Why "The Worst Manager" Escapes Vilification

 

We live in an ever demanding football world. The past is soon forgotten, as runs of bad results immediately lead to cat-calls from the terraces and managerial obituaries written by keyboard warriors. When past success has been obliterated from the memory, all that is left is the resonating sound of the failures that brought a managerial reign to an end. Either a mournful last post or a rousing anthem of uprising and anger.

Fans have long memories. Very few managers leave and are remembered fondly. When they do, there is always the denouement which tarnishes it. Dave Bassett took United to successive promotions and back to the top flight for the first time in 14 years yet, in the latter days of his reign, United's poor form following relegation and his inability to address the issues led to infighting amongst fans at matches. There are few things as divisive as a dip in form from a worshipped manager.

Bassett is lucky, fans will look back on his time fondly and he is guaranteed a great reception every time he returns to Bramall Lane. Others will never be that lucky. Returning manager's receptions are either black or white, you either loved them or you didn't. Rarely is it a grey area. Saturday demonstrated the exception to the rule.

Micky Adams returned to Bramall Lane, as United faced his Port Vale side in an FA Cup tie, just 18 months after he had departed having presided over the final instalment of one of United's worst seasons in recent memory. He had joined a club in turmoil, much of its own making, thanks to sacking Kevin Blackwell just three games into the season and then giving the late Gary Speed his first managerial experience before he left after 3 months to take the Wales job.

Few shed any tears for Blackwell, although the timing of the decision was widely condemned as ill-conceived, and once he had gone the club was only ever going to promote Speed; a man finding his way in the job. By the time Adams took over from caretaker boss John Carver on 30th December 2010, United sat in a disappointing 19th place, two points above the relegation places. United were fighting to get the club back on an even keel, paying the price for maintaining a Premier League infrastructure, paying players extortionate salaries in a sign at all costs mentality and a misuse of the loan market.    

A Blades fan from childhood, Adams' appointment received a mixed reception from United fans. Some saw him as a relatively safe pair of hands, an unimaginative, but steady appointment. Those last two adjectives also being barbs aimed by his detractors and those of the board who wanted United to show a little initiative in their appointment. Maybe he could be the man to put a bit of passion back into an apathetic club, limping along in the Championship.

The immediate, and often short term, boost in form from the appointment of a new manager never happened and the appointment of Dave Bassett as a consultant, to advise and share the burden, just over a month into his reign was a sign he wasn't up to the job. Far too often winnable games, slipped away. Rumours quickly spread of player dissention and disciplinary issues.

The beginning of the end was a week in February when United played relegation rivals Preston, Palace and Scunthorpe and picked up no points. The Scunthorpe game saw United 2-0 up at Glanford Park, before eventually losing 3-2. Post-match, in an emotional interview with local radio, Adams referred to issues behind the scenes that were not helping him in his job. He suggested that it was 'about time the players took responsibility because you can’t fool the public all the time.' He sounded at a loss as to what to do next.

Having had a small advantage over relegation rivals on Adams' arrival, United made as much progress as an asthmatic ant with a large bag of shopping. United finished second bottom and were seven points from safety. Adams' United took 14 games to get a win and by the season end had won 4 games in 25. United had incurred one of the division's biggest wage bills and used 40 players.

Saturday saw a muted reception from the Blades fans as Adams appeared on the touchline. All the noise being made by the Vale fans still supportive of a manager who had left them for the Blades, only to return and successfully steer the financially stricken club to second in League 2. The only time United fans joined in the "One Micky Adams" chants was ironically as Shaun Miller stole it for the Blades in the final seconds of injury time. As the fans chanted "Na, Na, Na, Na, he's a Blade and he's a Blade", a little bit of you felt for the man stood staring in disbelief on the touchline.

As we watched the highlights of the FA Cup on ITV at the weekend, Adams appeared for a post-match interview. His rabbit in the headlamps stare was something we saw so often saw in his previous time at Bramall Lane. He had a general look of bewilderment at the events that had unfolded and looked like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. He talked about his love of United, how glad he was to have received a warm welcome and how he hoped United went on to further success. The edit removing any comment on his new club and how they had performed.

"Aww", said my wife. "I just want to give him a big hug. He looks like he needs one."

