Replacing 3 best players = patience required

[Revolution]

We've seen how clubs like Norwich and Southampton can turn things round and of course there's others who don't but compare the state of the club and the feeling amongst the fans when we came down to how it was immediately prior to Ched being sent down (where we were undoubtedly unlucky not to bounce straight back a la Wolves) and the end of last season. The club has a fan base plenty of clubs higher up would be proud of and money behind us (potentially).

Make or break this season but in the grand scheme of things, I still think relegation forced a shake up that was required and when we do go up, we will be in a much better shape than the last time we were there. Of course another failure this season..........

Of course the mood was worse. We'd been relegated, for crying out loud!

I agree that a relegation can be a "springboard" for clearing the decks and improving things medium term - our 1981 and 1988 relegations are both in this category - but a 4 years and counting spell in this division is not a good thing at all, particularly when the financial gap is getting wider every season.

 

[Fiery Blade]

I blame the players - no heart, no desire no balls but most of all NO LOYALTY !!
They're not like supporters most of them couldn't give a sh!t as long as they pick up their money at the end of every month !
If Coady would rather go to Huddersfield, Maguire go and sit in the stands at Hull, Butler watch Walsall so be it - I want to see players that want to go out and win for Sheffield United FC, have some pride and do it for the club!
Pre Season Favourites - Set of Prima Donnas the lot of them !

 

[Darren]

Of course the mood was worse. We'd been relegated, for crying out loud!

I agree that a relegation can be a "springboard" for clearing the decks and improving things medium term - our 1981 and 1988 relegations are both in this category - but a 4 years and counting spell in this division is not a good thing at all, particularly when the financial gap is getting wider every season.

Indeed. Had Evans not been sent down or had Andy Taylor's penalty been six inches to the left, I think JC would have been right. As it is, I can't see how 4 years (at least) in the third tier is anything other than a disaster.

 

[Highbury_Blade]

We've seen how clubs like Norwich and Southampton can turn things round and of course there's others who don't but compare the state of the club and the feeling amongst the fans when we came down to how it was immediately prior to Ched being sent down (where we were undoubtedly unlucky not to bounce straight back a la Wolves) and the end of last season. The club has a fan base plenty of clubs higher up would be proud of and money behind us (potentially).

Make or break this season but in the grand scheme of things, I still think relegation forced a shake up that was required and when we do go up, we will be in a much better shape than the last time we were there. Of course another failure this season..........

Southampton 'turned things around' by going into admin and dumping their debt.

 

[Highbury_Blade]

Indeed. Had Evans not been sent down or had Andy Taylor's penalty been six inches to the left, I think JC would have been right. As it is, I can't see how 4 years (at least) in the third tier is anything other than a disaster.

I think if we'd gone up in 2011/12 we'd have struggled in the championship. We certainly wouldn't have done a Norwich or Southampton due to off the pitch pressures.

Potentially we're in better shape now off the pitch to do a Norwich or Southampton, but not on it....

 

[cooperblade]

I blame the players - no heart, no desire no balls but most of all NO LOYALTY !!
They're not like supporters most of them couldn't give a sh!t as long as they pick up their money at the end of every month !
If Coady would rather go to Huddersfield, Maguire go and sit in the stands at Hull, Butler watch Walsall so be it - I want to see players that want to go out and win for Sheffield United FC, have some pride and do it for the club!
Pre Season Favourites - Set of Prima Donnas the lot of them !

Why would Coady have any loyalty to Sheffield United?

 

[Fiery Blade]

According to his comments at the end of last season Coady stated he owed a lot to Sheffield United and Nigel Clough for developing him as a player and would love to come back if things didn't work out at Liverpool !

 

[cooperblade]

According to his comments at the end of last season Coady stated he owed a lot to Sheffield United and Nigel Clough for developing him as a player and would love to come back if things didn't work out at Liverpool !

I can't see any reason why he'd feel like he was so grateful to us that he'd turn down Championship football to come back.

We did him a favour by giving him an opportunity and he repaid that with some good performances (particularly towards the end of his spell) - doesn't mean he should have felt obliged to turn down a much better career move out of a sense of gratitude. He was hardly in the footballing wilderness when we picked him up.

 

[bartman]

Ah. One of those egos would be McDonald - Wolves' MOM on Saturday. Can't agree, Jim. We keep selling talent and trying to replace them with lesser players and that's why we're where we are.

