The 1992/93 season had finished with Bob Murray under pressure, seemingly on all footballing fronts.
Sunderland were onto their third manager in as many years, we had only just avoided relegation, Roker Park appeared to be falling down around our ears and, with fans already digging chairman Murray out, a former chairman had waded into the debate, complaining bitterly about the state of affairs at the club and the current chairman’s commitment.
It seemed like a bygone age since a degree of peace and
common purpose had broken out in the Sunderland boardroom.
In August 1986, Tom Cowie had sold his shares to vice-chairman Bob Murray and stepped down from his role as chairman of Sunderland AFC.
Cowie had been involved in an increasingly vicious and distracting boardroom battle with director Barry Batey. A sustained attempt to agree a way forward, with Cowie buying Batey’s shares, had fallen through and Cowie, it would seem, had taken the decision to sell to Murray for the good of the club.
Tom Cowie sold his shares to Murray for no profit and at cost price. Part of the deal included Cowie staying on as a director for a year, with Cowie stating at the time: “I shall use my position to help Mr Murray in every way, especially in financial matters and through continued sponsorship of the club through my company.” He went on to say: “If, at the end of the year, Mr Murray wants me to stay on, I will consider this matter carefully and probably accept the invitation, as I am anxious to see the club do well.”
At this time, Cowie seems to have been convinced that Bob Murray, with control of the board, could take Sunderland forward in a way he could not given all the rancour with Barry Batey.
Murray’s relationship with Cowie seemed very respectful at this juncture. He arrived at the press conference upon taking over with two jeroboams of champagne.
One was for Tom Cowie, who he described as “a big man who has stepped down. He has put a tremendous amount of effort and cash into the club…”
The other jeroboam was for Lawrie McMenemy, the managing director. Murray said: “This is for Lawrie. To be opened when we have something to celebrate.”
There does appear to have been an appreciation and regard between Murray and Cowie at this time.
Bob Murray was a lifelong Sunderland fan who had written to Tom Cowie in 1983 to offer his services to his “beloved” club. Murray had floated his company successfully on the stock exchange and had money behind him. Cowie had invited Murray in for a meeting and, in three relatively short years, the Consett lad was vice-chairman.
Taking over in 1986, Murray set about the task of brokering peace in the boardroom and getting focused on the challenges ahead.
At that time in 1986, the board and fans did not have to look too far to see what those challenges were. Middlesbrough were a club in absolute crisis and had never come closer to losing their battle for survival. Relegated to the Third Division, with the gates locked at Ayresome Park and all playing staff given notice, it should have sharpened focus and best intentions within the boardroom – and the fanbase – at Roker Park.
Scroll forward seven years and you could be forgiven for thinking there had been little progress.
Tom Cowie – not for the first time – had been bitingly critical of Bob Murray and the Sunderland board in the local press. He questioned Murray’s commitment and challenged him to make credible investments in the future of the club. Cowie accused Murray of “pussyfooting” and offered to buy back the shares he had sold him in 1986. Cowie went on to say that the club needed a major investor – “it will take nothing less than £5 million – more like £10 million” was his view.
Murray had been on a family holiday when Cowie had made his latest announcement to the press. But on his return, publicly at least, he took Cowie’s words as an offer to buy the club. He said he could not deny the fans or the club that sort of money and offered to stand aside.
Murray publicly said he was prepared to sell for £13 million, with the proviso that £10 million was made available for team strengthening.
He put the offer out there to Cowie and set the date for a decision as 24 June, saying he did not want the situation dragging on as there was much work to be done preparing for the new season and the future of Roker Park, prompted by the Taylor Report directive that all stadiums in the top two divisions had to be all-seater by the 1994/95 season.
Reading into the detail of this very public spat and following the timelines, it is hard not to feel, with the benefit of hindsight, that Murray might have been calling Cowie’s bluff.
Cowie had returned from his family holiday and was back at his desk, but made no official statement on Murray’s offer.
Writing in the Sunderland Echo, Graham Robinson mused: “If Cowie does take over, Terry Butcher could land a cash bonanza for new players. If Murray remains, Cowie’s short, sharp shock tactics could see the chairman give Butcher an unexpected cash increase to spend on new players.”
Did Robinson know something we did not about Cowie’s motivation for speaking out?
How serious was the former chairman about returning?
The next day, Bob Murray accused Cowie of a “u-turn”, with Paul Nunn in The Journal reporting that the board were claiming the whole episode was a publicity stunt by Cowie and that, if he was serious about getting involved again, he should have contacted the board directly rather than dealing via the media. Nunn went on to report that Murray had said the board were “staggered” by Cowie’s statement and the “complete and utter u-turn by Cowie, who had clearly turned down a chance to take over the club”.
In response, Cowie lashed out again in the press at the way the club was being run, repeating his view that Murray should make “credible investment or sell his shares at the price they were sold to him”. Murray countered this, insisting his investments in improvements at Roker Park and in buying out other shareholders meant his holding was worth a lot more than he paid in 1986.
Cowie went on to accuse Murray of “wilfully misinterpreting” his original views in order to create “unwarranted expectation”. He also claimed Murray was being “disingenuous” in claiming that he supported the proposed retail and stadium development – the Nissan collaboration. Cowie said this proposal “had nothing to do with developing the football team and I do not want to see Sunderland build a £120 million stable in which they place a dead horse”.
Cowie tellingly then went on to say he had no interest in “running the show”. His only interest was in the “restoration of the club’s reputation on the football field and my objective has been to stimulate debate on how this might be achieved”. He added: “If the directors’ only reply was to offer to resign en bloc – if this is a measure of the depth and breadth of their commitment, it does not bode well for the future of football in Sunderland.”
Murray did find some money for team development that year, though a car crash on a roundabout in typical Sunderland fashion delayed their arrivals. It is also worth noting that Bob Murray always claimed there was no additional money given to Terry Butcher after Tom Cowie’s intervention. What had already been identified was what he got to buy Andy Melville, Derek Ferguson, Phil Gray and Ian Rogerson. Alec Chamberlain and Dariusz Kubicki also joined the club.
This was another messy chapter in the boardroom. It would have been far better if Cowie and Murray could have reignited the respect and regard that appeared to exist in 1986 and seriously tried to work together for the good of the club. It looks, for all the world, like two powerful men playing a dangerous game with Sunderland AFC.
The difficult years continued with the managerial merry-go-round and skirting with relegation.
Though Murray’s appointment of Peter Reid did lead to a marvellous period for the club.
In fairness to Bob Murray, his commitment was in plentiful evidence as he circumnavigated a number of obstacles with regard to our new ground. The Stadium of Light is arguably a key foundation for where we find ourselves today.
As to this particular chapter, it seems to me like a sliding-doors moment. What might the outcome have been if Cowie had decided to accept the board’s offer?
Maybe we can be thankful for Bob Murray’s resilience and commitment?
