Micky Adams – My life in football

[sitwell]

You could write a book about that relegation season: some of the dumbest decision making ever seen at the Lane happened that season.

Blackwell, Speed, Adams, Birch, McCabe and most of the players were all culpable. That relegation was entirely avoidable.

Adams was undermined by a small clique of players who fucked him ( and us ) over ,including Ward and Yeates ,utter wankers.

 

[JohnDenver]

Adams was undermined by a small clique of players who fucked him ( and us ) over ,including Ward and Yeates ,utter wankers.

Those who think fondly of Ward or Yeates should remember that season. Various people were at fault over the course of the year, but some actually pulled in the opposite direction. The consequences lasted for 6 years.

Horrible season.

 

[IdLiketoRogerMoore]

As his mediocre career continued on its downward path from mediocrity to oblivion, I think it's pretty obvious who was at fault. In the same way Wilson, Blackwell and Robsons' managerial careers after leaving here never proved that it was 'us' and not 'them'.

Plus, wasn't Adams a notorious piss head?

 

[Piffle and Tosh]

Personal opinion, but I DETESTED him. Far more than any other manager in my lifetime (maybe Heath). He had loser written through him from day one. Hated his interviews- always blamed everybody but himself. No wonder the players were so pathetic and gutless under him; Adams couldnt raise a smile at a tickling contest.

Dont care if he is/was a Blade. Difference between him and Wilder/Warnock is that two of them are winners.

detested ? in that case I abhor Nigel Bastard endeavour Adkins despite the fact he may have had previous success elsewhere .

 

[KoppedOff]

detested ? in that case I abhor Nigel Bastard endeavour Adkins despite the fact he may have had previous success elsewhere .

Oh, he’s up there. WAAAY up there. Two positives with him was that at the time, most people were so happy to get him, it actually allowed us a couple of months of blissfull pre-season hope. That, and bringing back Billy if course.

When Adams took us down, we’d been used to upper table Championship finishes for years. The football wasnt always pretty, but we always finished nearer the top than the bottom. I know with the Blackwell sacking and Speed situation, things got mangled. But nobody even thought of relegation that pre season- we were more worried about missing the play offs again. No pundits had us down for relegation; from the outside people were amazed. So although we looked doomed from Jan/Feb, it was still a shock in a sense.

History will be kinder to Adkins because of what happened next, using some of his signings. Whereas Adams failures had catastrophic results; he will alwsys be known (round here anyway) as the bloke who relegated United. Adkins just ended up being yet another in a line of managers who failed to get us up. For me personally, it was a case of “meh- on to the next one”.

And thank God we did...

 

[Dkc]

As his mediocre career continued on its downward path from mediocrity to oblivion, I think it's pretty obvious who was at fault. In the same way Wilson, Blackwell and Robsons' managerial careers after leaving here never proved that it was 'us' and not 'them'.

Plus, wasn't Adams a notorious piss head?

No, that was Robson and Kendall. Some people think that's what the 'Alehouse' nickname refers to, but I never heard rumours about Adams being a pisshead.

Its true that the Lane job became a manager's graveyard though. Bruce did well after leaving, and Warnock of course, but most managerial careers tend to take a nosedive after a stint in the Blades hot seat. Heath is still holding down a job in the US, and Blackwell is back with Warnock at Cardiff.

 

[Tyler Durden]

I don't hate or even dislike Adkins to be honest.

He was a very poor Sheffield United manager, this doesn't mean he's poor overall. His methods were obviously suited to the likes of Scunthorpe and Southampton, as evidenced by him being a success there under unlikely circumstances, and I wouldn't entirely rule out him being a relative success elsewhere in future. Obviously he was a bad fit at Reading and United. We just shrug our shoulders and move on.

Only two managers in the past 30 years warrant my scorn and contempt. Not a bad ratio really.

 

[oldblade]

No, he just fucked my football club.

A stunning rewrite of history. Has Pinchy stolen your login?

 

[oldblade]

I do remember a false dawn. We beat Leeds, and a few thought the corner had been turned. Don't think we picked up another three points after that though.

Might be wrong, but I think we beat Bristol City and Reading after the Leeds game.

 

[pesch the mini genius]

Bloody Nyron Nosworthy, what a disgraceful player

Remember launching verbals on him near the end of the season as we were loosing near the end of the game (for a change,) he had a throw in and just obviously didn't give too flying fucks and took ages getting to the ball and taking the throw in ....


Players like this was why we were relegated, not giving a shit and on far too much money ( added to that most were shit )

Robson started that horrible journey and it lasted 9 years,
it just didn't suit us, having big name 'superstars' on huge wages like beattie, hendrie ( good god !) Etc ,

Thankfully Lord Wildershire and Sir Knillster are here now and we sit top of LA liga with 18+ superstars and those horrible days are behind us ! ( hopefully)

 

[Tyler Durden]

A stunning rewrite of history. Has Pinchy stolen your login?

