The narrative has to change

[Bladeulike]

Really think that any thoughts about a change of management is one only held by the human equivalent of goldfish with memories that cannot extend to the nightmare years of Bruce, Adkins, Weir et al.

You cannot achieve what this team has achieved without an exceptional management team and players. Talk of replacement of management is utter drivel.

However, my worry is the change in Chris’s narrative that has flipped from “fuck you, we are Blades and we are coming at ya” to “you can’t expect us to go toe to toe with teams like these”. It’s a narrative that smacks of fear and lack of self belief. That’s the total opposite of a narrative of courage and self confidence that propelled us to unbelievable success in the last four years. It has also led to one of the worst starts to a league campaign we have ever had.

We look like we are going down. We are playing like we are going down. Sod the softy softly approach. Use the international break to ditch the fear of losing heavily to one of the snarling, free of fear Blades that ripped up two divisions (and that briefly re-emerged for the first 10 minutes tonight). I honestly can take relegation (with admittedly technically poorer players) that at least make me feel proud to have given it a go. Stop the fearful defensive set ups, accept we may get a thumping every now and again (like we did tonight in spite of the new approach) and throw some caution to the wind. Give us our Blades back and we will stick with you even through a relegation!!!

 

[Kozzy_is_my_Dad]

I totally agree mate, great OP and it links a lot to the post I wrote about the psychology of the situation: https://www.s24su.com/forum/index.p...the-situation-cannot-be-underestimated.83124/

Without wanting to sound all waffly on a Sunday morning, the narratives have changed and they have a role to play in influencing the squad's mindset. Our form isn't all down to mindset, but it does have a role to play that cannot be overlooked.

The first option is that the group's narratives can focus on the negatives, the injustices, the shortcomings. This risks leading to developing a mindset of limitations, and feeling hard done to for all the things that go against us. We're starting to hear snippets of it in interviews, not being able to go toe to toe, not being able to spend, missing out on first choice targets.

The second option, doesn't deny that those situations happened, but does try and reposition how the squad look at them. Instead of focusing on them, the injustices and how unlucky we've been, and feeling defined by these (which leads to the fearful, defensive approach you mention) the squad could refocus on what they have been trying to do during this difficult period, what they think they're about, the way they prefer to play (snarling, free of fear that you mention), and refocusing on how they can start to reintroduce snippets of these qualities into our game, as a starting point.

Mindset might seem waffly, but it has a tremendously important role to play and can be infectious, both positively and otherwise.

 

[metalblade]

The most disappointing thing is the lack of aggression in our play last season it was we will have a go when we can this season it is hang on and hope for a break to go our way because we can't go toe to toe with the top teams. Now I might be wrong but last season we did go toe to toe with the top teams so what has changed Chris?

 

[Dan Emery]

Totally agree. We need to see an improvement in attitude, intent and application and if we go down but go down fighting then so be it. It's the total apathy we're displaying right now that is concerning and can't be allowed to continue. It's time for the management team to really earn their crust if they want to continue at our great club and not rest on past successes.

 

[AnstonBlade1]

Something has to change, we somehow need to get back to that team that had a go wasn’t scared to attack, a 100mph in your face team.
At the minute we look beaten before a ball is kicked.
We’re now this awful boring negative team.

 

[YES Blade]

I don’t get how people believe we’ve had a change in approach, we were a negative defensive team last season. The difference is we could keep clean sheets and grind out tight wins, this season the defence isn’t as good so it’s highlighting our poor attacking play much more.

Wilder has got to find a way of changing things, we’ve got to become more attacking and score more goals or we’re just going to continue to find it difficult to win matches.

 

[robbiez666]

Players playing without confidence don't have the same spring in there step as players who are. However, thid doesn't stop players going out and running around.

Whilst thid defestest mindset has to change what is going on with our fitness? The last 3 games we've played teams who are playing two games a week but it's us who look mentally and physically shuttered. What are they doing in training?

We've prided ourselves on our spirit and fitness but since March both seem to have vanished.

 

[MoscowBlade]

I totally agree mate, great OP and it links a lot to the post I wrote about the psychology of the situation: https://www.s24su.com/forum/index.p...the-situation-cannot-be-underestimated.83124/

Without wanting to sound all waffly on a Sunday morning, the narratives have changed and they have a role to play in influencing the squad's mindset. Our form isn't all down to mindset, but it does have a role to play that cannot be overlooked.

