An Unwanted Record

Following last weekend's Premier League fixtures, the BBC Sport twitter account decided to share a fact with their followers. Sadly it was one of those flawed facts that assumes that top flight football has only existed for 20 years and everything before it just isn't relevant.

 

 

 

Everything these days is referred to in terms of "the Premier League era", however the record for the worst start in top flight history was not set last week. QPR equalled it. Not that the club involved would want that tag, but I guess a happy ending makes it more palatable.

 

Just under two years before the Premier league kicked off, Sheffield United reached the 22nd December 1990 sitting bottom of Division 1 after 16 games and with just 4 points to their name. They were 8 points behind QPR , who sat one place higher and, given their awful goal difference, some 12 points from safety. The visitors to Bramall Lane that cold and misty afternoon were Nottingham Forest and the victory that followed kick-started United's season. Ian Bryson scored two and Brian Deane the other in a 3-2 win.

 

Bryson coming close to what would have been his only career hat trick, as the ball hit both posts and came back out again. When United took the lead; Bryson became only the 4th player to score a league goal for United all season. However the joy was short lived as Forest scored from the re-start without a United player touching the ball. Future Blades player Franz Carr playing in Roy Keane for the equaliser.

 

Keane then played Stuart Pearce in for Forest to take the lead and that first league victory seemed a distant dream. Then two brilliant crosses from the right wing and the boot of Carl Bradshaw, led to pinpoint headers first from Bryson and then from Deane.

 

The final whistle brought slightly surreal scenes, as unbridled relief led to a celebratory pitch invasion from jubilant fans. It had the feel of a promotion clinching match or a cup giant-killing. As two goal hero Ian Bryson described it;

 

"It was a great relief to get our first win and the fans obviously felt the same, we felt we had been playing well but we just couldn't get the win. Once we won that game the confidence within the squad grew and we gradually moved up the table."

 

The victory did have a positive effect, United winning 1-0 in their next game away at Luton Town, but it then took until late January for United to put any kind of form together. Through to the beginning of March they went on a run of 8 wins and a draw in 9 games. By season end they had won 13 games and eventually stayed up in 13th place. That was 12 points clear of the relegation places (only two teams went down) and 9 points clear of third bottom (ordinarily the last relegation place). Interestingly, QPR the team directly above them just before Christmas also survived finishing one place lower.

 

Brian Deane also explained how United and manager Dave Basset fashioned that change in form.

 

"It was an era where things were changing in football. Dave Bassett knew that he didn’t have a team that could compete technically with some of the better teams. We couldn’t afford some of the players that some of the other clubs had, they wouldn’t be attracted to come to Bramall Lane and play. But we found ways of equalising the situation by being a little bit more scientific in our approach to games."

 

"I can’t say we were the first but we were certainly one of the first. If you look at what happened up to the point of us having four points just before Christmas; we actually introduced a new diet, we introduced new training methods, we had a fitness trainer (Ed Baranowski) come in twice a week and we became fitter and stronger than other teams. We scored more goals in the last ten minutes than other teams and they struggled to cope with us. In the end we survived because we adapted and changed and no one else had cottoned on to what we were doing. If they had been doing it, then the probability is that we would have struggled."

 

So can QPR take comfort from the Blades' turnaround that season? Speaking earlier this season Bryson told me;

 

"Although the league is different now, I don't think anyone will survive from that kind of position again."

 

Yet I think this season could prove the exception to the rule; despite the fact QPR sit bottom on 7 points, some 8 points from safety. So why do I think they are the team that could achieve this and are there any similarities between now and 22 years ago.

 

Whilst it is true that money has distorted football in recent years, you would have to say that QPR are in a position to turn this around. In fact they are financially stronger than many of the clubs they will be battling with in the fight for survival.

