Warnock

[Geordie Blade]

We need to beat Wigan at home so what does he do.....shoves Jagielka at right back for the first time in about three years and brings Quinn back after two months out of the team.

I don't remember many people saying that we should stick with the same eleven that played at Villa.

 

[Bladepicker]

The selective memories.....

Indeed.

Coming from behind to beat Spurs, Nade v Arsenal with Jags in goal, destroying West Ham at the lane, Jags last minute rocket against Boro - even in that season we had some great memories.

Yes Warnock made mistakes, yes we had some bizzarre tactics (not least in the play off final) and I will never forget Carl Asaba at left wing back against Forest but, for all his faults he had many more high points than low and gave us, in 2003, the most exciting team/season I have ever had watching us and one that will struggle to be beaten.

I am not for one minute suggesting he would be the answer now or that I was his biggest fan but to try to make out he was a failure as some have on here is churlish at the best of times and, given our predicament, unbelievable currently.

What I wouldn't give to watch his team again.

 

[Rodley]

Warnock talking about Warnock.
What a huge unexpected surprise.

He had his chance and made a huge mess of it. He only saving grace is that some worse decisions since then have ensured we've not got back up.

Agreed, taking us from 13,000 a week and players like Andy Woodward and Jonathan Hunt to 30,000 with Jagielka and Tonge was a huge mess.

Attitudes like this are why United won't get anywhere. People desperate to pull down those who were actually successful. It beggars belief.

 

[Surrey Blade]

I suspect there may be a few skeletons in NW's cupboard. Possibly not the most ethical of people.

 

[Grecian2000]

Ahh the monthly Warnock thread.

Times have moved on.
The last manager got to the play offs and two semi finals in 18 months and was still sacked.
Warnock took 3 and a half seasons to achieve the same and a further 3 seasons to get us promoted. That's six and a half seasons which is six seasons more than Silly Jim and the Twatter crew would be willing to give him now.

 

[Rodley]

You seem to remember wrong then

Top earner in the Prem - £14,000 per week.
Top earner under Robson a year later - £35,000 per week.

 

[DiggerBlade]

Warnock then is very different to Warnock now. Some will say " never go back " whilst some are saying " I`d love to see him back ".

The most important thing is, does Neil Warnock want a last cavalry charge in football and particularly with his favourite club? Has he mellowed at all from the embarrassing buffoon who was`nt bothered about showing himself up especially after a defeat. Or, has he matured into a learned savvy football manager with that special knack of getting the most out of his players?

I suppose only time will tell but at the minute, Neil Warnock is the Marmite man in football.

 

[1danewhitehouse]

1. I have it on good authority that Neil will not be managing anyone anytime soon or probably ever again so I think we can put that one to bed. I Can only


2. I like the job Neil did for us (though he certainly had his flaws). But the biggest ingredient in his success was that he was given time to build as well as a bit (not loads) of financial backing. He took 2 years to build the triple assault team then lost Brown to Spurs and the likes of Page, Murphy, McCall, Nuddy, Pesch, Chief etc. to old age. Then he spend another 2 years building the promotion winning team. Since then, I think only Blackwell has had 2 full years in charge and at a time where we were dramatically slashing the wage bill selling the likes of Beattie, Naughton, Walker etc. We seem to now be on a stable financial footing so I would love to see us give a decent proven manager (Adkins) time (2 years) to build a proper team capable of achieving something. We’re never going to have another Bassett or Warnock if we sack them every time they don’t get promoted in the first season.

 

[Whiston Blade]

Have I missing something ?

"Due to personal circumstances it's unlikely NW will work in football again."

"I have it on good authority that Neil will not be managing anyone anytime soon or probably ever again so I think we can put that one to bed."

 

[Tyler Durden]

My illusions of Warnock were shattered in 2005/06 when we were pissing the league and he tried to fuck off to Portsmouth after spitting the dummy out over his contract, thereby almost sabotaging our season.

Great manager as he was, and how I would love somebody like him here now, but 'Mr Sheffield United' he ain't.

 

[LoughboroBlade]

My illusions of Warnock were shattered in 2005/06 when we were pissing the league and he tried to fuck off to Portsmouth after spitting the dummy out over his contract, thereby almost sabotaging our season.

It's almost as though he was concerned his contract might not be extended on expiry. Paranoid or what?

 

[TonyAgana]

The selective memories.....

Most wanted him out during his tenure. Even more don't remember our pathetic away record (and tactics) in the PL and bottle-less team selections in big games. We need to beat Wigan at home so what does he do.....shoves Jagielka at right back for the first time in about three years and brings Quinn back after two months out of the team.

