BladesPod: Reliving the 1997/98 season

[Beans]

Morning all,

Was originally planning to do this during the international break, but now seems like as good a time as any... Roygbiv and I take a very deep dive into the 1997/98 season, in what turned into a mammoth podcast that will hopefully fill a bit of your time...

I wanted to do this season as it was a particularly wild one in United's modern history - it was also the first season I can remember being fully hooked on football, and obsessively following every game, so it holds some special personal memories as well as the wider-reaching ones. So so much happened in this one season: Nigel Spackman, Deane/Fjortoft being sold, Dane Whitehouse's injury, the FA Cup run and that amazing night at Bramall Lane with Alan Kelly's heroics, Vas Borbokis, Wayne Quinn, Marcelo, Dean Saunders's cheeky throw-in goal... Spackman quitting, Mike McDonald being hounded out, McCabe becoming chairman... Hamilton Ricard, Georgi Kinkladze, Paul Gascoigne, a fan attacking the linesman at Portsmouth, and a playoff semi-final against Sunderland.

Lots to talk about! I've split it into 5 parts, timestamped below, if you entirely-justifiably would like to listen to it in chunks. I had a great time researching, revisiting and recording this, and I hope you enjoy it too.

Part 1: Summer of 1997 - Kendall leaves, Spackman takes over
Part 2 (13:44): A great start to the season
Part 3 (47:04): Deane/Fjortoft sold, and the fallout
Part 4 (1:12:30): THAT cup quarter-final, Alan Kelly the hero on St Patrick's Day
Part 5: (1:37:25): The end of the season, and the playoff semi-final



Apple Podcasts: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/bladespod/id1309198119?mt=2

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6wLq5qaiQ123cLHHMnTixJ

 

[LoughboroBlade]

Cheers both, I can already tell this is going to be brilliant. So much to discuss.

 

[Revolution]

Thank you thank you.

I’m sick to the back teeth of Coronavirus specials and this is just the tonic.

I’ve always said you could write a good book about that season: so much good material! Looking forward to this.

 

[I should coco]

Roygbiv you were a bit right about penalties under Basset, but you've forgotten Duff.

100% record but sadly broke his leg in 89 (Basset's early reign).

In early 98 no bugger was on the internet apart from Tim Berners-Lee, hence the lack of reaction.
FWIW ISC Towers got our first (dial up) connection in 1999 and we were fairly early adopters.

Great pod though, despite my two minor bits of pedantry.

 

[S64 Blade]

My maiden season as a Blade. My first ever game, a 0-0 versus Birmingham, set me up nicely for the next 20 years of excitement, followed by disappointment.

The season itself too, was a good introduction for the pre-Wilder years - heartache, player sales and the occasional high.

Going to give this a listen right now and relive that first season watching the Blades.

 

[Pollingtonblade]

Morning all,

Was originally planning to do this during the international break, but now seems like as good a time as any... Roygbiv and I take a very deep dive into the 1997/98 season, in what turned into a mammoth podcast that will hopefully fill a bit of your time...

I wanted to do this season as it was a particularly wild one in United's modern history - it was also the first season I can remember being fully hooked on football, and obsessively following every game, so it holds some special personal memories as well as the wider-reaching ones. So so much happened in this one season: Nigel Spackman, Deane/Fjortoft being sold, Dane Whitehouse's injury, the FA Cup run and that amazing night at Bramall Lane with Alan Kelly's heroics, Vas Borbokis, Wayne Quinn, Marcelo, Dean Saunders's cheeky throw-in goal... Spackman quitting, Mike McDonald being hounded out, McCabe becoming chairman... Hamilton Ricard, Georgi Kinkladze, Paul Gascoigne, a fan attacking the linesman at Portsmouth, and a playoff semi-final against Sunderland.

Lots to talk about! I've split it into 5 parts, timestamped below, if you entirely-justifiably would like to listen to it in chunks. I had a great time researching, revisiting and recording this, and I hope you enjoy it too.

