The Big Spending Obsession

[Slim Man]

what i want to know is..
noone is advocating going out and buying Robert Lewandowski or Mats Hummels.. BUT
other teams in the same division seem to get better players and easier than we do?? Wolves won the division the other year because they simply went round all the other clubs and hoovered up all the best opposition players a la Bayern
why can't we do this?

We prefer the galacticos. Despite the fact our best signing since coming down was Matt Done, and he came from Rochdale. Che Adams is a great threat with massive potential, and Wallace is now our first choice left back - both from non league.

 

[Worksop II]

We prefer the galacticos. Despite the fact our best signing since coming down was Matt Done, and he came from Rochdale. Che Adams is a great threat with massive potential, and Wallace is now our first choice left back - both from non league.

Well, we are closer to non-league than playing Galacticos

 

[Sean Thornton]

Over on the site that shan't be mentioned, Lane Legend, a genuine ITK'r says Hammond is 100% signed.

 

[grafikhaus]

Would disagree slightly about promotion - the league is so average it won't take much for any team to step up. Two home games in a week and we will be back on it.

UTB

There is no evidence we are going to improve to make up any gap, just hope.

So Saturday was one of the 'easier' games - don't take my word for it, just look at the table. Next up, Fleetwood followed by Millwall. Think we'll get the (required) six points? Me neither.

 

[robbiez666]

its not just his playing skills
its how he organises the back, its suddenly tighter moves in a line forward and back better and the covers better if one springs forward
thats his main influence

Agreed in a way but a fullback should never be organising the defence.

 

[Sean Thornton]

Agreed in a way but a fullback should never be organising the defence.

Why?

 

[robbiez666]

Why?

In terms of talking and organising at set-pieces it's fine but if you're holding a line or pushing out it needs to be done by a CB, because fullbacks often get pulled out of position by wingers (and forward runs) and it's hard to see the other fullback from across the pitch.

 

[blade too long]

Agreed in a way but a fullback should never be organising the defence.

dont see why not , if has the ability to do it, hes good at communicating
Maguire relied heavily on Doyle for guidance for example , not all centre backs can communicate too well

Dennis Irwin was the best communicator at man utd, he held their line

 

[robbiez666]

dont see why not , if has the ability to do it, hes good at communicating
Maguire relied heavily on Doyle for guidance for example , not all centre backs can communicate too well

Dennis Irwin was the best communicator at man utd, he held their line

See my previous response. There's nothing wrong with a fullback being captain. Organising a defensive line needs to come from someone central though.

 

[Sean Thornton]

In terms of talking and organising at set-pieces it's fine but if you're holding a line or pushing out it needs to be done by a CB, because fullbacks often get pulled out of position by wingers (and forward runs) and it's hard to see the other fullback from across the pitch.

Any FB who knows what they are doing can hold the line on a slight diagonal and see clearly across the pitch as opposed to a CB who has to look both ways although much simplified. Its dependent more on the player rather than the position.

 

[blade too long]

See my previous response. There's nothing wrong with a fullback being captain. Organising a defensive line needs to come from someone central though.

WHY ?
linesmen do the line from outside the line why cant a full back do it from left or tight field

 

[Fulwood Blade]

So Saturday was one of the 'easier' games - don't take my word for it, just look at the table. Next up, Fleetwood followed by Millwall. Think we'll get the (required) six points? Me neither.

We "should", but as we are the Blades, then..........you could be correct.

Remember this time last year - we appeared to have 2 easy home games on the bounce - think the dingles were one and we lost them both.

For me it depends what midfield we play, and how they play - our performances seem to resolve around whether we get closed down in that area.

UTB

 

[Darthblade]

It's long been 'a thing' on this forum that we must spend lots to succeed. The board seem to have an obsession of persuing big name targets. Neither guarantee success. Both can result in failure

The recent thing is that because we have the prince and by default, money, then we need to be looking at the premier league and the championship for players.

In some respects, we can look to the league above, but we need to be looking at quality rather than expensive players

Che Adams and Kieran Wallace are two very good examples of how scouting can pay off.

We've brought in Edgar and Sammon on loan, both from a division above and both have been hit and miss. Sharp has been a great addition, better than I expected, but at what cost? Could we have got Bradshaw at Walsall for less and bought at centre half? (Example only)

last season we chased and chased O'Grady, this season it appears to be Hammond and Burn. We've wasted transfer windows for these players and whilst i praise the club for their determination, we can't allow another to pass by with no end results.

Phipps has said that the focus is not on the JTW it's on now, we need to focus on both.

