Behind Enemy Lines. Despatches from Collins

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It's a shame his football ability doesn't match his writings. That's a good article in fairness from someone of limited ability but who obviously has great love for the club.

What is surprising that in this day and age of footballers almost being franchises, a lot of ex-players do seem to hold genuine affection for the club and its supporters.
 



Kenilworth said:
I've taken to indulging in a tipple of Rum now and again. Non-spiced for now. Enjoying it :)
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Plenty to go at Ken. Spiced is OK now and again but aged dark rum hits the spot for me. My latest discovery is Brugal 1888 from Dominican Republic. Aged in bourbon barrels and then finished in sherry casks it is dark and complex with a great sweet finish. Incidentally, most dark rums are aged in bourbon barrels because it was a cheap process. To classify as 'bourbon' the whiskey has to be matured in a brand new barrel every time, when the bourbon is ready the barrel can't be used again, so rum distillers got a ready supply of cheap barrels. Off to the Caribbean at Christmas and hope to find some new rums to try.
 
dazzlingblade said:
fuck me even on a thread about someone who played for us several years ago, that is about the passion and feelings of the derby, some people still manage to turn it into a dig about his performances in our shirt, pat yourselves on the back, you have outdone yourselves on the negativity front
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And those same people are all brilliant at their jobs, never make a mistake and give their all passionately for their employers every single day of their working lives:rolleyes:. They are superhuman after all.
 
And here's the very shirt he wore on his debut. He gave it to me before he went to the States.

He was always a very big Blades fan and when I met him at the gym in Leeds (once or twice a week for extra training or there with his wife and kids in the kids play area), the chat was largely Blades-centred.

I hated the sheer bile that some posters shovelled on his head

Top bloke as well with a lovely family.

It was he that, shall we say, didn't deny to me that NC was on his way out ...

Neill Collins' Derby Debut shirt 1.jpg

Neill Collins' Derby Debut shirt 2.png
 
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Not sure about this though:

The team was full of experience and I was going to play beside team captain and no-nonsense centre-back Chris Morgan. My only previous dealings with him had been the previous season, when I faced him with Sunderland and he punched me square in the gut at a corner. That afternoon, I was delighted to have him alongside instead of opposite me.

Completely libelous and I would imagine that Morgs is consulting the best solicitors in the land, as we speak.

Probably....
 
SouthEssexBlade said:
Plenty to go at Ken. Spiced is OK now and again but aged dark rum hits the spot for me. My latest discovery is Brugal 1888 from Dominican Republic. Aged in bourbon barrels and then finished in sherry casks it is dark and complex with a great sweet finish. Incidentally, most dark rums are aged in bourbon barrels because it was a cheap process. To classify as 'bourbon' the whiskey has to be matured in a brand new barrel every time, when the bourbon is ready the barrel can't be used again, so rum distillers got a ready supply of cheap barrels. Off to the Caribbean at Christmas and hope to find some new rums to try.
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I've settled on Pusser's for now but will be ready to try something new for my birthday - I'll give this a shot! Also, nice bit of rum-trivia :)

Back to Collins - god loves a trier and he's gone into this blog-writing the same way as his football - 100% effort and determination, falls a bit short on ability. I love the passion he puts into it which feels honest and genuine, some lovely digs and niggles, but he could do with laying off the clichés a bit! Will definitely look out for more :)
 
I should coco said:
Not sure about this though:

The team was full of experience and I was going to play beside team captain and no-nonsense centre-back Chris Morgan. My only previous dealings with him had been the previous season, when I faced him with Sunderland and he punched me square in the gut at a corner. That afternoon, I was delighted to have him alongside instead of opposite me.

Completely libelous and I would imagine that Morgs is consulting the best solicitors in the land, as we speak.

Probably....
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Not the kidneys?
 
SwissBlade said:
Can't read anything from him. Did he say he was a victim or that he was a good player.
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No, he said neither. What he did write was an interesting and insightful article, which was well worth the read. Yes he wasn`t the best centre back, but he always tried to do his best, and, as I understand it, is a decent human being.
 
