NEW START ..BIG FINISH
Warnock hopes the virus crisis will change football and society’s priorities from a culture of excess to a more generous, respectful and humorous time Bees boss Frank insists his football-crazy players can’t wait to return but is gutted they can’t let th
NEIL WARNOCK has been roused by the coronavirus to reassess his priorities and believes football should too.
The Red Adair of football management has nearly 1,500 games under his belt in a career that has seen him enjoy eight promotions and endure five relegations.
He could yet dip his toe into the water again. But he fears society has inadvertently created a culture of excess with youngsters more focused on technology than football.
“We’re to blame,” he said. “When we were kids, we hoped when we grew up that our kids would have more than we had. We wanted to give them a better chance. So when they said: ‘We want this,’ we bought it. First it’s a telephone then it’s an ipad, then it’s a computer, then it’s something else.
“Then you wonder why they aren’t playing football in the parks any more? We have supposedly made it a better society, but I don’t think we have. I don’t think we’ve made better people.
“If anything, this virus has shown how it used to be. You can find enjoyment without having the television on or a computer on or a phone to your ear.”
Over the course of his 53 years in the game, Warnock, who has led clubs as far apart as Scarborough and Plymouth, believes football’s ability to laugh at itself has disappeared, replaced by financial pressures amid a growing disenchantment among fans.
Speaking to broadcaster Eamonn Holmes on his Eamonn And The Gaffers podcast, Warnock (celebrating, right) added: “I think the humour has got to be in football. When I get off the bus. I’d always have 10 minutes talking to the opposing fans and signing autographs. I’d always pick on a young lad and say, ‘Sorry you’re going to go away unhappy tonight!’ and he’d react. Now players are getting off the bus with headphones and not talking. I think they’ve forgotten the fans.”
Whether Warnock’s skill at inspiring clubs to make the leap from the Championship to the
Premier League is utilised again or not, he believes fans have enjoyed his status as football’s pantomime villain. “I like to think that wherever I’ve been, I’ve left them in a better position,” said the 71-year-old, who led Cardiff City to the Premier League in 2018 before leaving the following year after relegation back to the Championship. “When you look at my eight promotions, I bet you every one of those groups of lads still have get-togethers every 10 years or so – and I could be there.
“Even the teams whose fans have given me stick over the years, even they respect me deep down.
“I’ve given them something to talk about, and I’ve given them something to smile about as well, whether they like me or not.”
Warnock’s views on the need for the Premier League to help clubs lower down the food chain are well documented. As is the way he’d like to be remembered.
“I’ve always played to the crowds and I’ve always said: ‘When I pass away I don’t want to have a minute’s applause – I just want them to boo me for a minute!”
■■Eamonn And The Gaffers is available on Youtube and itunes.
BRENTFORD boss Thomas Frank insists all his players have a “deep love” of football and cannot wait to return.
The Championship is planning to resume training next Monday, with a provisional plan to start games again from June 13.
And the Danish manager is of the opinion that, given all the necessary assurances from the EFL and medics on safety and training protocols, his players will be keen to get going again.
“That’s my clear feeling – they all want to come back, play football and compete,” he said.
“Of course, that means all of the regulations and rules must be in place. But they all want to play, they want to start to train and play football again.
“They love to play. It’s so deep inside their bodies and, of course, I feel that way too. I hope we can start again very soon.
“Life moves on and we need to try to get back to something that is normal.
We all have a responsibility to stay safe and to follow the regulations so we can play again.
“I have a belief that we can do it. I see the emails about protocols going back and forth between the EFL, the doctors and the directors, and I believe we can do it safely.
“It was good that the Bundesliga started. Everyone can see that it was fine. I believe that can continue and it will be a safe environment going forward if we do the right things.”
Lockdown has been strange for Brentford as they were due to say farewell to Griffin Park (right) this season.
They are in the hunt for the playoffs and the dream was to get promoted and move into their new stadium in the Premier League.
The club is something of a rarity in football, renowned for being well run, and yet even a club which respects budgets and costs is facing testing times.
Frank said: “When everyone started playing football, and coaches started to coach, it was without fans. You train without fans. If you are a young player there are no fans, you just play.
“But when you play at the top level, there are always fans. Football and fans are so connected with each other that it feels very strange to play with no fans and not to have that connection, that bond which helps you fight or go to war with another club.
“We will miss the fans, especially in a season for us when it was farewell to Griffin Park.
“Everything was in place to give it a beautiful and magical farewell. We will do our best to do that anyway so it can stay in the heart of the fans.
“We know in the long term that football is coming back, so we can play in front of the fans, but maybe that will take quite a long time.
“We have the new stadium to look forward to. Hopefully we will get there no matter what.
“If everything went to plan, it would be fantastic to celebrate with the fans, but we will find a way.”