Hardly. The Portsmouth affair did happen, he did spunk the Premiership budget on crap and he has been making nasty digs at us since. It's all pretty easy to see if you take a look.

And still people fall for the 'Mr Big Blade' bollocks even 10 years after he left.

It baffles me that anyone still retains even a semblance of affection for the man just because we had a couple of big days out nearly 7 years.

 

[BushBlade]

Leeds - Poor start to the season. Sack Blackwell. Relegated at end of season.

Blades - Poor start to the season. Sack Blackwell. Relegated at end of season.

Luton - Poor start to the season. Sack Blackwell. Relegated at end of season.

Bury - Poor start to the season. Sack Blackwell. Relegated at end of season.

There's a pattern there. Adams was shit but he didn't stand much of a chance, particularly as the third permanent manager in a season. There aren't many clubs that can deal with three managerial changes in a season and very few could have survived the drunken incompetence of Robson followed by two and a half seasons of a manager who showed no leadership skills and no idea of how to recruit players.

 

[BushBlade]

Bloody Nyron Nosworthy, what a disgraceful player

Remember launching verbals on him near the end of the season as we were loosing near the end of the game (for a change,) he had a throw in and just obviously didn't give too flying fucks and took ages getting to the ball and taking the throw in ....


Players like this was why we were relegated, not giving a shit and on far too much money ( added to that most were shit )

Robson started that horrible journey and it lasted 9 years,
it just didn't suit us, having big name 'superstars' on huge wages like beattie, hendrie ( good god !) Etc ,

Thankfully Lord Wildershire and Sir Knillster are here now and we sit top of LA liga with 18+ superstars and those horrible days are behind us ! ( hopefully)

There was a rumour that the loan deal for Nosworthy stipulated if we didn't play him, we had to pay his full wages (£30k per week) rather than the reduced rate we'd got him on. No idea if correct but it would explain why he seemed undroppable.

 

[oldblade]

Hardly. The Portsmouth affair did happen, he did spunk the Premiership budget on crap and he has been making nasty digs at us since. It's all pretty easy to see if you take a look.

And still people fall for the 'Mr Big Blade' bollocks even 10 years after he left.

It baffles me that anyone still retains even a semblance of affection for the man just because we had a couple of big days out nearly 7 years.

Still fail to see how he "fucked my football team".

He left us streets ahead of where we were when he appointed us, and with a much stronger side. And as for wasting money, I think Robson had the biggest budget a Blades manager has ever had, and we were heading for relegation to the third tier with him.

I think your personal dislike of the man clouds your judgement.

 

[pesch the mini genius]

There was a rumour that the loan deal for Nosworthy stipulated if we didn't play him, we had to pay his full wages (£30k per week) rather than the reduced rate we'd got him on. No idea if correct but it would explain why he seemed undroppable.

That would sound about right for that time !! , the glory years ! ( for very shit footballers being paid a fortune )

Is it me or does this sound all very familiar to what is happening at a rusty shitehole not too gar away from here ....

Over paid players seemingly not giving a Shit, actually not very good players , manager that divides fans , bonkers chairman ( McCabe had clearly gone insane at this point with us ) , finishing near the top the past few seasons and all fans expecting play offs minimum !

Maybe the green in could come back for a one off edition of another
'Blades glory, Owls down' !!

 

[zablade]

Ale House Mick was a nick name well earned, for all his talk about how much he was a massive blade with in four weeks he was bleating about how he didn't realise what a big club this was and was requesting help from Dave Bassett.

Also his first major signing was Marcus Bent, a man whose career was already so far behind him we would have been as well re-signing Adi Akinbyi.

Rotten manager.

 

[CrookesBlade]

Adams as a manager was simply past his sell by date when he joined us. He'd done well in the Championship previously but what worked for him 10 years before was redundant. He had the demeanour of a man completely out of his depth and getting Bassett in to help out (another manager who's methods only had a limited shelf life) smacked of sheer desperation.

He did eventually manage to give them a bit of a kick up the arse towards the end of the season (a hard fought win away at Reading giving a bit of hope). Also the performances of Maguire in the first team were a cause for an amount of optimism and some thought it a bit harsh when he was sacked.

However McCabe gave him the boot and installed Wilson, which seemed a bizarre appointment at the time. However as had been mentioned previously he would have been fully vindicated if it wasn't for the Ched Evans saga.

 

[Tyler Durden]

Still fail to see how he "fucked my football team".

