For those who remember 1976 - 1981

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Back then we knew the south stand had screwed us. Now we are constantly drip fed lies from McCabe & Co on how well run we are, we are not a selling club etc..

We have seen some shite before, Tony Moore, Guthrie etc, and this lot match them man for man. It's taken just short of 2 years to totally destroy 10 years of building and expectation. The players no longer have an affinity with the fans, nearly all in it for the extortionate wages, the loanees couldn't really be arsed.

if I performed like Nosworthy, Collins Taylor etc...I would be sacked with immidiate effect and I om on peanuts compared with them. Nosworthy will earn in a week what I expect to earn in 2 years.

I think this is where the bitterness comes from.
 

I was 8 when the family moved back to Sheffield in '81, so I don't remember the downfall, except from reading & seeing clips over the years. But I DO remember the great feeling of being runaway leaders and winning promotion, albeit from the bottom tier. I vaguely recall it being against Port Vale when we clinched promotion, but I COULD be wrong. I do remember getting in a scrap with a chav behind the goal on the kop who kept spitting at me during that game.
"We're going up, we're going up, you're not, you're not."

Mind you, I'm not a 'true blade' because I think I went more times that season than I have in the whole 30 years since. Hows that for part-time fan? :o

If their team is winning, do supporters really care what division they're in?
 
>How do things compare between then and now
umm .. spookily similar actually.. a team of never has beens and never will be's mostly past their sell by date

>Mind you, I'm not a 'true blade' because I think I went more times that season than I have in the whole 30 years since
me neither even though i was at darlington and hull
 
I have no idea. I'd just left school and was discovering partying, girls, alcohol, New Wave, AC/DC and The Wapentake. Sheffield United had been reduced to just a very tiny blip on my radar. I think I must have gone to no more than half a dozen games a season during that period.

Still, great times eh...
 
you liar jon Bon.....I saw you playing under the name of John Gannon!!!!! ;-)
 
I dont think we are as bad now as the 79-81 team, in fact I think most of the current team are good enough for the championship and what is missisng is belief and a clear sense of purpose on the pitch. The team as a whole is not performing to its potential and certain individuals are definitely underperforming. I dont know if Adams can/will turn it round but I would like to see a few games together in which we field an unchanged side so we see their real potential. There has been too much change, now its probably too late.

When we were playing well under Bassett, Warnock I had the sense that we were getting a quart from a pint pot and we are now getting a pint from a quart pot.

Its the same feeling now as when Adrian Heath, or Harry Haslam was in charge.
 
and that in essence i believe is the difference, the fans are far less tolerant, far less forgiving, far more individual, now than then, maybe its the all seater stadium, thats made fans like this now, they sure weren't like this 30 years ago.

I don't agree with this at all. United's average gate almost halved in the period from 1976 to 1981, from 23,000 odd to 12,000 odd. There were other factors at play aside from the football, but that's not a tolerant supporter base. That's half the crowd voting with their feet and walking away when the going gets tough.


Comparing attendances from different eras is quite difficult. There are often factors involved that are peculiar to a particular time. At the end of the 1970s and certainly at the beginning of the 1980s football attendances in general were on the slidde, and when in the fourth division in 1981-2 we frequently had one of the highest home attendances outside of the 1st division.

Although in the fourth division we did average very nearly 15,000. This compares pretty favourably to the 13,000 or so that we were averaging in the 1999-2000 season that began with Heath as manager. And we were 2 divisions higher then!
 
>I saw you playing under the name of John Gannon
john gannon eh?.. criminally underrated player
 
Another thread maybe...
I agree Gannon wasn't as bad as people thought, but it's Jon bon's likeness to him I was commenting on.:)
 
How do things compare between then and now? Players, state of the club, mood of the fans etc...