I saw a similar comment from a fellow (female) Blade on my twitter timeline the next day. And there you have Micky Adams in a nutshell.

A man who got his dream job, in the most trying of circumstances and just wasn't up to it. A majority of fans bear him little malice. They recognise he was one of us. No-one doubted his efforts, no-one could believe he didn't do anything but his best, but his best just wasn't good enough. He came across as the little boy lost, deep in his own thoughts, chastened by his experiences and unable to foster the respect and toil required of his charges. A man you would happily share a pint with, but wouldn’t necessarily leave in control of the family crockery, you know, just in case he dropped it. A man who looks like he needs a hug.

Past managers have dismayed Blades fans with their attitude (Steve Bruce), their ineptitude (Adrian Heath) or both (Bryan Robson). Bruce deserted when money became tight, Heath's man- management and results were awful and Bryan Robson squandered probably the biggest budget and most talented squad in recent memory, yet aimed his barbs at the fans rather than recognising his own failings. None would get anything near a warm welcome at Bramall Lane. None would receive the dispassionately neutral response Adams received, yet statistically Adams was the worst manager in United's history.   

Back in 2010-11 Adams was a loyal and committed sergeant leading his troops over the top on an risk-laden mission, compromised by events that had gone before and the plans of the generals and tacticians above him. At the same time he was unable to organise his troop of deserters and people just not up to and up for the charge. The outcome had been depressingly predictable for some time. Few will forget those events, few will look back fondly on Micky Adams' time at Sheffield United, but few will doubt his commitment and effort.

I can imagine he made a note in his diary as he headed to Bramall Lane for the final home game against Barnsley, fate all but sealed, that simply said "Bugger!". It was only a surprise that he never appeared on camera with two pencils up his nose and his underpants on his head shouting "Wibble". Mind you I doubt it would have helped, I mean, who would have noticed another madman round Bramall Lane that season?

A Conversation about The Blades

Top football league site The Two Unfortunates recently asked me to take part in a "Conversations with..." piece as part of their close-season series.

We talked about the some what eventful and ultimately depressing last 12 months at Bramall Lane. One Blade on twitter described it as "wonderfully eloquent" and another said they "could not fault a single word." Comments that really put a smile on my face.

You can read it here

The Fading Actress

At one time it was thought that this report might be a post mortem, but the patient is still breathing…just. Analysis shows that the patient's precarious position was the result of many, often self-inflicted, blows over a prolonged period of time. So many poorly thought out decisions have led to physical and mental pain being inflicted and it may take a while to rebuild her life and return to full strength.

Probably of as much concern is the mental condition of those close to the patient, who had to witness such behaviour and the corresponding downturn in health, and we should monitor their continuing well being.  Many have already chosen to walk away from the patient, yet their ongoing support - however distressing it may be- is vital at this time.

Evidence points to the first blow being struck as long ago as January 2007. The patient, a long-standing familiar face but fleeting high flyer, had only recently returned to the premier spotlight. A decision was made to invest a relatively  considerable amount on cosmetic surgery in an attempt to preserve her top tier status, one she had fought so hard to re-establish.

Unfortunately, the surgeon used to undertake the significant task - a Mr N Warnock - lacked sufficient experience and skill to deal with such significant change. Much of the money was spent with little overall impact, leaving the patient disappointed  and a good league below the look she was aiming for.

At that point the patient sacked Mr Warnock, when actually the simpler, minor reconstructive surgery that would have been required was more his speciality. Instead the patient decided a more world renowned, "name" surgeon was required. However the only candidate she met with had seen his best days behind him and in a slightly different and more practical field.

It was also around this time that the patient was fortunate enough to come into significant compensation. Although many saw Mr Warnock to blame for her fall from grace, he was relieved to see that his professional standing suffered only minor damage, as some of the blame for his failings was successfully deflected onto others.

Friends of the patient quickly became concerned, as the patient threw more money at reconstruction than necessary. Some of which might have been better spent back in January. Money that Mr Robson (the unanimous choice as surgeon, from a short list of one)  was spending with carefree abandon.

It took  prolonged prompting and protestation from her friends before the patient realised that they were chasing a dream that was not to be realised with the existing strategy. That, despite protests to the contrary from Mr Robson, he was in fact only making the situation worse. His dour demeanour gave little hope that he could put right his failings.

