Simon Moore

[Weasel]

That's nothing to do with SUFC so entirely worthless, so I've been told...

Most intelligent thing that you've posted on here for....well I was going to say 'a long time', but on reflection I might stretch to 'ever'.

 

[Dkc]

I'm giving you a like for shear effort!!! I'd give u a sticker if I could!

Sheer

 

[Sean Thornton]

bang to rights

Guv'nor

 

[Sean Thornton]

The thing is, CHL, you often say exactly the opposite of what you actually think...

So it's a great article? Balanced and positive?..

He knows people are onto him. Double bluff. Slippery as an eel he is......

 

[Weasel]

If only.....

And I thought you was my friend. How will I live with the realisation that this was all just an illusion. Never mind, I will just have to soldier on without your friendship and guidance in life....sob sob sob.

 

[LJBlade]

The naivety on here is unbelievable, have you not read Wilder comments on more than one player where he's said 'it's gone upstairs' ? What exactly do you think he's referring to ?

I'm sorry I'm all for defending the board when justified but its plain as day this championship investment isn't happening and we've raised an unexpected 6m on top. McCabe doesn't have the financial wherewithal to compete at this level and either the Prince doesn't too or alternatively he won't put more in.

Bearing in mind that all transfers are dealt with 'upstairs' what is it you're actually suggesting?

 

[BigBed]

Sheer

Predictive text

 

[Pinchy]

And I thought you was my friend. How will I live with the realisation that this was all just an illusion. Never mind, I will just have to soldier on without your friendship and guidance in life....sob sob sob.

were.

 

[Weasel]

Guv'nor

Christ you're boring. I bet those long winter night's just fly by in your house.

 

[I should coco]

Never mind, I will just have to soldier on without your friendship and guidance in life....sob sob sob.

Be a brave little soldier then.

To be honest, anyone who looks for guidance from me wants their bumps feeling anyway. I'm another random bloke on the internet cruising for sex, Viagra and dick extensions just like everyone else,

 

[Sean Thornton]

Christ you're boring. I bet those long winter night's just fly by in your house.

Actually I'd go out more but there are people like you around....




Now try to calm down a bit. It's not serious you know.

 

[itsinyerblood]

There's nowt better than tongue used correctly...

Not so sure about mother, though.

There's a side to you I was unaware of.......quite enjoy it though.

 

[Sean Thornton]

Be a brave little soldier then.

To be honest, anyone who looks for guidance from me wants their bumps feeling anyway. I'm another random bloke on the internet cruising for sex, Viagra and dick extensions just like everyone else,

I gave him advice. Got upset. You just can't win.

 

[coolhandluke]

The thing is, CHL, you often say exactly the opposite of what you actually think...

So it's a great article? Balanced and positive?..

I do like to keep folk on their toes pinchy but when I'm confronted by a load of bollox my true colours come shining through .

 

[BushBlade]

Some interesting stuff on viewfromthejohnstreet.

• Are you happy to accept the coming season as a period of consolidation – in other words making up the numbers – with a view to building a serious promotion challenge at a later date?
  
• Do you think the title-winning squad of last season is good enough to win promotion to the Premier League?
  
• Do the five additions to date plus the imminent arrival of Oxford United midfielder John Lundstram as reported on this site earlier this week, bring the prospect of promotion significantly nearer?
  
• Do you think investment being made in a squad about to launch into the Championship is ‘game-changing’ as has been promised?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DIRECTION of travel at Bramall Lane is unquestionable. So too the credentials of the man in the driving seat. Nonetheless with two weeks remaining before Sheffield United make a long-awaited return to the Championship a degree of puzzlement exists.

Rarely in my 47 years of watching the Blades has there been such a feel-good factor. Richly deserved. But after all the triumphalism of promotion and the title-winning party that endured long after the season ended, a new reality is beginning to creep under the radar.

It may well change between now and the summer transfer deadline on August 31, but from where United are to date, why else would they be so close to beginning the new campaign armed with only one player in the entire squad possessing current Championship experience. Recent arrival from Fulham Richard Stearman, a 29-year-old defender who spent last season on loan at Wolves.

A jaw-dropping stat. At face value it demonstrates an incredible amount of faith from manager Chris Wilder in the players who accrued a club-record 100 points and 92 goals on way to claiming the League One title. There is every reason to believe that same group can hold their own at the next level. But, unless you are willing to settle for the likelihood of being an also-ran, which we all know is not in manager Chris Wilder’s psyche, the gulf to be bridged between the top of the third tier and the higher echelon of the Championship is enormous.

