Worst United Manager

[vorpal blade]

time to rehash my name-dropping story .... I bumped into Kevin McCabe one Monday morning, I was getting on the Leeds train at Doncaster, he was getting off on his way to Sheffield there to 'unveil' Robson as manager.

I knew him, so asked him if the rumour I had heard at a wedding over the weekend was true and that Bryan Robson was to be appointed, he said yes, it was true and when he registered the dismay on my face, he said - by way of cheering me up - [it's OK because] Brian Kidd would be his deputy .... the idea being that he would look after him.

To make the best out of what was obviously disastrous day for United, on arrival at Leeds, I withdrew £200 from a machine and went to a bookie's - who wouldn't even take my bet.

We A L L knew Robson had no ability ...... apart from McCabe - he was certainly more focussed on trying to get the FA to punish Wet Sham at the time (we spoke briefly about that).

Kevin was guilty of a serious misjudgement though the men he surrounds himself with MUST have realised that.

I think they were probably 'yes men' who dared not 'speak truth to power' for the sake of keeping their jobs.

Not kidnapping McCabe and locking him in a cubicle in the toilet on platform 3 that day at Doncaster was one of the major mistakes of mine in a life peppered with bad errors.

 

[Wards]

Accidentally voted Adams but it’s undoubtedly Robson

 

[Killamarshblades]

Blackwell was awful. Terrible terrible football with a very good squad at his disposal that should have easily got promoted, even when Beattie was sold. I'll always remember him berating Sun Jihai for passing to a player in space in the centre circle instead of putting it in the corner where literally no one was stood, he give him dogs abuse for it.
Robson was awful but clearly was in no fit state to manage a team, was a vanity project from McCabe to raise the profile of the club (as we sort of saw in that BBC documentary when he was 'speaking on behalf of the club' in the far east or wherever it was)

 

[Kozzy_is_my_Dad]

time to rehash my name-dropping story .... I bumped into Kevin McCabe one Monday morning, I was getting on the Leeds train at Doncaster, he was getting off on his way to Sheffield there to 'unveil' Robson as manager.

I knew him, so asked him if the rumour I had heard at a wedding over the weekend was true and that Bryan Robson was to be appointed, he said yes, it was true and when he registered the dismay on my face, he said - by way of cheering me up - [it's OK because] Brian Kidd would be his deputy .... the idea being that he would look after him.

To make the best out of what was obviously disastrous day for United, on arrival at Leeds, I withdrew £200 from a machine and went to a bookie's - who wouldn't even take my bet.

We A L L knew Robson had no ability ...... apart from McCabe - he was certainly more focussed on trying to get the FA to punish Wet Sham at the time (we spoke briefly about that).

Kevin was guilty of a serious misjudgement though the men he surrounds himself with MUST have realised that.

I think they were probably 'yes men' who dared not 'speak truth to power' for the sake of keeping their jobs.

Not kidnapping McCabe and locking him in a cubicle in the toilet on platform 3 that day at Doncaster was one of the major mistakes of mine in a life peppered with bad errors.

You have a way with words sir, like a sad novel.

 

[Chali 2na]

And ill always say it.. Kevin Blackwell is/was a good manager!

Be careful about "always" saying it then, as that's the sort of opinion that could get you sectioned...

 

[FinchleyBlade]

Can't believe anyone thinks its other than Robson. Look at the squad he had and the money he spent compared to the others.

 

[BigBed]

Disgusted Bruce isn't on that list, what a cunt he is.
He's in my votes anyway.

 

[Jim Chimmerney]

Has to be Robson, it took us years to get over that disaster and to be fair to the likes of Blackwell and Wilson (undoubtedly the unluckiest), they suffered because of it.

Adams didn't have a prayer, Clough was his own worst enemy but to be fair, we knew what he was like when we employed him, his 1st season came as a complete shock. Weir was just out of his depth and Adkins maybe 2nd worst, just seems to have lost the plot.

