It was 125 years ago today

It was 125 years ago today that cricket let the footballers play. And Sheffield United Cricket Club spawned Sheffield United Football Club. The original United.

 

The detailed story of Sheffield United's 125 years can be told by better men than me. (Club Historian John Garrett and author Denis Clareborough, to name but two). But it won't stop me trying to sum up 125 years of the Blades; or the Cutlers as they were originally known.

 

Temporary highs and lengthy lows. Senses filled, and then drained away. It is easy to dwell on the negatives. Of missed opportunities, unfulfilled ambition and a failure to match the club's resources and support with the craved for success on the pitch.

 

The modern day Sheffield United have spent too long trophy-less, too little time in the top division and rarely challenging at English football's summit. 

Three, maybe four generations of Blades fans without anything to show for their support but the mental scars of missing out on European football by a point, lost FA Cup and League Cup Semi-Finals and repeated Play Off final heartbreak. Haunted by the ghosts of the past, treading warily when those paths are crossed again.

 

Yet supporting Sheffield United Football Club in the early years was a joy in comparison. Those early supporters; all bushy moustaches, suit jackets and flat caps, enjoying a league title within 10 years of the club being formed, runner up twice more and four FA Cup victories in the club's first 40 years in existence. How little did they know? They never had it so good. We have never had it so good since.

 

But then we forget that those generations of Blades supporting families since have had much pleasure. Not the full blown success of those early years, but memorable moments all the same.

 

We have seen great players, arguably under-rated and lacking the due acclaim given to their peers elsewhere. We saw Hagan's trickery, Shaw's calm assurance and leadership, Woodward's wing play and stood in awe watching Tony Currie do magic.

 

We saw Edwards and Deane score goals by the hatful, whilst Jagielka and Walker show future international promise. Many more became heroes for their passion, their ability and quality, their value, their off pitch endeavours, or for their bravery in the face of adversity.

 

We have seen quality goals by quality players. Exquisite lobs from magic left foots, beautifully judged chips from near the halfway line, thirty yard net busters, bullet headers and the finales to exquisite build up play.

 

And then there were the cheeky goals; sneaking up and robbing the unaware keeper, or bouncing a throw-in off a retreating goalie's back to curl the ball into the empty net. Goals that if scored by others at more revered clubs would be repeated time and time again on TV for their quality or sheer impudence.

 

As much as the lack of recognition of our club and our players frustrates, we can feel a sense of pleasure that we saw those moments and they are our wonderful memories, our players, and the goals - our special secret.

 

We saw great cup ties and many a shock. Often made special by the glow of the floodlights. Shoot-out joy and Champions turned over. World class internationals with heads in hands. Heroes in red and white stripes hoisted high by joyous fans. Players individually good, collectively exceptional.

 

We have seen a game abandoned in extraordinary circumstances, drifting away down Shoreham Street, sporting vacant stares in disbelief. We have seen our team threaten to walk off the pitch at Highbury, and frequently not turn up at Wembley.

 

We have seen rogue owners; those with unclear motives, the chancers, Interpol's wanted, but survived their clutches with our club intact. We have been lucky compared to some, although it never felt like it at the time.

 

The good, the bad and the ugly of the beautiful game. The good, the bad and the ugly of our special love.

 

The ground remains. Much changed. But still Beautiful Downtown Bramall Lane. The oldest professional football ground still in use. Cricket long gone, all sides much changed. Fans in seats where once on terracing they stood. 

The support unwavering, the songs sung with fervent passion. Nowhere like the Lane with a full house. Such noise. Goosebumps. Senses filled.

 

And where are we today? As ever, full of hope for a better future. With a new found belief in our club and the direction we are moving. A sense of pride returning and a trip to Wembley on the horizon. 

United enters its 126th year in the Third Division, but with hope that come its 130th things might look much different. Much better. And if they don't? Then we just carry on as ever. Regardless. United.

 

Up the Blades!

 

Football & The Working Man - An Increasingly Twisted Love

This is something I wrote last Friday (February 14th), but lost (and since recovered) due to technical issues. It is about the most manipulative, tortuous and frustrating love you can have. It was probably more relevant as a Valentine's lament to the game we love, but a few days doesn't change anything.

 

Given weekend events at Bramall Lane it may seem a little incongruous, but this is more about lamenting the modern game in general and not my club on it's own.