It was during this time that, prompted by her sugar daddy, the patient decided to look at other ways to make money, to finance the pursuit of fame and success.  The first of these was a decision to travel the World. Quite public relationships were sought as she felt that these friendships were going to be profitable both emotionally in the short term and financially in the long term. After all, an international jetsetter presents a  more positive look for potential suitors. Unfortunately, over time, these relationships unravelled as it was revealed that the patient was being strung along by these new partners and incurring significant financial losses.

She also invested in properties, however this was to prove to be poor timing, just before the property crash. All in all, these proved more of a deterrent to potential suitors than an enticement and her sugar daddy suffered alongside her.

At such a distressing time, she took succour in a common sense talking to from a direct, straight talking psychologist, a Mr Blackwell. His strategy was simple; to  first stabilise the patient and then help them acknowledge there was a more direct route to achieve the desired outcome. The end product might not be as pretty, but it was hoped that it would be effective.

Within 18 months Mr Blackwell came close to delivering what the patient needed, but was unable to push the patient that final step. Following his "failure", the cracks in the working relationship between Mr Blackwell and the patient became more apparent and Mr Blackwell broke down on live television, questioning his own ability to do the job asked of him.

Following the fall from the spotlight, income streams had started to dry up for the patient. Year on year the extravagances were being reigned in, only for monies to be splurged in other ways. Despite this, they continued to work together, although Mr Blackwell expressed doubts about what he could achieve on a much tighter budget. He was right to be concerned, as he was unable to repeat or better his earlier near success.

It was also around this time, that the patient started making passing acquaintance with a number of supposedly top level "players" on the scene, in a desperate attempt to pull herself back into the spotlight. These did little to help her situation, only around fleetingly they spent large sums of her money and did little to improve her standing. Despite reassuring her friends that she would not continue with such behaviour, these relationships have continued over the last 12 months. Alongside this others have hung around more permanently, content to receive financial support, often whilst recuperating, yet giving her little in return. The financial and emotional bruising from these encounters have left the patient at her lowest ebb for some time.

Back in August last year, the patient took the surprising step of ceasing to use  Mr Blackwell's services. Surprising in that it had been expected much earlier and the timing, shortly after Mr Blackwell had invested her money in new ideas and resources, could only be to her detriment.

Not unexpectedly, given the timing, she took a chance with Mr Blackwell's young understudy, his media popularity attracted her in the same way Mr Robson had previously. It was hoped that the experience of working alongside Mr Blackwell and many of his more illustrious contemporaries would hold Mr Speed in good stead.

Unfortunately very little improvement was made and Mr Speed soon sought better paid work, in a more stable environment, where the likelihood of failure was halfway expected and he was less likely to be sacked. A Mr Carver briefly stood in, but next the patient sought the counsel of a self-confessed, boyhood fan. This had (briefly) worked well for her before and she believed it might just be the impetus she needed to move onwards and upwards once more.

Unfortunately Mr Adams' methods rankled with those she relied upon and he struggled to get the required results for some time. Her self-confidence plummeted and may friends questioned the apparent passion he, this so-called fan, displayed for her when talking in public.

So what now for the patient? A small injection of youth started to have a revitalising effect recently, but it was too late to prevent a set back that had been apparent for a while. Further injections of youth are most probably the way forward.

Estimates of potential rehabilitation time vary. It depends how much experience the patient holds on to, in order to combine with the youth and energise an aching body. With the patient spending beyond their means for so long, financial hardship is likely. With close friends, of many years standing, walking away and her sugar daddy unable to financially support her whims, the ability to spend her way back to that better place is not going to be possible.

A tough and painful rehabilitation is ahead. The patient needs to be patient. Friends might also need to hold back on their ambitions, as the patient should not try to walk before she can run. She is now operating in a new tougher environment, where she may be viewed as a big fish in a small pond and with confidence and strength knocked out of her. There may be more physical and mental blows ahead and a full rehabilitation is by no means a certainty.

Postscript 10th April 2011:

Just days after compiling this report, the patient's sugar daddy pulled the plug on funding the treatment provided by Mr Adams. Friends are increasingly worried about her mental state, as short term decision making upon a litany of previous short term decisions is leaving her increasingly confused and illogical. They all know she has to be stabilised quickly, but there is little concensus as to how to do it. Sad days....