Joe Kinnear: Great company, sharp-witted, controversial and never afraid to speak his mind

NO ORDINARY JOE: Former Tottenham and Ireland defender Joe Kinnear died at the age of 77 on Sunday.  Photo credit: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire.

Some of the less-informed 'tributes' to Joe Kinnear, who passed away at the weekend, were written by a younger generation of reporters who have little idea of his remarkable career, but remember him mostly for an expletive-laden press conference after his appointment as Kevin Keegan's successor at Newcastle United in 2008.

And while the colourful language and combative demeanour were typical of Kinnear, the former Spurs and Ireland defender was so much more.