The quiet man of the team

[EmleyMoorBlade]

Really interesting article about John Lundstram on the Sky Sports app today which details how hard he worked over the summer to get himself into a position to take his chance this season to the extent of taking a Dubai based personal trainer to get him in shape BEFORE pre season.
The most interesting thing In the article for me was how much Lunny credits Alan Knill with supporting him though last season, he describes AK ‘as the backbone of a tight knit staff’. I think the contribution of Knilly has been somewhat drowned out this season by the media’s Wilder love in, which whilst fully deserved we must never forget this is a very successful double act of man management which seems to be CW’S stronger suit and the coaching in which AK is the main man.
Personally I love the unassuming way in which he conducts himself he definitely is the ‘quiet man’ of the management team but boy what a vitally important and increasingly impressive role he plays.
Really worth a read of the article as Lunny comes over really well.
UTB

 

[Liaminho9]

Really interesting article about John Lundstram on the Sky Sports app today which details how hard he worked over the summer to get himself into a position to take his chance this season to the extent of taking a Dubai based personal trainer to get him in shape BEFORE pre season.
The most interesting thing In the article for me was how much Lunny credits Alan Knill with supporting him though last season, he describes AK ‘as the backbone of a tight knit staff’. I think the contribution of Knilly has been somewhat drowned out this season by the media’s Wilder love in, which whilst fully deserved we must never forget this is a very successful double act of man management which seems to be CW’S stronger suit and the coaching in which AK is the main man.
Personally I love the unassuming way in which he conducts himself he definitely is the ‘quiet man’ of the management team but boy what a vitally important and increasingly impressive role he plays.
Really worth a read of the article as Lunny comes over really well.
UTB

If i remember right from Instagram Baldock was out there too.

 

[bornablade]

It's been said on here many times - if Wilder is the new Clough then Alan Knill is his Peter Taylor.

The crowd need to continue the Chris Wilder Alan Knill song to show our recognition of his contribution.

 

[Greasy Chap Butty]

It's been said on here many times - if Wilder is the new Clough then Alan Knill is his Peter Taylor.

The crowd need to continue the Chris Wilder Alan Knill song to show our recognition of his contribution.

Not many teams these days where the crowd is singing various songs about the manager. Surely we must be the only one singing for the assistant!
Well done knilly .

 

[cahill]

Quiet man of the team is Jack O'C, everyone's raving about the others meanwhile Jack just gets on with it. Great team player, undemonstrative. That also fits Didzy.

 

[INTAKE BLADE]

I used to scratch my head thinking FFS what's he picking lunny for. I am proved 100% wrong. I bet I'm not the only one GLTTL

 

[Greasy Chap Butty]

I used to scratch my head thinking FFS what's he picking lunny for. I am proved 100% wrong. I bet I'm not the only one GLTTL

Shows credit to Lunny even more. Somebody with their arse on the canvas, getting up and doing that.
Proves what a complete team we are, right through.

 

[Ricky]

If i remember right from Instagram Baldock was out there too.

And it really shows doesn't it.

Lundstram and Baldock have been the biggest two physical improvers this season.

Getting their reward now for that bit of short term sacrifice.

 

[anglian blade]

It's been said on here many times - if Wilder is the new Clough then Alan Knill is his Peter Taylor.

The crowd need to continue the Chris Wilder Alan Knill song to show our recognition of his contribution.

Until Alan Knill became his assistant manager Wilder's record was only middlingly successful. Since then its been phenomenal. Very much like the Clough/Taylor combination

 

[Hunter_999]

The fact is that Alan Knill seems to be the brains of the operation, whereas Wilder is the man you would go into the trenches for. It's a combination made in heaven, because either or only gets you so far...

(Demonstrated when Knill was at Scunthorpe and Wilder at Oxford)

 

[itsinyerblood]

I used to scratch my head thinking FFS what's he picking lunny for. I am proved 100% wrong. I bet I'm not the only one GLTTL

Correct mate, but you're far from the only one. At least you can now appreciate why Knill and Wilder stuck by Lunny, they saw something and considered him a good bet who was able to come good. There are a few posters who reluctantly admit they were wrong, but what matters is the player he's become, well done John, revelation of the season uTMB!

 

[SwissBlade]

If i remember right from Instagram Baldock was out there too.

Billy, Norwood, Lunny, Baldock, JOC, Freeman, Egan and Moore plus many others were all out there training with CB Performance

 

[madeinsheffield]

I think Lunny has showed some of the attributes that Chris & Alan saw in him, former Captain and Player of the Year, now showing grit, determination and professionalism to do that after the season has finished, it's paying off now, he's all over the pitch and wants the ball. Really pleased for him. Like Chris has said "the hard work is done away from the lights".

 

[stringjunior]

Billy, Norwood, Lunny, Baldock, JOC, Freeman, Egan and Moore plus many others were all out there training with CB Performance

Lets get this right lads. They'd had 4 weeks solid on the piss. this wasn't about getting in to shape per se, this was about getting some sun and shaking the mother of all hangovers. Sheeeesh.....

