Che, Coutts and Scougs in strong u21 team.

[AlienBlade]

James Wallace, didn't he play for us once? The new John Ebrell I think.

Played for us more times than Flo.... yet people dont put them in the same bracket...

Interesting also how no one doubts that this calf problem is actually taking time...

 

[wizadry]

Played for us more times than Flo.... yet people dont put them in the same bracket...

Interesting also how no one doubts that this calf problem is actually taking time...

Let it go AlienClough

 

[Bladesman]

Did Coutts and Kennedy survive though?

 

[sitwell]

Played for us more times than Flo.... yet people dont put them in the same bracket...

Interesting also how no one doubts that this calf problem is actually taking time...

Of course a pro footballer would rather sit in the stands and watch his team mates than play ,its all about the money isn't it. I mean hes going to get a much better contract offer in the future by not playing isn't he.

 

[Pinchy]

I have to agree at this level we can't afford to carry passengers. Granted they are better players than what we currently have in the first team but whats the point if they are always injured and we see them play once in a full moon.

This would be my offload list at the end of the season:

Kennedy
Coutts
Wallace
Flo
Higdon
McFadzean
Long
Collins
Alcock
Woolford
McEveley

I think most of them are out of contract anyway.

A lot of those are simply not good enough. Coutts and Wallace, fit and at their best, will be formidable. In their case I would give them every chance, but yes the end of the season would be the cut-off point.

 

[Bladesman]

A lot of those are simply not good enough. Coutts and Wallace, fit and at their best, will be formidable. In their case I would give them every chance, but yes the end of the season would be the cut-off point.

I doubt we will see much of either of them over the season though. If they manage more than 10 league games each I would be surprised.

 

[Pinchy]

I doubt we will see much of either of them over the season though. If they manage more than 10 league games each I would be surprised.

Yes, maybe and if so they should go. My point is I would offload many on the list whether fit or not, but not those two.

 

[Top Cat]

Got to love the medical experts. You all should apply to be club doctor

 

[Revolution]

I am unconvinced that Coutts will ever be the player he was before we signed him. I fear his ceiling will be the limited player we saw last year.

Wallace and Cuvelier are lost causes.

 

[Bladesman]

Got to love the medical experts. You all should apply to be club doctor

No one is claiming to be a medical expert but we are talking about players that have barely kicked a ball since signing for us and when they have they have got injured again. Why keep players who spend more time in the treatment room than on the pitch? As a club at this level we can't afford the luxury of having good players that might play a handful of games a season. We are not Arsenal who can afford to have a quarter of their squad injured.

We have been in this league far too long and the wages could be better spent elsewhere.

 

[Houso]

So many of the players we have injured or not ready for first team action have huge reputations elsewhere. Coutts would be taken back by PNE fans today, Flo was magic at Walsall and rated by Stoke supporters, Wallace obviously came with lots of prestige (in addition to 27 injuries) and so on.

I think it would be a mistake to write them off (injuries notwithstanding). The way Murphy was derided by many after a few months at the club should serve as an example as to how players can turn their form around.

 

[raul]

So many of the players we have injured or not ready for first team action have huge reputations elsewhere. Coutts would be taken back by PNE fans today, Flo was magic at Walsall and rated by Stoke supporters, Wallace obviously came with lots of prestige (in addition to 27 injuries) and so on.

I think it would be a mistake to write them off (injuries notwithstanding). The way Murphy was derided by many after a few months at the club should serve as an example as to how players can turn their form around.

Fantastic, get them sold back there then. Worth pointing out Makems loved Nyron and some Mwell lads came all the way down last season to watch Higdon .

Some players just have good spells at one club and for loads of reasons it doesn't work out at another. Not a valid reason for keeping someone and hoping he can turn back the clock. We have to be more ruthless and more selective if we are to improve what we have rather than pad it out. Fwiw Coutts will return and look great simply by passing to the correct colour shirt and not being short. No better than last season, but because we are poorer atm in midfield he will look a player.this is our problem - bang average is a step up.

 

[Houso]

Fantastic, get them sold back there then. Worth pointing out Makems loved Nyron and some Mwell lads came all the way down last season to watch Higdon .

Some players just have good spells at one club and for loads of reasons it doesn't work out at another. Not a valid reason for keeping someone and hoping he can turn back the clock. We have to be more ruthless and more selective if we are to improve what we have rather than pad it out. Fwiw Coutts will return and look great simply by passing to the correct colour shirt and not being short. No better than last season, but because we are poorer atm in midfield he will look a player.this is our problem - bang average is a step up.

Which is the obvious response, but do players not often perform awfully in awfully performing teams, and then when the tactics/form/attitude changes, they become unrecognisable players? It goes without saying that this isn't always the case, and we've been lumbered with 'bang average' players too often in the last few seasons, but I don't see the point in not giving certain players a second glance. Especially when better players looked just as bad last season playing in a negative, underperforming side.

