Worst United Manager

[8lade]

What about Adrian Heath btw ?


(that David Weir stat. is a misprint isn't it?)

Heath was earlier, I think we're now going 'post Warnock' (our 2nd stint in the Prem).
http://www.managerstats.co.uk/clubs/sheffield-united/

 

[8lade]

and just to update Wilder's league stats in charge
P 98 W 54 D 19 L 25 = 55% - 19% - 26%

 

[vorpal blade]

Well, give him two more matches and the arithmetic becomes even easier

 

[Balham]

Re Wilson: the games you mention were all poor performances...but that's only 5 games, and you've named 4 of our 7 defeats under him that season.

Of course the football was defensive. United scored 92 goals the previous season. Evans was incarcerated (29 goals gone) Williams wouldn't re-sign (13 goals gone) Lowton was sold by the board (6 goals and an excellent defender gone) Quinn was sold on the cheap because of his wages (3 goals and a key midfielder gone) Matty Phillips had only been on loan (5 goals gone). That's 56 goals you need to replace, when the club's budget was being reduced, not increased. Plus Cresswell (9 goals) was done, and only scored once. How are you going to replace all those goals when the club is in sell mode?

Wilson tried. He brought Blackman in, who did well (11 goals) and he was sold on the last day of the transfer window over Wilson's objection. He brought Kitson in, who did ok given his age (11 goals). Shaun Miller looked good but got injured at Christmas. Wilson was only able to scramble around and bring in Forte and Poleon at the end of the window. Both were useless, scoring once in 19 games combined. Joe Ironside was tried but was also useless. You mention Carlisle and Crawley - Forte effectively got Wilson fired as he was almost single handedly responsible for United failing to win those games thanks to a series of appalling misses.

Meanwhile, we were more defensive because we had a good defence. Maguire was excellent. Collins was excellent then (no one will give him credit for it given his form later but he was). George Long played well. We conceded only 36 goals in the 41 games Wilson managed. That's excellent. We didn't lose till November. Things were not perfect, but we let Wilson go with United in the playoff places. He'd done a good job.

Deserved to be fired? McCabe was asked at the press conference introducing Morgan as caretaker why Wilson had been fired. There is a video of that somewhere. McCabe was unable to give a cogent reason for the decision. The best he could do was to say we hadn't been winning at home. No we hadn't. 3 0-0 draws and a 0-2 defeat to Crawley, thanks to Forte. We declined under Morgan and ended up being away for the second leg of the playoffs, sealing our fate.

Re Clough: whilst he was his own worst enemy, he left us after a season and a half having achieved the following:

He took us to 2 major cup semi finals. No third tier club has ever achieved this in consecutive seasons. Only one (Wycombe) has ever done it at all. We beat 6 PL teams in Cups, 4 times away from home.
He took a team that had won one of its first 11 games and had 5 points into 7th place
He led the team to 10 successive victories in all competitions in 2013-14. This run inculded a spell of 7 straight league wins without conceding a goal.
He took the team into the playoffs into his second season. Should he have done better? Yes. But at the same time it's not nothing.

Clough is a flawed manager. 2014-5 was extremely frustrating in the league to say the least. I was glad he went. Wilson was a flawed manager. He should have done better in 2011-12. His recruitment could have been better in 2012-13.

But Gary Speed was manager for league 18 games, winning 6 and losing 9. How can he be rated better than Clough or Wilson's 2012/13 season?

Fair enough Revs. You've got your opinion and I've got mine; I can see your point of view but I'll stand by my assessments. I'd also agree that Wilson was unfortunate to lose his job when he did but the performances were reminiscent of a man running out of ideas.

Bottom line is that McCabe's managerial decisions - both in terms of who he's chosen and when he's got rid - have been, for the most part, awful.

 

[grafikhaus]

What about Adrian Heath btw ?


(that David Weir stat. is a misprint isn't it?)

Soree!

David Weir (10/6/13 to 11/10/13) P: 13 W: 1 D: 2 L: 10 Win%: 7.7

 

[SK10Blade]

Depend how old you are. If you can't remember Bryan Robson then it's David Weir, if you can remember Bryan Robson then surely you wonder why there are any other options.

