Jimmy Hagan

All advertisments are hidden for logged in members, why not log in/register?


A good article and I can vouch for everything the writer says about Jimmy. For me he just beats TC as the best player I ever saw for the Blades I first saw him in the 1947-8 season and almost every home game until his retirement in around 1958. I mentioned , on another board, that in our childhood and teens ,we are sometimes overawed by what we see compared to later on in life. Maybe that sways my vote for Jimmy over TC but either way both are absolute legends.
One story about Jimmy is that he was by the corner flag with 3 defenders fencing him in. Suddenly, Jimmy jerked his head up and glanced over his shoulder. All 3 defenders followed his gaze and when they looked back he was gone. True or not there were many magical moments to savour which would take too long (and with good writing) to describe.
 
My dad saw both players, he was born in the early 40s so would have seen a lot of both players and he said there wasn't much between the two. If I remember correctly he thought TC just shaded and only then because he was better in the air i.e. football wise he thought there was nothing in it.
 
I would have loved to see this lad play. My dad told me all about Currie and there is enough TV footage to back it up, my grandad told me all about Hagan. He said he had more ability than any player he had ever seen.
 
I’ve mentioned this before but my Grandad on my mums side was a huge Wednesday fan, one of those as the old joke goes wouldn’t eat bacon as it had red and white stripes in it, I definitely wasn’t allowed to wear my United shirt as little kid when visiting his house, he had no time for United at all..

...but ask him who the best footballer he ever saw was and he would answer without hesitation Jimmy Hagan.

if he would say that then he must have been bloody good.
 
My old Dad saw them all from the 1940s to the early 2000s and although he said Currie was brilliant said he was nowhere near as good as Hagan, he said Hagan was the best footballer he he saw full stop, the Only one he saw even come close to Hagan was peak George Best.
 
Harry's Game said:
My old Dad saw them all from the 1940s to the early 2000s and although he said Currie was brilliant said he was nowhere near as good as Hagan, he said Hagan was the best footballer he he saw full stop, the Only one he saw even come close to Hagan was peak George Best.
Click to expand...
I am lucky enough to have seen both Jimmy and TC. It is very difficult to compare as they played in different times. Both brought fabulous memories back, for which I will be forever grateful. There isn't much to recommend old age, but this is one of them.
 
My dad came down from Scotland after the war - what converted him to a Blade, Jimmy Hagan of course. He would only go to The Lane if Hagan was playing and today (he's 92) will only discuss Hagan and the great 'slim Jim' Baxter (of Rangers) when it comes to football
 
Darnall Siam Blade said:
A good article and I can vouch for everything the writer says about Jimmy. For me he just beats TC as the best player I ever saw for the Blades I first saw him in the 1947-8 season and almost every home game until his retirement in around 1958. I mentioned , on another board, that in our childhood and teens ,we are sometimes overawed by what we see compared to later on in life. Maybe that sways my vote for Jimmy over TC but either way both are absolute legends.
One story about Jimmy is that he was by the corner flag with 3 defenders fencing him in. Suddenly, Jimmy jerked his head up and glanced over his shoulder. All 3 defenders followed his gaze and when they looked back he was gone. True or not there were many magical moments to savour which would take too long (and with good writing) to describe.
Click to expand...

Whenever I told mi Dad that TC was the best we'd ever seen at BDTBL, he'd tell me about Jimmy Hagan. Wish I'd seen him play.
 
A few years ago I was working in Portugal and wearing my red and white stripes, and on more than one occasion locals would look at the shirt and say "Sheffield United". I couldn't understand why the Portuguese would see an English red and white striped shirt and assume it was us - especially as Sunderland, Southampton and Stoke we're all Premier League and we weren't.

The answer was of course Jimmy Hagan - manager of Benfica, Sporting Lisbon and a handful of other Portuguese sides.

It's nice to think that at least in one corner of the world English red and white has always meant the Blades until proven otherwise. 😄
 
Hagan's boot said:
I am lucky enough to have seen both Jimmy and TC. It is very difficult to compare as they played in different times. Both brought fabulous memories back, for which I will be forever grateful. There isn't much to recommend old age, but this is one of them.
Click to expand...

Well said .

Like you , I feel blessed to have had the privilege of seeing two truly wonderful players playing for my club and find the concept of trying to compare them both unrealistic and unnecessary . Both had outstanding but somewhat different abilities and in different eras .

One thing I can say for certain is that the mantra often repeated on here that ' Hagan was miles better than Currie ' is nonsensical , for the simple reason that there's never been an English midfield player who was miles better than him .
 
