Open division?

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Ricky said:
Could this be a good opportunity for us?
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undoubtedly yes - we are dominating games away from home and have a new found resilience at home.

A promotion team, even champions are a team that doesn't lose away and wins at home - exactly what we have started to do.

We just need to keep it up - even though you have listed the other teams - it's all about us.

Was impressed by our football and attitude at Fleetwood yesterday - and we should only get better as the players get used to each other.

It was only the final ball missing yesterday.

UTB
 
when we play our next home game ,now v mkdons , we will have played 13 , 8 away and only 5 at home
so if we are in the top 6 it augers well for the remaining fixtures
 
shrewsberry and bury wont last it out so we are effectively second right now
 
Football fans are so fickle. Too much optimism for me. It won't be straight forward - it's United, it never is.
 
Gashead in peace here.... Don't forget us, would be disappointed if we don't make top 6, going for 3 consecutive promotions. Haven't seen a side outplay us so far, just took a few games to get into gear and we have played 5 of the top 6. All the best. Utb & utg.
 
And we're still 11/2 to win the league (11/8 top 3).

We've had false hope far too many times in recent seasons but I get the feeling this bunch are developing into what's needed in this division. We're still a couple of players short as Wilder knows and injuries to a couple could cause us problems but I think we would cope with that better than some of our rivals which will be key in the coming months.
 
Ricky said:
Could this be a good opportunity for us? A bit like last season should've been?

Millwall and MK Dons are underperforming, and Bolton have started to falter. Charlton have been mediocre and despite all their ability Peterborough are struggling to win.

Look at the five above us in the league...

Scunthorpe
Bury
Bradford
Northampton
Port Vale

How many of those do you expect to be challenging for automatic promotion come the end of the season?
I think Scunny and Bradford will be thereabouts and Vale are there to stay in terms of chasing a play off spot, but I don't think any of them will be contenders for the top two.

10 games gone and we've actually made the best start of all the likely contenders. Who would've thought that after the first few games?! We're not handicapping ourselves for once... what's going on?

I said I'd be very satisfied if we could be in the top 6 in January, at the moment it's looking very achievable. Although things can easily change - tonight's game proves that.
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I was reasonably hopeful before I read that we fucked up in summer and let Charlton beat us to all the best available players that we should have signed.

So based on the wisdom of S24SU I've now accepted that I know nothing and that we're a lost cause
 
Bungle said:
Gashead in peace here.... Don't forget us, would be disappointed if we don't make top 6, going for 3 consecutive promotions. Haven't seen a side outplay us so far, just took a few games to get into gear and we have played 5 of the top 6. All the best. Utb & utg.
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I was impressed with your team - before the game I questioned if you would have the quality to do 3 promotions on the trot.
I would still think that as the season progresses, but well done up to now.........and you have since beaten Northampton away, so good stuff there.

I would ask yourself about squad depth as December/January/February roll up, but as a club you certainly have something going now.

You just need a decent ground !!

UTB
 
I dont think squad depth will be a problem for us. I think its the biggest squad we have ever had, with superb loanees from chelsea x 2 and 1 from palace, we seem to be employing personnel by the second. We made 5 changes at Northampton after playing you guys and we cruised it. the concern is whether we can hold onto our manager, but we are on such an upwards projectory i dont think he would want to leave until we bottom out.
 
oh and our stadium!!! wait to you visit! Looks like we are on the verge of a new one anyway, plus training ground. The next time you have a bad day supporting the blades, imagine relegation to the conference!
 
It's a shame there aren't more stadiums like Bristol Rovers'. Much better than grounds like Shrewsbury's or Colchester's.
 
Looking through the likely contenders, there's good reason to oppose all of them when it comes to winning the league.


Millwall - inexperienced, questionable manager, lost Beevers, lost the momentum of last season, in very poor form, don't have much to spend.

Charlton - instability, the team seem infected by it, didn't go on to sign the sort of quality it looked like they were going to, in poor form.

Peterborough - inexperienced, questionable manager, inconsistency seems ingrained in the club, not made a great start.

Scunthorpe - probably lack the quality and depth to win the league, Josh Morris certainly won't maintain current form.