 

[Patrick Suffaux]

Surprised to see Robson being so many people’s worst. I can understand the argument for it given the squad and budget but we were absolutely dreadful under Weir, so dreadful that it has to be him for me.

 

[PeterNdlovu081]

Depend how old you are. If you can't remember Bryan Robson then it's David Weir, if you can remember Bryan Robson then surely you wonder why there are any other options.

I remember both and Weir is in a league of his own.

We weren't bad under Robson, we were just underperforming.

The performances under Weir were by far the worst I've ever seen by a Sheffield United team.

 

[Cerberus Blade]

Some good bad choices there.

I think in terms of not making the most of what he’d inherited, Robson has to be the winner. He had decent players and parachute payments but he couldn’t muster a half decent effort.

Adrian Heath was poor and clueless but he’d no previous management experience and we should have never given him the job in the first place. It was cruel! Just because he was a good footballer doesn’t mean he’d be a good manager.

We made the same mistake with Weir. Good footballer but no management experience. Should have never got the job in the first place. But he stands out for his stubbornness in refusing to change a system that he didn’t have players capable of playing. He was a close second for me because he would have taken us back to the lowest level of professional football if we hadn’t fired him.

Adams inherited some shite. But he got too emotionally involved to be able to sort it out. He sounded like he was heading for a nervous breakdown at times. Not good!

But the one I disliked most of all was Adkins. He bullshitted the fans and tried to fix it for his mates. Awful, Awful manager! And I’m going to enjoy watching him squirm this season. I’ll bet now that he’ll be sacked and end up back at Scunthorpe eventually, where the story began.

 

[Liverpool blade]

It has to be weir for me. I also remember robson. Weir just didn’t have a clue!!!.
Actually Adkins runs weir a close second!!. It makes me shudder when I think I’ve watched my beloved blades with some right numpties in charge over the last 45 years!!.
Thank fuck we’ve got wilder.

 

[MMBUTB]

IMO the bad run started with Neil Warnock. Managers like Warnock, Mick McCarthy, Sam Allardyce et etc.

These managers are not necessarily bad managers in there own right but there greatest quality is motivation. Getting a team to run through a brick wall for them. In other words getting and extra 10% out of ordinary players.

The real trouble comes when these men leave the club. What your left with is a group of players who no longer have there motivator. The club then plummets. After that we had more bad decision from the board. Blackwell, Robson, Adams. All terrible.

Examples of a better way to do it would be Swansea or Southampton. The club has a philosophy and changes the managers to suit. In hope the club still moves forward even if a manager leaves. (Yes Swansea’s time in the sun is over now but they have had a good run).

Thank goodness we now have CW

 

[SK10Blade]

I remember both and Weir is in a league of his own.

We weren't bad under Robson, we were just underperforming.

The performances under Weir were by far the worst I've ever seen by a Sheffield United team.

We were underperforming because Robson couldn't bring anything out of the players we had, hence my comment.

 

[John Street West Terrace]

I have to abstain as it is Martin Peters by a country mile. In charge when we got relegated to the fourth division after winning about 4 games from December onwards and we were up against the might of teams like Chester and Swindon. This was despite managing a team with a top 3 wages budget.

He even managed to drop our top penalty taking star about 10 mins before the kick off for the big relegation decider against Walsall (Tony Kenworthy who was just about faultless from the spot).

The man was beyond fkin hopeless

Surprised he could even wipe his arse without managing to get a fresh turd on his fkin head.

Out of that list, fuk me what a choice. It's like choosing between syphilis or gonorrhoea. I would say Weir. Nearly up there with MP for being fkin useless.

I think TK only missed once from the spot in his career I’m sure a few of the stato’s will be able to come up with his record , if we’re talking in my time at The Lane then don’t forget good old fkin happy Harry Haslam ,promised he’d get us out of the old second sharpish & he was good to his word took us into the third division after splashing a bit of cash .. I wonder if Robson looked back at him as a mentor ?

 

[tomtheblade]

There are different kinds of appointments.

