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Incredibly bleak and yet still an enjoyable pod. Roy you need to get a bit of Nord VPN action by the sound of things... I'm sure someone has a good discount code for that don't they?
 
Beans said:
How do S2,

Latest pod is here, with Roygbiv and I discussing the Blades' botching it v Blackpool, and also looking ahead to tomorrow's game with Nottingham Forest, including the question of whether we should field an all-ex-Forest XI to try and jinx/confuse our way to victory (spoiler: the answer is no).

Thank you as always for listening!

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A very realistic assessment of where we are. Your optimism has experienced a moment of clarity….
 
derekacorah said:
You two have gone pessimistic now, we're screwed.

I expect all my podcast pessimism to come from Deadbat and Webding but now you pair have joined in as well.
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Roygbiv said:
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Firstly, I’d argue that I’m ‘realistic’, though obviously being associated with DB will always give me an inescapable air of pessimism.

Secondly… I won’t get chance to listen this week, but surely Bladespod haven’t been downbeat? I’ve always thought that if the club had a winding-up order, Beans and Roygbiv would still find an upside.

And most importantly… does this make Deadbat Vader? Or is he the Emperor? Jar-Jar Binks maybe?
 
Webding said:
Firstly, I’d argue that I’m ‘realistic’, though obviously being associated with DB will always give me an inescapable air of pessimism.

Secondly… I won’t get chance to listen this week, but surely Bladespod haven’t been downbeat? I’ve always thought that if the club had a winding-up order, Beans and Roygbiv would still find an upside.

And most importantly… does this make Deadbat Vader? Or is he the Emperor? Jar-Jar Binks maybe?
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Also for those trying to say I'm not negative enough I'll have you know I have written reviews saying you are wrong

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Webding said:
Firstly, I’d argue that I’m ‘realistic’, though obviously being associated with DB will always give me an inescapable air of pessimism.

Secondly… I won’t get chance to listen this week, but surely Bladespod haven’t been downbeat? I’ve always thought that if the club had a winding-up order, Beans and Roygbiv would still find an upside.

And most importantly… does this make Deadbat Vader? Or is he the Emperor? Jar-Jar Binks maybe?
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Agreed that Deadbat is the miser of the pod. However I agree with him most of the time.

Roygbiv has got some miserablism in him but I didn’t think Beans had.
 
derekacorah said:
Agreed that Deadbat is the miser of the pod. However I agree with him most of the time.

Roygbiv has got some miserablism in him but I didn’t think Beans had.
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I think United will lose most games but I do try to take the emotion away for the pod and try to look at it as balanced as I can. I think Ben is the same. It's just that right now all the logic suggests it's going to be a frustrating season and the only real hope is we suddenly click into gear which after the last 18 months is pretty fanciful.
 
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Roygbiv said:
I think United will lose most games but I do try to take the emotion away for the pod and try to look at it as balanced as I can. I think Ben is the same. It's just that right now all the logic suggests it's going to be a frustrating season and the only real hope is we suddenly click into gear which after the last 18 months is pretty fanciful.
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I’m the most miserable person ever and always think we’ll lose so I know how you feel.
 
Had some trepidation about listening to this instalment, as it meant re-living the match. But as ever, thoroughly enjoyable. Find myself agreeing with everything you both say.
 
Afternoon S2 - after being a bit grumpy last episode, I was feeling a bit more buoyant in this one due to 2 reasons: 1) we consciously avoided repeating all the things we said in the last episode about where the season looks to be heading, and 2) I was in attendance and enjoyed it as an away "day".

Anyway, Roygbiv and I discuss the 1-1 draw with Forest, a welcome return to the lineup for Chris Basham, the latest installment of Billy Sharp Creates Goals, left-side woes and the last word on Roy's fabled Colombia shirt. As always, many thanks for listening.

 
Beans said:
Afternoon S2 - after being a bit grumpy last episode, I was feeling a bit more buoyant in this one due to 2 reasons: 1) we consciously avoided repeating all the things we said in the last episode about where the season looks to be heading, and 2) I was in attendance and enjoyed it as an away "day".

Anyway, Roygbiv and I discuss the 1-1 draw with Forest, a welcome return to the lineup for Chris Basham, the latest installment of Billy Sharp Creates Goals, left-side woes and the last word on Roy's fabled Colombia shirt. As always, many thanks for listening.

