Paul Ince

Paul Ince
Personnel
Surname	Paul Emerson Carlyle Ince
birthday	October 21, 1967
place of birth	Ilford , London ,  England
size	178 cm
position	Defensive Midfield
Men's
Years	station	Games (goals) 1
1985-1989	West Ham United	72 0(7)
1989-1995	Manchester United	206 (25)
1995-1997	Inter Milan	54 (10)
1997-1999	Liverpool FC	65 (14)
1999-2002	Middlesbrough FC	93 0(7)
2002-2006	Wolverhampton Wanderers	115 (10)
2006	Swindon Town	3 0(0)
2007	Macclesfield Town	1 0(0)
National team
Years	selection	Games (goals)
1992-2000	England	53 0(2)
Stations as a trainer
Years	station
2006-2007	Macclesfield Town
2007-2008	Milton Keynes Dons
2008	Blackburn Rovers
2009-2010	Milton Keynes Dons
2010-2011	Notts County
2013-2014	Blackpool FC
1 Only league games are given.

Paul Emerson Carlyle Ince (born October 21, 1967 in Ilford , London ) is a former English football player and current coach .

The midfielder won a large number of titles with Manchester United , was the first black captain of an English national football team and, in addition to seven club stations in England, he also played two years in Italy for Inter Milan . As coach of the Blackburn Rovers , Ince was the first black Briton as head coach in the Premier League . Ince's son Thomas Ince is now also active as a professional footballer.

Player career

West Ham United (1985-1989)

Ince joined his youth club West Ham United after leaving school and made his debut for the first team on November 30, 1986 at the age of 19 as a substitute in a 4-0 loss to Newcastle United . In the following season he established himself more and more in the midfield of the team and convinced with his versatile qualities, which were evident in his defensive and passing behavior in addition to above-average speed and endurance. Ince, who was also strong at shooting, got into the English U-21 national team so quickly , having previously been in the youth team of his country.

An eventful season began for Ince in August 1988. In a team that was fighting to stay in the league, he catapulted himself into the focus of the national media when he scored two spectacular goals in the league cup to a surprising 4-1 win against reigning champions Liverpool FC . Although the Hammers failed in the semifinals of the competition at Luton Town and at the end of the relegation from the top division was sealed, Ince had made a lasting impression with good performances.

Manchester United & England National Team (1989–1995)

Ince completed one more game for the Hammers in the second-rate Second Division before moving to Manchester United for a transfer fee of a million pounds. Thus, the disagreements around the change came to an end, which had arisen around a photo that Ince had shown in the " Daily Express " - still in the service of the East London club - wearing a Manchester United shirt. The stay in London then turned into a gauntlet run for Ince, who urged a quick end of the formalities before the start of the season, but this had been delayed due to difficulties with the original medical examination at Manchester United.

Ince himself later commented on the circumstances of this transfer in a report by the magazine " FourFourTwo " with the following words:

“ I spoke to Alex Ferguson and the transfer was nearing completion. I went on vacation afterwards and my agent at the time, Ambrose Mendy, told me there was no need to go back to have a picture taken in the United shirt if the transfer was perfect. So I was supposed to make one myself, which would be published later after the official announcement. Lawrence Luster of the Daily Star took the picture and put it in the archives. A short time later, the Daily Express, a sister newspaper of the Daily Star, was looking for a picture of me as a West Ham player and discovered this one in the pile wearing a United shirt. You publish it and all hell broke loose. […] I came back from my vacation and found that the West Ham supporters had gone crazy. It really wasn't my fault. I was still a child and did what my agent told me to do and had to take this mess on me. "

After all, Paul Ince first appeared for Manchester United on September 16, 1989 in a 5-1 win against Millwall FC and although he wore the number 2 jersey - traditionally more typical of a defensive player - throughout the season he next to the veteran team captain Bryan Robson and Neil Webb, who also joined United, a major player in midfield. He immediately won the FA Cup with his new club , beating Crystal Palace in the final , the 1-0 win in the replay before a 3-3 draw at Wembley Stadium .

As Robson's career drew to a close, Ince became more and more the new central hub in the game of Manchester United. He was particularly important on the defensive when conquering the ball and in the build-up game through his passes. Although Ince had a hard shot, he rarely scored goals himself. He won his second title the following year, when he won the final of the European Cup Winners' Cup with United against FC Barcelona in Rotterdam in 1991 . Another year later he added the third title to his collection with the triumph in the League Cup - in the final he beat Nottingham Forest with his team .