 

United benefited from the fact that they had many teams around them that you would claim are beatable. The fact that they went on to beat Manchester United, Everton, Villa and Chelsea certainly helped their cause, but United must have felt that they stood a chance against the likes of Luton, Derby, Coventry and Sunderland. QPR could legitimately claim the same. On paper they have a squad that should at least be a match for many of the teams around them. The importance of starting a run of wins and the impact it can have is exemplified by Norwich, now 12th after 9 games without defeat.

 

It strikes me that team spirit is something lacking in modern day football. maybe it has been "poisoned" by the money? After all it is rare you get a team coming up that don't sign a few established star names, often to the detriment of the overall team and the players who earned their promotion. Few of  Dave Bassett's signings that season came from the top flight and for most it was the first taste of top flight football. You could even argue that his biggest signing, Vinnie Jones, caused as much disruption as positivity.

 

Talking to the players of that time, there was a real "in this together" mentality, a closeness of team, club and fans that you only rarely see in football these days and certainly not in the Premier League. The nearest you can see to it now is perhaps Stoke, combining a team ethic with a stoic belief in what they are doing. There are few egos in that Stoke side, however there are plenty dotted throughout  many of the other teams in the Premier League, including those in the bottom quartile and in particular at Loftus Road.

 

Whilst, as Brian Deane explained, United benefited from innovative thinking in terms of preparation, training etc. it is hard to see where the Hoops can do anything revolutionary. However, they are in a position to do something different. A change of manager, should bring new ideas and whilst that might not necessarily translate into results straight away, there is potential for long term improvement. QPR have certainly not seen the immediate boost that "new manager syndrome" often provides, but it is hard not to believe that Harry Redknapp's influence and potentially changes of system and roles won't have an impact soon.   

 

There was a different expectation level placed on managers 20 years ago. Following back to back promotions, there was little clamour for changing the manager when the team were struggling to adapt at the top level. I think that managers would not get the benefit of such time these days, that has been shown at QPR, albeit on the back of one season of Premier League football already. I just hope that Southampton show the patience Nigel Adkins' hard work and success deserves, in similar circumstances to Dave Bassett 22 years ago.

 

So can QPR survive? In some ways, and despite the huge changes in football since, I actually think that they are in a better place than United were. Redknapp has talked of not spending in January, although I will believe that when I see it, and that will certainly allow him to pep up a squad with his kind of players. A new broom and the capability to change the squad could be the difference. 

 

Saturday's game at home to Fulham is a great opportunity to kick start the survival push but, even if they fail to win and take United's unwanted record outright, I wouldn't bet against them staying up. 



Interview with Ian Bryson - Part 3 (A Champion Captain)

As we left Part 2, Ian had been approached by Dave Bassett to see if he would be interested in following up an enquiry from Rotherham United. Taken aback that Bassett was happy to let him go, Ian asked for his name to be circulated.

You ended up at Barnsley but only stayed three months?

I spoke to Viv Anderson and Danny Wilson and they were quite keen. Whether it was the right move for me who knows? I don’t think I should have left United, but Bassett didn’t really want to keep me. I signed and played most of the games, they wanted to play me as a striker, but although I had covered there for United it wasn't my natural position. I was only there 4 or 5 months. They were keen to sign Andy Payton from Celtic and Viv said they needed to move a player on to do it and Preston had made an offer for me.

I spoke to John Beck and, for some mad reason, I came to Preston. That meant me dropping a couple of divisions; it was a big change although they were flying at that time. I had come across John Beck before when he was at Cambridge, it was one of the hardest games I had ever played in, so I knew what to expect in terms of the pace of the game and how he played it.

The upside of this period was that making two moves in a year was an opportunity to make a little bit of money.

Preston were in a slump at the time, but they were soon heading in the right direction.