 

 

 

It is a relationship that is a long term commitment.

At times you can argue it is a one way relationship. You put so much in to get so little back.

You do not have a monogamous partner. Yet you look at no other.

Despite this one-eyed devotion, your share of its time rises and falls over time.

 

Some say love is a gift, bestowed freely, willingly and without expectation. But this is different; there is always an expectation, and if not expectation there is hope. Hope that grinds you down over time, it might diminish, but always lingers.

 

The moments, when they come are, magical, full of ecstacy and emotion, but they are all too rare. 

You invest time, energy and money, yet it increasingly exploits you. The meals become more expensive, the clothes they insist you buy, to demonstrate your love, increase in cost.

They say you should show your love in new and inventive ways, buying bricks in walls, onesies, assorted over-priced tat. But it brings little reward and leaves you spent out.

You recognise all of its faults - that you blithely accept - but rarely the virtues. But those virtues become harder and harder to see as time moves on.

The number of little things that niggle increase year on year.

It invites you into its arms, yet leaves you unable to see it's wares.

It can ignore what you want and like; changing the way they look, wearing red when you hate it, changing their given name to something they think will further their future development.

It can leave you stranded in another city, with no means of transport home, just because the TV companies asked for an appearance.

It can move away to another town or city without a thought as to how you will cope or keep the relationship alive.

The lure of money and power is often too much and you just cannot compete.

There are times you sense it wouldn’t miss you if you wasn't there, such is the myriad of others courting attention, offering riches that you just cannot match.

Over time you realise that it is something that actually bears little resemblance to what you first started a relationship with in the first place. 

Your devotional manner masks the bloated garish mess it has become.

It's ego has got bigger, interest in it has widened.

 

You share it with others who increasingly argue that they love it more, that they are more special, that they deserve more attention, that they deserve to be treated better.

It is a relationship played out in front of a feverish media, all looking to exploit any minor connection to make up a story, to try and break the relationship or any party involved. Your resolve remains strong.

It is a relationship played out against a backdrop of social media bullying, banter from people you have never met and never will do and a large yellow rolling banner telling you the latest exclusive news about your love.

The physical and emotional blows increase in severity. One kick in the balls follows another. But still you are there, unable to walk away.

It tells you that you are great, that you are important and valued, yet finds increasingly expensive ways to test you.

Drink makes it easier. It makes the day pass quicker, makes the state of play look better. But that isn't the answer.

And still you suffer painful pangs for the things you held dear - most now obliterated, never to return.

That which first attracted you in the first place.

Now just distant memories or at best fleeting moments.

EPPP - If it ain't broke don't break it!

 

 

Back in July 2012, the Premier League launched EPPP (Elite Player Performance Plan) a structured plan to supposedly raise standards in youth development. The six fundamental principles that were highlighted as key to the success of the EPPP were:

 

- Increase the number and quality of home grown players gaining professional contracts in the clubs and playing first team football at the highest level

 

- Create more time for players to play and be coached

 

- Improve coaching provision

 

- Implement a system of effective measurement and quality assurance

 

- Positively influence strategic investment into the Academy System demonstrating value for money

 

- Seek to implement significant gains in every aspect of player development

 

The previous system for determining compensation for players was reviewed with the Football League, along with the restrictions on player recruitment. This now gives clubs with higher graded academies free reign on other clubs' young talent and compensation schemes with much reduced, fixed fees replaced tribunals; meaning that those clubs losing players were likely to be much worse off.

 

In order to force through the proposals the Premier league forcibly coerced the football league clubs down a route many didn't want to pursue, under the threat of withdrawal of some of their TV money. Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parrish described it as:

 

"A brazen attempt by the Premier League's wealthy elite to cherry pick the best youngsters from the Football League clubs."

 

Yet Premier League clubs are now starting to see EPPP as having a potentially detrimental impact on their clubs as well. Jeremy Peace chairman of West Bromwich Albion said recently;

 

“The way it is for us in the short term isn’t working. And I’m not convinced it’ll work medium term. The way it’s structured these lads are going to go to the big clubs - that’s the seduction. Why are we spending £2.5 million (on infrastructure improvements and a similar amount each year in running costs) to be another club’s academy?" 

 

"We’ve invested in the infrastructure and we’ll see what happens over the next year. But from what we’re seeing so far it’s very disappointing".