He left us streets ahead of where we were when he appointed us, and with a much stronger side. And as for wasting money, I think Robson had the biggest budget a Blades manager has ever had, and we were heading for relegation to the third tier with him.

I think your personal dislike of the man clouds your judgement.

My personal dislike of Neil Warnock can be directly traced back to November 2005 when he was foot-stopping over a new contract and Kevin McCabe quite rightly told him that a new contract would be discussed once the agreed aim of promotion had been achieved.

In true prima-donna fashion, he aired this dirty laundry in public before applying for the Portsmouth job after Alain Perrin got sacked. Gambling on the assumption that Sheffield United would just buckle and aquiesce to his demands. We did not, and he came crawling back.

It's worth noting that his 'beloved' United were top of the division at the time, before the whole situation coincided with a significant downturn in form due to the unrest. We conceded top spot to Reading and never regained it. In fact we stumbled over the finishing line and were actually sent up by Leeds drawing.

The rest is painful history. He took charge when we were in the 2nd tier and left us in the same position after 7 years. With only a couple of nice days out to show for it.

 

[sitwell]

My personal dislike of Neil Warnock can be directly traced back to November 2005 when he was foot-stopping over a new contract and Kevin McCabe quite rightly told him that a new contract would be discussed once the agreed aim of promotion had been achieved.

In true prima-donna fashion, he aired this dirty laundry in public before applying for the Portsmouth job after Alain Perrin got sacked. Gambling on the assumption that Sheffield United would just buckle and aquiesce to his demands. We did not, and he came crawling back.

It's worth noting that his 'beloved' United were top of the division at the time, before the whole situation coincided with a significant downturn in form due to the unrest. We conceded top spot to Reading and never regained it. In fact we stumbled over the finishing line and were actually sent up by Leeds drawing.

The rest is painful history. He took charge when we were in the 2nd tier and left us in the same position after 7 years. With only a couple of nice days out to show for it.

Absolute fiction ,look at the sate of the club when he came crowds of 9k and after he left ,thriving academy ,some great players ,well over 20k per game ,if that's fucking our club ,I will be fucked every day of the week and twice on Sundays. He got the most pathetic budget given to a premier league manager in history and but for some cheating cunts we would have stayed there. There are dozens of managers who have managed our club so much worst than Warnock ,how ironic that being a Blade works against he and Adams ,will the same eventually be a noose round Wilders neck when we have a few defeats or he leaves ?

 

[alcoblade]

The worse Blades manager in my 40 years supporting the Blades.
Should never have got the job, i am still convinced if Gary Speed had stayed in charge we would not have been relegated.

That last picture is how i will always remember him , arms folded on the touchline.

The football was wank under Speed. I actually think it inproved under Adams, who was a bit unlucky.

I’m fairly sure we’d have been relegated under Speed, but not if we’d kept Blackwell. Stomaching the football would have been the issue.

Shudder.

Thank fuck those days are behind us.

 

[BushBlade]

The football was wank under Speed. I actually think it inproved under Adams, who was a bit unlucky.

I’m fairly sure we’d have been relegated under Speed, but not if we’d kept Blackwell. Stomaching the football would have been the issue.

Shudder.

Thank fuck those days are behind us.

If we'd been able to extend Reid's loan we might have had a chance but when that carrot munching worzel decided to sign him for Blackpool (and then barely play him) it was our last hope gone. I haven't forgotten that and I hope we stuff QPR tomorrow.

 

[Highbury_Blade]

My personal dislike of Neil Warnock can be directly traced back to November 2005 when he was foot-stopping over a new contract and Kevin McCabe quite rightly told him that a new contract would be discussed once the agreed aim of promotion had been achieved.

In true prima-donna fashion, he aired this dirty laundry in public before applying for the Portsmouth job after Alain Perrin got sacked. Gambling on the assumption that Sheffield United would just buckle and aquiesce to his demands. We did not, and he came crawling back.

It's worth noting that his 'beloved' United were top of the division at the time, before the whole situation coincided with a significant downturn in form due to the unrest. We conceded top spot to Reading and never regained it. In fact we stumbled over the finishing line and were actually sent up by Leeds drawing.

The rest is painful history. He took charge when we were in the 2nd tier and left us in the same position after 7 years. With only a couple of nice days out to show for it.

We were promoted with three games to spare.

 

[Tyler Durden]

Absolute fiction ,look at the sate of the club when he came crowds of 9k and after he left ,thriving academy ,some great players ,well over 20k per game ,if that's fucking our club ,I will be fucked every day of the week and twice on Sundays. He got the most pathetic budget given to a premier league manager in history and but for some cheating cunts we would have stayed there. There are dozens of managers who have managed our club so much worst than Warnock ,how ironic that being a Blade works against he and Adams ,will the same eventually be a noose round Wilders neck when we have a few defeats or he leaves ?

