The time Sheffield Wednesday nearly got Gerard Houllier

[Guest]

43 minutes ago, rickygoo said:

fizz the casually racist Jooooodas arsehole. He was a has been who did nowt after he left us. We’d have probably been the same shambles Forest were when he managed them. 

 

You think Atkinson would have done a worse job than Wilson did? Yes he was past his best but the idea would have been for him to bring along someone like Wilson or Pearson. Instead we chucked Wilson in at the deep end based on 2 seasons at Barnsley, one of which resulted in relegation. Nobody has thought it wise to give Wilson a job anywhere near that level since.

 

As for Atkinson being a racist, yes he made a stupid ill-advised comment but Carlton Palmer knows enough of him not to judge him on that and Atkinson did more for black footballers in this country at one time than most managers.  

[Guest]

7 hours ago, @owlstalk said:

 

Houllier was technical director at the French Football Association in 1998, prior to the World Cup in France that summer.

 

Sheffield Wednesday had dispensed with the services of Ron Atkinson shortly after the season had finished - the Owls finishing 16th in the top flight that year.

 

They were on the search for a new boss with the board, led by Dave Richards, looking further afield at potential replacements.

 

South Africa coach Philippe Troussier was under serious consideration but the Owls then turned their attentions to his compatriot Houllier.

 

As Tom Whitworth's book, 'Sheffield Wednesday: Through the Modern Era ' recalls, there were a number of meetings between Houllier and the club that summer.

 

"I knew the club and I knew some of the players. And I had a good relationship with Dave Richards," Houllier said.

 

"He was very keen to sign me.

 

"I practically gave my agreement to join."

 

Houllier admits that he wanted a "divorce clause" inserting into his contract - but that the club seemed reluctant to do so.

 

He said: "This was where if the club for one reason or another had to sack me, they would pay me a certain amount of money.

"I'd never been sacked in my life, but things don't always go your way and sometimes a club has to take a decision. So I just wanted protection for myself."

 

"Dave Richards was very good about this part of the negotiations and told me that their lawyer would get in touch to agree the sum of the clause"

 

"The lawyer came to me, it took him some time to do so, and I said I wanted this amount of money. It wasn't even a year's contract. But he said, 'It's too much. Can you lower it?' 'No,' I said."

 

Houllier eventually moved to Liverpool and would go on to win half-a-dozen trophies with the Reds.

 

Brilliant, couldn't give him a clause in his contract but happily signed Jonk on a contract that got him an appearance bonus even when he didn't appear! 

[Dick_Turpin]

3 minutes ago, hirstyboywonder said:

 

You think Atkinson would have done a worse job than Wilson did? Yes he was past his best but the idea would have been for him to bring along someone like Wilson or Pearson. Instead we chucked Wilson in at the deep end based on 2 seasons at Barnsley, one of which resulted in relegation. Nobody has thought it wise to give Wilson a job anywhere near that level since.

 

As for Atkinson being a racist, yes he made a stupid ill-advised comment but Carlton Palmer knows enough of him not to judge him on that and Atkinson did more for black footballers in this country at one time than most managers.  

No guarantee he would have been any better. Atkinson was past it and retired after his Forest calamity.  He was casually racist I suppose that’s “ill advised”. Anyway he’s a Jooodas end of. Redemption denied. 
 

 

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, rickygoo said:

No guarantee he would have been any better. Atkinson was past it and retired after his Forest calamity.  He was casually racist I suppose that’s “ill advised”. Anyway he’s a Jooodas end of. Redemption denied. 
 

 

 

Ill-advised was perhaps the wrong comment on my part and it was certainly a stupid comment to make on his part but if Palmer, who has known him for much of his life doesn't regard him as a racist that's a pretty strong testimony.

 

Atkinson would have undoubtedly handled the 'Fancy Dans' better. I can understand the Judas viewpoint, I was of the same opinion in 1991 but if Richards still harboured those kind of feelings, as his actions in the summer of 1998 suggest, then he should never have appointed him 2nd time around at all.  

[Earlsfieldowl]

7 hours ago, Stoop said:

It was the sacking of Atkinson that was the major mistake. He knew how to handle and get the best out of the Italians, he’d also just signed Thome and Alexandersson for peanuts, he was starting to build a good squad. Apparently the plan was to bring in Pearson to eventually take over 

 

Dave dropped a right b*llock that summer

It was personal with Richards where Atkinson was concerned.

 

A terrible chairman and we have never really recovered from 1999 onwards. 

[Dick_Turpin]

19 minutes ago, Earlsfieldowl said:

It was personal with Richards where Atkinson was concerned.

 

A terrible chairman and we have never really recovered from 1999 onwards. 

And yet he gave us the best times and players we’re ever likely to see. Such is football. 

[Guest]

20 minutes ago, rickygoo said:

And yet he gave us the best times and players we’re ever likely to see. Such is football. 

 

He did, but as Chairman it was his job to oversee the finances. He gambled on the Charterhouse thing and it went badly wrong but he moved on to become Sir Dave, leaving us during our relegation season.

 

Chansiri has given us the best football in the past 20 years but if he leaves us in a financial mess it will be his legacy.  

[Earlsfieldowl]

1 hour ago, rickygoo said:

And yet he gave us the best times and players we’re ever likely to see. Such is football. 

He did but then ran us into the ground - totally unforgivable.

