The 92 point myth

[nopigfansintown]

That would put us on 98 points before the Blackburn game and I am sure we wouldnt be "resting" players for the match aiming for us to be on 101 points

You hit on a decent point there. 92 is probably a a myth as we'd have gone into the last game trying harder if there was still something to play for. It seems more fair to call it 94.

 

[GrunkyPeep]

You hit on a decent point there. 92 is probably a a myth as we'd have gone into the last game trying harder if there was still something to play for. It seems more fair to call it 94.

That's not a decent point at all.

If having something to play for meant we would win, we'd have won the final mate.

 

[LBA_Blade]

People often say that the 3 games against Oxford, Millwall and Plymouth cost us, but even if we had won them all, we would have missed out on 99pts.

What really cost us is 0pts from Burnley and Leeds. If we even drew those 4 games, the pressure would have been on them a lot more. If all other results had remained but change those 4 games to draws, the gap is 4pts, not 10.

Very true however the last 2 points could have been picked up by winning the last game at home to Blackburn instead of the draw to put us top on 101 and still losing both matches to Leeds and Burnley

 

[nopigfansintown]

That's not a decent point at all.

If having something to play for meant we would win, we'd have won the final mate.

We won the vast majority of games we tried to win. We also dominated Blackburn despite having nothing to play for. That means it's far more likely we'd win than not win. The reasonable thing to do is to do away with the mythical 92 points and make it 94

 

[robbiez666]

My main point is I don’t care how we play as long as we are successful, but the obsession over entertaining football is a strange one for me. Even the op seems to be implying he would take less points in favour of more attractive football which makes no sense to me.

I want to be entertained. What I mean by entertained isn't necessarily watching us play like classic Barcelona it's excitement. High tempo, pressing, taking a chance, blood and thunder, having a go. Much of the time under Bassett was entertaining because it was exciting, but losing every week obviously isn't. I have fond memories of watching the Spackman team as it was thrilling. Less so under Kendall as Hutchinson and Cowans were often so hung over they left a bit of sick by the corner flag.

I want us to have a go. To try and win every game by as many goals as we can and not just go ahead and defend.

 

[Gavlar]

We’re all different, aren’t we. I find not caring about being entertained a bit strange, given that football is, at its essence, a form of entertainment. A costly one as well.

I’ve said before that, although I obviously want us to be successful, I’ve enjoyed watching the Blades in all four divisions. The seasons that stand out in my memory are the ones when I’ve really enjoyed watching us play. That doesn’t include last season.

Although all PL clubs play out from the back there are big differences in how they transition forward from that point. They don’t all attempt to play like City (who I have pretty well given up watching) and many are much more enjoyable to watch.

We are all different indeed.

I enjoyed watching blades last season. We did have cautious moments, but we also had lots of attacking intent. I enjoyed watching Hamer, Rak-Saki, Campbell, O'Hare, Peck, Burrows, Souza and others going forward. It's not just about the attacking side for me either, we need to be clever defensively. Cooper, Souttar and Anel were brilliant at that.

My fav match was the one away to Bristol City as I was there with my son. We didn't play great but managed to find a way to win and shut up their crowd superbly in the last min. The feeling of euphoria at the second goal was hard to compare with.

I find it interesting that Man City are often seen as boring now as well, as they are technically brilliant at what they do, they wear down the opposition and wait for the right moment to pounce. All about opinions though of course.

 

[Gavlar]

I want to be entertained. What I mean by entertained isn't necessarily watching us play like classic Barcelona it's excitement. High tempo, pressing, taking a chance, blood and thunder, having a go. Much of the time under Bassett was entertaining because it was exciting, but losing every week obviously isn't. I have fond memories of watching the Spackman team as it was thrilling. Less so under Kendall as Hutchinson and Cowans were often so hung over they left a bit of sick by the corner flag.

I want us to have a go. To try and win every game by as many goals as we can and not just go ahead and defend.

No probs in you wanting to be entertained. My point is that it seems that some would rather get less points and be entertained than vice versa, which I don't get.

I've also enjoyed watching Wilder's teams over the years and even last season. For example, I was very entertained when we smashed Bristol City in the semi final 6-0. We mainly played long to Moore but the tactic was superb as it beat their press and they couldn't deal with it. So again, for me I want us to win more than be entertaining and ultimately winning entertains me.