The first option is that the group's narratives can focus on the negatives, the injustices, the shortcomings. This risks leading to developing a mindset of limitations, and feeling hard done to for all the things that go against us. We're starting to hear snippets of it in interviews, not being able to go toe to toe, not being able to spend, missing out on first choice targets.

The second option, doesn't deny that those situations happened, but does try and reposition how the squad look at them. Instead of focusing on them, the injustices and how unlucky we've been, and feeling defined by these (which leads to the fearful, defensive approach you mention) the squad could refocus on what they have been trying to do during this difficult period, what they think they're about, the way they prefer to play (snarling, free of fear that you mention), and refocusing on how they can start to reintroduce snippets of these qualities into our game, as a starting point.

Mindset might seem waffly, but it has a tremendously important role to play and can be infectious, both positively and otherwise.

......and this is a great post too

 

[Bladeulike]

I totally agree mate, great OP and it links a lot to the post I wrote about the psychology of the situation: https://www.s24su.com/forum/index.p...the-situation-cannot-be-underestimated.83124/

Without wanting to sound all waffly on a Sunday morning, the narratives have changed and they have a role to play in influencing the squad's mindset. Our form isn't all down to mindset, but it does have a role to play that cannot be overlooked.

The first option is that the group's narratives can focus on the negatives, the injustices, the shortcomings. This risks leading to developing a mindset of limitations, and feeling hard done to for all the things that go against us. We're starting to hear snippets of it in interviews, not being able to go toe to toe, not being able to spend, missing out on first choice targets.

The second option, doesn't deny that those situations happened, but does try and reposition how the squad look at them. Instead of focusing on them, the injustices and how unlucky we've been, and feeling defined by these (which leads to the fearful, defensive approach you mention) the squad could refocus on what they have been trying to do during this difficult period, what they think they're about, the way they prefer to play (snarling, free of fear that you mention), and refocusing on how they can start to reintroduce snippets of these qualities into our game, as a starting point.

Mindset might seem waffly, but it has a tremendously important role to play and can be infectious, both positively and otherwise.

You are spot on. Mindset is what got us to the Premiership in the first place. It’s what made the difference from being a bunch of journeymen into an unstoppable force for those glory years. We are now undeniably a better quality team than we were a couple of years ago with the likes of Berge, Ampadu and Mousset. We have become a team that will spend serious money on England’s under 23 goalkeeper and young talent such as Brewster (I know, the jury isn’t just out on him, it has currently gone into deep freeze). My point is that we are materially a better team than we were a couple of years ago but psychologically we seem to be careering down a ski slope at the moment. The belief has disappeared and it’s alarming that Chris has currently turned from being a tiger into a rather apologetic puppy

How do we change mind set? Stop over worrying about how good the opposition is. Take it as a given and stop reading out the till receipt of how much their players cost at the end of every game. That sets us up as victims rather than vanquishers. Stop defining ourselves around how much better other teams are than us. Start focusing on what we do well and do more of it rather than trying to define what is our weakness and trying to fix it!

Theres no magic wand but if the writing is on the wall then let’s at least go out the way we came in.

 

[Ivanhoe]

You are spot on. Mindset is what got us to the Premiership in the first place. It’s what made the difference from being a bunch of journeymen into an unstoppable force for those glory years. We are now undeniably a better quality team than we were a couple of years ago with the likes of Berge, Ampadu and Mousset. We have become a team that will spend serious money on England’s under 23 goalkeeper and young talent such as Brewster (I know, the jury isn’t just out on him, it has currently gone into deep freeze). My point is that we are materially a better team than we were a couple of years ago but psychologically we seem to be careering down a ski slope at the moment. The belief has disappeared and it’s alarming that Chris has currently turned from being a tiger into a rather apologetic puppy

How do we change mind set? Stop over worrying about how good the opposition is. Take it as a given and stop reading out the till receipt of how much their players cost at the end of every game. That sets us up as victims rather than vanquishers. Stop defining ourselves around how much better other teams are than us. Start focusing on what we do well and do more of it rather than trying to define what is our weakness and trying to fix it!

