Can wilder pull off another miracle?

[crucialkneeligaman]

It would be extremely stupid to think we can’t go down this season. Football’s a strange sport, where momentum and attitude plays a big part and before anyone kicks a ball anyone can go up or down from the championship.

I do worry for our squad 100%.
GK: Cooper, solid
RB: Seriki, Brill but I think he’ll leave
CB: Tanganga, solid
CB:
LB: McCallum/Burrows, decent
CM: Peck, ok but will leave I think!
CM: Jairo, Blaster, solid players. Rothwell
RW: Donovan
CAM: O’Hare, solid
LW: Chong, got a lot to do. Bad last season but I think weirdly can do ok.
ST: Bamford, Campbell, Cannon. Can either be good or bad!

The one thing Tanganga isn' t is solid.

 

[Bladeinleeds]

Think Wilder did well in the press conference this morning.
Theres definitely more to expect from a number of players in terms of performance.
Having a full funtioning Arblaster is like new signing as is Baptiste .
Donovan is an exciting young talent and weve One to bring in to the 1st team squad .
If Gus and Peck go so be it , much depends on the replacements.

As Wilder said, it'll be a mad last few days of the window and we'll be part of it so will everyone else .

I don’t disagree

And it’s not actually a bad tactic (and perhaps the ONLY one available to us given the way we’ve wasted money recently) to see if you can get a step up in performance from the players already here.

If Cooper, burrows, arblaster, Campbell can get back to close to thier best we have a decent spine.

You add Seriki, peck (who hopefully stay) and Bramford and Tanganga it’s not a horrific first 11

I’m expecting very little from the winger we’ve signed given wilder history with those types of player. All too often just get frozen out.

And cannon is just flogging a dead horse at this point. He’s a league 1 forward at best imo.

That said there is a world where we start poorly again and it all unravels and we are this season Leicester

 

[PeterNdlovu081]

Are you looking forward to the new season then?

Blades fans:

View attachment YTDown.com_YouTube_Black-Man-Crying-Awesome-HQ_Media_HbDRvWFRiBw_001_240p~2.mp4

 

[CPB]

Wait and see how things pan out and how we play.

Hamer is quality but we performed without him at times last season.
We also performed without Brooks as well. We have at least brought in Donovan to replace Brooks this season so far.
Hamer will be loss though from this very moment in time if he leaves. I'd like to see us bring in a proper winger as replacement if possible.

But with some additions (Post Gus leaving and/or loans) we could have a side capable of top 6 or 8 if they do perform to the levels we have seen before or better.
Or we could be in for a tough season down the bottom. Or somewhere in the middle.

It's friday can some fans just go and have a pint and wait and see what happens?

 

[Bobby Boo]

Just out of interest, what was the first miracle he performed?

 

[Edgar Allan Poo]

Will finish 12th. Can't see that being classed as a miracle. We have become Watford.

But with a nicer kit.

 

[Snowflake]

And keep us up this year? Because this squad without Gus who’s definitely off is bottom 4/5 in the league. Everyone else spending and strengthening. We look doomed.

Why comment now ? Wait until the window shuts and then make an informed comment.

 

[Berkshire Blade]

Just out of interest, what was the first miracle he performed?

He fed 5000 people in the South stand with two of those sausage rolls with a blades logo on them

 

[CPB]

Just out of interest, what was the first miracle he performed?

Shipped out Dean Hammond?

 

[djbaldken]

I think it's unlikely we'll go down. I'm not saying it's impossible for us to be relegated, (leicester/luton), but , love him or hate him, I don't think Wilder will take us down. However, should COH become disillusioned by Christmas by where we are, they just might sack him again and then depending on who comes in ,who knows what happens then?
Looking at our current squad. Cooper is solid. With Davis as backup we should be fine in that position.
Across the back we 've got Sereki, Tangana, McCallum and Burrows. Not really a promotion defence , but with the addition of Souttar, ...maybe. Again it depends who, if anyone comes in.
Midfield we've got, Arblaster, Jiaro, Rothwell, O'Hare, Chong and if they don't go Peck and Hamer. ( I think Hamer is definitely on his way. Time will tell regarding Peck). Not exactly any pace there, but still a formidable midfield, not one you would think of in a side to be relegated.
Up front there's Bamford, a solid performer. Then there's Cannon. In glimpses you can see why he's been bought. But also he often is missing in action. At the moment he's a luxury we can I'll afford. Then there's Campbell. Who atm has definitely lost his mojo. If he gets it back , he can be exceptionally good. Let's hope that happens. One had a great loan session at Lincoln. Apparently they loved him. Let's hope he can break through with us.
Then there's the unknown in Donovan. Well thought of but let's see.
Overall I'd have to say with the squad we currently have we SHOULDN'T be worried about relegation. We do have enough quality there to have a shot of at least 8th! Surely.
If Souttar comes in ( and its sounding more and more likely that he ISN'T coming) and IF Philips comes in on loan (why the fuck is something like this taking so long) then we really aught to make a solid play off spot.

