The football clubs embody the city...

[Jimmy Fleck]

I’m born and bred Sheffield and will always love the city but it has always seemed like other northern cities are ahead of us both in real life and in football. Look at Leeds and Manchester and the cultural powerhouses they’ve become in comparison to Sheffield where there is very little investment other than Chinese student living. This reflects the football sides who have both become close (one more so than the other) to being a regular premier league fixture yet a lack of investment has led to their downfall. Sheffield is the birthplace of football yet it’s hardly made a fuss out of- if it was in Manchester you know there’d be museums and a lot more info about it nationwide. Just seems like this city is always gonna be second best.

 

[Gavlar]

Nurse!

 

[Sheffsteel]

Just seems like this city is always gonna be second best.

It‘a not just football it’s business and commerce too.
Big ambitious companies tend to keep away from this city.
Our biggest coup is having an Ikea...however other big cities have had IKEA on their doorstep for years.
Last year I was interested in buying a synthesiser/ piano. Unbelievebly hardly any musical instrument shops in Sheffield...they’ve all closed down.
The nearest are in Leeds and Nottingham....they have plenty of synthesiser/ piano shops.

Aren‘t we the biggest city in Europe without an airport.
Wouldn’t surprise me if the high speed railway linking the North to London misses out Sheffield.

Even the Sheffield people are pessimistic and would prefer cheap/ value for money over anything fancy and fashionable.

 

[We're back!]

I know exactly what you mean. Sheffield is much loved by us Sheffielders, and there are many people who come here for Uni for example, and stay for life, but we're just not viewed as a 'trendy' city. The home of football should like you say, at least have a chuffin national meusem to commemorate this! Let's face it, the National Fire Museum and Kelham Island are hardly going to draw big crowds! The perception of the city will no doubt be reflected in the type of players, managers, investors etc we can attract for our football clubs, and in turn, I believe this does reflect on both team's ongoing predicaments and lack of any long term success.

 

[Nade]

Even the Sheffield people are pessimistic and would prefer cheap/ value for money over anything fancy and fashionable.

That'll be where it comes from then. That's where it starts.

Not sure if I buy it myself tho. Leeds and Sheffield people are pretty much the same and they're doing alright.

 

[BiggerBladeThanThou]

Sheffielders don't like to admit it but there's no positive outlook in Sheffield. It's always bleak and glass half empty - more than any other place I've been to in England. This, whether we like it or not, has a detrimental effect on every ounce of life and output from the city.

 

[Chris the Blade]

Cloth cap, downbeat, pessimistic, unambitious. That's Sheffield

 

[Rodley]

Full of moaners. It’s true.

 

[bladeinspaceandtime]

Sheffield is a small time city with a small time attitude. It always was and always will be.

 

[Wincobank S9 Blade]

Spot on I’ve said this numerous times you look at Sheffield one of the biggest cities one of the biggest city regions one of the biggest populated cities in the UK has a big sports base as a collective and football history yet we suck football wise compared to other places majority who are smaller it genuinely baffles me how? Is it a curse, I’ve said before I think we lack a bit of ambition surely us the council whoever could do more and be amongst the best and be a more attractive proposition just look at Southampton Leicester Wolverhampton Leeds Newcastle (I know majority of them are 1 club cities) but still hard to get your head round at times it’s good that both clubs still have decent support after years of no trophies and lack of PL football tbf but imagine what we could be if we had a bit of success and glory UTB

 

[Numpty's Dusty Ruts.]

Sheffield is a small time city with a small time attitude. It always was and always will be.

It wasn't in the 60's and 70's. We had the cleanest air of any city, more department stores than anywhere outside London, amazing cheap public transport, really radical modern planning and architecture (the "wedding cake" and hole in the road were brilliant concepts when they opened), and just for a laugh, the best illuminations outside Blackpool and London. The city lost its way in the 80's and hasn't been able to reinvent itself like Manchester and Leeds (which was a complete shithole in comparison). I don't have the answers, but it's not true that the city has always lacked ambition. I could get political about this but I'm choosing not to- anyway, you'll find that the same party tends to run most cities, whether they're ambitious or not!!