Theres no magic wand but if the writing is on the wall then let’s at least go out the way we came in.

Spot On..

 

[Kozzy_is_my_Dad]

You are spot on. Mindset is what got us to the Premiership in the first place. It’s what made the difference from being a bunch of journeymen into an unstoppable force for those glory years. We are now undeniably a better quality team than we were a couple of years ago with the likes of Berge, Ampadu and Mousset. We have become a team that will spend serious money on England’s under 23 goalkeeper and young talent such as Brewster (I know, the jury isn’t just out on him, it has currently gone into deep freeze). My point is that we are materially a better team than we were a couple of years ago but psychologically we seem to be careering down a ski slope at the moment. The belief has disappeared and it’s alarming that Chris has currently turned from being a tiger into a rather apologetic puppy

How do we change mind set? Stop over worrying about how good the opposition is. Take it as a given and stop reading out the till receipt of how much their players cost at the end of every game. That sets us up as victims rather than vanquishers. Stop defining ourselves around how much better other teams are than us. Start focusing on what we do well and do more of it rather than trying to define what is our weakness and trying to fix it!

Theres no magic wand but if the writing is on the wall then let’s at least go out the way we came in.

100% spot on - the shift in thinking needs to be akin to the narratives and advice surrounding the pandemic/lockdown at the moment isn't it, focus on what's in your control, don't waste your time, energy and worry over what isn't.

We can't control the wage bill of the opposition, but we can get back to refocusing on what we think we, as a squad are all about and what we do best. We can focus on how we want to play and trying to find opportunity for that, in every passage of play. That doesn't mean recklessly taking the shackles fully off against the likes of De Bruyne, but focusing a bit on how we play, as opposed to primarily on stopping the opposition playing.

 

[Sheffsteel]

Something has to change, we somehow need to get back to that team that had a go wasn’t scared to attack, a 100mph in your face team.
At the minute we look beaten before a ball is kicked.
We’re now this awful boring negative team.

Agree...yet another boring 0-0 yesterday for your boys.

 

[AnstonBlade1]

Agree...yet another boring 0-0 yesterday for your boys.

???

 

[Woodyblade70]

Players playing without confidence don't have the same spring in there step as players who are. However, thid doesn't stop players going out and running around.

Whilst thid defestest mindset has to change what is going on with our fitness? The last 3 games we've played teams who are playing two games a week but it's us who look mentally and physically shuttered. What are they doing in training?

We've prided ourselves on our spirit and fitness but since March both seem to have vanished.

Totally agree with the point about fitness. We can look for mindset and psychological problems all we want, but the fitness issue is indefensible. You look at Leeds for instance, who play high intensity every game for 90 minutes. As see against Fulham, we were physically done after an hour, and we can't blame that on mentally because we weren't even losing. That is the reason Fulham looked the better side in the 2nd half. Now I'm no fitness expert but when you compare our fitness to Leeds' you can't help coming to the conclusion that the fitness department are poor.

 

[Bladeulike]

Totally agree with the point about fitness. We can look for mindset and psychological problems all we want, but the fitness issue is indefensible. You look at Leeds for instance, who play high intensity every game for 90 minutes. As see against Fulham, we were physically done after an hour, and we can't blame that on mentally because we weren't even losing. That is the reason Fulham looked the better side in the 2nd half. Now I'm no fitness expert but when you compare our fitness to Leeds' you can't help coming to the conclusion that the fitness department are poor.

I take your point but I think it’s impossible to separate the physiological from the psychological. For me, it’s more plausible that we have lost morale and self belief than we have dropped fitness levels. If you are up for something and motivated by a real passion, desire and belief then fitness becomes so much more than a quantitative notion. As the song goes, some players can even head a brick back at you and not feel a thing! Get your head right and the body will surely follow.

 

[Wincobank S9 Blade]

What I don’t get is why other smaller cities and towns are so far ahead of us financially surely Sheffield should have at least 1 decent side fair play to Prince though he’s spent a bit last couple of seasons

 

[Whiston Blade]

What I don’t get is why other smaller cities and towns are so far ahead of us financially surely Sheffield should have at least 1 decent side fair play to Prince though he’s spent a bit last couple of seasons

Not that it's really relevant (maybe it actually is..) but Sheffield really has a small town mentality and I think it rubs off when potential investors look at us or the city in general.

