Derek Dooley

[Woodwardfan]

I sponsored Brian Gayle through my company one year and paid up front for it ( £500 which was quite a bit then). Anyway towards the end of the season I got a letter from Utd demanding payment ,I contacted them and told them it had been paid. Couple of weeks later stronger letters came and then my 'debt' was passed on to a collection agency who threatened bailiffs if I didn't pay within days. I wrote to the board of directors explaining the situation ,that I was a Blade of 20 odd years etc etc , my biggest client of the time was Irwin Mitchell who were much smaller then ,and a lawyer I was friendly with gave a trainee a challenge to sort it out with no fee for me. Never heard another thing from Utd ,no apology , nothing ,it turned out Paul woolhouse had set up a bank account in the name of Sheff Utd and had stolen loads including my cheque before disappearing and Utd were of course embarrassed about it. My season ticket the following season was bought semi reluctantly but Im a Blade and Woolhouse was a crook ,the board and employees of Utd are temporary but supporters are permanent and that's why I cant agree with Dooley or anyone else swapping their allegiance. UTB

Sorry Sitwell, Woolhouse was a crook, we all know that now, but for the club not to apologise once all that was established is unforgiveable. In fact I think you should seek an apology from the club right now and I'm sure McCabe would be appalled by the treatment of a fellow Blade.

Howver, that's nothing to do with Dooley or ex-SWFC employees is it? Different things altogether, surely.

Players, owners, board menbers and fans are temporary mate. My Dad was the biggest fan I have ever known.

 

[ghandi]

R.I.P Derek, you'll never be forgotten, Blades Legend.

Derek who? Do you mean the SWFC legend?

 

[ghandi]

I sponsored Brian Gayle through my company one year and paid up front for it ( £500 which was quite a bit then). Anyway towards the end of the season I got a letter from Utd demanding payment ,I contacted them and told them it had been paid. Couple of weeks later stronger letters came and then my 'debt' was passed on to a collection agency who threatened bailiffs if I didn't pay within days. I wrote to the board of directors explaining the situation ,that I was a Blade of 20 odd years etc etc , my biggest client of the time was Irwin Mitchell who were much smaller then ,and a lawyer I was friendly with gave a trainee a challenge to sort it out with no fee for me. Never heard another thing from Utd ,no apology , nothing ,it turned out Paul woolhouse had set up a bank account in the name of Sheff Utd and had stolen loads including my cheque before disappearing and Utd were of course embarrassed about it. My season ticket the following season was bought semi reluctantly but Im a Blade and Woolhouse was a crook ,the board and employees of Utd are temporary but supporters are permanent and that's why I cant agree with Dooley or anyone else swapping their allegiance. UTB

Double like Sitters my personal view of Dooley was based on my experiences with him not through some rose tinted view . Maybe he did a good job at the Lane but Blades legend; for me, never.

 

[sitwell]

Sorry Sitwell, Woolhouse was a crook, we all know that now, but for the club not to apologise once all that was established is unforgiveable. In fact I think you should seek an apology from the club right now and I'm sure McCabe would be appalled by the treatment of a fellow Blade.

Howver, that's nothing to do with Dooley or ex-SWFC employees is it? Different things altogether, surely.

Players, owners, board menbers and fans are temporary mate. My Dad was the biggest fan I have ever known.

The point being ,I remained a Blade ,I was born within sight of Bramall Lane and will always be one ,they treated me like shit ,I remained a Blade ,unlike Dooley I didn't suddenly support someone else. I would rather see a statue of Foxy than him ,he doesn't get paid either.

 

[Revolution]

You're bang on it there Rev but when Wendy sacked him Xmas eve a lot of blue and white drained out of him.

You know, in about 1995 we gave Dooley a testimonial at the Lane. We played Wednesday.

There is a photo of the pre game ceremony in that book the Star produced about Sheffield derbies.

Dooley had worked for us for twenty years. He'd been fired on Christmas Eve by the Pigs. He'd gone from 1973 to 1992 without setting foot in Hillsborough. His son said that the day he was fired he pulled all his Wednesday posters off the wall.

We gave him a job and a good living in football.

And yet in the photo, his grandson is wearing a Wednesday kit. He has of course since been arrested at Wednesday games. He is a lifelong Wednesday fan.

Sitwell is right. You don't swap Sheffield clubs. The Dooleys never did.

Dooley may have done a great job at the Lane. But a statue? Come on.

McCabe is a life long Blade - and as such he should have known better.

 

[Silent Blade]

You know, in about 1995 we gave Dooley a testimonial at the Lane. We played Wednesday.

