2 players in ? (Maybe)

[Chali 2na]

No idea about this thread but it's been suggested by someone on another Thread Morsy is having a medical today? No idea if it's true, but Wigan did sign another midfielder the other day

I've abandoned that car crash of a thread. Isn't he signing for Scunthorpe?

 

[ThroughThinAndThinner]

I've abandoned that car crash of a thread. Isn't he signing for Scunthorpe?

If youd have kept reading you'd know...every novel of that size has a happy ending

 

[pommpey]

2 new players....great!

Yeah. It may have meant we would never have shipped goals over the past two season playing makeshift left backs and centre mids in at the centre back position

Fancy pitch.....
1. means less games are called off.

When was the last time a game at Bramall Lane singularly was lost to the weather?

2. Needs less maintenance from ground staff

But more maintenance from Desso. If you think the pitch is somehow 'permanent' you don't understand how it works.

3. Allows for use outside of football like concerts etc

Generating what, exactly? Given BDTBLs poor central position, car parking and traffic problems will preclude any ambitions of hosting gigs at the venue. And the locals won't tolerate noise. Also, how many and how often? This is all smoke and mirrors, innit?

4. Doesn't need digging up every summer and re laying.

So we did that every season did we?

5. Allows players to trust the pitch and in theory move the ball quicker/play better football. (This too works for opponents as well mind)

So, zero-sum, then. Remember, only Derby County could play on the old Baseball Ground, which is theoretically why they were Champions

6. Puts the ground in a position to host other matches such as England U/21's, cup games and one off matches.

As opposed to the piggery, where even the 2018 WC was considered over our great ground.

Million quid they say...well it costs 100k to re lay a pitch on its own. I'm going to say with all other revenue streams associated with it, that the pitch will pay for itself in 5 years.

And two decent centre backs within one season.

I understand the anger of lack of player investment at CB. But the amount of money going down the pan every season suggests there is plenty of investment going in from KM and the prince. Granted it's been wasted on some dross, managers and players, but money going in isn't the problem.

Money going in? What to pay off shit managerial appointments and their failings based upon shit undicloseds?

Your arguments are empty

pommpey

 

[1973Blade]

If youd have kept reading you'd know...every novel of that size has a happy ending

On that basis the Dean Hammond signing had. a happy ending

 

[Liaminho9]

I've abandoned that car crash of a thread. Isn't he signing for Scunthorpe?

Turned them down apparently, i have no idea any more

 

[Esablade]

I've abandoned that car crash of a thread. Isn't he signing for Scunthorpe?

Not anymore...apparently
Lee Grant the goalie...supposedly...
LW on loan from Prem ( hopefully)
CB ( no idea)

 

[Cyprus Blade]

I'm not against having a decent pitch - its a question of balance and priorities. Remember the piggies in the sixties -spent their cash on the ground and not the team and paid the price.

 

[Blade56]

CB ( no idea)

Is that a quote from either the N#1 or N#2 interviews?

 

[Esablade]

Is that a quote from either the N#1 or N#2 interviews?

It woz this dude funnily enough...

 

[Blade56]

It woz this dude funnily enough...

View attachment 19041

That's that feckin imposter Mr Jolly

 

[Silent Blade]

I'm not against having a decent pitch - its a question of balance and priorities. Remember the piggies in the sixties -spent their cash on the ground and not the team and paid the price.

You are forgetting the FFP rules! We had to pay the compensation for Clough and co. Only 65% of our income can be spent on wages etc. If we had used the money on signing more players and increasing the wage bill instead of Desso pitch then we would probably have a transfer embargo by now so no Fleck, O'Connell, Clarke etc

 

[Chali 2na]

Turned them down apparently, i have no idea any more

Not anymore...apparently
Lee Grant the goalie...supposedly...
LW on loan from Prem ( hopefully)
CB ( no idea)

Cheers gents, saved me the time

 

[Bladeloyal]

Yeah. It may have meant we would never have shipped goals over the past two season playing makeshift left backs and centre mids in at the centre back position



When was the last time a game at Bramall Lane singularly was lost to the weather?



