[Poll] Expectations following the transfer window

[Bookers Mullet]

I plumped for 10th, we have a balanced squad and cover in most positions, but we lack a game changer and a true leader, and i think that will make a big difference in tight games.

If and its a big if given how tight the purse strings are, we can sign two players in Jan that fill those roles i think we'll make the play-offs

 

[Ricky]

we lack a game changer and a true leader

That's a very good way to put it.

No real leader in a key central position, and no stand out go to spark like Jamie Murphy, not even too many game changing subs now DCL, Adams and McNulty have gone.

 

[zablade]

Gone for 12th. And that would be at the very top end estimate looking at how we have played so far.

A September as rotten as August and I may have to downgrade that estimate.

 

[zablade]

8th - Just outside the play offs this season, build on it next year

Problem with the "building argument" is that say Wilder does turn results around and we finish a creditable 8th or so, and a couple of the signing's like Fleck and Lavery have good seasons in achieving that, do you honestly think they would still be here next season to "build" on it?

I know what I think.

 

[Grappler]

Can we have a "no idea" option?

 

[SwissBlade]

Problem with the "building argument" is that say Wilder does turn results around and we finish a creditable 8th or so, and a couple of the signing's like Fleck and Lavery have good seasons in achieving that, do you honestly think they would still be here next season to "build" on it?

I know what I think.

I guess it comes down to what we talked about with Barney on the Money in v Money out thread.

You'd like to think that we are in a better position now that Wilder is able to keep his squad together. I think whilst we're in League 1 we will always look to sales as a means to subsidise the stay. However, this has to be something which is done so that it is not detrimental to the current 1st team.

For example, selling DCL and Che probably won't be at a detriment to the first team as they looked like fringe players, Brayford, despite being out of form, was a first team regular, so it is a loss...unless you have a ready made replacement. Freeman is that man.

However, if we lost players like Fleck or Lavery after (hopefully) good seasons, then its a different matter and unless it allows Wilder to buy other rough diamonds to take us forward, then its not worth it.

I'd hope that if we were in that position next season, being in a 'healthier position' due to reduced outgoings, then we should be able to keep the squad together. Wilder should be able to do what Warnock did with Jags and give it one more season.

That's all theoretical bollocks though, we'll sell our grandma!

 

[Ricky]

Just looked back at Barney's pre season league position predictions thread, and the average is 3.72....nd
http://www.s24su.com/forum/index.php?threads/16-17-season-finish-predictions.48085/

If you want to factor in those predictions, then the combined average with the expectations in this thread (on the last count) is 5.5.

However, 'prediction' does imply something a bit different to the 'expectation' that I've emphasised for this thread. It suggests more of a punt, with a bit more scope for hopefulness. Many of those predictions will have been based on transfer activity that didn't happen. In addition to that, pre season is typically the time when there's most blind optimism around.

But while now is surely a much fairer time to record expectation level following the end of the transfer window and the start to the season, I do think pre season expectations should be factored in, albeit not equally. Although I do think the current combined average of 5.5 is a reasonable expectation.

 

[blade67]

I do wonder where the goals will come from - at best our strikers should get 35-40.

Where do folk think the other 40 goals will come from?

*aimed at those who said top 6

top 6 last season scored 68 goals on average from 82 to 55. Two of the top 6 scored less than 60.

Our current squad scored 68 goals last season - add in a couple of own goals and you probably have enough fire power to make the play offs. To challenge for the top 2 means someone's going to have to become the next Michael Brown (Coutts?)

 

[Punk Blade]

17th. Not quite involved in a relegation scrap, nowhere near the top half. Out in the first round of each cup. Most boring season possible.

 

[blade67]

What this thread has taught me is that we have a lot of fans who will go on blind faith and absolutely nothing else.

I'm not sure you need blind faith to "expect" top 6 from this squad.

Last season we were terrible from start to finish and yet with 43 games gone we had 65 points and were 4 points behind Barnsley who went up.

Can this squad do better than last year? I really don't see why not.

