Pascal Chimbonda, the cult hero of Tottenham, began his managerial career at a struggling team in the English football ninth division. The Frenchman had a decent career that includes two stints at Tottenham before Harry Redknapp returned him to White Heart Lane in 2009 for a second period.
The full-back descended through the ranks following a fruitful playing career in the top levels of England, finally landing at Ashton Town in the 10th tier of the North West Counties before playing his final match and departing in March 2019. He transitioned into coaching and was named manager of Skelmersdale United, the bottom-dwelling team in the North West Counties Premier, last month.
Before their match against Bury on Saturday, Skelmersdale has eight points from their 23 games, which puts them eight points below the bottom. Now that Tottenham defeated Chelsea at Wembley to win the League Cup in 2008, Chimbonda is honing his craft in a totally different environment.
Even though Chimbonda began his coaching career at the bottom of the football pyramid, he has high goals for himself. He is quoted in The Daily Mail as saying: “I don’t know why this bias is still there because there are so many excellent black football coaches who played at a high level, but you never see them managing teams or serving on different boards in the game.
“I’ve heard from a lot of folks to never quit up. Maybe one day you’ll make it happen and let other African American coaches work in the football industry. I welcome this challenge, if I must accept it in order to play football.
“I’m really grateful that they let me to express myself. There are a ton of games remaining. Shaking that tree, attempting to establish a solid base, and emerging from this end of the table are my plans.
“Somewhere has to be the starting point for my coaching career. You can’t learn and do anything worthwhile if you never start, no matter how difficult the task may be.
Based on a fly-on-the-wall report by The Athletic, Chimbonda—who played one friendly match for France—is not afraid to give his part-time players feedback on their performances. The former Tottenham player also attacked their warm-up as “sloppy” in an angry outburst before their 6-0 loss to Colne.