Yes, in the first season (1993-94) we reached the play off final versus Wycombe Wanderers at Wembley - so I did get my chance to play at Wembley and I scored the first goals as well. It was an overhead kick. I had mucked around in training, but I only ever tried it once on the pitch and I scored from it! I can claim a 100% record. I don’t know now what made me do it. I had a lot of family down from Scotland to watch me and they had all backed me to score first. I think they were still celebrating when Wycombe went up the other end and scored. We didn’t win and we didn’t deserve to, on the day Wycombe were the better side.

You can see the goal at about 30 seconds on this video clip here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gg-Kb616pvI

It was play-offs again the following season.

The next season we lost to Bury in the play-off semi-final and we then followed it with a title winning season in 1995-96 when I was made captain. It was a big honour. John Beck had left, although he had brought some good players in, and his assistant Gary Peters had taken over. There was no point trying to change the style of play to be like a Barcelona so he just tweaked it here and there. It was a fabulous season we scored over 100 goals.

We had a good social life and great team spirit. Team spirit is the key thing, if you have eleven lads who work for the manager and each other you can achieve a lot. If there are good players involved you can go a long way. We played attractive football and scored a lot of goals. I think Andy Saville and Steve Wilkinson got 30 apiece and the midfielders were getting into double figures. Everything seemed to fit together.

A bit like at United then in that respect. In that second season you had a soon to be famous player join on loan?

Yes, David Beckham played 5 games for us, he was a great lad. Every credit to him when we won promotion at Leyton Orient, David came along to support the team and came to congratulate us all in the dressing room afterwards; a great lad. I’ve seen him a few times since. When I was doing my coaching badges, he was at Manchester United and when he saw me he always made a point of coming over for a chat. He remembered his time at Preston well.

Didn’t he take over dead-ball duties from you?

Yeah one or two of us thought we were the bee’s knees. When you’re an experienced pro of 33/34 you think you can do everything. This young whipper-snapper comes in from Man United and he is put on corners and free kicks and we thought this is not happening; we’ve been doing this for years! Within half a game we realised why! He could put the ball on a sixpence.

Fantastic lad, fantastic player and every credit is due for what he achieved.

You had a spell at Rochdale, but is it fair to say it didn’t work out as hoped?

Graham Barrow gave me a two year contract, but I hit a real bad spell with injuries. I think I played just 8 times in my first season and 25 games in the second season. It was a case of picking up the typical injuries for old men - calves and hamstring related. With one game to go in the season Graham was sacked and I got the job of caretaker for one game a 1-1 draw. Steve Parkin was then appointed manager and he released me. He wanted his own players in and injuries had taken their toll, it was fair enough.

I continued playing with Bamber Bridge in the Unibond League and amazingly, given the two seasons I'd just had with injuries, I played 58 games in a row. We had a great season and reached the second round of the FA Cup before a 1-0 defeat against Cambridge United thanks to a dodgy refereeing decision that led to a penalty which they scored.

Did you have a spell coaching once your playing career finished?

Gary Peters offered me a role coaching at the Preston North End Centre of Excellence which I did for 4/5 years, but I stopped when my son was 11. He was playing with a local boys' team and I wanted to watch him and support him and I couldn't do that with the Centre of excellence job as the matches clashed on a Sunday morning. I helped out at the training sessions, but didn't interfere, it wasn't my place.

To be honest am not a great believer in the Centre of Excellence model starting with players at 8 years old. It should be 14 or 15 years old and that's the age I worked with at PNE. It was incredibly hard telling players that they aren't going to make it.

So what are you up to now?

Now, I do press work for Radio Lancashire, sometimes on commentaries, but more often on the Friday night preview programme.  I also work for Premier League Productions who supply the coverage for Sky's Football First and for overseas coverage as well. I am based in the tunnel talking to the 4th official communicating back to the studio in London what is happening with potential subs, injuries, what's happening on the bench so the commentary appears seamless. I usually move between matches at the Reebok, the DW and Ewood Park. It's great; I get paid to watch Premier League football. 

Looking back to when you were through the tunnel and on the pitch, what are your best memories?