 

[Harry's Game]

My prediction at the start of the season was anywhere between 5th and 10th.

After the mournful start I've gone to the bottom end of that spread and am now saying 10th. I am still sure we have enough to avoid being caught up in a relegation scrap..

...haven't we?

 

[alcoblade]

That's a very good way to put it.

No real leader in a key central position, and no stand out go to spark like Jamie Murphy, not even too many game changing subs now DCL, Adams and McNulty have gone.

Isn't Fleck a leader at all? I get the feeling he's been written off too quickly.

And however hard people try to be distraught about it, DCL has only ever changed the game one way - replacing someone more likely to score than himself.

UTB

 

[larkymasher]

I have gone for 8th.

Just too many new players to gel, No fixed system of play yet, not a cat in hells chance that every new player signed will work out. ( Hussey )

 

[alcoblade]

I have gone for 8th.

Just too many new players to gel, No fixed system of play yet, not a cat in hells chance that every new player signed will work out. ( Hussey )

Not a Cat on Hell's chance Hussey will work out? 4 games, and that? Wow.

UTB

 

[JordoBlade]

Funny how anyone has even voted 24th. I'd just like to take this time out to say hello to our resident grunters who are clearly so obsessed with the blades they register to a blades forum. Hope you wipe your trotters before entering piggy b@stards.

 

[larkymasher]

Not a Cat on Hell's chance Hussey will work out? 4 games, and that? Wow.

UTB[/QUOTE

Yep i agree, my worry is that he will not be the only one...... thats for sure

 

[Ricky]

Isn't Fleck a leader at all? I get the feeling he's been written off too quickly.

And however hard people try to be distraught about it, DCL has only ever changed the game one way - replacing someone more likely to score than himself.

UTB

DCL barely got given the chance to change any games.

If he was as shit as some people think he is then it's a real mystery why PL clubs wanted him, and one signed him.

He could well have made a good contribution for us this season.

 

[The Bohemian]

I have gone for 8th.

Just too many new players to gel, No fixed system of play yet, not a cat in hells chance that every new player signed will work out. ( Hussey )

Don't most teams have new players needing to gel? Look at Wigan last season, with only 5 regulars retained from the previous season.

Wilder strikes me as a quick learner and he knows we don't have the personnel for 4-4-2, so he'll stick with his preferred 4-2-3-1, as used at Northampton, in pre-season and last week against Oxford.

You're right, there's "not a cat in hells chance that every new player will work out" - it would be close to miraculous if they did. Especially, when you've signed as many as Wilder. But they don't need to. We just need 11 that are consistently better than 22 of the rest of League One.

 

[alcoblade]

DCL barely got given the chance to change any games.

If he was as shit as some people think he is then it's a real mystery why PL clubs wanted him, and one signed him.

He could well have made a good contribution for us this season.

You're just guessing though. I'm talking about what we actually witnessed.

Your rating of DCL is inversely propotional tto the money we've spent. If you'd been happy with other deals, you would not not be rating him in this way.

UTB

 

[Ricky]

You're just guessing though. I'm talking about what we actually witnessed.

Your rating of DCL is inversely propotional tto the money we've spent. If you'd been happy with other deals, you would not not be rating him in this way.

UTB

And how do you know that, exactly? You're the one guessing there, and you're wrong.

If you looked back through my posts you'd see that I've made it very clear what I think about DCL and his potential on a number of occasions.

 

[northsomersetblade]

Champions.

We are the famous Sheff united and (fill in here). See the first line again though

 

[alcoblade]

And how do you know that, exactly? You're the one guessing there, and you're wrong.

If you looked back through my posts you'd see that I've made it very clear what I think about DCL and his potential on a number of occasions.

You are guessing about how good he might become, because there's almost universal exceptance that he was utterly shite in every appearance he actually made for us.

That's why he didn't get a chance, simple as that. In the words of Pinchy , give'emarun, give'mallarun!



UTB

 

[Ricky]

You are guessing about how good he might become, because there's almost universal exceptance that he was utterly shite in every appearance he actually made for us.