If you accept this as an accurate portrayal we have to look elsewhere and ask the question: what is the scale of ambition of the club’s co-owners for the new season?

If any human is capable of walking unaided along the River Don it is Wilder. But are Kevin McCabe and Prince Abdullah bin Mosaad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud gambling on yet another miracle from the man who won the League Two title at financially challenged Northampton Town. A club which on its way to promotion in 2015-16 for a time couldn’t even pay the wages. He followed that by transforming his beloved Blades on and off the pitch inside 12 incredible months. This is not an attempted criticism of the owners, it’s a legitimate enquiry which deserves an honest answer.

DIFFERENT BEAST

Most newly-promoted club’s from any tier first and foremost seek consolidation. For some in the Championship just staying there is realistically the height of ambition. With all due respect, Brentford, Millwall and Preston North End fit this category. Burton Albion, whose only goal can ever be survival, are punching well above their weight. It’s stating the obvious but Sheffield United Football Club is a very different beast.

Nevertheless if come next May the Blades secure a top half finish but fall short of the play-offs it’s safe to assume that for most fans it will be regarded as a good effort and something to build on having emerged from six years of League One blinking into the sunlight.

If that is also the case for Kevin McCabe and his partner Prince Abdullah bin Mosaad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud it would explain a great deal about the current approach to life in the Championship. A suck-it-and-see policy handed down from the top and reasonably safe from public criticism.

Basically a season of financial prudence, recruiting from the lower leagues in the assured knowledge that boss Wilder will squeeze the maximum out of whatever is available to him. The universal appreciation he has earned among supporters inadvertently makes him great PR for McCabe and Prince Abdullah too, pictured below with the squad during their pre-season camp in Spain, effectively holding any criticism or frustration at bay if all doesn’t go to plan and the team struggles.

Have the owners been swayed by the Huddersfield model into making a calculated gamble? The Terriers are about to start life in the Premier League having got there on a budget less than that of Rotherham United’s who were relegated to League One. Not only that but Huddersfield did it with a minus goal difference and scoring only one goal in open play during any of their three play-off matches.

Is this a season to be sacrificed on the off chance of hitting the jackpot without having raised the stakes? If Wilder can perform another miracle, then great. If not then maybe then will be the time to bite the bullet and release significant funds to acquire proven, quality players to help ensure a serious assault on the top flight.

Worst case scenario for United’s huge and loyal fanbase is that the owners have decided that the cost of seeking promotion, let alone the magnitude of gaining it, is too financially risk averse, hence the recent revelation that they are searching for new investors. There are noises coming from China where McCabe has major business interests and connections which have helped secure £1billion of planned development projects to Sheffield over the next 60 years. The Hualing Group, a United sponsor, are involved in several development projects in Manchester, Leeds and a digitial campus in Sheffield which also involves McCabe's Scarborough Group.

Football is now very much a business first and a sport second. If that is truly the financial position and neither McCabe nor Prince Abdullah are willing or able to move the club on to a new competitive footing, it won’t be what Unitedites want to hear but it would make undeniably good sense to maintain the line and wait for further funds.

MYSTERY

That is, of course, if the input of the Saudi Prince who bought 50 per cent of United for £1 in 2013 and was described at the time by McCabe as a “game-changer” didn’t remain shrouded in mystery.

In an interview with BBC Radio Sheffield in February 2016 McCabe acknowledged that whilst his partner was providing support – he quoted a total of £15m at that time whilst then co-chairman Jim Phipps in a separate interview said it was £13m – the ‘game-changing’ aspect of the Prince’s involvement would not materialise until United reached the Championship.

Well they have now and judging from the club’s acquisitions, Stearman apart, it is hardly game-changing. In fact at first glance it is hugely disappointing.

Of the remaining four summer recruits so far only Ched Evans and Enda Stevens have played in the Championship, last kicking a ball there five and three years ago respectively. A sixth, as reported earlier this week on this site, Oxford United captain and midfielder, John Lundstram is set to join them.

Again the 23-year-old has spent most of his career in the lower two leagues. He has limited Championship experience, but compared to the other arrivals looks a positive veteran. The last of which was his 17th appearance at Blackpool in November 2014, one of six loan deals from Everton before finding a permanent home at the Kassam Stadium, then in League Two. Prior to his spell at Bloomfield Road, he also had 14 Championship outings with Yeovil.

