Gary nevilles comments

[chesblade]

Interesting to hear before match tonight, talking about moyes building his team. He reckons it takes 4 to 5 years to build a team, and that he will be given time to do this. We expect weir to build his side and be top of the league in 8 matches

 

[Darren]

Interesting to hear before match tonight, talking about moyes building his team. He reckons it takes 4 to 5 years to build a team, and that he will be given time to do this. We expect weir to build his side and be top of the league in 8 matches

I suspect if Man Utd were bottom of the league having only won one of their first nine games, Moyes would be on borrowed time.

 

[Ballinpigpubs13]

And man utd aren't rock bottom and not scoring and also playing shite.
We are looking into the abyss of the lowest tier of the football league just to let somebody " ahem, have time"

 

[Bladesman]

Difference is Man Utd have actually won some matches and are not bottom of the league. Man Utd have the quality in the team to turn their season around and have someone who actually has previous managerial experience in charge. They won't win the league but they won't finish outside the top 6 in my view.

 

[Gavlar]

Interesting to hear before match tonight, talking about moyes building his team. He reckons it takes 4 to 5 years to build a team, and that he will be given time to do this. We expect weir to build his side and be top of the league in 8 matches

Neville is being realistic about how long it really takes, but I doubt moyes will be given 4 or 5 yrs if he wins nowt over that time. patience will run thin much sooner than that.

but u make a fair point about our expectation of weir. but sadly he has no track record to point to in management whereas moyes does. the only thing we know about his management record at the mo is we are bottom of the league after 9 games

 

[judge]

I think fergusons greatest achievement has been getting man utd competitive with a pretty average squad
Moyes is good but he wont be able to squeeze absolute optimum performance like fegie could

 

[The Fox]

[We expect weir to build his side and be top of the league in 8 matches

Did we really expect to be top ,? Didn't expect to be bottom either.

 

[Gavlar]

[We expect weir to build his side and be top of the league in 8 matches

Did we really expect to be top ,? Didn't expect to be bottom either.

Ahh the joy of mid-table mediocrity looks very appealing now doesn't it

 

[bladesadviser]

I think Moyes is about to be found out. An Evertonian mate of mine thinks his level of success at Everton has been greatly exaggerated. Although you wouldn't expect them to win the league or even get a champions league place a cup shouldn't have been beyond him. He points to Wigan, Birmingham,Middlesborough and Swansea as clubs who all won cups while Moyes was at Everton

 

[Houso]

I think Moyes is about to be found out. An Evertonian mate of mine thinks his level of success at Everton has been greatly exaggerated. Although you wouldn't expect them to win the league or even get a champions league place a cup shouldn't have been beyond him. He points to Wigan, Birmingham,Middlesborough and Swansea as clubs who all won cups while Moyes was at Everton

Cups mean shit all. Getting consistently high positions beyond your budget means everything.

 

[judge]

Its a sore point though , they get a lot of stick from liverpools sky tv watching legions about it

 

[Ashtonsmashton]

Interesting to hear before match tonight, talking about moyes building his team. He reckons it takes 4 to 5 years to build a team, and that he will be given time to do this. We expect weir to build his side and be top of the league in 8 matches

One's just lost one of the greats of football and the other has just lost Sir Alex Ferguson

 

[alcoblade]

but sadly he has no track record to point to in management whereas moyes does. the only thing we know about his management record at the mo is we are bottom of the league after 9 games

This is the point. I recognise it takes longer to build a team than managers typically get. So you look for the signs....;

Track record....FAIL
Early form........FAIL
Underlying performance irrespective of results.........FAIL
Progression from predecessor........FAIL
Belief on the terraces..................FAIL


There are some minor positives (he's recognised poor players, bought it promising youth), but the failure of above points means we cannot leave it much longer.

UTB

 

[PeterNdlovu081]

Did we really expect to be top?

Yes. A lot of people did.

 

[alcoblade]

Yes. A lot of people did.

But to be fair, they need medication.

