Weir Blades

Reasons to be Cheerful - Part 2

 

 

 

 

It took just shy of nine weeks to get here, five weeks to the day since the Blades fell in the play-offs at Huish Park. But at last I think Blades fans have reasons for optimism. Reasons, dare I say it, to be cheerful.

When the season drew to a close with a limp and lifeless performance in Yeovil, thoughts firmly focused on who would be named Danny Wilson's permanent successor. Writing at the time I said;

"Too often as a club we look to the past. We think a manager has to know about United, as if we are something special  show passion for the club in order to impress the fans. Let's move away from this thinking. Let's have a manger who can look at the playing squad with fresh eyes and free of the constraints of saying the right thing to please the supporters."

On paper we seem to have that man. At times over the last few weeks many have commented on the dearth of quality candidates listed by the bookmakers. We have had several names surge to be favourite on the back of a bit of money put their way, often based on the "in the know" of internet forum rumours. Many of those listed have had that Blades link somewhere in there. Of those that hadn't, few ticked the box. (Okay - the pedantic could argue that Weir has a Blades past, although a pre-season trial the season before last hardly constitutes a substantial history with the club)

The disparity of opinions on all candidates demonstrated that the fan-base had a broad range of opinions on who should be manager and the qualities and experience required. For every supporter of a candidate you could find a detractor and in a lot of cases each made valid arguments to support their case.

The relative silence emanating from Bramall Lane in the period could be viewed positively, after all the club has kept its counsel and left the media playing the same guessing game, latching on to the same rumours and sources as the fans. They could validly claim that they took their time to find the man who fits their profile. Yet, it would be interesting to know if weir was one of the 20+ quality applicants, or one of the original shortlist of seven.

Whatever you think of Graham Arnold and his comments on the process, I can't help feeling that there are some concerns for Blades fans within his comments. He had no need to run to the press, in fact doing so would surely create bigger problems for him; both with McCabe family links to Central Coast Mariners and as a word of warning to other potential suitors. To then do so in such vehemently ferocious terms suggests more than just minor issues at play. There is no smoke without fire.

 

Even with the bits of the process that did reach the press, such as Stuart McCall's involvement and withdrawal, you can't help feeling United have stumbled through the recruitment process, but in the end have dropped on with a candidate becoming available, perhaps after rejection at Goodison Park?

So after the long wait, have we got the right man?

Well Weir does seem to have United the fans onside straight away. Whether there is an element of that being relative happiness when he is compared with other candidates and relief that names recently bandied around by the press are not the preferred choice, who knows? It is possible. At one point earlier in the process, two names in the frame led me to tweet that expressing a preference was similar to being asked which STD would you prefer to have?

However, I think that there is a genuine warmth and optimism about Weir's arrival, and one that I share. He lacks experience of management, in our current situation that might have been preferable, but has all his coaching qualifications and a wealth of playing experience in both top level club football and at international level.

 

To be fair to our board it is also worth remembering that Julian Winter appointed Brendan Rogers and Malky Mackay at Watford; both being given their first jobs in management by United's returning Chief Executive. It is fair to say that is a decent track record when it comes to identifying young managerial talent and giving them a chance. The fact that Winter steered the then troubled Hornets through a treacherous financial period - including brushes with administration - should also be considered, especially given the financial down-sizing being undertaken at Bramall Lane.

Weir is well-respected by both those who he has played for and those he has played with. Comments on twitter from fellow pros and fans of Everton, Rangers and Hearts talk of a focused leader, a hard-working role model, a player who led by example. A man who, since finishing his playing career, has sought to expand his coaching knowledge and capabilities, spending time with clubs overseas.

A Rangers fan I know was reminiscing over email with me today and told me of the time the Rangers fan group the Blue Order held up 11 cardboard cut outs of the torso of their favourite defender and burst into a rendition of "We all dream of a team of Davie Weirs". There are times recently when United could have done far worse than that themselves. If Weir can build a squad in his image, with his work-rate, commitment and quality we won't go far wrong.

