My Epitaph of SWFC - RIP

[owlsruleok]

My/our beloved Owls were runners up to Tottenham in 1961 and IMO we should have won the league that year, that’s when the great Owls manager Harry Catterick asked SWFC board to buy 2 or 3 top players so he could win the title the year after as he was certain he could do so.

The boards response was - and I quote “you have a good team - keep it”.

That IMO was the downfall of SWFC and yes I understand the era’s of Howard Wilkinson, Big Ron and tricky Trevor Francis were on the verge of something special BUT again the board of SWFC at the time and ever since have never backed their managers except for one or two big signings ie Tommy Craig etc but they were few and far between.

Whereas struggling Everton jumped in for Catterick and over the 12 years that Catterick was their manager backed him to the hilt and went on to win the English League title twice plus won the FA cup, lost in a FA cup final V WBA and lost 2 semi finals until he passed away due to a heart attack.
Over the years the Owls boards have never had the backbone and none were willing to delve too far into their pockets. 

Under Milan Mandaric, it’s the first time our club has had 1 owner as it’s always been chairmen and boards looking after the clubs ‘silver’ etc with hundreds and thousands of SWFC shares owned by the public which MM bought.

When M M sold to Chansiri to be fair he did back Carlos but that’s now water under the bridge and too many posts have been written on this.

My point is, over the decades of running our club we have had many spineless and useless board members especially chairmen, whether anyone agrees they have ruined a once great club that at this moment in time could and should have been up with the so called top 6 in English football. 

This my fellow fans is my epitaph of a club I hold dear to my heart ever since the 1950’s when I saw my first game, so RIP SWFC as it’s going to be a long hard slog to get back to the high echelons of English football (that’s if we ever do).

[owlprince]

Cheer up Pal. 

 

[bolton9owl]

28 minutes ago, owlprince said:

Cheer up Pal. 

 

Look on the bright side - at least we witnessed those days when SWFC were up there with the best teams in the UK.We can boast of Seeing players like Pele applying their skills on the Hillsborough turf. 
Regretfully today there are thousands of Owls fans that have given their all for the club, supporting the team home and away but to date have only seen the odd glimmer of success.

Regretfully I don’t think we will see those glory days again in the next 10-20 years but we live in hope so let’s hope our fortunes change sometime soon and our club start to make our supporters proud to be an Owls supporter 

After all we need good stories for us to tell our grandchildren and encourage them to support the ‘blue’ side of the city.

 

[Taximark]

53 minutes ago, owlsruleok said:

My/our beloved Owls were runners up to Tottenham in 1961 and IMO we should have won the league that year, that’s when the great Owls manager Harry Catterick asked SWFC board to buy 2 or 3 top players so he could win the title the year after as he was certain he could do so.

The boards response was - and I quote “you have a good team - keep it”.

That IMO was the downfall of SWFC and yes I understand the era’s of Howard Wilkinson, Big Ron and tricky Trevor Francis were on the verge of something special BUT again the board of SWFC at the time and ever since have never backed their managers except for one or two big signings ie Tommy Craig etc but they were few and far between.

Whereas struggling Everton jumped in for Catterick and over the 12 years that Catterick was their manager backed him to the hilt and went on to win the English League title twice plus won the FA cup, lost in a FA cup final V WBA and lost 2 semi finals until he passed away due to a heart attack.
Over the years the Owls boards have never had the backbone and none were willing to delve too far into their pockets. 

Under Milan Mandaric, it’s the first time our club has had 1 owner as it’s always been chairmen and boards looking after the clubs ‘silver’ etc with hundreds and thousands of SWFC shares owned by the public which MM bought.

When M M sold to Chansiri to be fair he did back Carlos but that’s now water under the bridge and too many posts have been written on this.

My point is, over the decades of running our club we have had many spineless and useless board members especially chairmen, whether anyone agrees they have ruined a once great club that at this moment in time could and should have been up with the so called top 6 in English football. 

This my fellow fans is my epitaph of a club I hold dear to my heart ever since the 1950’s when I saw my first game, so RIP SWFC as it’s going to be a long hard slog to get back to the high echelons of English football (that’s if we ever do).

