Tony Tony Currie.............

[beightonblade]

If he's been kicked out it's an utter fooking disgrace !

 

[Northyorksblade]

Grow up. Times is hard, cuts have to be made in all departments.

 

[Pedro Verde]

No room for sentiment in business.
They are making cuts even the cleaner thats been there 20 odd years is under threat
Its about time some of the players took some reponsibility those on the big money took a 10% pay cut

 

[Crazyblade]

I'd rather support a Club that looks after its' legends. "No room for sentiment"? That's what football is built on.
Absolutely disgraceful if TC has been shown the door.

 

[JohnDenver]

Birch walks away with his pockets full while the workers suffer.

A snapshot of our times.

 

[beightonblade]

I hear yer .........................BUT i don't agree.....except that bit about SOME players taking a pay cut !

10% ? .... NO 95% with some of the fookers !



Oh and as usual the sound from BDTBL is deafening !
If ever there was a time for a club statement it's now.

 

[s35blade]

i feel for TC and its a sad day for the club but. What did he actually DO he is a great ambassador for the club but as a member of a new generation of blades fans i look up to the likes of morgs much more than TC

 

[georgebernardshaw]

i feel for TC and its a sad day for the club but. What did he actually DO he is a great ambassador for the club but as a member of a new generation of blades fans i look up to the likes of morgs much more than TC

Agree, very sad to hear this - if you'd ever seen him play, you'd never have another favourite Blades player.

Some fantastic memories - the best being his sitting on the ball in front of Alan Ball when we stuffed Arsenal 5-0.

 

[CG Blade]

TC is one of my 3 sporting heros, I grew up watching him, but it is obvious we have to make cuts, and this is perhaps an easy one to make. However it still hurts for people like me to see this happen. perhaps he has gone voluntary, that is something we will find out, perhaps we are over staffed at the lane, I really don't know. However as said before Trevor Birch apparently left with a big out, and we have at lest 1 player if not more that a taking a large wage, for doing nothing. Perhaps these players should look at themselves and come into the real world, and take a pay cut themselves, or go somewhere else and still earn better money than 95% of the people that pay to watch them.

 

[Grecian2000]

He should be OK. I've heard a rumour Monty is employing him at £3k a week to take the bench splinters out of his arse.

 

[LoughboroBlade]

as a member of a new generation of blades fans i look up to the likes of morgs much more than TC

Unfortunately that's the reality. My employers at the time arranged a school event 3 yrs back for charity where both United and Wednesday had agreed to send a player to help promote it. Wednesday sent their then captain - all the kids were hugely excited. We sent TC - none of the kids knew who he was.

 

[Highbury_Blade]

i feel for TC and its a sad day for the club but. What did he actually DO he is a great ambassador for the club but as a member of a new generation of blades fans i look up to the likes of morgs much more than TC

Don't know what he does now, but when i was a youngster evry summer, united would hold a football community day on Gleadless primary school fields. Presumably that was just one of many the club would hold throughout the city.

Great fun they were as well, even if i never got picked out to play for the junior blades.

 

[judge]

Maybe he could piss off to Leeds again and just come back here when he is on his uppers #legend

 

[TheSwollengland]

I have to say I think some of my generation (in our 50`s) sometimes have a rose tinted view on TC
Dont get me wrong he was the finest footballer I have ever seen pull on a Blades shirt and as a teen I idolised him and he was God like in my eyes.
And then he shat all over me by breaking his kneck to get away as soon as the club hit hard times and moving to Leeds. He wasnt forced out he wanted out and made that obvious.Or so it seemed to me at the time ,if anyon knows differently I`d be interested to hear.
He had nothing to do with SUFC until it was rumoured he was struggling and the likes of Deaf Leopard and a whole list of minor celeb Blades organised his testimonial and he came back into the Sheffield publics focus.
And the club gave him a job as the community liason officer presumiably because of his high profile.

A great player whos had a good living out of what was comparatively a short Blades playing career and if its a choice between him and say one of Pembertons acadamy coaches going I know where I prefer the axe to fall.

 

[broomhillblade]

Having seen him swanning around on match days, I'm not sure what he actually did.

 

[sheffielder]

Anyone know the FACTS behind this; maybe we was offered voluntary and took it. Bit sad you're all taking aims at either the club or TC without knowing nothing any facts.

Knowing Mandy he will take him to pigsborough, stick him on the board and give him a statue

 

[beightonblade]

Having seen him swanning around on match days, I'm not sure what he actually did.

Who ? .......................... Monty ?

 

[s6rob]

I don't think anyone really knows what his role at the club is anymore ever since markmtodd took over the running of the community side of things, like someone said nobody knows what circumstances this has happened in, he

 

[Russ]

Agree, very sad to hear this - if you'd ever seen him play, you'd never have another favourite Blades player.

Some fantastic memories - the best being his sitting on the ball in front of Alan Ball when we stuffed Arsenal 5-0.

No smoke without fire so something must be happening.

Can anyone give a brief report of what actually happened regarding the ball sitting incident? My Uncle's not around any more to tell me.

thanks

 

[shreds1975]

Birch walks away with his pockets full while the workers suffer.

A snapshot of our times.

The sad thing is Birch was brought in to prepare us for investment, part of which was leaning the cost base. I haven't access to the accounts for prior years and clearly they wouldn't go into that much detail, but what was his net impact whilst he was here (adding back all his salary related costs, expenses and pay-off)? Best part of bugger all I think.

