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Epic meltdowns! Football managers who completely lost the plot

Eurosport
ByEurosport

Published 05/05/2015 at 17:00 GMT

Former Arsenal star Nelson Vivas has resigned as coach of Argentine first division club Quilmes after attacking one of his own fans in the stands.

Eurosport

Image credit: Eurosport

At the end of Quilmes' 1-1 draw at home to Atletico Rafaela on Friday, Vivas went into the stands and landed three punches on the fan, a club member he said had been insulting him.
"I'm not a violent person but I realise that's not the image a trainer should give," said Vivas, who immediately after the incident went to club president Anibal Fernandez and handed in his notice.
The 44-year-old isn't the first manager to see red, however. Here's our pick of the best rants and meltdowns from the bosses who really ought to have known better.
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Joe Kinnear
Kinnear was appointed as Newcastle manager on a short-term contract back in October 2010, and took exception to an article in the Daily Mirror criticising him for not meeting with the first team players on his first day in the job.
He asked which of the assembled journalists was Simon Bird, then launched into an unbelievable rant: "You're a c***... You are out of order. Absolutely f****** out of order. If you do it again, I am telling you, you can f*** off and go to another ground. I will not come and stand for that f****** crap. No f****** way, lies. F***, you're saying I turned up and they f***** off ... What the f*** are you going to do? You ain't got the balls to be a f****** manager. F****** day off. Do I want your opinion? Do I have to listen to you?... It is going to my f****** lawyers. So are about three others. If they can find something in it that is a court case it is going to court. I am not f****** about. I don't talk to f****** anybody. Everything I f****** say or do. It is raking up stories. You are f****** so f****** slimy."
These excerpts are just an edited highlights package of the full transcript, which you can read here.
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Delio Rossi
Fiorentina coach Delio Rossi was sacked last May after attacking Adem Ljajic during his side's 2-2 draw with Novara. The bizarre episode took place after Rossi substituted Ljajic with 32 minutes gone and Fiorentina 2-0 down. The Serbian midfielder was clearly not happy with the decision to remove him from play and gave his boss a round of ironic applause as he walked towards the dugout.
, clearly landing blows on the player as others tried to keep them apart, before getting up and carrying on as though nothing had happened.
"Unfortunately it was a serious incident and it's all the more amazing considering he is such a calm person, but we had to fire the coach," club president Andrea Della Valle said after the incident. "It's the last decision we wanted to make, but we feel it is for his own good."
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Kevin Keegan
Another Newcastle manager makes this list thanks to a now-legendary rant that was recently voted the best quote in the 20 years of the Premier League. It was back in the spring of 1996 when Kevin Keegan's extravagantly talented but tactically naive Magpies were being slowly reeled in by Manchester United in the title race.
Keegan was clearly rattled at having lost a 12-point lead in the title race and let rip with an during a TV interview when asked about Sir Alex Ferguson's suggestion that other teams would try harder against United than they would against Newcastle: "I've kept really quiet but I'll tell you something, he went down in my estimations when he said that. We have not resorted to that. You can tell him now, we're still fighting for this title and he's got to go to Middlesbrough and get something. And I'll tell you, honestly, I will love it if we beat them. Love it. But it really has got to me. I've voiced it live, not in front of the press or anywhere. I'm not even going to the press conference. But the battle is still on and Man United have not won this yet."
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Paul Ince
Maybe there's something in the air at the moment, because this stunning example of the managerial meltdown comes from just a few days ago. Former Manchester United and England player Paul Ince blew up at fourth official Mark Pottage during Blackpool's 2-1 win over Bournemouth, letting rip with the 'c' word no less than 15 times, according to the report to the FA disciplinary panel.
Ince, who had been sent to the stands for throwing a water bottle that accidentally hit a female steward, was reportedly dragged away from a post-match confrontation with the match officials, repeatedly screaming "I'll f****** knock you out, you c***" at Pottage.
The Blackpool manager, who also shoved Pottage with both hands before being restrained by players and stewards, denied using the 'c' word. He received a five-match ban from even entering the stadium for Blackpool's next five games.
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David Pleat
Proving that it's not always a bad thing when managers go over the edge is former Luton Town manager David Pleat, who saved the club from relegation in near-miraculous circumstances in 1983 with a late winner from Raddy Antic against Manchester City at Maine Road.
The goal was the culmination of a string of improbable results which saw newly-promoted Luton first apparently doomed and then secure, a roller-coaster ride which matched their magnificently open attacking approach that led to all sorts of crazy results (including a 4-4 draw with Stoke). But all anyone remembers now is . Magical stuff.
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Jack Charlton
The Republic of Ireland's legendary manager had two run-ins with officials at the 1994 World Cup: first as he was prevented from handing water to players despite the 110 degree heat during his side's opening match in the USA, then with a FIFA official who snatched away a substitution sheet intended for the fourth official in the game against Mexico.
The latter incident led to Charlton angrily shouting at the FIFA official, and understandably so: until the fourth official had the paperwork, he was refusing to let John Aldridge come on as a sub. Charlton saw red, and the bust-up ended up costing him a fine and a touchline ban for the next match - though it was pretty mild stuff compared to Aldridge's f-word laden blow-up as the frustrated striker was forced to wait for his chance to get into the match.
Can you think of any other notable cases of managers completely losing the plot? Post your contributions and comments below...
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