 

[bladeinspaceandtime]

It wasn't in the 60's and 70's. We had the cleanest air of any city, more department stores than anywhere outside London, amazing cheap public transport, really radical modern planning and architecture (the "wedding cake" and hole in the road were brilliant concepts when they opened), and just for a laugh, the best illuminations outside Blackpool and London. The city lost its way in the 80's and hasn't been able to reinvent itself like Manchester and Leeds (which was a complete shithole in comparison). I don't have the answers, but it's not true that the city has always lacked ambition. I could get political about this but I'm choosing not to- anyway, you'll find that the same party tends to run most cities, whether they're ambitious or not!!

By "Wedding Cake" I assume you are referring to the Registry Office. Another one of SCCs wastes of money. Build some shit, get bored, knock it down. Dig a big hole in the ground, get bored, then fill it in. All while rate payers are still paying for it.

 

[essexblade73]

Born and bred Sheffield and didnt leave until I was 21, went down south for uni and stayed here. My family inc my mum still live in sheffield. About the people, they are much warmer up there than most of the people I have come across in my 26 years of living down here. However I think if moaning was an olympic sport all of the UK reps for it would be from sheffield. Its bred into me too!

As for football, coming into Sheffield by train you would never know about us inventing the game...its truly bizarre, like we are somehow embarrassed by it. I liken it to Colchester down here, oldest recorded town in the UK but has not preserved its history and you wouldnt have a clue it was the first town unless you lived in the area. Compare that with Chester, Yoirk and Lincoln who embrsce their history.

It depends who runs the council and it isnt party specific. Colchester has been tory or lib dem for decades whilst sheffield always labour. Its just sheffield council, like colchester's, has been run by clueless dickheads for a long time. Does corruption slso play a part?

Some dodgy stuff goes on in sheffield like building the don valley stadium and then knocking it down within 2 decades. Money wasted that could have been used constructively.

 

[CarlMcBlade]

Yes the Manchester United effect has had huge influence on Manchester’s foreign investment and commercial success. But you can’t really say that about Leeds over the last 25 years. They’ve always had that pro-active, entrepreneurial spirit, with or without a Premier league football team.
The obvious difference with places like Leeds and Newcastle is their one club city status. Any sort of success on the field, creates a feel good factor around the whole of the city........it doesn’t in Sheffield.
When we got promoted various council leaders came out and said the city needs to capitalise on our new found top flight status.
Well how the fuck can that ever happen, when half the city activity wants the other half to fail?

 

[Davalon]

You can't deny that Sheffield under achieves in so many ways. Football being one of them.

I'm not sure exactly why that is.

IMHO many accept second rate stuff and prefer cheap and cheerful. Don't get me started on our Council over years too.

Not sure if that explains why both football clubs rarely get close to achieving potential over such sustained periods though.

Accepting second best is seen as a badge of honour to many though.

It's depressing how many comments I've seen recently from Blades who carp on about how much better League 1 was because of the days out and the 'real' football.

 

[A Storm of Blades]

I went to Barcelona a few years ago. They used the 1992 Olympics to completely regenerate the city. The stadium is a tourist attraction, they even have some of the old street banners still up. They admit themselves, it put the city back on the map and they took full advantage. When I came home, I said to my girlfriend, Sheffield has this golden egg of essentially inventing the modern game, to generate truly global tourism, and does absolutely nothing with it.