A bit like when Bassett brought Gannon back for Wembley? Selective memories indeed! The guy was here for 7 years. He had some ups and downs. Infuriating sometimes but for every bad decision, there's a dozen excellent ones.

 

[Tyler Durden]

It's almost as though he was concerned his contract might not be extended on expiry. Paranoid or what?

It's worse than that, he wanted to open negotiations with the board in December with the job only half done. The board (for once) rightly said that these discussions should take place when objective of promotion is achieved at the end of the season. That's when he got the face on.

 

[Patrick Suffaux]

I don't remember many people saying that we should stick with the same eleven that played at Villa.

The alternative worked a treat though didn't it

 

[bramptonblade]

Warnock = Blades legend. I am sick to death of mamby pamby tippy tappy sideways passy football. FFS give me something to shout about, get my heart racing get the Kop singing again! A string of faceless, useless managers, piss poor players who don't give a shite. Harry = Blades legend. When was the last time Sheffield United scared the crap out of anyone? This is the 3rd division, not the Champions league. A bit of heart and soul and not to mention pride can get you a long way in this cesspit of a division, Warnock & Harry would have kicked the fuck out of this division, its time we got nasty again!
Rant over.
UTB!

 

[LoughboroBlade]

The board (for once) rightly said that these discussions should take place when objective of promotion is achieved at the end of the season.

At which point we presumably gave him a two-year deal, eliminating the contract as an issue and giving reassurance to potential signings that the guy trying to sign them would be there longer than a year? I'm assuming this happened, as our standard contract offer to any manager seems to be 3 years.

 

[Sothall_Blade]

My illusions of Warnock were shattered in 2005/06 when we were pissing the league and he tried to fuck off to Portsmouth after spitting the dummy out over his contract, thereby almost sabotaging our season.

Great manager as he was, and how I would love somebody like him here now, but 'Mr Sheffield United' he ain't.

You mean when he turned down the opportunity to double his wages and manage an already established Premiership club?
With a wage bill and transfer kitty far in excess of ours? Most managers would have jumped at the chance (e.g. Steve Bruce, Howard Kendall).
For a manager with no emotional ties to the club, it would have been an easy decision to leave and go to Portsmouth.
If he hadn't been "Mr Sheffield United" he would probably have left then and nobody could have argued that he hadn't left us in fine shape.

 

[FATTYFOULKE]

I was gutted when Warnock left but that was then and I don't want to see him back. It's always been about him, who can forget his flirtation with Portsmouth when we were riding high?

That alone told me he wasn't the big blade he made out to be.

It's a different ball game now. He's not an 'impact'' manager, rather one who needs time to build. We've already got that in Adkins and in my eyes Adkins looks the better long term manager.

I loved the never say die attitude his teams of later years at the Lane had, but that developed over time after he'd tried and sometimes succeeded, sometimes failed with his recruitment.

What did it for me was his year in the Prem. Sickenly gushing when we played Man U and the like, like we should be grateful to be on the same pitch, and It all being about him and not United.

Not for me thanks, once maybe because I loved that bloke, but my eyes have been opened since those days.

 

[Sean Thornton]

You mean when he turned down the opportunity to double his wages and manage an already established Premiership club?
With a wage bill and transfer kitty far in excess of ours? Most managers would have jumped at the chance (e.g. Steve Bruce, Howard Kendall).
For a manager with no emotional ties to the club, it would have been an easy decision to leave and go to Portsmouth.
If he hadn't been "Mr Sheffield United" he would probably have left then and nobody could have argued that he hadn't left us in fine shape.

He was never offered the job to turn it down. He was front runner but was told to wait for a call by Mandaric as he had others to talk to, inc Redknapp. Press reports at the time confirm it. He would have been off like a shot, more money, nearer to home, two big things for him.

 

[Whiston Blade]

I was gutted when Warnock left but that was then and I don't want to see him back. It's always been about him, who can forget his flirtation with Portsmouth when we were riding high?

That alone told me he wasn't the big blade he made out to be.

Fuck anyone who wants to earn more money, eh ? I'm sure we would all be tempted with more money if that offer came along, I'm not saying you'd take it but you sure as hell wouldn't say no right away.

 

[BushBlade]

I was gutted when Warnock left but that was then and I don't want to see him back. It's always been about him, who can forget his flirtation with Portsmouth when we were riding high?

That alone told me he wasn't the big blade he made out to be.

It's a different ball game now. He's not an 'impact'' manager, rather one who needs time to build. We've already got that in Adkins and in my eyes Adkins looks the better long term manager.

I loved the never say die attitude his teams of later years at the Lane had, but that developed over time after he'd tried and sometimes succeeded, sometimes failed with his recruitment.