Part 1: Summer of 1997 - Kendall leaves, Spackman takes over
Part 2 (13:44): A great start to the season
Part 3 (47:04): Deane/Fjortoft sold, and the fallout
Part 4 (1:12:30): THAT cup quarter-final, Alan Kelly the hero on St Patrick's Day
Part 5: (1:37:25): The end of the season, and the playoff semi-final



Apple Podcasts: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/bladespod/id1309198119?mt=2

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6wLq5qaiQ123cLHHMnTixJ

Absolutely fantastic idea, maybe some older blades could do some from earlier years but if you are going to do more the obvious ones are 02/03, 05/06 and 11/12

maybe you could skim over pointless seasons as a group like 01/02 which was the most mundane season ever.

 

[I should coco]

You are both spot on about Petr Katchuro; '
The mincer from Minsk'

Very sad that Saunders' goal wouldn't have stood today, as it was probably the cleverest goal I've ever seen in the flesh.

A good season to pick and there is an excellent chemistry between you both, so please keep up the good work.

 

[JohnDenver]

Two things...

1, Nicky Marker was tremendous in his award winning year.

2, And have neither of Beans or Roygbiv ever been to Beauchief?

 

[Selly]

Morning all,

Was originally planning to do this during the international break, but now seems like as good a time as any... Roygbiv and I take a very deep dive into the 1997/98 season, in what turned into a mammoth podcast that will hopefully fill a bit of your time...

I wanted to do this season as it was a particularly wild one in United's modern history - it was also the first season I can remember being fully hooked on football, and obsessively following every game, so it holds some special personal memories as well as the wider-reaching ones. So so much happened in this one season: Nigel Spackman, Deane/Fjortoft being sold, Dane Whitehouse's injury, the FA Cup run and that amazing night at Bramall Lane with Alan Kelly's heroics, Vas Borbokis, Wayne Quinn, Marcelo, Dean Saunders's cheeky throw-in goal... Spackman quitting, Mike McDonald being hounded out, McCabe becoming chairman... Hamilton Ricard, Georgi Kinkladze, Paul Gascoigne, a fan attacking the linesman at Portsmouth, and a playoff semi-final against Sunderland.

Lots to talk about! I've split it into 5 parts, timestamped below, if you entirely-justifiably would like to listen to it in chunks. I had a great time researching, revisiting and recording this, and I hope you enjoy it too.

Part 1: Summer of 1997 - Kendall leaves, Spackman takes over
Part 2 (13:44): A great start to the season
Part 3 (47:04): Deane/Fjortoft sold, and the fallout
Part 4 (1:12:30): THAT cup quarter-final, Alan Kelly the hero on St Patrick's Day
Part 5: (1:37:25): The end of the season, and the playoff semi-final



Apple Podcasts: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/bladespod/id1309198119?mt=2

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6wLq5qaiQ123cLHHMnTixJ

Looking forward to this - at the time this was hands down one of my favourite seasons - even if it did tail off towards the end.

Before the CWAK revolution, that team up to Port Vale away, was the most enjoyable Utd team to watch I have seen.

 

[LoughboroBlade]

Great listen that. A few random thoughts on this:

• Spackman’s contract: he was announced as permanent manager early in the season, but am I right in thinking he was kept on a monthly contract?
• The point by Roygbiv on the transfer habits of the club, buying right up to the point of the fire sale, is one that definitely is worth unpicking – the whole thing was utterly bizarre. It was basically like a Harry Redknapp transfer policy confined to a single season – usually the repercussions of financially buying way over what you could afford was seen a season or two after a Redknapp spell, yet this sort of insanity was confined into just one.
• I believe Mitch Ward had been pencilled in to play LWB before injury kept him out of the Sunderland game
• Paying £1m for just a 1-year deal for Deane remains utterly bizarre
• I might be completely misremembering things on the old forum at the time (back when I was the rare-posting “Loughborough Blade”), but I feel there was a genuine debate on whether Fjortoft or Taylor should be first choice post-Charlton win. There had been some criticism that JAF was too selfish, and that he didn’t work well with Deane (think the Sharp & Clarke criticism from the first half of 16/17)
• Had we sold Taylor, would we have held on to either Deane or JAF when the offers came in?
• It did feel as though performances had slumped post-Donachie
• Wayne Quinn and the England set-up – infamously trained with the senior side after the end of the season, picked up an injury, was seen by Glenn Hoddle’s faith healer, Eileen Drewery, and was never the same player again.
• I had no idea that was the reasoning about why Marcelo was listed “John Marcelo” in the Green ‘Un. On the subject of penalties, and in keeping with the bizarreness of Marcelo, I have a vague memory from the following season I think of Marcelo taking (and missing?) a penalty with his left foot despite being right-footed. I’d love for someone to clarify whether that actually happened.
• I believe Walker and Spackman did not get on, leading him to be frozen out the moment he took over.
• Didn’t like Nicky Marker at all that season – when he was moved back to centre-back the following year though he was excellent. He basically set the path for centre-mids playing better at centre-back that Jags and Basham followed in...
• Joey Beauchamp was a Championship Manager legend around that time. An AM/F RLC with 20s all over the place.