Sure have the targets, but let's not obsess with then, if we get knocked back, have a back up plan of two or three. Otherwise we'll end up where we are now, a side weak and unbalanced at the back but with an abundance of striking talent.

I agree and I was with you there up until "an abundance of striking talent"

Now I agree that the strikers at NA's disposal currently are an improvement on the last 2 years when we played Baxter as a lone striker or most often didn't even bother with a striker at all, however, to say "an abundance of striking talent", I think is like comparing big Jim Phipps to Jesus ......
UTB & FTP

 

[SwissBlade]

I agree and I was with you there up until "an abundance of striking talent"

Now I agree that the strikers at NA's disposal currently are an improvement on the last 2 years when we played Baxter as a lone striker or most often didn't even bother with a striker at all, however, to say "an abundance of striking talent", I think is like comparing big Jim Phipps to Jesus ......
UTB & FTP

Done, Sharp, McNulty and Adams... And Sammon 50% of the time.

I think the first 4 are all going to hit 10 goals each, sharp and Adams could hit 20 if they stay fit and get the service

 

[Darthblade]

Indeed - I agree with your last paragraph.

the 2 x signings need to be either:

(a) 2 x centre midfield
(b) centre half and centre midfield.

Our present midfield is shocking and we have been overrun in most games this season - either out played or out muscled.

We have enough quality round the edges, but we STILL lack the solid core.

Without signings and if it has to come from within.

Bash and Coutts centre mid and from last 2 games, Mcgahey and Edgar. Mcgahey now seems a no nonsense CH and Edgar did look quality when first arriving.

Would disagree slightly about promotion - the league is so average it won't take much for any team to step up. Two home games in a week and we will be back on it.

UTB

Regarding promotion ..... the problem we have now is that by steadfastly refusing to address the glaring issues in our squad, we have thrown away 12 viable points in 13 games and we are therefore in the position where we now HAVE to rely on other teams slipping / dropping points whilst we simultaneously improve, in order to achieve the top two.

Had we addressed the issues which were glaringly obvious even to Stevie Wonder, we would be sitting pretty at the top and the others would have to play "catch up".

There appears to be little "football knowledge" at the Club, other than NA, and on this basis I would not be getting too excited regarding us progressing this season. Indeed my biggest concern at the moment is that NA will do a "Steve Bruce" on us and give the Board the two finger sign and move on to pastures where he is adequately financially supported.

Just to clarify, before I'm pounced on for my comments by fiscally prudent individuals, I'm not suggesting that we need to spend millions to address our issues. It cannot be difficult or expensive to improve on our current defence & midfield with regard to THIS Divisions performances.
UTB & FTP

 

[Fulwood Blade]

Regarding promotion ..... the problem we have now is that by steadfastly refusing to address the glaring issues in our squad, we have thrown away 12 viable points in 13 games and we are therefore in the position where we now HAVE to rely on other teams slipping / dropping points whilst we simultaneously improve, in order to achieve the top two.

Had we addressed the issues which were glaringly obvious even to Stevie Wonder, we would be sitting pretty at the top and the others would have to play "catch up".

There appears to be little "football knowledge" at the Club, other than NA, and on this basis I would not be getting too excited regarding us progressing this season. Indeed my biggest concern at the moment is that NA will do a "Steve Bruce" on us and give the Board the two finger sign and move on to pastures where he is adequately financially supported.

Just to clarify, before I'm pounced on for my comments by fiscally prudent individuals, I'm not suggesting that we need to spend millions to address our issues. It cannot be difficult or expensive to improve on our current defence & midfield with regard to THIS Divisions performances.
UTB & FTP

I put forward (tentatively) Mcgahey for CD.
He'll play tonight after playing in the JPT, half a game v R'dale and Oldham.
Perhaps we should just put a bit of faith in our coaching staff sorting out Mcgahey over the past 12 months and give him a chance.
Plenty of others have had chances and fluffed it - is it time for Harrison to step up?

UTB

 

[Darthblade]

Done, Sharp, McNulty and Adams... And Sammon 50% of the time.

