Ain't Got a Barrel of Money

Jason Holyhead

Description

John Harris's arrival at Bramall Lane laid the foundations for the appearance of some of the greatest players in Sheffield United's history. In his second full season in charge, the Blades were promoted back to the first division. Ain't Got a Barrel of Money is the story of Harris and those who came after him, building a team that would challenge for a place in Europe, the decline that followed and the inevitable sale of many of the club's finest players. In 1975, they finished sixth in Division One, playing some of the most exciting football in the country. Currie, Woodward, Colquhoun, Speight, Hemsley and Badger were all household names. But within six years Sheffield United had gone from the brink of greatness to the ultimate humiliation - relegation to the fourth division, for the first and only time in the club's wonderful history. Filled with anecdotes and memories from many of those who were there, both on the field and on the terraces, this book captures the highs and lows of being a Sheffield United fan.

Sujets

• Condado de Yorkshire (Reino Unido)
• Yorkshire

Informations

• Publié par: Pitch Publishing Ltd
• Date de parution: 21 février 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781801502252
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

First published by Pitch Publishing, 2022
Pitch Publishing
A2 Yeoman Gate
Yeoman Way
Durrington
BN13 3QZ
www.pitchpublishing.co.uk
Jason Holyhead, 2022
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A CIP catalogue record is available for this book from the British Library
Print ISBN 9781801500609
eBook ISBN 9781801502252
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Contents
Foreword by Alan Biggs
Introduction: Ain t Got a Barrel of Money. Sheffield United
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Cast
Epilogue: Ain t Got a Barrel of Money. Sheffield United
Photos
Foreword by Alan Biggs
AS SOMEONE with the incredible luck to have spent a working lifetime meeting stars of sport, the thrill never wears off. That sense of awe can be conquered to enable you to do your job, but it never leaves you completely.
And thankfully so, because it is part of that job to be enraptured by your subject. How can you convey it to those less fortunate if you lose that sense of wonder?
This is the story of a football supporter s discovery of that same precious feeling as he tracks down some of his heroes of Sheffield United.
While observing strict impartiality on the Sheffield scene myself, I ll never forget the door I knocked on very early in my career or the person who opened it. There had been rumours of the Blades biggest star leaving for Leeds (as he subsequently did) and I set off to do that very old-fashioned thing of daring to go and see him.
Wouldn t happen now and feels like an invasion of privacy, to be honest. I m no advocate of doorstepping, let me add! But the man who appeared in a smart, open-necked pink shirt at his home in Dronfield took it all in his stride. He was more polite than he needed to be in the circumstances. Didn t tell me much, mind you. But that didn t matter. I had met Tony Currie!
Some people say never meet your heroes for fear of being disappointed. I have seldom found that to be true and TC was a personal hero for the way he played, never mind that I supported Chesterfield. Amazingly, I d now regard him as a friend after numerous interviews.
The wonderful Bramall Lane era of Currie and Woody (Alan Woodward) is at the centre of this narrative, which rightly pays particular homage to the humble man who created it, John Harris, one of the three greatest Blades bosses of my memory, along with Dave Bassett and Chris Wilder.
I ll never forget, either, the fateful day that all too swiftly followed when I made the mistake of presenting my Sportacular programme from Rotherham United s 1981 promotion party at Millmoor, little imagining that there would be a much more newsworthy relegation wake at S2.
United s incredible rise and fall across an eventful decade, from the summit of the First Division to the Fourth, is a tale that demands re-telling, warts and all. In this book, the story is given an added, special dimension by Jason Holyhead - the chance for Sheffield United fans to see worshipped figures through the eyes of one of their own.
I imagine Jason set off on his mission somewhat starryeyed. I hope that is still the case. Thankfully we always have clearer recall of a bright sunny day than a walk in the rain .
You can be sure Jason has put a barrel-load of love into this project - and I am sure that it will truly fill up your senses!
INTRODUCTION
Ain t Got a Barrel of Money, Sheffield United
THE METEORIC rise of Sheffield United to the Premier League was, for many, a surprise. When Chris Wilder took over the club that he had supported from the terraces as a boy, at a ground where he had been a ball boy as a kid and a player as a younger man - the Blades were languishing in League One.
Years of mediocrity had seen the club he loved sitting in the lower divisions for far too long. United had been languishing in the third tier for five seasons, since slipping out of the Championship in 2011. United won just 43 points in that season.
