ALL things considered, thanks Nigel Clough

[DronnieBlade]

Like all things that end in football, it is rarely "well" but taking everything in to account, I believe that NCs tenure had more positives than negatives and he certainly leaves the club in much better shape than he found it.

Good luck with any new role (Except against us of course !).

We move on to a new era with Mr Adkins, one in which we can be rightly enthused, but let us not forget that at least some (but not all) of the foundations for any success Adkins may have will have been laid by NC.

UTB.

 

[BornOnShorehamStreet]

Like all things that end in football, it is rarely "well" but taking everything in to account, I believe that NCs tenure had more positives than negatives and he certainly leaves the club in much better shape than he found it.

Good luck with any new role (Except against us of course !).

We move on to a new era with Mr Adkins, one in which we can be rightly enthused, but let us not forget that at least some (but not all) of the foundations for any success Adkins may have will have been laid by NC.

UTB.

Which foundations are those considering that one of the reasons he was sacked was because "...he found League 1 more complex than he thought"?

 

[Superblades]

When Clough took over we was in the sh*t. He managed to turn that around and give us a great end of season, just missing out on the play/offs and a day out at Wembley. The following season saw another cup semi-final but in the league we never really hit any consistent form and the season fizzled out.

2 cup semi-finals, a play off place and taking us from the bottom of the league to 7th. Hardly a failure, far from it. It's just that he became stubborn in his ways, the fans ended up bored with his style of play and no plan B plus the fact he was patching the team up.

Clough will have learnt loads during his time here and I imagine he won't have any problems finding another job in this league.

Thanks for steadying the ship and the cup games which we will live long in the memory, but for me your time was up and the right decision for the club to sack.

 

[Lord Bos of Eckington.]

Which foundations are those considering that one of the reasons he was sacked was because "...he found League 1 more complex than he thought"?

Clough was in a way taking us in the right direction . Although it was uncanny the comments made by Derby fans to our own , on his management style , i do feel sorry for the bloke . It depends were you level the bar for expectations and success . Ours is to get out of league 1 . Clough did fail , and for the life of me , i still cannot work out why he made such fundamental mistakes . Its not like he had just finished playing career and was a complete rookie.

Clough is a honest bloke with integrity , but also perhaps too inflexible and stubborn. It is good that his back room staff went at the same time , because not only did they not help the club , it is evident that they did not always help Clough ( or he didn't let them )

Clough steadied the ship , which was grounded and could have sunk . We have to be grateful to the guy , and i am sure his pride and confidence has taken a massive blow.( If you have never been there , you ought to try it , as take it from me ,it is not good ). So lets not knock Clough , he has helped the club , but as in any business , no success = casualties.

UTB

 

[curtisblades]

I think Clough was the man we needed at the time, a builder of the solid foundations of a team-which I believe we have. However, what is needed now is someone who can take us to the next level. All you have to do is look at the recent history of Clough's previous clubs:
The same season Clough left Burton, they got promoted to League 2, and have now got promoted to League 1, with a member of the Burton board attributing this success partly to Mr Clough.
Derby initially did very well under McClaren and were many people's favourites to be champions, however they faded away towards the end of the season but were unlucky with injuries.
I believe Nigel Adkins is the right person NOW and will take us to the next level.
UTB!

 

[Bladesway]

I think history will view Clough as the man who finally halted our slide into League 2 and got us to two cup semi finals. No mean feat and something of an achievement in itself.

We now have Adkins who hopefully will continue our progress out of this league. Where to from there? Who knows but the first step is to get promotion.

 

[judge]

His first season was one of the most memorable in my lifetime and certainly the shot in the arm we needed after years of misery

His second season however was polar opposite , he didnt seem to be able to handle the challenge of a big club like sufc with its supporters high expectations

Adkins strikes me as the kind of guy who could work the support into a blade too long type frenzy

We need some good times , we are crying out for attacking football , lets hope we get it

 

[boo radley]

I

I think history will view Clough as the man who finally halted our slide into League 2 and got us to two cup semi finals. No mean feat and something of an achievement in itself.


We now have Adkins who hopefully will continue our progress out of this league. Where to from there? Who knows but the first step is to get promotion.

Dam. Not quick enough on reply.
Atkinson indeed!

 

[sheffielder]

Thanks to Nigel for the stability. Not sure what happened in his 2nd season and not sure if it was that e couldn't cope with the pressure or something else was going on in his life. To me there was something not right. Every time we had a good result he tried to downplay it and maybe that was quite negative.

Moving on, we have a squad that needs tweaks and a new positive style of play. We don't need lots of signings, just 3 or 4 bits of quality and a loan. I am sure that Adkins is going to release the hounds, who were retricted by style of play (in the league) last season.

Nigel is dead, long live Nigel

 

[dingledog]

It happens often in life, you need a certain character to stop the rot and steady the ship. however that same person often does not have the skill set to move forward.

I think this was the case with Mr Clough.

There should never be joy when someone loses their job. The magnanimous thing to do is to thank him and wish him well.