Many will now say that the club's patience has been rewarded, that the lengthy process was worthwhile. No-one will truly know what has happened behind the scenes over the last nine weeks. I had a tongue in cheek guess at it here. But the fact remains that after such a long selection process whoever became manager will start the season with a difficult task, now made slightly harder. I am sure he would have wanted more input into pre-season preparation, I am sure he would have wanted the opportunity to think longer about which players he wants to keep and not, to allow as much time as possible to move players on, allowing him more freedom to bring on the players he wants to be part of a United future.

Yet Weir knows all this and he has decided that this will be his first managerial challenge. He has been given a three year contract for a reason and the patience I have referred to previously will be important. I don't see a quick fix promotion for United next season and in the short term it could well be a bumpy ride. Weir will struggle to make significant changes to a squad, with only a small transfer kitty and with some players - who many fans consider "deadwood" - remaining under contract; reasonably lucrative contracts for League One as well.

Blades fans have been looking for signs of positivity for some time now. This is a small one, but in time it could be so much more. And that is the key, it just might need that time.

Wednesday and an Anglo-Welsh alliance

I was first told of this story on Sunday morning, just as David Cameron was making sanguine comments suggesting that he wouldn't stand in the way of the Old Firm moving into English football. If anything this made me suspicious of the timing of what I was about to be told.

 

I was emailed by a man who, for obvious reasons, I will refer to only as Ralf. He works in the administration department at Hillsborough and has seen a few items of correspondence that, as a fan of many years standing, have shocked him to the core. He claims to have seen evidence of an ongoing dialogue between Wednesday and the Welsh FA regarding the Owls taking a place in the Welsh League from the 2013-14 season. Sitting alongside it is a change of name that may surprise, but harks back to a much earlier age.

 

My first reaction was shock. Firstly that a club would consider such a move and secondly that I had been approached with the story. I emailed him my phone number and we had a lengthy  conversation.  I was told that both he and his colleagues were so shocked and angered by what they had read that they thought of no better way of embarrassing the club than if the story was broken by a Blades fan. They felt that the wider fanbase had a right to know what was happening.

 

He gave me information that verified who he was and then we talked some more and I explored what the motivations for the move were.

 

"We have a big stadium and a massive potential fanbase, yet there is a belief that it cannot be sustained on being Championship relegation fodder. The prospect of another relegation to League 1 cannot be contemplated."

 

"The 30,000 loyal supporters who turn up week in, week out deserve success. You know, with the size of club we are and our massive fanbase, we are bigger than half of the teams in the Premier League. We would sell out every week if we got there. If only your league position was determined by crowds and ground capacity, not success on the pitch. But I think Mr Mandaric has realised the long game he was playing is going to be longer and more expensive than he thought."

 

"Getting to the Premier League is going to be tough. Therefore sell-out crowds and European matches are the way forward. He invested with a view to moving the club forward, allowing him to sell up at a profit and move on. There is a belief that this gives him that opportunity."

 

"The club may not make the millions that Premier League football will bring, but getting a squad together to get through the Champions League qualifiers to the group stage will net the club around £10m in prize money, plus gate receipts from at least 5 home games."

 

"I don't agree with the thinking,  but the belief is the fans would love to win trophies and we'd walk the Welsh League. Then we are into the Champions League - and the fans still love to talk about the UEFA Cup campaign of 1992. They are imagining heady nights under floodlights against the cream of European football."

 

I ask if replicating 1992 means beating the champions of Luxembourg and losing to the 4th best team in the Bundesliga.  I get short shrift and our discussion is nearly over before it has begun - I just couldn't help myself!

 

Over the next half hour we further discuss the correspondence Ralf has seen and it actually begins to make some sense. The exploratory talks were opened with one eye on the plans of former Blades Chief Executive Charles Green and Rangers. Whilst Green's aggressive rhetoric on its own may be derided as repetitive bombastic bluster, the news that other clubs could follow suit will cause ripples in the game. The fact that they believe such a move could be accelerated in advance of the five year objective of Green will cause shock waves.