 

[Bellypork]

Yes the Manchester United effect has had huge influence on Manchester’s foreign investment and commercial success. But you can’t really say that about Leeds over the last 25 years. They’ve always had that pro-active, entrepreneurial spirit, with or without a Premier league football team.
The obvious difference with places like Leeds and Newcastle is their one club city status. Any sort of success on the field, creates a feel good factor around the whole of the city........it doesn’t in Sheffield.
When we got promoted various council leaders came out and said the city needs to capitalise on our new found top flight status.
Well how the fuck can that ever happen, when half the city activity wants the other half to fail?

That was never going to happen here, because of the hard left-wing policies of our council. In that respect we're very similar to Liverpool, who've suffered the same fate. If you want to attract the business sector into your city then you have to lower your taxes and be much cannier about how you spend your money. That has always been an anathema to this council, who put ideology before people.

 

[BettingBlade]

Blame the council for pissing and whining about Thatcher for the last 30 odd years.

Every other major northern city is streets ahead of us.....light years in fact.

Sheffield rules are the game of football played around the world today.....would you know about it if you came here? Would you fuck. If that’s Liverpool or Manchester it’s plastered everywhere. It’s probably the first things you see when you come out of the train station.

Industry.....massive steel industry in this city a rich history that played a massive part of the industrial revolution.....fuck all about it compared to what it would be in any other city.

Culture....Arctic Monkeys, Pulp, Def Lepard.....rich history again of music, there’s fuck all celebrating it in this city.

Media.....fuck me our attempt to get channel 4 up here was laughable. Not a chance do we have the credentials for anything like that up here. In fact any forward thinking company will not base itself in Sheffield because it’s the least vibrant city in the north

Nightlife.....absolutely wank. There’s nothing apart from West Street in town. Nothing different. It’s just there. Kelham Island could be absolutely heaving every single night but it isn’t.....a few old man boozers and some flats and that’s it. They’ve tried with the trendy shit but there’s nothing really worth encouraging people down there for.

Which brings me on to students.....fuck me our council is obsessed with building student accommodation. Not that it’s necessarily a bad thing in some respects but their so tunnel vision with it. Every time they have an opportunity to redevelop something.....’I know let’s turn it into student flats’ fuck me have a bit of imagination just for once, it’s all we ask.

Sheffield is a complete shithole, particularly certain areas of the city centre. Yes, other cities have had more investment but it’s not like they got it handed to them. Local councils and government bodies fought for it to move their city into the 21st century instead of crying that everything was unfair.

Every other major northern city that had industry at the heart of it that was destroyed in the 70’s and 80’s. Sheffield is the only one that a) still cries about it and b) has done absolutely fuck all about it.

Sheffield is stuck in the 90’s and it’s a fucking joke that our council has failed every single one of us for so long.

 

[Drunk blade]

have a walk round Liverpool.. Shithole.. Their teams seem to have done ok tho

 

[CarlMcBlade]

Dur

That was never going to happen here, because of the hard left-wing policies of our council. In that respect we're very similar to Liverpool, who've suffered the same fate. If you want to attract the business sector into your city then you have to lower your taxes and be much cannier about how you spend your money. That has always been an anathema to this council, who put ideology before people.

That was never going to happen here, because of the hard left-wing policies of our council. In that respect we're very similar to Liverpool, who've suffered the same fate. If you want to attract the business sector intyour city then you have to lower your taxes and be much cannier about how you spend your money. That has always been an anathema to this council, who put ideology before people.

Yeah the two place’s that got the biggest kicking by the Thatcher government in the 80’s were, Militant Merseyside and the People’s Republic of South Yorkshire.
But going back to the original point of the thread. Sheffield’s “ big two” have done absolutely nothing between them to advance the reputation of their city across the country.......never mind the globe.
Whereas in stark contrast all that Liverpool FC stardust has been sprinkled quite liberally over this once poverty stricken city.
Coming from virtually the same starting line back in the 80s. Liverpool has left Sheffield so far behind in its wake it’s hard to explain. But the fame and success of its football clubs must have had a sizeable influence on potential investors.