 

“We’ve brought in a whole load of staff, all these facilities and then a club can come along with £200k and say ‘here you go, thank you very much".

 

Free movement amongst Category 1 clubs with a derisory compensation scheme, progressively getting worse the lower down the grading scale. Where is the benefit, for anyone outside the powerful ten or so teams, free of the threat of relegation, the powerhouses of the Premier League?

 

Some clubs have given up on their academies all together - Wycombe and Yeovil Town being two of the higher profile examples. Others have weighed up a decision with a significant number of pros and cons. A decision regarding which category to apply for was not a simple task.

 

Part of the process was to re-categorise Academies from one to four; one being the highest standard. Now, one year on, clubs have found out the results of the independent audit programme which saw Double Pass, a Belgian company, assess all academies against 10 Key Performance Indicators that assessed how each club scored against the criteria for their chosen grade. Pleasingly United's Academy has officially been categorised by the Professional Game Board (PGB) as a Category Two Academy under the new youth development system. A positive news story on the face of it.

 

Despite the success of the Blades' academy down the years the club admitted that it "had some work to do" to improve and meet the necessary criteria of a Category Two Academy. This involved investing heavily in coaching staff across all age groups.

 

The benefits of this investment are clear; guaranteeing a prestigious fixtures programme against the best teams in the area, added financial protection against losing players to predatory clubs and a seal of approval from an independent organisation that says the club delivers a high quality programme. That could be the key to attracting the right players in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

 

But this is where the EPPP plan actually contradicts what it is trying to achieve. Our academy has not been ranked outside the top 20 in the last 12 years; a stand out achievement for a club that has only had one season in the Premier League in that time.  Academy manager Nick Cox also pointed out:

 

"The auditors gave us special praise for our player productivity over the years. The Premier League's scoring system sees us ranked as the eighth best producer of talent in the last three years."

 

Consistently in the Top 20 academies, eighth best producer of talent, it is hardly broke, so why fix it? Or in this case, break it. With the success that United has had, investing heavily in youth development, producing two full England internationals and numerous age group internationals in that time, it seems a ridiculous scenario that they have chosen not to apply for Category 1 status. Whilst I don't disagree with the need to improve, surely that should be as much about raising standards of the many academies not the few.

 

Cox said that:

 

"Category One does not fit with the strategy of the club. Chasing Category One status would have been to massage our own ego rather than a common sense decision……Many of the benefits of a higher category do not fit with what we are trying to achieve, for example it would have allowed us to scout nationally from the age of 12 when what we really want is for our Academy to be developers of the best local players as a priority."

 

It is easy to read between the lines and see a financial cost as one of the major factors. A £2.3m annual budget is a considerable amount for a club outside of the Premier League without a benefactor, TV money/parachute payments and on annual turnover of less than £10m.

 

Category 1 status is about throwing money and resources at a perceived problem and we are all aware of examples where that has not worked well in football. Category 1 is not about player development or playing first team football at the highest level, it is certainly not about value for money. It is about creating a barrier to entry, for those clubs outside of the elite. Regardless of the initiative, investment and credibility previously demonstrated in player development, no cash and you are not in.

 

Club representatives have spoken of the need to recruit, develop and nurture the best young talent in the region, with the ultimate aim of continuing to graduate our youngsters into our first-team squad at Bramall Lane in the years ahead. In reality we all know that will subsequently mean player sales, to allow further investment in young talent. That is, unless a Premier league return can be achieved.

 

Our reputation for player development will hold the club in good stead and the salutary tale of Jordan Slew, whose career has stalled after leaving United after making just 11 first team appearances, may encourage a longer term commitment from academy graduates. Staying at Bramall Lane has had clear longer term benefits for Matt Lowton.

 

When, not if, player such as George Long and Harry Maguire move on they will have tremendous playing experience under their belts, that may not have been gained with premature moves to a higher level. Behind them their fellow graduates, such as Elliott Whitehouse and Callum McFadzean, will be forging similar careers and the next generation will be establishing themselves - see (England U17 goalkeeper) George Willis and (Italy Under 18 striker - from Chesterfield) Diego De Girolamo amongst others.

 

Another key factor could be the capture of the aforementioned Cox, who oversaw the graduation to first team football of 52 players in 12 years at Watford. He clearly has a keen eye. His arrival at Bramall Lane was greeted with congratulatory tweets from Watford fans I know, saying what a great capture he will be. Let's hope so.