 

[metalblade]

At the time Clough was about the best we could hope for and his first season was great when it finally got going and the day at Wembley was one to remember, unfortunately the expectations for last season were too much for him and a fear of losing seemed to take over which percolated down through the entire squad. By the end of the season the players looked scared to death which was not helped by holes in the squad where players were not comfortable filling in, in short Clough had taken us as far as he could his fathers style of management is as outdated today as Dave Bassets, times change and things move on NC seemed to be stuck in the mid eighties when his father reigned supreme.
I think Adkins is a superb appointment we really couldn't have done better, here's hoping he gets the buzz going around the lane which hasn't been there since Warnock was sacked. Myself I can't wait for next season to kick off I can see it being an epic.

 

[Woodwardfan]

I think history will view Clough as the man who finally halted our slide into League 2 and got us to two cup semi finals. No mean feat and something of an achievement in itself.

We now have Adkins who hopefully will continue our progress out of this league. Where to from there? Who knows but the first step is to get promotion.

First half season, halted the slide and threw in an amazing cup run to Wembley. Mr Cool that year.

Second season, lost his way completely but threw in one amazing cup run and another good cup run. Not sure either were that helpful where it mattered in the league and where we were poor month in month out, especially at home. Mr Agitated this year.

Will never understand why Clough's performances were so different in the cups and the league.

I hope Adkins puts the cups on the back burner for a couple of years.

Thanks? Thanks, but no thanks. Good luck to him and his entourage though.

 

[Torrix1889]

No gratitude whatsoever owed to Clough....anyone with half a footballing brain would have left us in a better position than the situation inherited from the awful Wier....progress under Clough was minimal giving tge resources at his disposal and his owm inabilities were his downfall.....good riddence.

 

[Flatulent_Bob]

Which foundations are those considering that one of the reasons he was sacked was because "...he found League 1 more complex than he thought"?

According to the man who sacked him. I think if you are going to put that as a reason he needs to have had a right to reply.

 

[Bladesway]

No gratitude whatsoever owed to Clough....anyone with half a footballing brain would have left us in a better position than the situation inherited from the awful Wier....progress under Clough was minimal giving tge resources at his disposal and his owm inabilities were his downfall.....good riddence.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[Gee]

I thought Kevin McCabes comments last night had Cloghies demise all over them, He said they wanted Nigel Adkins two years ago and settled for Nigel Clough as an alternative. Adkins becomes available to us and Nigel gets binned instead of another few months. I think the writing was on the wall promotion or not unfortunately for Cloughie.
That said what a great appointment in Nigel Adkins, but credit where credits due, two semi's and a play off place. Anyone would have grabbed that with both hands before Cloughie took charge. So thanks Nigel and good luck in your future career.

Onwards and Upwards

 

[Torrix1889]

Thanks for sharing.

Isn't that the point of a forum, to share your opinion or am I missing something here?

 

[BornOnShorehamStreet]

According to the man who sacked him. I think if you are going to put that as a reason he needs to have had a right to reply.

I wasn't surprised when McCabe said that to be honest. The lack of concern that we had no height/strength in what was is a physical league indicates that. No doubt Clough said he now recognised that but too late, alas.

And it wasn't the only reason.

 

[bornablade]

I thought Kevin McCabes comments last night had Cloghies demise all over them, He said they wanted Nigel Adkins two years ago and settled for Nigel Clough as an alternative. Adkins becomes available to us and Nigel gets binned instead of another few months. I think the writing was on the wall promotion or not unfortunately for Cloughie.
That said what a great appointment in Nigel Adkins, but credit where credits due, two semi's and a play off place. Anyone would have grabbed that with both hands before Cloughie took charge. So thanks Nigel and good luck in your future career.

Onwards and Upwards

Must admit 'the two years ago' I thought he was referring to David Weir's appointment rather than Cloughie's

Can't be arsed to pull up all the quoted messages from above but it would be magnanimous if we could show a little respect to our former manager rather than sticking the boot in.

As Lord Bros says 'if you've never been there then try it cos it's not nice'.

 

[HighfieldBlade]

Like all things that end in football, it is rarely "well" but taking everything in to account, I believe that NCs tenure had more positives than negatives and he certainly leaves the club in much better shape than he found it.

Good luck with any new role (Except against us of course !).

We move on to a new era with Mr Adkins, one in which we can be rightly enthused, but let us not forget that at least some (but not all) of the foundations for any success Adkins may have will have been laid by NC.

UTB.

I would echo that sentiment.
Clough has restored some pride in the club, saved us from what looked liked the trap door to L2 and given us some unforgettable moments in cup runs during his tenure. I wish him all the best wherever he goes next.

 

[alcoblade]

I want to like the OP, but I can't.

I wish Clough and his team well but I'm far from convinced he's laid any foundations of note. I'm sure he's spent a lot of the club's money in the process, and left us exactly where we started.

The cup runs were good and I should thank him for that. It's not what we were after though.

UTB

 

[Darren]

I want to like the OP, but I can't.

I wish Clough and his team well but I'm far from convinced he's laid any foundations of note. I'm sure he's spent a lot of the club's money in the process, and left us exactly where we started.

