Sheffield UNited manage to bugger up the signing of two players in the Transfer Window to absolutely no reaction on here whatsoever.
THAT is how good DW has done so far.
Well, I was pissed off for one.
I never for a moment wished to lay the blame at Wilson's door however.
The guy
has done good though. And what is really surprising is the fact that this admission isn't at all as begrudging as I had expected it to be.
His appointment, for me, was one of those 'not again' moments; a confirmation that, as far as SUFC is concerned, hope will never triumph over experience and I think that it is in this regard that his getting the job might just have been, if not exactly a stroke of genius, the best thing that could have happened.
If McCabe had gone for any of the popular options on here there would have been huge problems.
Mainly, the expectations would, quite simply, have been too much. If the team were to succeed, this would only have been to match these - par for the course as it were. If it failed, two things would most likely have happened. The temptation for the manager would have been to blame the players for not being able to implement his 'footballing philosophy', leading to despondency and further loss of confidence. The other is that the fans would have been brutal in their response, especially those who were in favour of whoever it was who got the job. I think those especially would have invested too much hope and anticipation in the manager for it to be anything other than ugly if it went tits up.
Wilson started from a position of, if anything, negative expectation. He had absolutely nothing to lose. If the team had got off to a bad start, this would only have confirmed expectations. There would have been a collective sigh and a general reaction of 'meh'.
That we haven't is the position we find ourselves in now. And how we are reacting is again down to Wilson's appointment. I can't think of anyone on here who is getting swept along on any wave of unbridled optimism.....simply because no such wave exists. It seems to me that having him as manager has resulted in a much more level-headed attitude among the fans. No bad thing.
In connection with expectations, his appointment also had the effect of bringing the fans' attitude to the club into line with our actual league position. Had we attracted a 'top name', it would have allowed us to retain a big club mentality or at least an unrealistic view of our situation. In this respect, I think it was a wake up call leading to our final acceptance of the reality of our position. Again, no bad thing.
Another factor is the comparison with previous managers from the 'somebugger else's fault' attitude of our Neil through the seemingly petty and spiteful moods of Blackwell to the rabbit in the headlights impersonations of Speed and especially Adams. In the cases of all these, it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to say that the story of the manager took precedence over the team itself. Whether it was an 'all about me' attitude or just a matter of watching their inability to manage circumstances is irrelevant. They were the story.
Contrast that with now. A manager going about his job quietly, with professionalism, dignity and integrity. How many threads on here are about the manager now? Precious few, thank god. He has a very welcome lack of ego. If the team gets a result, he lays it at the players' door, quickly applauds the fans and buggers off down the tunnel. His interviews are refreshingly, stunningly in comparison to some of his predecessors, level headed and as realistic as any I have heard. He has not, so far, watched a different match to that which the fans did.
He only has one test to pass now. How he reacts to defeat. May that be a long way ahead.
I didn't want him. It felt like a kick in the swingers when we got him. Now, no matter what happens from here on in this season, I'm genuinly pleased we have him.
The administration on the other hand.......'kinell.