There is a photo of the pre game ceremony in that book the Star produced about Sheffield derbies.

Dooley had worked for us for twenty years. He'd been fired on Christmas Eve by the Pigs. He'd gone from 1973 to 1992 without setting foot in Hillsborough. His son said that the day he was fired he pulled all his Wednesday posters off the wall.

We gave him a job and a good living in football.

And yet in the photo, his grandson is wearing a Wednesday kit. He has of course since been arrested at Wednesday games. He is a lifelong Wednesday fan.

Sitwell is right. You don't swap Sheffield clubs. The Dooleys never did.

Dooley may have done a great job at the Lane. But a statue? Come on.

McCabe is a life long Blade - and as such he should have known better.

His testimonial match was in August 1993. He did go to watch a match at Hillsborough in 1976, it was a the FA Cup semi final between Derby and Man U but felt the officials at the club werent too friendly to him and vowed not to come back again

 

[Whiston Blade]

Derek who? Do you mean the SWFC legend?

You don't have to agree, sunshine. There is a statue of him outside the South Stand so he's held in high regard by the Blades.

 

[Silent Blade]

You don't have to agree, sunshine. There is a statue of him outside the South Stand so he's held in high regard by the Blades.

Looking like Saddam Hussein!

 

[Woodwardfan]

The point being ,I remained a Blade ,I was born within sight of Bramall Lane and will always be one ,they treated me like shit ,I remained a Blade ,unlike Dooley I didn't suddenly support someone else. I would rather see a statue of Foxy than him ,he doesn't get paid either.

I think Dooley got himself a job and took it from there. Once an Owl always an Owl.

 

[Cyprus Blade]

For me Dooley was and always will be associated with Wednesday in my mind and if you search on google there is precious little in the way of quotes etc.from his time at United. He was, however, a professional in the world of football (not a fan - though I am quite sure he supported the pigs in his heart from his days at Owler Lane and before) and put in many years service at the Lane -far longer than his 61 or so matches for the pigs. He deserves our respect for that.

Personally I wouldn't have done the statue though - John Harris would have been my choice of non-player (ironically he ended up going the other way - something about the time back then maybe. Do we berate him all these years later?). Nor would I judge him on his son. Judge him on his own merits if you must.

Dooley was a Pitsmoor lad though so I am more than happy with the road being named after him, god knows Pitsmoor has had little enough to celebrate. Coming from Pitsmoor myself, it is often a source of deep regret to me that Dooley and Fantham were of the opposite persuasion since they are probably the best two players to come out of Pitsmoor in my lifetime but they were good players and Dooley did a decent enough job for us as far as I can see from the outside. I respect them for that and their achievements.

Call me old fashioned but I'd let the dead rest in peace and not berate them. The dead cannot answer back.

 

[Whiston Blade]

Looking like Saddam Hussein!

Best pull it down and slap his head with you're flip flops then...

 

[Revolution]

For me Dooley was and always will be associated with Wednesday in my mind and if you search on google there is precious little in the way of quotes etc.from his time at United. He was, however, a professional in the world of football (not a fan - though I am quite sure he supported the pigs in his heart from his days at Owler Lane and before) and put in many years service at the Lane -far longer than his 61 or so matches for the pigs. He deserves our respect for that.

Personally I wouldn't have done the statue though - John Harris would have been my choice of non-player (ironically he ended up going the other way - something about the time back then maybe. Do we berate him all these years later?). Nor would I judge him on his son. Judge him on his own merits if you must.

Dooley was a Pitsmoor lad though so I am more than happy with the road being named after him, god knows Pitsmoor has had little enough to celebrate. Coming from Pitsmoor myself, it is often a source of deep regret to me that Dooley and Fantham were of the opposite persuasion since they are probably the best two players to come out of Pitsmoor in my lifetime but they were good players and Dooley did a decent enough job for us as far as I can see from the outside. I respect them for that and their achievements.

Call me old fashioned but I'd let the dead rest in peace and not berate them. The dead cannot answer back.

My Grandad told me he remembered coming home from work in the 1940s through (I think) Firth Park and frequently seeing this big kid playing football and absolutely dominating the game. He said that he could never work out why the other kids let the big kid play. The big kid was Dooley, and his mates were all the same age - he was just massive compared to them, and was massive as a pro too. In his breakout season (46 goals in 30 games) the Green Un called him the "Abominable Scoreman".

I have no issue with Dooley as a person. I just think that there are literally dozens of more deserving cases for a statue at the Lane.

 

[Whiston Blade]

I have no issue with Dooley as a person. I just think that there are literally dozens of more deserving cases for a statue at the Lane.

