Carrying the Scars of Pre-Season Optimism

[Darren]

The current wave of optimism for the new season has revived my memories of when optimism has never been higher. 40 years ago this summer. The basis of this optimism was that the closing season had just seen our 2nd highest league position since the war (6th), the new South Stand was to open, record season ticket sales (at the time), Currie at his peak and record signing (at the time) Chris Guthrie added to the squad.
What could possibly go wrong? Answer – everything.
I know we have subsequently been much lower down the leagues and had vastly inferior teams but, to me, 1975-76 was the worst season I can remember. Younger fans will never agree; after all we were in the top league with TC in the team. But with all the pre-season optimism, to be certainties for relegation by October was hard to take. We only won 6 all season, with 4 of those coming after relegation was confirmed in late March.
We signed jinking, drinking Jimmy Johnstone, reputedly on more money that Woodward and Currie, and by his own admission he was a disgrace to his profession.
Perhaps wiser fans than me would have seen this coming. Aging team, no money and decent youngsters not ready for the first team. The thrashing at Villa in the cup was, with hindsight, a clear indicator of things to come.
Len Badger said recently that we were lucky when we finished 6th, several games were won that could have gone either way and he was worried that the lower league signings who had done well would not be able sustain their performance levels in the longer term. I believe his actual words were along the lines of - you sign 3rd division players, that’s where you will end up.
Nevertheless, despite the recurring psychological scars of 1975-76, and the widest possible gap between expectation and actual achievement, like another poster I too am counting the sleeps to the new season. The new managerial appointment could not have been bettered IMO and I am certain we will be champions this time.
Nurse, have the visitors gone yet?

The only new "lower league signing" we had in 74-5 was David Bradford, who was not a regular. We had signed 2 lower league players towards the end of 73-4 - Field and Brown - and they had done particularly well in 74-5 - Brown was called up for the Scotland squad and Field got 11 goals.

Otherwise, the 74-5 team was the team that had been intemittenly useful since 1971-2

Brown

Badger
Colquhoun
Flynn
Hemsley


Currie
Eddy
Speight

Woodward
Dearden
Field

 

[SouthEssexBlade]

The Academy wiki page is incomplete and out of date - but the list is here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheffield_United_F.C._Academy and I am sure that the brains trust on here will be able to supplement it.

Player
Liban Abdi
Micky Adams
Ben Algar
Jamie Annerson
James Ashmore
Frank Barlow
Aaron Barry
Alan Birchenall
Connor Brown
Scott Boden
Jordan Chapell
Adam Chapman
Ryan Cresswell
Kevin Davies
Connor Dimaio
Diego De Girolamo
Martin Donnelly
Jonathan Forte
Ryan Gyaki
Matthew Harriott
Alan Hodgkinson
Evan Horwood
Kevan Hurst
Phil Jagielka
Kingsley James
Mick Jones
Joe Ironside
Terry Kennedy
Otis Khan
Nicky Law
George Long
Matthew Lowton
Harry Maguire
Colin Marrison
Callum McFadzean
Kyle McFadzean
Jacob Mellis
Nick Montgomery
Kyle Naughton
George Oghani
Tony Philliskirk
Ben Purkiss
Keith Quinn
Stephen Quinn
Wayne Quinn
Louis Reed
Danny Reet
Chris Robertson
Jordan Robertson
Phil Roe
Ian Ross
Jordan Slew
Billy Sharp
Graham Shaw
Jake Speight
Ben Starosta
Aymen Tahar
Lee Thompson
Tyrone Thompson
Richard Tracey
Nicky Travis
Michael Tonge
Kyle Walker
Mark Ward
Sam Wedgbury
Alan Woodward
Dane Whitehouse
Elliott Whitehouse
Ben Whiteman

click players in red for their wiki page

Simon Stainrod?

 

[Blade56]

Tbh I don't feel as optimistic as I did when NC came in. Think it's a mixer of 'once bitten' and the old Bladey Blade luck.

I'm feeling more relief that we will try and play more attractive attacking and dare I say entertaining football devoid of a charecter and his politics that became bigger than the club.

 

[Silent Blade]

We had signed 2 lower league players towards the end of 73-4 - Field and Brown -

Terry Garbett as well

 

[Darren]

Terry Garbett as well

But he wasn't a regular. We had 6 players who were regulars throughout 71-5 - Badger, Hemsley, Woodward, Currie, Dearden and Colquhoun. They formed the spine of the team and they were all still around in 1975-6. We can add Eddy to that group as well from 1973.

 

[Silent Blade]

But he wasn't a regular. We had 6 players who were regulars throughout 71-5 - Badger, Hemsley, Woodward, Currie, Dearden and Colquhoun. They formed the spine of the team and they were all still around in 1975-6. We can add Eddy to that group as well from 1973.

Ok, not sure if Dearden and Flynn were regulars. Furphy didnt rate Dearden who had an injury hit 1973-74 season. Cammack played some games. Flynn might have played more than 30 games in a season only once for us. Will check when I get home

 

[Silent Blade]

Ok, not sure if Dearden and Flynn were regulars. Furphy didnt rate Dearden who had an injury hit 1973-74 season. Cammack played some games. Flynn might have played more than 30 games in a season only once for us. Will check when I get home

Just remembered Gary Jones, a striker we signed on loan from Bolton. Scored in his debut in the 1-0 win at Carlisle. We didnt keep him as Furphy said that he didnt seem to fit in with the lads

 

[travellingblade]

40 years ago, we knew we had a poor board of directors, whom none of us trusted, so it was a real surprise when what happened, did happen.

