There are very few neutrals when it comes to Neil Warnock, personally I was a fan and I will always look back on his stewardship with great fondness.
The Blades were sinking without trace before his arrival with only 8,965 fans at Adrian Heath’s last game in charge. A Paul Devlin solo effort sealed a 1-0 win over Portsmouth in Warnock’s first game in charge and safety was achieved fairly comfortably that season.
The next 2 seasons were a time of transition with the Battle of Bramall Lane both a memorable day and a turning point for the club.
Although 2002/03 was an ultimately unsuccessful season, it is one that will never be forgotten. The Blades played in every possible fixture other than the 2 Cup Finals. Despite it turning into an incredible season, there was a point when I thought it was time for Warnock to go. A 3-0 defeat at Forest with the Blades employing a bizarre 3-6-1 formation with Asaba at left wing-back had me thinking that a change was needed for the club to progress. A few days later we beat Leeds United 2-1 in a thrilling League Cup game and the Blades never looked back after that. With Michael Brown scoring spectacular goal after spectacular goal (including the best ever seen in a Sheffield derby) the Premiership looked within our grasp at last. However the season ended in heartbreak as the play-off final proved a game too far.
The next 2 seasons saw the Blades fail to hit the heights of 02/03 missing out on the play-offs on both occasions. For the second time I felt that it was time for Warnock to go and for the second time I was wrong.
With some inspired signings on board the Blades set off like a train in 2005/06 and despite a blip in the later months of the season, promotion was clinched at last. David Unsworth’s last minute winner against Hull was undoubtedly my favourite moment as a Blades fan and seeing the TV pictures later with Warnock celebrating the goal with tears in his eyes and unsure whether to throw his chewing gum out or not just added to it!
Warnock took some criticism for negative performances away from home last season but to reach 38 points with the squad we had was a superb achievement and I’ll never forget some of the great victories we had along the way. No-one took our relegation harder than Neil Warnock and ultimately it signalled the end of his tenure at the Lane.
I have to admit that I’ll feel slightly envious of Palace fans over the next few months. They can look forward to watching a team giving 100% for their manager and there will never be a dull moment. No doubt there will be some shocking signings (Hayles, Horsfield) but there should be plenty of great ones (Brown, Hulse). There will be some comments that will make them cringe but plenty that will make them laugh. I still laugh about his interview after we’d played Southampton in the Cup when he said that David Elleray would write in his report ‘I sent Bobby Ford off and really enjoyed doing it’ and the time he said he’s like to take over at Wednesday and ‘f*** them up and retire to Cornwall’.
All the best at Crystal Palace Neil (except when you play us) and thanks for the memories.
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