I think the first 4 are all going to hit 10 goals each, sharp and Adams could hit 20 if they stay fit and get the service

Just my opinion but I think that;

Done - class act at this level in terms of work-rate and performance
Adams - development player who shows flashes of brilliance but has MUCH to learn, particularly on the defensive side of his game but also on his general play
McNulty - instinctive finisher but also a development player who has MUCH to learn, particularly on the defensive side of his game but also on his general play
Sharp - decent at this level, better at holding the ball than he used to be but little pace, prone to disappearing in games and misses a disturbing amount of very good chances
Sammon - strong but not a goalscorer and quite inconsistent

So for this reason I question the term "an abundance of striking talent", perhaps a bit pedantic of me but I would consider us having this abundance if we had say, Ched Evans, Bennik Afobe, Chris O'Grady & Sam Baldock all firing on all cylinders ....
UTB & FTP

 

[Darthblade]

I agree with this but our scouts probably know a lot about Aaron Pierre before brownie first saw his name or heard of him

I have yet to be convinced regarding the quality of our scouting system for the last few years, including the current incumbents. They don't appear to be able to identify players to improve our current defence & midfield and to be honest my dog could do that in his sleep. Its not such a hard task .......
UTB & FTP

 

[1danewhitehouse]

No doubting they will improve the team but they were both part of a team that finished as a losing play off semi finalist last season and still hasnt strengthened in key areas

Even you must see that if we dont recruit and recruit smartly we will be looking at another pathetic half arsed end to a season

Disagree- Collins and Edgar is a far better CB pairing than McEveley and Alcock who we played in that 2nd leg debacle. Also, the fact neither of those 2 were relevant for the full 2 legs in the playoffs was probably enough to swing the tie in Swindon’s favour.

Apart from Che Adams and Kieron Wallace when was the last time we bought someone with potential, and someone who was the best player from a team who have been below us in the food chain. Not that I have seen him play but I think Aaron Pierre from Wycombe would have an ideal signing, young, highly rated, plays in a position where we are crying out for reinforcements.......

Lyle Taylor, Ryan Flynn, Stefan Scougall, Marc McNulty, Harrison McGahey, Florent Cuvelier, Jose Baxter, Jamie Murphy, James Wallace, Febian Brandy, Daryl Westlake etc. 11 players since we’ve been down here. All considered prospects all signed from clubs that wanted to keep them but they were lured to us. A lot haven’t really worked out though. Some have worked out to an extent and the jury is still out on others. We’ve also signed the likes of Blackman and Freeman from the U21 squads of teams above us with some success. That’s another route I’d like to see us pursue more. Players like Ryan Innis and Uche Ikpeazu look good and if their parent clubs don’t see a future for them, I’d like to see us make a move.

But if you get it right, there are some real gems to be had from these levels. Connor Goldson, Nathan Byrne, Joe Garner, Luke Freeman, Kieron Agard, Daniel Johnson, Alan Judge, Matt Ritchie, Connor Coady, Nathan Cameron, Bradley Dack, Tom Bradshaw, Romaine Sawyers, Josh Ginnelly, Ryan Woods, Nouha Dicko, Tendayi Darikwa, Sam Morsy, Clayton Donaldson, Nahki Wells, Toumani Diagouraga, Callum Wilson etc. have all probably been within our reach at some point since we got relegated and now are all probably beyond our reach. We need to get better value for money with these types of signings like we did in the Bassett days bring the likes of Deane, Kelly, Tracey etc in for very little.

 

[SwissBlade]

Just my opinion but I think that;

Done - class act at this level in terms of work-rate and performance
Adams - development player who shows flashes of brilliance but has MUCH to learn, particularly on the defensive side of his game but also on his general play
McNulty - instinctive finisher but also a development player who has MUCH to learn, particularly on the defensive side of his game but also on his general play
Sharp - decent at this level, better at holding the ball than he used to be but little pace, prone to disappearing in games and misses a disturbing amount of very good chances
Sammon - strong but not a goalscorer and quite inconsistent

So for this reason I question the term "an abundance of striking talent", perhaps a bit pedantic of me but I would consider us having this abundance if we had say, Ched Evans, Bennik Afobe, Chris O'Grady & Sam Baldock all firing on all cylinders ....
UTB & FTP

I agree on the player assessments you've made, but what i said to quantify the point was to state that Done, McNulty, Sharp and Adams will all get 10 goals, potentially with Adams and Sharp getting 20+ this season.

Obviously with all those players you mentioned, you're not going to in this division to start with. In this division if your strikers are getting 40 goals then its fair to say you've got a fair amount of talent. A relative abundance when you look at the start of last season. Again the comment was made in the context of the entire post i made, not as a stand alone comment. But i get your point.

 

[SwissBlade]

Disagree- Collins and Edgar is a far better CB pairing than McEveley and Alcock who we played in that 2nd leg debacle.

In fairness thats like saying Herpes is better than AIDS. It is, but you'd rather have neither.