Trying to remember the mood of the fans starting from when the South Stand was opened

August 1975- high optimistism. 4 sided ground for the 1st time. Shoot! Summer Special had a feature with the big headlines "SHEFFIELD UNITED- CHAMPIONSHIP CONTENDERS?". In a paper or TV interview TC said that Sheffield United will be a surprise team for the season (he was right for the wrong reasons!). Champions Derby County are the visitors at BDTBL for the opening day fixture in lovely sunny conditions and in front of a big crowd. Jim Brown saved a penalty from Bruce Rioch. Keith Eddy gives us the lead with a penalty. Charlie George hit a stunning equaliser at the Kop end late in the game. The feeling was that we were unlucky to to win and felt that there were plenty to come. Defeats then came in fast but we realised that we werent as good as we thought. A home win against Burnley on a Tuesday night in 3rd week of Sept lifted us in some ways but more defeats came in after that so the board decided to sack Ken Furphy. At that time I thought it was the correct decision so that we would get a big name manager to lift the club as fans were fed up of Furphy signing 3rd division players. It was a surprise when the board decided on naming Jimmy Sirrel as our new manager but when we got to think more of it we started to support the appointment because Sirrel had done well in taking Notts County from the 4th to 2nd division in a few seasons. Another thing that baffled me was that Sirrel wanted to serve his month's notice at Notts County (he missed our next home game against Stoke which had highlights on MOTD) but a week later both clubs decided that Sirrel should start at BDTBL.

The mood was still bad in the next few months as we were still losing games. years later players claimed that they thought Sirrel was an eccentric who couldnt handle the senior players but we werent to know at the time. In January 1976 the fans accepted that we were to play in the 2nd division in the following season. We were mathematically relegated in late March. April 1976 brought us surprise wins (away to Norwich, home to Hammers, away to L**ds and home to Newcastle as Sirrel gave debuts to Simon Stainrod and Tony Kenworthy.

There was disappointment and anger when TC moved to L**ds in the summer. L**ds manager, Jimmy Armfield, then told TC to "lose some weight" and it was the correct decision as the 1975-76 was probably the poorest season for him

I admit I was naive enough to think that we would easily bounce back to the 1st division in the following season. The only two highlights of the season was the 1-1 draw against Fulham (Bobby Moore, Rodney Marsh and George Best) in front of 28,000 fans and Keith Edwards scoring in 8 successive games in March and April. The mood wasnt much better in 1977-78. Sirrel got sacked in September. Cec Coldwell doing very well as the caretaker manager until we conceded 5 goals in 3 succesive games in January 1978. The appointment of Harry Haslam soon after was a surprise but we all thought he did well at Luton Town despite poor attendances and warmed to the appointment but the rest of the season was an average one but we were patient with haslam

Summer 1978 brought us another surprise when Blades fans looked at the main headlines and the photo on the front page of the Star. Antonio Rattin (who got sent off for Argentina in that infamous game at Wembley in 1966). For years we had thought Argentinian players were cynical and dirty but we saw a lot of their good side during the 1978 World Cup and fans watching the World Cup on tv would have been very impressed with the young Argentinians displaying "never seen before" skills in front of Bobby Charlton during intervals at matches. We may have missed out in signing Maradona but it didnt matter as we had not heard of him and that Tony Pritchett was telling us Sabella's nickname at River Plate was "El Mago" so that was enough to excite us. Despite the opening day defeat, the fans quickly warmed to Sabella's magical skills in August despite that he couldnt head, tackle or run fast. We were still confident of promotion in October and Harry Haslam "promised" that we would get out of the 2nd division (he was right but not in the direction we were thinking). Looking back I realised that we allowed Sabella to do the creativity in the middle, pushing the "hard working and Talented" gary Hamson wide did affect the balance to get consistent results. We had too much flair but lacked steel but the average attendances were higher than in the past two seasons. To be continued...
 
Can't remember that far back. Just recall flashbacks eg standing at the back of the kop during Sabella's first match v Orient (1-3, plus ca change) watching Blades sing. Martin Peters saying "I drove past the ground and thought, I'm now manager of that football club" Remember a war behind the goal away at Bradford City.

All seems a bit surreal now.
 
enjoyed that silent.. you have a good memory mate :D.. i remember the derby game it was boiling hot.. i got home and couldn't believe we had only drawn (against the champions).. the most disappointing draw i've ever attended.. didn't eddie c. or someone get injured in one of the early games.. we never replaced him.. (just like morgs) and we were doomed
 
That game v Derby was my very first as a 9 year old season ticket holder up in Brammall Lane Stand, row J seat 52 with my grandad who I somehow had just converted from a Wendy. I had been a few odd times before but that was the start of a long and very bumpy ride with my association with the Blades. I often blame myself for the demise, the first season that I went to watch every week.........
 
