Bit of a waste

[robbiez666]

To be fair there's no chance of us sneaking into them without him so it's a calculated risk!

his presence secured 2 fine points....

I'd rather he got McNulty back and rested him or played Adams. We're doing nothing as it is. Why risk injuring your best player. Us getting in the play-offs and then Billy's injured sounds about right.

 

[Slim Man]

his presence secured 2 fine points....

I'd rather he got McNulty back and rested him or played Adams. We're doing nothing as it is. Why risk injuring your best player. Us getting in the play-offs and then Billy's injured sounds about right.

You can see it now. We ALWAYS go into the play offs without our best player.

Beattie V Burnley (ok so we sold him then...) Evans v Huddersfield, Brayford v Swindon. It's a curse.

 

[Alfreton14Blade]

We've had to try & become English football's most boring team as the only way of stopping shipping ridiculous amounts & types of goals & sliding down into mid-table & worse.

I suppose we should be grateful, we've succeeded

 

[shrubbery]

I can't believe that there are still people that think that we will make the playoffs given the complete ineptitude of the majority of performances this year. We cannot beat teams from the bottom third of the league let alone the top.

As anybody who watches us regularly realises, we need almost an entirely new team and there is zero chance that we are going to see that happen this transfer window and I very much worry that we will not see it before the start of next season either.

 

[wizadry]

As a few have already pointed out, that would've been a good point against a team who have picked up recently, away from home, if we'd have been winning our home games. Well that's the problem, we aren't.

 

[Harry's Game]

We need at least four quality players signing In the next week if we want to even have a chance of winning the play offs should we make it and those sort of signings are not going to be coming in that period of time.

Hopefully one or two in the next week and another two or three in the summer and we might have a side capable of putting in a decent challenge next season, but I'm still not convinced we will be ruthless enough with the dead wood in the summer, it would not surprise me if we give the likes of Collins and Mceverly another season.

One thing about this summer is that we don't have to worry about losing our most influential player, we don't really have one.

 

[Top Cat]

You predicted a 2-0 defeat Herbert. Or was that your lesson in "basic sarcasm"

Are you still taking the bookies to the cleaners?

 

[Pittsburg Blade]

It's just going to allude us this season isn't it?

It's "elude us" Pete. Sorry mate but that one hurt my ears.

 

[puppet]

I don't follow the tables' bigger picture much, I tend to look where we are then grouch about the closeness of teams below us who I'd occasionally noticed were up Shit Street (ie Barnsley). Saying a 0-0 at a club being bled dry would be a good result if we were winning our home games is like... well... some analogy about being delusional. Teams come and go on the up and down because its a shit league full of shit teams and sadly we are one of them. Nothing less than thrapping teams like this is going to get us out of this division but it isn't going to happen. The last time we were in this position there were the likes of Bassett to come and bulldoze us up on the cheap but the goalposts have moved. All we have is a papier mache Prince and an 'owner' waiting to see what piece of the ground he can build on and sell himself the corner of for a £1 until there's bog all left but a 100m x 50m patch of prime land to develop.

 

[bartman]

Missed 2 good opportunities to really put pressure on the top 6 and move into the play off spots Saturday and today.

It's just going to allude us this season isn't it?

Too many players just didn't fancy a rainy game in Blackpool tonight.

Just checked out the league table on Sky Sports News and it looks like I'm going to have to put the entire channel on ignore.

Disagree re the players it being up for it. All showed effort however too many lack quality. Despite that they had enough chances in the first half to win it and JCR should have done better with the best chance for either side in the second half.