From a personal point of view, to say which was the highlight of my career is quite difficult. My time at United and Preston were similar in many ways. Although yes I got my only medal and lifted a trophy as Captain at Preston, I got to play at the top level with United and had two successive promotions. Sadly that was a time when the runners-up, as we were twice, got absolutely nothing. Meanwhile, the play off winners got them! 

And that is where our chat finished and we returned to watching the second half of Bolton v Spurs, from the comfort of our respective armchairs. Not tonight the Reebok tunnel for Ian. It was a pleasure talking to Ian, or Jock as we commonly referred to him during his time at United. He retains a humility that I have encountered in all the United players of that era that I’ve had the opportunity to speak to. To me, and many others who had the pleasure of watching him play, he remains a player much under-rated given his goal-scoring and wing play. Even, if he had picked up that further recognition, I doubt it would have changed him.  

Interview with Ian Bryson - Part 2 (Great Escapes and Top Level Experience)

When we left Part 1, United (and Ian) had just completed back to back promotion seasons, taking them from the 3^rd Division to the top tier of English football.

During that second promotion season the BBC chose United to be the focus of a documentary series focusing on all aspects of a football club. You and your family were featured heavily, how did you find it?

The documentary series was fantastic.

In those days for TV to capture your team's success in such detail was rare.

Yes and to capture that season for United, culminating in that game at Leicester was great for the team. Obviously, they focused on me a bit with the story of a couple with a young daughter coming down from Scotland. They painted a picture of me which was quite amazing and one added benefit of that was that we were never short of offers of babysitters again! That's just the Blades fans for you though, a good bunch.

Your form and goalscoring record, which you maintained in those first couple of top flight seasons, ought to have drawn some international recognition. Were you ever close to a Scotland call-up?

There were times I was mentioned in dispatches North of the Border. My mother-in-law collected the newspaper clippings when I was linked with the Scotland squad and sent them down to me. I had played for the Scotland semi-pro side (a sort of 1st Division Select) whilst at Kilmarnock, but that aside there was one or two mentions whilst I was down here. I believe that I was watched once, one time against Norwich in 1992 where Bryan Gunn, the Norwich keeper, had gone off and an outfield player ended up in goal. I scored the winner that day, but missed three or four chances as well. I had a spell up front when Tony Agana was injured.

That first season in Division One started off disastrously for United, yet you played a big part in the turnaround.

We reached the 22nd December 1990 bottom of the league and with just four points on the board. Then we faced Forest and that kick started our season. I scored two in a 4-2 win and had another shot that hit both posts and stayed out. I never scored a hat trick in my career in England and Scotland; that was the closest I came.

The celebrations at the end, with the crowd running on the pitch, gave it the feel of a promotion winning match or a cup giant-killing.

It was a great relief to get our first win and the fans obviously felt the same, we felt we had been playing well but we just couldn't get the win. Once we won that game the confidence within the squad grew and we gradually moved up the table

We then won our next game and then from late January through to the beginning of March we went on a run of 8 wins and a draw in 9 games and eventually stayed up in 13th place. Although the league is different now, I don't think anyone will survive from that kind of position again. The following season Dave arranged the Christmas party in August thinking it might help us get over that start of season blip. It was quite a unique thing, but Dave loved the media and they loved him as he was always good for a quote or story.

It didn’t really work. United again started the season slowly, but thankfully and over time they developed a consistency which saw them finish in 9^th place. That season also saw the return of top flight Sheffield Derbies for the first time in 23 years.

How was it to play in the intensity of a Sheffield Derby?

The Sheffield Derbies have mixed emotions for me. The build-up to the first was great as it had been so long since the last top flight derby, the buzz around Bramall Lane and the fact it divided the street where I lived was superb.

You had a key role in the first of United’s two goals at Bramall Lane in the 2-0 victory in November 1991.