That's why he didn't get a chance, simple as that. In the words of Pinchy , give'emarun, give'mallarun!



UTB

'Almost universal acceptance' doesn't mean it must be the case. Utterly shite is an exaggeration. I'm sure those who went to Grimsby would describe his performance very differently.

He only made short appearances for us, and while he didn't play well in most of those, he showed enough within those cameos to suggest he has something about him and good potential. Obviously the scouts agreed. He wouldn't have even been in our squad if he didn't have something to offer.

And then there's his good loan spell at Northampton. And his consistently impressive performances in academy football - where anyone who regularly watched him speaks very highly of him.

 

[nopigfansintown]

Wilder has stressed the club having protected itself because of the potential development of DCL. If the player had little potential according to the club/manager why didn't we just negotiate a slightly higher fee - say 50k more for the removal of all clauses?. A bird in the hand...

 

[alcoblade]

'Almost universal acceptance' doesn't mean it must be the case. Utterly shite is an exaggeration. I'm sure those who went to Grimsby would describe his performance very differently.

He only made short appearances for us, and while he didn't play well in most of those, he showed enough within those cameos to suggest he has something about him and good potential. Obviously the scouts agreed. He wouldn't have even been in our squad if he didn't have something to offer.

And then there's his good loan spell at Northampton. And his consistently impressive performances in academy football - where anyone who regularly watched him speaks very highly of him.

I'm not questioning whether he's got a bright future in front of him. I have no real opinion in that, though I wish him well as by all accounts he's a model professional.

I wholly reject that he was going to be a significant player for us at this stage of his career, and given our current plight we can't look much further forward than that. We have far better options up front.

UTB

 

[nopigfansintown]

I'm not questioning whether he's got a bright future in front of him. I have no real opinion in that, though I wish him well as by all accounts he's a model professional.

I wholly reject that he was going to be a significant player for us at this stage of his career, and given our current plight we can't look much further forward than that. We have far better options up front.

UTB

I'd agree with that, but only because we already have significant options up front at this level(strongest area of our team imo). I think there's other league one clubs who'd have in the first team even at this stage. If we hadn't got Lavery, I'd have had him competing with Done to partner Sharp or Clarke. With the second choice coming of the bench. The quandary for the club is: have we sold him at his cheapest valuation(Walker) or highest(Slew)?

 

[blade67]

'Almost universal acceptance' doesn't mean it must be the case. Utterly shite is an exaggeration. I'm sure those who went to Grimsby would describe his performance very differently.

He only made short appearances for us, and while he didn't play well in most of those, he showed enough within those cameos to suggest he has something about him and good potential. Obviously the scouts agreed. He wouldn't have even been in our squad if he didn't have something to offer.

And then there's his good loan spell at Northampton. And his consistently impressive performances in academy football - where anyone who regularly watched him speaks very highly of him.

I think DCL will be a successful professional footballer. He's got good technique, a great attitude, is physically very fit (albeit still adapting to being 4 inches taller than 18 months ago) and has a good scoring record at every level (except our first team)

He'll be back in league 1 on loan from January to get further experience and we'd be daft not to make an offer.

I do think this deal was a win win win deal though. He'd have been 4th choice for us at the moment, Everton get a prospect for next to nothing in their terms and the player gets premier league academy coaching and a load of dosh

 

[CarlMcBlade]

To reiterate, head over heart, and serious votes only please. Let's try and establish the genuine expectations. Votes can be changed.


And I know we can't judge all the new signings properly yet but we can see what we haven't got, such as an experienced leader at CB and a central midfielder, and I think we can still reach reasonable conclusions about most of the new signings.

My genuine expectations will always be 1st. There is no team with parachute payments this year and the club's that came down do have their own problems. So on the face of it the league is(was) ours for the taking.

 

[Lower Drop Blade]

I tried to be optimistic and went for 10th but realistically think bouncing around the bottom 3rd of the league will be our bag this season. The spine of the team is wholly inadequate to be challenging top 6.

 

[Ricky]

Average is around 7.5 before the Gillingham game. About 250 votes now.