The Coventry game remains a game that is both one of my best experiences and worst. Some background: my dad is ultimately responsible for me being a Unitedite, he went to uni in Sheffield and got to watch us while he was there, though he at that point had reverted back to watching Aston Villa. My uncle (now sadly deceased) is the one that was the driving force to me being a fan – he’d gone when my dad was still at uni, but continued obsessively when he’d left. By this season he would have been driving from Wales and picking me up en route. For whatever reason, he couldn’t make the Coventry game. I’d have been 16 at the time, so a season short of driving myself to a game.

In off the bench to the rescue steps my dad, who offered to take me. Due to the expected crowd he opted to park at Derby so we could get the train up (I suspect too that the trains stopping in Loughborough stopped a fair bit earlier too). Then comes the game. At the point we’d recovered from the Holdsworth equaliser, I could see that my dad seemed a bit ambiguous about the goal. This was because our last train back was about 20 mins after what would be full time in extra time. He was getting increasingly panicked. It took all the pleading possible to convince him to stick through extra-time, though we watched the final whistle by the gangway. That was it.

Forced out, we passed one of the souvenir sellers on the corner of John St and Shoreham St, who had the radio on for the shootout. My dad allowed us to listen to the shootout there. As Quinn’s went in we ran to the station, were on it with annoyingly minutes to spare. And as a sickening final note, about a minute before the train left, about 4 or 5 ran onto our carriage having watched all of it.

I have never seen us win a shootout, with the other ones I’ve seen being the losses to Arsenal and Huddersfield. I could say that 22 years on I’ve forgiven my dad. But as you probably gather from the fact I’ve taken the time to write the above, I absolutely haven’t.

 

[Beans]

Two things...

1, Nicky Marker was tremendous in his award winning year.

Tell me more, I honestly can't remember! In my head he was one of those midfielders who was just sort of "there" but didn't have any particularly outstanding qualities.

I also genuinely had no idea it was pronounced like Beechiff (Beechum / Beauchamp)...

 

[Beans]

Great listen that. A few random thoughts on this:

• Spackman’s contract: he was announced as permanent manager early in the season, but am I right in thinking he was kept on a monthly contract?

Yeah I think so. The best info I could find on it was a bit in the Independent that says he "worked without a contract and when questioned on the subject always said he was in negotiations". Not sure how you can be permanent on a rolling contract but then I suppose it's hardly surprising given what else happened that season.

• Paying £1m for just a 1-year deal for Deane remains utterly bizarre

I'd love more info on this. It seems strange that Deane would only sign a 1-year deal here, so much so that you have to think that it was the club's decision to only give him a 1-year contract. I wonder if we had the option to extend or something like that. Or, as per above, our board were just making stupid decisions left and right.

• Wayne Quinn and the England set-up – infamously trained with the senior side after the end of the season, picked up an injury, was seen by Glenn Hoddle’s faith healer, Eileen Drewery, and was never the same player again.

I had no idea about this!

I have a vague memory from the following season I think of Marcelo taking (and missing?) a penalty with his left foot despite being right-footed. I’d love for someone to clarify whether that actually happened.

I think I know the one you mean - Huddersfield at home around Christmas, he put a penalty wide at the Lane end. Vague memory of it being Michael Twiss' debut and we won courtesy of a late own goal. Sadly don't think the 1998/99 season review is on YouTube so I can't remember if it was left or right footed penalty... it went wide left though, the keeper went the wrong way and I (sat on the South Stand) instinctively started celebrating thinking surely my hero Marcelo has scored...

