The Bohemian
Member
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2012
- Messages
- 525
- Reaction score
- 2,522
It was about 5 minutes into the second half. The Blades had rallied, briefly, following their first half implosion and the Kop was in song. Any chance of recovery rested on an early goal and subsequent momentum building.
The sense of urgency in the stadium was diffusing through players and supporters alike. Even the ball-boys were ‘on it’.
Most in the stadium seemed to have reluctantly accepted to return to the role of supporters and were willing a goal out of The Blades. Even George’s fan club had gone quiet!
When the ball was launched into John Street, just a few rows below where I reside, a swift retrieval was required. Ideally, this would have been a bullet header directed into Hussey’s grasp but, more realistically, a clean catch and throw would have done the trick.
Neither happened. Instead the ball bounced just in front of the line of disabled supporters, beyond flailing arms before eventually settling in an unpopulated section of Row E.
I’m not sure how many one armed supporters were at Bramall Lane last night – I suspect only one - and the ball ended up nestled behind him.
As the roar behind him implored a swift retrieval, he glanced backwards, momentarily, before sinking deeply into his seat. Tempo was lost, the crowd was quietened, the ball lay still.
I really didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. First Tevez, then Chedgate, Simmo’s penalty – the list goes on! Why had the hands of fate landed so many cruel, devastating blows on our beloved club? Were those of demonic persuasion right, after all? Is the club cursed and destined to languish in the dungeons of lower league football forever and eternity? Maybe some form of sacrifice, gifted to the footballing Gods could lift the curse? A platter of RAW (Robson, Adkins, Weir) genitals, perhaps? Or a sounder of parboiled swine?
For a moment I considered the only rational option was to negotiate the terms of our surrender.
But then reality kicked in.
I recall our day in the Premier League sun with great clarity. Yes, we were ultimately cheated by a combination of putrid self-interest and utter incompetence but we also mastered our own destiny. It was our choice to have no adequate cover available when Rob Hulse got injured. It was Warnock’s choice to play Jags at right back in the Wigan decider when he’s been immense all season at centre half.
Likewise, with Ched: we knew he was facing trial by jury and that juries sometimes convict people. It was our choice not to cover the eventuality of a conviction with a plausible replacement in the form of a high quality loan signing.
Even Simmo’s penalty miss: Is it pure fate or good luck that the German’s have a 71% success rate in penalty shoot outs taking place in major tournaments, whilst England’s is 17%? Or is it because they realise how many tournaments are won and lost via penalties and, consequently, practice more?
Our club is mired in the worst period in its long and proud history not because of ill-fortune or evil spirits but because of choices and consequences.
Hiring Robson and entrusting him with the biggest war chest available to any Blades manager since, erm………….probably the war, was a choice. Risking the unproven Blackwell with a huge budget and high quality squad was another choice.
Someone chose to sell Beattie in 2009 and Blackman in 2013, when we were sitting pretty for promotion.
McCabe chose to sack Wilson with only 5 games left and safely in the Play-off places in 2013 and bet everything on the untested Morgs.
Someone chose to sell Maguire in 2014, which destroyed the momentum achieved in the previous season under Clough. Clough in turn chose not (or failed) to sort out a half-decent replacement for Maguire.
Adkins decided to spend a fortune on Hammond and spend the rest of the season trying to convince the supporters of what a great signing he was when all the evidence was to the contrary.
Hindsight is the prophet’s best friend and some of the decisions taken, which ultimately didn’t work out (Adkins being a recent example), were popular with supporters at the time they were made.
Other decisions and their negative consequences (e.g. Beattie, Blackman, Maguire) were far easier to predict. Selling your best players and replacing them with inferior ones (or not at all) has predictable consequences. As does playing your best players out of position or not providing cover for a player going to trial.
Many of these decisions have been taken in the face of the hard financial realities of running a football club. Made even more challenging when it’s a club that has been bleeding millions, year on year, for far too long. For those of us who simply turn up and watch the games it’s infelicitous to castigate the owners for their decisions on how much they are prepared to burn.
However, some decisions, presumably made for short-term gain, have undoubtedly cost the club and its owners far more.