Chairmen are usually trying to either consolidate or go for it. The problem is if you hire the wrong guy for option 2 you end up having to get in the guy for option 1.

Our problem was giving the job to Robson when we were trying to go for it. Rectifying that is exactly how you end up with someone like Blackwell, who will steady the ship but likely take you backwards from a footballing point of view. I would argue that McCabes appointments have usually been reactionary ones to fix the problems of the previous regime.

Robson was there to add some prestige and supposed class to the club after the low stature and overbearing personality of Warnock
Blackwell took over to give us some identity and energy back after Robson's malaise
Speed was an attempt to compensate for what Blackwell lacked in new ideas and fresh approach
Adams' appointment was another attempt to consolidate after an inexperienced manager in Speed left us in an uncertain position
Wilson was hired more as an all-rounder, and was almost successful
Morgan was a way of trying to add some fire to a squad that may have been petering out
Weir was a new direction after trying 'go with what you know' Morgan just didn't work
Clough's experience and pragmatism was a reaction to Weirs complete lack of both
Adkins positivity was designed to be the antidote to Clough's negativity

..And finally Wilder was a mixture of things, but most importantly a way to give the club and its fans our identity back. Being honest most of us here would've had no idea that he would be as successful as he has been, but he had a lot of experience and success in lower leagues, and deserved his chance. Thank goodness he got it.

 

[5tannington Blade]

I don’t understand how a manager which took us to within 45 minutes of an FA Cup final with average league one players can be remotely considered for this.

 

[Revolution]

I remember both and Weir is in a league of his own.

We weren't bad under Robson, we were just underperforming.

The performances under Weir were by far the worst I've ever seen by a Sheffield United team.

I'd agree with that, and I'd agree that Weir was the worst manager in the sense of not having a clue how to win a game, but the damage caused by Weir was healed by the end of the season. The damage caused by Robson is arguably still affecting us today. He set us back years.

 

[tomtheblade]

I don’t understand how a manager which took us to within 45 minutes of an FA Cup final with average league one players can be remotely considered for this.

I think the qualification is just 'the managers we've appointed post-Warnock', rather than 'these are all terrible pick the worst'. Although to be fair many of them *were* terrible. Wilson, Speed and Clough may be the better ones there, though some would disagree with me.

Wilder is exempted for obvious reasons. Clough is included as part of that timeline of managers, but also because he wasted a lot of money on below-average players, so doesn't get off scott-free. I'd agree with your sentiment that there was still things to appreciate about his tenure, but i'd still say it was a mixed bag.

 

[Gin&Juice]

I was no way a fan of Nigel Clough. But how exactly can you vote for him ahead of David Weir, Adkins and Robson?

 

[PeterNdlovu081]

I'd agree with that, and I'd agree that Weir was the worst manager in the sense of not having a clue how to win a game, but the damage caused by Weir was healed by the end of the season. The damage caused by Robson is arguably still affecting us today. He set us back years.

That's not fair on Robson though because he was the only manager on this poll who was ever in a position to inflict lasting damage on us. He was a victim of the situation he was put in. Not saying he wasn't shit because he was but he was always on a hiding to nothing.

Weir could have lost every match 10-0 and people would still say Robson was worse because of the damage he caused.

 

[Revolution]

That's not fair on Robson though because he was the only manager on this poll who was ever in a position to inflict lasting damage on us. He was a victim of the situation he was put in. Not saying he wasn't shit because he was but he was always on a hiding to nothing.

Weir could have lost every match 10-0 and people would still say Robson was worse because of the damage he caused.

Who cares about fair? That's the way it played out.

Robson had a bigger budget, both in cash terms and relatively, than any manager in our history. The only others who come remotely close are Porterfield from 1982-4 and Kendall/Spackman from 1996 to the end of 1997. He wasted it.

Porterfield was handed the biggest budget in the division and delivered the title. He won promotion again 2 years later.

Kendall got us to a playoff final: should've done better, but he still didn't squander it.

 

[PeterNdlovu081]

Who cares about fair? That's the way it played out.

