Years of being Content/frustrated!!

[haich1889]

Just posted this on another thread but took me 3 hours so thought I'd post separately.

Being a Blade is so hard, you only have to ask my Dad who's 80 years old & never seen us win anything in all that time. It's 93 years since our club (from England's 4th largest City) last won a major trophy. It's 82 years since we even got to a major final.
During this period teams like Oxford, Luton, Wimbledon, Coventry, Wigan (ffs), Hull, Millwall, Cardiff, Southampton, QPR etc etc etc have all either won silverware or at least been involved in a final.

I remember Praise & Grumble when it first started & since that day the most common theme for Blades fans (by a huge margin) has been lack of ambition & spending. Apart from 2 or maybe 3 short periods under Howard Kendall & Bryan Robson there has never been a period of substantial investment in a bid for success. The 3 promotions to the Top tier of football that I have seen under John Harris (1972), Dave Bassett (1993) & Neil Warnock have been attained by chance/team spirit/excellent motivating management rather than any actions the personnel that run the club.

The majority of my childhood years up till the age of 11 were spent living in Ghana (West Africa) due to my dad working in the Gold mines. 12 months abroad was followed by 3 months home leave during which time we attended all possible matches at BDTBL & some away games (I remember watching Trevor Hockey playing for Birmingham away - we lost 1 - 0). My dad promised if we ever got to an FA cup final that we'd fly back to be there. My first shirt had a massive number 2 on the back as Len Badger was my favourite player. I wore my shirt outside my shorts like Geoff Salmons who I loved almost as much. Living in Africa in the 60's/early 70's the only contact with home was by Air mail (to phone England meant booking your call 2 weeks in advance so no-one ever bothered) & Grandad sent letters/Topper comic [later Spiderman mags]/Blades programmes/Green'uns every 2 weeks which usually took 2 - 4 weeks to arrive. MY first experience of BLADES heartbreak was opening the cardboard tube to see a full page headline telling me that Salmons had left for a record breaking £165 000 to Stoke. I was absolutely gutted as this was my the first experience of losing a hero. I remember my dad mumbling something about Jones/Birchenall/Wagstaffe but at that point I didn't understand the significance. The only media was a huge radio which constantly sounded like a Tram was running alongside & the BBC world service had live commentary every Saturday from a big game. Needless to say SUFC never featured until one 'GLORIOUS' day we played Bristol City in the Watney Cup final. My dad and me stood round the radio twiddling the ariel for over 2 hours as the commentary was barely audible. Cue 2nd experience of heartbreak as The Blades lost on penalty's (mmmmmmm starting to sense a theme?). I think Currie & possibly Hemsley missed???? When I was 8ish we were blessed to home on leave at the end the 71/72 season & sat on the back row of the Bramall Lane Stand as my beloved Blades won promotion, beating Cardiff 5 - 1 & Watford 3 - 0 in front of big crowds. It was magnificent & still remembered as if it was yesterday. During our final year abroad United topped the league & eventually missed out on Europe due to the EUFA's timely descision to bin the 'Inter City Fairs Cup' & introduce the re-branded EUFA Cup. No matter: the following season (my first full one in England) dad purchased 3 season tickets (my younger bro was on board now) on the same back row, in the exact same seats in the Bramhall Lane Stand where we had witnessed the glory 4 years earlier. I was so thrilled & excited ..... WE WERE RELEGATED so back down earth again which, still wasn't the NORM as I was still blessed with the exuberance & confidence of youth.
42 years later & three experiences of 3rd Tier football, one experience of 4th Tier embarrassment, countless talented players sold at the first sight of a bid (usually to clubs with much less support), an abundance of lies, a seemingly endless & limitless lack of ambition, NOT A SILVERWARE POT TO PI55 IN, almost 3 times as much time in the bottom 2 leagues than in the Top.

