James Shield: The big opportunity which, for some reason, Sheffield United haven't grabbed yet
“Can you think of a left back who might be available? I've been trying to find one for so long now I can’t see the wood for the trees. But don’t get too pleased, because you’re not the one I’m calling.”
Despite dashing any dream I might have had about becoming a football scout, ‘You know who’ was duly furnished with another well known name. The same one, it later transpired, given to him by most of the seven or eight other folk he got in touch with at what was a pretty ungodly hour. And the player we identified duly turned up, breathing new life into a career which was in danger of being suffocated by some pretty bizarre events at his parent club.
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Hide AdI’d love to pretend otherwise, try to convince you that I’m some sort of expert at identifying untapped talent. But I’m not. So I won’t. The person who raised my hopes and then shattered them with a typically well-timed put down has probably forgotten more about football than I’ll ever know.
And the more you think about it, rather than being a sign of weakness, his decision to seek outside advice was actually an indication of genius. Too many within the game are quick to dismiss other people’s ideas or opinions if they don’t pass the utterly ridiculous ‘medals on the tables’ test.
Anyway, after recounting this incident to highlight even the sharpest minds in the business can sometimes find themselves lost down a mental rabbit hole, I reckon United are in danger of overlooking a damn obvious opportunity right now. Not because folk behind the scenes there are ignorant or stupid. Quite the opposite in fact. Rather, talented and gifted people can become so obsessed by small details they fail to see what is standing right in front of them.
Earlier this month, I had a conversation with Nick Montgomery who is busy making a big name for himself as a manager at Australian club Central Coast Mariners. A feature, spawned by our natter, was published in The Star last weekend.
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Hide AdIn it, the former United midfielder spoke of his pride at seeing three of the players he had just guided through the A-League season take part in a showcase end-of-term fixture against Barcelona. Losing 2-1 at one stage, the Catalans eventually saved face with two second-half efforts. Xavi, their head coach, later confessed to being impressed and surprised by the quality of the opposition. And, whilst admittedly being at risk of contradicting my earlier statement, if it’s good enough for him then it should be good enough for the pub bores and keyboard warriors who are disparaging about the level of competition Down Under.
So why, with their manager Paul Heckingbottom recently acknowledging that Brexit has effectively blocked United’s access to the European transfer market, aren’t they exploring opportunities in Oz and making more of their relationship with Montgomery?
Aware there appears to be a desire at governmental level for the rules overseeing movement between the two countries to be relaxed rather than tightened, plenty of teams in the UK now view Australia as a potential source of new talent. Kye Rowles, one of the Mariners’ representatives against Barca, is now heading for Heart of Midlothian where he will link up with his compatriot Nathaniel Atkinson. Sunderland have Bailey Wright on their books, although admittedly he had spent several years in England before moving to the Stadium of Light. Tom Rogic, who has just left Celtic, also represented Montgomery’s now employers before heading to these shores.
Heckingbottom’s calculations about the effects of our departure from the European Union - not, as some of those who want to reverse the process try and claim, Europe itself - will have upon United’s access to markets such as France, Belgium, Holland and Spain are correct.
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Hide Ad“We can look,” he said, referring to potential targets. “But if we want to bring them here, then the chances are they’re going to have to be either established internationals which means they’ll be plenty of interest in them. And that, if it includes interest from the top-flight, is going to put them out of our reach for the moment.”
Although many of the same measures apply to professionals in Australia, the financial considerations are less important because it remains a relatively untapped market. Well, untapped by many of the Premier League’s behemoths that is. But then they can afford not to be particularly creative in the transfer market. That is not a luxury most sides in the Championship possess. Particularly ones who have already borrowed against many of their PL parachute payments.
United have dipped their toes into this sphere in the past, sending two youngsters halfway around the world to work with Montgomery whilst he was still a member of the Mariners’ backroom staff rather than their commander-in-chief. It proved a wonderful experience for them but, given the fact they were at the very beginning of their careers, sent the wrong message to folk in Gosford where his employers are based. Speaking to a couple of fans there soon after they arrived, I know they were hugely supportive of the two lads in question. But slightly concerned that United’s decision not to send anyone a little more experienced meant they were dismissive about standards in the country.
If that was the case, then officials in South Yorkshire were making a big mistake.
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Hide AdWith Montgomery - who still refers to United as ‘we’ whenever he mentions them - excelling in Australia, it would simply beggar belief if they didn’t try and exploit some of the potential openings his presence there provide. It seems obvious to do so. For a number of very compelling reasons.