Woodwardfan
Woodwardfan
- Banned
- #1
I must say that I am extremely disappointed with our results this season and to a slightly lesser degree with our performances.
When Clough was sacked I was mightily relieved and when Adkins was appointed I was delighted.
I like Adkins and his positive outlook. He seems a genuinely nice bloke and he is always ready to praise his players when at all possible. He is open with fans and his interviews are careful but honest. To date his team has not enjoyed much luck but it has to be said "you make your own luck" and the form of some of the players, both Adkins signings and inherited players, has been well below par.
Injuries to key players in the squad have not helped at all and being appointed in June did not leave Adkins with a lot of time to assess the squad before the season started. A promising pre-season was misleading as it turns out and the loss of the key services of Matt Done for a long spell was cruel.
For understandable reasons Adkins made Sharp a "talisman signing" and he also quickly brought in Woolford because he happened to be available. Sammon joined us for much the same reason I guess and it seemed to make sense as a foil for Sharp. Edgar seemed a good signing once the central defence situation was assessed in proper competition.
We are now 8th in the league after 17 games and 2 points below play-off positions, 9 points below automatic spots. Of course that can be recovered and more by May next year but is that all we need as a club?
I would always maintain that relegation to any division is an opportunity for any club to take stock, re-group and go back up stronger. Looking at us now we are a ragbag outfit of individuals who do not look as though they have played together that often and do not have a pattern of playing. After 5 months under the new manager it is a serious matter that one can think and say that but I do feel the footballing gods have not been with Adkins at any stage. Nevertheless the lack of bottle and character in the squad has not helped the manager.
Back to the re-build theme and going back up stronger and in good shape to compete for a double promotion like Southampton did.
Adkins is investing in Adams, fair enough. He is trying to establish Long in the lad's interest but also in the hope he can make the step up, fair enough. Which other squad players could play in a strong side in the Championship, given a promotion season in L1 and all the joy and confidence that breeds?
He has Brayford, Done, Basham at the back, Baxter, Sammon in his own way and if he stays, Harris maybe, probably not, Freeman if he develops well this season, Edgar? if he stays, Hammond is an unknown quantity to us and if he stays, Reed, Calvert-Lewin?
Worryingly the future of Done is clouded for me at the moment and three of those other names are loanees. In other words we can't even name half a team of current players who seem remotely capable of making the step up.
My best case scenario now is to give Adams,Reed, Long, Freeman, Baxter, Wallace and maybe even Calvert-Lewin loads of game time this season and start next season with a group of little gems all playing well together alongside some seasoned pros of the quality of Brayford, Done, Sharp etc. If that happens to be at the higher level after a couple of great JTW signings all well and good, but the most promising future of SUFC lies with those younger players who need game time and to play with each other now. Add a few clever signings next summer and we can begin to make a serious comeback not just a tentative scramble.
If we have to wait another year for promotion then so be it but if we were to squeeze up there with this group of strangers and journeymen, even adding a few more journeymen or ageing has-beens then we would suffer for years to come.
We need to break the mold.
All that sounds good maybe but putting something like this to paper makes me think how on earth does a club in our position keep a group of young players together? My best case scenario is actually pie in the sky for us Blades fans. No matter which Board or which players are involved, the modern game does not allow a club like ours to rebuild in that way. Have keyboard tantrum after tantrum fellow Blades but in the above scenario we simply will not be able to keep Adams, Reed and even Long if they develop as they could in a successful promotion winning side.
Adkins knows that and still has to do a job. He lost players at Southampton on the way and in many ways it was just the price of success. What has to be done is to ensure a supply of replacement players both through the Academy and by way of transfers in. The Board have to keep investing too and add that to transfer income to help improve the overall standards incrementally. Adkins has been through it all before and knows his Academy Manager and his Head Scout are key figures.
He's trying to revive Long's career, surely Reed has to be next and then don't be surprised to see Calvert-Lewin featuring in the New Year. I feel in my bones he will start building for a promotion push for next season as well as prioritising the development of younger players. Why not?