Maybe 'deep issues within the club' is overstating things. But Butler will take some explaining away.

Kmac wanted to leave and wouldn't have signed a new contract unless a release clause was put in his contract. No one has mentioned that KMac had an ego problem but even if he did, that wasn't an issue NC had to deal with.

As for Butler,do you want NC to play him if their are currently better options ?

 

[Silent Blade]

Wouldn't Ronnie Moore be too busy sorting out his £1 goal galore acculmulators nowadays?

How about asking Ronnie Moore (from a neutral point of view) the question I asked you twice without getting an answer from you? Is our Academy one of the best in the land?

 

[bartman]

What was his rating after the first Fulham game in which he settled into a role that was right for him?

.

He still wasn't in the top 3 performers after the Fulham game, Messrs Murphy, Maguire, Flynn, Doyle, Harris,Baxter, Scougall and Brayford were all consistently better performers than him in the latter half of the season

 

[The Bohemian]

As for 'replacing three best players', Maguire wanted out and there's nothing you can do when things deteriorate as far as that. (See Agard at Toytown.) Brayford was just a happy coincidence - a player who was playing way below his capabilities in the Third. He's now rediscovered his mojo and playing at the level he deserves to be at. Happy memories but time to move on.

However, the one that's really pissing me off is Coady. £400k? And we couldn't match/beat it?

But this brings me to (possibly) a deeper malaise. Apparently Liverpool 'wanted' around a £million (and per-leese don't quote the old 'They knew we had the Maguire money' - Liverpool lose more than that down the back of the sofa.) So did NC do something to piss Liverpool off? And Bruce at Hull? And McLaren at Derby?

Listening to NC on FH last night, it's becoming plainer by the day that his style is 'My way or highway.' See Butler, Brandy. Well that's fine if you're Mourinho. Don't get me wrong - this is a massive season for us and the last thing we need is the lottery of the managerial merry-go-round. Again. But team selections, purchases, the failure to address our attacking weakness (after 2 seasons) just don't add up.

Something is deeply wrong down at BDTBL


I agree with the Coady point. £400k or less (if true) looks good value and an opportunity missed.

Not sure about your assessment of "something is deeply wrong" though. Why shouldn't Clough set his own standards (e.g. Butler and Brandy)? Can we reasonably judge the value of his purchases after 2 games? His two new strikers have scored twice in 3 competitive games so far - how does this constitute "failure to address our attacking weakness?"

 

[MBoreman]

Surely anyone with the tiniest bit of common sense would look to change the side as little as possible from the end of last year. That would involve buying 3 players. Ideal world Freeman, someone like Aneke or even be a bit more patient and wait for Liverpool to realise they wouldn't get a million as they eventually did, and another good centre back which Clough managed with Butler. Aside from that sign maybe 2 more: a striker and perhaps a cover player where Clough felt was most needed. All the talk of a small squad has been thrown out the window by Clough despite it being a good mantra to go by.

The maintaining of the side has been further damaged by Clough inexplicably not player Baxter and to a lesser extent Collins and Doyle. Why tear a side/squad apart that was doing so well. Some losses were inevitable so I don't see that as the main issue. It's not whose gone out, it's the vast amount of mediocrity that has come in where 4 good players would have sufficed. Freeman, Butler, Aneke/Coady, striker.

 

[sitwell]

How about asking Ronnie Moore (from a neutral point of view) the question I asked you twice without getting an answer from you? Is our Academy one of the best in the land?

I will when he gets back , week after next .

 

[Silent Blade]

I will when he gets back , week after next .

Cheers Sitwell. Lets see if Brownie and others who say that our Academy is that super (they probably heard it from other SUFC fans who claim to be "in the know"). Best hear it from a knowledgeable football man who isnt connected to SUFC and the reasons based on his answers

 

[The Bohemian]

It's shaping up to be an important loan window that could prove make or break in terms of top 2 prospects.

From what I've seen to date, the squad remains considerably weaker than the one that finished last season and is not capable of automatic promotion.

Wallace: if he stays fit, could prove a worthy replacement for Coady (especially when deployed with Doyle behind him). He doesn't waste possession, plays with his head up and tries to make things happen. Coady was prone to occasional ball-watching which cost us on occasions, last season; hopefully Wallace isn't.

McGahey: is a long way short of the Harry Maguire we lost. He is strong and very committed but misses a few headers and lacks the confidence and technical proficiency to run with the ball (a dimension which Cloughie developed impressively in 'Harry's game').