UTB

 

[PeterNdlovu081]

But to be fair, they need medication.

UTB

That's a lot of people needing medication.

I think it was 30+ who tipped us to finish top in that prediction thread.

 

[alcoblade]

That's a lot of people needing medication.

I think it was 30+ who tipped us to finish top in that prediction thread.

I stand by my initial assessment. They need help.

In all seriousness, I'd love to hear a case for why anyone expected us to finish above, for example, Wolves.

UTB

 

[oldblade]

Interesting to hear before match tonight, talking about moyes building his team. He reckons it takes 4 to 5 years to build a team, and that he will be given time to do this. We expect weir to build his side and be top of the league in 8 matches

I don't think many of us expected to be top of the league, but we certainly did not expect to be bottom after 9 games with only one win, 5 goals and no clean sheets. Moyes may have taken 5 years to build the side he wanted, but they were never even remotely relegation contenders during any of that time.

 

[Jehovah]

There can be no justification for this squad to be bottom of the league. None.

 

[oldblade]

That's a lot of people needing medication.

I think it was 30+ who tipped us to finish top in that prediction thread.

Out of several hundred registered users of this forum. That isn't actually very many.

 

[metalblade]

I don't think many of us expected to be top of the league, but we certainly did not expect to be bottom after 9 games with only one win, 5 goals and no clean sheets. Moyes may have taken 5 years to build the side he wanted, but they were never even remotely relegation contenders during any of that time.

Really, all last season I was predicting a relegation battle and now here it is. I thought it unbelievable that we were top of league one around Xmas last season, by the end of January the sale of Blackman scuppered any chance at all of promotion and an already poor team was put into an even steeper decline. Why on earth would anyone think we could do anything other than struggle this season never mind win auto promotion. Amazingly one or two on this forum are now saying the present incumbents are good enough to be a lower championship team, laughable if nowt else, I bet the pigs and dingles would shit their pants at the thoughts of drawing us in a cup game LMFAO

 

[Sheff de party]

1 goal in 7 games.
Only one of the players he has signed has scored.
Our top scorer so far is Maguire.
We've lost 6 on the bounce.

I don't mind rebuilding, but we haven't finished outside the playoffs since we got into this division.

It didnt need 'rebuilding' and he is rebuilding us into a league 2 side.

 

[alcoblade]

Really, all last season I was predicting a relegation battle and now here it is. I thought it unbelievable that we were top of league one around Xmas last season, by the end of January the sale of Blackman scuppered any chance at all of promotion and an already poor team was put into an even steeper decline. Why on earth would anyone think we could do anything other than struggle this season never mind win auto promotion. Amazingly one or two on this forum are now saying the present incumbents are good enough to be a lower championship team, laughable if nowt else, I bet the pigs and dingles would shit their pants at the thoughts of drawing us in a cup game LMFAO

Though the sale of Blackman was pivotal in last seasons capitulation, our end of season form was still infinitely superior to this season's. And most of us would, I think, have traded McDonald for the players we've taken in. So for me though talk of promotion certainty was ludicrous, being stuck at the bottom of the third division is more so.

UTB

 

[true99blade]

Yes. A lot of people did.

Really? I never thought we'd be challenging for automatic promotion and I'm sure the vast majority of Blades agree with me. If you look at our squad compared to the likes of Wolves, Peterborough, Bristol, Preston, Orient etc then you realise our squad is far from the best in the league.

 

[shorehamview]

It's rather easier to turn a team that won the league into a team that can win the league again within a season or two. Matters are different to the situation we have at United, but Weir isn't helping himself. Moyes has to turn an already winning side into another winning side. He's only a few players short of that. Meanwhile, Weir is a country mile away from achieving anything at United apart from either relegation or the sack.

 

[super_pig]

Really? I never thought we'd be challenging for automatic promotion and I'm sure the vast majority of Blades agree with me. If you look at our squad compared to the likes of Wolves, Peterborough, Bristol, Preston, Orient etc then you realise our squad is far from the best in the league.

i reckon our squad is as good as any of these on paper (orient??) .. that is why i am worried about our position

 

[StarBlade]

I thought we'd be in the play-offs, and still believe we will get there after the remaining 38 games are over with.