Sorry for boring everyone & cut to the chase:

IF...... in the last 80 years, just ONE PERSON/BOARD had shown a fraction of the financial, emotional commitment, passion & love for SHEFFIELD UNITED that my family (my Grandad/my dad/my brother/nephew/my kids) & countless other family's then I would be at least be content that "we tried". Quite simply SUFC have never & I'm starting to think (at last) we never will, show any kind of ambition. We are a huge City FFS, there is a huge fan base waiting to be tapped. Those who say Blades will always be a small club & we should get behind them whatever dross is put in front of us, really epitomise the ethos our inept, incompetent, spendthrift, passionless & lacklustre Boards/Chairmen have brought to my beloved club over decades.

WE HAVEN'T WON ANYTHING SINCE 1925 FFS.

Belief that Sheffield United have the potential to compete at the top with commitment that match's that of 1000's over the years IS THE REASON MANY OF US SHOW DISCONTENT FROM THE STANDS. It is the REASON MANY OF US DON'T SETTLE FOR CONSOLIDATION OR MID TABLE MEDIOCRITY. Maybe it's just me?? in my life I have never done anything without wanting to be the best!! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don't take charge of or stay in charge of MY CLUB unless you are willing to bring success. Be willing to go into debt if that's what it takes (God knows this club has made me spend more than I can afford constantly). If that means getting rid of a Draconian wage structure or paying out some of your Fortune then FFS DO IT, if not FOOOOOOOK THE HELL OFF because being happy with 2nd, 3rd, 4th, middling, bottom etc just isn't & will never be good enough for some of us.
SUFC was mentioned twice on my divorce papers, that is commitment. I want to see something similar before I die (my Dad has given up now at 80).

WOW.... this started as a 'QUICK REPLY' ... Sorry

[rodcurrie]

Just posted this on another thread but took me 3 hours so thought I'd post separately.

Being a Blade is so hard, you only have to ask my Dad who's 80 years old & never seen us win anything in all that time. It's 93 years since our club (from England's 4th largest City) last won a major trophy. It's 82 years since we even got to a major final.
During this period teams like Oxford, Luton, Wimbledon, Coventry, Wigan (ffs), Hull, Millwall, Cardiff, Southampton, QPR etc etc etc have all either won silverware or at least been involved in a final.

I remember Praise & Grumble when it first started & since that day the most common theme for Blades fans (by a huge margin) has been lack of ambition & spending. Apart from 2 or maybe 3 short periods under Howard Kendall & Bryan Robson there has never been a period of substantial investment in a bid for success. The 3 promotions to the Top tier of football that I have seen under John Harris (1972), Dave Bassett (1993) & Neil Warnock have been attained by chance/team spirit/excellent motivating management rather than any actions the personnel that run the club.

