Guest BRADFIELDOWLS Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 Pleat was crap. Sold Darko for two bob , a year later he moves again for £15 million (about £30 in today's money) and stars in Champions League. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yeahman Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 This article only confirms what i always thought. David Pleat is seriously the most deluded mananger ever ever ever to walk into our football club. Pleat remembers Humphreys as “a quiet boy. What he’s achieved is a great credit to his dedication and honesty.” That Wednesday team contained a mix of “what I call fading stars” – John Sheridan (“a marvellous passer but never very quick”), Waddle (“very popular with the fans, but obviously he’d lost his ability to burst”) and Walker (“contrary”) – but Pleat credits their success to a nucleus of less decorated players, including Humphreys, Peter Atherton, Graham Hyde, Guy Whittingham and Lee Briscoe. “These boys, I can’t explain it, they’d won nothing but they wanted to win something.” Thats the most insane paragraph ive ever read from a past manager. He then continues to have a sly dig at Big Ron for spending money. Pleat has a huge role in our decline. Man im so angry reading that ha ha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yeahman Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 Reading it again it was Ritchie suggesting Ron spent money however that paragraph from Pleat is beyond words, is he actually defining his time at the cluib as success. Is he actually praising himself for replacing sheridan, hirst, bright and waddle with Briscoe, Whittingham and Hyde????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fife_owl Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 Pleat clearly couldn't manage the players he inherited. Disappointed at the snide remark about Big Ron coming in and spending "all their money" - that was bitter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick_Turpin Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 Ultimately after one solid season - 7th in the Premier League with that side was no mean feat let's face it and better than anyone has achieved since - the job was too much for him. To be fair none of the players he released achieved anything after they left us. A change was needed but maybe not as rapid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fife_owl Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 Someone should remind Pleat that his club transfer record stood for nearly 20 years! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polar Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 57 minutes ago, Bracknall said: Reading it again it was Ritchie suggesting Ron spent money however that paragraph from Pleat is beyond words, is he actually defining his time at the cluib as success. Is he actually praising himself for replacing sheridan, hirst, bright and waddle with Briscoe, Whittingham and Hyde????? No, read it again. It's definitely Pleat saying that about Ron. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur Bach Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 Is anybody seriously suggesting that having Bright, Hirst, Sheridan and Waddle in 1996/97 season was a good idea? I think he is bang on the money to be honest no matter what your opinion of Pleat is. People still to this day question our downfall - it was right in front of our face. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashamanic Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 Was Humpries never going to make it at the top level, or was he just pushed in too soon? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAL Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 Personally, i don't think he would have made it at the top level. Think the Van Basten scenario built it up all out of proportion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slinger208b Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 8 hours ago, enjoyyourfootball said: About Richie but interesting for comments by Pleat on the "fading stars", Seriously, how can you rate Atherton and the like above Waddle and Sheridan.... https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/sep/30/golden-goal-ritchie-humphreys-sheffield-wednesday-leicester Because they were past it, as he pretty much said in the article. Do you work in media by any chance, spinning it up?.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluesteel Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 A bit of a dig at Ron there. I get the impression Ron would've managed pleats players a lot better and kept the "fading stars" for a little longer. Sheridan and Waddle could've helped us for another year or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluesteel Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 (edited) 3 hours ago, ashamanic said: Was Humpries never going to make it at the top level, or was he just pushed in too soon? Pleat was right about his lack of pace, he seemed to lose what he did have too. I remember Paul Jewell putting him at left back against Paul Devlin in a derby game and it was horrifying how slow he was. I put Richie in the Cademateri bracket, he was very good for a couple of seasons but some players peak even at that early age. He had a good left foot and a great attitude which gave him a long career, but I think he got at least one injury with us that hampered him. I was 11 years old that season and I absolutely loved Humphreys. It was hirst and waddle before that, Humphreys and blinker, then Carbone and Di canio. Edited September 30, 2016 by Bluesteel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRADDO Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 A very interesting and intuitive read. Pretty much confirms my long held thoughts about the personality of Pleat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ever the pessimist Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 One of Waddle's after dinner stories describes how he fell out with Pleat on the Friday, knew he was dropped, so spent the night in the Devonshire Arms and got tvvatted. Next day we had a flu outbreak or something: Physio (barker?) called him as pleat wouldn't. Waddle came on after an hour. Verge of puking. We beat Arsenal 1-0. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owl Rly Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 7 hours ago, hirstyboywonder said: I know what contrary means in general but you don't get many managers describing a player as being 'contrary', certainly not heard any of Des's team mates describe him in that way. Walker had a reputation as being pretty quiet and introvert off the pitch but always focused on it. As for aloof, that would be a kind way to describe Pleat, the guy talks in riddles that makes Garth Crooks sound straight to the point. Just to add to this, my Dad used to work for Sheffield Newspapers, he said other journalists would say "you'll never meet Des Walker" in reference to his reticence in speaking to the press. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur Bach Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 Remember people - all ex-players are lifelong Owls fans and have a tattoo of Tango on their arses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finluxowl Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 Looking back I always thought Trev was the manager who started our decline, but Pleat was and still is off the planet. He talks a game, not a very good one and as some on here have suggested he failed to manage the better players. 20 years ago we were, for a very brief period, top of the Prem and ended up finishing 7th. At the time I saw it as progress after the lucky escapes from relegation in '95 and '96, but it was just the start of the era where the troubles of the club started to show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur Bach Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 Pleat was aloof and from another era. But our decline had set-in before even 1996 with the board beliving the hype and taking the foot off the gas. We had a team of squad players and no first 11. Like a car crash in slow motion. Imagine Aston Villa over the last five years and that was us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waddling Owl Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 'These boys, I can't explain it, they'd won nothing but wanted to win something'. Essentially describing 90% of footballers ever. You're right David, you can't explain it. As in your broadcasting career, you say something that means nothing and then sit back pretending to be wise. Famous for winning one trophy (incredibly luckily) and kerb-crawling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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