Sir Bob Murray

[Cest Advocaat]

Absolutely.

I mean, a lot of the stuff flying about was 'never puts his hand in his pocket, milking the club (with the floatation)' etc...

Facts were, he was a wealthy man, a multi millionaire, but his fortune was approximately the value of a single top class footballer.

The float was intended to swell the coffers, but relegation that season saw the prices fall from an (admittedly false) extrordinarily high high, and they never recovered, despite the 'mega seasons' under Reid (a masterful appointment at the time).

If we'd have just got that draw on that day at Wimbledon, Murray may well have seen the investment needed at that point and we may be 4-5 years ahead of where we are now, he was that ****ing close, potentially, 1 goal.

We were abstract that day, Wimbledon weren't interested and we still lost to a pathetic goal, it didn't seem the end of the world then, but looking at it now, was that game the nail in Murrays coffin?

Starting life at the SOL in the championship unquestionably quashed his hopes of funding the club via the floatation.

Christ I was at the Wimbledon game (and the Man City game for that matter) and we were awful all day. If Paul Stewart had only put that bloody header in................bugger.

I got told a good story from a lad who knew someone that had gone on holiday that summer, only to bump into Robbie Earle by the pool. He had a canny bit crack with him and apparently Earle told him that all the Wimbledon players had agreed that they were happy for SAFC to stay up that day as they ahd seen the travelling support and were amazed, so they didnt really give it their all but we were so ****e, he said they couldnt help but beat us? I couldnt say that this story is gospel but I do remember the Dons were hardly busting a gut that day either but he was right. We were so ****e that day we deserved to get beat.

 

[Sidthemackem]

During Murrays tenure there were several opportunities to break from mediocrity, and Bob pleaded poverty and never put up the money for players.

There was also the matter of Tom Cowie offering to buy the club and rebuild the club from the ground up, which Murray refused , and we stayed in the doldrums.

In the event though, Bob stayed true to his world, put us in the stadium, started the academy, and then got out.

He nearly left it too late mind, as without Drumaville, there is a strong chance the club would have hit administration, the share price had hit the floor, and the club was in a manic depressive state.

For me, his legacy far outstrips the flaws in his regime, and i'm sure many would join me in a rousing applause were he to be presented at the SOL now.

This. Although I would say that not selling to Tom Cowie was high up on his list of achievements. Cowie was an utter ****** IMHO and he was only offering £500,000 if I recall, whereas Murray wanted £2M, which meant he would have got his money back.

 

[Nads]

Christ I was at the Wimbledon game (and the Man City game for that matter) and we were awful all day. If Paul Stewart had only put that bloody header in................bugger.

I got told a good story from a lad who knew someone that had gone on holiday that summer, only to bump into Robbie Earle by the pool. He had a canny bit crack with him and apparently Earle told him that all the Wimbledon players had agreed that they were happy for SAFC to stay up that day as they ahd seen the travelling support and were amazed, so they didnt really give it their all but we were so ****e, he said they couldnt help but beat us? I couldnt say that this story is gospel but I do remember the Dons were hardly busting a gut that day either but he was right. We were so ****e that day we deserved to get beat.

They basically strolled through the game mate, even the goal was like slow motion, and was barely celebrated.

Our players were like ****ing rabbits in the headlights, bottled it, to a man, shat themselves.

We went down, private mini bus but hired a driver so we could all get tanked up and celebrate staying up, we should have known we were going down when we arrived at The Valley at half 2.

The match, of course, was played at ****ing Selhurst Park!

The hired driver was lucky to escape with his teeth, one of the lads in particular had to be restrained from garotting the poor ****er with the seatbelt!

We got to Selhurst around the 315 mark, to be greeted by a handful of staggered looking Dons fans, and thousand upon thousand of Sunderland.

If we'd have stayed up, London wouldn't have known what hit it.

 

[Nads]

This. Although I would say that not selling to Tom Cowie was high up on his list of achievements. Cowie was an utter ****** IMHO and he was only offering £500,000 if I recall, whereas Murray wanted £2M, which meant he would have got his money back.

Cowie was talking the talk though, and at the time it was 'anyone but Murray'.

A lucky escape, agreed, with hindsight.

 

[Sidthemackem]

The Valley; Selhurst Park. Were you guys at the 4-1 win over Charlton at Upton Park? Them poor Addicks took some ****e in those days before their club got back on track.

 

[Nads]

The Valley; Selhurst Park. Were you guys at the 4-1 win over Charlton at Upton Park? Them poor Addicks took some ****e in those days before their club got back on track.

