Neil Warnock

[bladeinlondon]

Does anyone still like him? Apart from the paddy saga he has raided Crystal palace which he said he wouldnt. I am with Sean Bean. Not a nice man

 

[PeterNdlovu081]

He's probably the greatest manager I will ever see manage Sheffield United in my lifetime.

 

[DP8789]

whats to hate? the guy is one of our greatest ever managers. i would go as far to say a hero of mine. Sean bean talk shite.

 

[Jon Bon]

Top bloke, top Blade. Business is business.

 

[marko1889]

wish we had him now as manger 100% Blades Legend

 

[scouseblade]

Agreed. Most managers say I want go back to my old club for players, then, they do. As someone said, business is business.

 

[Highbury_Blade]

I'd have him back in an instant

 

[gavtheblade]

bit of a local legend for me(he even mentioned our for sale sign in frecheville pond)in his bible.so for me,legend who will always have a place in my heart.

 

[Bramley]

Top man in person. Blades Legend for me.

 

[TAMUS]

I would like to say Keith Curle is behind him with most of his good work , but i have learnt my lesson with that one . If he could buy good forwards , he may have ended up being a all time great , as a personality i like him . Statue anyone ?

 

[Grecian2000]

Can't abide him.

 

[Eggman1889]

The day they put up a staute of Colin at the Lane is the day I stop going! In old footballing money as a manager he isn't fit to lace Bassetts/Porterfields boots!

 

[Flatulent_Bob]

He did a decent job for us, but if anyone thinks he has any consideration for us now is fooling themselves.

I don't buy this "he's a Blade" for a minute, Neil Warnock is out for Neil Warnock as proven by his rant about his contract in the dressing room before the Wigan game.

 

[LouTheBlade]

He did a decent job for us, but if anyone thinks he has any consideration for us now is fooling themselves.

I don't buy this "he's a Blade" for a minute, Neil Warnock is out for Neil Warnock as proven by his rant about his contract in the dressing room before the Wigan game.

Precisely. Neil Warnock looks after no.1, but why shouldnt he as most other people do. The suggestion that he is a great manager is simply nonsense though. He was tactically naive in the same way our current manager is accused of being so. They're actually very similar in the way they ask their sides to play and probably because KB took a great deal of influence from NW.

People remember 2 good seasons in the 7 or so Warnock was there and use that to justify the suggestion that he was a great manager. Warnock was a good motivator and good entertainment for the media but he was very limited tactically. He had a knack for spotting a good player every now and again but thats where his good points end for me. Very one dimensional, controversial manager with a self absorbed character. I find it difficult to have anything more than basic respect for him (the kind you would have for almost anyone). I dont hold him in high regard particularly and I never did when he was here.

Warnock is Warnock, he'll make you laugh sometimes and he'll get on your fucking nerves as well. Thats why people usually either love him or hate him. I'm one of the rare people in the middle bracket.

 

[SouthEssexBlade]

Meh!

He certainly isn't in the 'great' category. Bassett, Porterfield (until he lost his way), Harris, Mercer can be included in there but not Warnock.

 

[2ndtenorblade]

Mercer only lasted one season, went on to better things after though.

 

[JJ Sefton]

Best manager after Bassett for me.

Sometimes he was a pain in the arse (the morning of the Wigan game and that whole business with Portsmouth), other times he was great (2002-2003 and 2005-2006), but at all times it was 'Neil Warnock's Sheffield United'. And at all times it was interesting.

As aware as we were of his faults I always stuck up for him when non Blades had a pop at him in a way I havent for a manager other than Bassett. As John Ford said about Ward Bond; He may be a bastard, but he's my bastard.

 

[JohnDenver]

Warnock is Warnock, he'll make you laugh sometimes and he'll get on your fucking nerves as well. Thats why people usually either love him or hate him. I'm one of the rare people in the middle bracket.

Same here.

Sometimes he's a massive berk, sometimes a speaker of truth. Occasionally a tactical wizard, occasionally a footballing dinosaur.

And whatever anyone thinks of him, I know that Warnock, along with Bassett, have done more for United in my time watching than any other manager.

Others showed promise but left the stage. Warnock and Bassett took us up. And that's all she wrote.

 

[davidpinder]

Had great times under him love the man, would have him back. He wants the best for his team thats all.