 

[GrunkyPeep]

We won the vast majority of games we tried to win. We also dominated Blackburn despite having nothing to play for. That means it's far more likely we'd win than not win. The reasonable thing to do is to do away with the mythical 92 points and make it 94

Sounds like an S6 argument that tbh.

 

[nopigfansintown]

Sounds like an S6 argument that tbh.

I think you read the OP by mistake

 

[GrunkyPeep]

I think you read the OP by mistake

Nope, claiming a draw as a win is an S6 thing, it's actually something they've done fairly recently too.

 

[nopigfansintown]

Nope, claiming a draw as a win is an S6 thing, it's actually something they've done fairly recently too.

You'll find that's all in the OP . 94 points is a Blades thing. Anybody that doesn't say we got 94 points is a pig fan

 

[GrunkyPeep]

You'll find that's all in the OP . 94 points is a Blades thing. Anybody that doesn't say we got 94 points is a pig fan

Slow day at work?

 

[Foody]

Makes a point about Wilder working with people he knows all the time, and seemingly misses the point that Selles has just brought two of his men in.

It happens in football.

There's absolutely nothing unusual about a manager being in their Assistant and Head Coach, what is unusual however is a manager also bringing in: chief scout, head of fitness and just about every other key member of staff.
I find it hard to believe that that level of nepotism leads to us having top talent in all the key roles. It's all well and good having a good squad for the level, but if the structure around it isn't top class it's always likely to hold us back.

None of that is being anti Wilder, I just find it hard to believe that it's the people he happens to have personal/professional relationships that are always the most qualified candidates.

 

[alcoblade]

There's absolutely nothing unusual about a manager being in their Assistant and Head Coach, what is unusual however is a manager also bringing in: chief scout, head of fitness and just about every other key member of staff.
I find it hard to believe that that level of nepotism leads to us having top talent in all the key roles. It's all well and good having a good squad for the level, but if the structure around it isn't top class it's always likely to hold us back.

None of that is being anti Wilder, I just find it hard to believe that it's the people he happens to have personal/professional relationships that are always the most qualified candidates.

Well we'll soon find out, because we're swinging it completely the other way. Human input to a minimum, decision making and a team assembled by a computer model.

"Make a substitution Gemini!"

 

[100% part time blade]

Entertaining is the wrong word for me. I want to see aggressive, purposeful, direct (not hoof, just not aimless passing between CBs), attacking football. I want the team I support to aim to score 2+ every game and create the opportunities to have a chance to do that every week. Last season, United were over cautious.

The PL has moved away from 'Pep' ball on a significant way over theclast 22 months. Power, pace, quick ball movement are being prioritised

The interview with Sander a couple of seasons ago was interesting for me. I forgot the game, but he was saying we got dragged into a ‘basketball game’ style of match (was it Boro?), and he was saying basically we started trying to score from every attack. So the converse is that, usually, we mount attacks we’re not actually trying to score from … which seems bizarre to fans. Fans are obviously looking for quick breaks and getting bodies into the box and gunning for a goal, but the team are coached differently and thinking about ball retention, working into positions, ensuring the shape is maintained, and choosing a moment to actually try and score.
This seems to me to be what people are getting at when talking about turgid football and holding onto 1-0 score lines and the like.
‘Basketball game’ football is what we want to see - although we did lose that Boro match.

 

[Silky Sabella]

Absolutely embarrassing.

Wrong! The best post, and most accurate post this year by a country mile !

 

[blade too long]

All I've read pretty much everywhere since it was announced that Wilder has gone/was going is that the owners are mad to sack him because he got us to 92 points last season. The new manager allegedly won't get us to 92 points again as only Wilder could achieve this.

I'm going to call b/s on this myth.

We were inconsistent all season and (play offs aside), we only put in a decent performance over 90 minutes in a handful of matches. In the remainder we were either good half/bad half or poor altogther. We ground out results and relied heavily on luck. It wasn't good management or tactical nuance that won a lot of these games, it was luck. That luck ran out towards the end of the season.

In the last ten games of the season we won four, drew two and lost four. We only won two of our last seven league matches.

Wilder showed no sign of changing his methods.

To say we won't get 92 points again is arguably accurate as the odds are that Wilder himself wouldn't get 92 points again. There is no way that we could play another entire season again in this manner and expect to fluke our way to results through luck again. It's a miracle that we got that amount playing the way we did last season.

"But Wilder would change the way we play next season."

Really? Then why didn't he last season?

"He didn't have the players he needed to suit his tactics."