But more maintenance from Desso. If you think the pitch is somehow 'permanent' you don't understand how it works.



Generating what, exactly? Given BDTBLs poor central position, car parking and traffic problems will preclude any ambitions of hosting gigs at the venue. And the locals won't tolerate noise. Also, how many and how often? This is all smoke and mirrors, innit?



So we did that every season did we?



So, zero-sum, then. Remember, only Derby County could play on the old Baseball Ground, which is theoretically why they were Champions



As opposed to the piggery, where even the 2018 WC was considered over our great ground.



And two decent centre backs within one season.



Money going in? What to pay off shit managerial appointments and their failings based upon shit undicloseds?

Your arguments are empty

pommpey

Your possibly madder than a box of frogs .

 

[Pinchy]

Your arguments are empty

pommpey

Yours are vacuous, tiresome, monotonous and above all, repetitive. You add no value to any debate, merely restating your malice towards Kevin McCabe and pretty much anyone and anything at SUFC.

 

[Pinchy]

Not anymore...apparently
Lee Grant the goalie...supposedly...
LW on loan from Prem ( hopefully)
CB ( no idea)

Isn't Lavery the LW option? I know he's played as a striker at Pompey but isn't he really a wide attacker?

 

[Treeton Blade]

Isn't Lavery the LW option? I know he's played as a striker at Pompey but isn't he really a wide attacker?

Yes, left sided, right footed.

 

[Esablade]

Isn't Lavery the LW option? I know he's played as a striker at Pompey but isn't he really a wide attacker?

Don't know much about the lad but thought he was a CF?

 

[Cyprus Blade]

You are forgetting the FFP rules! We had to pay the compensation for Clough and co. Only 65% of our income can be spent on wages etc. If we had used the money on signing more players and increasing the wage bill instead of Desso pitch then we would probably have a transfer embargo by now so no Fleck, O'Connell, Clarke etc

I wasn't forgetting FFP, nor the continued presence of the "players not in the group" - ie Coutts, Woolford, the Wallaces who represent an ever present reminder of this and the opportunity cost to the club. I'm also not forgetting that the L1 FFP rules do allow for cash injections of capital by owners to be counted towards turnover. I was simply remarking that balancing infrastructure and personnel is important and having a perfect playing surface does us no favours if we haven't got the players to exploit it. You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

 

[Large Mendonca]

From what i've seen so far, this perfect playing surface has allowed so-called lesser teams to come to "fortress Bramall Lane" and play us off the park. Let's hope Wilder can make better use of it......

 

[Grizzly blade]

Yeah. It may have meant we would never have shipped goals over the past two season playing makeshift left backs and centre mids in at the centre back position



When was the last time a game at Bramall Lane singularly was lost to the weather?



But more maintenance from Desso. If you think the pitch is somehow 'permanent' you don't understand how it works.



Generating what, exactly? Given BDTBLs poor central position, car parking and traffic problems will preclude any ambitions of hosting gigs at the venue. And the locals won't tolerate noise. Also, how many and how often? This is all smoke and mirrors, innit?



So we did that every season did we?



So, zero-sum, then. Remember, only Derby County could play on the old Baseball Ground, which is theoretically why they were Champions



As opposed to the piggery, where even the 2018 WC was considered over our great ground.



And two decent centre backs within one season.



Money going in? What to pay off shit managerial appointments and their failings based upon shit undicloseds?

Your arguments are empty

pommpey

Hang on......not arguing the toss over whether KM has done a good job. He has overseen blunder after blunder.

However, You seem to think that player recruitment was sacrificed for the sake of the new pitch. Which looking at the outlay over the seasons it clearly hasn't. Adkins for some reason best known to him opted to waste huge sums on Woolford, Hammond and if I'm honest Sharp. He could and should have used his huge budget better to improve what was here. 2 centre halves for a start. He didn't, he rightly got sacked.

