Terry Venables: The architect of England's glorious summer of 1996

George Graham, Glenn Hoddle and Steve Coppell. Just some of the names that populated the list of favourites to succeed Graham Taylor as England manager after his departure in 1993.

Terry Venables, the coach who actually followed Taylor in sipping from the poisoned chalice, was not even included on the first shortlist drafted by the bookies at the time. Even the anarchic performer Screaming Lord Sutch, founder of the Monster Raving Loony party, was billed as a 1,000,000-to-one outsider.

Venables would go on to enjoy a brief but brilliantly impactful tenure as England boss, cementing his iconic status with a run to the semi-finals of the 1996 European Championships on home soil. The former Queens Park Rangers, Tottenham Hotspur and Barcelona manager has passed away at the age of 80.

At five-to-two, Coppell was the favourite to take charge of the Three Lions. Yet, the former Crystal Palace boss distanced himself from the role. In the wake of England's failure to qualify for the 1994 World Cup, it was not an inviting position. But Venables always thrived at leading sides out of the darkness.

When the former Chelsea and Spurs midfielder took over QPR in 1980, they were languishing in 17th place in the second division. By the time Venables left for Barcelona less than four years later, Loftus Road was preparing for a season of European football.

Looking back on his debut season as Barcelona manager, Venables remembered: "When I first went there, expectations were low. People would stop me in the street and say: 'As long as you beat Real Madrid that's a good season.' I'd say that we can win the league and they would laugh in my face."

Diego Maradona's departure that summer stoked the sense of pessimism sweeping across Catalonia but Venables was unfazed. Steve Archibald arrived as the Argentine's replacement and duly finished top scorer in his debut campaign, firing Barcelona to the league title that Venables had promised.

Had it not been for a woeful penalty shootout performance, Venables - or 'El Tel' as he was dubbed - would have added the European Cup to Barcelona's trophy cabinet before Johan Cruyff. Nevertheless, Venables' high-energy approach steered the Catalan giants to the 1986 showpiece - the club's first final in the competition in 25 years - where they failed to find a way past Romania champions Steaua Bucuresti, going goalless across 120 minutes and the subsequent shootout in front of a partisan Spanish crowd in Seville.

It would not be the last time that Venables' side slipped up on spot kicks with their own fans watching on.

Venables had overseen Tottenham's FA Cup triumph in 1991 but was considered a risk for the infamously pedestrian English Football Association while he was faced with multiple accusations of financial mismanagement. Venables was exonerated by the FA over allegations of dealing in 'bungs' but was eventually disqualified from being a company director for seven years in 1998.

Once in place at the FA, Venables always seemed to constantly be on the verge of leaving. Initially offered an insulting one-year deal, Venables agreed to a two-year contract despite the FA's stipulation that he be called 'coach' rather than 'manager'.

In the build-up to Euro 1996, Venables couldn't agree on an extension and so announced his departure after the summer. It was only then that he seemed to belatedly ease into the role.

If the sticky cogs of English football's infrastructure were inadvertently working against Venables, the British press deliberately tried to undermine the 'coach'. The tabloids leapt upon the infamous 'dentist chair' incident during England's pre-tournament tour of China but Venables swiftly diffused the situation by insisting that the entire squad would be taking "collective responsibility".

Venables created an us-against-them mentality in the English camp. After three more players were spotted at an Essex nightclub following the group-stage draw with Switzerland to open the tournament, Venables called the press "traitors" for plastering the photos all over the back page. "They're turning the public against the players, which can turn against them in the stadium."

It was a decidedly nervy Wembley as England went in at half-time of their second group game goalless against Scotland. Venables found the right words during the interval, changing formation with the introduction of Jamie Redknapp which sparked the 2-0 victory.

England's final group game will forever go down as one of the nation's greatest victories. Bathed in the summer sunshine, the home side dismantled the Netherlands 4-1 in front of a rapturous crowd. Alan Shearer would later describe it as "a performance I don't think England have bettered in my living memory".

Shearer opened the scoring that day but came into the tournament on the back of a 21-month goal drought at international level. Venables was ahead of his time tactically yet also excelled as a man-manager. Despite his struggles, Venables insisted that Shearer was his first choice. "For him to have that belief in me," Shearer remembered, "it gave me huge confidence. And I just thought: 'I have to go out and score, I cannot let this guy down.'"

While England edged out Spain on penalties in the quarter-finals, they were not so successful in the semis against Germany. But the failure was glorious, forever stitched into the tapestry of the national team in golden thread.

Venables only took charge of 24 England matches - losing just once in normal time, to Brazil - fewer than the likes of Fabio Capello, Ron Greenwood or even Don Revie. Yet, precious few incumbents enjoy a greater reputation.

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