I feel that now we've got a good manager, and time for a good pre-season, but I felt this way exactly 12 (or maybe 11 months ago). What's changed ...... it's the Blades way.

 

[Guesty]

I think people were more optimistic before last season, I reckon 90% of people thought we were going to storm the league and be promoted as Champions...

This year as happy as people are with the Adkins appointment I don't think anyone really belives we are going to storm the division next season... In a funny way that might actually help the new regime settle in.

I think at the end of last season people were pretty confident but come Kick Off some of it had dissipated due to an underwhelming transfer window.

As I put it a few weeks in to the season 'At the end of last season I think we all expected to expect United to go up automatically. By the time we season started we no longer expected it', if that makes sense!

Also, I may be Captain Hindsight a bit here but I'm sure myself and plenty of others were never fooled by Michael Higdon.

 

[Nick Jansky]

Ok, not sure if Dearden and Flynn were regulars. Furphy didnt rate Dearden who had an injury hit 1973-74 season. Cammack played some games. Flynn might have played more than 30 games in a season only once for us. Will check when I get home

Dearden was a regular in 74/5, Flynn wasn't - still recovering from a broken leg suffered in the previous season.

 

[Silent Blade]

The only new "lower league signing" we had in 74-5 was David Bradford, who was not a regular. We had signed 2 lower league players towards the end of 73-4 - Field and Brown - and they had done particularly well in 74-5 - Brown was called up for the Scotland squad and Field got 11 goals.

Otherwise, the 74-5 team was the team that had been intemittenly useful since 1971-2

Brown

Badger
Colquhoun
Flynn
Hemsley


Currie
Eddy
Speight

Woodward
Dearden
Field

Just looked at the 1974-75 season in Complete Records

Jim Brown, TC, Woody and Tony Field were ever presents. The rest of the list in order of FL appearances are as follows
Keith Eddy (39)
Eddie Colquhoun (38)
Len Badger (38)
Mick Speight (33)
Ted Hemsley (32)
Bill Dearden (31 + 3 sub)
David Bradford (22 + 4)
Colin Franks (22 + 3)
John Flynn (18)
Steve Cammack (7 + 6)
Terry Garbett (5 + 4)
Gary Jones (3)
Steve Faulkner (3)
Terry Nicholl (2 + 3)
Steve Goulding (2)

David Bradford or Colin Franks should replace John Flynn in your team for 1974-75 season.

John Flynn played only 9 FL games in the 1970-71 season and it annoys me that many Blades fans forget about Dave Powell (played in every league game that season, apart from the Boxing Day match against Leicester, until his bad knee injury at QPR) when naming the 1971 promotion team. Only twice Flynn has played more than 24 FL games in one season, they are 1973-74 (36) and 1977-78 (32)

 

[Silent Blade]

Dearden was a regular in 74/5, Flynn wasn't - still recovering from a broken leg suffered in the previous season.

He broke his leg at Charlton in October 1976 (Derek Hales broke his leg which got Eddie Colquhoun mad and after the match Eddie shouted at Hales "I will break your leg next time you come to Bramall Lane". Hales had moved to Derby County before Charlton next came to the Lane

Didnt know Flynn broke his leg in 1973-74?

 

[Nick Jansky]

Might not have been a broken leg, I'm relying on memory here. But he did suffer a bad injury in 73/74 & missed a lot of the following season.

Colin Franks was a regular CB partner for Colquhoun, although Keith Eddy played quite a few games there too.

 

[Silent Blade]

Might not have been a broken leg, I'm relying on memory here. But he did suffer a bad injury in 73/74 & missed a lot of the following season.

Colin Franks was a regular CB partner for Colquhoun, although Keith Eddy played quite a few games there too.

Just looked at his stats for the 1973-74 season (36 League games). Got subbed in the 3-0 home defeat against Ipswich in March (dont know if it was due to an injury) and didnt return to the team until the 0-0 draw at Champions to be L**ds a month later. He wasnt in the 1974-75 pre-season squad photo and didnt play for us until October (County Cup match)

 

[GRUMPY BLADE]

Just looked at the 1974-75 season in Complete Records

Jim Brown, TC, Woody and Tony Field were ever presents. The rest of the list in order of FL appearances are as follows
Keith Eddy (39)
Eddie Colquhoun (38)
Len Badger (38)
Mick Speight (33)
Ted Hemsley (32)
Bill Dearden (31 + 3 sub)
David Bradford (22 + 4)
Colin Franks (22 + 3)
John Flynn (18)
Steve Cammack (7 + 6)
Terry Garbett (5 + 4)
Gary Jones (3)
Steve Faulkner (3)
Terry Nicholl (2 + 3)
Steve Goulding (2)

David Bradford or Colin Franks should replace John Flynn in your team for 1974-75 season.

John Flynn played only 9 FL games in the 1970-71 season and it annoys me that many Blades fans forget about Dave Powell (played in every league game that season, apart from the Boxing Day match against Leicester, until his bad knee injury at QPR) when naming the 1971 promotion team. Only twice Flynn has played more than 24 FL games in one season, they are 1973-74 (36) and 1977-78 (32)

Strange that about Flynn, I've always thought that we struggled to replace him when stats show different?

 

[Silent Blade]

Strange that about Flynn, I've always thought that we struggled to replace him when stats show different?

Since Powell's injury at QPR in March 1971 until 1978, Colquhoun's partner at the back have been Flynn, MacKenzie. Franks, Kenworthy and Faulkner!