SHA Small Heath Alliance

I always remember the 1-1 opening day draw against Charlton in August 2012, which we scraped with a last-minute goal. I knew then and from his post-match comments we were in for shit times. He inherited a pretty good team from Houghton.

BLUENOSE B

Holdsworth_MaraSonner

number8

Pity he was effing useless. Cared though, I'll give him that.

He was rubbish to be fair. I’d totally forgotten we finished 12th in his first year.

With a squad of King, Davies, Burke, Zigic, Caldwell, Ibanez, Ambrose, Lovenkrands, Elliott and many others should of done a lot better.

I give him one thing tho he did discover Caddis.

Most of those highlighted were over the hill though. King barely played another game after the first half of Clark's first season (for us or anyone else). Ibanez retired at the end of Clark's first season (and under both Hughton and Clark was a bit part player). Lovenkrands never played another game after leaving Blues. Burke didn't do all that much at Forest after leaving Blues. Wade dropped down the leagues. Of those highlighted only Curtis Davies progressed his career after leaving Blues.

On balance we probably slightly underachieved in Clark's first season, but it could be argued that the squad overachieved under Hughton and was only going one way (which may have been why he chose to go to Norwich).

The second season was a mess, but we were effed as a whole club by what was going on with Yeung and Co.

I heard one story that after one away defeat he went to the back of the coach on his own and started necking cans of lager. Whether that is true I have no idea.

Holdsworth_MaraSonner

With Brian Dick.

[podcasts.apple.com]

He’s surprisingly thoughtful. It’s strange but I quite like him listening to this. He’s clearly very taken by Blues.

Despite his limitations and the stuff he hasn’t remembered correctly, I know he did care very much about the club while he was manager.

There were frequent stories of how he spoke to parents of would be youth players to sell the club to them, how enthusiastic he was and how much it meant to him.

I think in some ways the amount he cared about Blues was his undoing; it felt to me that it broke him because he couldn’t succeed and it only led to him failing further.

He certainly cared I have it on good authority it led to him coming to blows in a bar with a well know Blues supporting journalist