 

[bromtom]

John Lundstram: I always believed I would get to the Premier League

The Sheffield United midfielder talks thriving in a new system, getting fitter than ever, overcoming setbacks and that big toe...

www.skysports.com

A good read, cheers OP

 

[EmleyMoorBlade]

John Lundstram: I always believed I would get to the Premier League

The Sheffield United midfielder talks thriving in a new system, getting fitter than ever, overcoming setbacks and that big toe...

www.skysports.com

A good read, cheers OP

Thanks Bromtom for adding the 'Linky' to the article, I am afraid my extremely limited technical abilities meant I was unable to do so

 

[Stewy]

The only person I know who taught lunny was any good was Keith Andrews , he was on same flight as me from Dublin to Manchester for the pigs game and he was raving about lunny , at the time we all believed Lee Evans was the better of the two however. Andrews called it then .. I didn't see it at all , couple of nice long passes here and there with both feet , but to have the impact and bounce back ability .. fair play John Lundstrum

 

[TAMUS]

AK is not intrested in the limelight , i am quite sure Wilder would willingly give him a lot of his , it must get a bit tedious people telling you how great you are , all the time ,i bet even Billy gets fed up with it , people watching your and your familys every move . They worked together at Bury with AK head Honcho .

 

[BarcaBlade]

There are a few posters who reluctantly admit they were wrong

A few have admitted they were wrong, but not seen any of them doing it reluctantly.

 

[itsinyerblood]

A few have admitted they were wrong, but not seen any of them doing it reluctantly.

Can't comment on what you have or have not seen. But once Lundstram established himself in our first team this season there was discussion in which there were posters who had previously, with some justification I should add, been less than enamoured with Lunny's displays. It took quite a lot of what you might call mature humility in accepting that the Lunny of old could justify his place in this season's first eleven, but it's water under the bridge now, and all that matters is that we have players playing to their potential. The question of opinions, who said what, who was right and who was wrong, is simply unimportant. Unless, of course, it's important to any poster to feel as if his/her opinion was justified first time around......maybe an annual Forum blue ribbon for the poster who knew best?

 

[I should coco]

maybe an annual Forum blue ribbon for the poster who knew best?

I'm NOT wearing a blue ribbon!

 

[itsinyerblood]

I'm NOT wearing a blue ribbon!

What about one that declares 'cheeky old queen?'

 

[Punk Blade]

We all knew he was having a great season so far, but this is phenomenal work. Keep it up Lunny and you'll be picking up PotY.

 

[TCsLoveChild]

AK is not intrested in the limelight , i am quite sure Wilder would willingly give him a lot of his , it must get a bit tedious people telling you how great you are , all the time ,i bet even Billy gets fed up with it , people watching your and your familys every move . They worked together at Bury with AK head Honcho .

it does mate, I'm fed up with it UTB

 

[FMBlade1]

I was 10000% wrong about him before the season started (not without justification I might add) and I'm extremely pleased that I was so, not that he'll care!

 

[Digs blade]

It just goes to show at that level what a difference it makes by getting your head down and working your balls off to make yourself a better player both technically and from a fitness point of view.

Lundstram will have seen this as a golden opportunity to make himself into a talked about plsyer as opposed to a hard luck story, knuckled down and gave himself every chance.

Some people slag Ronaldo but he is a perfect example of someone who has reached the very top by dedicating his life to his profession. A supreme athlete that has made him one of the best players in the world for the last 10 years,

Now I’m not wanting to compare Lunny with Ronsldo by any means but hard work, a will to succeed and dedication can make a massive difference.

Another one I admire is Monty. A bloke with limited ability but dedicated his life to being a supreme athlete to give himself the best possible chance resulting in him living as a millionaire in Australia.

I doth my cap to Monty, Lundstram and Ronaldo and maybe Jose Baxter will look back and think what might have been if he had half the dedication and determination of those three.

 

[GymClassHero]

It's been said on here many times - if Wilder is the new Clough then Alan Knill is his Peter Taylor.

The crowd need to continue the Chris Wilder Alan Knill song to show our recognition of his contribution.

Agree. Need to make sure AK feels the love.

 

[Grappler]

We all knew he was having a great season so far, but this is phenomenal work. Keep it up Lunny and you'll be picking up PotY.

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Great to see the lad saying how hard he worked on his fitness over summer, going above and beyond what the SUFC training staff had asked him to do, training in 40 degree heat in Dubai, boxing training to build upper body strength (and the added confidence it gives you, knowing you can chin someone, won't go amiss! lol), good stuff John!

 

[1066blade]

But, against Riems (France) in August he was total gash, gave the ball away on 3 or 4 occasions in a dismal defeat,,which lead to the clammer to get a decent replacement, totally weird (but thankfully brilliant) transformation.

 

[Cerberus Blade]

Great to see the lad saying how hard he worked on his fitness over summer, going above and beyond what the SUFC training staff had asked him to do, training in 40 degree heat in Dubai, boxing training to build upper body strength (and the added confidence it gives you, knowing you can chin someone, won't go amiss! lol), good stuff John!

That must have been really rough, training in 40 degree heat in Dubai. Why on earth would anyone put themselves through that? Apart from the fact it's a great place for a holiday, top hotels, top restaurants, top beaches? He could have stayed home and trained in the rain here for next to nowt!