Neil Warnock's best moments as iconic football manager retires...again

It was inevitable, but somehow we never thought the day would come when Neil Warnock stepped down from the world of football management.

He’s been in the game since the 60s as a player and the 80s as a manager, taking on 19 management jobs at 16 different clubs.

In that time he’s made a reputation for himself as one of football’s most incorrigible characters, often performing wonders on miniscule budgets and enjoying riling up opposition crowds just as much as he loved inspiring support among his own fans.

He’s now revealed that he’s retiring (albeit not for the first time) and at the age of 74 he’ll step down as Huddersfield Town boss this week and leave football management behind.

It’s not the first time he’s retired, of course. He first announced he was hanging up his boots in 2022, but he got tempted back after being offered a short-term deal at Huddersfield which was later extended to a one-year contract. His love for the game, it seems, wouldn’t let him go so easily.

Everyone has an opinion on Warnock. Whether they liked him or very much disliked him at different stages of his career, he continued to have a big impact on British football for longer than almost anyone else – that in itself seems like a fitting way to remember his career.

These are the best moments across Warnock’s remarkable time in football.

This iconic rant

Neil warnock inspirational speechwww.youtube.com

Warnock moved around a lot in his career but it was arguably his time as Sheffield United boss from 2000-2007 which people will most remember him for.

We’re just grateful that the fly-on-the-wall TV documentary Warnock exists, giving us an insight into the dressing room. It’s full of great insight into the inner sanctions of the football club at the time, but the best moment is this incandescent tongue-lashing from the boss, questioning the players’ motivation after a poor performance.

“You’re picking up a wage up… that’s a load of b*******! You’ve got to f***ing die to get three points!” he screams at one point, while it also gives us an incongruous line about the players and their ‘missus’ that still takes us by surprise all these years later.

He always made time for his fans

Even when he was out on his bike, being approached by fans in moving cars, he always found the time to say “eyup son”.

Staring down the camera

Neil Warnock stares down the camera | Neil Warnock discusses that infamous moment.www.youtube.com

We’ll be honest, we don’t really know what Warnock was thinking with this clip, but getting stared down by one of the angriest men in football isn’t a particularly pleasant experience.

His love of Paddy Kenny

Paddy Kenny reveals how Neil Warnock REALLY reacted to that Kevin Muscat headbuttwww.youtube.com

Managers certainly have their favourites, and Warnock signed Paddy Kenny no fewer than five times during his career.

One story that seemed to perfectly sum up their relationship came during an ill-tempered game against Millwall, which saw Kenny headbutted at halftime by their imposing defender Kevin Muscat.

At first, Warnock praised Kenny for backing himself and seemed glad that he’d not backed down. However, a few moments later Kenny was summoned to the referee’s office to be given a red card. After he’d been sent off, Warnock wasn’t so supportive of him – making him sit in the shower for the rest of the game.

When he told Gary Lineker to f*** off

Neil Warnock Tells Gary Lineker To F*** Off On Match Of The Daywww.youtube.com

We guess Warnock was never the biggest fan of the Match of the Day presenter after seeing this.

Giving us classic quotes like this

Neil Warnock "Enjoy it by being disciplined" - Arsenal Awaywww.youtube.com

“Enjoy it by all means, but enjoy it by being f***ing disciplined.”

This is the kind of Warnock quote that rattles around my head on a daily basis.

His flair for the dramatic

Neil Warnock stares down referees | Neil Warnock opens up on that moment at Cardiff City vs Chelsea.www.youtube.com

There was always a touch of melodrama to Warnock’s pitch-side behaviour, and nothing summed this up more than the time he stood staring at the officials with his hands on his head after being on the receiving end of a controversial decision against Chelsea.

Handing out signed pictures of himself

Neil Warnock hands out signed pictures of himself 😂 | #Shortsyoutube.com

Why waste time standing around with a pen in your hand signing signatures when you can just carry signed pictures of yourself in a bum bag? Genius.

He was still doing a great job until the end

In some ways, the job he did with Huddersfield last season is the best achievement of his career, proving that he could still do an incredible job well into his 70s.

Since joining the Terriers in a terrible state well into the season in February, he helped them pick up 25 points to drag them from 23rd place up to safety.

He did such a good job, in fact, that we wouldn’t be surprised if another club tries to bring him on board to save them from relegation at some point in the near future. He couldn’t unretire again, could he?

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