On September 9, 1992 Ince made his debut in Santander for the English national team in a friendly against Spain . Although England lost 1-0, Ince's performance was satisfactory and so he made his second international match just a month later in a World Cup qualifier at home against Norway , which ended in a disappointing 1-1 draw. At the same time he played with Manchester United in the first season of the newly formed Premier League for the first championship in 26 years and was with his then very good friend Ryan Giggs in a top-class team with names like Mark Hughes , Éric Cantona , Peter Schmeichel , Andrei Kantschelskis , Steve Bruce and Denis Irwin . Together the team was able to win the English championship. However, Ince suffered a setback beyond the club's borders. He missed two of five World Cup qualifiers, with England's chances of participating in the World Cup finals on June 2, 1993 after the 2-0 defeat in Norway - the second competitive game in which coach Graham Taylor did without Ince - shrank to a minimum . During a summer tour in the United States in the same year, however, in the absence of David Platt and Tony Adams , he was the first dark-skinned captain of an English national football team to play against the hosts - and lost there 2-0.

During the subsequent 1993/94 season Ince came on September 8, 1993 in a 3-0 win against Poland for his tenth international match. This meant that qualification was still possible, but another win against the Netherlands in Rotterdam was needed. However, hopes had to be buried when England lost this hard-fought game 2-0 on October 13, 1993 and so the 7-1 win against San Marino on November 17, 1993 , in which Ince scored his first two international goals, was enough . also no longer off. With Manchester United Ince continued the dominance in English league football and the club won the FA Cup and championship double in 1994 .

Also at the end of the following season 1994/95 Manchester United played again for the English championship title. On the last day of the match Ince had to play at West Ham United, where he had not been forgiven for the change six years earlier. Due to the draw at Upton Park, Ince missed his third championship title in a row - instead the Blackburn Rovers won the league trophy. Once again, Ince was only the second winner afterwards when he lost to Everton FC in the FA Cup final with United . At this point, however, his capabilities had reached a peak and Ince was worshiped as "Guv'nor" by his own followers. Ince moved to Italy for Inter Milan after a total of 29 goals in 281 games for United for eight million pounds . Coach Ferguson then publicly horned his former player as "Big Time Charlie", which he implied greedily .

Inter Milan (1995-1997)

Ince's stay in Italy lasted two seasons. After an uncertain start, when skepticism still dominated the supporters of Inter Milan, he quickly developed into one of the favorite players due to his high level of commitment. However, the team did not play a significant role in the title race and ended up only in seventh place; Nevertheless, Ince's first season could be rated as a personal success, as he was only disregarded in four league games. In the following season Ince came to six goals in 24 league games for the "Nerazzurri" and ranked with the club in third place. He was also instrumental in ensuring that Inter made it to the final in the UEFA Cup . He had scored in a third round match at Boavista Porto and in the final he faced Schalke 04 with his team . In the 0-1 first leg defeat "to Schalke" on May 7, 1997 he was still missing, but then returned for the second leg on May 21, 1997, in which the Italians were able to equalize the deficit after 90 minutes by the goal of Iván Zamorano . In the penalty shootout Inter finally drew the short straw - Ince itself, however, was not among the shooters.

Although Inters President Massimo Moratti offered the English midfielder a contract extension on better terms, Ince decided to end his two-year stay abroad and returned to his home country.

The 1996 European Championship

Ince was still part of the English squad during this time, although he was used under the new coach Terry Venables in the run-up to the European Championship in his own country in a few of the friendly matches and mini-tournaments. England did not have to qualify as hosts for this tournament and Ince was faced with the problem that Venables could only examine him irregularly during his time in the Italian Serie A , although his role at Inter - contrary to many failed careers of British footballers abroad - successfully designed. In addition, he had slight acceptance problems in public, which had manifested themselves not least through Ferguson's statements in the context of his change.

During the EM tournament itself, Ince developed into an important player in defensive midfield when conquering the ball. He took on the role of the “ water carrier ” for Paul Gascoigne , was called “Gazza's watchdog” and gave him the necessary freedom in creative play. Although the first game against Switzerland on June 8, 1996 at Wembley ended with a disappointing 1: 1, the team improved over a 2: 0 against arch rivals from Scotland to a 4: 1 against the tournament favorites from the Netherlands . This moved England into the quarter-finals against Spain , but they went without Ince, as they got the second yellow card against the Netherlands - England eventually won without him on penalties.