That is brutal with missing the shootout.

 

[JohnDenver]

Tell me more, I honestly can't remember! In my head he was one of those midfielders who was just sort of "there" but didn't have any particularly outstanding qualities.

I also genuinely had no idea it was pronounced like Beechiff (Beechum / Beauchamp)...

At first Marker was very meh. But then he became this calm, seasoned, strong and ultra consistent deep-lying midfielder. A classic Indian summer.

Then he vanished.

 

[Silent Blade]

• I believe Mitch Ward had been pencilled in to play LWB before injury kept him out of the Sunderland game

• I had no idea that was the reasoning about why Marcelo was listed “John Marcelo” in the Green ‘Un. .

Mitch Ward suffered a back spasm and Mark Patterson took his place in midfield.

Tony Pritchett explained the reason for "John Marcelo" in the Green Un. He was on the phone to a lady who was typing the match report for the Green Un. He told her the line up. The lady asked for Marcelo's first name, Tony explained that Marcelo doesnt have a christian name like most Brazilians/Portuguese . The lady said Marcelo has to have one as the computer wouldnt let her type "Marcelo" on his own, so Tony gave up and said "try John then!".

 

[DI36O]

Furiously clicking through worldfootball.net as I listen to this

 

[Silent Blade]

Tell me more, I honestly can't remember! In my head he was one of those midfielders who was just sort of "there" but didn't have any particularly outstanding qualities.

I also genuinely had no idea it was pronounced like Beechiff (Beechum / Beauchamp)...

Spackman instructed Tracey to roll the ball from his hand to an available player outside the box rather than booting the ball to the other half. Marker often found space to make himself available to receive the ball from Tracey's hand and then look for someone to pass the ball to.

 

[Sithblade]

When Roger Nilsen joined us there were clips shown of him scoring two 25 yard blockbusters for Norway. So we expected him to be a decent goal threat, unfortunately they were scored against San Marino.

 

[LoughboroBlade]

On reflection, it’s quite remarkable how at a time we were really watching the purse-strings that we allowed Marcelo to have two shirts for that Coventry game. Charles Green probably game him an inspection ahead of every game after that.

 

[ucandomagic]

Unbelievable effort guys. If there is an award for the best podcast episode of the season this should win hands down.

One other very significant Sheffield United event did take place during this season, which I hope in 10 years’ time will have eclipsed all the others.

On Valentine’s Day 1998 a certain Sander Berge appeared on the scene.

When he captains us to win the Champions’ League in 2028 we can recall that he was born a month after we sold Deane and Fjortoft and thought our world was ending.

The Football Gods weave their magic in mysterious ways.

 

[I should coco]

n Valentine’s Day 1998 a certain Sander Berge appeared on the scene.

When he captains us to win the Champions’ League in 2028 we can recall that he was born a month after we sold Deane and Fjortoft and thought our world was ending.

The Football Gods weave their magic in mysterious ways.

Close the voting!

Optimism of the year award goes to.....

 

[ZxyBlade]

Was this the season our fax machine packed in

 

[LoughboroBlade]

The podcast inspired me to rewatch the 1997/98 season review This afternoon. Two additional thoughts:

• On the dodgy commentary front, there were actually multiple instances when Katman is credited with a goal when it’s very clearly somebody else. As mentioned on the pod in relation to this, he got zero, even missing his pen spectacularly against Coventry, so you’d expect he wouldn’t be a commentator’s go-to goalscorer if in doubt
• Not only did Rush & Saunders end up at front at one stage, they actually combined for a goal away at QPR – the Rush teeing up Saunders for the finish.

 

[DI36O]

Loved this as it was my first season ticket season and I'm still sat in the same seat.

Surely villain of the year should have been Ainsworth?! I remember a story of Whitehouse's dad punching him.

Tracey was taken off injured vs ipswich, hit his head on the post. It was Ward who came on for him.

The 3-2 win over Stoke was amazing. The ref got a right earful for their first goal, signalled to give us a free kick then changed his mind and gave it to Stoke so they took a quick free kick and were through on goal to score. Triple sub at half time and a second half turn around, went absolutely mental.

From memory I think the Fjortoft transfer was agreed quickly, then Benfica came in for Deane and his contract allowed him to leave so we couldn't stop either transfer.