I've been to Upton Park twice, a 0-6 in the early 90's, and the 1-3 last season, which almost drove me to murder, of Rob Green.

The finest oppo goalkeeping display i have ever witnessed, he was incredible.

 

[Sidthemackem]

I was at the 6-0. Midweek game, wasn't it? Sat in the main stand and took some stick, although it was pretty good natured as they were tonking us. Mind you, I think we got promoted that year, or did I dream it?

 

[Nads]

I was at the 6-0. Midweek game, wasn't it? Sat in the main stand and took some stick, although it was pretty good natured as they were tonking us. Mind you, I think we got promoted that year, or did I dream it?

Ha, i thought it was a Sunday like, we'll agree it deffo wasn't a Saturday!

We did go up thatbyear i think, i'm gonna hunt it down...

 

[Sidthemackem]

Leave it here when you find it. I'm away to me bed. Pip pip...

 

[MrRAWhite]

I was at the 6-0. Midweek game, wasn't it? Sat in the main stand and took some stick, although it was pretty good natured as they were tonking us. Mind you, I think we got promoted that year, or did I dream it?

I think the midweek game was a 5-0 defeat (I was there too). The 6-0 defeat was a weekend game.

As for Bob Murray, I would say that the positives outnumber the negatives, however, I still cringe at him calling our new ground The Stadium of Light, and his appointment of Howard Wilkinson nearly made me physically sick.

 

[Nads]

I think the midweek game was a 5-0 defeat (I was there too). The 6-0 defeat was a weekend game.

As for Bob Murray, I would say that the positives outnumber the negatives, however, I still cringe at him calling our new ground The Stadium of Light, and his appointment of Howard Wilkinson nearly made me physically sick.

Sure the 6-0 was a Sunday, 1992 ish..

 

[MackemsRule]

The sad thing about Murray was he loved SAFC as much as us.
The late 80s when football was moving forward was leaving him behind, his pockets just weren't deep enough.
His main fault was not finding an investor when he realised he couldn't carry the club.
Plus when there was the talk of the top teams breaking away to form their own league. (Ended up as the Prem)
Sunderland were touted as one of those invited and Murray said he wasn't interested. (Or did I dream that?)

I do recall him having a right go at Man U though, over the Bellion affair though.
Plus I still have respect for what he did for us and sacking McMenemy.

 

[Mackem-Tiz]

Bob Murray was at the SOL at one of the last games of season. He did the half time draw or something and he barely got a ripple of applause!
He deserved much more respect than he got imo.

 

[silksworthexile]

My God this could be an interesting thread. Been done before but here we go.

At the time he took over, Murray was very much a breath of fresh air after Tom Cowies stagnant reign and the total mess we were in after Lawrie McMoneybags shafted us. At first he galvanised a club in total turmoil and his first appointment was to bring Denis Smith (my all time favourite manager) to the club along with Marco Gabbiadini. The rest as they say was history. Promotion to the 2nd Division and then the play off game v Swindon had Murray as a local hero. We went up to the First Division via the back door but there we were and that's when the trouble started.

Bob Murray is a wealthy man but not wealthy enough and we were abject at being a top flight club throughout his reign. Subsequent relegation, followed by promotions, then relegation's were the norm for us for a huge portion of his time. Underfunded and always scrapping the barrel for 2nd class players meant the football on offer was aften highly spirited but utter ****e at the same time. Managers were dispensed and new ones brought in until the master stroke of Peter Reid was sprung and Murray once again regained some credibility. The championship season after the Charlton game and the 2 years following were undoubtedly the best football I have ever seen at SAFC in my 36 years. SKP, Quinny, Johnston and Summerbee were just about the perfect attacking machine I have ever seen. We were awesome and then problem of the Murray era seemed to be forgotten. Unfortunately, although we did spend bigger than ever before, a combination Reid's destructive personality and a fear of spending any more, destroyed the team that was built and we were relegated again. The appointments of Sgt Wilko, Butcher, Crosby and Buxton were baffling to say the least and spelled the beginning of the end of Murray for me. He presided over a cheap and not so cheerful 2 decades and admittedly whilst McCarthy was a brief rest-bite, ultimately the humiliation of giving him no money to spend when we went back up, resulted in a points tally of a depressing 19 & 15 point seasons. That 15 point one was the absolute final nail in his SAFC coffin. There was no way back after that.