 

[LoughboroBlade]

I think it would be a mistake to write them off (injuries notwithstanding). The way Murphy was derided by many after a few months at the club should serve as an example as to how players can turn their form around.

There's an enormous difference between a player turning their form around and turning their body into a reliable injury-free condition. The likes of Wallace and Kennedy have mostly impressed when they played – their form isn't the issue, their bodies clearly are.

 

[Revolution]

Which is the obvious response, but do players not often perform awfully in awfully performing teams, and then when the tactics/form/attitude changes, they become unrecognisable players? It goes without saying that this isn't always the case, and we've been lumbered with 'bang average' players too often in the last few seasons, but I don't see the point in not giving certain players a second glance. Especially when better players looked just as bad last season playing in a negative, underperforming side.

There's no harm in trying these people if they are fit, but unless one of Cuveiler, Wallace or Coutts starts doing an impression of Michael Brown circa 2003 I wouldn't renew any of their contracts when they expire.

And I really do hope that the board learn a lesson from our injury troubles over the last couple of years. Some of it is bad luck, but signing crocks has been a waste of money.

 

[EddieColquhoun]

No one is claiming to be a medical expert but we are talking about players that have barely kicked a ball since signing for us and when they have they have got injured again. Why keep players who spend more time in the treatment room than on the pitch? As a club at this level we can't afford the luxury of having good players that might play a handful of games a season. We are not Arsenal who can afford to have a quarter of their squad injured.

We have been in this league far too long and the wages could be better spent elsewhere.

To be fair to Coutts, he played in most of our games last season after signing in January.

 

[hendo]

Nice evening in Cardiff so we decided to take a look at the U21s and the strong line up with Che, Coutts, Scougal etc. Cardiff is a modern stadium in an ASDA car park (cf. Chesterfield) and there were probably about 50-100 Bluebird fans. The teams kicked off and Cardiff looked the stronger for the first 15 mins or so. They made a number of good chances and Long pulled off a good diving save to keep the scores level. They didn’t seem to have too much trouble getting through our midfield and we were pretty slow to get started. It was obvious though that Che was going to be difficult for them to handle. He was playing centre forward and despite nothing coming off early he looked up for it.
The break came when Che managed to dispossess their defender on the edge of the box, and coolly scored off the post. This seemed to give us more confidence and we quickly managed to get a penalty (from McFadzean I think). Coutts stepped up and put it away without problem. We started to look much better, and our midfield of Coutts and Scougal started to get on top of Cardiff. Scougal was getting forward and taking men on constantly and Coutts was doing the simple tidy stuff. I thought he looked tidy last year, but quite slow. Watching him closely today he isn’t fast and looks like moving is hard work, but he isn’t afraid of the ball and kept it moving, good passing range and generally read the game really well.
At half time we didn’t know which Cardiff would turn out (the first 15 mins team, or after). The answer was we turned out! Che had been taken off at half time (despite McFadzean looking like he picked up a knock) and we thought this meant he was definitely playing on Saturday as he didn’t seem to be carrying a knock.
We were now looking much the better team with the quality in midfield and solidity in defence and Cardiff couldn’t really find a way through us, despite their number 7 and 8 looking pretty good (Matt Kennedy and Aron Gunnarsson) .. Kennedy looked very strong (looks like he’s been in the gym!), as did Mcgahey. Our full backs and wingers were also looking to get forward well with some good runs from Phillips and Wallace.
We got the third from a corner when Kennedy rose unopposed to head in. Cardiff then tried to press us but didn’t look like getting anything. McDonagh got the final one when he broke away on the half time. De Girolamo had a few good runs but the stepovers didn’t get him that far. They couldn’t catch him and he put it away well. McFadzean wen’t off with an injury, but I didn’t notice anyone else limping!
4-0 didn’t look likely at the start but the Cardiff team were well beaten. A long way back to Sheffield but I suspect Chris Morgan’s and his team were very happy.

Nice to see Che back in action today for the u21's, bizarre that he is risked 24 hours after the Bradford game though? Was he not fit for a late cameo yesterday? Either way we got a point and hopefully Che can get through this without issue and is fit for the next first team game.

Another one is Coutts who returns from injury for the game down in Cardiff tonight. Part of a very strong team.

Looks like Adkins wants to address his defensive options after yesterdays poor display at the back? Mr Physio bench himself is starting as well as McGahey.

Blades: Long, Phillips, K. Wallace, Dimaio, Kennedy, McGahey, Scougall, Coutts, Adams, De Girolamo, McFadzean.
Subs: Khan, Eastwood, Whiteman, Evans, McDonagh.

Read more at http://www.sufc.co.uk/news/article/sheffield-united-u21s-2565588.aspx#ASKc2ITV2Jyr63QS.99

 

[Balham]

People writing off Cuvelier, Coutts, Wallace and Kennedy should perhaps have a bit more faith in Adkins. I've said it before but if you were to handpick a manager to work with our injury-prone squad then one with a background in physiotherapy and a real interest in sport science would be the one.