Then change the tactics to suit what you have and he had January to address this where he was backed by the owners, but he didn't.

I'm sick to death of reading about the 92 points without people acknowledging the poor form at the end of the season and the poor performances all season.

I can handle not getting to 92 points again next season if it means no more disjointed, inconsistent performances and no more square pegs in round holes. We have a far better chance of going up and staying up by playing well than we do by grinding out undeserved results playing crap football with central midfielders and strikers on the wings.

Other fans will only see the final league table and think we're mad. They didn't watch the crap football that we had to watch to get there. Just like some of our fans are judging Selles on results only. They don't tell the whole story and don't entirely define a manager.

Wilder wasn't "sacked" because he didn't get us promoted. He was "sacked" because of everything else.

If you're going to keep quoting 92 points then at least be honest and acknowledge how we got to 92 points and the poor performances and negative tactics throughout the season getting there that continued all the way to the last game of the season.

whereas all the other 23 clubs never won when they had an off day
leeds won the title at plymouth in a game plymouth out played them,
burnley got loads of 0-0 draws and 1-0 wins when the opposition had more of the game
saw preston draw 0-0 with burnley and PNE should have won 4-0

the only myth is that we were lucky to get 90 points, what tosh
wilder got 89 points when we last went up under him

is 90 points too far away from 89 points
seems to be a fairly consistant total

we scored more than the opposition , which is the general gist..,,, name a previous championship promotion where we were fantastic over 46 games

I would be ecstatic if we get near 90 points next season

 

[CarlMcBlade]

In my eyes it was clearly a season of two halves….Pre Souttar injury and post Souttar injury. With him in the side our whole defensive strategy had an air confidence about it. We also missed Arblasters pro active approach in the middle of the park. Sydie was a fantastic replacement but he tended to play his game 10 yards further back than Ollie did.

 

[UddersBlade]

In my eyes it was clearly a season of two halves….Pre Souttar injury and post Souttar injury. With him in the side our whole defensive strategy had an air confidence about it. We also missed Arblasters pro active approach in the middle of the park. Sydie was a fantastic replacement but he tended to play his game 10 yards further back than Ollie did.

Agreed - Souttar & Arblaster stay fit for the whole season - very likely we finish above Leeds /Burnley.

 

[bladeintheus]

It’s interesting to note that this years top two are not even on track to break 90 points (based on current ppg over the entire season). Regardless of how we got them, it does highlight that our 92 was a good points total.

 

[Berkshire Blade]

It’s interesting to note that this years top two are not even on track to break 90 points (based on current ppg over the entire season). Regardless of how we got them, it does highlight that our 92 was a good points total.

Leicester showing what a good job Wilder did too whilst rebuilding If only we didn't blow up everything in the summer

 

[Champagneblade]

It’s funny that Derby and Wrexham with no manager changes and the same set up are both on for 69 points at 1.5 points per game. That’s a pretty modest total and isn’t influenced or expecting any uptick like a manager change.

We’d need 1.92 PPG to achieve that.

We did manage 32 from 17 which is 1.88 PPG.

That was 13 from 9 away games ie. from 27 points and 19 from 8 home games ie, from 24.

We have 8 home games and 6 away games.

So at that rate we’d be adding
8 x 2.375 =19
6 x 1.444 =8.664

So, 27 or 28 more points which would take us to that 69 to 70 figure.

It shows how marginal it may be.

I think that sort of figure is attainable. I think we will still get more than a point a game away and make up for the 3 dropped vs Boro (already erased two by upgrading an away draw to a win at Pompey).

Let’s just stay grounded, have a few favours on Saturday and then be professional against the league’s worst team at home.

 

[SwissBlade]

Leicester showing what a good job Wilder did too whilst rebuilding If only we didn't blow up everything in the summer

Leicester seem to be a very very specific case of what happens when you don't include relegation clauses in contracts....

They're effectively screwed. Perhaps more screwed than our neighbours, which will annoy our neighbours as they're not even the worst / best at being screwed and their failings under chansiri will be overshadowed by Leicester, a bigger and more successful club than them

 

[SwissBlade]

It’s funny that Derby and Wrexham with no manager changes and the same set up are both on for 69 points at 1.5 points per game. That’s a pretty modest total and isn’t influenced or expecting any uptick like a manager change.

We’d need 1.92 PPG to achieve that.

We did manage 32 from 17 which is 1.88 PPG.

That was 13 from 9 away games ie. from 27 points and 19 from 8 home games ie, from 24.