UTB

Not entirely fair, he started when we were facing relegation to the 4th division. Though some might think even my dead granny could have rescued us from that plight.

 

[Hague Blade]

I'm in the dead granny camp. I give Clough no particular credit for keeping us up - any remotely competent manager that replaced the clearly inept Weir would have done the same.

Do I think Clough should have got us promoted? Yes, with the backing and resources available to him, I think he should. He didn't, there was no real sign that he had learnt from his mistakes or was prepared to change his stubborn and misguided negative approach, and so I've no problem with United sacking him. Though as others have posted, it ill behoves any of us to celebrate people losing their jobs.

I think we should be delighted with the appointment of Adkins. Best man available and his record of promotions speaks for itself. Remember that Clough has never achieved a football league promotion, and keep your mind on this:

Southampton started the 2009/10 season with minus 10 points in the third tier of English football. They are playing in Europe next season. Adkins was responsible for a large part of that. Wouldn’t we all love something similar for United?

 

[Rudders]

Southampton started the 2009/10 season with minus 10 points in the third tier of English football. They are playing in Europe next season. Adkins was responsible for a large part of that. Wouldn’t we all love something similar for United?

Yes - I think we would but didn't the Liebherr family sink millions into Saints and haven't they got severe financial problems round the corner???
I'm not sure the Prince will invest as much and I don't think that the squad Adkins inherits is as good. But we shall see!

 

[grafikhaus]

No gratitude whatsoever owed to Clough....anyone with half a footballing brain would have left us in a better position than the situation inherited from the awful Wier....progress under Clough was minimal giving tge resources at his disposal and his owm inabilities were his downfall.....good riddence.

I'd agree with this. It's hardly a testament that he 'halted our slide to Div. 2'. He didn't. The shameful fact that we were near the bottom of Div. 1 is entirely down to a succession on poor managerial choices. The worst manager in the world could have accrued enough points to stay in this division.

So while it's all very nice offering our thanks etc. don't forget that - with the odd exception - our league form was unbelievably poor. He would not have changed next season. He's incapable of change. That was almost certainly his downfall. The board would have asked him his hopes and expectations for next season and he'd have said 'More of the same.' Well he could have plodded on with his negativity, favouritism and non-existent tactics without me.

There's no guarantees in football, but I think Adkins is a cracking signing. I've gone from a state of total indifference about the coming season to one where I can't wait for it to begin.

 

[Pollingtonblade]

I wasn't surprised when McCabe said that to be honest. The lack of concern that we had no height/strength in what was is a physical league indicates that. No doubt Clough said he now recognised that but too late, alas.

And it wasn't the only reason.

sure you and me sat on the train to Leeds in Jan/Feb and agreed this was the case. If only the manager could have seen it.

 

[yorkshirecoast]

I'm in the dead granny camp. I give Clough no particular credit for keeping us up - any remotely competent manager that replaced the clearly inept Weir would have done the same.

Do I think Clough should have got us promoted? Yes, with the backing and resources available to him, I think he should. He didn't, there was no real sign that he had learnt from his mistakes or was prepared to change his stubborn and misguided negative approach, and so I've no problem with United sacking him. Though as others have posted, it ill behoves any of us to celebrate people losing their jobs.

I think we should be delighted with the appointment of Adkins. Best man available and his record of promotions speaks for itself. Remember that Clough has never achieved a football league promotion, and keep your mind on this:

Southampton started the 2009/10 season with minus 10 points in the third tier of English football. They are playing in Europe next season. Adkins was responsible for a large part of that. Wouldn’t we all love something similar for United?

Agreed. I think absolutely anyone could have significantly improved things after Weir went given the players we had at our disposal that season.

The cup runs were great - but apart from that we went backwards under Clough. The negative playing style, bizarre selections, falling out with players and his dour persona all contributed to creating a gulf between the club and many of our fans. For Sheffield United to play in L1 the way we did last season was unacceptable.

Adkins is an excellent appointment. He appears to be the very opposite of Clough and it's great to be able to look forward to next season with renewed enthusiasm and optimism.

 

[BushBlade]

Yes - I think we would but didn't the Liebherr family sink millions into Saints and haven't they got severe financial problems round the corner???
I'm not sure the Prince will invest as much and I don't think that the squad Adkins inherits is as good. But we shall see!

Yes, there was money.
As far as I am aware there are no financial problems round the corner.

 

[BushBlade]

Not entirely fair, he started when we were facing relegation to the 4th division. Though some might think even my dead granny could have rescued us from that plight.

Personally, I don't think it was quite that straightforward. From selling Blackman to the appointment of Clough we were a shambles. In the main, Weir's recruits were talentless or spineless and we played as bad as we ever have.

But, afaic, it's academic. We sacked Clough and replaced him with someone better. That's usually how you progress. It doesn't need justifying by slating Clough. I'm thankful for beating Villa, Forest, that rainy night in Fulham and the cockney walk. And for giving us a bit of hope after some real dross.
Shame he couldn't follow it through and complete the job but he didn't.

Lets move on.

 

[Bill the Butcher]

Clough signed at the perfect time for us and i will certainly remember him more fondly than negatively