 

What gives them that hope is the clear overlaps between English and Welsh football. For this reason, the plans for a new Cardiff City taking the Bluebirds name and with plans to enter the English pyramid are also of significant interest.

 

If a new Welsh club is accepted by the English FA and chooses to play in England for what they assume are beneficial reasons, why shouldn't an English-based club be accepted in Wales? After all there is a precedent within the Welsh League, with TNS playing over the border in Oswestry, England.

 

But what is in it for the Welsh League?  Late on Sunday night I spoke with Dai Profollays, a Cardiff-based journalist and a man with contacts at the Welsh FA. Surely, allowing this would be like turkeys voting for Xmas? Everyone else playing for second each season? A staleness that has paralysed Scottish football for years? Seemingly not.

 

"They think this could be the boost Welsh football, and the league in particular, needs. They think that few clubs have the pulling power of the Owls. The club (Wednesday) have sold them the history and the levels of support. The words of former chairman Lee Strafford, when he spoke of Wednesday's catchment area of 500,000 fans, particularly resonated within the Welsh FA, as did the claims of 30,000 crowds when last in the top flight."

 

I consider raising the point that due diligence may prove some of these claims unfounded but Dai is in full flow - "The club chairmen, meanwhile, are wooed by the potential cash cow club. They are particularly excited by the talk of the 5,000 fans the Sheffield club take away every other week. That is a significant cash injection to clubs in a league where 2-300 is an average matchday crowd. The away support at that one match alone would double most club's total attendance for the whole of a season."

 

But surely many of the existing grounds would not be able to cope with the influx?

 

"That is true but, one possibility is that Wednesday pay a one off payment to gain entry to the League. That would be distributed to the clubs with the expectation it would be used for ground improvements. "

 

"All international football associations will be following the Rangers case very closely. But this could be the game changer."

 

The other big change is potentially with the club's name. Although it is change for the old, not the new. As Ralf explains,

 

"The papers I have seen refer to the team being known as "The Wednesday" - the original name of the club when it was founded. The feeling is that the club have a unique name and don't need the city association, especially with the move. This is what rankles the most; cutting the ties to the city. The club thinking it is bigger than all that. The sad thing is, I've read fans talking of this on the forums and they'd happily accept the change. Sometimes our fans make statements that make us look foolish. Some people might well be laughing at my club right now."

 

Thanks to Ralf Poolis. Being a mere blogger I have been unable to get a direct response from the club or Welsh FA. I hope to have this by 12pm today.

 

Charles Green, he sells the team

Charles Green arrived at Bramall Lane in September 1995 and was appointed as Chief Executive by Manchester businessman Mike McDonald in February 1996, following the latter's takeover of the club. With McDonald making a number of laudable objectives to try and lift the Blades out of the doldrums; Green's job, as McDonald's man on the ground, was to make it happen. Green's appointment and involvement was sold as a positive thing for United. Presented as "a football man" thanks to his involvement as a professional player until injury ended his career and his focus switched to business.

What actually occurred over the next three years was a turnaround of fortunes on the pitch and the signing of relatively big name players for the Championship, but the rug was pulled from under it all before any tangible success was achieved.

The early days of Green's involvement saw Dave Bassett's reign as manager come to an end. With supporter discontent high, yet a recognition of what Bassett had achieved for the club, there were mixed emotions around Bramall Lane when Bassett left by mutual consent. That should have been that, but an agreed compensation package didn’t materialise as Bassett had expected and he later stated that an attempt to argue his case with Green led to the latter offering to sort it out in the car park, allegedly not the only time such managerial tactics were employed.