The majority of my childhood years up till the age of 11 were spent living in Ghana (West Africa) due to my dad working in the Gold mines. 12 months abroad was followed by 3 months home leave during which time we attended all possible matches at BDTBL & some away games (I remember watching Trevor Hockey playing for Birmingham away - we lost 1 - 0). My dad promised if we ever got to an FA cup final that we'd fly back to be there. My first shirt had a massive number 2 on the back as Len Badger was my favourite player. I wore my shirt outside my shorts like Geoff Salmons who I loved almost as much. Living in Africa in the 60's/early 70's the only contact with home was by Air mail (to phone England meant booking your call 2 weeks in advance so no-one ever bothered) & Grandad sent letters/Topper comic [later Spiderman mags]/Blades programmes/Green'uns every 2 weeks which usually took 2 - 4 weeks to arrive. MY first experience of BLADES heartbreak was opening the cardboard tube to see a full page headline telling me that Salmons had left for a record breaking £165 000 to Stoke. I was absolutely gutted as this was my the first experience of losing a hero. I remember my dad mumbling something about Jones/Birchenall/Wagstaffe but at that point I didn't understand the significance. The only media was a huge radio which constantly sounded like a Tram was running alongside & the BBC world service had live commentary every Saturday from a big game. Needless to say SUFC never featured until one 'GLORIOUS' day we played Bristol City in the Watney Cup final. My dad and me stood round the radio twiddling the ariel for over 2 hours as the commentary was barely audible. Cue 2nd experience of heartbreak as The Blades lost on penalty's (mmmmmmm starting to sense a theme?). I think Currie & possibly Hemsley missed???? When I was 8ish we were blessed to home on leave at the end the 71/72 season & sat on the back row of the Bramall Lane Stand as my beloved Blades won promotion, beating Cardiff 5 - 1 & Watford 3 - 0 in front of big crowds. It was magnificent & still remembered as if it was yesterday. During our final year abroad United topped the league & eventually missed out on Europe due to the EUFA's timely descision to bin the 'Inter City Fairs Cup' & introduce the re-branded EUFA Cup. No matter: the following season (my first full one in England) dad purchased 3 season tickets (my younger bro was on board now) on the same back row, in the exact same seats in the Bramhall Lane Stand where we had witnessed the glory 4 years earlier. I was so thrilled & excited ..... WE WERE RELEGATED so back down earth again which, still wasn't the NORM as I was still blessed with the exuberance & confidence of youth.
42 years later & three experiences of 3rd Tier football, one experience of 4th Tier embarrassment, countless talented players sold at the first sight of a bid (usually to clubs with much less support), an abundance of lies, a seemingly endless & limitless lack of ambition, NOT A SILVERWARE POT TO PI55 IN, almost 3 times as much time in the bottom 2 leagues than in the Top.

Sorry for boring everyone & cut to the chase:

IF...... in the last 80 years, just ONE PERSON/BOARD had shown a fraction of the financial, emotional commitment, passion & love for SHEFFIELD UNITED that my family (my Grandad/my dad/my brother/nephew/my kids) & countless other family's then I would be at least be content that "we tried". Quite simply SUFC have never & I'm starting to think (at last) we never will, show any kind of ambition. We are a huge City FFS, there is a huge fan base waiting to be tapped. Those who say Blades will always be a small club & we should get behind them whatever dross is put in front of us, really epitomise the ethos our inept, incompetent, spendthrift, passionless & lacklustre Boards/Chairmen have brought to my beloved club over decades.

WE HAVEN'T WON ANYTHING SINCE 1925 FFS.

Belief that Sheffield United have the potential to compete at the top with commitment that match's that of 1000's over the years IS THE REASON MANY OF US SHOW DISCONTENT FROM THE STANDS. It is the REASON MANY OF US DON'T SETTLE FOR CONSOLIDATION OR MID TABLE MEDIOCRITY. Maybe it's just me?? in my life I have never done anything without wanting to be the best!! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don't take charge of or stay in charge of MY CLUB unless you are willing to bring success. Be willing to go into debt if that's what it takes (God knows this club has made me spend more than I can afford constantly). If that means getting rid of a Draconian wage structure or paying out some of your Fortune then FFS DO IT, if not FOOOOOOOK THE HELL OFF because being happy with 2nd, 3rd, 4th, middling, bottom etc just isn't & will never be good enough for some of us.
SUFC was mentioned twice on my divorce papers, that is commitment. I want to see something similar before I die (my Dad has given up now at 80).

WOW.... this started as a 'QUICK REPLY' ... Sorry

My dad died in 1990,he was born a couple of months after our last Fa Cup win,it is frustratin that's why i alluss told mi lads if we have a good season(promotion or a good run in't cups) to enjoy it cos ya know as sure as night follows day there's gunna some bobbar to follow it.Ya know what tho i've never ever thought of followin anyother club that may or not have won a trophy in the last few years.WE ARE BLADES and we tek the rough wi the rougher.My dear owd dad allus used to say a married BLADE is never short of owt to moan at,how correct he was,altho our Gertie dunt gi me much to moan abart i must say(Just in case someone tells her what i've posted) UTCB

[haich1889]

It's like family you can't change & following someone else is not an option for us never will be.