The pitch has been a disgrace for a very long time, and not so long ago was riddled with some disease which meant it wouldn't get any better. So in short, the whole lot....drainage, soil, grass the lot had to be removed and started again anyway.
As for the yearly pitch removal. Most clubs rip their pitch up every season and have it relaid. Desso does need a service often, but as I understand it is part of the initial cost for the first few years. (May have that wrong, but sure I was told that)
So although it's a high initial cost, the money will be recouped from other areas as I suggested. We will host other sports, concerts have been before, and we have hosted other games before. If we had the previous sand covered ploughed field we certainly won't be with a shout.

And finally. If you maintain the pitch isn't worth it, then you must agree that all other aspects of maintenance are also pointless. Ticket office....club shop....new seats....dugouts....cladding.....bars....restaurants....museum....all have no bearing on the performance in the pitch. But all part of the plan to get punters both fans and corporate to part with their money. That's called business.

 

[S5Blade]

So....

Thread started from a reliable(?) source about 2 players coming in

descends into a stupid argument about the pitch, mcabe and basically anything not to do with the 2 potenial players coming in.

Got to love bladesmad. I mean, Errrr, S24SU

 

[JordoBlade]

Apparently Caldwell's said Morsy has rejected 2 league 1 clubs. We wait and see! Bit of a circus this..........

 

[Sean Thornton]

It concerns me that the ground is part of a property developers portfolio, that United as a club appear to have a hotel and other commercial enterprises built on land that they no longer own or control. He who pays the piper calls the tune and we could be royally fucked. Of course that is only my opinion butI do recall the joy when we were released from the shackles of the Duke of no fuck who had a notice on every gate to the effect that no betting was permitted on the ground.

The reality is, as painful as it may be, is that although the freehold is now with a different company, the ownership and control is exactly the same as it has been since McCabe bought a majority shareholding.

The Prince is only investing in the team. Why would anyone leave a valuable asset in a company when you were taking on a partner who wasn't paying for it?

Answers on a spittle flecked postcard please.

 

[HeCanDoMagic]

Apparently Caldwell's said Morsy has rejected 2 league 1 clubs. We wait and see! Bit of a circus this..........

MK and Scunny?

 

[JordoBlade]

MK and Scunny?

I reckon us and Scunny.

 

[1danewhitehouse]

Interesting and well argued debate on Brayford. Both Ricky and Grizzly make excellent points to support their opinion. Pity other debates can't follow suit..

I have to say I'm more in agreement with Ricky's side of it, Brayford is a pale shadow of the bloke who joined us on loan and I'm struggling to understand why?
Is it the injury? Ricky's theory does carry some weight for me.
Is he still 'recovering'? Hopefully this is the reason and we will see a better version soon.
However, despite the theories, I've never been over enthralled with him even when most were ejaculating when discussing him 18 months ago.
He's OK as full backs go but has too many weaknesses to be regarded as anything more than average, even at this level.

I do think the injury is the main reason that his levels are so far below what we know he’s capable of. I think he’s lost half a yard of pace and that’s difficult to compensate for. I also think during his loan spell that he and the team as a whole hit an exceptional vein of form that none of them have repeated since (Scougall, Baxter, Flynn, Howard, Harris etc.). It all just clicked perfectly and confidence and belief soared thanks to the great cup run. There’s also the fact he was working under his favourite manager who knew how to get the best out of him (Billy might suffer a similar dip after having that benefit last season).


All of that said, I still think even in his deteriorated state that he’s one of the better full backs in the division. Compare him to the others we’ve had at this level. Hill, Williams, Harris, McMahon, Westlake, McEveley, K. Wallace, Freeman, LJF etc. In our first season we had Lowton who was better but that’s it. I’d say McMahon and Harris are the standard of the average league 1 full back and Brayford remains significantly better than both.