Always struck me that the ambassador role was something for TC to have when Toddy got the Community role, but I don't think his personality and nature leant him to a hand-pressing, people meeting position.

 

[TarquinDelouche]

No smoke without fire so something must be happening.

Can anyone give a brief report of what actually happened regarding the ball sitting incident? My Uncle's not around any more to tell me.

thanks

TC was invited to a board meeting to discuss the cuts, but because of the cost cutting there were no spare chairs. He chose to sit on KM's lap, but crushed McCabe's left ball, to which KM naturally took offence and asked TC to leave and never come back.

 

[Grecian2000]

1. Ken Furphy had arranged a deal to send TC to Leeds about 18 months before the event, in exchange for Billy Bremner (rapidly reaching the end of the road) and Trevor Cherry. At that time the board stepped in and stopped it happening due to the controvesy they thought it would attract. TC and Furphy never saw eye to eye.
He left in the summer after we were relegated in '76 when Jimmy Sirrell (I've just spit on the floor) was manager.

2. He sat on the ball v Arsenal in response to Alan Ball doing similar when Arsenal stuffed us 0-5 at the Lane. John Hope had his worst ever game including letting in a shot from somewhere just off London Road through his legs.
In the "revenge" game we were 4-0 after about 20 minutes and during the second half when we were 5-0 up he took the opportunity to sit on the ball just outside our penalty area down at the Lane end. The crowd went barmy of course.

 

[SouthEssexBlade]

3. Prior to all this in 1972-73, The Blades were approached by Manchester United asking about TC, whom they saw as the player to replace Bobby Charlton. They were given permission to speak to the player and for whatever reason it never happened. Manchester United were relegated the next season!

 

[Darren]

1. Ken Furphy had arranged a deal to send TC to Leeds about 18 months before the event, in exchange for Billy Bremner (rapidly reaching the end of the road) and Trevor Cherry. At that time the board stepped in and stopped it happening due to the controvesy they thought it would attract. TC and Furphy never saw eye to eye.
He left in the summer after we were relegated in '76 when Jimmy Sirrell (I've just spit on the floor) was manager.

2. He sat on the ball v Arsenal in response to Alan Ball doing similar when Arsenal stuffed us 0-5 at the Lane. John Hope had his worst ever game including letting in a shot from somewhere just off London Road through his legs.
In the "revenge" game we were 4-0 after about 20 minutes and during the second half when we were 5-0 up he took the opportunity to sit on the ball just outside our penalty area down at the Lane end. The crowd went barmy of course.

Didn't Currie just do what Jagielka did in 2007?

Both were far and away the best players in just relegated team and (understandably) wanted to continue playing in the top flight. That's life (and football).

In any event, as our most sleable asset I rather suspect United wanted Currie to go in the summer of 76 to pay off some of the South Stand debt.

Interestingly Currie went for £260K, which is about £1.5m in today's values allowing for inflation. Just shows you how much money has gone into football since 76 - you would be looking at a minimum £10m for a player like Currie now.

 

[Grecian2000]

Both were far and away the best players in just relegated team and (understandably) wanted to continue playing in the top flight. That's life (and football).

To be fair, in that era he wouldn't have gone anywhere unless the club wanted him to. The club/player relationship was still very much master/servant in the mid seventies.

TC and Woody regularly submitted transfer requests but the board consistently turned them down. Today Woody would have played about 10 games for us and been off to the Prem.

 

[Kentblade]

I find it very difficult to comment on this story if it is true.
Why the club has to be second to report it is a mystery to me as they should not allow any leaks and make the annoucement first.
After Jimmy Hagan the best ball player the club has ever had.
I can understand that many of the younger supporters will never have seen him play, and there will be a diminishing number of supporters now who have watched Jimmy Hagan.
We all make comments based on our emotions and without the important facts.
Can we afford to keep on staff who do not make a contibution to the football on the field.
What exactly does he do other than represent the club.
How much does he get paid.
Common sense question imho and no I do not want to see him go but if we kept on every great player, how many would we have.
Alright do not shout none as we have had some good players over the years, even if we did not always have them together.
Much comment on Birch but do not see the connection as if Birch had secured further investment things could have been so much different.
I have always thought that as a club we do seem to have a lot of back room staff,for a league 1 club.
UTB

 

[Darren]

To be fair, in that era he wouldn't have gone anywhere unless the club wanted him to. The club/player relationship was still very much master/servant in the mid seventies.

TC and Woody regularly submitted transfer requests but the board consistently turned them down. Today Woody would have played about 10 games for us and been off to the Prem.

True, so in 76 it was probably a combination of Currie wanting to play in the top flight and the Board wanting the money to pay off some debt given the lower crowds we would get in D2.

 

[JohnDenver]

TC and Woody regularly submitted transfer requests but the board consistently turned them down.

That's not something that gets mentioned often...

 

[Pinchy]

Who ? .......................... Monty ?

No. There is no doubt about what he does! The sooner he does it to some other club, the better.

 

[Pinchy]

Maybe he could piss off to Leeds again and just come back here when he is on his uppers #legend

I wouldn't express it in those harsh terms, but the point is well made. TC was my hero too. He was, however, handsomely served by our club who gave him not only a testimonial, that he had no right to under the usual rules, but also a job that he was not ideally suited for - his social skills are not of the highest order.

We owe him nothing. To label this decision "disgraceful" is sanctimonious nonsense.