Stevens spent his last couple of seasons with Portsmouth in League Two. His only Championship experience (12 appearances) was on loan to Doncaster from League Two Northampton in 2013-14. Much is made of Stevens’ Premier League background. In truth he made just seven appearances for Aston Villa in the top flight five seasons ago. From Premier League to the basement of the English Football League, it has to be surmised his career path found its natural level.

George Baldock, a 24-year-old winger from League One MK Dons, has 17 Championship appearances to his name after being recalled from his fifth loan spell by MK Dons in their relegation year two seasons ago. He has spent his career in the lower leagues. Nathan Thomas, no Championship experience, a winger, was part of the Hartlepool team which lost League status and are set to start life in the Vanarama National League.

All are promising players from the levels they have came from. Thomas, for example, still managed to score nine goals in a desperately poor team and Stevens is a defender with potential who has attracted admiring glances for some time. They are accomplished lower league triers with much to prove on a bigger stage, the type of players United’s boss likes to develop. But surely not core additions which are going to turn the Blades into a team challenging at the top end of the Championship.

CONTRACTS

Evans, of course, is an entirely different proposition. He scored 35 goals for the Blades in his last season before being found guilty of rape and jailed, a conviction that has since been quashed by the Court of Appeal. A retrial found Evans innocent. The former Wales International, who was out of the game for four years and is now 28, may well prove to be a key signing if he can overcome injury and fitness issues which hampered the resumption of his stalled career at Chesterfield last term. Then again he may not. In short his return to Bramall Lane is a gamble worth taking but no more than that.

News this week that club captain Billy Sharp, Paul Coutts and Chris Basham have signed two-year contracts and Kieron Freeman has accepted a three-year deal – what a turnaround his career has had under Wilder – was hardly a surprise. But imagine how fragile it would look if they weren’t there. The heart of the team would be missing and survival would more likely be the name of the game.

Then there is the £4.5m windfall United will receive as their share of ex-Blade Kyle Walker’s, pictured, £45m transfer from Tottenham to Manchester City. It could rise to £50m-plus with add-ons, Wilder has already made public that he hopes a portion of the cash will be made available to him. But given the model United currently operate the type of players most likely to make an impact command wages which would upset the Blades’ pay structure. So the current model itself is prohibitive to stepping up the gears.

Keeping the club on a sustainable financial footing is, of course, paramount. If you don’t have a solid foundation the building will crumble. Which puts United at a crossroads. The Championship has changed beyond recognition since they were last there in 2011. What Huddersfield achieved last season was a probably never to be repeated exception to the rule that if you want to play with the big boys you have to be prepared to pay for it.

So what about those four questions.

• Are you happy to accept the coming season as a period of consolidation – in other words making up the numbers – with a view to building a serious promotion challenge at a later date? Speaking personally, no but I’m fairly confident it will be a popular view providing obvious signs of progress are there.
• Do you think the title-winning squad of last season is good enough to win promotion to the Premier League? I would suggest the common sense answer, unless you view United through rose-tinted spectacles, is no.
• Do the five additions (and a sixth, John Lanstrum is imminent) bring the prospect of promotion significantly nearer? Again, I would think not.
• Do you think investment being made in a team about to launch into the Championship is ‘game-changing’ as has been promised? We all surely know the answer to that one.

If United have learnt anything from the last six years it is surely treading water, albeit unintentionally, is not a good strategy. The increased riches on offer in the Premier League only make it significantly more difficult year-on-year to win a ticket to the show in the first place.

Relegated clubs arrive to the Championship with huge overheads but, initially at least, huge advantages as well. As the years pass it is becoming increasingly populated with them. If Huddersfield finish bottom of the pile next season, they will be between £170m-£185m richer for the experience. Should they remain in the Premier League for another term those earnings will rise to a minimum £290m. This is Huddersfield Town we are talking about. The divide between the haves and the relative have-nots is beginning to mirror what happened in the Premier League.

Then, of course, there is the sideshow of being in the same division as the noisy neighbours. Should Sheffield Wednesday be challenging in the top half of the table and the Blades are not, perish the thought, it will be a constant thorn in the club’s side and alter the perception of many supporters who are currently fully onboard.

