Running out of drool...

[Nicolaus_Copernicus]

Unlucky? Really?? My intention wasn’t to set up a negative thread, quite the opposite, but there’s no revisionism from me. A manager’s job is basically to sign good players and win football matches. He signed shit players and lost crucial games at crucial times. The reason the wins became more and more crucial as the season went on was because he played the most negative and dreadful system away from home and kept playing it all season when it patently wasn’t working. He took his autograph book rather than his playbook to games and was a tactical dinosaur. I will concede that his ineptitude and capabilities are put into sharper focus by Wider’s genius but that was my point of the original post. Warnock’s legacy was years in the wilderness for the Blades. Wilder’s legacy is already looking like a building team that can not only survive a relegation but one that will remain a strong contender to bounce straight back if it does. That’s class and needs to be recognised against past experience.

I must admit, I disagree with nearly all of that.

 

[Jason jacobs]

I don't think Warnock was shit at all. His signings were bad. But, were very unlucky to go down in the Prem. Even the West Ham thing aside, a fair number of the games we lost could have gone our way if we got the decision or the opponent didn't get dodgy penalties.

He did a good job, he was very unlucky. But, his signings were poor. When Hulse got injured, none of the strikers he signed could step up to replace him.

Anybody remember Blackburn away,Blackburn scoring late with 2 players offside

 

[Bladeulike]

I must admit, I disagree with nearly all of that.

We amassed the huge total of 8 goals away from home all season and we lost 14 of our away games. Warnock couldn’t/wouldn’t change the away set up. That’s why we went down.

 

[ShockingBadBuy]

Anybody remember Blackburn away,Blackburn scoring late with 2 players offside

... with Warnock playing such a defensive side that we lined up with Del Geary left midfield.

 

[Nicolaus_Copernicus]

We amassed the huge total of 8 goals away from home all season and we lost 14 of our away games. Warnock couldn’t/wouldn’t change the away set up. That’s why we went down.

Although I think his away set up and player acquisition was overall sub standard that season, he near enough played the cards at his disposal to perfection. If you disregard the Tevez issue, we were the recipients of some absolutely awful refereeing decisions (similar to Cardiff last season) and 'bad luck', and yet we still went down on goal difference. We weren't on the receiving end of the kind of scorelines we'll potentially be on this season, and on paper we had a far inferior group of players than we currently do.

To blame NW for the circus after his departure is grossly unfair. It wasn't his legacy. Our promotion the previous season, should've been capitalised upon and used as the basis for a Stoke/Burnley like period of premier league longevity, It wasn't and it was squandered, by KM. At the same time as we were arsing about post relegation in gradual decline, the talentless, tactically naive clown that is NW got Palace to the place offs, got QPR promoted, saved Rotherham from certain relegation and got Cardiff promoted. He managed to make Cardiff competitive last season despite not having an out & out forward and the worst squad in the league by some way.

I'm grateful for the work that CWAK have done, and hope that it long continues, but before we suck them off too much, lets wait to see what we do against markedly better opposition week in/week out, having spent an amount of money approaching a level more than the club has ever spent its existence in totality before their tenure, before we belittle NW's achievements in the 06/07 season.

 

[Hillsboro Blade]

Unlucky? Really?? My intention wasn’t to set up a negative thread, quite the opposite, but there’s no revisionism from me. A manager’s job is basically to sign good players and win football matches. He signed shit players and lost crucial games at crucial times. The reason the wins became more and more crucial as the season went on was because he played the most negative and dreadful system away from home and kept playing it all season when it patently wasn’t working. He took his autograph book rather than his playbook to games and was a tactical dinosaur. I will concede that his ineptitude and capabilities are put into sharper focus by Wider’s genius but that was my point of the original post. Warnock’s legacy was years in the wilderness for the Blades. Wilder’s legacy is already looking like a building team that can not only survive a relegation but one that will remain a strong contender to bounce straight back if it does. That’s class and needs to be recognised against past experience.

