Who Does The Club Roll Out after Currie

[5tannington Blade]

Was intrigued getting to work today and seeing yet another network event being set up with Tony Currie being wheeled out by the club to facilitate a business event at BDBL in April.

I was just wondering what on earth is Sheffield United going to do when this guy finally retires from all PR events? He was clearly a special player and it's a shame my generation (late 20s to 30s) never got to see him play. I do feel like there hasn't been a player anywhere close to his stature at SUFC which makes you wonder who the club will use to push these events in the future.

It also shows the lack of top class players we've been able to see at the Lane over the last 30 years. For someone like myself nearly 30 there hasn't really been anyone that has become a true legend of the Lane in my lifetime. I've been fond of M. Brown, Morgan, Tonge, N'Dlovu, Devlin, Maguire, Sharp, Jags but none have stayed long enough or achieved enough to be a big ambassador for the club. In all honesty the only person that has any kind of ora about them is Warnock and he's probably the same age as Currie!

Seriously hope we have another legend brewing in the years to come !

 

[BigBed]

Guna be Brooks surely.

 

[KoppedOff]

Jessica Ennis

 

[BerksBlade]

It's a bit like Preston and Tom Finney. He was "Mr Preston" and they'll probably never have another ambassador of the same stature.
Right now I'd nominate Deano as the man to take over. But maybe in 10 years we'll have "the Fleck years" or "the Brooks years" to look back on!

 

[AlanWrightsShinyHead]

Kevin Gage

 

[Maidenhead]

It's a bit like Preston and Tom Finney. He was "Mr Preston" and they'll probably never have another ambassador of the same stature.
Right now I'd nominate Deano as the man to take over. But maybe in 10 years we'll have "the Fleck years" or "the Brooks years" to look back on!

Agree about Deano.

He was a great player for us although obviously not in TC's class but he's a lovely bloke and would make a great club ambassador

 

[JJ Sefton]

Like El Cid, we'll just prop his body on a horse.

 

[Harry's Game]

Diego Di Geronimo

 

[wizadry]

Dane Whitehouse was a player who I truly admired growing up and someone who I’m pretty sure deserves some recognition from our club.

Whether or not he’s capable of a role similar to TC is another question completely, something I obviously wouldn’t know and only the man himself could answer.

 

[Cheets]

Deano the obvious candidate for me.

 

[Speedracer]

Yep agree with others above, Deano is the obvious one, also a really nice guy.

 

[Cerberus Blade]

Was intrigued getting to work today and seeing yet another network event being set up with Tony Currie being wheeled out by the club to facilitate a business event at BDBL in April.

I was just wondering what on earth is Sheffield United going to do when this guy finally retires from all PR events? He was clearly a special player and it's a shame my generation (late 20s to 30s) never got to see him play. I do feel like there hasn't been a player anywhere close to his stature at SUFC which makes you wonder who the club will use to push these events in the future.

It also shows the lack of top class players we've been able to see at the Lane over the last 30 years. For someone like myself nearly 30 there hasn't really been anyone that has become a true legend of the Lane in my lifetime. I've been fond of M. Brown, Morgan, Tonge, N'Dlovu, Devlin, Maguire, Sharp, Jags but none have stayed long enough or achieved enough to be a big ambassador for the club. In all honesty the only person that has any kind of ora about them is Warnock and he's probably the same age as Currie!

Seriously hope we have another legend brewing in the years to come !

The reason is not to do with the players per se, but with the way the game has changed since then. There are still players who would be “legends” if they stayed at one club long enough. It was an era when there was loyalty from club to player and player to club. And to and from managers also.

It was common in the 60’s and the early 70’s for a player to devote his entire career (almost) to one club. Managers had tenures of 10/15/20 years or so at one club. Players racked up hundreds of games for the same club.

Money changed all that.

 

[5tannington Blade]

The reason is not to do with the players per se, but with the way the game has changed since then. There are still players who would be “legends” if they stayed at one club long enough. It was an era when there was loyalty from club to player and player to club. And to and from managers also.

