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MANAGER of the Year? Pep Guardiola maybe? Or Jurgen Klopp perhaps, depending on what happens in the coming weeks? How about Sheffield United’s Chris Wilder, who has led the Blades to the cusp of the Premier League against all the odds? The Blades are second in the Championship following Saturday’s 1-0 win at Leeds, having been promoted from League One two seasons ago. On a modest budget Wilder is performing miracles and if he gets the job done, he deserves the ultimate respect – whether he operates in the second tier or not.
WHEN Bill Fotherby was in his prime and pomp, football was different.
People like him were charismatic showmen who indulged in public life and relished the responsibilities that came with running top-level clubs.
In the summer of 1989 Fotherby, the managing director of Leeds, took the desk from his office at Elland Road, complete with all its contents, onto the pitch.
There he was photographed wearing a sharp suit and smoking a big fat cigar. Rock and roll.
I can just imagine Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy doing the same thing before the new stadium is opened next month!
There’s more chance of Real Madrid winning silverware this season than of this happening.
That’s because chairmen and managing directors these days prefer to remain in the shadows. It’s unfair to just single out Levy. Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour has attended one game at the Etihad in a decade.
Roman Abramovich is no longer a regular at Stamford Bridge, and never speaks to the public or engages with them.
At Manchester United, executive vice chairman Ed Woodward has gone to ground.
The link between power brokers and punters is almost nonexistent.
The gap is widening and the distance is uncomfortable and unhealthy.
Which means we should treasure and appreciate even more people like Fotherby, who sadly died in Tenerife last week aged 88.
When Fotherby was at the helm, business dealings were less secretive and the future was more transparent.
Like in 1987 when he tried to sign none other than Diego Maradona (inset) from Napoli.
A chance meeting with Maradona’s agent Jon Smith in London set the wheels in motion.
When word started to seep out Fotherby didn’t attempt to hide his ambitious plan.
He even booked Leeds Civic Hall for a ‘meet and greet’, with the sponsors lined up to cover a deal that was going to cost the Yorkshire club £6m. The deal never happened, but that isn’t the point.
There was no disguising or hiding the goings on at Leeds. Fast forward to 2019 and it’s difficult to know the extent of a player’s injury, let alone discover who a club is planning to sign.
Fotherby’s crowning moment came in 1988 when he appointed Howard Wilkinson as manager.
Leeds went on to win the old First Division title and Wilkinson is still the last English boss to land the biggest prize in our domestic game.
At first, Wilkinson refused to deal with Fotherby. But over time Wilkinson was unable to resist warming to the infectious charm and warmth of his boss.
To such an extent that after Leeds had won the title in 1992, Wilkinson presented him with a copy of his book ‘Managing to Succeed’ inscribed with the message, ‘To Bill Fotherby. You are the wind beneath my wings’.
Times change, of course, but so do the most influential people in football – and it isn’t always for the better.