 

[Stretch]

From the options available it has to be Robson. Not just because of the shit he served up in the pitch but also for sowing the seeds of our decline into league 1.

Heath was fucking woeful as well though.

 

[8lade]

I don't think Robson was necessarily a better manager BUT he wasn't here that long, signed alot of good players and actually left us in the "any idiot could get us up" category.

As long as they were sober.

I withdrew £200 from a machine and went to a bookie's - who wouldn't even take my bet.

What was the bet? That Robson wouldn't last the season?

 

[Notts Blade]

I went Adams purely because of that run of draws and defeats, watching united give up without a fight and the slide towards relegation. The team he inherited wasn't terrible, though it wasn't good it should have been enough to steer clear or going down. It was the first time in my United watching life that it had felt like a chore and I wasn't looking forward to games.

Weir, Adkins etc were poor and obviously the club were in worse positions following their leadership, but the club had been mismanaged for years by that point and I suppose I was more used to it.

 

[Revolution]

One interesting thing about that list is that you can make a persuasive case that 5 of those 8 - Robson, Blackwell, Adams, Weir and Adkins - were the worst.

McCabe really has a poor track record of picking managers. At least he got Wilder right.

 

[Pierre's PC]

Only one person mentioned Heath.
That makes me sad

 

[Roygbiv]

It's definitely Robson and it ended up costing McCabe millions. Robson thanks Terry Robinson in his book so we probably had him to blame just as much as McCabe. I think Kev thought having ex-England captain Robson as a figurehead at the club would make it easier to sell the the United brand abroad. He probably thought given the money we spent that even he couldn't fail .

I remember when Robson was sacked and he said he didn't get the finances to do what he wanted. I nearly hunted him down personally when I heard it. Absolutely ruined the club and we still haven't really recovered. I don't think McCabe will ever again risk throwing that sort of money around again.

 

[Roygbiv]

Only one person mentioned Heath.
That makes me sad

Post PL. Still think Robson was worse though.

 

[Harry's Game]

It has to be Robson.

The only time we have ever had the spending power and we threw it away on that useless piss head.


A poll on most unlikable however would be topped easily by Nigel Clough

 

[vorpal blade]

titters 8lade ... no - and you know it wasn't

 

[zablade]

Went for Robson just in front of Adkins for the reasons stated over wasted budget.

Adkins was a complete Bozo though.

A footnote to the Weir appointment is that the runner up for the job was Gareth Southgate. We turned him down as it was believed he was finished as a manager after Middlesbrough

I don’t think he would have done much for us but it would have altered history as he would not have then got the England U21s job and then fell into the big job when Big Sam fecked up.

 

[Chali 2na]

Disgusted Bruce isn't on that list...

Maybe you should re-read the poll title...

 

[Bert]

How things changed, eh?

pommpey

It must have been a tough last couple of weeks for all the McCabe haters.

 

[Roygbiv]

Went for Robson just in front of Adkins for the reasons stated over wasted budget.

Adkins was a complete Bozo though.

A footnote to the Weir appointment is that the runner up for the job was Gareth Southgate. We turned him down as it was believed he was finished as a manager after Middlesbrough

I don’t think he would have done much for us but it would have altered history as he would not have then got the England U21s job and then fell into the big job when Big Sam fecked up.

Completely forgot about the Southgate link. That would have totally finished him off and Aidy Boothroyd would probably be England manager

 

[Harry's Game]

Completely forgot about the Southgate link. That would have totally finished him off

Managing United (or Wednesday for that matter) has been a complete career killer for a few people over the last two decades.

 

[JackSUFC]

After us:

Robson - managed Thailand for 7 games, winning twice.
Blackwell - spent a season relegating Bury before his reconciliation with Neil.
Adams - rejoined Port Vale (took them up from League Two to be fair), then Tranmere (left with two games to go, with the club bottom of League Two), then had a brief spell with Sligo Rovers.
Wilson - sacked by Barnsley and then sacked by Chesterfield.
Weir - went back to handing out bibs and putting cones out at spells with Brentford, Rangers and Forest.
Clough - took over Burton when they were top of League One and managed to stumble to promotion. To be fair to him, he kept them in the division against the odds, but is now struggling again in League One after relegation.
Adkins - somehow blagged a job at Hull and kept them up, but they've won once in six games this season and I wouldn't be surprised to see him sacked soon enough.