Against Germany Ince returned to the semi-finals on June 26, 1996, but replaced the suspended Gary Neville - the team switched to a 3-1-4-2 line-up. The game ended with a 1-1 draw both after 90 and then after 120 minutes, so the encounter had to be decided again in a penalty shoot-out. This was ultimately lost for England when Gareth Southgate missed the sixth penalty - Ince was subsequently criticized for not being willing to take a penalty as well as for the fact that he had his back to the center circle with Steve McManaman during the entire decision Done sat.

When a new England coach was appointed after the tournament with Glenn Hoddle , Ince completed the following six international matches - including five qualifying matches for the World Cup in France . He achieved four victories, but also lost to Italy at home . On May 31, 1997 Ince came in a 3-0 win against Poland in Katowice to his 30th international match. This game was followed by participation in the Tournoi de France in June 1997 and a 4-0 win against Moldova on September 10, 1997. The subsequent goalless draw in Italy on October 11, 1997 was remembered not only because of the secure qualification for England. Similar to Terry Butcher against Sweden eight years earlier, Ince sustained a gaping head wound and continued to play in a turban and blood-smeared jersey.

Liverpool FC & World Cup 1998 (1997–1999)

Ince was now back in English football after leaving Inter Milan. He had joined Liverpool FC for more than £ 4million, a decision that came as a surprise due to the rivalry between Manchester United and Liverpool FC - very few players had previously played for both clubs in their careers.

Ince was unable to win a title in his first season for Liverpool FC, especially as the club was in the midst of a sporting drought and the young talents - such as Steve McManaman, Robbie Fowler and Jamie Redknapp - were still too immature. The Liverpool players, disparagingly referred to as "Spice Boys", had a reputation for being " playboys " on the field, and Ince often reminded the players of a necessary "decency". Ince was the only player from these ranks to have a place in the English team and on June 15, 1998, he completed his 40th international match in the first group game of the World Cup in Marseille against Tunisia . After the successful group stage, he faced Argentina with his team on June 30, 1998 and lost there on penalties. In this case, Ince stepped up to a penalty and forgave it against Carlos Roa . The second season in Liverpool did not bring Ince a title either. He himself only provided one of the few highlights on May 5, 1999 in a home game against Manchester United with a late equalizer.

Middlesbrough FC & European Championship 2000 (1999–2002)

In the summer of 1999, Liverpool coach Gerard Houllier Ince announced that he should no longer play a role in his plans and so he joined Middlesbrough FC for a million pounds . The almost 32-year-old Ince remained in the English national team, which is now being looked after by Kevin Keegan , contributed to qualifying for the 2000 European Championship in the Netherlands and Belgium and was nominated for the European Championship finals.

Shortly before the tournament he was substituted on on June 3, 2000 in a friendly against Malta and so came to his 50th international match. He was used in all three group games and won a penalty in the third game against Romania . Nevertheless, England lost two of the three games and were eliminated from the tournament. Ince henceforth focused on club football and his role as team captain, which he performed in Middlesbrough. In three seasons he came to 106 appearances and nine goals before he moved to Wolverhampton Wanderers on a free transfer in 2002 .

Wolverhampton Wanderers (2002-2006)

Ince played for Wolverhampton Wanderers - apart from his two-year stay in Italy - for the first time since his only second division game for West Ham in 1989 outside of English first division football. However, this stay lasted only a year and ended with direct promotion to the Premiership in his first season. In 2004, however, the direct relegation followed.

After the 2004/05 season ended, it was expected that Paul Ince's retirement would be sealed, but mid-season Ince changed his mind following the signing of Glenn Hoddle as the new Wolves coach and eventually signed a new one-year deal in June 2005. In April 2006, after talking to his friend Teddy Sheringham , Ince announced that he wanted to continue playing for the Wolves. He also flirted with the coaching post at the club, which was withheld from him in July 2006 and instead signed Mick McCarthy . McCarthy ultimately spoke out against the continued employment of Ince, who even when he left expressed his wish to want to train the Wolves in an unspecified future.

