FOR ENGLAND THAT MADE ME SO PROUD"
FourFourTwo UK

"SVEN GOT IN TOUCH TO SEE IF I'D BE KEEN ON PLAYING FOR ENGLAND THAT MADE ME SO PROUD"

The former Italian shot-stopper tells FourFourTwo about following in his father’s footsteps at Milan and the game that changed Chelsea forever...

time-read
5 分  |
December 2024
Why Thomas Tuchel is the perfect fit for the England job
FourFourTwo UK

Why Thomas Tuchel is the perfect fit for the England job

The new gaffer might not have been born and bred in Barnsley, but he’s long proved himself to be particularly astute in high-profile knockout competitions

time-read
3 分  |
December 2024
GREEN SHOOTS
FourFourTwo UK

GREEN SHOOTS

Less than two years ago, Saint-Etienne were at real risk of relegation to the semi-professional third tier - unthinkable for a club who were the finest in France throughout the 1960s and '70s. Now Les Verts are back in the big time following last term's Ligue 2 play-off success. Oh, and they're also billionaires...

time-read
10+ 分  |
December 2024
Why I love Scottish football
FourFourTwo UK

Why I love Scottish football

The legendary goal-getter recounts his strangest tales, featuring Graeme Souness punch-ups, broken sofas, Duncan Ferguson's errant pigeon and, of course, Gazza...

time-read
10+ 分  |
December 2024
A MATCH WITH THE MONKS THE GREATEST COMPETITION PRIZE EVER
FourFourTwo UK

A MATCH WITH THE MONKS THE GREATEST COMPETITION PRIZE EVER

A globe-trotting FourFourTwo has gone beyond even Tanzania’s borders this month. American fan Matthew Eide of the Far Away Football blog ventured to equally mountainous Bhutan, after winning the most unusual of raffles...

time-read
4 分  |
December 2024