retired_manragh

Still a great read Amaroq, I can see why you left, but that still doesnt stop me from calling you a sell out!! only joking or am I

If i was a die hard fan of York I would travel the hour south to Sheffield and spray paint a nasty message on your car or atleast egg it!! especially if Viv screws up us winning the title!

retired_charytine

Fixed. </BLOCKQUOTE>

retired_brittni10

Just caught up with this; I have to say it's an excellent and enjoyable read, the writing is great and of a high quality. Keep it up

Good Luck with the Blades

retired_w0lfpack1

Thanks, Wag, I was guessing you'd like it considering the work you put into your own.

And yikes!, Panpardus! Rough business, this.

retired_w0lfpack1

Tuesday, 1st May, 2007.

I felt like I'd just met with the United board, but they, too, hold a monthly board meeting at which my presence is mandatory. It started altogether too early - I'd been working 18 to 20 hour days trying to get myself established, and I was only barely functional, my second cup of coffee still too hot to drink as it started.

General Manager Terry Robinson told me they are hoping for a long and successful era under my management. Though he didn't mention Rupert Wormwood by name, he did hint that a victory in the season finale and a berth in the playoffs would go a long way towards making me a favourite of the fans.

Chairman Derek Dooley was quite happy with the club's finances, despite losing £179,000 last month, we're up £4.4M for the season. The club retained a £10.6M balance and they were still making £4.0M of that available as transfer budget.

In fact, the upcoming summer transfers were the area they both wished to discuss in detail with me. I outlined my plan to institute the 4-5-1 which had been working for me at Lancaster and at York City. They may have thought my plan was a bit radical, especially when I told them that their squad, currently fifth in the League One, was going to require a complete overhaul, and that there were only five players I truly wanted to retain (six, if you counted Alan Quinn, whom I couldn't).

I explained that I was judging the squad against the standard "Who can get us to the Premier League?" and when they heard that that was my goal, they seemed much more understanding. I outlined my plan to acquire two or three top-quality attacking midfielders, as the key to the formation I want to run, and they agreed that that was worth the expenditure. Its a good thing, because I'd already started contract negotiations with two of my transfer targets!

Robert Cousins, of course, I knew from York City. The other was long-shot artist Marc Bridge-Wilkinson, who had been on my shortlist for a while, but I hadn't been in a real position to tempt him down to League Two. Sheffield United is a much bigger club, and I thought I had a real chance at him, now.

I'd spent the week outlining how I wanted to do comparative training form reports with Stuart McCall. If he's going to be my Assistant, he needs to understand my methodology. We took our baseline measurements today.

retired_w0lfpack1

Wednesday, 2nd May, 2007.

Excellent news today! Both of my targeted attacking midfielders have agreed to contracts!

Marc Bridge-Wilkinson has agreed to terms after I met his £875k minimum-fee clause with Stockport County, and a £1.2M offer will pry young Robert Cousins away from my former club, to join us at the start of June. I'm penciling them in as my starting attacking midfielders for next year, and if that's half my transfer budget, its money well spent.

My joy was tempered a little bit by the afternoon training session, in which Jonathan Forte fell and broke his shoulder. Its good to see a player putting such effort in during training - its been sorely missing from our other players - and its hard luck that he was rewarded with a season-ending injury.

That evening, I turned on the Champions League matchups in the background while I reviewed a truckload of scouting reports. Bayern München totally dominated Inter Milan in Munich, with goals by Miroslav Klose and Roque Santa Cruz in the first fifteen minutes, and a second from my favorite Paraguayan forward in the second half to put the outcome beyond reach at 3-0, a 4-1 aggregate win for the German club.

Inter Milan was at home against Real Madrid with an 0-1 deficit from the first match. Goals by Andriy Schevchenko in the 39th and Jon Dahl Tomasson in the 60th gave the Italian side the lead, but Guti's goal in the 73rd levelled the aggregate score at 2-2 and put the Spanish giants on top on away goals. However, Tomasson struck an instant reply, and Kaká made the final 4-1, a 4-2 aggregate, in the dying minutes.

Inter were through to face the Germans in the Final.

retired_w0lfpack1

Friday, 4th May, 2007.

More good news on Thursday - Joe Keenan has agreed to join the Blades next year, on a £300,000 transfer! We were quickly working through my transfer budget: I'd only have £1.5M left after the deals I'd already arranged. We were also quickly acquiring the players and staff I thought of as the cream of the York City crop. I hope they'll be able to contribute at the higher level of play.