[the monk]

9 hours ago, folger said:

Dave Richards should be retrospectively hung for this.

For having the foresight to identify him as a candidate or refusing to be held over a barrel if he proved to be a flop .....which he eventually did !

[Nut]

2 hours ago, hirstyboywonder said:

 

You think Atkinson would have done a worse job than Wilson did? Yes he was past his best but the idea would have been for him to bring along someone like Wilson or Pearson. Instead we chucked Wilson in at the deep end based on 2 seasons at Barnsley, one of which resulted in relegation. Nobody has thought it wise to give Wilson a job anywhere near that level since.

 

As for Atkinson being a racist, yes he made a stupid ill-advised comment but Carlton Palmer knows enough of him not to judge him on that and Atkinson did more for black footballers in this country at one time than most managers.  

A mate of mine spoke to Bryan Robson in the summer when Atkinson left us the first time. He said Wednesday wanted to sign him the previous season but he didn't sign as he knew Atkinson was going to leave and he would have been under pressure to become manager which he didn't want at the time.

[DJMortimer]

1 hour ago, hirstyboywonder said:

 

He did, but as Chairman it was his job to oversee the finances. He gambled on the Charterhouse thing and it went badly wrong but he moved on to become Sir Dave, leaving us during our relegation season.

 

Chansiri has given us the best football in the past 20 years but if he leaves us in a financial mess it will be his legacy.  

 

The Charterhouse thing wasn't that much of a gamble given that at the time we were seriously challenging for the biggest honours in the domestic game (the magazine '90 Minutes' actually predicted we would win the title in 1993/4) that this was an injection of almost £16m and the bank were only getting minimal representation on the board. It also didn't hurt that "Mr Chairman's" advance knowledge of this meant the directors started buying shares up in anticipation of the profits to be made (as we were not a plc at the time this was questionable but not technically illegal). The remarkable thing is that we somehow managed to turn this windfall into a similarly sized deficit in just a handful of years whilst the team itself deteriorated markedly.

 

And having overseen this gargantuan mess; a disaster for just about everyone involved but especially the club that was consigned to almost two decades of struggle, irrelvance, embarrassment and near extinction, the reptile slithered away to a nice new tank and forgot all about it.

 

 

[TomtheOwl95]

8 hours ago, matthefish2002 said:

I don't think Houllier would have done much at Wednesday the club was on the slide.

Houllier did ok at Liverpool but nothing outstanding for a club that size, never looked like winning the league and he flopped at Villa.

For the calibre of player and finances he had available to him he did pretty well at Liverpool. It wasn't the Liverpool of now or of the 80's.

[Blue and white]

This was the start of our fall from grace and what a fall it's been, it's not quite been on the scale of Coventry or Portsmouth but I believe the best is yet to with clueless and stuffing boy running the show.

Edited April 1, 2020 by Blue and white

[Dexter Morgan]

I also remember another 2 nearlys 

 

Walter Smith I remember was confirmed as manager and then it was off and he went to Everton 

 

Nathan Tyson was at the club and was reported he had signed and then changed his mind 

 

 

[DJMortimer]

8 minutes ago, Dexter Morgan said:

Nathan Tyson was at the club and was reported he had signed and then changed his mind 

 

Yeah... that's exactly how it went...

 

We had such 'bad luck' trying to find someone who wanted to take that £750,000 off us for ages didn't we?

 

[Guest]

21 minutes ago, DJMortimer said:

 

Yeah... that's exactly how it went...

 

We had such 'bad luck' trying to find someone who wanted to take that £750,000 off us for ages didn't we?

 

 

What did happen with that? I read a report saying that Sturrock said Tyson didn't want to make the move away from the south at that time. 3 months later he signed for Forest for a smaller fee.

[DJMortimer]

10 minutes ago, hirstyboywonder said:

 

What did happen with that? I read a report saying that Sturrock said Tyson didn't want to make the move away from the south at that time. 3 months later he signed for Forest for a smaller fee.

 

The club took legal action against me for posting my version of that episode. 

 

[matthefish2002]

12 hours ago, nevthelodgemoorowl said:

Inexperienced yes, but Wilson had a cracking run at Barnsley. Spent a full two weeks ripping the P out of our 6 fingered friends when he signed, not many complaints ! 

 

Whereas everyone was asking WTF is Gerrard Houllier ? 

 

I agree that at the time every thought Danny Wilson was an upcoming young manager, I cant remember anyone saying appointing him was a big mistake at the time.

[Owls-Fan]

57 minutes ago, matthefish2002 said:

 

I agree that at the time every thought Danny Wilson was an upcoming young manager, I cant remember anyone saying appointing him was a big mistake at the time.

Owlstalk wasn’t around back then 

I don’t think anyone could have predicted it was a mistake at the time, personally I just felt it was a big disappointment and still remember feeling that when it was announced on the radio. 
 

Having been linked with international managers throughout the summer appointing the relegated Barnsley boss didn’t do it for me.  
 

 

[Guest]

6 hours ago, matthefish2002 said:

 

I agree that at the time every thought Danny Wilson was an upcoming young manager, I cant remember anyone saying appointing him was a big mistake at the time.

 

I remember it was a bit of a mixed reaction at the time and the fact we took him off the Dingles was one of the supporting factors in terms of feeling it was a good move!

 

Wilson had a total of 4 years in management when he took over at Wednesday. Only one of those seasons was in the top flight and that ended in relegation.