However, I have reflected much as I have become a wiser, older owl (honestly lol) and my thoughts on Murray have softened somewhat. He did what he could with the finances he had and refused to bank roll a folly of the fans. That probably saved the club from financial doom but ultimately led to 20 years of utter rubbish football (barring maybe 4 or 5 years during all that time). He suffered due to the Halls and Shepherds big money roller coaster ride at Sid James during that time and we did look like the poor relations for much of the 90's and 2000's. Not his fault but he also lacked that flair and imagination SJH had in abundance. One was a serial entrepreneur and the other an accountant. It showed off and on the field of play.

Murray's legacies without a shadow of a doubt and there are 2 of them to my mind, are the SOL and AOL and his handling of the sale of the club to SNQ. Both gestures are fitting tributes to a man who genuinely loved the club and has ensured that the club have made huge strides since he owned the club. The stadium is magnificent and so are the facilities at the Academy. Every player, manager and visiting hack have commented on the world class facilities we have at the club. The selling of the club to Niall and the Drumaville Consortium for a nominal fee really (considering what some lesser clubs were being sold for) shows he genuinely wanted the club to survive and prosper. Contrast that with the greedy fat ****er up at NE1 and you see what a good man Murray is. There was no knight in shining armour waiting in the wings and until SNQ came along, he battled on manfully. As soon as Quinny came, he effected a swift and easy hand over.

I'd like to think he could be presented on the pitch sometime at the SOL, so that fans can have the opportunity to thank him for his efforts and for the way he has ensured that the club is in good shape currently. Murray meant well, tried hard but ultimately failed to succeed but he did leave with dignity and kept the soul of the club close to his own.

That pretty much sums it up. Murray had his flaws - and was never the wealthiest of men but you cannot question his love for the club and we should all be thankful every time we glance across the river or walk into the ground.

His legacy will always be a top class stadium and academy, and selling the club to someone with vision and possibly even greater love for SAFC.

Thanks Bob !

 

[heroicsailorboy]

What exactly did he do that was so wrong?

I am too young to know exactly what it was, so why did people want him to leave? There weren't protests against him, were there?

There were quite a few half hearted protests in the early 90s usually after a rubbish game a few would stand outside the Roker Park suite shouting "We want Murray Out" mainly kids, was there a few times myself.

There was also a red card protest where at a pre-arranged time during the match everyone held up a red card that was distributed outside the ground. Can't remember exactly what this was about but it was against the board in general.

I think in time people will form a more favourable opinion of him, most seem to think his heart was in the right place.

 

[bonnybobbypark]

I remember a story (urban myth?) that he turned to Reid one close season and asked him how much he needed just to keep us up?

That killed it for me.

As a lot have said on here tho, on reflection he did have the club at heart and the stadium and moreso the academy are fine testimonials to the man.

If he was presented to the crowd, I may not hurt my hands clapping but I wouldn't moan or boo.

x

 

[Lostinvegas]

I did a university project on the SOL so did a lot of research on the project. I have to say Murray did a superb job in that respect as we got our stadium for a lot less than other people who were building stadia at the time, now looking at how much things like Wembley and the Olympic stadium cost we really did get superb value for money.

I think its as simple as Murray just did not have the money to take us to the next level and when he did invest Reid made some bad signings: Flo etc....

I am 32 and most of my time supporting Sunderland has been under the Murray reign and I think he overall did a good job and cared about the club.

 

[Nads]

I did a university project on the SOL so did a lot of research on the project. I have to say Murray did a superb job in that respect as we got our stadium for a lot less than other people who were building stadia at the time, now looking at how much things like Wembley and the Olympic stadium cost we really did get superb value for money.

I think its as simple as Murray just did not have the money to take us to the next level and when he did invest Reid made some bad signings: Flo etc....

I am 32 and most of my time supporting Sunderland has been under the Murray reign and I think he overall did a good job and cared about the club.

Yeah, didn't we build the SOL for £12 million, whilst Bolton paid £48 the same year for the Reebok, and Pride Park, a similar and notably smaller stadium was £24million.

On a different note Vegas, have you got any of your music uploaded somewhere i can check it out??

 

[billofengland]

An enjoyable read, cant realy fault anything printed so far. Murray did a lot for us, The stadium and accademy being mentioned many times. personally I like the wall of fame, have put many relatives and friends names on there, usually as birthday/xmas presents. one last thing, how many folks use a picture of the Murray gates as an illustration, its also used as the heading not 606 Sunderland. another of his works.

 

[Sidthemackem]

On the subject of Murray, it's also worth pointing out that I wrote him a couple of letters when he was in charge and he replied both times, which was a pleasant surprise.