The car park has plenty of room for "more deserving" statues. FS, he was a pig, so what ? When he was with us he wanted the best for this club, did he not ? Wasn't he one of the people who had reservations about Hashimi taking over ?

But let's continue to slag this "pig" off, I'm sure he'll be along shortly to come and defend himself...

 

[ghandi]

You don't have to agree, sunshine. There is a statue of him outside the South Stand so he's held in high regard by the Blades.

Thanks I don't. Just because the board erected a statue doesn't mean they speak for all Blades sonny.

 

[Whiston Blade]

Thanks I don't. Just because the board erected a statue doesn't mean they speak for all Blades sonny.

The club never erected it and said this was what every fan wanted.

 

[shorehamview]

Derek Dooley did the very best he could for United while he worked at the Lane. He also went "above and beyond" on many occasions. When one of my younger brothers, aged around 7 or 8 at the time, was being shown around before watching the match by our uncle, who had been a referee and also coached a lot at youth level, Dooley bumped into them. He told my brother and uncle to follow him, took them into the home dressing room, my brother met the players, Dooley got them all to sign a programme for little brother, and generally made a big fuss that he didn't have to do.

I never met him, but family and friends that did from both sides of the football divide in Sheffield haven't got a bad word to say about him. There are undoubtedly others who deserve statues at Bramall Lane, but to dismiss Derek Dooley as "just a pig" does him a great disservice.

 

[Revolution]

The car park has plenty of room for "more deserving" statues. FS, he was a pig, so what ? When he was with us he wanted the best for this club, did he not ? Wasn't he one of the people who had reservations about Hashimi taking over ?

But let's continue to slag this "pig" off, I'm sure he'll be along shortly to come and defend himself...

I haven't called Dooley a pig, and I haven't slagged him off.

I just pointed out that he is not qualified to have a statue at the Lane.

FWIW his statue is one of only two at an English ground which is not of a player or manager. The other is of Michael Jackson at Craven Cottage.

Dooley was a player and manager. of Wednesday. He was also a Wednesdayite.

This was as dumb an idea as the Jessica Ennis Stand. Unfortunately it's harder to undo.

 

[Revolution]

I never met him, but family and friends that did from both sides of the football divide in Sheffield haven't got a bad word to say about him.

So stick his statue in the City Centre.

 

[Whiston Blade]

I haven't called Dooley a pig, and I haven't slagged him off.

I just pointed out that he is not qualified to have a statue at the Lane.

I'm not saying you called him a pig, but others have in here, you're post was the one I quoted and decided to reply to. What makes someone qualified to be considered for a statue ? The club seem to think he's worthy of one and tbh as they paid for it why should they care what you think ?

 

[blade too long]

Derek Dooley on his first game for Lincoln City reserves:

"When I got there someone threw me a red and white shirt to play in. Well, I didn't know what Lincoln's colours were. But that was sacrilege to me because Sheffield United played in red and white. I was a Wednesdayite. In Sheffield you had to be one or the other."

And we built him a statue...

the man did good by us ,
while he was here the club got stronger , the ground got rebuilt , the football got better and he did his share of promoting us

what he did when he was younger is irrelevant

 

[Lane Ender]

To summarize then
1. As a manager - Failed at Wednesday
2.As General Manager/ Chairman of SUFC- Represented the club well, worked well with the manager.
3.Should he have a statue in his honour- No.
4.Was he still a Wednesdayite at heart- Blue and White still there but the sacking on Xmas Eve 1973 hurt badly.

 

[sitwell]

To summarize then
1. As a manager - Failed at Wednesday
2.As General Manager/ Chairman of SUFC- Represented the club well, worked well with the manager.
3.Should he have a statue in his honour- No.
4.Was he still a Wednesdayite at heart- Blue and White still there but the sacking on Xmas Eve 1973 hurt badly.

Off on a tangent ,but what the hell makes anyone sack someone on Xmas eve unless its vindictive. I know City link did it to fleece the Xmas delivery mark but Dooley ?

 

[Cyprus Blade]

what the hell makes anyone sack someone on Xmas eve unless its vindictive.

Jamie Oliver did the same. Lovely man.

 

[blade67]

Wilkinson would sabotage us.

apologies to you and sitwell. the post was clearly aimed at provocation. However, as bassett has proved since leaving us these guys are professionals and if the money is right they can be amazing actors. I watched the palace v united play off final on telly due to family reasons and Bassett was asked who he wanted to win. When he said Palace I felt stabbed in the heart. He was more loyal to the palace team than us Blades, but sadly that is how it is in professional sport