If you could change one football decision in your United supporting lifetime, what would it be?

[steve26272]

Not sacking Colin the second we got promoted to the premier league

Almost but not quite my sentiments

Had we survived that season I would have got someone else in that summer

Yes - sack him for keeping us up, keep him for taking us down

Reality is he isn’t tactically astute enough for the prem, but is enough of a man motivator for 2nd tier

However we didn’t know he would get exposed that season so binning him off before a ball is kicked would have been harsh

 

[Alan Birchenall's hair]

Not selling Jones AND Birchenall within weeks of each other in 1967, just a few months before signing Currie. Resulting front 5 could have read Woodward, Birchenall, Jones, Currie, Reece. Relegation would not have occurred....

Not hiring Harry Haslam, the worst manager we've ever had (and that's saying something).

And last, but by no means least, not finding myself on the home end (in those days along the touchline) at St. Andrews in April 1975, with a red and white scarf on. This one I would change most of all.....

 

[Gavlar]

Loads really.
Not really signing ched, not selling Billy,
Not appointing Adkins,
Not picking kabba in the 2003 playoff and playing 451
But the one that wins is bot allowing Sheffield Wednesday to create a team.

 

[Cappy]

I’m going to hugely go with currency bias and say replacing Hecky with Slav.

An extra transfer window and an extra bunch of games under Hecky last season….

We’d be watching the blades in the Prem now

 

[Revolution]

I’ll be greedy and have 3, in reverse order:

The sale of Deano in 1993
The appointment of Bryan Robson in 2007
The appointment of Harry Haslam in 1978

The Deano sale was gut wrenching and costly. The latter two decisions inadvertently set the club back a decade each time.

 

[1888to1889]

I’d change me choosing to go to the Blackburn game instead of the Leicester game in 1990 (I couldn’t afford both).

sigh

foresight

 

[AnstonBlade1]

Appointing Bryan Robson.

 

[1888to1889]

Sneaking into the VAR room against villa and unplugging this important looking piece of kit to charge my phone

Wasn’t already unplugged or have I got it wrong

 

[wak1889]

Deciding not to have a wall when defending a free kick in the first minute of an fa cup semi final, I would have changed that decision

 

[TJB.]

Definitely the Maradona signing. And I'd also change the hypothetical decision to flog him for peanuts the year after signing him, which is one we would've almost certainly made.

 

[gavtheblade]

Not signing James Beattie the season we got promoted to the Premier league under Colin.

 

[Inter_blade83]

Very recent... but not appointing Hecky full time immediately and going with Slav. We'd be in the prem now.

 

[BladesOnToast]

Relatively minor this one compared to some of the above, but Louis Reed I think it was had the chance to bury the ball into back of the net when we were in the ascendency against Spurs right at the end of the League Cup semi. Reaching the final when foundering in the 3rd tier would have been phenomenal.

Instead he fluffed it and they went up the other end and scored if I remember it right.

EDIT: not really a "decision" I realise.

 

[Carlton Blade]

Hans Segers previous financial decisions

 

[JackSUFC]

I wouldn't change any decision.

I have a thing about not rewriting history.

Yeah suppose they say “everything happens for a reason”.

First one that springs to mind is Ched not deciding to check into a Premier Inn one night in Rhyll. We’d have beaten Wednesday to promotion that season.

But then if all that never happened, would we have been led to the stage Wilder was appointed? Would we have ever experienced the rollercoaster few years of his tenure? Exactly.

 

[Iffy Onuora's Shiny Head]

The 2nd and 3rd games of the Prem relegation season vs Villa and Leeds. We had Egan sent off and Lundstram missed the penalty in the former... and missed a really good chance before Bamford scored in the latter.

I think wins in either of these would have seen us have a fighting chance of staying up

 

[frechyblade]

Intent to foul Gerrard my arse!!!!!

That lost point proved costly

 

[Kozzy_is_my_Dad]

Not signing up to the good cause of the Bladesmen in the first place.

Could've saved me sen years of heartache, headaches and expense.

 

[JohnDenver]

I’d have given JOC a free day off the night before Dean Henderson smashed his knee.

 

[Teofilo Cubillas]

For the 75-76 season: if only we had signed Frank "Elvis" Worthington instead of Chris Guthrie.

Frank Worthington - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Now that would have made an attacking trident: Currie, Woodward, Worthington!
I can only imagine.

 

[HillmortonBlade]

Believing that having a meat pie would bring us luck during the Adkins season.

 

[Deleted member 1486]

Not signing James Beattie the season we got promoted to the Premier league under Colin.

In that case, I’ve got some good news for you ….

 

[Danny_Blade]

1. Appointing Bryan Robson in 2007 - you'd like to think any half decent manager or even a good young up and coming one at the time would have got that squad to automatic promotion, or in the top 6 at least.

2. Appointing Kevin Blackwell in 2008 - he did save us from the disastrous appointment above but again, I think most half decent managers around at the time would've probably been able to achieve similar to what Blackwell did in finishing 9th.

3. Selling James Beattie in January 2009 - who knows if we'd have pipped Brum to 2nd or won the Play Off final but we'd have stood a much better chance either way. Yes I know Blackwell was still manager at this point.

 

[tyneblade]

Appointing Bryan Robson.

Better avoid appointing Terry Robinson with his Manchester United obsession and complete incompetence.

I remember being told that Warnock recommended him to McCabe because he knew he was weak.

Neil's easy life was a high price for the rest of to pay.

 

[Gimli]

Relatively minor this one compared to some of the above, but Louis Reed I think it was had the chance to bury the ball into back of the net when we were in the ascendency against Spurs right at the end of the League Cup semi. Reaching the final when foundering in the 3rd tier would have been phenomenal.

Instead he fluffed it and they went up the other end and scored if I remember it right.

EDIT: not really a "decision" I realise.

I’d go similar - not sure there’s a decision involved but I’d change something so we didn’t concede straight after half time in the semi final v Hull - imagine FA Cup finalists as a Tier 3 side…

 

[Bert]

the game ends 2-2

Bert was there and his memory has informed him that we lost 3-2.

 

[Crabstick]

I wouldn't change any decision.

I have a thing about not rewriting history.

Go on, live a little. Fuck it, have a shandy as well

 

[HD8 Blades]

I’d change me choosing to go to the Blackburn game instead of the Leicester game in 1990 (I couldn’t afford both).

sigh

Did the same for the same reason

 

[SouthEssexBlade]

There's a whole list of players we could've signed, should've signed, headed of course by Maradona, but there were others:

The aforementioned Frank Worthington
Francis Lee
Alan Hansen
Ian Wallace

One of those at the time would have made a world of difference.

 

[BigBed]

Stopping the season for Covid, as we could and maybe wouldve got into Europe.