The Sheffield United socials often post flashbacks to matches over the years. Often a positive result against our upcoming opponents.
Something that strikes me whether it is either in the championship or PL. Is when looking at the Wilder first stint games on our rise up to top half finish PL.
Whatever the quality was on the pitch, there was most certainly a better level of fitness and intensity lacking in our current squad. Or at least it appears so, and from memory I would say I reckon so too.
It's clear there are some issues to fitness given too many players seem to fade 60-70 mins in. Although there are factors such as chasing the ball rather than controlling the ball which play into this as well.
Lets not forget too that some players we signed in the summer were not ready (Souza for instance) and then we had players still injured during the whole summer as well.
But just looking at highlights and remembering what it was like in the good times under Wilder Mk 1. You'd got the likes of Baldock and Stevens along with O'Connell and Basham who were literally all action. Whether thats in the press or getting up and down the pitch and offering attacking options. But watch their intent and intensity and it's night and day. In midfield the likes of Fleck keeping tracks on a player and even Norwood to an extent.
We were greater than the sum of our parts and it wasn't just down to overalapping centrebacks or momentum.
There was some fit players in there who rarely missed matches and kept the intensity of the game high enough to "bridge" the gap so to speak with higher calibre of players.
Whatever the quality will be on the pitch come next season this has to be addressed and re-instated. Wilder has alluded to getting a "good pre-season in the lads" and I think he's got a point here.
It would seem they are just not conditioned quite right, which would also point to why we had so many injuries under Hecky.
Tom Little was appointed just under 2 years ago and whilst I'm not suggesting he needs to go, you wonder if there might be a change here. Even if it's a change of instruction for what Little needs to do.
You would expect we will lose some quality in our squad this summer. The likes of Anel and Archer seem very likely. I hope Hamer and Arblaster do not leave and even losing McBurnie is a loss for the champ in my opinion.
I would hope we bring in some quality too, but some posters seem to indicate a fair bit of doom regards incomings this summer!
However, whomever is wearing that shirt, whether they possess some real quality for the champ such as Hamer, or we sign the next Dean Hammond getting that fitness + intensity back should surely help us either bounce back for a promotion push. Or help stop us from sinking!
Something that strikes me whether it is either in the championship or PL. Is when looking at the Wilder first stint games on our rise up to top half finish PL.
Whatever the quality was on the pitch, there was most certainly a better level of fitness and intensity lacking in our current squad. Or at least it appears so, and from memory I would say I reckon so too.
It's clear there are some issues to fitness given too many players seem to fade 60-70 mins in. Although there are factors such as chasing the ball rather than controlling the ball which play into this as well.
Lets not forget too that some players we signed in the summer were not ready (Souza for instance) and then we had players still injured during the whole summer as well.
But just looking at highlights and remembering what it was like in the good times under Wilder Mk 1. You'd got the likes of Baldock and Stevens along with O'Connell and Basham who were literally all action. Whether thats in the press or getting up and down the pitch and offering attacking options. But watch their intent and intensity and it's night and day. In midfield the likes of Fleck keeping tracks on a player and even Norwood to an extent.
We were greater than the sum of our parts and it wasn't just down to overalapping centrebacks or momentum.
There was some fit players in there who rarely missed matches and kept the intensity of the game high enough to "bridge" the gap so to speak with higher calibre of players.
Whatever the quality will be on the pitch come next season this has to be addressed and re-instated. Wilder has alluded to getting a "good pre-season in the lads" and I think he's got a point here.
It would seem they are just not conditioned quite right, which would also point to why we had so many injuries under Hecky.
Tom Little was appointed just under 2 years ago and whilst I'm not suggesting he needs to go, you wonder if there might be a change here. Even if it's a change of instruction for what Little needs to do.
You would expect we will lose some quality in our squad this summer. The likes of Anel and Archer seem very likely. I hope Hamer and Arblaster do not leave and even losing McBurnie is a loss for the champ in my opinion.
I would hope we bring in some quality too, but some posters seem to indicate a fair bit of doom regards incomings this summer!
However, whomever is wearing that shirt, whether they possess some real quality for the champ such as Hamer, or we sign the next Dean Hammond getting that fitness + intensity back should surely help us either bounce back for a promotion push. Or help stop us from sinking!