HS2, we've been shafted, the city is sandwiched between hills so there's no room to really stretch out and expand. Get off the M1 at Meadowhall and head into the city is depressing especially around Attercliffe. The city itself it trying to improve but then every person who's visiting via National Express is taken in via the Wicker, lucky them..

I'm digressing but I hope my point of the whole city is small town minded and that put's people off, is clear. There's three major cities in England, London, Birmingham and Manchester, the rest are glorified towns and will get the crumbs off the big three.

 

[CaptainMorgans]

Not that it's really relevant (maybe it actually is..) but Sheffield really has a small town mentality and I think it rubs off when potential investors look at us or the city in general.

HS2, we've been shafted, the city is sandwiched between hills so there's no room to really stretch out and expand. Get off the M1 at Meadowhall and head into the city is depressing especially around Attercliffe. The city itself it trying to improve but then every person who's visiting via National Express is taken in via the Wicker, lucky them..

I'm digressing but I hope my point of the whole city is small town minded and that put's people off, is clear. There's three major cities in England, London, Birmingham and Manchester, the rest are glorified towns and will get the crumbs off the big three.

Liverpool, Leeds & Newcastle also more glamorous for investors.
I'm also surprised it's taking Bristol so long to join the big league.

 

[Bookers Mullet]

Not that it's really relevant (maybe it actually is..) but Sheffield really has a small town mentality and I think it rubs off when potential investors look at us or the city in general.

HS2, we've been shafted, the city is sandwiched between hills so there's no room to really stretch out and expand. Get off the M1 at Meadowhall and head into the city is depressing especially around Attercliffe. The city itself it trying to improve but then every person who's visiting via National Express is taken in via the Wicker, lucky them..

I'm digressing but I hope my point of the whole city is small town minded and that put's people off, is clear. There's three major cities in England, London, Birmingham and Manchester, the rest are glorified towns and will get the crumbs off the big three.

Not that I disagree, but how does Sheffield change this?

 

[Whiston Blade]

Not that I disagree, but how does Sheffield change this?

I'm not sure to be honest. A lot of things need to be changed which costs money thus, things can't be done all at once. But that's obvious.

A sustained period of PL football for us would help the city greatly, even more so once fans are able to attend

We're slowly improving the city and the surrounding areas but I'd say we're a good 10/15 years behind other major cities and once we "catch up" we'll be back to square one as those cities have advanced further ahead.

Improved transport infrastructure should be a top priority, the Supertram should have been extended years ago to serve Rotherham town centre as well as the Bawtry Rd through Whiston and beyond suggestion from years ago. Sheffield train station needs a capacity increase to let more trains per hour to stop. Unfortunately, the west end of the station where the tunnels are restricts this as we can only use two tracks.

Better links to Doncaster Airport is a must, the parkway could do with three lanes.

Electrification of the Midland Main Line is well underway around Leicester but I can't see it reaching us anytime soon. A better link between us and Manchester/Liverpool is required, the Snake and Woodhead are awful and the M62 it too far north. Again, electrification of the Sheffield - Manchester rail line is needed.

Once we cut journey times it then appeals more to businesses and clients which in turn will boost the local economy. I'm far from an expert and I could be way off the mark but I feel this is what's required to get the ball rolling.

 

[Badger Blade]

It's all well and good having a defensive team if we could defend, common denominators being a new goalkeeper who has become used to conceding goals having been behind a crap defence last season too alongside O'Connell being unavailable - no point Wilder being defeatist about it and whingeing about no money, investment etc - it wasn't a problem last season when we were winning, it was about how we had none of those things but we're still around the European places, "look what you can achieve with a well coached team, self belief, a system that works, getting the best out of players etc etc."

If Wilder was as defeatist before as he is now, we'd have perhaps gone up to the Championship and still been there, maybe bouncing around mid table thinking "well, at least we're not in League One any more, might have a flirt with the play offs if we're lucky," like a northern Millwall. Of course, we did the unthinkable and it'd be such a bloody shame to have upset the apple cart like we have done to then go out with such a whimper when we've fought so hard and defied the odds.