I think that tells you all you need to know.

 

[Yewsman]

Robson worst definitely. He inherited a team who had been unluckily relegated from the Prem by the margin of 1 goal. We had a reasonable squad and although we lost Jags he had that transfer money plus the parachute payments to bolster the squad. In hindsight getting rid of Warnock (I know he resigned but under pressure) was a mistake. (I admit at the time I thought letting him go was the right thing!) Had he stayed I think we would have had a good chance of getting back in the PL. Look at his record since.
As far as I can remember Robson was chosen by Terry Robinson (though presumably sanctioned by KM). TR was the only person in the world who thought he was the right choice. Certainly all the fans knew he would be a disaster. As it turned out he was even worse than a disaster.

 

[Harry's Game]

Thinking about Robson I heard one of his first Interviews in pre season when asked about did he think he would need to bolster signings in midfield as we had now four good options up front in Beattie, Sharp, Hulse and Stead.

“Not really” he said “we have a good player there in Nick Montgomery who I think is well capable of scoring double figures in the Championship next season”



Ouch!

 

[Sean Thornton]

Thinking about Robson I heard one of his first Interviews in pre season when asked about did he think he would need to bolster signings in midfield as we had now four good options up front in Beattie, Sharp, Hulse and Stead.

“Not really” he said “we have a good player there in Nick Montgomery who I think is well capable of scoring double figures in the Championship next season”



Ouch!

That interview was clearly after 10am one morning.

 

[McGrath]

I voted Blackwell. I don't think Robson was necessarily a better manager BUT he wasn't here that long, signed alot of good players and actually left us in the "any idiot could get us up" category. Blackwell had alot more time and resources to add to that. His seasons were make or break for the club. We went the break route.

Blackwell essentially got Robsons team (minus Beattie) to the play off final and nearly took us up automatically. So I think voting for Blackwell is very unfair.

In fact I think as Blackwell dug us out of the Robson hole, he deserves a lot more credit than he gets. He should have left after the play off final though, and I think he was going to but McCabe talked him out of it

 

[neverknowinglywrong]

And the best of that lot (not including CW)?

My money goes on Wilson who had pretty much fuck all going for him.

 

[Revolution]

And the best of that lot (not including CW)?

My money goes on Wilson who had pretty much fuck all going for him.

I agree. nearly 2 full seasons, 2 playoff appearances is a good record. I know some folk think that he should have got us automatic in 2012 even after the Ched business but he was a bit unlucky with injuries that year and his work with the squad we had the following year was very impressive. It was madness to fire him.

Clough is also up there given he got us into the playoffs and repaired the Weir damage plus he did stellar work in the Cups, but I'd put him just a bit behind Wilson as some of his major problems were largely self inflicted (terrible transfer window in Summer 2014, failure to sort out the centre back situation in 2014-5, signing unfit players, 1 man up front with scrappy midget non goalscoring midfield etc) whereas Wilson's problems were due to things outside his control (Blackman sale and Ched most notably)

 

[SB_90]

I see everyones arguments, I see the ones for robson & adkins. but It has to be weir for me he was absolutely dreadful had 1 good game v notts county. then after that it was like pub team trying to play like spain. all the possession but with zero intention of ever going into the penalty box. then we did win between 2nd august - 19th October. I remember we only scored once v rotherham between 17th August - 4 October & if the guy, marlon king that ended that drought. my god we really were up in our necks In it

im glad currently gary speed does have any votes. because I remember thinking at the time that he would turn us around & playing good football. just look at the platform he gave to wales to let them have that brilliant run in euros