Sharrow Snuff Mill said:
No, he said neither. What he did write was an interesting and insightful article, which was well worth the read. Yes he wasn`t the best centre back, but he always tried to do his best, and, as I understand it, is a decent human being.
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Sounds like I don't need to read it then. I'll wait for the one where he managed to fool countless Blades managers into playing him
 



Sharrow Snuff Mill said:
Sounds like you`re the kind of bloke who wouldn`t give him any credit if he saved the life of a member of your family.
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Is that what he told you he did? ;)

To be quite honest, a blog by Neil Collins, a player that consistently contributed to one of the worst periods of my clubs history, is unlikely to be filled with anything other than bollocks. I'm sure he's very proud of his career and perhaps felt hard done too but he provided zero quality in his time at the lane and for me seemed like a very disruptive part of a clique.

If he saved a family member I'd say thanks.
 
SwissBlade said:
Is that what he told you he did? ;)

To be quite honest, a blog by Neil Collins, a player that consistently contributed to one of the worst periods of my clubs history, is unlikely to be filled with anything other than bollocks. I'm sure he's very proud of his career and perhaps felt hard done too but he provided zero quality in his time at the lane and for me seemed like a very disruptive part of a clique.

If he saved a family member I'd say thanks.
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Everyone to their own. Personally I prefer to have an open mind, read the article and then draw my conclusions.
 
SouthEssexBlade said:
Plenty to go at Ken. Spiced is OK now and again but aged dark rum hits the spot for me. My latest discovery is Brugal 1888 from Dominican Republic. Aged in bourbon barrels and then finished in sherry casks it is dark and complex with a great sweet finish. Incidentally, most dark rums are aged in bourbon barrels because it was a cheap process. To classify as 'bourbon' the whiskey has to be matured in a brand new barrel every time, when the bourbon is ready the barrel can't be used again, so rum distillers got a ready supply of cheap barrels. Off to the Caribbean at Christmas and hope to find some new rums to try.
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Yep. That's what I am enjoying. He aged, dark rums. Will be buying some more soon. They go too fast :o
 
derekacorah said:
If Monty wrote a blog would all the Monty haters forgive him? As much as I think Collins writes a good blog it doesn't paper over the cracks of some shoddy defensive work in his time here, although he did cry in an interview so all is forgotten. I do remember turning up at the Sty for that game though and thinking "I hope this Collins is decent", he had a good game from memory.
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He wasn't the best defender we've ever had and for that matter nor was Morgan - I can list many better centre halves than both of them. However what Collins gets is United the club, the fans and the identity of all that goes with it. Kevin Gage is similar too and he wasn't the best right back we've ever had either although don't get me wrong he did a decent job as did Collins. The problem for Collo is that he played in a United team that didn't succeed over the 5 years he played for us to get promoted and we were relegated in that time too. For some fans he and Doyle were always the first to blame in that spell when actually those two were the ones who stood up as men when the chips were down and both played well amassing over 90 points in the Wilson season. 8/10 seasons that would lead to promotion, if not the league title, so I think Collo is unfortunate in that respect.

He gave his all and was a more than capable defender in his first 3 seasons with the latter two he was on his way down, getting older and slower with injuries creeping in. Collo though should be remembered as a proper Blade who did a decent job. We should have the utmost respect for Collo, Doyle and Monty as opposed to many who came to the club for high wages, delivered less than their wage merited and then left to go to another club without a whimper and no doubt pleased to leave to further their career and/or wage packet.
 
It seems that the alcohol that some of you are drinking is confusing you that much that you cannot find the correct thread to post on. As for the topic in the OP, I have no doubt that Neil gave of his best for United, perhaps with the exception of the Clough spell. His detractors should bear in mind what happened to United late in the season where he was left out. In my opinion it cost us promotion.

Neil was certainly a blade through and through, I spoke to him at the time when he was injured and out of the team with a broken cheekbone and there was no doubt that he loved United so much that he wanted to continue playing through the injury. He wasn't without fault as a player, but there again how many super blades supporters are faultless in their own jobs?
 