 

[S64 Blade]

I think it's a bit of a stretch to say Leeds is a cultural powerhouse. It's good at copying what other places do, but that's it. There's nothing unique about the place at all, other than the high concentration of lowlife football fans.

Manchester on the other hand - totally different kettle of fish.

 

[yorkshirecoast]

The best thing about Sheffield is its close proximity to the Peak District. The city centre itself is a disgrace - pound shops, kebab take aways, run down pubs and bookies. It’s got years of useless Labour councils written all over it.

 

[Bayingblade]

Yeah but boys, we had the cheapest bus fares in the country for years. Thanks to Mr Blunkett and Mrs Betts.

 

[Keef Chedwyn]

Yes, absolute loser city. Anything any good ever happens they can't fuck it up fast enough, especially the football clubs.

 

[Chris the Blade]

This city has got Labour written all over it. Dumbing down standards, unambitious with not an ounce of entrepreneurial spirit. They should start calling the local councillors 'comrades'. Always amazes me how the South West of the city remains so affluent.

 

[Sheffsteel]

The best thing about Sheffield is its close proximity to the Peak District. The city centre itself is a disgrace - pound shops, kebab take aways, run down pubs and bookies. It’s got years of useless Labour councils written all over it.

I wrote a negative post about industry and commerce aspect of Sheffield.
The city leaders think small time and the people are generally pessimistic regards big ideas and success....so this becomes a self fulfilling prophesy.

I think our lack of commercial success is down to geography and capatalism.
Take IKEA, their business plan to to have their stores next to the motorway covering all major cities.
We have Manchester 30 miles to the west, Leeds 30 mile to the north and Nottingham 30 mile to the south.
Therefore for many years they by passed Sheffield because we were already covered by several IKEAS 30 mile away.

So we do have other big cities close by.
Hence regards investment it’s easy to be overlooked and go to Manchester, Leeds and Nottingham instead.

Im now in my 50’s and over the decades I’ve worked with loads of outsiders (most were ex students) who decided to lay roots in and around Sheffield.
I ask “what’s the attraction of living in Sheffield” and always tended to receive similar positive comments like.

1: Location: Regards national travel the location is fantastic....virtually the dead centre of England and next to the motorway.
2: Green city: Sheffield has loads of parks and trees in every street. Outsiders are often shocked at how green Sheffield is.
3: Beautiful countryside: They always say we don’t realise how lucky we are to be able to drive just 20 minutes and be surrounded by countryside.
4: The special village atmosphere: Many have commented that Sheffield has the facilties of a large city but the intimate feel of a small town.
Someone said that it might be the hilly terrain forming natural boundaries but Sheffield does feel like a collection of villages.
5: Low crime rate. Ive worked with people who use to live in Manchester and Liverpool and say that crime wise Sheffield has a much much safer vibe.
6: Friendly people. Outsiders used to comment then when you catch a bus in Sheffield you always have strangers talking to you. They say they’ve never experienced it any where else.

Many students from out of town...fall in love with the city and end up staying. Think it’s important to appreciate that Sheffield does have qualities.

 

[Boxer Blade]

When ever I was working away the hotel bar was where you meet other people who were probably staying one night, most of the time the subject of who you supported came up, usually from me, people didn't laugh at who you supported but I always told them the best fans in the country were Sheffield football fans, this did make them laugh, I explained the rubbish served up over decades and the Sheffield fans still turned up, no 'extras' because of our years of success, no just locals, I used to add our crowds together and say now tell me how many cities can compare success /crowds with that, sorry to sound like I'm bumming up Wednesday fans but this is about Sheffield football fans, I am a very, very proud sheffielder.
P. S. no I haven't 'bummed' any Wednesday fans

 

[BushBlade]

Yes the Manchester United effect has had huge influence on Manchester’s foreign investment and commercial success. But you can’t really say that about Leeds over the last 25 years. They’ve always had that pro-active, entrepreneurial spirit, with or without a Premier league football team.
The obvious difference with places like Leeds and Newcastle is their one club city status. Any sort of success on the field, creates a feel good factor around the whole of the city........it doesn’t in Sheffield.
When we got promoted various council leaders came out and said the city needs to capitalise on our new found top flight status.
Well how the fuck can that ever happen, when half the city activity wants the other half to fail?

