Pre- season is preparation

[CornwallBlade]

I know that some people have been getting a bit worked up but pre-season games are a bit like sparring sessions for boxers. Get the team options tested, try a few radical formations but ultimately designed see how we are feeling. I really don’t think the meltdown on here from some quarters is justified. CW has tried his variations, ramped up the opposition and will have noted who can take the heat - that’s what it’s about. I’m not a Bladey delusionalist, of course it’s going to be tough but c’mon, pre season is just a workout so that we can shape the team for the real thing, it’s not a cast iron indicator of the season ahead.
I’m still nervous but quietly confident we’ll scrape though. UTB

 

[Sheffsteel]

Very true....it’s basically sparring....with the chance to experiment and build up match fitness. The pre-season results are pretty much irrelevant.

The factors that are interesting though is what is the best preparation? Would you....
Select lower league/ relatively easy matches that we are likely to win helping confidence
Or choose difficult higher level opposition which gives us some home truths/ harder tests but can have a negative effect on confidence.

Under Wilder we’ve tended to select easy opposition and we’ve tended to win the vast majority of friendlies over the past 3 years.
However under Wilder we’ve tended to have poor starts to the season.....wonder if this is coincidence.
Although in fairness the starts of each season have usually been very new experiences, so everyone needs a few games to adjust to the higher standard.

 

[Silent Blade]

I know that some people have been getting a bit worked up but pre-season games are a bit like sparring sessions for boxers. Get the team options tested, try a few radical formations but ultimately designed see how we are feeling. I really don’t think the meltdown on here from some quarters is justified. CW has tried his variations, ramped up the opposition and will have noted who can take the heat - that’s what it’s about. I’m not a Bladey delusionalist, of course it’s going to be tough but c’mon, pre season is just a workout so that we can shape the team for the real thing, it’s not a cast iron indicator of the season ahead.
I’m still nervous but quietly confident we’ll scrape though. UTB

Ted Hemsley recalled that we didnt have a good pre-season for the 1971-72 season. We lost 2-0 at Twente Enschede and the Blades found it hard to get the ball off them. In the dressing room after the game, the players were wondering that they would have the same struggle playing in the 1st division for the first time in three years. Nevertheless, we won 8 and drew 2 in our first 10 league matches!

 

[Kenilworth]

Anyone who has been to the matches verify that CWAK have set us up in some of the Pre season fixtures to allow the opposition to come on to us and see how we cope?
My understanding is that they have experimented with different formations that are not about our usual front foot, overloading tactics. They have picked opposition to test this e.g. Barnsley are not going to struggle in the championship this season. They press high and can pass and keep the ball well. Betis and Reims are no mugs either

 

[CornwallBlade]

Very true....it’s basically sparring....with the chance to experiment and build up match fitness. The pre-season results are pretty much irrelevant.

The factors that are interesting though is what is the best preparation? Would you....
Select lower league/ relatively easy matches that we are likely to win helping confidence
Or choose difficult higher level opposition which gives us some home truths/ harder tests but can have a negative effect on confidence.

Under Wilder we’ve tended to select easy opposition and we’ve tended to win the vast majority of friendlies over the past 3 years.
However under Wilder we’ve tended to have poor starts to the season.....wonder if this is coincidence.
Although in fairness the starts of each season have usually been very new experiences, so everyone needs a few games to adjust to the higher standard.

Great question- I’ve always gone for progressively more testing opponents. Important to build confidence and team understanding but, as the season gets closer, put some real pressure on. I’m genuinely surprised that, with what we know about CW, that the last match has caused some to say we’re already relegated- ffs, it is just his way of saying “all right boys, things are looking good but let’s not have any complacency, this is going to be tough”.

 

[Snake]

Pre-season games are like training to run a marathon. You build up fitness and match practise, then when you get to a certain point in your preparation (eg after Barnsley game) you start to ramp down in readiness for the actual race. The race starts in 6 days.

The thing I took from Wilder's interview after the game yesterday was that he said maybe the players had one eye on the game next week. Of course they did. For virtually all of the players, this is the biggest season of their life so far.

Stay cool Bladesmen, it's going to be a long and emotional race!