Coaching career

Swindon Town (2006)

After lengthy negotiations and speculation in the media, Paul Ince signed on August 31, 2006 a one-year contract with the fourth division club Swindon Town as a player and Kotrainer . He had reportedly turned down offers from Birmingham City , West Bromwich Albion and Crewe Alexandra , as he had a long and trusting friendship with new coach Dennis Wise . On September 12, 2006 he made his debut in a 2-1 win over the Milton Keynes Dons .

After that, he was only used once in the starting line-up before the club announced that Ince no longer felt able to help the club as a player. The contract was then canceled on this point by mutual agreement; Ince was supposed to continue the coaching duties.

Macclesfield Town (2006-2007)

On October 23, 2006 Ince became player-coach at Macclesfield Town and succeeded Brian Horton as sporting director - until the opening of the transfer period (until January 2007), however, he could not help out as a player, as his eligibility was still valid for Swindon Town. When he took over Macclesfield Town, the club was seven points behind the next higher club in last place in Football League Two and could only draw hope when they gave up the "red lantern" after a 3-0 win against Chester City . The team improved continuously and the league finally succeeded on the last match day. During the season Ince received the award for the best coach in the fourth division for the month of December 2006.

Milton Keynes Dons, Part 1 (2007-2008)

On June 25, 2007 the management of the Milton Keynes Dons announced that Paul Ince was signed as the new coach - together with his assistant Ray Matthias and the fitness coach Duncan Russell. In October 2007 Ince denied rumors that brought him in connection with the coaching of the second division relegation candidate Norwich City .

Blackburn Rovers (2008)

For the 2008/09 season Paul Ince took over the coaching position at Blackburn Rovers . The Rovers gave him permission to take over the team despite lacking a coaching license . Condition: Ince must have completed the training within two years at the latest. This cleared the last hurdle in signing the former captain of the English national team. He took over from Mark Hughes , an old companion from his time at Manchester United. He had left Ewood Park in early June to take on the coaching position at Manchester City that had become vacant after Sven-Göran Eriksson's dismissal . Ince was the first black Briton to coach the Premier League. After an ongoing series of bankruptcies, the club's management announced on December 16, 2008 that Ince had been dismissed as head coach the day before.

Milton Keynes Dons, Part 2 (2009-2010)

In July 2009 Ince returned to the Milton Keynes Dons and signed a new two-year deal with his ex-club. However, the engagement ended at the end of the third division season 2009/10 after just one year.

Notts County (2010-2011)

On October 28, 2010 Ince took over the coaching post at the third division Notts County . After an unsatisfactory season in the Football League One 2010/11 , he was dismissed on April 3, 2011 at the relegation-threatened club.

Blackpool FC (2013-2014)

After almost two years without coaching, Paul Ince was introduced as the new coach of the second division club Blackpool on February 18, 2013 . After an initially good start in the Football League Championship 2013/14 , Blackpool lost nine of ten games towards the end of the first half of the season . On January 21, 2014, the association announced that Ince was dismissed with immediate effect.

successes

• European Cup Winners' Cup : 1991
• European Supercup : 1991
• English championship : 1993 , 1994
• English Cup : 1990, 1994
• English League Cup : 1992
• Charity Shield : 1990 (shared), 1993, 1994

Web links

• Paul Ince in the soccerbase.com database
• Paul Ince in the soccerbase.com database

Individual evidence

1. ↑ "10 key moments in UK race relations" (BBC Sport)
2. ↑ "Paul Ince - The Big Read" (FourFourTwo.com)
3. ↑ “'Big Time Charlie' not sorry”  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (4TheGame)  
4. ↑ "Macclesfield appoint Ince as boss" (BBC Sport)
5. ↑ "Ince unveiled as new MK Dons boss" (BBC Sport)
6. ↑ "Ince distances himself from speculation"  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (The Pink'un)  
7. ↑ News on rovers.premiumtv.co.uk ( Memento of the original from December 17, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. dated December 16, 2008 
8. ↑ "Ince reappointed as MK Dons boss" (BBC Sport)
9. ^ "Paul Ince announces that he will leave MK Dons at the end of the season" (Telegraph.co.uk)
10. ↑ Notts County confirm Paul Ince as manager (BBC Sport)
11. ↑ Manager Paul Ince leaves Notts County (BBC Sport)
12. ↑ Paul Ince: Blackpool appoint former England captain as boss (BBC Sport)
13. ↑ Blackpool fires Ince (Transfermarkt.de)