Regarding the last paragraph. Something seems very off about both these deals. The way we do things, have done things in the past, is consistent with the way us as fans get our hopes built up, only to be dashed. It's got that feeling about it.

 

[LBA_Blade]

I think the biggest issue is that with the players we have, we will be solid but the lack of speed to break from defence to midfield and midfield forward is going to stop us winning a lot of games.

This leads to a very concerning dynamic: if we are relatively slow, we will have to build our attacks going forward slowly and therefore if we get behind, especially early in the game, we will have no creativity or speed to change the game.

Again, we have some solid players but will that dynamic be enough for a successful season?

And what do we mean by a successful season?

As it stands, we are not a top 6 team. We will not be relegated so it would seem that we will be a mid-table team at best.

toledo

Although it won't make us promotion favourites being solid isn't the worst of things. During the 24/25 season Burnley only lost twice all season in the league and drew 16 times which they managed to do by being solid and turning defeats into draws, and then draws into wins is what the next step will be for us. It is a start of a new rebuild but I really think we need to shape up the back, become a team that is difficult to break down and yes it might be boring at times but would you rather lose 4-1 to Burnley at home or draw 0-0. We do have some quality here still and some fringe players that are only a season or 2 away from knocking on the door such as Eadie amongst others.

 

[Jan Age]

I predict boring, turgid possession based football.

I predict a finish between 10th and 16th.

I predict our fans will accept this as ‘positive’

The rot set in as soon as we appointed Slav then subsequently sacked him instead of backing him.

I still maintain that was our chance to move the club forward in to the modern era… however we missed the bus and look where we ended up.

 

[Bladesman]

Think Wilder did well in the press conference this morning.
Theres definitely more to expect from a number of players in terms of performance.
Having a full funtioning Arblaster is like new signing as is Baptiste .
Donovan is an exciting young talent and weve One to bring in to the 1st team squad .
If Gus and Peck go so be it , much depends on the replacements.

As Wilder said, it'll be a mad last few days of the window and we'll be part of it so will everyone else .

I was impressed with Baptiste in pre-season.

 

[KMC-1889]

By our standards over the last couple of years it's a bloody awful squad but a half decent first 11, look around a few of the teams in the league and there's some real dross around. Barring a monumental collapse we should be well clear of at least half a dozen clubs.

we're miles off that top 8 though, so it's another nothing season passing the time until these owners sell up and take Wilder with them.

 

[Maltby_blade]

Just out of interest, what was the first miracle he performed?

Surely that’s not a serious question?. Maybe getting as high as 9th in the premier league after taking over with us seemingly stuck in league 1?.

 

[HarryHaslam]

Play offs no danger

 

[Harry's Game]

Just out of interest, what was the first miracle he performed?

The feeding of the 5000 in Banner Cross

 

[Harry's Game]

22/1 to go down on Paddy Power if anyone fancies it ?

 

[FriethBlade]

To those who think we cant possibly go down here are the reasons we can

1) we've sold (when Gus goes) our 2 most creative players
2) we have a weak as piss CB pairing
3) we are totally reliant on Bamford for goals
4) Cooper has proven to be injury prone and our back up isnt good
5) lack of pace and height in the team
6) lack of identity, what are we a passing team? a pressing team? an aggressive team? I can't see can anyone else?
5) the club as a whole has a flat feeling and I can see there being major ructions with the owners in the near future

Im not saying we will go down and i was more confident until today when Wilder confirmed Hamer is going and that we cant afford Souttar. Its going to be a difficult season amd if we stsrt badly it might not be easy to turn it round.

 

[Borbokisfreekick]

Just out of interest, what was the first miracle he performed?

This is getting silly now. Fair enough fans can lose some confidence in Wilder (me included), but to discount or discredit what he did from 2016-2020 is just lunacy.

 

[Houston_Blade]

I think the biggest issue is that with the players we have, we will be solid but the lack of speed to break from defence to midfield and midfield forward is going to stop us winning a lot of games.

We were anything but ‘solid’ for most of last season.

Tanganga was rubbish without a decent partner, McCallum could defend but Burrows was awful. Seriki is enigmatic to say the least, but he’s not ‘solid’. McGuinness is absolutely bobbar. Baptiste has done well preseason, but so did Louie Barry. Doherty is an unknown, might be a masterstroke or might be terrible.

If you look at midfield:

We’ve lost 11 goals and 12 assists from wide in midfield. Unless I’m reading his stats incorrectly, Romeo Donovan has played 28 first team games over 3 seasons and scored 1 goal. Not sure his attacking output is going to bridge that gap.