All of the above owes more to Kevin McCabes early stewardship of the club than it does to Warnock. He's the one who cleaned up the shit left behind by Mike McDonald and gave us an infrastructure. He was the organ-grinder; Colin was just the monkey.

On the 2nd point, Wilder is different gravy altogether. I look proudly at this team now and I see a perfect reflection of the man himself. Led by a man with a pure unadulterated love for the club who doesn't need to wave a big "Mr Mega Blade" flag to hide his snidey bastard tendancies, unlike the other bloke. In the space barely over a year, I feel like he has created a dynasty at this club and I can guarantee right now I'll be the last one defending him to the hilt if it all goes to shit. As I have done with far lesser managers than him.

Wilder is twice the manager and ten times the man that Colin will ever be.

 

[LoughboroBlade]

Incidentally, had we stuck with John Carver (“I’m the best coach in the Premier League” - John Carver, May 2015) would we have stayed up?

 

[BushBlade]

Incidentally, had we stuck with John Carver (“I’m the best coach in the Premier League” - John Carver, May 2015) would we have stayed up?

There's nothing in his career either before he managed us or after than indicates we would have.

 

[diplomat]

Those who think fondly of Ward or Yeates should remember that season. Various people were at fault over the course of the year, but some actually pulled in the opposite direction. The consequences lasted for 6 years.

Horrible season.

I'd heard Yeates allegedly turned up hungover for training but not really about the clique working against Mickey. Could someone elaborate a bit more please?

 

[diplomat]

There was a rumour that the loan deal for Nosworthy stipulated if we didn't play him, we had to pay his full wages (£30k per week) rather than the reduced rate we'd got him on. No idea if correct but it would explain why he seemed undroppable.

Birch also proudly proclaimed that he'd removed any clauses that could end the loan early following the upset when Walker's season long loan turned out to be nothing of the sort. Presumably he also rubbed out the clause that allowed us to hand Nyron back if it didn't work out. To be fair Nyron was a bit of a ledge at Sunderland wasn't he? On the face of it he wasn't a bad signing.

What it seemed to me at the time though was that we always seemed to be trying to plug a hole rather than fill it. The method of squad development then compared to now is thankfully on a different planet.

 

[IdLiketoRogerMoore]

My personal dislike of Neil Warnock can be directly traced back to November 2005 when he was foot-stopping over a new contract and Kevin McCabe quite rightly told him that a new contract would be discussed once the agreed aim of promotion had been achieved.

In true prima-donna fashion, he aired this dirty laundry in public before applying for the Portsmouth job after Alain Perrin got sacked. Gambling on the assumption that Sheffield United would just buckle and aquiesce to his demands. We did not, and he came crawling back.

It's worth noting that his 'beloved' United were top of the division at the time, before the whole situation coincided with a significant downturn in form due to the unrest. We conceded top spot to Reading and never regained it. In fact we stumbled over the finishing line and were actually sent up by Leeds drawing.

The rest is painful history. He took charge when we were in the 2nd tier and left us in the same position after 7 years. With only a couple of nice days out to show for it.

People can argue with semantics all the want, history will show Warnock was never good enough to manage in the PL and upon leaving all of his clubs they've either been in a worse state than when he went there, or at best, in a similar situation.

Warnock took us up, didn't have the ability to keep us up, and sadly had mortgaged the immediate future on us staying up. That's not good Mgt....

And as is always the way, was very quick to blame everyone else!

 

[BushBlade]

Birch also proudly proclaimed that he'd removed any clauses that could end the loan early following the upset when Walker's season long loan turned out to be nothing of the sort. Presumably he also rubbed out the clause that allowed us to hand Nyron back if it didn't work out. To be fair Nyron was a bit of a ledge at Sunderland wasn't he? On the face of it he wasn't a bad signing.

What it seemed to me at the time though was that we always seemed to be trying to plug a hole rather than fill it. The method of squad development then compared to now is thankfully on a different planet.

Too many loans, too many crocks, too many players for some positions and not enough for others, no 11 players all suited to the same formation and playing style. The second tranche of the playoff money, the Tevez money and the Kyles money, all wasted on fucking shit.

 

[BushBlade]

People can argue with semantics all the want, history will show Warnock was never good enough to manage in the PL and upon leaving all of his clubs they've either been in a worse state than when he went there, or at best, in a similar situation.

Warnock took us up, didn't have the ability to keep us up, and sadly had mortgaged the immediate future on us staying up. That's not good Mgt....

And as is always the way, was very quick to blame everyone else!

You're blaming Warnock for Robson's fuck ups?