Bit concerned about why JCR wasn't tried on the right for a period of time

Certainly not the worse performance but issues re centre midfield lack of quality and the reluctance to commit players forward when we attack

 

[Keen Blade]

Just got in from Blackpool. Utterly abject blunt performance. That's 4 points thrown away in 4 days. I accept our squad is the worst I've seen for many a year but Adkin's mismanagement of what little he has got is reaching epic proportions. Playing hoofball up to a salmon that can't leap was our only strategy all night long ! Finally fielding the only member of our squad who can actually get behind a defender (JCR) but playing him on the left and forcing him to cut wastefully inside when 20,000 intelligent people know that he can skin defenders on the outside if played on the right , is just gross incompetence. Leaving our biggest passenger (Baxter) on the pitch when he has contributed not a single pass to counterbalance his laziness - surely this is his last game for us ? Playing a clearly injured Sharp when you yourself are a qualified physio. Delaying the substitution of our (decent) 60 minute man Coutts until he is almost asleep in his boots. But worst of all , failing to outwit an appalling Blackpool side - I lost count of the number of times they made unforced errors of either playing the ball straight into touch or straight to Blade !
I honestly get the distinct impression that NA is under instruction not to risk getting promotion and he sets up the team accordingly. When I say the win was there for the taking I mean it was literally jumping into our hands and we were deliberately throwing it away.

 

[GRUMPY BLADE]

I honestly get the distinct impression that NA is under instruction not to risk getting promotion and he sets up the team accordingly. When I say the win was there for the taking I mean it was literally jumping into our hands and we were deliberately throwing it away.

I'll repeat what I said on Saturday night, if we managed to get promoted would those players whose contracts are running out be able to extend the said contract for another year?

Do the club not want to go up so we can have a clear out?

Before people mock the idea didn't Higginbotham have the right to extend his contract and the club couldn't stop him?

Earlier in the season I pointed out that we would be building a new team this summer and how I thought it was important to do it in the second division, would promotion stop us doing that because so many of the muppets could extend their contracts?

 

[Trigger Blade]

I honestly get the distinct impression that NA is under instruction not to risk getting promotion and he sets up the team accordingly. When I say the win was there for the taking I mean it was literally jumping into our hands and we were deliberately throwing it away.

Trig Jnr (TY) texted and said he wasn't sure we wanted to win it. I assumed he was joking, but perhaps not?

He also said it was a dismal performance where others have said it wasn't that bad.

He's generally quite positive, so he doesn't have an anti-United agenda and he made round trip of about 200 miles to be there.

 

[Jim Chimmerney]

Trig Jnr (TY) texted and said he wasn't sure we wanted to win it. I assumed he was joking, but perhaps not?

He also said it was a dismal performance where others have said it wasn't that bad.

He's generally quite positive, so he doesn't have an anti-United agenda and he made round trip of about 200 miles to be there.

It was decent enough defensively given the conditions were bad and the pitch was shocking but we never really looked threatening, we didn't have any fizz or tempo about us and the only reason their keeper was man of the match (Sammon save apart) was that he caught every single corner, cross and free kick we put in, mainly because they were straight at him.

Both teams were quite positive for the first 30 mins but after that, both seemed happy with the draw and as others have said, we'd probably settle for that if we were winning our home games.

At the moment, it doesn't look like we have another gear.

 

[PeteBlade]

It's "elude us" Pete. Sorry mate but that one hurt my ears.

Thank goodness the spelling and grammar police got on to this one quickly.

 

[PeteBlade]

Just got in from Blackpool. Utterly abject blunt performance. That's 4 points thrown away in 4 days. I accept our squad is the worst I've seen for many a year but Adkin's mismanagement of what little he has got is reaching epic proportions. Playing hoofball up to a salmon that can't leap was our only strategy all night long ! Finally fielding the only member of our squad who can actually get behind a defender (JCR) but playing him on the left and forcing him to cut wastefully inside when 20,000 intelligent people know that he can skin defenders on the outside if played on the right , is just gross incompetence. Leaving our biggest passenger (Baxter) on the pitch when he has contributed not a single pass to counterbalance his laziness - surely this is his last game for us ? Playing a clearly injured Sharp when you yourself are a qualified physio. Delaying the substitution of our (decent) 60 minute man Coutts until he is almost asleep in his boots. But worst of all , failing to outwit an appalling Blackpool side - I lost count of the number of times they made unforced errors of either playing the ball straight into touch or straight to Blade !
I honestly get the distinct impression that NA is under instruction not to risk getting promotion and he sets up the team accordingly. When I say the win was there for the taking I mean it was literally jumping into our hands and we were deliberately throwing it away.