BBC News | Football | Blades sell Deane and Fjortoft

Re the penalties vs Coventry, all three we scored were fantastic. I remember Bobby Ford's quick turn and run up clearly.

Borbokis vs Norwich was an amazing performance if I remember it right. Sure he beat one defender about 4 times in a matter of seconds.

That WBA home defeat started a long period of dislike against them, really hated Lee Hughes.

Can remember the name Ville Lehtinen but definitely never heard of reserve goalkeeper Stefano Visi. This source has it that we used 41 players in the league alone that season, with only 7 players starting more than half the games! Amazing how different the team was at the end of the season to the start.

Sheffield United - Appearances Championship 1997/1998

Sheffield United » Appearances Championship 1997/1998

www.worldfootball.net

Can't believe all this was within the first 5% of United games I've been to.

 

[Pollingtonblade]

The Sunderland home performance at the start of the season remains one of the best I’ve seen, we’ve seen much similar in the last 4 years.

 

[Silent Blade]

Surely villain of the year should have been Ainsworth?! I remember a story of Whitehouse's dad punching him.

No he didnt punch him. After the return fixture at the Lane in March 1998, Dane's dad Sid got into Port Vale's coach looking for Ainsworth to ask why he had never apologised for the tackle that caused Dane's injury 4 months earlier. He had a shouting match with the Vale players. Sid hadnt realised that Ainsworth had already made his way home in a car.

 

[DI36O]

No he didnt punch him. After the return fixture at the Lane in March 1998, Dane's dad Sid got into Port Vale's coach looking for Ainsworth to ask why he had never apologised for the tackle that caused Dane's injury 4 months earlier. He had a shouting match with the Vale players. Sid hadnt realised that Ainsworth had already made his way home in a car.

Ah just one of those urban myths then!

 

[Silent Blade]

Ah just one of those urban myths then!

Reported in the Star

 

[Roygbiv]

Loved this as it was my first season ticket season and I'm still sat in the same seat.

Surely villain of the year should have been Ainsworth?! I remember a story of Whitehouse's dad punching him.

Tracey was taken off injured vs ipswich, hit his head on the post. It was Ward who came on for him.

The 3-2 win over Stoke was amazing. The ref got a right earful for their first goal, signalled to give us a free kick then changed his mind and gave it to Stoke so they took a quick free kick and were through on goal to score. Triple sub at half time and a second half turn around, went absolutely mental.

From memory I think the Fjortoft transfer was agreed quickly, then Benfica came in for Deane and his contract allowed him to leave so we couldn't stop either transfer.

BBC News | Football | Blades sell Deane and Fjortoft

Re the penalties vs Coventry, all three we scored were fantastic. I remember Bobby Ford's quick turn and run up clearly.

Borbokis vs Norwich was an amazing performance if I remember it right. Sure he beat one defender about 4 times in a matter of seconds.

That WBA home defeat started a long period of dislike against them, really hated Lee Hughes.

Can remember the name Ville Lehtinen but definitely never heard of reserve goalkeeper Stefano Visi. This source has it that we used 41 players in the league alone that season, with only 7 players starting more than half the games! Amazing how different the team was at the end of the season to the start.

Sheffield United - Appearances Championship 1997/1998

Sheffield United » Appearances Championship 1997/1998

www.worldfootball.net

Can't believe all this was within the first 5% of United games I've been to.

I didn't clock that ainsworth wasn't in the most hated players of the season award. Very strange . I suppose at the time nobody knew it was a career ender for Whitehouse

 

[DI36O]

I didn't clock that ainsworth wasn't in the most hated players of the season award. Very strange . I suppose at the time nobody knew it was a career ender for Whitehouse

Remember talking about it over school dinner the few days after, claims that it was an audible crunch. Small chance that Ben was at the same table but I probably didn't know him from Adam back then.

 

[JohnDenver]

The Sunderland home performance at the start of the season remains one of the best I’ve seen, we’ve seen much similar in the last 4 years.

It was indeed. We looked like the epitome of a promotion team. A class above. Just like we did vs Bolton and Scunny in League 1.

The sign it was all going to end in tears was the saga of Spackman’s contract. Behind the scenes we were being run like Wednesday or West Ham are now.