A really spot on post. Warnock really boiled my piss that season with his away tactics. We will lose away matches under Wilder but he will have a go at the opposition. Getting a few points by having a go away from home may make all the difference, a fact I feel was way lost on Warnock.

 

[CarlMcBlade]

This is going to be our strongest team for....... how long?

My lifetime.............I’m 52

 

[orlandoblade]

interesting your comparison on the forwards.

Colin went with predominantly Hulse along with Weber, , Kazim, Nade etc. ….I.e one main name Hulse and a lesser partner alongside. one big lad and a speedster next to him

Compared to Tufty who now had 5 very capable forwards of differing sizes and abilities, and a multitude of combinations to pair them together in 2's . You could argue any 2 of that 5 would work on any given day. In other words we are not so reliant as we were on Rob Hulse and you correctly stat the injury at Chelsea changed everything.

if one of those 5 get a seaon ending injury it wont kill the campaign the way the Hulse thing did. Indeed a much stronger outlook for us this time around

 

[Bladeulike]

Although I think his away set up and player acquisition was overall sub standard that season, he near enough played the cards at his disposal to perfection. If you disregard the Tevez issue, we were the recipients of some absolutely awful refereeing decisions (similar to Cardiff last season) and 'bad luck', and yet we still went down on goal difference. We weren't on the receiving end of the kind of scorelines we'll potentially be on this season, and on paper we had a far inferior group of players than we currently do.

To blame NW for the circus after his departure is grossly unfair. It wasn't his legacy. Our promotion the previous season, should've been capitalised upon and used as the basis for a Stoke/Burnley like period of premier league longevity, It wasn't and it was squandered, by KM. At the same time as we were arsing about post relegation in gradual decline, the talentless, tactically naive clown that is NW got Palace to the place offs, got QPR promoted, saved Rotherham from certain relegation and got Cardiff promoted. He managed to make Cardiff competitive last season despite not having an out & out forward and the worst squad in the league by some way.

I'm grateful for the work that CWAK have done, and hope that it long continues, but before we suck them off too much, lets wait to see what we do against markedly better opposition week in/week out, having spent an amount of money approaching a level more than the club has ever spent its existence in totality before their tenure, before we belittle NW's achievements in the 06/07 season.

Although I think his away set up and player acquisition was overall sub standard that season, he near enough played the cards at his disposal to perfection. If you disregard the Tevez issue, we were the recipients of some absolutely awful refereeing decisions (similar to Cardiff last season) and 'bad luck', and yet we still went down on goal difference. We weren't on the receiving end of the kind of scorelines we'll potentially be on this season, and on paper we had a far inferior group of players than we currently do.

To blame NW for the circus after his departure is grossly unfair. It wasn't his legacy. Our promotion the previous season, should've been capitalised upon and used as the basis for a Stoke/Burnley like period of premier league longevity, It wasn't and it was squandered, by KM. At the same time as we were arsing about post relegation in gradual decline, the talentless, tactically naive clown that is NW got Palace to the place offs, got QPR promoted, saved Rotherham from certain relegation and got Cardiff promoted. He managed to make Cardiff competitive last season despite not having an out & out forward and the worst squad in the league by some way.

I'm grateful for the work that CWAK have done, and hope that it long continues, but before we suck them off too much, lets wait to see what we do against markedly better opposition week in/week out, having spent an amount of money approaching a level more than the club has ever spent its existence in totality before their tenure, before we belittle NW's achievements in the 06/07 season.