It's good to see that he's not rushing any of these players back in, as I suspect Clough would have done. I just hope that Coutts, in particular, doesn't have any lasting issues from his injury.

All four of those players will basically be new signings for the second half of the season. They'll all also vastly improve our first XI.

 

[Revolution]

People writing off Cuvelier, Coutts, Wallace and Kennedy should perhaps have a bit more faith in Adkins. I've said it before but if you were to handpick a manager to work with our injury-prone squad then one with a background in physiotherapy and a real interest in sport science would be the one.

It's good to see that he's not rushing any of these players back in, as I suspect Clough would have done. I just hope that Coutts, in particular, doesn't have any lasting issues from his injury.

All four of those players will basically be new signings for the second half of the season. They'll all also vastly improve our first XI.

This is incredibly optimistic IMHO.

People are writing off these players for a good reason. For the last 2 seasons or longer they have suffered terrible injuries. None of them are fit now.

 

[Guesty]

Played for us more times than Flo.... yet people dont put them in the same bracket...

Interesting also how no one doubts that this calf problem is actually taking time...

It's because Wallace goes straight I'm the first team when he's fit whereas Cuvelier is a bit rubbish, so doesn't. This makes it very noticeable whenever Wallace is injured.

Both have had a commendable stab at being our worst ever signing, it must be said, although probably nothing will top Ebbrell.

 

[AlienBlade]

It's because Wallace goes straight I'm the first team when he's fit whereas Cuvelier is a bit rubbish, so doesn't. This makes it very noticeable whenever Wallace is injured.

Both have had a commendable stab at being our worst ever signing, it must be said, although probably nothing will top Ebbrell.

i dont think either come anywhere close to Ebrell or Ryan France for that matter...

 

[Dnblade]

Good to see Coutts back playing..I thought he made a better contribution than he's given credit for last season.If he gets himself fit he'd be like a new signing for me,and an alternative to playing Baxter in the deep role as he's another proper footballer,comfortable on the ball and can see a pass,good in tight areas.
Hopefully Che will be back Saturday and we can get back to winning ways.

 

[1danewhitehouse]

Kennedy, Wallace, Coutts and Cuvelier are probably in the last chance saloon. They will most likely have the remainder of the season to prove they are both fit enough and good enough to be worth keeping on and if they can’t that will be that. Coutts might get longer if we can’t find a taker as I think he has another year on his contract.

I reckon McEveley, Collins, JCR and Higdon will all be moved on at the end of the season regardless. They are not world beaters and are at the back end of their careers.

Scougall, Alcock and McFadzean look like being moved on too.

I think NA should and will reserve judgement on Howard, Long, Harris, Baxter and Flynn. They can offer something but need to show improvement and consistency to earn a new deal.

So depending on what they do over the remainder of the season, we could potentially look at moving on 15 out of contract players in the summer. I hope it’s a rebuilding job being done in the championship allowing us to recruit better players as I can see more dross being amassed (with the odd good player) if we’re still in this shitty league

 

[Bladesman]

i dont think either come anywhere close to Ebrell or Ryan France for that matter...

Or Simon Walton but at least he was only on loan.

 

[crucialkneeligaman]

Another that needs his contract settling. He has contributed even less than Wallace and Kennedy. Signed over 2 years ago he has played 10 games. He came with a reputation from loan spells but I am not exagerraring when I say I have not seen him have one good game (only 10 to choose from) at SUFC.

Carrying passengers all over the squad. Earning very good money too to do nothing. Many should be ashamed of their contribution last few seasons and blame everything but themselves (different managers, tactics, formation) etc. At this awful level if they were any good they would be showing it.

When he came back for a short (very) spell, he didn't play bad, but I agree, haven't seen anything special, and he has disappeared again, presumably injured. Too injury prone.

 

[crucialkneeligaman]

Got to love the medical experts. You all should apply to be club doctor

You don't need to be a medical expert to see how many appearances they have made or should it be not made, due to injury. As many have pointed out, a lot of these players are decent on the rare occasions they are fit enough to play, so I don't think any of us take any pleasure in saying enough is enough.

 

[Bergen Blade]

Subscribers to BladesPlayer can log onto Cardiff's Player and watch 4 minutes of highlights from this game.

 

[LoughboroBlade]

I've said it before but if you were to handpick a manager to work with our injury-prone squad then one with a background in physiotherapy and a real interest in sport science would be the one.

I can see why in theory that might be the case, but most managers will surely go on the advice of the medical team most of the time. Also, do we actually know whether Adkins was a particularly good physio? The upturn in Scunthorpe's performances might have been as much a result of the players improving as a result of Negligent Nige at last getting away from the treatment room? I heard two players died under his care – one of them only went in with a sprained ankle.

 

[RealMcCoy]

Jamie McDonagh has just ran through and made it 4-0.

How do you listen? Was it on BP?

 

[Slim Man]

Jame McDonagh is amongst the goals a lot in the U21's. Would love to get him a loan move.