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Paul Emerson Carlyle Ince (born 21 October 1967 in Ilford,
London) is a football player who won numerous honours with
Manchester United and became the first black player to captain the
England team.[1] His career
saw him play for seven English clubs and Italian side, Inter Milan.
He is currently the manager of Milton Keynes Dons, a role which
he began in 2007, a year after starting in management with
Macclesfield Town.
Playing career
West Ham United
Ince grew up as a West Ham United supporter and signed them on
leaving school in 1984. He made his debut in the 1986-87 First
Division. He became a regular player in 1987-88, proving himself to
have all-round qualities of pace, stamina, uncompromising tackling
and good passing ability. He also packed a powerful shot, and was
awarded with England under-21 honours to go with the youth caps he
acquired as an apprentice.
In August 1988, an eventful season for Ince began. In a
struggling West Ham side, he shot to national recognition with two
stunning goals in a shock 4-1 win over defending champions Liverpool
in the League Cup, and continued to score goals as the Hammers
reached the semi-finals while having real trouble finding any form
in the League. West Ham lost to Luton Town in the semi-finals and,
despite frequent displays of individual brilliance from Ince, were
relegated at the end of the season, a disappointment which cost
manager John Lyall his job after 15 years at the helm.
Manchester United and England
Ince played just once in Division Two the following season before
completing a highly controversial transfer to Manchester United for
one million pounds. The move was controversial because Ince had been
photographed in a Manchester United kit long before the transfer was
complete, and this photograph appeared in the Daily Express.
Ince received hateful abuse from West Ham United fans for many years
afterwards. The initial move was postponed after he failed a
medical, but was quickly completed after he later received the
all-clear.
In a recent article in Four Four Two magazine, when
answering questions about his career from readers, he got his chance
to explain the story:
"I spoke to Alex Ferguson and the deal was close to being
done. I then went on holiday, and my agent at the time, Ambrose
Mendy, said it wasn't worth me coming back to do a picture in a
United shirt when the deal was completed, so I should do one before
I left, and it would be released when the deal was announced.
Lawrence Luster of the Daily Star took the picture and put in
the library. Soon after, their sister paper, the Daily Express,
were looking for a picture of me playing for West Ham, and found the
one of me in the United shirt in the pile. They published it and all
hell broke loose.
"I came back from holiday to discover West Ham fans were going
mad. It wasn't really my fault. I was only a kid, I did what my
agent told me to do, then took all the crap for it."
Ince eventually made his Manchester United debut in a 5-1 win
over Millwall and (despite peculiarly wearing the No.2 shirt
(traditionally reserved for right-backs) all season) became a strong
presence in the midfield alongside long serving captain Bryan Robson
and fellow new midfielder Neil Webb. United won the FA Cup in his
first season, defeating Crystal Palace 1-0 in a replay at Wembley
after initially drawing 3-3.
Over the next four seasons, Robson's United career gradually
wound down until he finally left to manage Middlesbrough in 1994,
Meanwhile, Ince became United's key midfielder, with snapping
tackles, raking passes and some tremendously hit shots, though he
was not too prolific a goalscorer.
Brian McClair was Ince's central midfielder partner for the
second half of the 1992-93 season after the former switched from
striker to midfielder on the arrival of Eric Cantona, and in 1993-94
Ince was played alongside new midfield signing Roy Keane.
He won his second winners' medal when United defeated Barcelona
in the final of the European Cup Winners Cup in Rotterdam in 1991
and received his third another year later when United beat
Nottingham Forest in the 1992 League Cup final.
Ince made his debut for the full England team in September of
that year in a friendly match against Spain in Santander. England
lost 1-0 but Ince proved a success. He was duly awarded his second
cap a month later in a disappointing 1-1 draw with Norway in a
qualifying match for the 1994 World Cup.
At the same time, Manchester United were competing in the
inaugural Premiership season with Ince and his best friend at the
time, Ryan Giggs at the fore and part of a now legendary team that
included Mark Hughes, Éric Cantona, Peter Schmeichel, Andrei
Kanchelskis, Steve Bruce and Denis Irwin. Seeking a first League
title for 26 years, United won it and Ince completed his domestic
medal set just three years after joining the club. This success at
club level was marred, however, by failure at international level,
as Ince was dropped by manager Graham Taylor for two of five World
Cup qualifiers, the second of which was a crucial 2-0 defeat in
Norway which made England's hopes of reaching the finals slim.
However, Ince made history during England's summer tour of the
U.S. when, in a match against the host nation, he became England's
first black captain in the absence of David Platt and Tony Adams.
England lost 2-0.
As the following domestic season got underway, Ince won his tenth
England cap in a 3-0 win over Poland which kept alive their World
Cup qualification hopes, though required a victory over the
Netherlands in Rotterdam a month later. In a controversial match,
Holland beat England 2-0 and qualification hopes had gone. Ince
scored twice - his first international goals - as the qualifying
campaign ended with a 7-1 thumping of San Marino in Bologna but the
margin of victory wasn't enough.
