Dave 'Harry' Bassett managed to guide Wimbledon through all four divisions in a remarkable period during the 1980s. Wimbledon had been a non-league side only nine years previous to their promotion to the top flight. The central themes of Bassett's tenure were direct football, which he called "route 1" involving players of high stamina and strength up front, winning headers from direct passes played by defenders and thus bypassing the usual midfield build-up and secondly a unique mentality that Wimbledon cultivated under Bassett described as 'the crazy gang.' There were rumours of cold showers, practical jokes, thuggery and players such as Vinny Jones roughing up opponents and - infamously - squeezing Paul Gascoigne's testicles (which was caught on camera) in an act of intimidation and biting a photographer's nose at one point. Wimbledon were the leading English exponents of 'long ball football' and their opponents found it extremely difficult to play against. The result of this was that - despite being widely tipped for relegation from the top division in their first season - Wimbledon briefly led the league and went on to finish 5th in the top division in a remarkable debut season. His hard work paved the way for Bobby Gould's subsequent FA cup victory over Liverpool in one of the biggest shocks in FA cup history. Bassett himself opted to leave Wimbledon and left for Watford. His spell in charge was disasterous and he left to join Sheffield United whom he guided in successive seasons from the third tier to the top tier of English football, replicating his earlier success with WImbledon. He managed to finish in 13th and subsequently 9th place with a cheaply-assembled team and guaranteed Sheffield United a place in the newly-formed Premier League. While similar success has eluded him in recent years, his phenomenal success at Wimbledon and Sheffield United on a shoe-string budget and the unique approach and legacy he left at WImbledon earned him his place in the all-time top 30 British managers.
British league champions: 0
Foreign league champions: 0
European cup: 0
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