diplomat
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Im not sure if this has been shown, but here it is anyway, from the independent.
Danny Wilson deserves immense credit at Sheffield United
By Michael Holden
Football, Sport - Latest analysis on the Sporting world -
Thursday, 31 May 2012 at 11:12 am
When Sheffield United sacked Micky Adams at the start of last summer and replaced him with Danny Wilson, I’m not ashamed to admit I was one of the many people who instantly ridiculed the move as an act of lunacy. It simply made no sense at the time. The risk-to-reward ratio seemed heavily skewed against the Blades, a gamble of the highest order.
Sure, Wilson was blessed with bags of experience. He knew the division better than anyone, although that wasn’t necessarily a good thing given the number of times he has failed to clinch promotion when well-placed to do so. You might even have argued he was the ideal strategical fit, if your primary objective was to steady the ship after relegation.
But any potential positives from a strategical standpoint seemed to be far outweighed by the obvious possible pitfalls from a cultural perspective. In terms of what the fans wanted, this appointment was a shocker. A dyed-in-the-wool Unitedite ditched for a Sheffield Wednesday legend in a season when the two clubs were set to lock horns in the depths of the third tier for the first time in over 30 years.
Neither of the Steel City clubs had much to shout about, but it did seem as though the Owls were heading for a period of ascendancy under the ownership of Milan Mandaric. And while there’s no such thing as a tidy relegation, you also sensed that the Blades had some unfinished grieving to do given the fairly sudden manner of their demise from the Championship. As such, it made no sense to unsettle the fans with such a provocative figure. I was convinced it was doomed to failure.
In fact, the only positive, I assumed, would be the cleansing effect that a public outpouring of fury might have if Wilson were to be dismissed by October. In that scenario, the Bramall Lane faithful might have chance to get everything off their chest and the club would be in a position to move forward with a clean slate by the time the new man stepped in.
However, here we are, almost a year down the line. Wednesday have secured promotion, United haven’t, and yet Wilson is still in a job and, more importantly, still in favour with the fans. While other more stable League One contenders have been sacking their managers and riding the subsequent boost provided by the successor’s honeymoon, Wilson has been dogged and persistent in pursuit of his targets only to come up short on both counts.
Not that coming up short is Wilson’s fault. There’s not a single thing more he could have done to get the Blades up, the factors that cost them were way beyond his control.
What Ched Evans did had nothing to do with Sheffield United. They simply had to assume he was innocent until proven guilty and the club played such a delicate issue with tact throughout. Yet, from a football perspective, how do you prepare for losing a 35-goal striker, so shockingly and so suddenly, three games from the end of the campaign?
The impact on the dressing room must have been untold and United’s chances of striking upon an adequate alternative were further dented by an injury to loanee Will Hoskins and the stupidity of James Beattie, sent off for violent conduct in the final game at Exeter.
And so, with 90 points, the Blades headed into the play-offs distinctly short of attacking options. Needless to say, Wilson opted for a high degree of uncertainty avoidance with a pragmatic 4-5-1 formation and became only the seventh team to keep three clean sheets in post-season knockout history. But, unlike the previous six, it wasn’t enough.
United fans will be hurting right now but there’s no doubt they can hold their heads up high. Of course, there were some initial murmurings of discontent towards Wilson about his past, particularly in the first few months when trust had to be earned, but at no stage did the fans spit their dummies and throw the kitchen sink. Their maturity should be applauded.
Wilson, meanwhile, has been nothing other than honest. He hasn’t gone down the Steve McClaren route of trying too hard to be liked, and he hasn’t hidden the fact that his time at Hillsborough is a source of many fond memories. On a human level, you suspect the United fans respect that. Above all, they now realise he’s a man of integrity.
Danny Wilson deserves immense credit at Sheffield United
By Michael Holden
Football, Sport - Latest analysis on the Sporting world -
Thursday, 31 May 2012 at 11:12 am
When Sheffield United sacked Micky Adams at the start of last summer and replaced him with Danny Wilson, I’m not ashamed to admit I was one of the many people who instantly ridiculed the move as an act of lunacy. It simply made no sense at the time. The risk-to-reward ratio seemed heavily skewed against the Blades, a gamble of the highest order.
Sure, Wilson was blessed with bags of experience. He knew the division better than anyone, although that wasn’t necessarily a good thing given the number of times he has failed to clinch promotion when well-placed to do so. You might even have argued he was the ideal strategical fit, if your primary objective was to steady the ship after relegation.
But any potential positives from a strategical standpoint seemed to be far outweighed by the obvious possible pitfalls from a cultural perspective. In terms of what the fans wanted, this appointment was a shocker. A dyed-in-the-wool Unitedite ditched for a Sheffield Wednesday legend in a season when the two clubs were set to lock horns in the depths of the third tier for the first time in over 30 years.
Neither of the Steel City clubs had much to shout about, but it did seem as though the Owls were heading for a period of ascendancy under the ownership of Milan Mandaric. And while there’s no such thing as a tidy relegation, you also sensed that the Blades had some unfinished grieving to do given the fairly sudden manner of their demise from the Championship. As such, it made no sense to unsettle the fans with such a provocative figure. I was convinced it was doomed to failure.
In fact, the only positive, I assumed, would be the cleansing effect that a public outpouring of fury might have if Wilson were to be dismissed by October. In that scenario, the Bramall Lane faithful might have chance to get everything off their chest and the club would be in a position to move forward with a clean slate by the time the new man stepped in.
However, here we are, almost a year down the line. Wednesday have secured promotion, United haven’t, and yet Wilson is still in a job and, more importantly, still in favour with the fans. While other more stable League One contenders have been sacking their managers and riding the subsequent boost provided by the successor’s honeymoon, Wilson has been dogged and persistent in pursuit of his targets only to come up short on both counts.
Not that coming up short is Wilson’s fault. There’s not a single thing more he could have done to get the Blades up, the factors that cost them were way beyond his control.
What Ched Evans did had nothing to do with Sheffield United. They simply had to assume he was innocent until proven guilty and the club played such a delicate issue with tact throughout. Yet, from a football perspective, how do you prepare for losing a 35-goal striker, so shockingly and so suddenly, three games from the end of the campaign?
The impact on the dressing room must have been untold and United’s chances of striking upon an adequate alternative were further dented by an injury to loanee Will Hoskins and the stupidity of James Beattie, sent off for violent conduct in the final game at Exeter.
And so, with 90 points, the Blades headed into the play-offs distinctly short of attacking options. Needless to say, Wilson opted for a high degree of uncertainty avoidance with a pragmatic 4-5-1 formation and became only the seventh team to keep three clean sheets in post-season knockout history. But, unlike the previous six, it wasn’t enough.
United fans will be hurting right now but there’s no doubt they can hold their heads up high. Of course, there were some initial murmurings of discontent towards Wilson about his past, particularly in the first few months when trust had to be earned, but at no stage did the fans spit their dummies and throw the kitchen sink. Their maturity should be applauded.
Wilson, meanwhile, has been nothing other than honest. He hasn’t gone down the Steve McClaren route of trying too hard to be liked, and he hasn’t hidden the fact that his time at Hillsborough is a source of many fond memories. On a human level, you suspect the United fans respect that. Above all, they now realise he’s a man of integrity.
well fook me who'd have thunk it.