Alcock: after the early hype, I see a steady Div 3 player and nothing more. He is incredibly willing and is clearly trying to do the job asked of him, i.e. defend, bomb forward, commit defenders and get crosses in. Unfortunately, he just can't do it to anything like the level of Brayford.

Loaning a decent centre-half should be achievable; recruiting Brayford Mk I or Mk II is very unlikely.

Assuming we're going to remain much weaker at right-back, somewhat weaker at centre-half and at a similar level in midfield, we should expect to concede more goals than last season. We therefore need to score more - simple really.

McNulty may develop into a 20+ goal striker, but probably not this season; Evans may return, get back up to speed and contribute goals, but banking on that would be as stupid as not hedging against him being locked up in 2011. So, if we want to put the odds back in favour of a top 2 finish, surely there is an urgent requirement for a 'marquee' loan striker?

 

[blade too long]

Patience required .................. fuck me after 90 years of winning nothing (Div 4 apart) only saints (and I don't mean Southampton) have more patience than Blades fans

talking of saints , southampton , year they came up they didnt actually get going till october

 

[raul]

Cheers Sitwell. Lets see if Brownie and others who say that our Academy is that super (they probably heard it from other SUFC fans who claim to be "in the know"). Best hear it from a knowledgeable football man who isnt connected to SUFC and the reasons based on his answers

Or if none are available, Ronnie Moore.

 

[Sirius]

Got Ronnie Moore working for us at the moment ,he says Wallace is a great player and will be a star when he gets fit.

What's Ronnie doing Sitters.?

 

[metalblade]

What's Ronnie doing Sitters.?

Let's hope he isn't betting on a Blades promotion

 

[Jim Chimmerney]

talking of saints , southampton , year they came up they didnt actually get going till october

If we can remain (having got back in ) top 6 by Xmas, I'd be confident that we could kick on 2nd half of the season. We're still finding our feet this season and doubtless there'll still be changes to come so it's a case of keeping in touch at the moment. There's generally a team who start well and stay there but there's also usually a team who get stronger 2nd half of the season and snatch one of the top 2 places, Bournemouth, Brentford (and dare I say Pigs) in recent seasons.

 

[super_pig]

jim.. we're always 'finding our feet' though in the first half of the season. it would make a nice change to have found them already before we start

 

[Jim Chimmerney]

jim.. we're always 'finding our feet' though in the first half of the season. it would make a nice change to have found them already before we start

True, but it was always going to happen with NC building his own team. We should be more settled than we are by now but a win on Satdi and things will look much better.

 

[Revolution]

True, but it was always going to happen with NC building his own team.

Nonsense. Many teams in our league have had similar turnover. Bristol City have many new faces and they took it in their stride.

 

[Jim Chimmerney]

Nonsense. Many teams in our league have had similar turnover. Bristol City have many new faces and they took it in their stride.

Just because Brizzle have taken it in their stride doesn't mean it's nonsense. Without checking, have they made 2 or 3 changes every game ? I suspect not.

 

[Revolution]

Just because Brizzle have taken it in their stride doesn't mean it's nonsense. Without checking, have they made 2 or 3 changes every game ? I suspect not.

Clough has been unlucky inthe last couple of weeks, but he is solely to blame for the first 2 defeats with that nutty selection.

 

[Jim Chimmerney]

Clough has been unlucky inthe last couple of weeks, but he is solely to blame for the first 2 defeats with that nutty selection.

Can't argue with that although him finding his team was my point which you've kind of backed up

For the record, Brizzle have 8 ever presents this season and a couple who have missed just 1. We have 3.

 

[Revolution]

Can't argue with that although him finding his team was my point which you've kind of backed up

For the record, Brizzle have 8 ever presents this season and a couple who have missed just 1. We have 3.

I know. I started a thread on it. How many of those 8 changes were injury enforced? Not many.

 

[Kenilworth]

talking of saints , southampton , year they came up they didnt actually get going till october

............ talking of Saints, Southampton spent a cool £1 million on Ricky Lambert in this division and started scoring hatfuls of goals.

We have no parallel to that part of the equation so come October, same owd, same owd.







..... anybody gorra bit o' string fo' me shoyes?

 

[blade too long]

with lambert they still started shite
perhaps thats whatll happen with higdon , hell start a streak like lambert finally did