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Search: ' Sammy McIlroy'

Stories

Greenhoff!

315 Greenhoffby Brian Greenhoff
Empire, £14.99
Reviewed by Joyce Woolridge
From WSC 315 May 2013

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Rarely can five years have generated as much football print as Tommy Docherty’s stint at Manchester United. Although Docherty’s managerial skills and style continue to polarise opinion, no one has argued he was a defensive genius. The statistics bear that out: away from home his United team always let in more than they scored, apart from their one year sabbatical in Division Two. Brian Greenhoff’s blunt autobiography, fully embracing the Yorkshire stereotype of never being afraid to call a spade a shovel, at least has the merit of bringing into focus what, especially in the mid-1970s, could be considered as one of the most cultured centre-half pairings in British football: himself and Martin Buchan. Sammy McIlroy here deems them “absolutely one of the great underrated defensive partnerships”.

When Greenhoff signed for United as a schoolboy in August 1968 he was unimpressed by Old Trafford’s shabby facilities and organisation, compared with what he had seen at Burnley. He credits coach and former player Bill Foulkes with stopping the apprentices cleaning the ground all afternoon and saving him from an unnecessary operation, by organising strength training after he broke his leg and was prescribed rehab of running up and down the Stretford End paddock.

An unashamed supporter of Docherty, Greenhoff was one of those young talents promoted by the manager, who found them far easier to deal with than the established names at Old Trafford. Accidentally, as he admits in the foreword, Docherty converted Greenhoff into an unlikely centre-half, given that he stood just over 5ft 10ins, and he went on to partner the only slightly taller Buchan for two seasons. Both were elegant ball players who countered their lack of height by pushing out quickly and pressing the opposition. United, claims Greenhoff, called this strategy “attack the ball”, adding that today’s Barcelona and Spain employ something similar.

If Greenhoff has nothing bad to say about Docherty, the same isn’t true for his replacement Dave Sexton (boring, overly obsessed with systems, afraid to deal with players directly), nor Allan Clarke (nobody liked him, obsessed with running and weighing players) who took over at Leeds shortly after they bought Greenhoff for £350,000. The post-United and potentially more interesting section of Greenhoff’s professional career is dealt with relatively brusquely. A stint in South Africa, initially as part of a “rebel tour”, which ends prematurely because of protests, passes without dealing with any ethical considerations. Greenhoff famously became part of another United pairing when his brother Jimmy joined United in 1976 (as Buchan’s brother George had done previously). The two brothers are reunited disastrously at Rochdale and Brian goes on to fulfil another stereotype by running a pub.

The book ends by “setting the record straight” on why the Greenhoff brothers haven’t spoken for 20 years. Like the rest of the contents, the revelations are unsurprising. However, despite the often familiar material, Greenhoff tells his tale with the unvarnished directness you’d expect from someone who once told striking Barnsley miners that they had to get rid of Arthur Scargill.

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Macclesfield Town 1997-98

wsc301 Macclesfield were in financial disarray when they entered the Football League, but they still managed to win a second consecutive promotion, writes Michael Whalley

Just getting to the starting line was an achievement. One week before their first season in the Football League began, Macclesfield Town received a High Court writ from the creditors of their late chairman’s business demanding more than £500,000. This is not generally how promotion seasons begin. Yet nine months later, Macc went up from Division Three at the first attempt. As cheesy as it might sound now, there were times during the 1997-98 season when it seemed as if the motto on Efe Sodje’s bandana – “Against All Odds” – could have applied to the club.

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League Division Two 1974-75

Steve Anders recalls Manchester United’s only season in the last 75 years in the second tier of English football, which proved to be a year remembered for hooliganism

The long-term significance
Hooliganism was becoming a major social problem. In the first significant trouble involving the English abroad, Spurs fans had rioted at the second leg of the UEFA Cup final in Rotterdam in May 1974. Three months later, a Blackpool fan was stabbed to death during a Division Two match against Bolton at Bloomfield Road.

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Kick-ups, Hiccups, Lock-ups

by Mickey Thomas
Century, £18.99
Reviewed by Ashley Shaw
From WSC 261 November 2008 

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By the end of this book it’s difficult not to feel angry with Mickey Thomas. The stench of natural talent wasted for the want of a smidgen of intelligence hangs over most of his career, even if the author appears to have learned his lesson by the book’s close.

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Morecambe 2 Exeter City 1

A day after the FA Cup final, the next game at Wembley is the conclusion of the Conference play-offs. Considering the hype and disappointment of the first game, how does the battle for League status fare? Cameron Carter writes

For the past seven years, Wembley has meant nothing more than a building site quite near Neasden and a not-bad place to get a South Indian curry. Now, suddenly, Wembley is back on the popular consciousness map and has regained its third syllable. All up the Metropolitan Line, families are singing: “Wemberlee, Wemberlee, We’re the mighty Morecambe and we’re off to Wemberlee.” In no sense could you fault the veracity of the song. As one soul they disembark at Wembley Park and amble to the new stadium.

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