First one I remember was 75-76. That was horrendous (apart from being my first) because it came out of nowhere (to an innocent like me). Previous season a whisker from European qualification and it seemed a genuine desire to push-on and being talked of as a good outside bet to be champions . Unfortunately we opted for Chris Guthrie instead of Francis Lee :eek:

80-81 has it's own horrors. Namely dropping into the bottom division. Lowest point ever but the catalyst for change and a modicum of success
 

the most disappointing draw i've ever attended.. didn't eddie c. or someone get injured in one of the early games.. we never replaced him.. (just like morgs) and we were doomed

John Flynn, and yes, there is a big parallel with the Morgs injury this year.

I have heard it said that one of the problems with the 1975-6 side was that they had no reserve strength whatsover, so once the first team started to age/leave/lose form there was nothing to replace them.
 
the most disappointing draw i've ever attended.. didn't eddie c. or someone get injured in one of the early games.. we never replaced him.. (just like morgs) and we were doomed

John Flynn, and yes, there is a big parallel with the Morgs injury this year.

I have heard it said that one of the problems with the 1975-6 side was that they had no reserve strength whatsover, so once the first team started to age/leave/lose form there was nothing to replace them.


It's a good point and probably true. The back-up to Colquhoun and Flynn was, I think, Ian Mackenzie (untried local lad) and the very young (later found to be very useless) Steve Faulkner. The season before, it became obvious that we needed to replace the ageing Bill Dearden and offer more alternatives up front. Unfortunately (bar the attempt to sign Francise Lee) Furphy persisted in a policy of signing 3rd division players (Chris Guthrie, Tony Field et al), so when the injuries and suspensions came, the replacements were at best naive regarding top flight football, and at worst just not up to it.
 
It's a good point and probably true. The back-up to Colquhoun and Flynn was, I think, Ian Mackenzie (untried local lad) and the very young (later found to be very useless) Steve Faulkner. The season before, it became obvious that we needed to replace the ageing Bill Dearden and offer more alternatives up front. Unfortunately (bar the attempt to sign Francise Lee) Furphy persisted in a policy of signing 3rd division players (Chris Guthrie, Tony Field et al), so when the injuries and suspensions came, the replacements were at best naive regarding top flight football, and at worst just not up to it.

Im not sure how much of that transfer policy was Furphy's fault. In the book Blade Runners he said he had little control over the signing of Guthrie. Our supply of youth players had been drying up since Archie Clark died in 1968/1969. Furphy had inherited a good team that all got old together, no local replacements and all the money spent on the South Stand.
 
>Furphy had inherited a good team that all got old together, no local replacements and all the money spent on the South Stand
heh.. yeah it was john flynn wasn't it.. welsh international FWIR.. and .. the legend that was/is chris guthrie (for all of the wrong reasons)
 
>Furphy had inherited a good team that all got old together, no local replacements and all the money spent on the South Stand
heh.. yeah it was john flynn wasn't it.. welsh international FWIR.. and .. the legend that was/is chris guthrie (for all of the wrong reasons)

Was Flynn a Welsh international? Colquhoun was a Scottish international and Dave Powell played for Wales but I dont think Flynn did.
 
John Flynn came from Workington not Wales.

The last three seasons have reminded me so much of the lead up to that 75/76 relegation. Worsening team, no proper replacements for the better players leaving, brief glimmers of hope, ultimate despair.
 
i'm sure he made the squad once for the home internationals cos we had jim brown for scotland and flynn for wales.. could be wrong though .. these archives are a bit dusty and they don't always load properly
 
Almost certain (in fact forget the almost) that he didn't.

Here is a link to a times online article. All the other players featured who did get capped have it mentioned in their bit. No mention of JF getting any (and the fact he wasn't Welsh also makes me fairly sure).

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/article584409.ecehttp://

For the clickless:

Sheffield United had spent two seasons in the Second Division without setting the world alight and there were worries that they might have a long wait before returning to the top flight.
They need not have feared. During a rollercoaster season in 1970-71 they secured promotion with a side whose attacking flair gave the Blades a cutting edge, finishing second to Leicester City. But the campaign was not without its tense moments. They were two down with two minutes remaining away to Queens Park Rangers and salvaged a draw, and scrambled a late winner against Millwall. John Harris, their manager, had made a rare excursion into the transfer market to secure Trevor Hockey from Birmingham. His role in the midfield was to win the ball and give it to Tony Currie. Everything else flowed from there. [The numbers refer to a photograph, which is not carried on the website.]