Great Post mate ...what happened to Catterick in the end was he sacked or did he walk?

[Utah Owl]

I'd stay away from any sharp implements if I were you!

[Guest HillsboroughOwlNI]

Cheer up. If Catterick has got those players, we might have been one of the “Top 6” selling their souls to the ESL.

 

Yes, I dug really deep for a positive...

[mildatheart67]

Not backed the manager...under Richards we were one if the biggest ( over) spenders.

[Animis]

1 hour ago, owlsruleok said:

My/our beloved Owls were runners up to Tottenham in 1961 and IMO we should have won the league that year, that’s when the great Owls manager Harry Catterick asked SWFC board to buy 2 or 3 top players so he could win the title the year after as he was certain he could do so.

The boards response was - and I quote “you have a good team - keep it”.

That IMO was the downfall of SWFC and yes I understand the era’s of Howard Wilkinson, Big Ron and tricky Trevor Francis were on the verge of something special BUT again the board of SWFC at the time and ever since have never backed their managers except for one or two big signings ie Tommy Craig etc but they were few and far between.

Whereas struggling Everton jumped in for Catterick and over the 12 years that Catterick was their manager backed him to the hilt and went on to win the English League title twice plus won the FA cup, lost in a FA cup final V WBA and lost 2 semi finals until he passed away due to a heart attack.
Over the years the Owls boards have never had the backbone and none were willing to delve too far into their pockets. 

Under Milan Mandaric, it’s the first time our club has had 1 owner as it’s always been chairmen and boards looking after the clubs ‘silver’ etc with hundreds and thousands of SWFC shares owned by the public which MM bought.

When M M sold to Chansiri to be fair he did back Carlos but that’s now water under the bridge and too many posts have been written on this.

My point is, over the decades of running our club we have had many spineless and useless board members especially chairmen, whether anyone agrees they have ruined a once great club that at this moment in time could and should have been up with the so called top 6 in English football. 

This my fellow fans is my epitaph of a club I hold dear to my heart ever since the 1950’s when I saw my first game, so RIP SWFC as it’s going to be a long hard slog to get back to the high echelons of English football (that’s if we ever do).

 

The Star did a series of interviews with Catterick in 1977 when he was manager of Preston - your right our leaders have always held the club back - see below for one bizarre  episode:

 

[owlsruleok]

8 hours ago, TaxiMark said:

Great Post mate ...what happened to Catterick in the end was he sacked or did he walk?

Went straight to Everton after Owls didn’t back him (walked) the rest as they say is history 

[matthefish2002]

That page doesn't show Eric Taylor in a good light but overall he was one of the good guys in our history.

He lived, breathed and eat Sheffield Wednesday.

 

[Elderly Owl]

16 hours ago, TaxiMark said:

Great Post mate ...what happened to Catterick in the end was he sacked or did he walk?

He left for the money at Everton !

[owlsruleok]

48 minutes ago, Elderly Owl said:

He left for the money at Everton !

Which Wednesday didn’t give him but imagine where we would have been now IF they had backed him.

[prowl]

It's not a simple as that though. In my lifetime Man U have been the top club in the late 50's then in the old second division until they made their way back to the top. Man City have touched the highs then the lows before they bought their way back to the top. Chelsea dropped down to Div 1 in the 70's and were sold to Ken bates in 82 for £1 before Russian money bought them a seat at the top table..

 

If we had bought Catterick the players he wanted we may have gone on to everlasting glory but it's not a sure thing.

 

We had a vision of a wonderful stadium fit for the World Cup, that was really our downfall, the ground was more important than the football.

 

Now the team is a shell of what it once was, the famous old ground that was so important has been sold off. There's not much left of the Sheffield Wednesday I grew up with. I'd like to walk away and wash my hands of it all but I can't, I'm a fan not a customer. Shame DC can't see it.

[Bluewings]

2 hours ago, prowl said:

 

We had a vision of a wonderful stadium fit for the World Cup, that was really our downfall, the ground was more important than the football.

 

My old man always said this.