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Thought you were very kind to Forest, Beans . My view from the red button was that they sat deep and hoped (expected) to be donated a decisive moment. For a home team on the rise it seemed incredibly negative.

Also it was interesting to hear you both theorising that they had a ploy to leave our left flank in space. I couldn’t figure out if it was our plan to go left, Forest’s tactics, or even Brewster and Bogle’s complete inability to link up on the other side.

I know some Prem teams allow Wan Bissaka room because he’s the least threatening Man U player. But doing that for us…. Really, Mr Cooper?
 
JohnDenver said:
Thought you were very kind to Forest, Beans . My view from the red button was that they sat deep and hoped (expected) to be donated a decisive moment. For a home team on the rise it seemed incredibly negative.

Also it was interesting to hear you both theorising that they had a ploy to leave our left flank in space. I couldn’t figure out if it was our plan to go left, Forest’s tactics, or even Brewster and Bogle’s complete inability to link up on the other side.

I know some Prem teams allow Wan Bissaka room because he’s the least threatening Man U player. But doing that for us…. Really, Mr Cooper?
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I don't think it's a coincidence Stevens had about 6,000 touches. I think all season teams have tried to crowd out and press the middle whilst letting our full backs have possession as they know their delivery is poor.

My theory is Cooper was expecting N'Diaye to play so tried to shut down that right side by getting tight on him and MGW whilst sitting off and getting into shape when we attacked at the other end as he knew Stevens and Osborn weren't going to get by them quickly with either pace or passing.

Or it could just be our players think Brewster is shit so wouldn't pass to him.
 

JohnDenver said:
Thought you were very kind to Forest, Beans . My view from the red button was that they sat deep and hoped (expected) to be donated a decisive moment. For a home team on the rise it seemed incredibly negative.
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Yeah I may well have overrated Forest - it probably felt like they were doing better than they actually were just from being part of the crowd and seeing how excited the home fans were getting at not that much actually happening (relative to most of our games this season anyway, which have had fairly benign atmospheres I think?). All the same it did feel like they went from sitting off us for 30 mins to being much more aggressive in terms of physicality and how high they pressed us, so I'd give them some credit for that as we went from strolling into their box to rushing clearances out of play.
 
Roygbiv said:
Or it could just be our players think Brewster is shit so wouldn't pass to him.
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I wasn’t going to say this, but since you’ve raised it I can now blame you. ;)

I thought there were genuine signs of this happening. Twice MGW had a simple pass wide to Brewster in space, but twice threaded a ball inside to a marked Mousset. And when he did play Brewster in for his late chance, he demonstratively punched the floor when it was scuffed through to the keeper.

Worrying signs for Brewster. It reminded me of the fella in my 7-a-sides who hangs out wide but the flash yoof never pass to him. 😕
 
Afternoon all, well it looks like I dodged a bullet in missing the Blackburn game, but Roygbiv gives his quick thoughts on that, plus we're feeling very conflicted about Wilder being back in football. The meat of this week's episode, however, is our attempt to rank the entire first-team squad, in terms of:

  • players we'd keep and build around
  • players we'd listen to offers for
  • players we should get rid of ASAP

We did this draft style, starting with the build-around players and descending - quite rapidly, it happens - from there. Find out who we had number 1 and who's in the basement propping up the rest, right here:



Thanks for listening, much appreciated. We left out players who are on loan but we deemed unrealistic signings (MGW, Olsen), youth players who've barely featured in the league for us (Hackford, Slater, Lopata, Brunt) but included Jebbison who has played more, and Ben Davies and Conor Hourihane who are both on loan but don't feel unrealistic in terms of potential future signings.
 
WRT the above, if anyone fancies having a pop at their own ranking, here are the 27 players considered, in alphabetical order:

Adlene Guedioura
Ben Davies
Ben Osborn
Billy Sharp
Chris Basham
Conor Hourihane
Daniel Jebbison
David McGoldrick
Enda Stevens
George Baldock
Iliman Ndiaye
Jack O'Connell
Jack Robinson
Jayden Bogle
John Egan
John Fleck
Luke Freeman
Lys Mousset
Max Lowe
Michael Verrips
Oli Burke
Oli McBurnie
Oli Norwood
Rhian Brewster
Rhys Norrington-Davies
Sander Berge
Wes Foderingham

If you've not listened yet - we took things like age and contract situation into account. So if there were two players of similar ability, the younger player would probably get picked higher.
 