 

United might survive the EPPP era better than most. Credit for that must go to Kevin McCabe who invested heavily in tremendous facilities at Shirecliffe at a time when few other clubs were following suit. This has given United a significant base to launch the careers of several promising starlets over the last few years. Encouraging the next batch to see Bramall Lane as a place to develop and grow as a player will be the key. Promotion to the Championship will also help.

 

But let's not pretend EPPP that this is helping arrest the slide of age group national teams in international competition so clearly demonstrated this summer. Let's not pretend that this is to benefit the national team - since when do the Premier League clubs care about that? This is about clubs stockpiling players that will no doubt end up back at their original clubs on loan, or on the scrapheap at 19 and 20; when chances are so few and far between and their development is stunted through a lack of first team football.

 

In some ways that may work in United's favour and also that of other Championship and League One clubs. If that happens, the best will still move to Premier League clubs and hopefully move on to international recognition. The wiser members of the remaining group will maybe resist the lure of sitting in the stands and develop their careers in surroundings and with coaches who have developed so many talented players to date.

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. 



EPPP - No Profit for Young Men

So on Friday another young and talented Blade left the club and was thus the cue for much gnashing of teeth, shaking of heads and barely hidden frustration at how it has happened again.

 
Ask any Blades fan and they will tell you that Matt Lowton is the latest example of the club selling off its prized asses, going way back to the late 60's and Mick Jones leaving for Leeds. A text from my Dad on Friday night only just fell short of listing them all but included the line;

"We are just an academy supply line for other clubs, it pisses me off!" 

Yet the modern day reality is that this situation will only get worse and the rewards from doing it will only diminish.

 

Again, whenever these sales occur, phrases like "lack of ambition" are bandied around and the board and Chairman are targeted for some stick. There is a belief that we are the only club operating in this way, yet if clubs such as Arsenal cannot hold on to their best players, what chance a League One club? Because, regardless of size, crowds, history, that is what we are. Yes, Tottenham held on to Luka Modric when everything pointed to him leaving for Chelsea or elsewhere, but a strong financial position and the possibility of success and trophies helps.  

 

And when a Premier League team come a knocking you either accept a price or keep an unhappy player. We all know the one at work, who is desperate to leave but for whatever reason can't. Whinging, whining, dragging everyone else down. Should we expect it to be any different at a football club? Especially when the aforememtioned employee was a key to the club's recent relative success and reportedly expressed a desire to play at a higher level.

Whilst there are clear financial benefits to the club from selling Lowton, the move doesn't massively help with the most pressing financial issue (assuming we are not facing cash flow issues) and that is the wage cap we are struggling to meet. I cannot believe that Lowton, who only broke into the team 18 months ago, is a high earner and so his saving is going to be small beer given the savings required. It is not as if the income from the sale hits top line turnover. Instead it is recognised as a profit on player registrations below operating profit, or in our case operating loss. £12.9m of loss in the 12 months to 2011 in case you were wondering. 

So what it does give is help in managing the books. Too few clubs operate in a sustainable manner and despite pledges from Kevin McCabe that this is his aim for United, I think he is finding it a much longer road than he anticipated. Trevor Birch, a man brought in on the equivalent of a high League One player's salary to manage this transition, lasted 18 months and departed with a £0.5m pay off for achieving very little. Certainly another season of third tier football will not accelerate that transition

Other sales are bound to follow. There is a need to reduce the wage bill and senior players may be offered for low fees to try and negate the deterrent that their wages generate. That will help with the salary cap. The younger players offer little savings in wages but generate pure profit and help plug the gap between costs and income. But how much longer can clubs guarantee that the gap will be plugged in this way?

Will the introduction of the Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP) mean that the next generation of players such as Kyle Naughton, Kyle Walker, Jordan Slew and Lowton are gone before they make their first team debuts? Before they can make their names? Before they can generate anything between £10-£15m of transfer fees? The imposition of EPPP on the Football League, was an act of sporting coercion and blackmail that only the current machinations of the SFA and SPL can possibly emulate or outdo.

 

The blackmail arising from the Premier League threat to withold the £5m that it is due to pay the clubs of the Football League to help cover the cost of funding youth development until it voted in favour of the decision. This now remains in place for four years, but the ultimate pricepaid in return is much more.

