Former Sheffield Wednesday Ron Atkinson has claimed his 1991 Owls side were better than last season’s Premier League champions Leicester.
Ron Atkinson – Ex-Aston Villa Manager
Ron Atkinson has always been a divisive figure in world football, with a lot of his achievements weighed down by some of his controversies. Regardless, nobody can deny the impact he had on the game during his tenures with some of the biggest clubs in the country.
As reported by The Star, Atkinson has said that he believes his Sheffield Wednesday team from back in 1991 were better than last season’s underdog Premier League champions Leicester City.
The 77-year-old’s first tenure at Hillsborough was between 1989 and 1991, and in that time he managed to win the League Cup as well as get the Owls promoted back into the first division.
“I loved the club, the fans were terrific, great fans and I had quite a good rapport with them,” he says.
Hillsborough
“Trevor Francis (his replacement) got Waddle in,” he reflects.
“They only needed one more of that ilk and at that time we’d have attracted very good players to Wednesday. I maybe could have got that player. Who knows? The team I left behind were a better side than the Leicester team that won the Premier League last year, I’d say that. To be fair to Trevor, they did well after I left, so they were left in a good way.”
Atkinson would return to manage Wednesday in what would prove to be his penultimate job in management back in 1997, but despite a positive start he was not awarded a full contract with the club.
The Englishman also enjoyed tenures with clubs such as Aston Villa and Manchester United, with Wednesday being one of only two clubs that he returned to manage.
Ron Atkinson celebrates League Cup ©SPORTING PICTURES (UK)LTD
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