I'm sorry but 'under instruction not to risk getting promotion' is nonsense.

It suits absolutely no one, not to get promotion.

 

[grafikhaus]

Think In light of lack of activity it's maybe time to start building for next season?

I think that's a given bearing in mind Adkin's constant 'Good, honest bunch of lads' and 'Not going to buy anybody just for the sake of it.' guff.
We'll look back on this season as a golden opportunity as next year can't be as weak a division as this. What will be the excuses then?

Lamely drifting towards the end of the season will have disastrous effects on season ticket renewals for 2016-17. We've put up with more than enough in this division, but cowardly capitulation hasn't figured. Until now.

 

[grafikhaus]

I'd rather he got McNulty back and rested him (Sharp) or played Adams. We're doing nothing as it is. Why risk injuring your best player?

Just got in from Blackpool. Utterly abject blunt performance. That's 4 points thrown away in 4 days. I accept our squad is the worst I've seen for many a year but Adkin's mismanagement of what little he has got is reaching epic proportions. Playing hoofball up to a salmon that can't leap was our only strategy all night long ! Finally fielding the only member of our squad who can actually get behind a defender (JCR) but playing him on the left and forcing him to cut wastefully inside when 20,000 intelligent people know that he can skin defenders on the outside if played on the right , is just gross incompetence. Leaving our biggest passenger (Baxter) on the pitch when he has contributed not a single pass to counterbalance his laziness - surely this is his last game for us ? Playing a clearly injured Sharp when you yourself are a qualified physio. Delaying the substitution of our (decent) 60 minute man Coutts until he is almost asleep in his boots. But worst of all , failing to outwit an appalling Blackpool side - I lost count of the number of times they made unforced errors of either playing the ball straight into touch or straight to Blade !

Indeed. The 'clearing up Clough's mess' tale is wearing a bit thin now.

 

[Grappler]

I think that's a given bearing in mind Adkin's constant 'Good, honest bunch of lads' and 'Not going to buy anybody just for the sake of it.' guff.
We'll look back on this season as a golden opportunity as next year can't be as weak a division as this. What will be the excuses then?

Lamely drifting towards the end of the season will have disastrous effects on season ticket renewals for 2016-17. We've put up with more than enough in this division, but cowardly capitulation hasn't figured. Until now.

I know that not everyone agrees, but many of us are of the opinion that this is the weakest league one in years. The fact that we are not firmly cemented in the top six is a concern for me, and on recent form (and with no new players on the horizon), I don't see where a winning run is going to come from to get us into the top six and keep us there to the end of the season.

 

[super_pig]

Nail on the head! Players not good enough, simple as.

Adkins past record gives me hope he will get it right so I'm willing to give him time. He also didn't blow a shit load of money on the dross so think he's paying for Clough's mistakes.

his current record has some of us worried YB.. hopefully things might improve

 

[Keen Blade]

I'm sorry but 'under instruction not to risk getting promotion' is nonsense.

It suits absolutely no one, not to get promotion.

So if he's not under instruction , then he really is incompetent ?

And he came with such a good record at this level.

Just what exactly happens to managers when they get through our door ?

 

[PeteBlade]

So if he's not under instruction , then he really is incompetent ?

And he came with such a good record at this level.

Just what exactly happens to managers when they get through our door ?

Yes, those are the only two possible explanations.

Jeez.

 

[Keen Blade]

Never took you for a clapper , Pete , but on the evidence of the last 4 points we threw away , give me an alternative (apologist's) explanation , after a summer of acclimatisation , a pre-season of coaching and half a season of dross in the weakest League 1 we've had since being down here. Still no commanding centre-back to organize the defence. Still no left winger. Still not enough pace or guile in midfield to mount an attack within half an hour of gaining possession. Still no leader on the pitch.