The geographical limitations which prevented clubs from signing players from a radius greater than ninety minutes’ journey from their own ground are removed; creating a “free” market in which clubs take players on from anywhere. Alongside this the amount of money that they will have to pay in compensation has been drastically cut and is now determined by a fixed tariff card.

 

Compensation  levels are set dependent on how long the player has been at the selling club. For example, the fee is fixed at £3,000-per-year for a player's development from nine to 11-years-old. The fee from 12 to 16 is dependent on a club's academy status and range from £12,500 to £40,000.

Academies apply for a status based on criteria including financial investment in the academy. The status levels are from 1 to 4, with 1 being the highest. The academies are then audited by an independent body who will set the status for each club. The financial impact both in terms of running costs and funding is not insubstantial, the funding gap is £300,000 between Category One and  Category Two status and £270,000 between  Category Two and Category Three.

 

You would assume given the infrastructure and success of the academy at Shirecliffe that United have a high ranking status. Yet the reality is that it will probably be just Premier League clubs and a handful of Championship clubs that will go for Level 1. I assume United will be one of few teams outside of the Championship to apply for Level 2 status. It would be interesting to know what United applied for, as far as I can see it is something the club has never made public. Neither has the club made public how they voted on accepting EPPP, but with such a well developed, well-run and successful academy I can only hope that we took a principled stand, however futile. 

So what does this all mean for a club like United? Well, it is more than likely that clubs will scout younger players much more aggressively than previously. The fees for acquiring players in their mid-teens will be rarely above £100,000 and thus represent a minor gamble for clubs. The fear has to be that this leads to stockpiling - why not recruit 10 or 15 and see who make the grade and it will cost less up front than a Tom Taiwo or a John Bostock have cost Chelsea and Spurs in the past.

The Premier League argues the add-on amounts the selling club will receive if the player is a success at his new club will ensure it is a fair system. That is a fair point, for every Kyle Walker at United there has been a Lee Morris (£4m to Derby County) or a Wayne Quinn. Granted these moved later in their careers when established in the first team, however they highlight the gamble in investing heavily in young talent.

The danger is, with a focus on the elite,  how many players will actually trigger the add-on payments? A player is picked up for peanuts, doesn't make the breakthrough and left for the smaller clubs to pick back up, probably having not developed as well as they might have in the care of their original club. So yes they may find their way back to United and other non-Premier League clubs, but are "damaged goods" rather than how they might have develop

 

With the pick of the next generation of Blades stars likely to be plucked from Shirecliffe, long before they reach the Bramall Lane turf, and with little financial benefit to the club, it will be interesting to see how United manage the academy and their player relationships going forward. It will be as much about focusing on pastoral care for the player and closer communication and relationships with families and agents as purefootball development. Assuring them that the player's best interests are served staying with United.

The belief that "United always sell their best young players" is  something that will probably never go away as I can only see it becoming a more frequent occurrence but with much smaller rewards from doing it. For now, when the opportunity arises, with the club in the financial position it is in and in the league it is in, I can only see them selling. The sale may be unpalatable, the valuation on the player may be unpalatable, but it will be one of the few opportunities a smaller club has to realise profit on a player sale. This profit is a financial boost that makes a significant difference to both a club's solvency and profitability, soon that income stream will become a trickle.
 

It would be fascinating to hear the club's view on this, although little has been said since the announcement, apart from Academy boss John Pemberton expressing his disappointment about the position the club finds itself in regarding EPPP on a local radio phone-in. So here is an open invite to those in senior positions at Bramall Lane. Tell us how the club anticipate dealing with the imposition of the EPPP, what it means for our academy and the impact it will have on the club's finances going forward. I will be happy to post the results of any interview on here.

Interview with Brian Deane - Part 2 (Making a Name and Switching Uniteds)

As we left Brian's story in Part 1, United were pushing for a second successive promotion and a return to the top flight for the first time in 14 years. It all came down to the final game of the season, where a win at Leicester would secure promotion and, depending on the Leeds result, possibly the title. The Blades won 5-2, with Brian scoring.

 

What are your memories of 5th May 1990? When I interviewed Tony Agana, he spoke about this incredible belief he had and felt that the team had that day as well, would you agree with that?

