David Sunley

[Ethel The Tree]

55 minutes ago, Minesapint said:

This post has now got me confused.  I remember us buying a young lad from Doncaster way back.  If I remember right he made his debut against Hull who had Terry Neill playing for them. It always stuck in my mind as Neill was chairman of the PFA and proceeded to kick this young lad all over the park.

Now the confusion comes in because I had it in my mind the young lad was David Sunley, but reading this post clearly wasn’t.

Can anyone help? 

 

Probably was Sunley you're thinking of

That Boxing Day 4-4 draw away at Hull was his 2nd senior appearance (according to Keith Farnsworth),  so you were close enough

Didn't sign him from Donny though

[Ibbo48]

1 hour ago, gurujuan said:

Rovrum wasn’t he? The only one I recall from Donny, was Warboys Can’t imagine anyone kicking lumps outa him

Yep. My bad. You’re right .... on both counts.

[Left back]

Dave Sunley was in lodgings that backed on to my Auntie Dot's house on Dorothy Road. This would be about 1973? I used to kick a ball about in yer back yard before going down to the match. He came out into their yard with a ball but I didn't have the  nerve to say anything. I was star struck. After that Dot got an autograph book and he took it down to the ground and got everyone to sign it. I have a memory of him scoring a really powerful near post header at the Leppings Lane end against Birmingham, where the big deal was the comparison of the two young centre forwards (theirs was Trevor Francis). I also seem to remember him almost scoring from the halfway line at Hull. Looking back it all just  fizzled out for  him. I was gutted when we sold him. 

[legendaryswan]

Very talented footballer, sadly wrong club and at the wrong time,certainly had all the skill,but in a mainly struggling side,his talent was wasted.

A move to a better club may have been the making of him,and his career may have been totally different,he had quite a few clubs watch him,we reportedly turned down 100K for him at one point,hed have flourished at one of the bigger clubs, West Ham were really keen,but the price tag put them off  and a few other clubs.

[The Night-Owl]

On 12/01/2021 at 13:57, gurujuan said:

Please excuse me for quoting my own post, but it got me thinking about how much the club has influenced my life. For most, it’s likely you inherit your allegiance from previous generations of Wednesday supporting family and friends. For me there was no such allegiance. 
From the age of about 7 or 8, when I first took a real interest in football, I decided that I would support Sheffield Wednesday. I know not why, perhaps I was intrigued by the name, it was pretty unique 

Back then, as I mentioned above, it was difficult to find Wednesday related stuff living in Oxford. My stepfather took me to my first Wednesday game, at home to Derby County while I was I was still a nipper. When I was 14 I went to my first game on my own, well actually with a 15 year old friend, away at Coventry. At 16-17 I was making the pilgrimage to Hillsborough, sometimes by train, often by hitch hiking, on a regular basis. Much to my parents frustration, I abandoned my schooling and moved to Sheffield. Four of us made that move, 3 from Oxford, and a lad from Banbury, all of us finding work at a local steelworks. Got my first season ticket at 17, and didn’t miss a single game, home or away for 2 years. At 19 I returned to Oxford following the death of my father. Managed to enrol on a foundation course at Banbury College of Art. On completion of my course, I was desperate to return north, so applied to Psalter Lane Art College. Luckily I got in, finished my degree, and rejoined the workforce 

There I stayed, working in the entertainment industry for a further 15 years. For most of that time I had a season ticket, now in the North, after previously having had one for the Kop. 
Although I’ve been back in Oxford for a good few years now, and no longer have a season ticket, I still regularly attend matches. In fact, Wednesday have been the only constant in my life. Acquaintances, even friends, relationships, marriages and work, all come and go, but Sheffield Wednesday has, and will always be, a big part of my life. So strange, that a childhood whim, has so shaped my life. I honestly wouldn’t change a thing though.