1 Ian MacKenzie Still a teenager at the start of the season, MacKenzie joined the club as a junior but was only ever a fringe player. He made 45 league appearances in seven years, was loaned to Southend and then sold to Mansfield, where he had more success in their defence. He runs a pub in Peterborough

2 Len Badger A dependable right-back who was the club captain, Badger signed as an apprentice in 1962 and in the next 14 years played in 458 league games. He won honours at schoolboy, youth and under-23 level for England before finishing his career at Chesterfield. He is a publican at the Fox & Goose Inn at Old Brampton near Chesterfield

3 Bill Dearden The promotion season was Dearden’s first with the club and he proved a big hit despite struggling with injuries. Having played for Oldham, Crewe and Chester, he spent nearly six years at Bramall Lane, playing in 175 league games, scoring 61 goals. He went into management and coaching and is assistant manager at Blackpool

4 Tony Currie A talented midfielder whose flair and passing skills played a huge part in Sheffield United’s success during his eight years there. Currie played in 313 league matches and scored 55 goals. He won 17 England caps and had success at Leeds and QPR. He is a community officer at Sheffield United

5 Geoff Salmons The left-sided midfielder advanced through the junior ranks to play in 180 league matches for the Blades. He had a fine left foot. Salmons joined Stoke after eight years and was loaned back to United for a month in 1977. After finishing at Chesterfield he moved into the hotel business and runs the Marr Lodge in Doncaster

6 John Tudor Having learnt his trade at Ilkeston Town and Coventry, Tudor joined Sheffield United in November 1968. Despite scoring 30 goals in 71 games, he was sold to Newcastle United midway through the promotion season with David Ford and John Hope moving the other way. Tudor had success at Newcastle, scoring 53 goals in 164 league games. He moved to the United States, where he is coaching in Minnesota

7 John Flynn A powerful defender who joined the Blades from Workington in the summer of 1969. He spent nine years at the club, playing in 190 league games. He then moved to Rotherham and is now a probation officer in Worksop

8 Dave Powell The Welsh-born central defender earned his spurs at Wrexham before joining United in September 1968. He played 89 league games during the next four years. Powell won 11 caps for Wales and joined the police in Bridgend after retiring from football in 1974

9 Graeme Crawford Born in Falkirk, Crawford signed for Sheffield United in 1968 as cover for Alan Hodgkinson, but failed to make the grade. He played only two league games during three seasons before joining York City, where he kept 11 consecutive clean sheets. He is a non-league coach in Derbyshire

10 Alan Hodgkinson After arriving at the club in August 1953, he was finally coming to the end of his tenure in 1970 and the promotion season was his last in a remarkable spell. A technically superb goalkeeper, he played in 576 league matches in 17 years and won five caps for England. He then became a leading goalkeeping coach and had spells at Rangers and with Scotland. Hodgkinson coaches at Oxford United

11 Frank Barlow A Sheffield-born defender who won caps for the England schoolboys but failed to reach similar heights at senior level. Barlow spent seven years at Bramall Lane, playing in 121 league matches before moving to Chesterfield. He is assistant manager at Nottingham Forest

12 Colin Addison With successful scoring quotas at York and Nottingham Forest, Addison was signed by Arsenal in 1966 but lasted little more than a season before joining Sheffield United. During the next four years he scored 22 goals in 94 league outings. He has had mixed fortunes in a long management career and was recently in charge at Forest Green Rovers

13 Paddy Buckley Injuries robbed the Leith-born winger of a promising career after he joined Wolves from Third Lanark in 1964. He signed for United in 1968 but in four years made only 15 first-team appearances. He is a coach in north Derbyshire

14 Alan Woodward A wonderful winger in an attacking line-up, Woodward was a one-club veteran who won international honours for England at youth level. He spent 15 years on the right wing at Bramall Lane, playing in 539 league matches and scoring 158 goals. He lives in Oklahoma and works in the maintenance section for American Airlines

15 Eddie Colquhoun His fine reading of the game in defence was a bonus to the club after he joined in October 1968 from West Bromwich Albion. Capped nine times by Scotland, Colquhoun spent 10 seasons at United and played in 363 league matches. He runs a post office in Conisbrough in south Yorkshire