What did it for me was his year in the Prem. Sickenly gushing when we played Man U and the like, like we should be grateful to be on the same pitch, and It all being about him and not United.

Not for me thanks, once maybe because I loved that bloke, but my eyes have been opened since those days.

Ever thought he might have been told to tone it down a bit because we were trying to build an empire and that it wouldn't help if he carried on with the shit he used to come out with?
Or that he was trying to take pressure off the players? Do you think he said the same stuff to them in private?

Of all the criticisms of Warnock (and I'm not having a go at you, I've read this countless times on BM), this is the most bizarre (followed by those who think he should have played more open attacking football in the PL).

 

[Rodley]

Warnock = Blades legend. I am sick to death of mamby pamby tippy tappy sideways passy football. FFS give me something to shout about, get my heart racing get the Kop singing again! A string of faceless, useless managers, piss poor players who don't give a shite. Harry = Blades legend. When was the last time Sheffield United scared the crap out of anyone? This is the 3rd division, not the Champions league. A bit of heart and soul and not to mention pride can get you a long way in this cesspit of a division, Warnock & Harry would have kicked the fuck out of this division, its time we got nasty again!
Rant over.
UTB!

United basically need a dominant, aggressive character as a manager. He could play the nicest football in the world, but he needs to be robust and in your face. A strong character. Meekness does not fit here.

 

[BushBlade]

He was never offered the job to turn it down. He was front runner but was told to wait for a call by Mandaric as he had others to talk to, inc Redknapp. Press reports at the time confirm it. He would have been off like a shot, more money, nearer to home, two big things for him.

The first bit is fact, the second conjecture.

I'll bet no United manager since him would turn down a job offer given the way we've sacked managers.

 

[TonyAgana]

United basically need a dominant, aggressive character as a manager. He could play the nicest football in the world, but he needs to be robust and in your face. A strong character. Meekness does not fit here.

I find this an interesting point; are all clubs not equal? Is United not a club that can be a classy, footballing side? Have we been too conditioned through decades of "up and at 'em" that we can never evolve, or would it at least take too long to become accustomed to the alternative, that we'll never have the patience required for the transition? Maybe.

 

[Deaneandagana]

United basically need a dominant, aggressive character as a manager. He could play the nicest football in the world, but he needs to be robust and in your face. A strong character. Meekness does not fit here.

Bassett in his book says much the same thing, hard working muck & bullets Sheffield folk want their football team to replicate this ethos.

 

[Sheffsteel]

It's amazing how so many ex managers and ex players seem to improve as the years past.

Next people will be saying Nick Montgomery was a great player.

Warnock was given a task to keep us up and he failed. You don't keep managers who are fail making sure his 100% failure record in the PL was in tact. At the time almost everyone I spoke to wanted him sacked.

He's a decent impact manager or an excellent lower league manager when he's given time to build.

Neither of those qualities apply to our club. We don't need a short term impact and NW is probably too old to have another 5 years of hard slog in him. Best to give NA until next Xmas to decide what direction we're going in.

 

[Sothall_Blade]

He was never offered the job to turn it down. He was front runner but was told to wait for a call by Mandaric as he had others to talk to, inc Redknapp. Press reports at the time confirm it. He would have been off like a shot, more money, nearer to home, two big things for him.

Press reports at the time like this one:-

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/exclusive-warnock-given-48-hours-566131

So just to be clear Warnock is being criticised because he didn't leave to take up a job he wasn't offered..

 

[Sheffsteel]

By the way I agree about the comments regards the Blades culture / DNA.

If we tried to develope a team playing the Barcelona way I'm sure many fans would be booing and shouting "boot it up field" or "stick it in the box".

I wonder if our culture is fast attacking direct almost kick and rush type football. Is that what most fans want?

 

[alcoblade]

All you people harking back to promotions, getting excited, winning football matches, frightening opponents......

You aren't giving nearly enough credence to the "new ethos" that was necessary. The next time Shrewsbury stick the fourth goal in in front of the kop, remember that if we concentrate in the "ethos" we will eventually turn into Swansea.

UTB

 

[Rodley]

I find this an interesting point; are all clubs not equal? Is United not a club that can be a classy, footballing side? Have we been too conditioned through decades of "up and at 'em" that we can never evolve, or would it at least take too long to become accustomed to the alternative, that we'll never have the patience required for the transition? Maybe.

Not at all. But we need a figurehead with a huge personality.

Also if we're still trying to adapt to tiki taka, it could be a problem as everyone has moved onto to the high tempo / pressing, Dortmund-style of football seasons ago.