Just finished Into The Championship by Rick Holden

Re: Utter ******

No I think thats the fool...the lovely person* is the one who writes the b*****t

 

Two sides to every story but Holden was very critical of our hierarchy,

 

Ive just read it too....

Didn't reckon much to it. Spent most of the time talking about the "high jinks" he got up to during his drinking sprees and seemed to bizarrely take more pride in them, than his achievements in football.

I dont think anything he said about his time at oakwell surprises anyone.

 

And he himself was then spied on... so im told.

 

Finished reading a borrowed copy today, and will now probably buy it for the collection.

It re-inforces everything I suspected about Shepherd, even allowing for the fact that it's one side of the story, and a very embittered one. We'd already heard the other side a few years ago, and I know which seems the more accurate version to me.

And it shows just how ******** the so-called search for a new manager was prior to Davey's appointment, which is what prompted me to start posting on here at the time.

It's a miracle we got promoted amid all that.

A must-read book for any fan, along with the John Dennis and Lars Leese books, for anyone wanting an insight into the running of the club in recent years.

 

I've met Gordon Shepherd and I can assure you he certainly isn't.

 

So have I and he is a cantankerous old bugger at times! I would not call him a lovely person though. Holden has got it slightly wrong because Davey was on a different payroll, the paymaster is still in charge, but Shep did interfere a lot with the players, Kazim Richards did not come here because his transfer fee was the sum total of the transfer fund Ritchie had.

 

why do site admin leave such comments on here
''Gordon Shepherd you're a lovely person'' - see posting in this message

 

Hit the report button then if it offends you.

 

Same here. Proper top bloke who was always willing to give his time to you. First time was at Morecambe in the pre season friendly there. Our group heard a "hello you lot" and turned around and it was him. He didn't have to say that as we wasn't even looking at him to notice him. Spoke to him a few days later when we played at Buxton too. A real gentleman. Easy to take a side to the story when we have only heard one side.

 

Ah so he's a nice bloke when you saw him. That's that then

 

If Ritchie and Holden had actually done any coaching with the players perhaps they wouldn't have been sacked. The standard of coaching was appalling.

I bet Holden didn't mention the "Farting Contest" at Brooklands Gym either.

 

You bring farting up everytime. They must have done something right, no way that bunch of players were good enough to get promoted.

 

AWOL just that.

 

Off course I always bring it up. It was a fact and reflects the general behavior of the ex-assistant manager and 2 or 3 players who were up at Brooklands.

You are right that bunch of players were not good enough, just edged it into the play offs. They actually drew the final 2-2 and then won a penalty shoot out. Colgan's save had nothing to do with Ritchie or Holden or the crap penalty taken by the Swansea player. The numerous times I watched training the keepers looked after themselves. I never once saw AR or RH make an input to keeper training.

 

No what i'm saying is we have only heard one side of the story. So people either have to believe the side of someone who helped us get promoted to our current level (easy to do for what that person gave to us) or the side of someone who hasn't given a side. What is said by Holden might be true or he might have made it juicier to sell more copies, we don't know.

 

I thought we'd heard both sides of the story now. We heard Gordon Shepherd's and the club's at the time with the numerous interviews Mr Shepherd gave to the press about the sacking of Ritchie and Holden and now we've heard Holden's side of the story.

 

Well I am part way through reading it and so far I am not that enthralled, so much that I have put it down and I feel no urge to pick it back up just yet.

 

I've started it. Probably worst book I've ever read so far.