I think we knew we had done the hard work over the season. The likes of Newcastle, Sunderland had more experience and what was perceived to be a better squad. We had taken a couple of beatings that season, 4-0 by Leeds, 5-0 by West Ham, but looking back, if we had lost those games 1-0 we would have been champions. We knew that we were up there on merit, as good as anybody else those two results aside.

It’s interesting that in the excitement of promotion and Wednesday’s relegation, the small margin by which we lost the title to Leeds is kind of forgotten about.

Yes and we were as good as Leeds!

Your goal that day, where the ball came back off post, goalkeeper, rebounded off defenders and was eventually slammed home was recently described to me as an era defining goal. Not the classiest of goals, quite scruffy in fact, but what it meant and the way you sank to your knees in celebration make it stand out.

It’s my over-riding memory of the day. It was a really weird day, the fans all in fancy dress; it was like a festival of football. It was almost like the fans were saying, ‘Look guys, whatever happens, happens. We have had a fantastic time and thanks for everything that you’ve done for us this season; it has been a great ride. Whatever will be, will be.’

 

Playing in the top division of English football it must have been a dream come true walking out at Bramall Lane v Liverpool, especially after the setback as a young lad?

It was almost like a natural progression. We had an unshakeable belief that we could match anybody out there. We went out and Trace broke his cheekbone, but I think we didn’t disgrace ourselves. We were hungry for it.

 

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.

The 3-2 victory over Forest on 22nd December 1991, which you scored in, was a catalyst for a complete change around in form and some amazing results given what had gone before. To finish 13th - 12 points clear of relegation was a fantastic performance.

Going back to Liverpool, the goal against them past Bruce Grobbelaar the following season, is that your favourite Blades goal?

I think that, along with the goal at Leicester on promotion day are my favourites. I think people have this notion of me being just somebody who was big and tall and even now, some people I meet, they don’t understand (maybe they’ve never seen me play) how I played. They don’t realise that I had a lot of assists in those days. I could go wide and I could cross with either foot, I would set other players up.

 

That goal was a long time before you had David Beckham scoring his goal from the halfway line. I actually robbed the goalie and I’ve seen Stevie Nicol running back towards goal. That’s some skill really to score from there.

Does it gall you that you scored a goal that good and it doesn’t get the television repeats and acclaim that it deserves?

It does actually. Some people know their football and some don’t. If you ask me would I rather have scored that goal or the one that David Beckham scored I would say my goal because I had to beat somebody. It wasn’t just a case of taking a shot from the halfway line, Grobbelaar has come out and I’ve robbed him. As you can see I’ve then rolled it inside, I’ve rolled it back outside, I’ve looked up and I’ve had to do all that in a split second. I’ve then had to judge the flight. I almost didn’t have time to think, I instinctively did it.

I was right behind that on the Kop and the flight of the ball was inch perfect between crossbar and Steve Nicol’s jump on the line.

By then I had got used to not getting the credit I felt that I deserved. You just have to get on with and do what you do. Most of the influential reporters, shall we say, couldn’t be arsed going outside of the M25.

 

How does a Sheffield Derby match rank in terms of an occasion to play in?

I tried to divorce myself from that to be honest and get on with the game. I didn’t really try and take on the additional meaning so much, all I was bothered about was are we going to get three points and am I going to score. It is an occasion for the city really and I left it to the lads who knew what it was like growing up as a fan to enjoy and immerse themselves in it.

What are your memories of Sheffield at Wembley? Was it similar?

I treated it like another game. I didn’t think it should have been at Wembley, it should have been at Old Trafford for the size of crowd. It seemed wrong to have all those fans going down on coaches and having to spend lots of money down in London. It’s nice that people can say that they have had a day out at Wembley, but I feel that it should just be the final at Wembley and that’s it.

You did pick up England caps on the tour of New Zealand and it’s a dream to play for your country, but is it disappointing that it didn’t progress beyond those two caps?

Yes it was, because I don’t think I ever got a chance really. I never got a chance to settle into it and I sometimes saw players coming in to the England squad, players that I had heard so much about, and when I was training and playing against them I was thinking what was all the fuss about. It happens still today, there are players who are playing and I don’t get all the excitement surrounding them. They don’t get me excited, but they still seem to be darlings of the media.

Playing for my country was strange in the sense that it was so far away. For whatever reason, I never really felt as though some people thought that I deserved to play for England, even though I was 23 and I had scored a load of top level goals. It is quite hard to take, but I guess that there are ways, or better ways, to train yourself and your mind for that now, than at that time.  