We have 8 home games and 6 away games.

So at that rate we’d be adding
8 x 2.375 =19
6 x 1.444 =8.664

So, 27 or 28 more points which would take us to that 69 to 70 figure.

It shows how marginal it may be.

I think that sort of figure is attainable. I think we will still get more than a point a game away and make up for the 3 dropped vs Boro (already erased two by upgrading an away draw to a win at Pompey).

Let’s just stay grounded, have a few favours on Saturday and then be professional against the league’s worst team at home.

The lack of consistency we've shown this season, since we've got things clicking when Bamford and Riedewald came in has pretty much nailed on that we won't quite have enough to make the Play offs, but whilst it is still attainable, mathematically, we should obviously push for it.

We've shown some very good form at times, but the smaller squad with the lack of quality in the depth, hasn't helped Wilder. It will be a summer rebuild, regardless.

Just need to find the consistency between now and the end of the season, use the squad as much as we can especially when we have 3 game weeks.

 

[Kenilworth]

The lack of consistency we've shown this season, since we've got things clicking when Bamford and Riedewald came in has pretty much nailed on that we won't quite have enough to make the Play offs, but whilst it is still attainable, mathematically, we should obviously push for it.

We've shown some very good form at times, but the smaller squad with the lack of quality in the depth, hasn't helped Wilder. It will be a summer rebuild, regardless.

Just need to find the consistency between now and the end of the season, use the squad as much as we can especially when we have 3 game weeks.

Reideweld is a key to consistency IMO

 

[SwissBlade]

Reideweld is a key to consistency IMO

I think that could also be said for Tom Davies as well.

The fact that both have had long spells out has certainly impacted our consistency this season and last

 

[Champagneblade]

The lack of consistency we've shown this season, since we've got things clicking when Bamford and Riedewald came in has pretty much nailed on that we won't quite have enough to make the Play offs, but whilst it is still attainable, mathematically, we should obviously push for it.

We've shown some very good form at times, but the smaller squad with the lack of quality in the depth, hasn't helped Wilder. It will be a summer rebuild, regardless.

Just need to find the consistency between now and the end of the season, use the squad as much as we can especially when we have 3 game weeks.

It’s just a question of hanging in there.

I think we have an opportunity to move theough the gears and click.

A few IFs but not unreasonable ones: IF Bamford remains available, IF Phillips and / or Riedewald are available for all the matches and IF Cooper remains fit then we’re heading toward sprint finish and away from the slog of the Marathon.

Boro was a test we ultimately failed but the sending off was crucial. At that point we had the bit between our teeth and despite us waxing lyrical about them I’m convinced we would have found an equaliser 11 v 11.

In two games time we have an opportunity to show we don’t wilt on the big stage and face off against a Coventry side that have been stuttering despite their showing vs Boro.

If you have aspirations, at some point you’ve got to show up. We did vs Ipswich. I’d hope some of the no shows could be out to bed now that the finish line isn’t so far away.

 

[SwissBlade]

Boro was a test we ultimately failed but the sending off was crucial. At that point we had the bit between our teeth and despite us waxing lyrical about them I’m convinced we would have found an equaliser 11 v 11.

I don't think Boro was a failed test, like Ipswich and Coventry, they're almost a free hit. Not every defeat should be seen as a failure.

Ipswich and Boro were certainly markers for where we are and I think Boro put in an almost complete performance which could have been a higher score.

I'm interested to see how Coventry perform, it will be a big game after Sunday's derby, so lets hope that we come through Sunday unscathed.

 

[b1ade4life]

I think that could also be said for Tom Davies as well.

The fact that both have had long spells out has certainly impacted our consistency this season and last

Davies 2 games per season cameos are definitely the catalyst for our inconsistency

 

[Balham]

I think that could also be said for Tom Davies as well.

The fact that both have had long spells out has certainly impacted our consistency this season and last

Not sure it's true of Davies. He's clearly a class above but he's so rarely fit that when he is it takes a couple of games for the team and him to find a cadence, at which point he's out injured again.

Riedewald has had one injury since he's been here. Our record with him in the team pre-injury was P12 W7 D1 L4 (two defeats in his first two when he was miles off match fit) and our record since his injury is P7 W3 D1 L3.

Hopefully Riedewald is back fit soon and Kalvin Phillips can get up to speed quickly because if we can play the two together for the final 12 or so matches we'll win 9 or 10 of them.