He took his eye off the ball and focussed upon Academy of Light and I have never forgiven him for not honouring his word and not paying Don Hutchison what we was worth. We would be a mid table championship club at worst.
Everything about him was SAFC through and through and we are what we are today through him. He appointed and had faith in Peter Reid and backed him financially when it was asked for but some of the signings did not work out. In the Hutchison case it was a matter of abiding by a wage structure that was drowned by a better offer from elsewhere by a more desperate club.
Mixed feelings about Murray. He did have his heart in the right place. But his "referendum" about moving from Roker Park was like something out of North Korea! What I've never understood is how, when Quinn took over, he got other businessmen on-side immediately. I mean, I know Murray did as well as he could, but surely he could have looked for outside investment as well. If he had stayed? - to answer Comm. We'd be yo-yoing between the Prem and the Championship.
Wish we had a chairman like Gibson at the Boro. Loves the club and does the best he can. If he could get into the Premier and gets the obscene amount of money off TV, he'd put it all back into the club and not keep it for himself. He seems like a normal supporter imo.
Clough had no intention of coming back to us, and later openly admitted he used us as his next job to scare his then chairman.
He took us as far as he could, and the thing I will always respect him for is ensuring that he sold the Club to an appropriate buyer rather than to the highest bidder. Managerial appointments: Dennis Smith Malcolm Crosby Terry Butcher Mick Buxton Peter Reid Howard Wilkinson Mick McCarthey Mixed bag there. Butcher and Wilkinson were the real clangers
