The Great Entertainers?

[Sothall_Blade]

Some Blades teams have been better than others. Some have been successful but boring to watch.
Others have been entertaining but ultimately failed.
Some teams have passed it short, some teams have been more direct, most have employed a mixture of both styles.
But which Blades team since 1980 have you found most entertaining to watch and why?

I think that my choices in order would be:-
1) Warnock 2nd Division Play-off Final + Two Semi Finals
2) Bassett 3rd Division Promotion
3) Porterfield 4th Division Champions
4) Wilson 3rd Division Play Off Final
5) Spackman Play Offs + Cup Semi Final

But I'm open to persuasion...

 

[georgebernardshaw]

Bugger - I've only just noticed the 1980 timeline

If it was 1970, you could consign all the rest to the bin, absolutely no contest.

 

[Sothall_Blade]

Bugger - I've only just noticed the 1980 timeline

If it was 1970, you could consign all the rest to the bin, absolutely no contest.

I didn’t include them because I never saw them play (and then how far back do you go?)
However, if you were starting in 1970 from what I’ve heard there would be three main options?

Harris – 2nd Division Promotion 1970-1971
Harris – 1st Division 10th Placed 1971-1972 (Top until 11th match)
Furphy – 1st Division 6th placed 1974-195

Which of those teams from the 70’s was the most entertaining?
Were they all much more entertaining than even Warnock’s 02-03 Triple Assault team?

 

[KenMcnaughtsNuts]

You forgot to put in David Weir's relegation side.

 

[Sothall_Blade]

You forgot to put in David Weir's relegation side.

Well they could have been contenders if they could have sustained it for more than 90 minutes.

 

[alcoblade]

Warnock's season for a season of excitement but with, unfortunately, no end product.


Remember, the ethos wasn't right though.



UTB

 

[georgebernardshaw]

I didn’t include them because I never saw them play (and then how far back do you go?)
However, if you were starting in 1970 from what I’ve heard there would be three main options?

Harris – 2nd Division Promotion 1970-1971
Harris – 1st Division 10th Placed 1971-1972 (Top until 11th match)
Furphy – 1st Division 6th placed 1974-195

Which of those teams from the 70’s was the most entertaining?
Were they all much more entertaining than even Warnock’s 02-03 Triple Assault team?

This team was undoubtedly the most attractive footballing team that United (and perhaps Sheffield) have produced in post-war times. I saw the first John Harris side in the late 50s and early 60s, and they were good, very good, but if you wanted to watch a team that played smooth attacking football from full backs to striker, the 70s team was the one, as they had virtually everything.

To put it another way, can you imagine a United side 5-0 up against Arsenal, and your midfielder sitting on the ball to taunt an England legend?

 

[Darren]

Warnock's season for a season of excitement but with, unfortunately, no end product.


Remember, the ethos wasn't right though.



UTB

It's funny isn't it. In the benighted days of hoof, from 2002-10, we always seriously challenging for promotion to the PL (and on one occasion getting there), oh expect for when Robson banished hoof for half a season.

However, since hoof was banished with Speed being appointed manager in 2010, we have performed worse every season.

I am afraid my brain just can't cope with that....

 

[Bath Blade]

It's funny isn't it. In the benighted days of hoof, from 2002-10, we always seriously challenging for promotion to the PL (and on one occasion getting there), oh expect for when Robson banished hoof for half a season.

However, since hoof was banished with Speed being appointed manager in 2010, we have performed worse every season.

I am afraid my brain just can't cope with that....

Come off it, that's a rather simplistic view! To use your own terms, did things not get substantially worse when Adams came in and reintroduced hoof?

 

[KenMcnaughtsNuts]

Voted for DB's 3rd division side. Though dunno why. It was the season i enjoyed the most i suppose, mainly cos we battered everybody and it was so unexpected after the crap years preceding it. It felt pretty cool being at school in a boring tuesday maths lesson thinking "we're gonna win about 5-0 tonight, deane and agana will tear these muppets a new bumhole!". The DB seasons after were no doubt better in technical terms and playing better opposition, we even started passing the ball around on the deck in the later years, but it wasn't quite as much fun. The sequels are never as good, even if they're better. If that makes sense.

 

[Darren]

Come off it, that's a rather simplistic view! To use your own terms, did things not get substantially worse when Adams came in and reintroduced hoof?[/quote

I was being deeply ironic and was merely trying to suggest that this hoof/non-hoof dichotomy is utter nonsense.

 

[JohnDenver]

I like how Blackwell's playoff season doesn't even warrant a mention.

 

[Bath Blade]

My apologies then Darren!

 

[Bath Blade]

I like how Blackwell's playoff season doesn't even warrant a mention.

Yet ironically, Blackwell's first half-season (after taking over from Robson) could have been right up there if we'd just sneaked into the playoffs. We went on a storming run if I remember correctly, with fantastic attacking football.

 

[Silent Blade]

I didn’t include them because I never saw them play (and then how far back do you go?)
However, if you were starting in 1970 from what I’ve heard there would be three main options?

