Interesting stuff. He has an article on players being frozen out and obviously had personal experience of it under clough. I've pasted it below, plus there is a link to his interview after returning under Madkins.
I very recently found myself in a situation where I was frozen out at Sheffield United having been a mainstay for the previous three seasons. I could see the writing on the wall long before Nigel Clough finally made his move and banished me from the first team squad. I could read him like a book and, if the truth be told, Clough knew that. There was no bust up, no argument, no fall out. I wasn’t just dropped to the bench or the stand I was made persona non grata. My ticket to Siberia was well and truly ordered.
There was no explanation from the manager and as he had the local media in his pocket they never pushed for answers. Social media went into overdrive – “what has Collins done?”. “He punched the manager?”, “He persuaded Maguire to leave?” and some other ridiculous suggestions that do not bear thinking about. It really did get that out of hand. All the fans wanted was a logical explanation and there certainly wasn’t one forthcoming. If the truth be told there wasn’t one that could be given. The question wasn’t why was I not in the first eleven as ultimately that is the manager’s prerogative but more importantly why was I bombed completely having played almost 200 games consecutively with a flawless disciplinary record on and off the field?
During the summer after my season in the wilderness Clough was sacked and replaced by Nigel Adkins. I was still under contract at Sheffield United and all of a sudden I had a chance to play at Bramall Lane when it looked like all hope had previously been lost. In my second game back for the club I came off the bench at Morecambe to score a last minute winner. It wasn’t the most glamorous game I’ve ever played in but it meant so much to me and my family after coming through such a torrid period in my career. Afterwards I gave an interview to the local media which is available below. May I finish by asking anyone who doubts how much a footballer cares to listen to that. I care and my fellow professionals care much more than you will ever know.
