Steel City rivals appoint ex-Owls favourite

Last updated : 27 May 2011 By C. Morris

It is rare that we report on developments at our cross-city rivals here on owls-mad but today’s news cannot be ignored given its links to our club.

Sheffield United have today confirmed the appointment of Danny Wilson on a 3-year contract. The choice seems a bizarre one to say the least and has been met with protests at the ground as the press conference took place.

Wilson made well over 100 appearances for Sheffield Wednesday in the early 90’s and was a firm favourite with the Hillsborough faithful. He was part of the team the won the League Cup in 1991 and as a no-nonsense, tough tackling midfielder Wilson was an integral part of the Owls squad during a successful period for the club.

The former Northern Ireland international had a less successful spell as Wednesday manager in the late 90’s, guiding them to 12th place in the Premier League in 1999 but overseeing most of the following campaign that ended in relegation.

Despite this failed managerial spell Wednesday fans still have fond memories of his playing days at the club and his appointment at United has been met with surprise on both sides of the city. Fans of the Blades seem particularly underwhelmed by the news and have made their feelings clear to both Wilson and chairman Kevin McCabe.

McCabe had suggested in the past few weeks that more prominent managerial candidates had shown an interest in the job and his judgement in opting for Wilson has been called into question. The United fans appeared to be somewhat split on the decision to dismiss Micky Adams at the end of what had been a troubled season for the club and the decision to replace an avid blade with a man who has Wednesday connections has been too much for some to stomach. To make matters worse it appears that Wilson, who parted company with Swindon last season after taking them into a position that eventually resulted in their relegation from League One, was approached by the club rather than applying for it himself as he got a call while away on holiday.

Rarely has a manager been subjected to protests over his appointment and calls for him to be sacked before he has officially taken charge.