Jeez !

 

[Barney]

Never took you for a clapper , Pete , but on the evidence of the last 4 points we threw away , give me an alternative (apologist's) explanation , after a summer of acclimatisation , a pre-season of coaching and half a season of dross in the weakest League 1 we've had since being down here. Still no commanding centre-back to organize the defence. Still no left winger. Still not enough pace or guile in midfield to mount an attack within half an hour of gaining possession. Still no leader on the pitch.

Jeez !

I've been asking the same questions. Still yet to receive an answer. What I've learnt recently though, is that it hasn't anything to do with the manager, at all in one post I've read. After all, he's only got all the responsibility for not having brought in the players we needed to have had a go at promotion.

 

[DazBlade88]

reluctance to commit players forward when we attack

A big factor in that for me is a lack of pace. The team is that slow, we push bodies forward against opposition that look to counter and we're wide open. We can't get back quickly enough to stop them.

To make sure this doesn't happen, we defend deep and try and make them play in front of us and try and get forward when we can. The problem with that is when we win the ball back, we're not quick enough to counter and end up trying to play in front of their defence. That's why the goal count isn't what it was at the start of the season at either end.

I said it throughout the summer that bringing in players with pace was essential. We've actually made the team slower and it's hurting us in my opinion.

 

[zablade]

I've been asking the same questions. Still yet to receive an answer. What I've learnt recently though, is that it hasn't anything to do with the manager, at all in one post I've read. After all, he's only got all the responsibility for not having brought in the players we needed to have had a go at promotion.

Is he supposed to fund these signings out of his own pocket?

 

[Finn Keane o' Balmaqueen]

We've had to try & become English football's most boring team as the only way of stopping shipping ridiculous amounts & types of goals & sliding down into mid-table & worse.

I suppose we should be grateful, we've succeeded

I think Newton Heath have that honour for this season.

 

[grafikhaus]

I know that not everyone agrees, but many of us are of the opinion that this is the weakest league one in years. The fact that we are not firmly cemented in the top six is a concern for me, and on recent form (and with no new players on the horizon), I don't see where a winning run is going to come from to get us into the top six and keep us there to the end of the season.

True, but be in no doubt if we did manage to somehow scrape our way into the Championship, our problems will only have begun. Last season, we were miles behind Bristol, MKD and Preston. This year they're struggling at a (much) higher level. To avoid humiliation, if will require serious investment and a scouting network that seems non-existent at United.

 

[BushBlade]

Is he supposed to fund these signings out of his own pocket?

It's not even his job to do the deals. He says who he wants and the experts running our club (the surveyor and the piling contractor) then go out and get them. Apart from they don't. I'm guessing we won't buy any players until we've seen the geotechnical reports.

 

[PeteBlade]

Never took you for a clapper , Pete , but on the evidence of the last 4 points we threw away , give me an alternative (apologist's) explanation , after a summer of acclimatisation , a pre-season of coaching and half a season of dross in the weakest League 1 we've had since being down here. Still no commanding centre-back to organize the defence. Still no left winger. Still not enough pace or guile in midfield to mount an attack within half an hour of gaining possession. Still no leader on the pitch.

Jeez !

You've given 2 possible scenarios, either the manager has been instructed not to get promoted (which makes no sense what so ever) or the manager is incompetent (which also isn't realistic) and because I don't agree with either, I'm a "clapper" whatever that means?

I believe the manager has been massively hindered this season with what he took over from Clough, and whatever some tell you, it's not as simple as just 'getting rid' or cancelling their contacts.

He's only human, and so he's made mistakes (this doesn't make you incompetent) but I think he's also took gambles on players that have no quite come off (Sammon) and took players that fit our budget but who were never going to be to the standard of who they replaced (Woolford). It's also clear from this board that they'll accept any decent offer put forward for our players. Which doesn't help.

With contracts expiring in the summer I think we'll see him mould a team of own next season with much more movement on budget.