I was put through with a through ball by John Gannon and was one on one with Chris Woods. I hit it to his right and he palmed it out. Dane (Whitehouse) a good local lad was running in and we were 1-0 up. The whole day was unbelievable. Sadly, I missed the return game at Hillsborough, where we did the double, through injury.

That was the game where Bobby Davison scored two goals on his debut and United won 3-1.

I was gutted to miss out on the Steel City Semi at Wembley in 1993, that’s a big regret. It's so rare to get the chance to play there and it seemed like my chance had gone. I had been on a run in the side up to the Quarter Final replay at home to Blackburn Rovers and I had to go off injured with the re-occurence of a hernia injury. It had been operated on earlier in the season and I had to have another operation and in the end that was effectively the end of my career at United, although I didn't know that at the time. I watched on as Pembo fired in the winning penalty in the shootout. At that point I didn’t think I would be missing out on Wembley, just a semi-final versus Wednesday. Then the semi was moved to Wembley.

Is it hard to look back on the semi at Wembley?

My main memory of the semi-final was Mel Rees. We were desperate for Mel to lead the team out at Wembley but the FA wouldn’t allow it, so he walked around the pitch beforehand. I get choked up thinking about it now. Credit to the Wednesday fans that day, the reception from around the stadium was amazing, every fan stood up.

On the night we spoke, Bolton Wanderers were playing Spurs live on Sky Sports and Fabrice Muamba had walked out to take the acclaim of the Reebok crowd. We both admitted to having a similar emotional feeling watching Muamba that night.

I was at the game against Blackburn that followed the Muamba incident and it was a really emotional day. Football fans get a lot of stick for various things, but a majority are really, really good

.

A positive memory of that time, must be the midweek game against Spurs when United thrashed them 6-0? You scored twice I recall.

I've got a clipping from a newspaper on our memo board at home with a picture of me and Brian Deane taken on that night. We ended a six game winning run for Spurs and inflicted their worst defeat for 15 years - scoring twice in games like that were the stuff of boyhood dreams!

How was Dave Bassett to play for, as tough and straight talking as his public image suggests?

Harry often had a go and rarely gave you praise, but that was his man-management style. He always said I was a better player when he kicked me. He was probably right. Deep down you knew what his methods were, but it was sometimes hard to take. That was the way some managers worked back then. You either, bowed down and disappear, or you rolled your sleeves up and got on with it.

How did your departure from Bramall Lane come about?

It was strange really. We had just gone through pre-season and Harry took me on one side and told me Rotherham United had enquired about me and was I interested. I didn’t know what to do; I took it from that I wasn't going to figure much in the coming season if Harry was willing to tell me of interest. Therefore I asked him to circulate my name and see what came of it. He then said he didn’t mind if I left, I had real mixed emotions, I didn't want to leave, but had to do what was best for me.

What did you miss about Sheffield?

Everything and everybody at Sheffield United and being in Sheffield was great. We lived in North Anston and our best friends are a couple from there who I met walking the dog in the fields. This guy had a couple of dogs and I used to chat away with him and I got to know him, well I thought I’d got to know him. It turns out after that he just used to nod his head as he didn’t have a clue what I was saying! Both him and his wife became our best friends.

My wife has cousins and one of them bizarrely lived in South Anston; so of all the places I could have ended up in England we went where there was family nearby. All little coincidences.

I went from Scottish First Division to Division 1 (which then became the Premier League) at United, the kind of events that footballing dreams are made of and no one can take it away from me. The fans were brilliant, the stadium (even though it has changed for the better since) was great, it was just a great family club. Every time I go back you get such a great welcome. We have reunions now and then and you always get a lot of players turning up, which say a lot. Everyone at the place from office staff, through to Frenchie (Derek French the physio) and Geoff Taylor the assistant manager had the same ethos.

In Part 3 we talk about a brief spell at Barnsley, captaining Preston to a title, playing alongside a future superstar and  he did after his final league season at Rochdale. 