Manchester United continued to dominate the domestic game and
Ince was the midfield general in the side which won the "double" of
Premiership and FA Cup in 1994. A year later and Ince suffered more
chants of JUDAS when he and Manchester United went to West
Ham on the last day of the season, needing a win to reclaim their
Premiership crown. Sadly for them, they could only draw the game and
Blackburn Rovers took the title. It went from bad to worse as Ince
featured then in the United team which also lost the FA Cup final to
Everton.
In the summer of 1995, Ferguson sold him to Inter Milan for eight
million pounds - at the time it was one of the costliest transfer
fees involving an English player. Ince's sale caused massive unrest
among United supporters, and the discontent deepened when United
turned to 20-year-old Nicky Butt as his successor rather than buying
a more experienced player. A similar uproar followed the subsequent
sale of Ince's team mates Mark Hughes and Andrei Kancelskis,
although the younger players who filled their places in the team
contributed greatly to United's "double double" success in the
1995-96 season as well as the triumphs of subsequent seasons.
Internazionale Milano
While Manchester United adjusted to life without Ince, he made a
shaky start to his career in Milan, but a somewhat sceptical Inter
crowd were soon won over by Ince's complete commitment to the Inter
cause and as such he soon became one of their favourite players.
Within four months of Ince signing for Inter, rumours were
circulating that he was about to make a swift comeback to English
football and sign for Arsenal, who were looking to replace the
out-of-favour John Jensen. But Arsenal had not finalised an offer by
the end of the one-week November transfer window, and the transfer
never happened.
In the 1995/1996 season Inter failed to challenge for a 14th
scudetto, finishing seventh in the Serie A. Ince, though, had a
great first season, playing in all but four of Inter's league
matches. The next year, Ince had another successful season with the
nerazzurri, scoring 6 times in 24 matches in the championship - in
which Inter finished third - and also playing his part in Inter's
run through to the UEFA Cup Final. Ince scored in the third round
second-leg match away to Boavista as Inter swept all before them
before meeting Schalke in the Final. Ince didn't play in the away
first-leg as Inter lost 1-0 but he returned to the line-up for the
home match which the Italians won 1-0 thanks to a goal from Ivan
Zamorano. Penalties were again a heartbreaker for Ince though, as
Schalke won 4-1 in the resulting penalty shootout.
Despite being offered a new, improved contract by club president
Massimo Moratti, Ince decided that after two years away it was time
to move home and he left Inter as one of the more successful of
English players to have ever played abroad.
Euro 96
For all his PR problems during the 1990s, Ince was still a
regular choice for England squads, though he played few games for
new coach Terry Venables in the long sequence of friendly and
mini-tournament matches which were necessary as England were hosting
the next major tournament (the 1996 European Championships) and
therefore didn't have a qualifying campaign. With Ince now playing
in Italy, it meant that Venables was unable to watch him play very
often, though by everyone's admission Ince's two-year spell in Serie
A, unlike many British footballers who had gone there, was a big
success.
When Euro 96 got underway, Ince was in the England team as the
midfield ballwinner and got the label of "Gazza's minder" whose job
was to create room for Paul Gascoigne to exploit with his natural
ball skills. Though the first group game ended in a disappointing
1-1 draw at Wembley against Switzerland, England went on to defeat
the old enemy Scotland 2-0 and then put on a display regarded as
"total football" against (ironically) the Netherlands, the team
whose performances at the 1974 World Cup had first prompted the
phrase's coining. Ince was fouled for a penalty which gave England
the lead and helped them towards a 4-1 win; he also picked up a
yellow card which rendered him unavailable for the quarter final
against Spain, which England won on penalties.
Venables put Ince back in the side for the semifinal against
Germany, replacing the suspended Gary Neville as England switched
systems to a back three, accommodating Ince in central midfield with
Paul Gascoigne and David Platt. Ince and England played superbly but
could only manage a 1-1 draw and England lost the penalty shoot out.
Ince received criticism for not taking a penalty (the crucial missed
kick from Gareth Southgate was England's sixth) and for spending the
whole shoot out sitting down in the centre circle with Steve
McManaman with their backs to goal.
Another new England coach came on the scene in Glenn Hoddle and
Ince kept his place for the next six internationals, which included
five crucial qualifiers for the 1998 World Cup in France. England
won four of them but lost 1-0 at home to Italy. During the first of
these qualifiers against Moldova in Chişinău, a famous photograph of
Ince was taken as he tried to climb a wall at the stadium, only for
Gascoigne to pull his tracksuit trousers down, revealing Ince's bare
buttocks in front of an army of cameras.
Ince won his 30th England cap in May 1997 as England beat Poland
3-0 in Katowice to leave them with an opportunity to get through to
the World Cup provided they could beat Moldova at Wembley and then
not lose to Italy in Rome. Moldova were duly dispatched 4-0 and Ince,
in an incident reminiscent of Terry Butcher against Sweden seven
years earlier, started the Italy match with a white England shirt
and ended it with a red one after his own blood soaked the shirt
following a deep cut to his head. The game ended goalless and
England had qualified.