Wilder is now entering more uncharted waters as a manager having never really managed a team that's getting beaten every week and how he reacts will rub off on his team - having a whinge and finding an excuse will lead the players to start looking for their own excuses, what's good for the goose is good for the gander. Once they start looking elsewhere instead of looking in the mirror is the start of a downward spiral.

 

[guancheblade]

Really think that any thoughts about a change of management is one only held by the human equivalent of goldfish with memories that cannot extend to the nightmare years of Bruce, Adkins, Weir et al.

You cannot achieve what this team has achieved without an exceptional management team and players. Talk of replacement of management is utter drivel.

However, my worry is the change in Chris’s narrative that has flipped from “fuck you, we are Blades and we are coming at ya” to “you can’t expect us to go toe to toe with teams like these”. It’s a narrative that smacks of fear and lack of self belief. That’s the total opposite of a narrative of courage and self confidence that propelled us to unbelievable success in the last four years. It has also led to one of the worst starts to a league campaign we have ever had.

We look like we are going down. We are playing like we are going down. Sod the softy softly approach. Use the international break to ditch the fear of losing heavily to one of the snarling, free of fear Blades that ripped up two divisions (and that briefly re-emerged for the first 10 minutes tonight). I honestly can take relegation (with admittedly technically poorer players) that at least make me feel proud to have given it a go. Stop the fearful defensive set ups, accept we may get a thumping every now and again (like we did tonight in spite of the new approach) and throw some caution to the wind. Give us our Blades back and we will stick with you even through a relegation!!!

So would you not agree then if Wilder's narrative doesn't change soon he ought to go?

 

[peter w]

It’s as always going to be more difficult for you this season. Sides now how you play and can set up better to counter what you do. That doesn’t mean you can’t win games, but as other sides strengthen then to keep improving you needed to do do likewise and it doesn’t appear that you have strengthened sufficiently. You aren’t adrift and I would still expect you to get going and beat those around you, but you seem to have a very toothless attack this season.

It was always going to be tough going to keep the momentum of the passed few seasons going. At some point it was going to end and it was how as a group you respond to it. That includes the fans. Last season may well have been your peak and now it’s how you settle in to ‘doing a Burnley’. But I think your main mistake is poor recruitment up top. Saying that it just takes a win to get things moving again. I think you’ll survive this season and give you the chance to reassess.

 

[Bladeulike]

So would you not agree then if Wilder's narrative doesn't change soon he ought to go?

Not at this point, no. Not at any point in the near future either. Whatever alchemy there was between him and the team that ripped up three divisions can and should be refound. If that takes a relegation to achieve, painful as it is, then so be it. It’s a match made in Heaven even if we are going through a current mini hell. It’s Wilder’s most difficult patch as a manager. It’s going to be a measure of us as a club and us as supporters to show how far we have come as well as the team. Calling for his head after 10 games (most of them against the top 6) is utter madness and is beginning to introduce a toxicity into the club. Change the manager for who exactly? Allardyce? Pulis? Maybe Pochettino and he can bring Messi and Ronaldo in with him. We are Sheffield United and we are not some swaggering behemoth of a top club that top managers will be queuing up to join (thank God)

Surely we more than many have learned from the managerial merry-go-round that you sack in haste and repent at leisure. Our biggest question is not whether we should sack him but how the hell will we hold onto him if we do go down? Relegation will be a bitter pill to swallow when we thought, at last, we had established our dominance as the top side in the city. If it is going to happen ( by no means certain) I want Chris Wilder and Alan Knill back at their ferocious best to get us back up again.

 

[Kozzy_is_my_Dad]

Liverpool, Leeds & Newcastle also more glamorous for investors.
I'm also surprised it's taking Bristol so long to join the big league.

Agree with this!

 

[TJB.]

Not that it's really relevant (maybe it actually is..) but Sheffield really has a small town mentality and I think it rubs off when potential investors look at us or the city in general.

HS2, we've been shafted, the city is sandwiched between hills so there's no room to really stretch out and expand. Get off the M1 at Meadowhall and head into the city is depressing especially around Attercliffe. The city itself it trying to improve but then every person who's visiting via National Express is taken in via the Wicker, lucky them..

