Glenn Roeder: Passionate footballer who went on to become a Premier League manager

Champion of the English game, he was the first coach to bring a trophy to Newcastle United in 37 years

Roeder at Newcastle in 2006 (Getty)

While always exuding a quiet dignity, English football had no more devoted nor passionate champion than Glenn Roeder, who has died aged 65, following an 18 year battle with a brain tumour. Good enough to have won numerous England B caps during an illustrious 20-year playing career, while not always popular with fans when a manager, nevertheless he remains one of the few Englishmen to have led two Premiership clubs to seventh place in the top flight. During his time at Newcastle United, he became the first manager to bring a trophy to St James’ Park in 37 years.

Essex born, the eldest child of a Woodford publican, Glenn Victor Roeder first made his mark playing for Gidea Park Rangers while also representing Essex and London Schools. Having failed to make the grade when on Arsenal’s books as a schoolboy, in 1972 he moved to Second Division Leyton Orient. A tall, lean, cultured and creative ball-playing central defender, able to read the game well, fans adored his step over routine dubbed the Roeder Shuffle. Using the skills he was taught by his father, he could effortlessly feint one way before seamlessly taking the ball in the very opposite direction.

After five years and 115 appearances for the Brisbane Road club, in 1978, Queens Park Rangers paid £250.000 to take him across London to ply his trade on the artificial pitch at Loftus Road. Going on to make more than 150 senior appearances, having narrowly missed out on promotion to the First Division, Roeder captained the team in the 1982 Cup Final against Tottenham Hotspur that ended in a 1-1 draw. Unfortunately having been sent off 10 days earlier in a bad-tempered encounter with Luton Town, he found himself suspended for the replay, QPR losing out to a Glenn Hoddle penalty.

Impressing when loaned out to Notts County the following year and fully expecting to join them permanently, instead, he found himself moving north in December 1983 to join Second Division Newcastle United. Twelve months on, alongside the likes of Kevin Keegan, Peter Beardsley and Chris Waddle, Roeder helped take the team into the top flight. As Kevin Keegan retired, a new rising star Paul Gascoigne appeared. It was manager, Jack Charlton, who asked Roeder to take him under his wing. When Gascoigne looked likely to move to Italy, Roeder was invited to go with him.

In May 1989, as Newcastle were relegated from the First Division following a 2-0 defeat by Manchester United at Old Trafford, Roeder ended his six-year association with the Magpies by moving to Watford on a free transfer. Following two seasons at Vicarage Road, for the 1991-2 campaign he was back again at Leyton Orient, before then moving to Gillingham and spending twelve months as their player-manager. Proudly captaining each of the five teams he played for during his extensive playing career, in all he made a total of 561 appearances and scored 31 goals.

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Having successfully saved a struggling Gillingham from going down to the Conference, 1993 saw Roeder return to Vicarage Road as manager, a move that subsequently brought Watford a fine for allegedly making an illegal approach. Eventually sacked three years later in February 1996, with the Hornets firmly anchored at the foot of the First Division, he then spent twelve months at Turf Moor as assistant to Burnley’s manager, Chris Waddle. His next move saw him link up with Glenn Hoddle and attend France 98 as a member of England’s backroom team.

The following year Roeder moved back into club football, assisting Harry Redknapp at West Ham. Following Redknapp’s dismissal and the club’s highly publicised failure to land either of their two big targets, Alan Curbishley or Steve McClaren, much to the dismay of a voluble section of the club’s supporters, in May 2001, Roeder stepped into the breach. Granted a generous £15m transfer kitty following Frank Lampard’s move to Chelsea, Roeder’s big-name signings included David James, Tomas Repka and Don Hutchison. They ended a successful campaign seventh in the Premiership.

The following season, however, they struggled badly. At the bottom of the league by Christmas, they were soon staring relegation in the face. James and Hutchison were out injured, Repka had disciplinary issues, while the volatile Italian, Paolo Di Canio proved a particularly divisive force. In April, following a demoralising 1-0 defeat to fellow strugglers Bolton, a bottle was thrown through his window. Three days later, Roeder collapsed, suffering a brain tumour that required extensive surgery. His last game in charge saw the Hammers lose 1-0 at Rotherham.

After taking some time out, in 2005 Roeder was back on Tyneside, appointed Newcastle United’s youth development officer. Among a whole host of players he nurtured was a former full back, Andy Carroll. Converted into a fearsome centre forward, he would later earn the club £35m. Following the sacking of Graeme Souness early in 2006, Roeder was appointed caretaker manager with striker Alan Shearer becoming his assistant. Much improved, the team moved up to seventh place in the Premiership and winning the Intertoto Cup to qualify for the UEFA Cup.

When Roeder’s role was made permanent, his lack of a mandatory UEFA Pro Licence meant that the appointment remained far from clear-cut amid fierce opposition from both the Premier League and the League Managers Association. By then, his injury-hit squad were badly leaking goals and propping up the league. A humiliating 5-1 defeat in the FA Cup hastened his departure in May 2007. The highlight of his fifteen months in charge remained the 4-1 defeat of Sunderland at the Stadium of Light when Alan Shearer, with the very last kick of his career, took his goal tally to 206.

Six months later Roeder moved down into the championship for his valedictory managerial assignment, spending two often challenging years attempting to revitalise the fortunes of Norwich City. He later undertook scouting and assessment assignments for Gerard Houllier, at that time in charge of Aston Villa, before working alongside Stuart Gray at Sheffield Wednesday. Latterly, he had been advising Darren Sarll during his time as manager of Stevenage Town.

Marrying Faith Vaughan in 1983, she survives him together with two sons and a daughter.

Glenn Roeder, footballer and coach, born 13 December 1955, died 28 February 2021