Beans said:
If you've not listened yet - we took things like age and contract situation into account. So if there were two players of similar ability, the younger player would probably get picked higher.
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I'll listen on the way home from work so I'll try mine before I do:

Adlene Guedioura - Goodbye
Ben Davies - Goodbye
Ben Osborn - Listen to offers
Billy Sharp - Keep for another season, by then he'll probably have been offered the caretaker job
Chris Basham - Keep forever, doesn't matter what he does
Conor Hourihane - Goodbye
Daniel Jebbison - Bring him back and keep him
David McGoldrick - Listen to offers (very reluctantly)
Enda Stevens - Exorcise him and get he 2018/19 Enda back
George Baldock - Listen to offers but if he learns to cross keep him
Iliman Ndiaye - Keep
Jack O'Connell - Keep if fit
Jack Robinson - Goodbye
Jayden Bogle - Keep (but kick up the arse)
John Egan - Keep (but kick up the arse)
John Fleck - Take any offers that are above £0
Luke Freeman - Get rid at any price
Lys Mousset - Keep (but only pay him 60% of his wages until he can complete a match)
Max Lowe - Bring him back and play - RND and Enda haven't pulled up any trees and Forest like him
Michael Verrips - Sell or give away
Oli Burke - Sell or give away
Oli McBurnie - Listen to offers (there won't be any though)
Oli Norwood - Keep for another season as a backup option when we sign a decent midfielder
Rhian Brewster - Listen to offers (there won't be any!)
Rhys Norrington-Davies - Keep but not overly convinced with him
Sander Berge - Keep if we can afford to but tell him he has to actually play games of football
Wes Foderingham - Keep as backup
Robin Olsen - Send back at the earliest opportunity and get a keeper who isn't a bombscare and actually wants to be here.
 
PeterNdlovu081 said:
Did you go to Hull or Boro away in 2018?
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Neither but saw the Hull game and did make comparisons to that one and the Blackburn game.

I don't think it was quite as bad as Blackburn as we were never in danger of a proper hammering like we were on Saturday.
 
Adlene Guedioura - OUT. Too old and injured. No long-term value.
Ben Davies - KEEP. Still think he has something to offer. Egan gets a bit of a free ride at times.
Ben Osborn - KEEP, as a back up/utility player, but would be looking to offload in a year or two.
Billy Sharp - KEEP, but on the proviso we get some serious competition for his place and he can take more of a backseat/leadership role. Still our best striker.
Chris Basham - KEEP (as above)
Conor Hourihane - OUT. A left-footed Norwood.
Daniel Jebbison - KEEP. Could be the one to step up to the mantle to replace Sharp.
David McGoldrick - OUT. Been a great player for us, but I think it's time to move him on.
Enda Stevens - OUT. As above really, but Enda has been awful for 18 months now.
George Baldock - OUT. Seems to be on the decline and his attacking capabilities have always been poor.
Iliman Ndiaye - KEEP. No explanation needed here.
Jack O'Connell - OUT. This is assuming he won't fully recover. Sadly I'm thinking he won't given the length of time he has been out.
Jack Robinson - OUT. Abysmal.
Jayden Bogle - OUT. Not really lived up to the promise. Think we can do better and it'd be preferable to give Seriki his chance.
John Egan - KEEP. But more as a rotation player. Not been the same for some time, but maybe one to keep around for a year or two (as per Osborn).
John Fleck - OUT. Never in games any more, a passenger.
Luke Freeman - OUT. Think he's been managed badly since he signed. Evidently not going to work for him here.
Lys Mousset - OUT. The injuries and his questionable attitude are major concerns. Not worth the risk.
Max Lowe - OUT. Seems to be doing well at Forest, but his wages are apparently high. Would look to cash in and get a replacement.
Michael Verrips - OUT. Lee Baxter mk.II
Oli Burke - OUT. A headless chicken.
Oli McBurnie - OUT. Pound, for pound our worst signing ever?
Oli Norwood - OUT. Been ok this season, but way too slow and not physical enough.
Rhian Brewster - KEEP. Maybe he can kick on now after that goal last week? Possibly OUT in the next year if he doesn't improve.
Rhys Norrington-Davies - KEEP. Got slated a bit, but far more stable than Stevens IMO and still young. Worth having around in the short term to see how things go.
Sander Berge - OUT. Expected more at this level and injuries seem to be a reoccurring theme. We need to cash in.
Wes Foderingham - KEEP. Better than Olsen.
 