Be interesting to hear from others with no obvious connection to Sheffield, on how their support of the club, has influenced their lives

 

 

Similar to you I grew up in South Wales and started following and playing football at around age 5 or 6, started following Wednesday without any obvious connection aged 8 or 9 in the late 80s/early 90s. Most of my family followed football and/or rugby, either following Liverpool or my local team Newport County.

 

My father and grandfather were both Liverpool fans. I remember the game that got me hooked on Wednesday, I think it was the season we got relegated with Big Ron. I remember seeing the highlights and goals on TV, with my father and grandfather, noticing how exciting David Hirst and Dalian Atkinson looked, running rings around Liverpool's famous side of that time.

 

Most of my school mates supported the likes of Liverpool, Man United or Arsenal. A combination of that Liverpool game and wanting to be different, made Wednesday appeal to me, along with the name. Only ever knew two other Wednesday fans here in South Wales during my childhood in the 90s. They both had moved here at an early age. When I was younger I attended more games, even though it was difficult, lived for Wednesday and music in particular. My interest in football in general has waned over the years but I still love Wednesday and it's history, whilst spending money on Wednesday collecting books and old shirts, etc plus using Wednesday Player and iFollow over the years too, from afar.

 

Forums like this and Facebook groups, have made it easier to meet many other Wednesday fans and many more fans living nearby in the South Wales/South West area. Yet I still miss the nostalgia, excitement and innocence of the 90s era, growing up with Grandstand; MOTD, Teletext and Channel 4's Football Italia, etc, whilst playing football outside all day with my childhood school mates. 

[Watto]

On 12/01/2021 at 13:57, gurujuan said:

Please excuse me for quoting my own post, but it got me thinking about how much the club has influenced my life. For most, it’s likely you inherit your allegiance from previous generations of Wednesday supporting family and friends. For me there was no such allegiance. 
From the age of about 7 or 8, when I first took a real interest in football, I decided that I would support Sheffield Wednesday. I know not why, perhaps I was intrigued by the name, it was pretty unique 

Back then, as I mentioned above, it was difficult to find Wednesday related stuff living in Oxford. My stepfather took me to my first Wednesday game, at home to Derby County while I was I was still a nipper. When I was 14 I went to my first game on my own, well actually with a 15 year old friend, away at Coventry. At 16-17 I was making the pilgrimage to Hillsborough, sometimes by train, often by hitch hiking, on a regular basis. Much to my parents frustration, I abandoned my schooling and moved to Sheffield. Four of us made that move, 3 from Oxford, and a lad from Banbury, all of us finding work at a local steelworks. Got my first season ticket at 17, and didn’t miss a single game, home or away for 2 years. At 19 I returned to Oxford following the death of my father. Managed to enrol on a foundation course at Banbury College of Art. On completion of my course, I was desperate to return north, so applied to Psalter Lane Art College. Luckily I got in, finished my degree, and rejoined the workforce 

There I stayed, working in the entertainment industry for a further 15 years. For most of that time I had a season ticket, now in the North, after previously having had one for the Kop. 
Although I’ve been back in Oxford for a good few years now, and no longer have a season ticket, I still regularly attend matches. In fact, Wednesday have been the only constant in my life. Acquaintances, even friends, relationships, marriages and work, all come and go, but Sheffield Wednesday has, and will always be, a big part of my life. So strange, that a childhood whim, has so shaped my life. I honestly wouldn’t change a thing though.

Be interesting to hear from others with no obvious connection to Sheffield, on how their support of the club, has influenced their lives

 

 

Great story , incredible that you moved to Sheffield at 17 to be near The Wednesday

[Watto]

On 08/01/2021 at 21:54, Ozymandias Owl said:

Funnily enough YouTube served up this vintage Wednesday performance for me a couple of weeks ago. Way before my time, but Sunley and Joicey both score for Wednesday in front of the Kop

 

 

Have never seen that footage before , seen others from that season but not that one , was there on the Kop that day as an 8 year old , was my first proper season watching us regularly and I loved it.

Thanks for posting this , great memories.