Blades legend Currie reflects on happier days for the club when only the genius of George Best stopped unbeaten run in its tracks

Sheffield United’s current predicament will have those fearing for the future of their club clinging to the past.

And what more golden moment than the one that reaches a landmark this week – the 40th anniversary of the Blades’ promotion to the old Division One.

Alan Hodgkinson and Len Badger, Eddie Colquhoun and John Flynn, Gil Reece and Alan Woodward; legends all.

One name that stands alone though as the epitome of that era of free-flowing football at Bramall Lane is a man for whom the club means just as much as he does to the fans – Tony Currie.

The effervescent midfielder with poetry in his boots was the golden boy of the red and white stripes. The Londoner joined the club as a teenager in February 1968 and left them as a hero and an England international in 1976 having scored 54 goals in 313 appearances for the club.

He was the focal point of the side that won promotion from Division Two in 1970-71, yet it is the men around him for whom Currie, 61, still talks with such admiration.

“It was a special time for the club,” remembers Currie, who will join a large number of his old team-mates for an anniversary dinner at Bramall Lane’s Platinum Suite on Thursday.

“We played some great football, we all complemented each other really well. We had speed, technique, people who could put the ball on a plate for you; the likes of Alan Woodhouse, Len Badger, and myself.

“It was a squad that had its fair share of internationals; Gil Reece, Dave Powell etc. Every time we get together the conversation soon turns to the good old times.”

Of which there were many. United went 22 games unbeaten through the end of their promotion winning season and into the start of the 1971-72 Division One season.

They even topped the English standings after a haul of eight wins and two draws in their opening 10 games. That run came to an end at Old Trafford on October 2, 1971, at the hands of a Manchester United side led by George Best.

“We were 0-0 at Manchester United with six minutes to go and Besty got that goal they never stop showing on the telly,” continues Currie. “He never actually goes past anyone and Len Badger is the man who comes crashing over the line to try and stop it.

“In all we were unbeaten for 22 matches and started the season so well we were top of the league.

“Nowadays you just look at the publicity Hull and Blackpool got for doing similar. It was a different time though.

“We had a great team spirit and had we had a bigger squad I think we would have sustained our early season form.

“It all came right for us probably just after Christmas 1970. Our manager John Harris exchanged John Tudor for a couple of players at Newcastle. Tudor obviously went on to better things alongside Malcolm McDonald and at the time we thought it a bit strange that he was allowing Tudor to go.

“But in the end we were actually better off with the two players we got in John Hope and David Ford. John Hope was a very brave goalkeeper. He had big shoes to fill coming in for Alan Hodgkinson, but he did superbly well. Harris also brought in Trevor Hockey and that proved an inspirational move and helped us on our unbeaten run.”

It is all a far cry from the situation at United now.

“It’s not great, is it?” says Currie, who also played for Leeds United in a career that yielded 17 England caps. “Bouncing straight back is a big test in itself because it is such a tough division to get out of. It’s a real shame for the club. It was such a go-ahead club when it was in the Premier League, and even now we are still pro-active. If we could have just stayed in the Premier League that year we came down under Neil Warnock, I do believe we would have been an established Premier League club by now. But I’m a big optimist and I’m sure we’ll bounce back.

“In our day we had a team all the supporters could name before the manager actually named the team.

“Obviously times have changed but United haven’t had that luxury this year.”

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