Under Bassett’s replacement, Howard Kendall, United went through a significant turnover of players as funds were provided to increase the quality of the squad. As United escaped relegation and the following season reached the play off final, the club seemed to be on the up, despite the last minute play off final defeat to Palace. However, little did the fans know the extent to which problems were bubbling away beneath the surface. Problems derived from over ambition at board level and some incredibly poor decision making by Green that would start to unravel in the following 18 months and beyond.

United continued to invest in well-known players; he return of former hero Brian Deane was presented as a coup for the club. Dean Saunders was also signed. With Jan Aage Fjortoft and Gareth Taylor already at the club, the Blades had an embarrassment of riches in terms of attacking quality. However it had come at an unsustainable price.

In the summer of 1998 Steve Bruce was appointed manager and was reportedly staggered at some of the salaries and contracts negotiated by Green. A fans forum was told that Saunders and Deane together were being paid more than Dave Bassett's entire squad of three years previous.

Deane himself has talked of how he tried to temper negotiations so the club didn’t end up with problems.

“I bought into what I was being told by the Chief Executive at the time (Charles Green) as to what they wanted to achieve at Sheffield United. I was really up for it. They even offered me a two year contract and I said, “Look, I’ll sign a one year contract and we will review it”.

I had been in the Premier League with Leeds on Premier League wages, although nothing like what they are today. It was a contract where I thought that if we aren’t promoted it is going to be hard for the club to be able to afford it in this division. At the time I was thinking that I really want to be here and if you’re telling me that we are going to build a team that is capable of going up and then competing in the Premier League, then I’m in for that. I’d seen Paul Merson go up to Middlesbrough, he was still at the peak of his powers, so they obviously had a plan and I wanted to do the same at United. “

Howard Kendall returned to Everton and in a surprising move Nigel Spackman, on United’s books as a player, was appointed as manager, his first managerial role. This is when things started to unravel. Following Spackman's appointment as manager Charles Green stated that the manager had signed a three year deal. However, rumours persisted that Spackman hadn't actually signed it. A playing contract remained in place, on more advantageous terms to the managerial contract and so the latter remained unsigned. Green was increasingly seen as untrustworthy by the fans.

Mounting financial losses led to player departures, alongside long term injuries to key players, this led to Spackman asking for funds for new players. Green's response was to sell £2.5m of players, claiming that this wouldn't affect the club's promotion prospects.

Fans increasingly believed that Green was interfering in team affairs. The persistent questioning on the matter was irritating Spackman and led to Mike McDonald issuing a statement refuting the rumours and saying a three hour meeting had been held to thrash out the issue. Maybe director involvement in team affairs is more common now and wouldn’t cause as much fuss. It wasn’t that outwardly common then and it was upsetting fans. It was as if Green believed his brief involvement in the game as a player made him qualified to be involved in what should be managerial duties. There are those who believe he had a say in picking the team, although this has never been proved.

During Green's reign as Chief Executive, several long-standing members of staff left Bramall Lane; including the club physio, kit man and several backroom staff. This built on rumours questioning who was managing these key team roles; Spackman or Green. Departing players talked of increased director involvement and team unrest as players were being "treated as pawns".

Green told the press that Utrecht had enquired after popular striker Gareth Taylor, to which Taylor responded that he knew nothing of it and was in the dark on the whole situation. In the end, interviews given by Spackman and a FC Utrecht spokesman suggested that a player would have to be leaving Bramall Lane, whether it Taylor or another saleable asset. It was something Spackman admitted he had little say over. Then Mike McDonald admitted that players would have to be sold to stave off financial suicide.

His argument was that the attendances were not high enough to support the squad size and wage bill. He suggested that he had been led to believe that crowds would increase with successful football and investment in the team, but it hadn’t happened. That risk taking was, apparently, the fans fault. This “financial suicide” that McDonald referred to was something he and Green had personally presided over. To take the phrase used by the chairman of another Yorkshire based club following their financial suicide, there was an element of them "living the dream".