I think the “Manchester United effect” is exaggerated. Manchester council embraced the public/private partnership ethos and bent over backwards to attract private investment, using its powers to push planning applications through, using CPO where necessary to remove obstacles to development.
It’s worth remembering that “Manchester” (what is really Greater Manchester) has traditionally been much wealthier than Sheffield, going right back to Victorian days where it was almost on par with London, when it had its own Halle Orchestra and its own newspapers (The Guardian had its own Manchester edition with offices and printing presses etc). With the Ship Canal it was both an industrial base and a port. The north west is one of the most densely populated areas of the country outside the south east.
Sheffield has never recovered from the destruction of both mining and the steel industry. The council at the time refused to accept the way the country was going and the city has never recovered, it slipped too far behind. They weren’t business friendly so big business went elsewhere.

 

[Wincobank S9 Blade]

Would be nice for Sheffield FC to move back to Sheffield and have a little museum type thing and also I think we should’ve had the airport in our borders too would have been great for jobs but like said previously no designer shops on high street it does seem behind many other places I could understand if we was a small town but we’re a major city one of the biggest I appreciate we’ve spent a bit on housing etc but in comparison to Manchester Liverpool Newcastle etc were behind and I think it reflects on the football as well and attracting owners which is a shame as we have huge potential but still love my city none the less

 

[CentralQuay]

Bore off 'Love'.

I wrote a negative post about industry and commerce aspect of Sheffield.
The city leaders think small time and the people are generally pessimistic regards big ideas and success....so this becomes a self fulfilling prophesy.

I think our lack of commercial success is down to geography and capatalism.
Take IKEA, their business plan to to have their stores next to the motorway covering all major cities.
We have Manchester 30 miles to the west, Leeds 30 mile to the north and Nottingham 30 mile to the south.
Therefore for many years they by passed Sheffield because we were already covered by several IKEAS 30 mile away.

So we do have other big cities close by.
Hence regards investment it’s easy to be overlooked and go to Manchester, Leeds and Nottingham instead.

Im now in my 50’s and over the decades I’ve worked with loads of outsiders (most were ex students) who decided to lay roots in and around Sheffield.
I ask “what’s the attraction of living in Sheffield” and always tended to receive similar positive comments like.

1: Location: Regards national travel the location is fantastic....virtually the dead centre of England and next to the motorway.
2: Green city: Sheffield has loads of parks and trees in every street. Outsiders are often shocked at how green Sheffield is.
3: Beautiful countryside: They always say we don’t realise how lucky we are to be able to drive just 20 minutes and be surrounded by countryside.
4: The special village atmosphere: Many have commented that Sheffield has the facilties of a large city but the intimate feel of a small town.
Someone said that it might be the hilly terrain forming natural boundaries but Sheffield does feel like a collection of villages.
5: Low crime rate. Ive worked with people who use to live in Manchester and Liverpool and say that crime wise Sheffield has a much much safer vibe.
6: Friendly people. Outsiders used to comment then when you catch a bus in Sheffield you always have strangers talking to you. They say they’ve never experienced it any where else.

Many students from out of town...fall in love with the city and end up staying. Think it’s important to appreciate that Sheffield does have qualities.

I'm proof of that.....
A student who loved the City so much he decided to return, albeit also because the now mother of my kids is from up here (Well, Chesterfield but we met as students in Sheffield).

Sadly though, as is evidenced by some responses on here to me, from only a very small minority I will add, you can't comment on the city/football club if you weren't born in the city, or into a family of Blades.
Especially if you're not as negative/pessimistic as the local 'born and bred'.