Bradford - lacking up front, all their games have been very tight, don't think McCall's a top manager.

Bolton - unlikely to score a lot of goals, Parkinson's teams are usually more solid than spectacular and dominant, bad run of form.

MK Dons - a few poor defeats already, particularly at home, not even won at home, seem to be having a bit of a relegation hangover.

Blades - we never win anything, never seize opportunities, culture of failure, still lack attacking quality, all our games have been tight.



Looking at it like that, it actually looks quite good for us. There are better reasons to oppose most of the others.

As things stand I'd probably whittle it down to MK Dons, Bolton and us if I had to pick a top 3. But I'm not comfortable writing Scunny off because they've got plenty going for them at the minute and do have a top 6 squad. Bradford are also quite strong, their defence is good, but like Scunny I see them as a top 6 team.

There's time for everybody to come good yet but all the evidence indicates that it is going to be quite open at the top end.
 

blade too long said:
19 Oxford Utd 4 -2 4
20 Shrewsbury 4 -3 4
21 Coventry 4 -3 2
22 Rochdale 4 -3 1
23 Wimbledon 4 -4 1
24 Sheff Utd 4 -5 1

6 weeks ago we were 24th in the table
now weve shot up 20 places in those 6 weeks
no need to panic then about moving up another 3 or 4 places over the remaining 28 weeks

panic ye not
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Hmmmmm ....... I'm going to retain my "feet on the ground" view and remain rather pragmatic at this stage ....... o_O

The last couple of games ( league) have highlighted how thin the squad really is in terms of quality and we definitely look to be still lacking in midfield, wide, and upfront.

Currently, we look like a 5th to 8th place side imho so we need some serious thought and early recruitment at the start of January to hopefully cement a top 6 finish.

Work in progress and improvement needed in key areas asap would be my assessment !! :rolleyes:

UTB & FTP
 
The problem we have is still goals, take Billy and Clarke out and the rest of the squad have about 50 career goals between them.

If you look at 2003, our 2005 promotion team for example, there were 5 or 6 players chipping in with double figures, centre backs nicking 5 or 6 each and you can't see anything like that with this squad. That's fine if we're keeping clean sheets but you need to be very lucky to go up like that as Blackwell, Clough etc found out.
 
we are a work in progress , devastated as I am we are drifting out of the checkatrade under 23 cup for premier league development
I think the foundations of a more solid team are down , just needs a few tweeks to see it blossom

I am going to sit in a darkened room to contemplate our non progress in europe's premier cup competition for reserves
 
Sheffsteel said:
I listened to the whole match on Bladesplayer. Keith Edwards is often critical, sometimes negative about our team but with 2 minutes to go he said we might have lost but it's just one of those days. The perormance has been excellent in a match we've dominated. We could have won 5-1 so he's not too dissapointed because of the pleasing display.

I'm of the same opinion. You can't always control results due to occasional good luck or bad luck.

But you can control performances and effort. As long as we consistently perform then I've no complaints.
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Bit of a reverse of last Tuesday by the sounds of it. Plenty, myself included thought we were fairly fortunate to win that one and by all accounts we were unfortunate not to beat Fleetwood on the balance of play. I’m sure it won’t be too far from evening itself out over the course of the season mind. If we can keep dominating enough games like that, results should take care of themselves
 
Ricky said:
Looking through the likely contenders, there's good reason to oppose all of them when it comes to winning the league.


Millwall - inexperienced, questionable manager, lost Beevers, lost the momentum of last season, in very poor form, don't have much to spend.

Charlton - instability, the team seem infected by it, didn't go on to sign the sort of quality it looked like they were going to, in poor form.

Peterborough - inexperienced, questionable manager, inconsistency seems ingrained in the club, not made a great start.

Scunthorpe - probably lack the quality and depth to win the league, Josh Morris certainly won't maintain current form.

Bradford - lacking up front, all their games have been very tight, don't think McCall's a top manager.

Bolton - unlikely to score a lot of goals, Parkinson's teams are usually more solid than spectacular and dominant, bad run of form.

MK Dons - a few poor defeats already, particularly at home, not even won at home, seem to be having a bit of a relegation hangover.