Man Utd being in the bottom half is relatively as bad as us being rock bottom, so Moyes must be under some pressure. I'd like to think that with Alex Ferguson as Director means it'll be a long-haul rather than a short-term panic.

The differences between what DW and Moyes have inherited are relatively huge though. Moyes has inherited a side that is the best in England, with some players who are among the best in Europe. DW has inherited a side that got turned over by Yeovil, comfortably. Moyes has an unlimited supply of money. DW has a very limited supply of money despite investment. Moyes can ask his players to do anything knowing they could perform, DW can ask and will be unsure of the outcome. The fact is that Moyes doesn't need to rebuild as such, whereas DW clearly does and it's a requirement from the Board to do so with a new footballing culture.

We shouldn't be bottom, and this is DW's failing, for now. However, if we're serious about changing the Blades for the better in the future, it has to start somewhere with someone. This appears to be the time, whether we like it or not.

 

[Balham]

1 goal in 7 games.
Only one of the players he has signed has scored.
Our top scorer so far is Maguire.
We've lost 6 on the bounce.

I don't mind rebuilding, but we haven't finished outside the playoffs since we got into this division.

It didnt need 'rebuilding' and he is rebuilding us into a league 2 side.

It did need rebuilding. Wilson's second season team was on borrowed time - look at the level his senior signings last season are playing at this year - Higginbotham is in the Conference, Robson is in the SPL and Kitson is in League 2.

Weir's intentions are spot on - remould the team into one which can play incisive, pass and move football - but the execution isn't happening at the moment because we've got a soft core, no leadership and a lack of balance at full back.

Man Utd being in the bottom half is relatively as bad as us being rock bottom, so Moyes must be under some pressure. I'd like to think that with Alex Ferguson as Director means it'll be a long-haul rather than a short-term panic.

The differences between what DW and Moyes have inherited are relatively huge though. Moyes has inherited a side that is the best in England, with some players who are among the best in Europe. DW has inherited a side that got turned over by Yeovil, comfortably. Moyes has an unlimited supply of money. DW has a very limited supply of money despite investment. Moyes can ask his players to do anything knowing they could perform, DW can ask and will be unsure of the outcome. The fact is that Moyes doesn't need to rebuild as such, whereas DW clearly does and it's a requirement from the Board to do so with a new footballing culture.

Not true. Man U only won the league last season due to Mancini's inability to manage (he's going to get found out at Gala). This season, their transfer dealings have left their first XI behind City and Chelsea with Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham much, much closer. Man U will finish between 4th and 6th. In addition, the only truly top class players at Man U are Vidic (when fit), Rooney and van Persie.

Interestingly, I heard an Arsenal fan comment the other day that the best signing they made this summer was Flamini - the capable defensive midfielder they've been missing: the one who was snapping into tackles in the 85th minute to ensure they came away from Swansea with 3 points. That is exactly what we're missing.

 

[OllyBlade]

1 goal in 7 games.
Only one of the players he has signed has scored.
Our top scorer so far is Maguire.
We've lost 6 on the bounce.

I don't mind rebuilding, but we haven't finished outside the playoffs since we got into this division.

It didnt need 'rebuilding' and he is rebuilding us into a league 2 side.

Exactly, long term plans are necessary but if there is no short term survival then what is the point?

One thing which should be said is that for example at Swansea, rightly held up as a good model of how to rise the leagues playing "the right way", the philosophy and the style remained the same despite changes of manager. Each subsequent manager just made minor tweaks rather than wholesale changes. E.g. when Rogers took over, Swansea were already playing a passing game, he just added a bit more consistency, quality, and incisiveness.

 

[bladesadviser]

Cups mean shit all. Getting consistently high positions beyond your budget means everything.

I would like to win a cup