Wilder took charge on 12 May 2016 after the club parted company with Nigel Adkins. United had finished 11th in League One under Adkins the previous season, three points behind Gillingham and Rochdale: a position that was simply not acceptable for the fans or the club.
In Wilder s first season at the Lane, his team won promotion to the Championship, gaining 100 points and the league title en route. The following season - back in the Championship - was no failure either. United were at the top end of the table for much of the season until a serious injury to midfielder Paul Coutts coincided with a drop in form and subsequent drop down the table, eventually finishing a respectable tenth, five places above local rivals Wednesday.
The following season, Wilder built on the previous campaign s success and won promotion, United s second in three years, finishing second behind Norwich City and five points above third-placed Leeds, who eventually missed out on promotion in the play-offs.
Considerable investment in the team over the summer, with the acquisition of several players that repeatedly broke the club s transfer records, saw the Blades as high as fifth in the Premier League in November 2019, just a place behind reigning champions Manchester City.
The January 2020 transfer window saw further investment in the squad, breaking the club s transfer record again, this time to bring in Norwegian, Sander Berge.
Come mid-February s winter break, United were astonishingly still fifth, just two points behind fourth-placed Chelsea, with the prospect of European football for the first time in the club s history still a possibility.
When the season was paused due to the Covid-19 outbreak, the Blades sat seventh in the Premier League - level on points with sixth-placed Wolves, and two points behind Manchester United in fifth, with a game in hand on both.
A poor restart and what, at best, might be called a technology glitch, against Aston Villa - which resulted in one point, rather than three - saw United finish the season in ninth place, just two points behind Arsenal. What followed in the second season back in the top flight was nothing short of disastrous. With no fans in the ground in 2020/21 and a seemingly ever-growing injury list, United spent the season at the foot of the league table. The final blow was Wilder s departure.
The last five years under Chris Wilder were undoubtedly - for a generation of fans - the best period in United s recent history. Of course, fans of different generations will have their own opinions of when the golden era was for Sheffield United Football Club.
Each fan will have his or her own favourite player: perhaps Jimmy Hagan, Doc Pace, Len Badger, Tony Currie, Alan Woodward or Mick Speight; or for slightly younger fans, the best players might be Keith Edwards, Colin Morris, Glyn Hodges or Brian Deane, who scored the first ever goal of the Premier League era.
Now, there will be a brand-new generation of fans whose favourite players will be Chris Basham, Billy Sharp or John Fleck.
Those same fans will also of course have their own opinions on the worst period of the club s history, but there is little doubt that the darkest day in the long and occasionally illustrious history of Sheffield United Football Club, was the day they were relegated to the old Fourth Division.
Under Wilder, and his assistant Alan Knill, those days seemed a distant memory, as United approached the top flight fearlessly, but some fans will remember that we have been here before.
When football restarted after the enforced Covid break, it was a very different Sheffield United that limped to the end of the 2019/20 season. The second season, behind closed doors, was a disaster. Bottom of the league from the outset, United never recovered. Eventually, the unthinkable happened and Chris Wilder left the club, much to the dismay of most fans.
The inevitable relegation followed soon afterwards. There was a point during the season that United looked likely to break all the unwanted records available: lowest goals tally, lowest number of points - the list went on and on. Somehow, under interim manager Paul Heckingbottom, United managed to avoid most of the records, but the relegation signalled the end of an era.
Before this current crop of heroes were born, Sheffield United had a colourful history, filled with promise, glory, success and failure.
There have been highs and there have been lows. There have been great nights of celebration and tears of absolute frustration and utter disappointment. There has been controversy and there has been joy.
In this book we go back to a different era; decades ago, before the Premier League, before every game was televised, before massive money was paid to our heroes, before we had 24-hour access to them via social media; before bloody VAR
Chapter 1
BETWEEN 1955 and 1959, Joe Mercer was the manager of Sheffield United Football Club, having taken over when Reg Freeman died during the close season. Mercer had enjoyed a distinguished career as a player, starting at Everton, in a team that included the wonderful Dixie Dean, before moving to Arsenal - where he won an FA Cup winner s medal.
He was