To busy making Hillsborough and the North stand on point for the World Cup they should have spent the money on the squad to take 

us further back then.

[Pughies Jockstrap]

Excellent post owlsruleok I agree largely with most if not all of it. I lived in Worksop and as a birthday treat my Uncle Harry who worked on the railway (cheap travel) took me to Hillsbrough v Ipswich Town Im not sure of the year but I think Ipswich went on to win the league that year. I recall they had Ted Crawford at centre forward and Im pretty sure Ally Mcleod who went on to manage Scotland. Anyway we got thumped 4-0 I think it was but I was bloody well hooked. We've nearly been a top side and nearly been a proper big club on a few occasions but for whatever reason never quite made it.  I always thought that Ron Atkinson came the closest and if hed been properly backed by the board at that time we could have made it. But such is life and when I look back at some of the sides we had against the dross we have today I could break down and sob lol.

[Guest Andy W]

On 19/04/2021 at 16:12, owlsruleok said:

My/our beloved Owls were runners up to Tottenham in 1961 and IMO we should have won the league that year, that’s when the great Owls manager Harry Catterick asked SWFC board to buy 2 or 3 top players so he could win the title the year after as he was certain he could do so.

The boards response was - and I quote “you have a good team - keep it”.

That IMO was the downfall of SWFC and yes I understand the era’s of Howard Wilkinson, Big Ron and tricky Trevor Francis were on the verge of something special BUT again the board of SWFC at the time and ever since have never backed their managers except for one or two big signings ie Tommy Craig etc but they were few and far between.

Whereas struggling Everton jumped in for Catterick and over the 12 years that Catterick was their manager backed him to the hilt and went on to win the English League title twice plus won the FA cup, lost in a FA cup final V WBA and lost 2 semi finals until he passed away due to a heart attack.
Over the years the Owls boards have never had the backbone and none were willing to delve too far into their pockets. 

Under Milan Mandaric, it’s the first time our club has had 1 owner as it’s always been chairmen and boards looking after the clubs ‘silver’ etc with hundreds and thousands of SWFC shares owned by the public which MM bought.

When M M sold to Chansiri to be fair he did back Carlos but that’s now water under the bridge and too many posts have been written on this.

My point is, over the decades of running our club we have had many spineless and useless board members especially chairmen, whether anyone agrees they have ruined a once great club that at this moment in time could and should have been up with the so called top 6 in English football. 

This my fellow fans is my epitaph of a club I hold dear to my heart ever since the 1950’s when I saw my first game, so RIP SWFC as it’s going to be a long hard slog to get back to the high echelons of English football (that’s if we ever do).

Great post..agree 100%. We are done as a 'big' club..totally shot. We will puddle around the lower leagues for year after year now...nailed on. Shambles of a club and a laughing stock in many ways

[REDOWL]

6 minutes ago, Pughies Jockstrap said:

Excellent post owlsruleok I agree largely with most if not all of it. I lived in Worksop and as a birthday treat my Uncle Harry who worked on the railway (cheap travel) took me to Hillsbrough v Ipswich Town Im not sure of the year but I think Ipswich went on to win the league that year. I recall they had Ted Crawford at centre forward and Im pretty sure Ally Mcleod who went on to manage Scotland. Anyway we got thumped 4-0 I think it was but I was bloody well hooked. We've nearly been a top side and nearly been a proper big club on a few occasions but for whatever reason never quite made it.  I always thought that Ron Atkinson came the closest and if hed been properly backed by the board at that time we could have made it. But such is life and when I look back at some of the sides we had against the dross we have today I could break down and sob lol.

Could have been on September 30th 1961 mate. We lost 1-4 and as you say Ipswich went on to win the First Division title in 1962.

[Pughies Jockstrap]

Thanks for that that sounds about right.I moved to Sheffield for work purposes and through work got to know many of the players from the late 60s and 70s and actually shared digs and a flat on Halifax Road with a couple of them. The PennyFarthing night club was a second home. That Flat could tell a tale or two lol. Mind you some of em I would cross the road to avoid em if I saw them coming the other way lol. On the whole tho - good days.