Freeman has some ability and could come close to Brayford but the key difference is their attitude. Brayford runs through brick walls for the club and repeatedly puts his body on the line (the challenge that saw him suffer that terrible injury being a prime example). He also took a huge pay cut and dropped a division to join us. Just last weekend he put his body on the line again throwing himself into a last ditch aerial challenge to stop Bolton scoring at the expense of injury. He’d also started the game very well going forward but seemed to fade after the injury (I think he may have cracked a rib which makes breathing very difficult and takes the wind out of your sails).


Overall, because of the injury, he’s not worth what we paid for him but he’s a great character and still a relatively good player. Selling him would still weaken us significantly.

 

[1danewhitehouse]

Or carrying forward into the next year?

Having thought about it, I don’t think that can be done. Turnover is reported for the year. 65% can be used. I don’t see it way it can reappear in the next years’ accounts. The idea is that the remaining 35% covers administrative costs so that clubs don’t get themselves in financial bother.

 

[1danewhitehouse]

So, with that little revelation, can someone provide any justification for buying the Desso pitch based upon a needs based analysis? I mean, any self-regarding business wouldn't fuck a million bucks up the wall on other such luxuries, would they. Someone said 'the Desso pitch saves us money'. How, exactly? And, better still, over how long? Would anyone suggest that the million quid could have been better spent - on a fucking brace of centre backs for example? I mean, its not as though we were awash with talent in the centre of the back four, is it? And how many games, in pounds sterling please, did we miss in the last five years which justified it? How many goals did we ship as a result of a makeshift back four pairing of players playing out of position since we sold Maguire?

Try not to obfuscate again please by gilding this steaming turd of a conundrum by coming out with quotes from discredited and sacked 'spokespeople' and other such cack. Answer the questions please. And afterwards, tell me how much gained value the Desso has given over one season in league position.

Next, our overseas development and marketing executive gadgie. How much has he benefitted Sheffield United since his appointment?

pommpey

I’m not sure how you expect other supporters to hold such detailed information? People are merely offering possible explanations as to why we might have reached the decision to invest in a DESSO pitch. I don’t expect anyone on here has all the data to carry out a cost-benefit analysis to show the payback period on a straight line or net present value basis. Nor do I think we can properly measure the opportunity cost given just how bad our value for money has been in terms of player recruitment over the last couple of years. You would certainly hope the club would employ people with the basic accounting knowledge to consider these factors before making such a decision though.


I’ve speculated that SCMP might have prevented us from spending that money on the squad. Others have touched on the potential savings of not having postponed games, potential lowering of maintenance costs, potential for additional revenue by using the pitch for other events (nitro circus) etc. I suspect the overall net cost won’t be much.


I agree with your general frustration of McCabe’s overall running of the club but In the grand scheme of our problems, the decision to invest in a new pitch is a drop in the ocean if it’s a problem at all.

 

[1danewhitehouse]

Nice pitch, nice stands, shit team , 6 years in division one. I am totally baffled as to why Pommpey gets stick for criticising McCabe. He's overseen 6 years of decline and in any other business with shareholders he'd have been sacked years ago. It's his toy so that's not gonna happen here but how can anyone defend his record?

Nobody has suggested he's done it deliberately and he's obviously a very successful property businessman but it just apparent that he's totally incompetent when it comes to running a football club

Agree absolutely. McCabe’s stewardship has been disastrous and he fully deserves a fucktonne of criticism. You won’t find me defending his reign. I just think the DESSO is a bit of a nothing issue in the grand scheme of the catalogue of monumental fuck ups from McCabe and co.

 

[1danewhitehouse]

Again, please don't read this wrong, but I care not one fuck about boxing or tiddlywinks or Stephen Hawking's Breakdancing Extravaganza at Bramall Lane. The money generated by the hard yards of FA Cup near glory should be re-routed into squad strengthening, not facilitating third-party events for select audiences. Why not stick the fight in the Arena?

And as for Clough ... somehow I can't imagine him fronting up to McCabe with his team of misfirers like Doyle asking for a crisp billiard-surface with which to lose games on. I'm sure he'd have wanted a Maguire replacement.

pommpey

But he got a crack at replacing Maguire. He signed McGahey, Butler and McEveley.