Booker4 said:
He wasn't the best defender we've ever had and for that matter nor was Morgan - I can list many better centre halves than both of them. However what Collins gets is United the club, the fans and the identity of all that goes with it. Kevin Gage is similar too and he wasn't the best right back we've ever had either although don't get me wrong he did a decent job as did Collins. The problem for Collo is that he played in a United team that didn't succeed over the 5 years he played for us to get promoted and we were relegated in that time too. For some fans he and Doyle were always the first to blame in that spell when actually those two were the ones who stood up as men when the chips were down and both played well amassing over 90 points in the Wilson season. 8/10 seasons that would lead to promotion, if not the league title, so I think Collo is unfortunate in that respect.

He gave his all and was a more than capable defender in his first 3 seasons with the latter two he was on his way down, getting older and slower with injuries creeping in. Collo though should be remembered as a proper Blade who did a decent job. We should have the utmost respect for Collo, Doyle and Monty as opposed to many who came to the club for high wages, delivered less than their wage merited and then left to go to another club without a whimper and no doubt pleased to leave to further their career and/or wage packet.
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Sorry I can't agree here. I wouldn't ever put Collins and Doyle in the same bracket as Monty. Monty was far superior to both and played in a PL team as well as the promotion winning Championship side, he knew his role and played it well (tin hat time), this is the role that Doyle was supposed to do but didn't do effectively at all. If you remember Doyle when he came in was one of the overpaid idiots who ended up getting us relegated, the only reason he wasn't on the same money when he left is because he consistently proved himself to be crap and the pay cuts followed. He did a cockney walk at West Ham though so all is forgiven for some.

Doyle and Collins are the type of player who I wouldn't even bother commenting on, however they get lauded on here for being Bladey Blades. At the end of the day both were more than adequately paid for the terrible job they did in one of the worst teams we've had in modern history. The fact that since they've gone they feel the need to show how much they love the club could have done with being on show at the time they played here in the form of good performances.

To compare them to the likes of Morgan, who was a good servant and wasn't overpaid in relation to his contribution to the club or Gage, who played in an era where we existed on a shoestring and still managed to have a good side with solid battlers like Gage, Nilsen, Gayle to name a few.

Another way of putting the promotion year is that despite having 35 goals from Ched, more goals from Quinn and Williamson in midfield and great young talents like Lowton and Maguire at the back they still managed to squander promotion. It wasn't the likes of those I mentioned in the last sentence that caused it, it was the footballing retards like Collins and Doyle.

It's a good article and I'll praise him for that, he defended well in the game at Hillsborough I'll praise him for that, but not much else.
 
derekacorah said:
If Monty wrote a blog would all the Monty haters forgive him? As much as I think Collins writes a good blog it doesn't paper over the cracks of some shoddy defensive work in his time here, although he did cry in an interview so all is forgotten. I do remember turning up at the Sty for that game though and thinking "I hope this Collins is decent", he had a good game from memory.
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What he writes about us won’t re-write history and make him a better player than he was. But it can alter blades fans’ perceptions about him as a man. It’s nice to see former players come out with such public displays of affection for our club whilst deriding the filth. Well done Neil. Similarly, with the Monty reference, does anyone hate Monty? I think we all appreciate that he always gave his all. For some, that was enough to endear him, for others, it didn’t make up for the fact that he wasn’t a very good footballer but almost to a man, I think he has some sort of respect from blades fans for his attitude if nothing else (I think even Pinchy has acknowledged this previously).


No hatred for either player. I like them both. Doesn’t mean they were great footballers mind.
 
GallonofMagnet said:
Maybe his next ramblings will be about not helping young academy lads through tough spells and instead just blaming them for everything. Even his own mistakes.
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Amazing that Harry Maguire has become an England international and is very complimentary about how Collins helped him progressed and that he isn’t just sat in a corner rocking after spending 3 years alongside Nasty Neil.
 
Harrisblade said:
Why do so many ignore the article but just post to slag off an ex-player?
Is it really so painful when a few Blades happen to be complimentary about something WRITTEN? :(
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The article is good, what annoys me is how well below average ex-players can be turned into heroes just by saying that they enjoyed their time at the club. As a fan and a spectator of football Neil, I didn't enjoy your time at the club. Then again I wasn't being paid a minimum of £250k each year for the privilege of you being here like you were.
 



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