[rodcurrie]

It's like family you can't change & following someone else is not an option for us never will be.

Correct mate.UTCB

[Carpe_diem]

Being a Blade is like being a Catholic. A Catholic might not set foot in church for fifty years, they're still a fully paid up member of the religion and will be until they day they die (unless they're excommunicated, which doesn't happen very often). Similarly, a Blade might not attend Bramall Lane for years, but they're still a member of the SUFC faith.

[haich1889]

Or as me mates would say "once a C##t always a C##t" 😅😅

[GrayBlade]

Just posted this on another thread but took me 3 hours so thought I'd post separately.

Being a Blade is so hard, you only have to ask my Dad who's 80 years old & never seen us win anything in all that time. It's 93 years since our club (from England's 4th largest City) last won a major trophy. It's 82 years since we even got to a major final.
During this period teams like Oxford, Luton, Wimbledon, Coventry, Wigan (ffs), Hull, Millwall, Cardiff, Southampton, QPR etc etc etc have all either won silverware or at least been involved in a final.

I remember Praise & Grumble when it first started & since that day the most common theme for Blades fans (by a huge margin) has been lack of ambition & spending. Apart from 2 or maybe 3 short periods under Howard Kendall & Bryan Robson there has never been a period of substantial investment in a bid for success. The 3 promotions to the Top tier of football that I have seen under John Harris (1972), Dave Bassett (1993) & Neil Warnock have been attained by chance/team spirit/excellent motivating management rather than any actions the personnel that run the club.

The majority of my childhood years up till the age of 11 were spent living in Ghana (West Africa) due to my dad working in the Gold mines. 12 months abroad was followed by 3 months home leave during which time we attended all possible matches at BDTBL & some away games (I remember watching Trevor Hockey playing for Birmingham away - we lost 1 - 0). My dad promised if we ever got to an FA cup final that we'd fly back to be there. My first shirt had a massive number 2 on the back as Len Badger was my favourite player. I wore my shirt outside my shorts like Geoff Salmons who I loved almost as much. Living in Africa in the 60's/early 70's the only contact with home was by Air mail (to phone England meant booking your call 2 weeks in advance so no-one ever bothered) & Grandad sent letters/Topper comic [later Spiderman mags]/Blades programmes/Green'uns every 2 weeks which usually took 2 - 4 weeks to arrive. MY first experience of BLADES heartbreak was opening the cardboard tube to see a full page headline telling me that Salmons had left for a record breaking £165 000 to Stoke. I was absolutely gutted as this was my the first experience of losing a hero. I remember my dad mumbling something about Jones/Birchenall/Wagstaffe but at that point I didn't understand the significance. The only media was a huge radio which constantly sounded like a Tram was running alongside & the BBC world service had live commentary every Saturday from a big game. Needless to say SUFC never featured until one 'GLORIOUS' day we played Bristol City in the Watney Cup final. My dad and me stood round the radio twiddling the ariel for over 2 hours as the commentary was barely audible. Cue 2nd experience of heartbreak as The Blades lost on penalty's (mmmmmmm starting to sense a theme?). I think Currie & possibly Hemsley missed???? When I was 8ish we were blessed to home on leave at the end the 71/72 season & sat on the back row of the Bramall Lane Stand as my beloved Blades won promotion, beating Cardiff 5 - 1 & Watford 3 - 0 in front of big crowds. It was magnificent & still remembered as if it was yesterday. During our final year abroad United topped the league & eventually missed out on Europe due to the EUFA's timely descision to bin the 'Inter City Fairs Cup' & introduce the re-branded EUFA Cup. No matter: the following season (my first full one in England) dad purchased 3 season tickets (my younger bro was on board now) on the same back row, in the exact same seats in the Bramhall Lane Stand where we had witnessed the glory 4 years earlier. I was so thrilled & excited ..... WE WERE RELEGATED so back down earth again which, still wasn't the NORM as I was still blessed with the exuberance & confidence of youth.
42 years later & three experiences of 3rd Tier football, one experience of 4th Tier embarrassment, countless talented players sold at the first sight of a bid (usually to clubs with much less support), an abundance of lies, a seemingly endless & limitless lack of ambition, NOT A SILVERWARE POT TO PI55 IN, almost 3 times as much time in the bottom 2 leagues than in the Top.