Our club is not “rotten to the core” as some would claim. It remains a fantastic club backed with amazing support and the good intentions of its owners. Sadly, it is has been hobnailed by the lack of a coherent plan and a litany of poor decisions.
The sense of urgency in the stadium was diffusing through players and supporters alike. Even the ball-boys were ‘on it’.
Most in the stadium seemed to have reluctantly accepted to return to the role of supporters and were willing a goal out of The Blades. Even George’s fan club had gone quiet!
When the ball was launched into John Street, just a few rows below where I reside, a swift retrieval was required. Ideally, this would have been a bullet header directed into Hussey’s grasp but, more realistically, a clean catch and throw would have done the trick.
Neither happened. Instead the ball bounced just in front of the line of disabled supporters, beyond flailing arms before eventually settling in an unpopulated section of Row E.
I’m not sure how many one armed supporters were at Bramall Lane last night – I suspect only one - and the ball ended up nestled behind him.
As the roar behind him implored a swift retrieval, he glanced backwards, momentarily, before sinking deeply into his seat. Tempo was lost, the crowd was quietened, the ball lay still.
I really didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. First Tevez, then Chedgate, Simmo’s penalty – the list goes on! Why had the hands of fate landed so many cruel, devastating blows on our beloved club? Were those of demonic persuasion right, after all? Is the club cursed and destined to languish in the dungeons of lower league football forever and eternity? Maybe some form of sacrifice, gifted to the footballing Gods could lift the curse? A platter of RAW (Robson, Adkins, Weir) genitals, perhaps? Or a sounder of parboiled swine?
For a moment I considered the only rational option was to negotiate the terms of our surrender.
But then reality kicked in.
I recall our day in the Premier League sun with great clarity. Yes, we were ultimately cheated by a combination of putrid self-interest and utter incompetence but we also mastered our own destiny. It was our choice to have no adequate cover available when Rob Hulse got injured. It was Warnock’s choice to play Jags at right back in the Wigan decider when he’s been immense all season at centre half.
Likewise, with Ched: we knew he was facing trial by jury and that juries sometimes convict people. It was our choice not to cover the eventuality of a conviction with a plausible replacement in the form of a high quality loan signing.
Even Simmo’s penalty miss: Is it pure fate or good luck that the German’s have a 71% success rate in penalty shoot outs taking place in major tournaments, whilst England’s is 17%? Or is it because they realise how many tournaments are won and lost via penalties and, consequently, practice more?
Our club is mired in the worst period in its long and proud history not because of ill-fortune or evil spirits but because of choices and consequences.
Hiring Robson and entrusting him with the biggest war chest available to any Blades manager since, erm………….probably the war, was a choice. Risking the unproven Blackwell with a huge budget and high quality squad was another choice.
Someone chose to sell Beattie in 2009 and Blackman in 2013, when we were sitting pretty for promotion.
McCabe chose to sack Wilson with only 5 games left and safely in the Play-off places in 2013 and bet everything on the untested Morgs.
Someone chose to sell Maguire in 2014, which destroyed the momentum achieved in the previous season under Clough. Clough in turn chose not (or failed) to sort out a half-decent replacement for Maguire.
Adkins decided to spend a fortune on Hammond and spend the rest of the season trying to convince the supporters of what a great signing he was when all the evidence was to the contrary.
Hindsight is the prophet’s best friend and some of the decisions taken, which ultimately didn’t work out (Adkins being a recent example), were popular with supporters at the time they were made.
Other decisions and their negative consequences (e.g. Beattie, Blackman, Maguire) were far easier to predict. Selling your best players and replacing them with inferior ones (or not at all) has predictable consequences. As does playing your best players out of position or not providing cover for a player going to trial.
Many of these decisions have been taken in the face of the hard financial realities of running a football club. Made even more challenging when it’s a club that has been bleeding millions, year on year, for far too long. For those of us who simply turn up and watch the games it’s infelicitous to castigate the owners for their decisions on how much they are prepared to burn.
However, some decisions, presumably made for short-term gain, have undoubtedly cost the club and its owners far more.
Our club is not “rotten to the core” as some would claim. It remains a fantastic club backed with amazing support and the good intentions of its owners. Sadly, it is has been hobnailed by the lack of a coherent plan and a litany of poor decisions.