It was common in the 60’s and the early 70’s for a player to devote his entire career (almost) to one club. Managers had tenures of 10/15/20 years or so at one club. Players racked up hundreds of games for the same club.

Money changed all that.

I agree what you are saying to an extent, but if you look at how many times the likes of Jags and Morgs played for us, it’s not much different to Currie (about 60 apps less i think for both). You are right though in that it’s getting worse year on year due to money thats available

 

[DifferentClass]

Deano oreyt... Dean Hammond.

 

[Kev Gee]

It will probably be Deane & Agana....

(or Jags, Walker or Maguire talking about their exploits for England) even though they left us well before they even pulled on the jersey....

 

[Cerberus Blade]

I agree what you are saying to an extent, but if you look at how many times the likes of Jags and Morgs played for us, it’s not much different to Currie (about 60 apps less i think for both). You are right though in that it’s getting worse year on year due to money thats available

I think 60 appearances is quite a big difference actually, but anyhow, that's not really the main point. The main point is about loyalty to the club. And although TC was sold to the unspeakable up the road, he's always been welcomed back to the club, like his testimonial for example, which attracted a bigger crowd than most league matches. And of course, he's returned to work for the club since finishing playing. So, he's well and truly part of the furniture down there and that's the point I'm making.

Another ex-Blade from the TC era, Alan Birchenall, joined Leicester in the early 1970's and was there as a player for about 6 years, in terms of the number of appearances he put in, it was less than 200, but has been an ambassador for them for as long as I can remember. He is a Leicester legend.

It's really about a long-term association with the club, although it's a fact that pre the 1970's it was common to see players spend most of their careers with one club.

Tom Finney - "The Preston Plumber" as he was known. Played for Preston for 14 years notching up over 400 appearances. A Preston legend.

Terry Paine - Played for Southampton for 18 years, notching up over 800 appearances. A Southampton legend.

I'm sure there are many more - but not so many in recent years, because things began to change rapidly in the 1970's. One of the catalysts to this was the case of George Eastham, back in the 1960's, who was playing for Newcastle United at the time, or rather, he wasn't. He went on strike because he wanted to move from the club, but the restrictive nature of footballer's employment contracts back then prevented him and others from doing so. Back then a club held the player's registration and could refuse to release it, so a player was bound to that club if the club so wished. Eastham's case brought about a change in the law, making it easier, and possible, for players to move clubs.

In the same decade, the maximum wage for footballers was lifted. And most on here will remember the Bosman ruling in 1995 which allowed players to move without a transfer fee. Changes in the laws of the game then played a significant part in allowing players to move more freely between clubs from the mid 1960's onwards.

But "allowing" something and positively encouraging it are two different things. And the flood of money that has deluged the top layers of the English game have created a situation where it is in every footballer's interest to either play at the very top level with the biggest of clubs and earn a fortune, or, get as many big money moves in as they can, within what is, after all, a very short career.

Unfortunately for clubs like ours, we don't eat at the top table. We used to, but we don't any more. So, even when we do get back to the Premiership, we'll be a minnow of a club, financially, compared to half a dozen or so clubs at the top of that particular food chain. Unless, of course, we attract the level of investment that Man City have done - which I fancy is rather unlikely.

So, we'll remain one of many clubs that exist to sell their best players on, at a profit, to bigger clubs. That doesn't lend itself to developing "legends" - but that's probably why the term is used so cheaply these-days, because there are very few true legends around.

In my time I'd pick several from the 1970's United team, I'd add Keith Edwards from the 1980's, Brian Deane from the 1990's and...I'm struggling to think now of any more.

 

[ShockingBadBuy]

Was intrigued getting to work today and seeing yet another network event being set up with Tony Currie being wheeled out by the club to facilitate a business event at BDBL in April.

I was just wondering what on earth is Sheffield United going to do when this guy finally retires from all PR events? He was clearly a special player and it's a shame my generation (late 20s to 30s) never got to see him play. I do feel like there hasn't been a player anywhere close to his stature at SUFC which makes you wonder who the club will use to push these events in the future.