Sorry for boring everyone & cut to the chase:

IF...... in the last 80 years, just ONE PERSON/BOARD had shown a fraction of the financial, emotional commitment, passion & love for SHEFFIELD UNITED that my family (my Grandad/my dad/my brother/nephew/my kids) & countless other family's then I would be at least be content that "we tried". Quite simply SUFC have never & I'm starting to think (at last) we never will, show any kind of ambition. We are a huge City FFS, there is a huge fan base waiting to be tapped. Those who say Blades will always be a small club & we should get behind them whatever dross is put in front of us, really epitomise the ethos our inept, incompetent, spendthrift, passionless & lacklustre Boards/Chairmen have brought to my beloved club over decades.

WE HAVEN'T WON ANYTHING SINCE 1925 FFS.

Belief that Sheffield United have the potential to compete at the top with commitment that match's that of 1000's over the years IS THE REASON MANY OF US SHOW DISCONTENT FROM THE STANDS. It is the REASON MANY OF US DON'T SETTLE FOR CONSOLIDATION OR MID TABLE MEDIOCRITY. Maybe it's just me?? in my life I have never done anything without wanting to be the best!! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don't take charge of or stay in charge of MY CLUB unless you are willing to bring success. Be willing to go into debt if that's what it takes (God knows this club has made me spend more than I can afford constantly). If that means getting rid of a Draconian wage structure or paying out some of your Fortune then FFS DO IT, if not FOOOOOOOK THE HELL OFF because being happy with 2nd, 3rd, 4th, middling, bottom etc just isn't & will never be good enough for some of us.
SUFC was mentioned twice on my divorce papers, that is commitment. I want to see something similar before I die (my Dad has given up now at 80).

WOW.... this started as a 'QUICK REPLY' ... Sorry

Great passionate post haich. I think that your frustration is probably echoed by thousands of Blades.

While I can 100% see the reasoning by those who always urge caution, you’d think at some stage in the past 93 years our day would have come as the song goes. There have been times a plenty when we could have built on success and kicked on but decided to settle for mediocrity. My Dad died in the 80’s and he was also a massive Blade. He was lucky enough to be alive when we last won the cup but as a kid didn’t get to Wembley. He’d lost his own Dad in WW1 and things were too tight. He went to games as long as his health would let him, and we’d chat on the phone after every game right up to him dying. He used to tell me that we’d always sell our best players and never win anything until we had a change of attitude at the very top. When I was young and stroppy we’ve even argue about it as I used to take it as an attack on my beloved club, but he was absolutely spot on and nothing has changed since the years since he passed. I’ve now had the ‘don’t build your hopes up’ conversation with my grandkids who now go to the games with me, but just like me with my Dad as a kid, they think I’m just a grumpy old sod and success is just a matter of time.

The list of similar sized and smaller clubs that have have won major trophies, even the top division title is endless, and the fact that the Pork have only won the Rumbellows Cup in a similar amount of time is little or no consolation. We haven’t even managed to win a play off final or got to a major final in my lifetime.