MOMENTUM

United, riding the crest of a wave and increased season ticket sales which will guarantee average attendances of up to 25,000, have been building steady momentum. They need to capitalise on that and strike while the iron is hot. This isn’t the moment for faint hearts or eternal optimisim. There are six weeks left in the transfer window. Still time to change tack and try to give the Blades and Chris Wilder the fighting chance they deserve.

It all boils down to ambition and what you want from your football club. A top half Championship side, occasionally enjoying a good cup run – that is for the most part the Sheffield United I have known and loved since the beginning of the 1970s – or something more? If it is the latter then there is no point in waiting if you have the means.

The first option provides the nearest guarantee of fiscal sustainability given United’s large and loyal fanbase; the latter is a great deal more risky.

It is said fortune favours the brave. It can even be a game-changer if you'll pardon the pun. Kevin McCabe has made many mistakes over the years but he has also kept United's head above water during difficult times and built an infrastructure he can be proud of. He must surely be having doubts about the partner who paid him a quid for a 50 per cent share of the club but in the absence of available evidence is not delivering what was expected.

Until the sought-after additional investment arrives, maybe we’ve had all the answers.

Like much of comment on football from supporters, it's starts with 'what do I want to happen?' and then one constructs an argument to support why it should happen. The main thrust of the article is 'I want us to invest loads of money so that we're immediately challenging for promotion'. Yes, that would be nice but it's not very likely.

There was a lot about what we should do - spend loads of money, and a rough financial argument as to why - if we go up we'll be rich but very little consideration of how much we'd need to invest and what would happen if we don't go up. Talk of new investors or owners without considering that some owners are good and some are a fucking catastrophe.

This particularly annoyed me 'This isn’t the moment for faint hearts or eternal optimisim.' again, just completely failing to understand where we are right now, just a meaningless slogan. Almost as the comment about JOC, Coutts etc signing new contracts and saying 'but where would we be without them'. True, if half our first team get injured we might be in a bit of bother, like most clubs.

There's some good points in there but it's quite agenda-driven and just what I expected when I was reading the comments at the end of last season about back to back promotions coz Bassett did it. And again, another one saying the extent of Brentford's ambition is to stay in the championship. No it fucking isn't.

 

[Weasel]

Actually I'd go out more but there are people like you around...

Now try to calm down a bit. It's not serious you know.

Well I suppose it's for the best. I dont suppose the landlord would be too pleased with you, as you would only send half the tap room to sleep.

'Calm down'...??? Yes, my heart beat almost went up by 1 beat a minute. Mind you, i did put it down to the effort of stifling a yawn as I read one of your posts.

 

[Kenilworth]

Imagine my dismay at opening this thread only to find that it has nothing remotely to do with any updates or news of a potentially serious injury, sustained during a pre season friendly at out neighbours New York stadium, to our main goalkeeping asset.

 

[Boxer Blade]

If the signing of Ripley and lundstrum are announced in the next 10 minutes the mood on here will go through the roof and some will be suggesting top 6 with a chance of automatic and the club know what they are doing, if not, it's the fuckin boards fault for not getting on with it and I can see us struggling this season, where's the balance? Calm down, until the window closes at least.

 

[Bartleby]

Imagine my dismay at opening this thread only to find that it has nothing remotely to do with any updates or news of a potentially serious injury, sustained during a pre season friendly at out neighbours New York stadium, to our main goalkeeping asset.

Think I saw someone on shoutbox yesterday saying multiple ligaments torn and an op needed but nowt of much help on this thread of late I agree.

 

[Slim Man]

Am I the only one not actually that alarmed by Moore's injury?

He's a good keeper and very vocal but he's unproven in the championship still. We were always going to sign a backup keeper but this injury means it has to be a first teamer (competition) rather than just backup.

 

[Booker4]

Like much of comment on football from supporters, it's starts with 'what do I want to happen?' and then one constructs an argument to support why it should happen. The main thrust of the article is 'I want us to invest loads of money so that we're immediately challenging for promotion'. Yes, that would be nice but it's not very likely.

There was a lot about what we should do - spend loads of money, and a rough financial argument as to why - if we go up we'll be rich but very little consideration of how much we'd need to invest and what would happen if we don't go up. Talk of new investors or owners without considering that some owners are good and some are a fucking catastrophe.

This particularly annoyed me 'This isn’t the moment for faint hearts or eternal optimisim.' again, just completely failing to understand where we are right now, just a meaningless slogan. Almost as the comment about JOC, Coutts etc signing new contracts and saying 'but where would we be without them'. True, if half our first team get injured we might be in a bit of bother, like most clubs.