When Clough was sacked I was mightily relieved and when Adkins was appointed I was delighted.
I like Adkins and his positive outlook. He seems a genuinely nice bloke and he is always ready to praise his players when at all possible. He is open with fans and his interviews are careful but honest. To date his team has not enjoyed much luck but it has to be said "you make your own luck" and the form of some of the players, both Adkins signings and inherited players, has been well below par.
Injuries to key players in the squad have not helped at all and being appointed in June did not leave Adkins with a lot of time to assess the squad before the season started. A promising pre-season was misleading as it turns out and the loss of the key services of Matt Done for a long spell was cruel.
For understandable reasons Adkins made Sharp a "talisman signing" and he also quickly brought in Woolford because he happened to be available. Sammon joined us for much the same reason I guess and it seemed to make sense as a foil for Sharp. Edgar seemed a good signing once the central defence situation was assessed in proper competition.
We are now 8th in the league after 17 games and 2 points below play-off positions, 9 points below automatic spots. Of course that can be recovered and more by May next year but is that all we need as a club?
I would always maintain that relegation to any division is an opportunity for any club to take stock, re-group and go back up stronger. Looking at us now we are a ragbag outfit of individuals who do not look as though they have played together that often and do not have a pattern of playing. After 5 months under the new manager it is a serious matter that one can think and say that but I do feel the footballing gods have not been with Adkins at any stage. Nevertheless the lack of bottle and character in the squad has not helped the manager.
Back to the re-build theme and going back up stronger and in good shape to compete for a double promotion like Southampton did.
Adkins is investing in Adams, fair enough. He is trying to establish Long in the lad's interest but also in the hope he can make the step up, fair enough. Which other squad players could play in a strong side in the Championship, given a promotion season in L1 and all the joy and confidence that breeds?
He has Brayford, Done, Basham at the back, Baxter, Sammon in his own way and if he stays, Harris maybe, probably not, Freeman if he develops well this season, Edgar? if he stays, Hammond is an unknown quantity to us and if he stays, Reed, Calvert-Lewin?
Worryingly the future of Done is clouded for me at the moment and three of those other names are loanees. In other words we can't even name half a team of current players who seem remotely capable of making the step up.
My best case scenario now is to give Adams,Reed, Long, Freeman, Baxter, Wallace and maybe even Calvert-Lewin loads of game time this season and start next season with a group of little gems all playing well together alongside some seasoned pros of the quality of Brayford, Done, Sharp etc. If that happens to be at the higher level after a couple of great JTW signings all well and good, but the most promising future of SUFC lies with those younger players who need game time and to play with each other now. Add a few clever signings next summer and we can begin to make a serious comeback not just a tentative scramble.
If we have to wait another year for promotion then so be it but if we were to squeeze up there with this group of strangers and journeymen, even adding a few more journeymen or ageing has-beens then we would suffer for years to come.
We need to break the mold.
All that sounds good maybe but putting something like this to paper makes me think how on earth does a club in our position keep a group of young players together? My best case scenario is actually pie in the sky for us Blades fans. No matter which Board or which players are involved, the modern game does not allow a club like ours to rebuild in that way. Have keyboard tantrum after tantrum fellow Blades but in the above scenario we simply will not be able to keep Adams, Reed and even Long if they develop as they could in a successful promotion winning side.
Adkins knows that and still has to do a job. He lost players at Southampton on the way and in many ways it was just the price of success. What has to be done is to ensure a supply of replacement players both through the Academy and by way of transfers in. The Board have to keep investing too and add that to transfer income to help improve the overall standards incrementally. Adkins has been through it all before and knows his Academy Manager and his Head Scout are key figures.
He's trying to revive Long's career, surely Reed has to be next and then don't be surprised to see Calvert-Lewin featuring in the New Year. I feel in my bones he will start building for a promotion push for next season as well as prioritising the development of younger players. Why not?
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