It’s not bad luck, there’s no jinx on SUFC, it’s down to almost a century of at worse corrupt and greedy to at best inept and weak boards and owners right up to and including our current shower. The worse part about it is the occasional hope that things might just be about to change for the better, followed by the realisation and despair that we are facing the same old over again. It’s a pity because in the here and now, McCabe has put the infrastructure in place, we’ve got a stadium and academy to be proud of, but he’s never had the conviction or focus to stick to a business plan that would take the club forward ON the pitch. We have just gone in one direction and then abandoned it and lurched off in another under him, and having HRH on his shoulder hasn’t changed a thing.

We’ve had a few back breaks over the decades but no more than any club has had. Over nine decades without winning a major trophy is no more bad luck than the bad luck that kept us in League One for six seasons while Rotherham went down with an abysmal team yet bounced straight back. Leadership and responsibility comes from the very top no matter what the business is you’re in. If you’re not hands on, you make sure that the management team below you are good enough to do the job well without you having to interfere. If they’re not good enough time and again, there’s only one person to blame, YOURSELF. NOT LADY LUCK!

[haich1889]

Brilliant Gray: hitting some nails on the head bang on. I get really angry when certain fans have a go when others have the 'audacity' to shout criticism after abject or mediocre performances/seasons. It's bexause i care & it still (i too am losing the belief) hurts aplenty when another year goes by. My mate tells his Missis "united are my 1st love & will be my last so don't even think about interfering with that" which just about sums it up.

"You're not a proper fan" is one that proper pi55es me off. Over the years i & many others have gone to Hell & Back watching the Blades, running coaches from the Heeley & Sheffield pub then Red Lion at Gleadless, spending money i didn't have & shedding tears (bucket loads) when arriving home after losing to the other lot in the semi & to Wolves at Cardiff.

Item no 5 on my divorce papers from 1994 says "Mr H####### seems to care more about Sheffield United than he does about Mrs H#####$#" which was the exact truth.

[Ayamonteblade]

Brilliant Gray: hitting some nails on the head bang on. I get really angry when certain fans have a go when others have the 'audacity' to shout criticism after abject or mediocre performances/seasons. It's bexause i care & it still (i too am losing the belief) hurts aplenty when another year goes by. My mate tells his Missis "united are my 1st love & will be my last so don't even think about interfering with that" which just about sums it up.

"You're not a proper fan" is one that proper pi55es me off. Over the years i & many others have gone to Hell & Back watching the Blades, running coaches from the Heeley & Sheffield pub then Red Lion at Gleadless, spending money i didn't have & shedding tears (bucket loads) when arriving home after losing to the other lot in the semi & to Wolves at Cardiff.

Item no 5 on my divorce papers from 1994 says "Mr H####### seems to care more about Sheffield United than he does about Mrs H#####$#" which was the exact truth.

very laudable h and it reminds me of myself................spent a lot of money/shed a lot of tears (being female) on the Blades over the years. Lots of lows, a few highs, often feeling very hard done by, but ultimately I still love my club and this will never change.

I laugh at my friends who support bigger clubs.............does it really feel that great knowing that your success has been bought? I am far more interested to talk to the people i know who support Northampton, Bristol Rovers, Barnet etc - that's proper support.

Let's not feel too sorry for ourselves though - what's the point? I felt bloody miserable yesterday - but already the next match is on the horizon and I'll be at QPR on Sat - from 3.00 pm we start again, and the only way is up - literally

[haich1889]

I honestly don't understand the mentality of those who choose to support 'Glory Clubs'? Like: how someone from London/Rotherham/Timbucf##kintu could shout for a team from another city epecially when they are playing a team from your own town/ciry.

Why don't these people support Brasil or Germany in the World Cup?? To me it's just the same. I'm off to Headingley this afternoon where there will no doubt be Man & Liverpool fans supporting their county of birth Yorkshire. They wouldn't dream of following Lancs so why Man f##kin Utd ffs?

I also already know that if Yorks lose i will be pi55ed off till about 5pm tomorrow. Just hope somone doesn't come out with the immortal "oh well, at least it's been a good day out!".... No it aint if Yorkshire lose.