Hagan's boot said:
I am lucky enough to have seen both Jimmy and TC. It is very difficult to compare as they played in different times. Both brought fabulous memories back, for which I will be forever grateful. There isn't much to recommend old age, but this is one of them.
Click to expand...
My dad has just told me about a certain match when Jimmy Hagan was kicked from pillar to post in a particular game at the Lane. Eventually after a sustained assault by the opposition Hagan retaliated & got sent off. Me dad who was a kid at the time says, there was a deathly silence as the great man was sent off. When the injustice sunk in the crowd vented with whistles & boos to such an extent, he'd never been as scared in his life.
Can anyone remember this game?
 

haich1889 said:
My dad has just told me about a certain match when Jimmy Hagan was kicked from pillar to post in a particular game at the Lane. Eventually after a sustained assault by the opposition Hagan retaliated & got sent off. Me dad who was a kid at the time says, there was a deathly silence as the great man was sent off. When the injustice sunk in the crowd vented with whistles & boos to such an extent, he'd never been as scared in his life.
Can anyone remember this game?
Click to expand...

Yes, it was against Swansea Town. The opponent in question was a thug called Lucas.
 
broomhillblade said:
Like this one?View attachment 74758
Click to expand...

Is that the one tucked away in the museum? I do think we could be a bit better with recognising our history visibly around the ground, and would hope there might be some opportunities with that whenever we develop the ground. We don’t really have anything pre-WW2, which given all of the club’s major honours occurred in the first 36 years of the club’s existence feels like an oversight.

Appreciating the club’s history is more than just recognising those people we’re already familiar with from our time as fans, it’s about also educating people about what came before.
 
haich1889 said:
My dad has just told me about a certain match when Jimmy Hagan was kicked from pillar to post in a particular game at the Lane. Eventually after a sustained assault by the opposition Hagan retaliated & got sent off. Me dad who was a kid at the time says, there was a deathly silence as the great man was sent off. When the injustice sunk in the crowd vented with whistles & boos to such an extent, he'd never been as scared in his life.
Can anyone remember this game?
Click to expand...
broomhillblade said:
Yes, it was against Swansea Town. The opponent in question was a thug called Lucas.
Click to expand...
A Wendy fan who is a friend of mine told me that he went to that match. The crowd were angry with the sending off and many threw oranges and bananas at the ref!
 
LoughboroBlade said:
Is that the one tucked away in the museum? I do think we could be a bit better with recognising our history visibly around the ground, and would hope there might be some opportunities with that whenever we develop the ground. We don’t really have anything pre-WW2, which given all of the club’s major honours occurred in the first 36 years of the club’s existence feels like an oversight.

Appreciating the club’s history is more than just recognising those people we’re already familiar with from our time as fans, it’s about also educating people about what came before.
Click to expand...

There should be 4 outside the ground: Needham, Shaw, Currie, Hagan, and leave a plinth free for one of the current crop at some point.

The Dooley one should be moved to where fans of both teams can "enjoy" it, so to speak.
 
I'm another of the Currie era, told by the previous generation that he wasn't as good as Hagan. I dismissed this as a youth, but time taught me that a few of them, my dad included, knew a thing or two and they could well be right.

Refused a move to Wednesday, designed our current badge, became a successful manager/coach to the point I've never bought a drink in Lisbon once they know I'm a Blade. Legend is used too easily for achieving very little. I think our Jimmy deserves the accolade.
 
haich1889 said:
My dad has just told me about a certain match when Jimmy Hagan was kicked from pillar to post in a particular game at the Lane. Eventually after a sustained assault by the opposition Hagan retaliated & got sent off. Me dad who was a kid at the time says, there was a deathly silence as the great man was sent off. When the injustice sunk in the crowd vented with whistles & boos to such an extent, he'd never been as scared in his life.
Can anyone remember this game?
Click to expand...
I can just. My memory is quite hazy now,I can't remember who we were playing, but just like your Dad I felt scared at the angry mood.
 
My age meant that I was in prime position to see & enjoy watching TC's whole time at BDTBL & it doesn't really compute when people say that so & so was better than TC, I mean I just can't imagine anyone else being as good, ever. But I would have loved to have seen Hagan too, one of my grandad's said Hagan was the better player, just, so he must have been some player. Ultimately it doesn't matter who was best, it is impossible to compare anyway so just rejoice that as well as these two legends we have had some fantastic players represent us over the years.
 

I think it's fair to say Hagan and Currie would both be in the top 5 United (outfield) players of all time Needham top, then in no particular order Hagan, Currie, Gillespie (Billy) and perhaps Joe Shaw or there could be arguments for Harry Johnson, Woodward, Tunstall or Badger. Theres probably plenty of others for consideration.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Bladesman
Blades v Sheffield Wednesday - Match Highlights
2
Replies
45
Views
4K
Bladesman
Bladesman
Rodley
CONFIRMED Anis Slimane - Norwich City
2 3 4
Replies
110
Views
14K
Ndiayewillalwaysloveyou
Ndiayewillalwaysloveyou
Blade58
CONFIRMED Traore signs for FC Basel
2 3 4
Replies
100
Views
15K
JOEYDEE
JOEYDEE
Sothall_Blade
Blades V Portsmouth - Shared reality screenings in LA and Dallas
Replies
0
Views
200
Sothall_Blade
Sothall_Blade
Lincoln_Blades1889
United as one
Replies
9
Views
1K
The Crab
The Crab

All advertisments are hidden for logged in members, why not log in/register?

All advertisments are hidden for logged in members, why not log in/register?

Back
Top Bottom