Back in his playing days Danny Wilson was a marauding midfielder who worked tirelessly from box-to-box, so there was little surprise when the midfield general moved into management at Barnsley in the mid-1990s.
He played for the likes of Bury, Chesterfield, Brighton & Hove Albion, Luton Town, Sheffield Wednesday and Barnsley and also won 24 caps for Northern Ireland along the way.
He led the Tykes into the Premier League in 1997, but top-tier status lasted just one season and he subsequently left to return to one of his former clubs Sheffield Wednesday. Moving on a couple of years later, he then had spells in charge of Bristol City, MK Dons and Hartlepool United before taking over at Swindon Town in December 2008. He clinched the Football League Trophy with Bristol City in 2002 and almost took them up, but fell foul of the play-offs in both 2003 and 2004. However, he did steer Hartlepool to promotion in 2006/07.
Ransacker’s Chris Galea spoke to the much-travelled 50-year-old about how boots have changed since he hung his up in 1995.
Q. What football boots did you use to wear during your playing days?
A. I used to always wear Puma Kings. You can always tell a quality boot and they were really accomplished back then. Evidently, they have stood the test of time because they’re still one of the most popular football boots on the market now. That said, everyone back the seemed to wear Adidias, but I found them a little too wide for my feet and the Pumas suited me much better, so I stuck with them.
Q. Did you ever experiment with other football boots then?
A. Yeah I did. I think as a player you have to because you are always looking at the margins and searching for the smallest things that might enhance how well you play the game. I did switch a couple of times but whatever boot I went to it never seemed to live up to the Pumas, so I always ended up going back to those which served me well.
Q. Boots have really taken off in terms of the amount of choice available now compared to when you were still strutting your stuff on the pitch, haven’t they?
A. Well, they are more of a fashion accessory now for the players. They have become more than the basic tools of the trade that they were when I was playing and especially for the youngsters because they love the different colours and styles that are available nowadays.
The kids see the players wearing a certain type and they want the same ones, which has helped the industry really take off, so it doesn’t matter whether they are orange, blue or green to me. In my eyes the professionals have to make sure that the football boots they choose help them to perform to the best of their ability and not all of the boots help in that respect.
We seem to have come away from the core of what football boots are – protective shoes that help you tackle, control, pass, hit a ball better. They’re not for the catwalk! But football is so fashionable these days so you have to go along with the trends, and I must say that some of the technology that goes into boots nowadays is absolutely incredible.
Q. When you came through the ranks at Bury in the late 1970s I’m pretty sure you would have had to do the usual jobs that YTS players performed, such as cleaning the first-team players boots, but nowadays they seem to have been scrapped by most clubs. Were you disappointed to see them removed from the academy systems?
A. Well, it still happens at some clubs and here at Swindon Town we certainly have a code of conduct that the young professionals have to adhere to and that includes certain job duties. It isn’t very different from what we had to do when we were coming through the ranks, but it doesn’t happen at every club these days. I think it is good because it is character building from the boy’s point of view and it helps them mature along the way.
Q. What advice would you give to youngsters uncertain about what football boots to wear?
A. Well the best thing is to buy a pair what suit your game. As we’ve said, a pair of football boots might look good in the mirror, but will they really help you tackle a lumbering centre-forward, or will they really give you the speed to burst down the wing. Football is so competitive these days, particularly youth football, and for the sake of fashion it’s really not worth limiting your game, because there really aren’t that many opportunities to get spotted by clubs, despite what people say.
Recognise where your game is at its best and select a pair of boots accordingly. And enjoy the game!