derekacorah said:
I'll listen on the way home from work so I'll try mine before I do:

Adlene Guedioura - Goodbye
Ben Davies - Goodbye
Ben Osborn - Listen to offers
Billy Sharp - Keep for another season, by then he'll probably have been offered the caretaker job
Chris Basham - Keep forever, doesn't matter what he does
Conor Hourihane - Goodbye
Daniel Jebbison - Bring him back and keep him
David McGoldrick - Listen to offers (very reluctantly)
Enda Stevens - Exorcise him and get he 2018/19 Enda back
George Baldock - Listen to offers but if he learns to cross keep him
Iliman Ndiaye - Keep
Jack O'Connell - Keep if fit
Jack Robinson - Goodbye
Jayden Bogle - Keep (but kick up the arse)
John Egan - Keep (but kick up the arse)
John Fleck - Take any offers that are above £0
Luke Freeman - Get rid at any price
Lys Mousset - Keep (but only pay him 60% of his wages until he can complete a match)
Max Lowe - Bring him back and play - RND and Enda haven't pulled up any trees and Forest like him
Michael Verrips - Sell or give away
Oli Burke - Sell or give away
Oli McBurnie - Listen to offers (there won't be any though)
Oli Norwood - Keep for another season as a backup option when we sign a decent midfielder
Rhian Brewster - Listen to offers (there won't be any!)
Rhys Norrington-Davies - Keep but not overly convinced with him
Sander Berge - Keep if we can afford to but tell him he has to actually play games of football
Wes Foderingham - Keep as backup
Robin Olsen - Send back at the earliest opportunity and get a keeper who isn't a bombscare and actually wants to be here.
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Pretty much agree with that, what a depressing state the club is in.
 
Beans said:
Afternoon all, well it looks like I dodged a bullet in missing the Blackburn game, but Roygbiv gives his quick thoughts on that, plus we're feeling very conflicted about Wilder being back in football. The meat of this week's episode, however, is our attempt to rank the entire first-team squad, in terms of:

  • players we'd keep and build around
  • players we'd listen to offers for
  • players we should get rid of ASAP

We did this draft style, starting with the build-around players and descending - quite rapidly, it happens - from there. Find out who we had number 1 and who's in the basement propping up the rest, right here:



Thanks for listening, much appreciated. We left out players who are on loan but we deemed unrealistic signings (MGW, Olsen), youth players who've barely featured in the league for us (Hackford, Slater, Lopata, Brunt) but included Jebbison who has played more, and Ben Davies and Conor Hourihane who are both on loan but don't feel unrealistic in terms of potential future signings.
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Good grief that was a depressing listen, yesterday evening. 😟
Can't disagree with any of the rankings - oh, dear.

I can't see SJ getting what he wants in the JTW - which means I cannot see an end to this purgatory any time soon.
However shit we are this year I just don't see how that improves next season because it will be a case of getting rid and relying on the U23 because there is nothign in any pot the prince may have (not borrowed yet).

Keep up the good work, fellers - never miss one :)
 

One observation/tangent: when it’s said that “player x doesn’t fit into the current team”, I’m not yet sure who actually does fit, or what it is they’re supposed to fit into…

The only players who’ve dovetailed are MGW and Ndiaye. And I think that’s because they’ve been given licence to roam and they’re natural talents. I could add Sharp to that list for different reasons.

You’re definitely right that many players have peaked, both in attitude and ability. But I can’t tell who might yet fit into Slav’s plans, just because those plans are shrouded in grot.

For example, I think Norwood could yet play a vital role if we recruited the right partner in midfield. Big if….

Similarly, Baldock hasn’t suddenly become a bad player, but he can’t be left isolated out wide as he often is.

Big clear out needed, but hopefully some surprise revivals too.
 
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