Harris – 2nd Division Promotion 1970-1971
Harris – 1st Division 10th Placed 1971-1972 (Top until 11th match)
Furphy – 1st Division 6th placed 1974-195

Which of those teams from the 70’s was the most entertaining?
Were they all much more entertaining than even Warnock’s 02-03 Triple Assault team?

I would pick the year 1971 rather than choose seasons 1970-71 or 1971-72. 1973 was an entertaining year too as we won twice at Old Trafford, won at White Hart Lane and Stamford Bridge too also the 5-0 win against Arsenal

 

[oldblade]

Yet ironically, Blackwell's first half-season (after taking over from Robson) could have been right up there if we'd just sneaked into the playoffs. We went on a storming run if I remember correctly, with fantastic attacking football.

The home match against Hull stands out in my memory during that run. We played half the game with 10 men, but gave Hull a footballing lesson. They ended up being promoted, but we looked a class above them.

 

[oldblade]

It's funny isn't it. In the benighted days of hoof, from 2002-10, we always seriously challenging for promotion to the PL (and on one occasion getting there), oh expect for when Robson banished hoof for half a season.

However, since hoof was banished with Speed being appointed manager in 2010, we have performed worse every season.

I am afraid my brain just can't cope with that....

As you say in a later post, this hoof/non hoof polarisation is nonsense. All teams under all managers resort to 'hoof' at times.

Warnock gave us some of our most entertaining times of the last 40 years and yet get labelled by some as a hoof merchant. All I can say is that his players obviously ignored him the, because what I saw his sides produce most of the time on the football pitch certainly was not 'hoof'. But, unfortunately some let their dislike of the man (or his public persona) cloud their judgement of how his sides played.

 

[Kenilworth]

I think it's most entertaining now


For opposition fans and Pig fans that is.

 

[Darren]

I would pick the year 1971 rather than choose seasons 1970-71 or 1971-72. 1973 was an entertaining year too as we won twice at Old Trafford, won at White Hart Lane and Stamford Bridge too also the 5-0 win against Arsenal

In the league in the calendar year 1971 our league record was:

P41 W23 D9 L9 , so yes a pretty good year.

 

[Kenilworth]

In the league in the calendar year 1971 our league record was:

P41 W23 D9 L9 , so yes a pretty good year.

Darren - have you explained your new avar anywhere? - I have missed it if you have and I am intrigued 'cos, unlike you, it leaves a lot of unanswered questions.

 

[Darren]

Darren - have you explained your new avar anywhere? - I have missed it if you have and I am intrigued 'cos, unlike you, it leaves a lot of unanswered questions.

She's a friend of mine

 

[Kenilworth]

She's a friend of mine

Is that it?

Feck me - if she was a game you have given the venue, the date, the weather, the competition, the attendance and absolutely whether you scored or not.

If she was a party political stance then you would have typed a tome and a half and WalthamstowBlade would have argued with you for 3-4 pages.

Losing your touch feller?

 

[Darren]

Is that it?

Feck me - if she was a game you have given the venue, the date, the weather, the competition, the attendance and absolutely whether you scored or not.

If she was a party political stance then you would have typed a tome and a half and WalthamstowBlade would have argued with you for 3-4 pages.

Losing your touch feller?

I don't kiss and tell

If you really want to know gory details, you can PM me.

 

[JohnDenver]

I don't kiss and tell

If you really want to know gory details, you can PM me.

 

[Darren]

He's my role model

 

[Deadly_D'Jaffo]

I think labelling the football under Warnock as 'hoof' is a discredit. The season we went up we played some exciting, direct attacking football. Gillespie, Tonge, Ifill, Webber, Kabba and Shipperley gave us a lot on the deck. In fact, when we bizarrely dropped Shipps and signed Akinbiyi and Horsfield is when it all went pete tong for a while...

 

[Kev Gee]

Adrian Heath.

 

[mattbianco1]

Freddie Mercury!!

oh no wait...

He was a Great Pretender

 

[BladeFisher]

I didn’t include them because I never saw them play (and then how far back do you go?)
However, if you were starting in 1970 from what I’ve heard there would be three main options?

Harris – 2nd Division Promotion 1970-1971
Harris – 1st Division 10th Placed 1971-1972 (Top until 11th match)
Furphy – 1st Division 6th placed 1974-195

Which of those teams from the 70’s was the most entertaining?
Were they all much more entertaining than even Warnock’s 02-03 Triple Assault team?

Harris 2nd Division Promotion side was just awesome when it clicked. Woodward, Currie, Dearden, Salmons, Tudor (for a while), Reece. These guys could play but the interplay between TC and Woody was fantastic.

TC= The Messiah, Woody = the best, pens, corners and general shots, what a goalscorer.

 

[Sothall_Blade]

In the league in the calendar year 1971 our league record was:

P41 W23 D9 L9 , so yes a pretty good year.

So, what went wrong with that team?
I think it was mentioned that they suddenly lost four on the bounce having been top for 10 matches.
They ended up slowly sliding down the table to 10th and finished the next two seasons in around 14th.

So why did we suddenly slip from being outstanding in 1971 to comparatively average in 1972?
Did we sell anyone? Did somebody get injured?
Did other teams work out how to nullify us? Why couldn’t we sustain that brilliant form?