I think to say he played it ‘to perfection’ is overstating it a tad. His blood and thunder approach got us some good points against the likes of Arsenal and Newcastle but at the end of the day he was a one trick pony in a league packed with thoroughbreds. His away policy was nothing short of shambolic and it cost us dearly, Yes he has been able to continue to produce gritty teams and Championship promotions and credit to him for that. But we were a Premiership team in 2006 and we had a manager who simply couldn’t adapt. NW demonstrated brilliantly the adage about the definition of insanity as being “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result”

I do partially blame NW for the legacy of the season following relegation. His teacup throwing style works over a short period but it’s an egocentric approach and unsustainable. It creates a dependency rather than an empowerment culture. Compare and contrast with the much more subtle approach from CWAK where there is criticism where it’s warranted but a flexible system and a strategy that engenders belief from players in their own abilities rather than the cult of charisma that Warnock peddles. I am in no doubt that Chris Wilder is 100% Blade and building foundations for the future. For me, Neil Warnock was always 100% Warnock and ultimately left us poorer as a club.

 

[Nicolaus_Copernicus]

I think to say he played it ‘to perfection’ is overstating it a tad. His blood and thunder approach got us some good points against the likes of Arsenal and Newcastle but at the end of the day he was a one trick pony in a league packed with thoroughbreds. His away policy was nothing short of shambolic and it cost us dearly, Yes he has been able to continue to produce gritty teams and Championship promotions and credit to him for that. But we were a Premiership team in 2006 and we had a manager who simply couldn’t adapt. NW demonstrated brilliantly the adage about the definition of insanity as being “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result”

I do partially blame NW for the legacy of the season following relegation. His teacup throwing style works over a short period but it’s an egocentric approach and unsustainable. It creates a dependency rather than an empowerment culture. Compare and contrast with the much more subtle approach from CWAK where there is criticism where it’s warranted but a flexible system and a strategy that engenders belief from players in their own abilities rather than the cult of charisma that Warnock peddles. I am in no doubt that Chris Wilder is 100% Blade and building foundations for the future. For me, Neil Warnock was always 100% Warnock and ultimately left us poorer as a club.

Post NW, we brought in managers who weren't up to it, brought in players who were shit and/or had poor attitudes and sold off the family silver for less than it was worth. We also made incorrect strategic decision after incorrect strategic decision at the upper levels of the club (a number of those made in direct contradiction to common sense). This was still occurring up until CWAK took over, near enough a full decade after NW had left. NW left the club in a far, far stronger & wealthier position than the one he took over. The fact that that position was squandered has nothing to do with NW. Also, please don't think that when CW is approached by the 'right' club he won't leave us.

 

[Bladeulike]

Post NW, we brought in managers who weren't up to it, brought in players who were shit and/or had poor attitudes and sold off the family silver for less than it was worth. We also made incorrect strategic decision after incorrect strategic decision at the upper levels of the club (a number of those made in direct contradiction to common sense). This was still occurring up until CWAK took over, near enough a full decade after NW had left. NW left the club in a far, far stronger & wealthier position than the one he took over. The fact that that position was squandered has nothing to do with NW. Also, please don't think that when CW is approached by the 'right' club he won't leave us.

We aren't going to agree about NW but always happy to debate! Two quick points - I am not saying NW was the causal or exclusive factor for the club's demise post 2006, I am saying he was a contributory factor as were the other clowns that came after him (and those responsible for their appointment). Your post makes my point, in CW we at last appointed a strategist not an egotist and look what happened. The first thing NW said on promotion was that he was "looking forward to visiting some of the greatest grounds in the country". The first thing CW said (once he had sobered up) was that he wanted to improve the infrastructure of the club and build a new training ground. That sums it up for me. I am focusing on NW not because I hold hm personally responsible for the 10 years of garbage we endured but because he was the last manager we had when we were in the Premiership and the contrast it brings up. For NW his narrative smacked of 'job done' on promotion, for Wilder it's a narrative of 'still a long way to go'. Its about legacy not loyalty and i don't think for a second CW will stay with us forever. The difference will be that, like the Cheshire cat, all that remained of NW when he went was his smile (well actually his eyebrows), when CW goes my belief is that we will be left with a bloody good team and well established side and infrastructure.