Blades - we never win anything, never seize opportunities, culture of failure, still lack attacking quality, all our games have been tight.



Looking at it like that, it actually looks quite good for us. There are better reasons to oppose most of the others.

As things stand I'd probably whittle it down to MK Dons, Bolton and us if I had to pick a top 3. But I'm not comfortable writing Scunny off because they've got plenty going for them at the minute and do have a top 6 squad. Bradford are also quite strong, their defence is good, but like Scunny I see them as a top 6 team.

There's time for everybody to come good yet but all the evidence indicates that it is going to be quite open at the top end.
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Easy to make counter-arguments too though.


Millwall – Have arguably the best striker in the division. Strong, athletic team. Up there last season. Big strong leader at the back in Webster.

Charlton – have last season’s divisional top scorer and a very proven target man alongside him. Have proven quality at CB with Pearce. Signed the highly rated Ricky Holmes. On paper, a strong side.


Peterborough – Goals throughout the team. Play good attacking football.


Scunthorpe – Have a cushion at the top and finished last season very strong with the new manager. Goals coming from all over the team and very strong home record.



Bradford – big, strong, experienced team. McNulty offers them a different option up front with the bulk of Hansen and the pace and directness of Hiwula.


Bolton – In Beevers, Wheater, Moxey etc. they have some very good defenders. Big strong team. James Henry and Sammy Ameobi offer plenty out wide.


MK Dons – Have some quality with the likes of Agard. Haven’t lost many from their championship squad.


Blades – 7 unbeaten. Biggest club in the division. Proven scorer in Sharp. Big uncompromising CBs in EEL and JOC .

I think ultimately, it comes down to who finds the balance, has a bit of luck with injuries and gets that bit of momentum at the right times. We’re on a decent run now. Let’s hope it continues.
 
blade too long said:
we are a work in progress , devastated as I am we are drifting out of the checkatrade under 23 cup for premier league development
I think the foundations of a more solid team are down , just needs a few tweeks to see it blossom

I am going to sit in a darkened room to contemplate our non progress in europe's premier cup competition for reserves
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It is work in progress but Coutts, Fleck, Basham, Duffy etc aren't suddenly going to become something they haven't been throughout their careers.

Go back to our 1st season in this division and they were probably more attacking players but they got 20 plus goals from midfield between them and that's the kind of thing we need to set us apart.
 
Peterborough 3 - 1 up against Bury at the moment .

A posh win sees them move from 13th to 5th . And that's their first win in 9 !!!

It's wide open !
 
Agreed. We could be down to 8th-10th tonight.

Makes next week quite important as if we lost that one we would be down to bottom 7 or 8 again. Win it and we are back to 4th or 5th again.
 
Well done Northampton.

They've done what we did, equalised with 10 men away at Scunthorpe and got a point.

Josh Morris scored yet again. When's he going to stop?

Bolton got an overdue win, 1-0 at Swindon with a late own goal. They need to start scoring goals, but they'll be up there.

The result in the Peterborough game could mark the beginning of a change in fortunes for both teams. I'd expect Peterborough to kick on and Bury to fall away.
 
All in all the results went reasonably okay today I think. Scunny and Bury starting to stall a bit.

Bradford and Bolton are a worry though.
 
Not convinced with Bolton . That was their first win for ages and their fans say they have crap all season. Bradford are nothing special but incrediblely hard to beat.

Good day all round though really
 
Still not sure we've been to comprehensive yet to say we're genuine contenders. As much as people say we can improve, so could anyone else. I think it's correct to say the division is wide open. By all accounts it sounds like Bradford are an impressive side but generally teams are inconsistent. Can't rule anyone out or in at this stage.
 

Roygbiv said:
Not convinced with Bolton . That was their first win for ages and their fans say they have crap all season. Bradford are nothing special but incrediblely hard to beat.

Good day all round though really
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Bolton and Bradford both have good defences, that isn't going to change. What should change is their goalscoring, you'd expect both to start scoring more, especially Bolton. So they should both be solidly in the top 6.

There's still absolutely nothing to suggest there's going to be any outstanding team. It makes it all the more frustrating that we didn't push the boat out a bit more in the transfer market.
 
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