Robson had a bigger budget, both in cash terms and relatively, than any manager in our history. The only others who come remotely close are Porterfield from 1982-4 and Kendall/Spackman from 1996 to the end of 1997. He wasted it.

Porterfield was handed the biggest budget in the division and delivered the title. He won promotion again 2 years later.

Kendall got us to a playoff final: should've done better, but he still didn't squander it.

Bryan Robson is a better manager than David Weir.

Not much more to say really.

 

[Revolution]

Bryan Robson is a better manager than David Weir.

Not much more to say really.

He is, yes, but he caused more lasting damage to United than Weir did. That makes him the worst United manager post PL, which is the point of the thread.

 

[PeterNdlovu081]

He is, yes, but he caused more lasting damage to United than Weir did. That makes him the worst United manager post PL, which is the point of the thread.

The thread is 'Worst United Manager' not 'Which Manager Caused The Most Lasting Damage?'.

Weir is the worst manager we've ever had by a mile.

 

[Revolution]

The thread is 'Worst United Manager' not 'Which Manager Caused The Most Lasting Damage?'.

Weir is the worst manager we've ever had by a mile.

Whatever.

 

[I should coco]

He was a victim of the situation he was put in.

I didn't know that Robson's brother posted on here. Welcome aboard and did you know we are the original United.

Weir could have lost every match 10-0 and people would still say Robson was worse because of the damage he caused.

People would still say Robson was worse, beacuase he WAS!

If you'd gone to the derby at Hillsborough in 2008 you couldn't possibly say otherwise.

The thread is 'Worst United Manager' not 'Which Manager Caused The Most Lasting Damage?'.

In this case they are both the same. As others have said, we were over Weir by early 2014 and on the start of our FASC run. The poor games at the start of that season were a pleasantly fading memory.

I can never forget that cluless drunken twat.
-The old crippled bloke who ran on the pitch in the League Cup tie against Arsenal to chuck his ticket at him.
-The spineless derby performance that was 'just another game'
-Being 3-0 down against Stoke-alona at home after about 6 seconds

He was smug, self satisfied and never gave a shit about our club. Classically 'there is only one United' and look where he's ended up.

Weir was incompetent and out of his depth, but he genuinely tried so I hold no malice toward him.

 

[PeterNdlovu081]

I didn't know that Robson's brother posted on here. Welcome aboard and did you know we are the original United.



People would still say Robson was worse, beacuase he WAS!

If you'd gone to the derby at Hillsborough in 2008 you couldn't possibly say otherwise.



In this case they are both the same. As others have said, we were over Weir by early 2014 and on the start of our FASC run. The poor games at the start of that season were a pleasantly fading memory.

I can never forget that cluless drunken twat.
-The old crippled bloke who ran on the pitch in the League Cup tie against Arsenal to chuck his ticket at him.
-The spineless derby performance that was 'just another game'
-Being 3-0 down against Stoke-alona at home after about 6 seconds

He was smug, self satisfied and never gave a shit about our club. Classically 'there is only one United' and look where he's ended up.

Weir was incompetent and out of his depth, but he genuinely tried so I hold no malice toward him.

At no point during Robson's reign were we ever getting played off the pitch by lower table League One teams.

Robson was shite but even if he'd won the league that season he wouldn't have got many plaudits. It was promotion or a bullet in the head for anybody who took the job after Warnock.

 

[I should coco]

At no point during Robson's reign were we ever getting played off the pitch by lower table League One teams.

He'd have had to have had a second season to 'achieve' that

 

[PeterNdlovu081]

He'd have had to have had a second season to 'achieve' that

Robson wouldn't have got us relegated.

Weir definitely would have.

 

[Revolution]

Robson wouldn't have got us relegated.

Weir definitely would have.

One of the reasons Robson was fired was the board being worried about relegation.

 

[Chali 2na]

Bryan Robson is a better manager than David Weir.
.

Not for United he wasn't.

The thread is 'Worst United Manager' not 'Which Manager Caused The Most Lasting Damage?'.

Weir is the worst manager we've ever had by a mile.

How is Weir the worst manager we've had? He got the worst results on the pitch, but there's more to it than that.