It also shows the lack of top class players we've been able to see at the Lane over the last 30 years. For someone like myself nearly 30 there hasn't really been anyone that has become a true legend of the Lane in my lifetime. I've been fond of M. Brown, Morgan, Tonge, N'Dlovu, Devlin, Maguire, Sharp, Jags but none have stayed long enough or achieved enough to be a big ambassador for the club. In all honesty the only person that has any kind of ora about them is Warnock and he's probably the same age as Currie!

Seriously hope we have another legend brewing in the years to come !

 

[derfblade.3]

 

[Kozzy_is_my_Dad]

Ched.

 

[sufcboy95]

Morgs or maybe Jags when he hangs up his boots.

 

[8lade]

Some Naan bread?

 

[Bladey McBladeface]

Billy Sharp?

 

[Houston_Blade]

Players don’t need the cash nowadays like TC’s generation did. It would have to be someone from the Basset era or before as the rest of them are minted and don’t need the hassle or cash.

 

[Whiston Blade]

I don’t care as long as they name a fucking stand after him BEFORE he dies.

 

[Ricky]

I don’t care as long as they name a fucking stand after him BEFORE he dies.

Ajax didn't even bother to do that for Johan Cruyff! They waited until he died. Piss poor.

 

[Rodley]

Monteh

 

[CarlMcBlade]

Morgs or maybe Jags when he hangs up his boots.

What the Everton legend Jags. He’s spent 10 years there.

 

[alcoblade]

Was intrigued getting to work today and seeing yet another network event being set up with Tony Currie being wheeled out by the club to facilitate a business event at BDBL in April.

I was just wondering what on earth is Sheffield United going to do when this guy finally retires from all PR events? He was clearly a special player and it's a shame my generation (late 20s to 30s) never got to see him play. I do feel like there hasn't been a player anywhere close to his stature at SUFC which makes you wonder who the club will use to push these events in the future.

It also shows the lack of top class players we've been able to see at the Lane over the last 30 years. For someone like myself nearly 30 there hasn't really been anyone that has become a true legend of the Lane in my lifetime. I've been fond of M. Brown, Morgan, Tonge, N'Dlovu, Devlin, Maguire, Sharp, Jags but none have stayed long enough or achieved enough to be a big ambassador for the club. In all honesty the only person that has any kind of ora about them is Warnock and he's probably the same age as Currie!

Seriously hope we have another legend brewing in the years to come !

The signing of Brian Deane almost single handedly propelled us from a third division to a premier league club. I think he did more for our fortunes, without being quite so historically “sexy”, than Currie did.

That said, I’ve ever bean out for a “Brian”after a night in the lash.

 

[ourbob]

Dane Whitehouse.

He turned the Leeds money down to stop loyal to the mighty blades.

 

[1066blade]

Was intrigued getting to work today and seeing yet another network event being set up with Tony Currie being wheeled out by the club to facilitate a business event at BDBL in April.

I was just wondering what on earth is Sheffield United going to do when this guy finally retires from all PR events? He was clearly a special player and it's a shame my generation (late 20s to 30s) never got to see him play. I do feel like there hasn't been a player anywhere close to his stature at SUFC which makes you wonder who the club will use to push these events in the future.

It also shows the lack of top class players we've been able to see at the Lane over the last 30 years. For someone like myself nearly 30 there hasn't really been anyone that has become a true legend of the Lane in my lifetime. I've been fond of M. Brown, Morgan, Tonge, N'Dlovu, Devlin, Maguire, Sharp, Jags but none have stayed long enough or achieved enough to be a big ambassador for the club. In all honesty the only person that has any kind of ora about them is Warnock and he's probably the same age as Currie!

Seriously hope we have another legend brewing in the years to come !

Trouble is, we keep selling anybody who could evolve into a TC type of player,,we never keep any quality player long enough for them to become legends.