Thursday night's matches were the semi-final of the UEFA Cup. Manchester United earned a 0-0 draw at French side Auxerre, which after their 4-2 victory in the first leg saw the Red Devils through. Dortmund built on their first-leg victory with a 2-0 win, making a 5-1 aggregate and setting the final matchup.

Our bad luck continued in Friday evening's practice, when left winger Alan Quinn injured his shoulder in training. The physios recommended that I not let him play in the crucial final match of the season.

Entering the final match of the year, the playoff battle stood thus:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> Pts W D L GD 4 Sheffield Wednesday 74 21 11 13 + 7 5 SHEFFIELD UNITED 71 19 14 12 +12 6 Oxford United 71 20 11 14 +11-------------------------------------------- 7 Stockport County 71 20 11 14 + 5 8 Blackpool 70 21 7 17 +12 9 Huddersfield 70 20 10 15 + 7</pre>
Six teams. Three berths.

It was impossibly close, and with the various tiebreakers, the results of five matches would determine the three playoff berths!

We and Huddersfield had the easiest draws, against relegation fodder, while hapless Blackpool drew league leaders Leeds United. The biggest matchup was probably Wednesday facing Stockport County, while Oxford were looking at mid-table Bradford City.

retired_elpata

Its took me ages to get upto speed on this story

I love following well written stories about hy home club Good luck with it, its certainly shaping up nicely for you

retired_w0lfpack1

Saturday, 5th May, 2007. League One - Game 46, vs Rushden and Diamonds.

"You can't play him," physio Tom Mitchell told me.

I looked over at Alan Quinn.

"Its just my shoulder, gaffer. I can go."

It was the toughest choice of the day, but he'd looked okay in the pre-match warmups - and with Forte out, what choice did I have, really?

I glanced over at my assistant, Stuart McCall, who gave my only a cryptic, "Fortune favours the bold."

It seems to be his favourite saying.

I wrote "QUINN" on the teamsheet, and Mitchell shook his head, muttering imprecations as he stalked away.

The final match of the year was at home against Rushden & Diamonds. They had already been assured of relegation, and after our 3-1 victory against them earlier in the season, we were the definite favourites to win. They had nothing at stake, while we had everything to play for - a win would all but guarantee us a place in the playoffs, a loss would almost certainly be the end of our season, and a tie? Well, for that case, I had a walkman with an ear piece so that I could get score updates, but as it turned out I didn't need them: Bramall Lane has an out-of-town scoreboard.

For a match this crucial, I all but ignored condition and injury, starting the players I felt were best, and hoping that they could last 90 minutes. Allan McGregor in goal I had no doubts about, but the defensive line of Kevin Simpson, Steve Foster, Hayden Foxe, and Eric Deloumeaux all looked a bit tired, especially the Australian, Foxe, whose leg had gone dead last Saturday. Ignoring his injury and the advice of the physios, I started Alan Quinn on the left wing. The centre would feature Jack Lester in an attacking role, but it was essentially a flat 4-4-2. The other two midfielders, Paul Thirlwell central and winger Chris Sedgwick, both seemed fatigued even in warmup. Up front, the team's leading scorers, Peter Weatherson and Billy Sharp, would partner at striker.

I learned my favourite thing about Sheffield United fans even before stepping onto the pitch: they SING. Oh, I know other British fans do as well, but there is nothing that can compare to the chills which went down my spine as I listened to them from the changing room. The bell buzzed to summon the players to the pitch. As we headed down the tunnel, and the roar of the crowd of 9,702 met us, I got the jitters: this is definitely a bigger crowd than I'm used to, and I was deathly nervous.

To my surprise, Rushden started off strongly, venturing forward without fear in a fairly standard 4-4-2. It seemed our players were as nervous as I was, and they weren't doing much to slow the visitors down. Under the veteran leadership of Deloumeaux, the back four at least kept their wits about them, and McGregor was only called upon twice.

Finally, about fifteen minutes in, the lads began to settle, and in the 17th, Alan Quinn found some space on the left. He sent an aerial cross to the near post, and Billy Sharp tried a knock-on header for Peter Weatherson. It looked very dangerous, but Rushden central defender John Dempster got in to make the clearance out of the six-yard box.