At the end of the day McDonald was in it to make money and the decisions he and Green had implemented were losing money on a weekly basis, albeit with on-pitch success. Prior to buying United he had failed to achieve a takeover of his beloved Manchester City and this was an alternative chance to “invest” in football. He had even admitted United had been his choice, because they represented a better opportunity to make money.

Eventually things came to a head when Deane and Fjortoft were sold on the same day, with manager Spackman not even aware of the deal. He was aware Fjortoft may be on his way to Barnsley, but thought Deane was late for training until he spoke to him on the phone and found he was in Lisbon, heading for talks with Benfica. It was portrayed in the media as players wanting to leave, but Brian Deane recalls differently;

“There is a lot about leaving United that I still cannot get to the bottom of. There are some things that I am still in the dark about. When I heard that I had wanted to leave, I wondered where that came from. I never said that.”

Green was becoming increasingly irascible. Apparently challenged by then director (now majority shareholder) Kevin McCabe and others that they would be lynched if Deane and Fjortoft were sold on the same day, Green's response was to say he didn't give a damn and that he would sell Taylor as well. As further players criticised the McDonald/Green regime, including Fjortoft, the only thing the duo could do was resort to personal slurs. Fjortoft - scorer of 23 goals in 42 games was branded "lazy" and Fjortoft was quick to respond to with both anger and an eagerness to expose further “lies” of Green and McDonald.

Spackman eventually resigned shortly after this double blow of having his two best strikers sold without his knowledge. The striking duo's departure had been followed by the sale of Don Hutchison and the departure of Spackman's assistant Willie Donachie, who left for Manchester City. His departure was followed by more slurs from McDonald/Green; McDonald claiming Spackman’s appointment was one he was never 100% happy with despite his public positivity when those questioned his lack of experience at the time.

With United challenging for promotion to the Premier League and on a decent FA Cup run, fans could see the season unravelling. They had been sold a pup by McDonald and Green yet they were the ones who were apparently to blame. Fans chanted "Charles Green, he sells the team". They were right. He had built a team with signings he had made, on wages the club couldn’t afford and McDonald was unwilling to subsidise. In the end, under temporary manager Steve Thompson, United lost in the play offs and in the cup semi-final. A season that had promised much, had delivered some great games, but no end product.

"I am Chief Executive. I take the decisons and I live by them" was Green’s retort to criticism of his operations. In the end he died by them. His position becoming increasingly untenable, in March 1998, Green's role was "redefined" and moved away from team and management affairs; his removal from the club impossible at the time due to pro-McDonald factions on the board. His eventual resignation saw him receiving a payment in excess of £100,000 an amount that caused consternation and raised questions when highlighted by fans and shareholders at the AGM. He didn’t do badly for himself out of a relatively unsuccessful spell at Bramall Lane.

In between times new manager Steve Bruce had become increasingly vocal about the difficulty of doing his job, players were targeted but not signed, and existing players were sold. It was like managing with his hands tied behind his back. He was paying the price for previous gambles that hadn’t been given the chance to pay off. The plug pulled in panic. No-one can say whether United would have reached the Premier League if Deane, Fjortoft, Hutchison and others hadn’t been sold but, given the margins involved there must have been a good chance.

Charles Green is a much vilified figure at Bramall Lane. He may have just been a puppet for McDonald; he may have been the ultimate decision maker, guiding the investor. Either way the manner by which he went about his business won him few friends within the club, or with the fans.

Now, after a significant absence, Green is back in football with Rangers. The fans should treat his arrival with caution. What his role will be day-to-day remains to be seen. But the last thing Rangers need now is a man who takes risks, a man who panics when the risks don’t pay off and a man who fans doubt they can trust. 

If you want to know more about Green’s time at United and the various boardroom machinations over 30 years at a football club, I can recommend Fit & Proper:Conflicts & Conscience in an English Football Club. A real eye opening book, whether you are a Blades fan or not. I am indebted to the book for reminding me of the timeline and key events.