Interview with Ian Bryson - Part 1 (From the farm to down the Lane)

For the fifth in the series of Blades Heroes Interviews I am delighted to have spoken with wing wizard Ian Bryson. The Scotsman was a key player in United’s back to back promotions as they eventually returned to the top flight in 1990. If the stats were recorded in those days it would show he provided numerous assists alongside 44 goals in 177 starts in all competitions for United. Not bad for a player, who up to the age of 25 was playing part time in Scotland.

He we went on to captain Preston as they started their return from the football doldrums and when we spoke we also talked of his spells at Barnsley, Rochdale and of course Kilmarnock, where it all started. As quietly spoken as I remember from his playing days, he retains a strong Scottish brogue, despite having now spent nearly half of his life south of the border. 

  

Growing up in Scotland did you have any great hopes of a football career?

I grew up on my Mum and Dad's dairy farm in Ayrshire. I was playing junior football from under 12 through to under-18 for Ayr United Boys team. I was playing alongside Alan McInally. In those days it was a case of you would be taken on by the club you were at as a pro at 18 or released. Unfortunately, Ayr didn't want me so I continued to work on my parents' farm and played for Hurlford United; a club in the Scottish junior leagues.

I'd been with Hurlford for about eight weeks when Kilmarnock (then a Scottish Division 1 side) approached me about a trial. I went for the trial on the Thursday, had a really good trial match, and signed for manager Jim Clunie on the Friday. I continued to work on the farm, full-time dairy farmer, and part-time footballer. It really hit home, the step up I had made when I made my debut in a benefit match a month later. It was against Celtic, which was a big thing for me. I was on the left wing and up against Danny McGrain; A Scottish international full back, a Celtic legend and an imposing figure.

Did it take you long to make your league debut?

My full league debut came in the following January against Hamilton Academicals and I scored a penalty that day. It was a quick transition from playing at Hurlford to starting in the Kilmarnock first team and I was still only 18.

Scoring a penalty on league debut for Killie, a lot of trust in a young player, were you playing up front that day?

I was playing as a left winger and in previous reserve game I had scored twice from the spot so was entrusted when the opportunity arose

You spent seven seasons with Kilmarnock and had a decent scoring record for a wide player (38 goals from 156 appearances), did you have any opportunities to move elsewhere and how did the United interest come about?

I enjoyed it at Kilmarnock, but I thought my time had passed as I was now in my mid-20's. There were times I was linked with SPL clubs, Dundee United were one I remember amongst others, but nothing happened. I was happy enough doing what I was doing then at the start of pre-season in 1988 Eddie Morrison, then Killie manager, asked me if I fancied going on trial with Sheffield United and joining them on a pre-season tour in Sweden. I didn't have to think too much about that, it wasn't a difficult decision. Off I went with United for two weeks.

Even though the Blades had just been relegated to Division Three?

Yes but even though they had been relegated it was a chance to play in England at a big club, with an impressive ground.

Was it a daunting prospect joining up with United pre-season in Sweden?

Yes it was daunting but it was a chance to show that I had what it took to do something I had dreamed of since I was young - become a full time professional footballer.

Did you feel that you had done enough to earn a contract?

I did feel I had done enough but I still wasn't a hundred percent sure in fact I asked Frenchie (Derek French - United's physio) for a shirt and pair of shorts as a memento in case it didn't work out!

On my return from the tour, Dave Bassett said he wanted to sign me and I left it to the clubs to sort out the deal. It wasn't much of a decision for me, as I was still working on the farm whilst playing for Kilmarnock, the chance to be a full time footballer was a fantastic opportunity for me.  It was a huge change for me, like learning football over again to a certain degree. I am not dismissing the standard of Scottish football at that time, but I was coming to full-time football and doing it as my living. I was moving to a big city, a new environment, different players and a different style of football.

