The joy and euphoria surrounding Sunderland’s charge to the FA Cup Final had quickly dissipated. Defeat against Liverpool was one thing, the fall out was another.
Bob Murray had decided the cup performances had been enough to appoint caretaker manager Malcolm Crosby full time – while initial league form under the stand-in gaffer had been impressive, Division Two performances had quickly fallen off, although the packed schedule could be blamed to some extent for that.
Of more concern was the way the club
was being run off the field. Crosby’s appointment – rightly or wrongly – suggested the club were trying to do things on the cheap once more. But it was Paul Bracewell’s departure to Newcastle in mid-June that really plummeted sentiment to new depths.
Skipper Bracewell had been offered just a one-year deal by Murray, a paltry acknowledgment of the contribution he’d made in his second spell at the club, and had joined the Keegan bandwagon under freedom of contract, with a tribunal-set fee to be decided at a later date.
And, on this day in 1992, another mainstay of the team that season, Paul Hardyman, was shooting from the hip.
Hardyman was out of contact and had been offered a two-year deal, but wanted three – while out of contract David Rush had turned down terms and was wanted by top flight Norwich, whom he’d starred against in the Semi Final.
Brian Atkinson, meanwhile, who had a year left on his deal, and had turned down new terms to extend his deal.
But it was Hardyman who broke ranks and criticised the running of the club at boardroom level.
If everyone is treated like Paul Bracewell and me, you cannot blame them for leaving.
These players made this club a lot of money last season. I would have no feeling of guilt if I left.
I have had three good seasons with Sunderland. The first season we won promotion, the second we pulled in big crowds in the First Division and last season we reached the FA Cup final.
If the club wants players to stay, they should discuss contracts before the last month. If anything, Sunderland should learn that lesson from the Paul Bracewell affair.
I feel sorry for Malcolm Crosby and hope he manages to sort the situation out.
I’m still waiting to hear Sunderland’s offer. It’s been hard for them because I was away on holiday and Malcolm was away.
What I’m looking for is a vastly improved contract, not just the terms but also the duration.
Hardyman had joined the club in 1989 after his contract expired at Portsmouth, and a tribunal set fee of £130,000 had pleased then-manager Denis Smith and infuriated Pompey manager John Gregory.
The acquisition of Hardyman had solved Smith’s two year search for a left back, having made major plays for other options including Derby’s Graham Harbey and Birmingham’s John Frain.
He’d made the left back position his own initially, although his infamous missed penalty and red card in the play off and subsequent suspension blotted his copy book.
There was a feeling that Smith wasn’t altogether convinced by Hardyman, and in the top flight season – and Red Star Belgrade’s Slobodan Marovic was close to signing, but work permit issues saw that move fall through.
After relegation and the sale of Marco Gabbiadini, Smith invested £350,000 in Celtic’s left back Anton Rogan, sidelining Hardyman for a spell. When Crosby took over, Rogan was deployed more in the centre of defence alongside Kevin Ball, with Hardyman often at full back.
However, despite playing in every game in the cup run – and scoring against Oxford – Hardyman was dropped for the final, with Crosby preferring Gary Bennett’s experience alongside Ball, and Rogan challenged with stopping exciting youngster Steve McManaman.
His exclusion from the Wembley starting XI was one thing, and it was compounded by the club’s unsatisfactory contract offer – with Hardyman’s sights set on the West Country.
I’m out of contract at the end of the month, and I expect Bristol Rovers manager Dennis Rofe to make an approach if nothing has been sorted out.
As it was, Hardyman did depart for Bristol Rovers, and exacted revenge on his former employers with a last-minute equaliser in February’s encounter at Twerton Park to deny Crosby a win in what turned out to be the manager’s penultimate game in charge.
