grafikhaus
Kraft durch Freude
We badly needed strikers as well as CB's. And midfielders. Again, testament to how catastrophic Clough's time here was that even with the number of players he signed we still needed 5 or 6 signings who were actually good enough in order to mount a decent challenge this season.
Part of Adkins' job is to sort out the mess of a squad left by Clough. He absolutely must be working with his hands tied behind his back when it comes to wage bill/squad size. Being honest and working hard is all well and good, but if you're not good enough then you're not good enough, and there's plenty around the first team who just aren't. How do you move cack players on good wages on to somewhere else? Few players will want to move from Bramall Lane and a decent wage to a pay cut and, for example, Vale Park or Gresty Road.
If he'd signed two CB's instead of two strikers, the season would've began with us being better at the back but still very lightweight in the middle of the park and reliant on Higdon and McNulty for our goals.
And Jay McEveley would still have started at left-back.
This squad will take a long, long time to sort out.
So it's apparent that United's interview process is utterly shambolic. Adkins will sail off into the sunset - with a ridiculous pay-off funded by us - and we'll be left to bicker about how we supporters are 'impatient'. Do McCabe, Phipps, Brannigan etc. never learn? This is the most vital season in recent years, and it seems they've been seduced by NA's slick words. Accusations about Clough's empire-building are accurate, but it shouldn't have been allowed in the first place. I'd like the next manager to be on a 6-month rolling contract dependent on performance. Could we seriously be landed with anybody worse than the shower we've had over the last nine years?
Anyone can criticise. I could list a number of things I think he could do better but I'm not going to. Those who want to criticise can work it out for themselves. Finding solutions is the issue and Adkins hasn't been given a blank cheque.
There's not a team at this level with a 'blank cheque', including the teams that out-play and out-fight us on a depressingly regular basis. Not many players at this level possess genuine talent but, having discovered this stunning fact, the basic requirements are fitness and aggression. We're seeing it from the likes of Port Vale, Gillingham, Bury, even Chesterfield. Instead, United have become a soft touch, a place for a last big pay-out, for players and managers.