“I’ve played for the club I support, I’ve taken penalties at Wembley and have managed my country…but performing live on Top of the Pops was without the scariest thing I’ve ever done!”
These were the words of England and Tottenham legend Glenn Hoddle who as at the Wycombe Swan on Wednesday, January 15.
The 62-year-old is currently enjoying a tour across the country where he’ll be telling fans stories about his career, which go back to when he first got into the sport, to his heart attack in 2018.
READ MORE: Glenn Hoddle to stop off at Wycombe Swan in January
The night kicked-off with Jed Stone, the compère for the night, came out and warmed up the crowd to much of the audience's joy, as the Scouser tickled the crowd with his catalogue of ‘dad jokes’ which left the Wycombe faithful in tears.
Moments later, the man of the hour arrived, and Hoddle received a huge cheer and a standing ovation.
Of course, the night saw hundreds of Tottenham fans arrive where they listened intently to Hoddle’s stories.
During the evening, he told anecdotes about how he was ordered to clean the famous cockerel at the top of White Hart Lane, to how Arsene Wenger changed the way football was played, to his dismissal as England manager, what Paul Gascoigne was like, the joys of playing for the clubs that he did and how he got drunk before doing a live performance on Top of the Pops.
The night was an incredible listen as despite being a Spurs legend, where he was in a room full of Tottenham fans, he revealed that his time as manager of the club was without the ‘most difficult time of his managerial career’ due to ‘politics’ within the club.
He also said, much to the surprise of the audience, that Chelsea’s facilities in 90s, where he was player-manager, ‘was one of the worst he had ever seen’ and admitted that Chelsea’s former owner/chairman Ken Bates, ‘didn’t like spending money’.
He said: “When I got to Chelsea, I couldn’t believe the training ground. I thought, ‘what on earth is this?’
“We didn’t even have a bath!
“I remember asking where my office was and after being given a quick walk around the ground, I was taken to the staff room where there was a payphone and they said, ‘here’s your office Glenn.’
“I couldn’t believe it – “what is even more astonishing is that we managed to get Ruud Gullit!”
“But I loved my time at Chelsea.”
On the night, there was also a raffle and gift shop were fans (from all teams), had the chance to win signed Hoddle memorabilia.
He then finished off the night by thanking Simon Daniels.
Mr Daniels was the one who resuscitated Hoddle when the former Tottenham legend suffered a heart attack in the BT Studio in October 2018.
5/5 – an incredible listen.
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