I'm digressing but I hope my point of the whole city is small town minded and that put's people off, is clear. There's three major cities in England, London, Birmingham and Manchester, the rest are glorified towns and will get the crumbs off the big three.

Burnley are close to a big takeover, I believe. Your argument also excludes both Wolves and the current league leaders Leicester. Those three are far bigger shitholes than Sheffield. I'd also argue that Newcastle has a lot more going for it than Sheffield, yet they struggle to get a takeover over the line pretty much every year.

Your point also excludes the fact that we ourselves have had investment put into us, by a bloke who is now the sole owner! Is he mega rich? No, but he saw enough in us to commit to spending his money on us. McCabe also had US investors lined up had he won the case.

I really don't think the village mentality of some Sheffielders has much to do with being overlooked for a big-money takeover. I think there are only so many multi-millionaires/billionaires in the world and only so many of those who are daft enough to take on a football club. It then has to be the right club at the right price for them. Is the infrastructure there or will they have to set millions aside for new stands, training ground etc? Does the playing side need a few additions to push for the top, or a complete overhaul? Is the club capable of a relatively quick turnaround in fortunes, or is a long-term strategy needed? Is the commercial potential there on a global scale?

In other words, I think it's more about the right opportunity at the right time more than the town itself. One of my seminar leaders is from Leicester, and she said that the city has very much failed to capitalise on its moment in the sun when they won the Premier League. She also said that Sheffield was light years ahead in terms of how nice it is as a city...

 

[Whiston Blade]

Burnley are close to a big takeover, I believe. Your argument also excludes both Wolves and the current league leaders Leicester. Those three are far bigger shitholes than Sheffield. I'd also argue that Newcastle has a lot more going for it than Sheffield, yet they struggle to get a takeover over the line pretty much every year.

Your point also excludes the fact that we ourselves have had investment put into us, by a bloke who is now the sole owner! Is he mega rich? No, but he saw enough in us to commit to spending his money on us. McCabe also had US investors lined up had he won the case.

I really don't think the village mentality of some Sheffielders has much to do with being overlooked for a big-money takeover. I think there are only so many multi-millionaires/billionaires in the world and only so many of those who are daft enough to take on a football club. It then has to be the right club at the right price for them. Is the infrastructure there or will they have to set millions aside for new stands, training ground etc? Does the playing side need a few additions to push for the top, or a complete overhaul? Is the club capable of a relatively quick turnaround in fortunes, or is a long-term strategy needed? Is the commercial potential there on a global scale?

In other words, I think it's more about the right opportunity at the right time more than the town itself. One of my seminar leaders is from Leicester, and she said that the city has very much failed to capitalise on its moment in the sun when they won the Premier League. She also said that Sheffield was light years ahead in terms of how nice it is as a city...

You could be spot on, like I said, I'm no expert. It's most likely a mix of mine and yours but ultimately it's down to the investor and whether they can see past the crap and look at what's possible.

 

[dingledog]

What a fantastic thread showing how a thread can be full of reasoned argument, respectful and offer different insights.

 

[Astone_Blade]

Some great thoughts on here and agree with a lot of what's been said around the narrative, I'd certainly like the gaffer to focus on what we can do more and return to the proactive approach we've become accustomed to.

I do think we could do with refreshing things behind the scenes slightly. Liverpool created a recruitment structure in which Klopp is just one component rather than being the sole deciding factor & I also seem to remember Alex Ferguson bringing in new coaches every few years to freshen things up. I wonder if we could potentially look to do something similar by supplementing what we have with two or three new faces.

Appreciate the clubs mentioned operate at a higher level than may be attainable but a fresh set of eyes and an alternate viewpoint may be just what CW needs in order to tweak things and get us moving again.

 

[alcoblade]

I think I am in a small minority who do not recognize this huge shift in approach / mindset that's being suggested. For me, we're just not playing that well because;

• We've lost strong players from last season
• The replacements aren't as good, or haven't form yet (this might be where criticism is fair)
• We've had a particularly tough run of fixtures.

I think any change in approach by Wilder (other than him sounding softer on the players, which for me is understandable) is being enormously overthought and exaggerated.