 

[sharrow]

Neil is one of the few proper characters left in football. He divides opinion, he's like Marmite. I like him and overall enjoyed his tenure at BDTBL.

 

[ListerBlade]

I like him, wouldn't see him back but he got us up there.

 

[TAMUS]

I dont think the truth will ever come out about the Portsmouth saga [Over 17 million quid bet on this with Betfair ] When Warnock was odds on at one point , could it have been honest Harry that knew the outcome ? no surely not never . Dave Richards anyone ?

 

[Eskimo]

Results speak for themselves don't they? He built this club up from a very poor position on and off the pitch to a Premiership club. Like Brian Clough he has weaknesses but we know what they are and should have been able to do something about them. Warnock's a winner - I'd welcome him back but its not going to happen

 

[sitwell]

Why use the opinion of a second rate actor ?

 

[Sothall_Blade]

Neil Warnock is out for Neil Warnock as proven by his rant about his contract in the dressing room before the Wigan game.

What is he supposed to have said before the Wigan game?

 

[Worksop II]

Didn`t like him, and while I have games like, Cardiff at Home, and Leicester away in my memory, if I could replay a season it would be 2002 - 2003.

I owe him for that.

 

[MichaelSUFC1889]

I think Neil Warnock is a good manager, as another poster said, he is a born winner and he demands 110% from his teams every single game, which is something that Bryan Robson never seemed to understand about the ethos of this club and what NW had worked hard to build on the field. Robson was a fantastic player who achieved all there was to achieve in the game, but clearly the roles were reversed in this case as Robson believed he could buy instant success rather than gradually build it up over time like NW did.

Also, NW's transfer dealings were vital in ensuring we pushed over the line from play-off hopefuls to automatic in 05-06. Forgetting Ade Akinbiyi, who we can all agree was a waste of £1.75m (despite his goal against Wednesday which we won't forget) .. the other key members of that promotion squad shows you how shrewd Warnock was in the market at that time:

Kenny - £40,000 from Bury
Bromby - free transfer from them lot
Geary - £25,000 from Stockport
Morgan - free transfer from Barnsley
Short - free transfer from Blackburn
Unsworth - free transfer from Portsmouth
Ifill - £800,000 from Millwall
Gillespie - free from Leicester
Jagielka - academy
Tonge - academy
Monty - academy
A.Quinn - free transfer from Wednesday
Armstrong - £100,000 from Oldham
Kabba - £250,000
Webber - £500,000 from Watford
Shipperley - free from Palace

From a personal view, whilst I respect NW for what he did for our club, the passion he has and the fact he wears his heart on his sleeve, I can't say that I like the way he conducts himself as a person. Yes he does defend his players to the hills and stands by them in the face of adversity, he has a knack of rubbing people up the wrong way which I believe has done our club no favours over the years. In some parts, he has made other people hate our club for his behaviour, so I don't believe he has been the greatest ambassador for us. Sean Bean also rightly pointed out that you can't go calling for favours from top managers like Rafa and Sir Alex and then call them w****rs. His negative 4-5-1 system away from home in the Premiership cost us a few extra points in my opinion which would have kept us up.

But from another perspective, we were also desperately unlucky when you look back over that season, with the games we arguably could have won (we battered Villa at home, Claude Davis mistake against Portsmouth, the two missed pens at home to Blackburn and then the denied goal away at West Ham and also Danny Webber being an inch away from keeping us up against Wigan), so he was incredibly close to keeping us up and it would be interesting to see where we would be now if we had stayed up in 06-07, and whether Warnock would still be here or not.

There are far worse managers than NW but I think we need to move on from him.

 

[TAMUS]

Horsefield letting Billy go free

 

[Sean the Blade]

I don't think you can argue that, overall, NW had a positive effect on our club, despite his shortcomings. He battled hard, against the odds as a player, hard work and commitment got him through his career and this is reflected in his management style. I don't doubt for one second that he is a Blade, but I don't doubt for one second he wouldn't twist the knife in The Blades if it was for the benefit of the club currently paying his salary... That's his job.

Yes I'd welcome him back, if only for the mischief and discomfort he causes the authorities, officials and other clubs (which don't always benefit us!). But, I'd still rather see Bassett or Porterfield in the dug out...

 

[Bladesway]

I wish him nothing but Ill luck. Don't like the man and hope the QPR thing ends in tears for him. Strafford is a bigger blade than Warnock but not as big a cock.