There's some good points in there but it's quite agenda-driven and just what I expected when I was reading the comments at the end of last season about back to back promotions coz Bassett did it. And again, another one saying the extent of Brentford's ambition is to stay in the championship. No it fucking isn't.

I haven't read the article as its long but I do like the stuff from View from the John Street. However, they're totally wrong about the lack of Championship experience in the team. They state:

"be so close to beginning the new campaign armed with only one player in the entire squad possessing current Championship experience"

Are they forgetting Billy, Paul Coutts, Leon Clarke for starters who have played there for more than 3 seasons minimum? Then there's also Baldock and Samir Carrurthers who played for MK in the championship, albeit they were relegated. JOC, Lafferty, Moore, Freeman, Lavery, and Fleck have also played Championship football but not as much as the first three. So I think experience wise we'll be fine at this level.

Back to Moore and I hope we find out today about his injury. Hopefully it'll be days/weeks not months.

 

[Bartleby]

Am I the only one not actually that alarmed by Moore's injury?

He's a good keeper and very vocal but he's unproven in the championship still. We were always going to sign a backup keeper but this injury means it has to be a first teamer (competition) rather than just backup.

I am slightly concerned for sure. Two weeks to the Brentford game, if we don't get manage to get this other keeper in we are very vulnerable IMO.

 

[Slim Man]

I am slightly concerned for sure. Two weeks to the Brentford game, if we don't get manager this other keeper in we are very vulnerable IMO.

We will, it's a must. Don't worry about it - I know we've been very slow with most deals this summer but this is an absolute must, it'll be sorted before Brentford.

 

[Bartleby]

We will, it's a must. Don't worry about it - I know we've been very slow with most deals this summer but this is an absolute must, it'll be sorted before Brentford.

That's a relief then

 

[Bartleby]

I haven't read the article as its long but I do like the stuff from View from the John Street. However, they're totally wrong about the lack of Championship experience in the team. They state:

"be so close to beginning the new campaign armed with only one player in the entire squad possessing current Championship experience"

Are they forgetting Billy, Paul Coutts, Leon Clarke for starters who have played there for more than 3 seasons minimum? Then there's also Baldock and Samir Carrurthers who played for MK in the championship, albeit they were relegated. JOC, Lafferty, Moore, Freeman, Lavery, and Fleck have also played Championship football but not as much as the first three. So I think experience wise we'll be fine at this level.

Back to Moore and I hope we find out today about his injury. Hopefully it'll be days/weeks not months.

No they aren't forgetting those players but are talking about current (by which I think they mean very recent) experience.

 

[Slim Man]

That's a relief then

Don't let fings werry thi

 

[The Crab]

Unlike the "no idea if this is true but I'm going to proceed as though it is" approach. Exactly as it was when some clown said Billy Sharp was about to take his shoes off in the Shirecliffe Car Park.

Some people start with an "if" before effortlessly turning it into an 'is' then launching immediately into a fierce, though completely ignorant, attack on the club they claim to support. It happens every time and it's the same old faces...

Is the penny pinching that bad that they're having to get changed in the car park now? They'll be charging them subs next

 

[BushBlade]

No they aren't forgetting those players but are talking about current (by which I think they mean very recent) experience.

I've been listening to TS earlier going on about those cheating cockney wankers and whilst there's been some criticism of Hernadez, their latest signing, I didn't hear anyone saying he 'didn't have current premier league experience'.

 

[Worksop II]

We are probably going for the same plan as last Season .... give everyone a 4 game start ......

 

[Sean Thornton]

Well I suppose it's for the best. I dont suppose the landlord would be too pleased with you, as you would only send half the tap room to sleep.

'Calm down'...??? Yes, my heart beat almost went up by 1 beat a minute. Mind you, i did put it down to the effort of stifling a yawn as I read one of your posts.

Whereas your scintillating prose no doubt has them rocking in the aisles at your local hostelry, The Smug Critic? .

Your ( ) "boring" posts are actually quite, err, boring, you do realise that? However it does show that you are a two trick pony rather than one, here's me thinking the only interest you had was knocking McCabe whilst all the time you also feel superior to others.

We could carry on but there's some paint drying that needs watching so I'll leave you to it, Watch that heart rate, this sort of excitement seems to be a bit much for you.