Neil Warnock is an example of a genuinely endangered species – a proper homegrown English football manager. Tacticians of his ilk are at risk of extinction, and bearing in mind his age (72), he has had many interesting moments and anecdotes during his fruitful coaching career.While at Crystal Palace, Warnock offered a Portuguese defender Jose Fonte an utterly bizarre cash bonus in a bid to stop him playing out from the back.Warnock in discussion with a referee (©Action Images/Ed Sykes)Warnock was in charge of Palace between 2007 and 2010 while Fonte was at the club and the Portugal defender recalled one interaction at Selhurst Park.Speaking to Talksport, he said: “At the second or third game I managed to play, Neil Warnock said, ‘listen, Jose, I will give you £5 if you manage to kick the ball for a goal kick for the opponents. I will give you £5 if you kick it upfront and if it goes out for a goal kick, no problem’.##NAJAVA_MECA_5873746##”It was just so I didn’t play out from the back, so I ran no risks, kicked it upfront and gave it to the two strikers and stopped playing out from the back.”That stuck in my head, £5! I thought he was serious.”Fonte tackles Adebayor in 2009 (©Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)However, when asked if he earned a lot of money from him, Fonte said: “Zero.”And added:”He didn’t like his defenders to be soft. He wanted them to be mean and hard.”He used to hate that I had white boots and long hair. He taught me a few lessons. The white boots I kept, I was strong, but the rest I had to get rid of.”
