I seem to remember Tony Pritchett always being one to belittle United in a roundabout way. He never bigged us up that’s for sure.
Make no mistake , the Star always has , and always will be Sheffield Wednesday biased. This goes back way before my time & I've been following the Blades for 55 years. It will never change , until the paper actually ceases to exist. The Pigs have always been regarded by them as being the top dogs , and any success by us has generally been reported with resentment. Who can forget the "Save our Owls " campaign?
Agreed, 'FF'.
And, whatever youngsters like Danny may protest now, 'blade53', and irrespective of what the current landscape may or may not be, historically there have been periods of bias.
I wrote to Tony Pritchett in October 1991, to query the balance of The Star's coverage at a time when both clubs were in the top flight. I still have TP's reply dated 23 October, and I quote:
"Thank you for your letter and for the keen interest you clearly take in the Star sports coverage.
Your note arrived after a week's holiday I had taken but the point is well taken. Sadly, as a United correspondent, I have to face the fact that Wednesday are the big news in Sheffield.
We have, I must admit, a parallel situation to Manchester where one club will usually dominate because it has much the greater following and generates the better football news copy.
It is an uphill fight but I promise you that I have learned, down the years, that it is swings and roundabouts, and, in turn, each gets prominence.
Until then, I will battle on with inadequate news and I hope you will maintain your enthusiasm.
Very best wishes..."
A quite extraordinary comparison to Manchester had it come from anyone, let alone United's own correspondent.
Then again, when we lost the excellent Peter Howard, we were given Pritchett after he had had many years building a certain allegiance reporting on Wednesday (of course, we know that Forest were his first love).