Liverpool and World Cup 1998
By now, Ince was back in England to play his club football,
having left Internazionale in order for his son Thomas, approaching
his fifth birthday, could attend an English school. He joined
Liverpool for more than four million pounds – a move which surprised
many because of the long history of rivalry between Manchester
United and Liverpool, and few players had ever plied their trade
with both clubs during their careers.
Ince won no honours in his first season with Liverpool as his new
club were in the midst of a largely unsuccessful period where they
were cast as 'nearly men' and rather derogatorily, 'Spice Boys' – a
term coined to describe the likes of team mates and good friends of
Ince's like Steve McManaman, Robbie Fowler and Jamie Redknapp as
underachieving playboys in the game.
Ince was selected in the England squad for the World Cup in 1998,
winning his 40th cap in the opening group game against Tunisia in
Marseille. England got through the group but succumbed in the second
round to Argentina, again after a penalty shoot out. This time Ince
did take a penalty but saw it saved.
Ince's second season with Liverpool was again trophyless but he
achieved a personal high point when he scored a late equalizer
against Manchester United at Anfield and celebrated with some
ferocity in front of the Spion Kop.
Middlesbrough and Euro 2000
In the summer of 1999, however, Liverpool coach Gérard Houllier
put Ince on the transfer list and the 31-year-old signed for
Middlesbrough, who were still managed by Ince's former team-mate
Bryan Robson.
Ince stayed in the England team (now run by Kevin Keegan) and
helped them qualify for the 2000 European Championships in the
Netherlands and Belgium and was named in the squad for the finals.
In a friendly against Malta prior to the finals, Ince came on as
a substitute and won his 50th cap. He duly played in all three of
England's group games of the tournament – winning a penalty against
Romania in the last game – but England lost two of three matches and
were eliminated. Ince immediately retired from the England scene
after 53 caps, with just those two goals against San Marino on his
scoring records.
Ince concentrated on club football thereafter in his role as club
captain, playing three seasons making 106 appearances with 9 goals
at Middlesbrough before he was given a free transfer in 2002.
Wolves
Ince joined Wolverhampton Wanderers and duly played outside the
top flight of English football (not counting his Italian sojourn)
for the first time since his one brief appearance there for West Ham
in 1989, prior to his move to Manchester United. That said, Ince was
in the Wolves team which instantly won promotion to the Premiership
in his first season there, though in 2004 they were relegated
straight back again.
Ince was expected to retire at the end of the 2004-05 season, but
he changed his mind halfway through the season following the
appointment of Glenn Hoddle as manager of Wolves. In June 2005, he
signed a new one-year contract with Wolves. In April 2006, he
announced that he wanted to continue playing for Wolves for a
further season after speaking with his close friend Teddy Sheringham.
However, following Ince's failure to get the manager's job at Wolves
in July 2006, the newly appointed manager, Mick McCarthy, stated
that Ince would not be returning to Molineux. Upon leaving, Ince
declared his intention to return, at some point in the future, as
manager of Wolves.
Managerial career
Swindon Town (player-coach)
After much speculation and prolonged discussions - On 31 August
2006, Paul Ince signed a one-year contract with Swindon Town as a
player/coach. Swindon were rumoured to beat the likes of Birmingham
City, West Bromwich Albion and Crewe Alexandra for his signature. A
key factor in the transfer was Ince's long standing friendship with
Town manager Dennis Wise, who had played alongside him occasionally
in the England team during the 1990s. He made his full debut for
Swindon in the 2-1 victory over MK Dons on 12 September 2006.
Ince only played one other game for Swindon after the MK victory
- before the club announced that Ince had felt he could not fulfil
his playing duties with the club and that his contract had been
terminated by mutual consent, although he continued coaching at the
club to complete his coaching badges.
Macclesfield Town
On 23 October 2006, Ince was confirmed as the new player-manager
of Macclesfield Town in succession to Brian Horton. However, he was
ineligible to play for the Silkmen until January when the transfer
window opened, as Swindon Town still held his registration.[2]
He joined Macclesfield with the club bottom of League Two, seven
points off their nearest rivals. He then revived confidence and
after a 3-0 win against Chester they managed to climb off the bottom
of the table. They subsequently avoided relegation, albeit on the
last day of the season. On 4 January 2007 Ince was named as League
Division Two Manager of the Month for December.
Milton Keynes Dons
Ince was unveiled as the new Milton Keynes Dons manager along
with his assistant Ray Matthias and fitness coach Duncan Russell on
25 June 2007.[3]
In October 2007, he denied rumours that he was being linked with
managerless Premiership teams Wigan[4],
Derby County[5]
and Championship team Norwich City.[6]
Ince was named as League Two "manager of the month" in October
and December 2007.[7]
[8]
Honours
- FA Cup (2): 1990, 1994; Runner-up 1995
- Charity Shield (3): 1990, 1993, 1994
- Cup Winners' Cup (1): 1991
- European Super Cup (1): 1991
- Football League Cup (1): 1992
- Premier League (2): 1993, 1994
- UEFA Cup: Runner-up 1997
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