Harry was renowned for long-ball or being direct so I wasn't used to that, but it was similar for a lot of players working with Dave. I think it helped that there were quite a few new lads around, Harry was re-building after relegation and we all bonded, adapted and learned together. That helped us do so well and played a big part in our two successive promotions.

Much is made of that team spirit. What was it about Dave Bassett that engendered such a spirit and led to such success?

Having been relegated the year before there is usually a massive transition which doesn't necessary mean immediate success. Dave Bassett deserves a huge amount of credit for what we achieved in that period. He and his scouts looked around and identified the players, most of whom were not that well known at the time; Brian Deane at Doncaster, Alan Roberts at Darlington, he had already brought Tony Agana in from Watford and we all seemed to fit together and get on well. These weren't well known players at the time. We all seemed to get on really well and that's half the battle. There were no egos or ‘Big Time Charlies’, there were few "personalities" although the ex-Wimbledon lads like Wally (Downes) and Francis (Joseph) helped in the dressing room. We built a great team spirit, made a great start on the pitch and carried it on, but it's all down to Dave Bassett.

It was a major change for you coming to United, change of club, lifestyle, environment; a complete uprooting your life and family. How hard was it to deal with?

As well as that team bonding and welcome what also helped me settle was the start I made at the club. In our first home game against Bristol Rovers I scored two goals in a 4-2 win and picked up Man of the Match. It was a fantastic start, home debut, two goals, man of the match and as a team we played really well. I then scored two in our third home league game when we beat Northampton Town 4-0. The fans took to me, they were superb, and that made things easier for me.

What are your main memories of that first season and promotion from Division Three?

Those two games aside, I don't remember too many individual games from that first promotion season. Apart from that final game at Wolves where we got the point needed to seal promotion. It is sort of the same with the following season as well. Clearly, the promotion clincher at Leicester stands out, that was the one that mattered. It was an amazing day. Every goal was followed by the fans invading the pitch and we were ushering them off. I really feared that the match might be abandoned! But to come off the pitch and find out that as well as going up Wednesday were coming down, it was an unbelievable day; you don't get moments like that often.  The whole season was just meant to be really.

The win at Leicester in May 1990 meant that United had clinched promotion to the top flight (then still Division One) returning after a 14 year absence.

For me to be playing top level football two years after leaving the farm and Kilmarnock was hard to take in. It was a fairy-tale move. I was set to play in one of the biggest leagues in the world. It was all down to Dave, he built the team where the nucleus was largely the same over the two seasons. To walk out in front of 27,000 fans against Liverpool, at Bramall Lane, on the opening day and for Deano to score was something else

1989-90 Promotion Squad - Ian is back row, far right

What always stood out for me and many other Blades fans was your work-rate in wide areas both attacking and defensively, and also your ability to find the back of the net as well regularly, as well as setting goals up.

My favourite ball to play was winger to winger and quite a few goals came from that ball for both me and the team. Really wingers should score more goals these days. Although I played on the left, I was predominantly right footed which gave me plenty of options when it came to crossing and shooting. I could stay wide or cut inside and usually guarantee I could get a cross in.

Obviously, United played with great target men, like Brian Deane and Tony Agana in the middle which is a dream for a wide player. My job was to put as many crosses in as possible, the more times you get the ball into the box, the more opportunities you have to score. Dave used to measure my performance by the number of balls I played in during the game. He used to tell me after whether I had put enough crosses in.

I'd say we were direct, but that isn't to be negative, we were not direct in the John Beck sense. We tried to get the ball from the back to the front players quickly as we knew there we had the pace and trickery to cause the opposition problems. When we have reunions and we look back at the videos of some of the goals we scored from wide positions were really good. We got goals from all over the pitch and we had quality up front, I mean Brian went on to play for England.

Ian celebrating promotion at Filbert Street with Mark Todd and Brian Deane

In Part 2 we talk about Ian and his family’s role in the BBC ‘United‘  documentary series, top level football with United, Wembley sadness and his eventual departure from Bramall Lane.