 

[Sheffsteel]

Pre-season games are like training to run a marathon. You build up fitness and match practise, then when you get to a certain point in your preparation (eg after Barnsley game) you start to ramp down in readiness for the actual race. The race starts in 6 days.

Great point.
Also thought it was significant that when they asked Wilder if his team are ready for the new season.
Wilder replied “we were actually ready about 2 weeks”, so the last 2 weeks have been more about keeping the players ticking over.

 

[Bergen Blade]

Anyone who has been to the matches verify that CWAK have set us up in some of the Pre season fixtures to allow the opposition to come on to us and see how we cope?
My understanding is that they have experimented with different formations that are not about our usual front foot, overloading tactics. They have picked opposition to test this e.g. Barnsley are not going to struggle in the championship this season. They press high and can pass and keep the ball well. Betis and Reims are no mugs either

That's what I thought after the Stade de Reims game, as posted elsewhere:

Thought it looked like a practice game from our point of view, where we'd agreed to defend deep and try to prevent them playing through us or breaking at all.

The good thing: That worked! They did not play through us and we were fairly comfortable defensively most of the time.

The bad thing: We were poor offensively. Our defensive mindset meant we looked half hearted going forward. We were slow, wanted to pass it around for a bit, but found ourselves under constant pressure from the tenacious and very much up for it home team. This lead to long punts forward to the isolated McGoldrick and Robinson, who struggled to hold it up. Henderson had to waste time for his goal kicks. Our goal may have added to this, a nice bonus, while we practiced our containing style we were actually winning, so there was little reason to bomb forward.

Then they scored three goals. Following a needless free kick; a long punt in behind; and a cross that bounced in. In isolation the goals weren't due to our midfield tactics not working, nor the containing style we seemed to practice, nor Lundstram. The fact that the opposition found other ways to score is a concern though, and I'll add that they very much threatened from corners.

After 65 minutes, we changed formation. Basham went into midfield and we played a diamond spearheaded by a lively Luke Freeman. At the same time the attacking restraints seemed to be removed, and we began to compete better and push more players forward. I think we did well in the last 25 minutes and created some chances.

Did Wilder learn a lot? While the main strategy (coping with the main threats of our next opponents) looked to be partly successful, we still conceded three goals and generally looked a bit out of sorts. Ideally we would have played better football, but is it a good idea to scrap the main plan for the opener at this late stage? I'm sure our mentality will be different on Saturday, and maybe that'll help? We did look better after we made changes, but we don't know if it would have been similar had we played that way from the start. And besides, that was plan B or C, not something we're looking to play from the start.

 

[TaipeiBlade]

While that's true, mistakes are mistakes. Henderson spilling a shot into the danger zone and then his indecisiveness with the 3rd is worrying.

 

[jono_t2000]

Agree with OP but those home truths that come from the friendlies (especially when facing tougher opposition) can't be ignored.

1) Lundstrum is not good enough for a premiership team
2) Our right side needs strengthening badly.

To have this confirmed a week before the season starts is a little worrying..

 

[Snake]

Agree with OP but those home truths that come from the friendlies (especially when facing tougher opposition) can't be ignored.

1) Lundstrum is not good enough for a premiership team
2) Our right side needs strengthening badly.

To have this confirmed a week before the season starts is a little worrying..

1) Wilder has seen enough of him in training to give him a chance pre-season. Whether he picks him in competitive games remains to be seen. But if he does, then I will trust that Wilder believes he can do a job. He's just a tad more qualified than us to make these decisions.

2) Quite possibly, but we have spent between £40 -45m strengthening areas that Wilder sees as more of a priority. More than likely there will be times this season when we will look woefully bad in all areas; we are playing in the billy big bollox league now you know.

And who has this been confirmed to exactly a week before the season starts? Not Wilder, he will be acutely aware of the areas we needed to improve, and the areas we could still do with improving. In the real world though, folk have to work within a budget and maximise resources addressing priority areas accordingly.

Make no mistake we are in for a titanic battle this season. But I believe we have enough to do it - Peroni all round come May time! Then lets see what the next couple of windows produce!