Onto the forwards:

We’re now entirely reliant on Bamford getting 15 goals and Campbell shrinking his fat arse and becoming a footballer again to score another 15. Cannon will probably get 5 if he plays enough games and Ryan One will be played for 10 mins here and there, probably out of position, get the face on at Christmas, score 5-10 goals on loan somewhere and run his contract down before he leaves.

I’d say we’re in for a lower mid table finish and probably some dull football, with a very one-paced squad.

That said, if we can get a decent defender (e.g. Souttar but doesn’t have to be him), decent forward thinking winger/forward (e.g. BBD or similar) and someone to replace half of Hamer’s goal output, we should be looking for play offs.

 

[Old Programme seller]

I am a bit worried for this season not as worried as the last season we went up I was sh1tting myself then but I think it’s come to a time I need to support my team and Chris Wilder, I’m not his biggest fan and I wanted a change last season but we ended up with a Wally! So I’m going to become a ‘happy clapper’ whatever that is and support all what I see as Sheffield United.

 

[Broomhall Blade]

Some blades really do come across as enjoying wallowing in negativity don't they?

This is the championship. Hull were under an embargo, just survived relegation and signed a freebie who we wanted under Wilder and would have got if we didn't sack him and he scored the winner in the play off final....

Anything can happen. A "miracle" will be an other top 2 finish.

Are you related too Comical Ali by any chance ?

 

[Broomhall Blade]

22/1 to go down on Paddy Power if anyone fancies it ?

There are worse bets.

 

[ATL Recs]

We'll do nothing exciting this season but we won't go down with CW. That's my only positive btw.

Remember he’s got his own back door key

 

[Berkshire Blade]

Are you related too Comical Ali by any chance ?

Call Samaritans if you are as miserable in non football real life!

Reality is last year we threw away so many points from winning positions because we didn't have a side with enough know how or grit. Some of that will come naturally as players gain experience, some of that from improving the defensive positions which is the aim as it stands.

We are not relegation fodder FFS

 

[Maurice Maurice]

To those who think we cant possibly go down here are the reasons we can

1) we've sold (when Gus goes) our 2 most creative players
2) we have a weak as piss CB pairing
3) we are totally reliant on Bamford for goals
4) Cooper has proven to be injury prone and our back up isnt good
5) lack of pace and height in the team
6) lack of identity, what are we a passing team? a pressing team? an aggressive team? I can't see can anyone else?
5) the club as a whole has a flat feeling and I can see there being major ructions with the owners in the near future

Im not saying we will go down and i was more confident until today when Wilder confirmed Hamer is going and that we cant afford Souttar. Its going to be a difficult season amd if we stsrt badly it might not be easy to turn it round.

1. We had Gus last season yet we were shite. He won't be greatly missed.
2. That's the main issue for me, centre halves. We're weak in the air, don't read the game and are easy to play through. Fuck Gus, break the bank for Souttar.
3. Another problem as Cannon looks way too lightweight and Campbell is a lazy bastard. If One doesn't come good goals will be hard to come by.
4. Cooper had one injury that he was carrying and that eventually needed fixing. He'll be fine and to be honest, his back up wasn't the problem when he came in.
5. Lack of pace, height and ideas. When we're pressed we're terrible, signing Jairo compounds that as he's way too negative and slow. Apart from Sydie, who's no Trevor Hockey we're very soft.
6. Totally agree that we have no identity. We have no leaders on the pitch and we always appear to be looking at the sideline to know what to do. We score and we stop playing, we concede and we still don't start playing. We're a soft touch and I hate to say that about a Sheffield United team.
7. We only see what we see, we don't really know the feeling inside the club so all we can do is guess. The lack of signings is shocking even by our atrocious standards but here we are, on the verge of a new season so let's see what we can conjure up. Way too early to be talking about relegation or promotion.

UTBFTP

 

[JimW1889]

Nailing to my colours to the mast and saying we've got absolutely no chance of going down. Unpretty and dull? Sure. Relegation? No chance. You've got to be really quite bad to go down and I don't think we'll hit that under Wilder.

 

[BangorBlade]

As long as the money for the sale of Hamer goes straight back into strengthening the squad ie Souttar it will be a start.
When we played without Hamer last season we did well and looked more balanced so they way things stand is Coventry want him he's in the last year of his contract and doesn't want to engage in contract talks with us so get shut ASAP instead of loosing him for jackshit at the end of the season.

 

[Broomhall Blade]

Call Samaritans if you are as miserable in non football real life!

Reality is last year we threw away so many points from winning positions because we didn't have a side with enough know how or grit. Some of that will come naturally as players gain experience, some of that from improving the defensive positions which is the aim as it stands.

We are not relegation fodder FFS

My life is fine thank you very much, I'm having a few Beers with my lovely Mrs in town.
Regards to this coming season, in all of my 50 years supporting the Blades I don't remember ever not looking forward to the start of a season as I am this one.