Just six minutes later, Thirlwell found Quinn cutting up the left wing. The winger looked up as the ball reached him, and curled the cross into the box. Rushden had plenty of men back, but Billy Sharp rose above the crowd sixteen yards from goal. His header looped up, seemingly over the bar, but dropped in at the top right corner! We led 1-0, and the crowd were on their feet: we were bound for the playoffs!

In the 25th, Weatherson nearly made it two with a powerful header from Jack Lester's cross, but put it just over the bar. We looked to be in control, and the scores from other matches began to come in. First-placed Leeds United had taken a 1-0 lead against Blackpool, which was good for us, but sixth-placed Oxford had a 1-0 lead against Bradford City.

We held the lead through halftime, controlling the play in midfield, and at the break it seemed every result was going our way. Leeds had scored a second against Blackpool, and only a win by Stockport County - still knotted nil-nil with Wednesday - could threaten us. Relegation-bound Notts County took a 1-0 lead against Huddersfield, putting us ever closer.

The second half started, and with the fans on their feet urging us on, my tired players put forth a tremendous effort. It was the end of a long season, and legs were turning to jelly, but nonetheless, Alan Quinn broke up the right wing. He'd overlapped on a throw-in, and that caught the visitors by surprise. He was wide open for Thirlwell's service, and launched a great cross into the box for the run of Weatherson. The big man towered over the defense, and drove a picturesque header into the back of the net: 2-0!

A great roar went up in the 60th minute, as though we had scored again, but the ball was out of play for a throw. I looked around in confusion before spotting the out-of-town scoreboard: Sheffield Wednesday had put a goal past Stockport. It was perhaps off for our supporters to cheer for their rivals, but now even a draw in this match would see us through.

I brought the dazzling Quinn off, lest he worsen his injury, along with Lester, and we settled down to defend for the final twenty five minutes.

Rushden seemed to lack any heart or will to go forward, and as their ingnominous relegation campaign drew to a close, I closed my eyes for a moment, listening to the Bramall Lane crowd sing.

Was that... Annie's Song?

Not exactly..

You fill up my senses,
Like a gallon of Magnet,
Like a packet of Woodbines,
Like a good pinch of snuff,
Like a night out in Sheffield,
Like a greasy chip butty,
Like Sheffield United,
Come thrill me again...

Meanwhile, the scores rolled in. Huddersfield had equalized against Notts County in the 68th minute, but couldn't get the winner. Bradford City equalised against Oxford in the dying seconds, but neither result changed the table: the playoff field was set, and the celebration could begin in earnest.

Sheffield United 2, Rushden & Diamonds 0
Sharp 23, Weatherson 56; ----
MoM: Quinn

Alan Quinn, who had played through injury to provide two assists, was named Man of the Match, and the lads were celebrating in the locker room afterwards. I missed the reggae tunes which had adorned the York locker room - hard to believe I'd come to like that style, after avoiding it all my life in California. I'd have to get us a musical identity.

I gave the lads a "well done," but reminded them that their season wasn't done: there was hard work yet ahead of them in the playoffs.

retired_w0lfpack1

Sunday, 6th May, 2007.

I heard another score that evening which filled my heart with joy: though York City had lost 1-2 at home against Milton Keynes Dons, Cheltenham hadn't been able to beat Rochdale, suffering a 1-1 draw which handed the title to my former squad by a single point. There would be a party in York town tonight!!

However much I might have liked to join them, the most I could do was raise a single glass in toast - that was the last thought I could spare for them, as I had work to do.

Here were the final standings of the top teams in League One:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> Team Pts W D L GD 1 Leeds United 95 29 8 9 +32 2 Crewe Alexandria 80 22 14 10 +22-------------------------------------------- 3 Barnsley 79 23 10 13 +19 4 Sheffield Wednesday 77 22 11 13 + 8 5 SHEFFIELD UNITED 74 20 14 12 +14 6 Oxford United 72 20 12 14 +11-------------------------------------------- 7 Huddersfield 71 20 11 15 + 7 8 Stockport 71 20 11 15 + 4 9 Blackpool 70 21 7 18 +1010 Wycombe 67 18 13 15 + 4</pre>
Yes, you're reading that correctly. We would face our biggest rivals, Sheffield Wednesday, in the first leg of the playoffs, and all of Sheffield was aquiver at the thought of a home-and-home playoff derby.