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Hated People
Paul Ince Paul Ince Why we hate him: Pompous fool who somehow managed to be loathed by the supporters of nearly every club he played for. When Gareth Southgate’s penalty was saved in the semi final of Euro ’96, Paul Ince sat in the centre circle, his gaze fixed on the opposite goalmouth. He hadn’t watched one of the kicks taken that night, English or German, and the next day he was branded a coward by the English press. Perhaps a tad unfair but it did make for a very funny moment two years later. Again, the England team found themselves at the mercy of a penalty shoot out in a major tournament; as their engaging encounter with Argentina at World Cup ‘98 reached its conclusion. Ince stepped up this time. He placed his kick to the right of the Argie goalkeeper – and one time priest – Carlos Roa, who saved easily. Now that’s how you don’t get rid of a reputation for being a bottler. Paul Emerson Carlyle Ince , the self proclaimed Guv’nor, was one of the most easily dislikable footballers of the 1990s. Starting with his classy decision to pose in a Man United jersey while still a West Ham player, his relationship with fans has always been tetchy. Whether his fellow players like him is hard to tell as getting the truth out of a footballer might take Abu Ghraib-style inquisitions; but we’re not players, so we just hate Paul Ince without question. Ask any Liverpool supporter about what positives Gerard Houllier brought to the club and very high on that all-too short list will be his intolerance for Ince’s attitude. At the start of the Frenchman’s first pre-season as sole manager he told Ince to find somewhere else to pose as a midfield ‘enforcer’. True enough he was always a decent player – his Man United years saw him win league titles, FA cups, League Cups and a Cup Winners’ Cup. Indeed, his reputation as a good midfield partner for a more creative outlet was well founded – Neil Webb, Roy Keane, Paul Gascoigne and even Jamie Redknapp all played well with Ince alongside them (in fact Liverpool never lost a game when Ince and Redknapp played together but then how many games did Jamie Redknapp ever play?). The root of our dislike is predictable, but it is also undeniably reasonable. In any walk of life, when a man gives himself his own nickname he’s asking for it. Paul Ince called himself the Guv’nor. He had number plates that bore the title. He was a tosser. His United career ended on an amusing low for all oppoition supporters as United threw away the chance of a double in 1995. Ince was called ‘Judas’ throughout as United’s last-day draw at his old club West Ham handed the title to Blackburn. Then in an awful FA Cup final, Paul Rideout’s goal esnured victory for Everton and misery for Ferguson, Ince et al. Still considered an important part of the squad by most, it was a shock when he was forced out of Man United that summer. A fee of £8 million had been agreed with Massimo Moratti’s Inter Milan and a shell-shocked Ince signed the contract. United’s golden generation were geraing up to take their first team shirt numbers and Ince was only getting in the way. Even the most pro-Ince bio online will tell you that prior to his departure he was inisisting on being called the Guv’nor by his team-mates, hardly something you can see Roy Keane or Eric Cantona doing for very long. Ince went on to say it was a phase which went over the top. Ferguson, between opening sticks of chewing gum, went on to label him as a "big-time Charlie". The things is… Ince actually had a very decent two-year spell with Inter, impressing the fans and becoming one of the few stars from the English league to make it in Serie A. You’ve got to respect that. But we still don’t like him. As a Liverpool fan, I was delighted when he scored a late equaliser against Man United in 1999; a goal that, at the time, looked as if it would kill off United’s league challenge that year. Nope, can’t bring myself to like him. He still made up his own nickname, he still seemed to have an inflated view of his own importance, he played for Middlesborough; all this and more, how could you not have something against him. Having been turned down for the manager’s post at Wolves at the start of this season – another club he played for without gaining affection from its fans – he decided to up and move to the hotseat (that’s what it’s called in the lower leagues isn’t it) at League 2’s rock bottom club, Macclesfield. So far he’s done well… but’s that’s not the point. With typical arrogance, he recently told the Guardian “As a player I still think I could be in the Premiership”. No you couldn’t; and frankly it’s best rid of you.
JJ Worrall
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