16 Gil Reece The Welsh winger scored five goals in four games as United’s push for promotion gathered steam late in the season. After joining in 1965, he played in 210 league matches and scored 58 goals. Awarded 29 caps for Wales, he had a plumbing and heating business and then ran the Clare Court Hotel in Cardiff. He died in December 2003 at the age of 61 after a long illness

17 John Barnwell A veteran midfielder who had enjoyed success with Arsenal and Nottingham Forest, Barnwell joined Sheffield United in April 1970. He played in only nine league games before retiring. After a career in management he is chief executive of the League Managers’ Association
 
I only got four names in before wincing, thanks SP
 
Im not sure how much of that transfer policy was Furphy's fault. In the book Blade Runners he said he had little control over the signing of Guthrie. Our supply of youth players had been drying up since Archie Clark died in 1968/1969. Furphy had inherited a good team that all got old together, no local replacements and all the money spent on the South Stand.

Aye, we've had this discussion elsewhere, Walthy. I think the death of Archie Clark (and the Blades never giving him an assistant to takeover from him) was the biggest single contributer to the decline of the Blades from the mid-70s. The localish talent of the likes of Jones, Birchenall, Badger, Woodward etc. just dried up.
 
Forgot to explain Rattin's involvement with the Blades in July 1978. He was a sort of an agent and advising us on which Argentinian players we should sign.

Anyway, to continue from my last post....The 1978-79 winter was one of the coldest in British history and I dont remember Sabella playing well in any of the games between November and March and the team didnt do well either.The FA Cup 3rd round marathon between Arsenal and Wednesday got a lot of attention at that time while we lost to Aldershot in the replay. In the last two months of that season we had a strange mixture of results. Beating West Ham 3-0, won 3-1 at Newcastle, thrashed Notts County 5-1, lost twice to Blackburn (who were rock bottom), lost 4-0 at Cardiff and 6-2 at Sunderland. The home defeat to Blackburn was a shocker (they had a player sent off midway in the 1st half). There seemed to be more Blades fans than Cambridge fans in the penultimate game at the Abbey stadium. We lost to a Steve Spriggs goal and after the game, Harry Haslam got his players to walk over to the way end to "thank them" but Haslam was pelted with loose stones and bottles. we needed to beat Leicester by 9 goals in the last game but managed a 2-2 draw. Like the last home game against Cardiff in the previous season, fans vented their frustrations by invading the pitch but this time it was more violent as one or two Leicester players were hit.

I bought a season ticket for the 1979/80 season but my dad said he was "finished with football". after leaving school at the end of June, I decided to play football regularly for a team and it was my dad who used my season ticket that season more than I did. We were looking good for promotion in the months leading up to Xmas and confident of getting a win in that Boxing Day match against Wendy (who were in mid-table at the time). Our attendances were quite good and we had a large away following (was it because those who watched currie and Woodward as a young un had just left school and got a job making them feel more "independent" to go to away games or that there were many new grounds to visit?). Losing to Wendy was a horrible memory for all Blades fans and then apathy started very soon, hitting our attendances (apart from the home draw against Wendy in Easter) and the team's performances.

we sold Sabella in summer 1980 and Harry Haslam signed Martin Peters. I cannot remember the fans reaction to the changes in the squad but there was still a lot of apathy. I think I attended about 7 or 8 games that season which was probably the lowest in a season during my 41 years of supporting the Blades. For the last home of the 1980-81 season against Walsall I chose to play in a six a side football tournament at Manchester than go to the Lane

---------- Post added at 04:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:41 PM ----------

Im not sure how much of that transfer policy was Furphy's fault. In the book Blade Runners he said he had little control over the signing of Guthrie. Our supply of youth players had been drying up since Archie Clark died in 1968/1969. Furphy had inherited a good team that all got old together, no local replacements and all the money spent on the South Stand.

Clark died in 1966 (December, I think)
 
Thanks Silent. Always like your posts - evoke so many memories that I struggle to recall.
The BDM scarred many of us brought up on Currie and Woody when Wendy were just a third division anoyance.
The Leciester 2-2 draw was a bad one for the pitch invasion.
 

>The BDM scarred many of us
but it is what makes us blades.. i could never understand how the pigs can sing 'we will fight for evermore because of boxing day'.. they won the game.. why would they need to fight for evermore.. why do they always rob our songs?? make your own up!!
 

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