What a strikeforce

How much do you hold to scoring the first Premier League goal?

It is a massive thing for me. As far as I am concerned I am very proud of that record and I am glad that people can look at me when they say that rather than me having to look at anyone else. I guess that will define me and wherever I go I am remembered as being that person. The day was even more special because I got both goals in beating Manchester United. It was a great day for the club and for me.

 

Did you ask for the move from United, or was it more the club seeing you as a valuable and sellable asset? How close were you to signing for Wednesday?

I went to see them, I spoke to Trevor Francis and the chief executive at the time, but I never really believed it. I thought there was a bit of an agenda to be honest; I couldn’t actually believe that they put a bid in for me knowing how fierce the rivalry was. So I didn’t really take it seriously and that is no disrespect to the club at all. It was just that I didn’t really see how it was going to work.

 

They were a big side at the time and the manager was looking to pair me up with David Hirst which would have been a good combination to be honest.

 

Hirst was also picking up his first England caps around that time.

Yeah, we were always on the periphery, I think we had to work extra hard to get any kind of recognition. Match of the Day, or whatever was always “What’s happening down at Tottenham.” There was the 6-0 victory over Tottenham in the 1992-93 season, we beat Chelsea 5-0, we beat Manchester United....Liverpool, without really being noticed.

 

Was it difficult adjusting to the expectation at Leeds? Was a £3m fee a heavy weight to carry?

It wasn’t at all. Let me clear this up now, it wasn’t anything to do with that. I’m not Lee Chapman and I never have been, yet that is who I was expected to play like. When I went there I found myself not playing with wide players. If you buy a player, a forward, then you’ve got to have an idea of what his strengths are. At that time for me it was all about being in the box quickly, getting past people using my pace. Yet, for a long period of that first season, I just felt as though I was like a wall-ball.

The team were playing lots of intricate football in the midfield area then, all of a sudden, they would lend me the ball, or expect me to get to the far post. That just wasn’t my game. My game was get the ball into me quickly and I fancied myself one v one versus any defender in the country. Yet for that first season my game changed, I found myself getting deeper and deeper, looking and searching for the ball, it just didn’t suit me.

 

I scored on my debut and to all intents and purposes I should have gone on. In each of my seasons I scored on the opening day of the season so it shouldn’t have been any different. It just didn’t feel like the priority of the team was to attack, I suppose. It’s a tough one, but for me the game is about creating chances and scoring goals and that is what a good team should revolve their play around.

Despite that frustrating first season, you are held in high esteem by Leeds fans and that must be a positive?

Yeah, we are talking about the first season and after that it changed a bit for me in that I played in a different position. We played a different type of football and it meant me getting back to what I liked to do and use my assets.  In fact I got Player of the Year in that second season and probably my favourite goal for Leeds was scored on the last day of the season away at Tottenham. I picked the ball up halfway into our half and I ran the length of the pitch and scored. We drew 1-1 and qualified for the UEFA Cup. Things turned round – I had a lot of highs and a few lows at Leeds.

The biggest low was the 1996 League Cup final against Villa. The week before the final we were on the box against Everton. We played a weakened team, but before the game Howard (Wilkinson) came up to me and said; “I haven’t decided on the team yet, it’s up to you whether or not you are going to play in the final”. I got man of the match and scored both goals in a 2-2 draw so I thought I must be playing. Then as the week started I could tell, in fact almost immediately after the game I could tell I wasn’t going to be playing. That was a big disappointment for me and at that point I wanted to leave the club, because I couldn’t really see where it was going.

I tried harder at Leeds than I did at Sheffield United, in terms of trying to fit in. I shouldn’t have done that. I tried to do it in the first season, the second season I did it my way and the third season I tried to be a team player again. Sometimes, when you offer yourself selflessly, you don’t always get what you deserve and that was an example to me. You have to get the balance right.

You were still a young player. This isn’t something you are taught, it’s something that experience teaches you.

Yes and it would have been hard for me to leave Leeds at the time, we had been a Top 5 club and then that third season had been a disaster. So if I left the club, where would I go?

Brian was to leave Leeds at the end of the following season and in the final part of the interview (which you can read here) he talks about two returns to Bramall Lane, his time in Portugal, happy days at Leicester (despite the club being in administration) and the work he is doing now with young players.