Realistically how long will it take?

[Bladesway]

I don't share the same nightmare scenario about spending years in this division and certainly not battling relegation.
This is the worst team in over three decades by a country mile, and yes I despise these players. Yet in spite of this, we have a slim mathematical chance of reaching the play-offs (and before anyone laughs, no I don't think we stand a chance of doing it either).
It hinges on the summer, whether Adkins sucessfully completes the most crucial restructuring programme of his career is a question of faith. It's not much to go on but it surely beats despairing.

This with the addition we don't sell Bayford, Sharp or Adams. They should be integral to any rebuild. I'd keep Done as well but that is just me. Rest of em can go do whatever they want elsewhere.

Adkins has a big job on but I'd rather have him doing a medium to long term job than a short term fix with a dozen or so 30 somethings just to try and get out of this division in a season.

 

[Gavlar]

Hasn't even been five years since we got relegated yet.

Well that's cheered me up no end.............. Here's looking forward to us beginning our 6th straight season in league 1 in august.

 

[I should coco]

Oh ok I'll just stop talking to every fucker who doesn't support sufc :-/

Jesus fuckin wept

Yup, that would do it.

No need for the blasphemy though.

We could end up with another 100 years in the wilderness......

 

[northsomersetblade]

Keep our nerves and it could be next year, as champions. Why not?

If Billy Sharp had booted that chance into the net this board would be all about getting into the playoffs.

 

[Esablade]

Next season.

 

[Boxer Blade]

A few years ago people were predicting we could be here for four or five years I did not agree and yet here we are still in this shit league, so I have to question my opinion, but, we are stll Sheffield United and what ever has gone before I still believe tomorrow will be better, I know people on here will tell me I am mad and deluded but I still expect us to win the league next season, I am still confident the summer will see us transformed and we will all be looking forward to a good campaign, hold on a minute, yes onemore then I'm off home.

 

[zablade]

A few years ago people were predicting we could be here for four or five years I did not agree and yet here we are still in this shit league, so I have to question my opinion, but, we are stll Sheffield United and what ever has gone before I still believe tomorrow will be better, I know people on here will tell me I am mad and deluded but I still expect us to win the league next season, I am still confident the summer will see us transformed and we will all be looking forward to a good campaign, hold on a minute, yes onemore then I'm off home.

Hope you're right.

Last two pre seasons I thought we would be promoted as champions the following season and we have been nowhere near.

Next season I think we will be in a relegation battle.

Whether that means my opinions are wrong and the polar opposite happens, or whether it means I am being over optimistic and we are actually doomed I don't know.

 

[Boxer Blade]

Za, I understand where you are coming from, but I am still a half full merchant, I may change my feelings in August but I am still expecting (hoping) for a confidence boosting summer.i expect avery positive response regarding incoming players, the powers that be realise this and I reckon adkins will be in charge (rightly or not) and will back him.

 

[Kenilworth]

I'm looking forward to doing the lawns of a weekend in the Summer

 

[PokerBlade]

True, couldn't disagree with that but for me Hammond was the weakest link in there. Maybe he got away with it by scoring?

I feel like if I argue about which one was the worst I'll have to say something positive about one of them. They don't deserve that. If I had to pick the best performance of the three it would be Hammond for at least having more impact on the game than a spectator. Coutts can't really say the same.

 

[Cool Clint]

It actually will take fuck all for the right set up. Look how North Sheffield have progressed this season.
The common denominator in our failure is your to determine.
Personally I think it is the worst man at the top in the History if SUFC.
We have never been so low for so long and yet we were once quoted on the National News as the top story as being the "sixth biggest club in British football" and the main headline at 9pm.
Who took us down to these depths?

 

[Revolution]

We will not be promoted whilst McCabe remains associated with the club.

 

[super_pig]

I would say when we learn to stop selling our best players, but now as they're all gone I highly doubt we will ever be back in the championship

won't happen this time
no one left to sell

 

[Darthblade]

To get us promoted out of this division?

6 years and counting, multiple managerial failures, best players sold, when will we get it right?

The board don't seem to be going anywhere and they keep hiring the wrong man. I cant believe how
poorly Adkins has done, he seemed like finally the right appointment, a manager with a proven track record.

How wrong can we have got it?

Unfortunately there is no easy answer to the question posed because it depends upon something which is subject to the appetite for success at the Club.

It depends chiefly on whether the Board and Manager have the foresight and balls to have a complete clearout of the first team squad in the summer and wisely use the season long loan system plus some carefully targeted permanent transfers to totally rebuild the squad.

If they bottle it and retain more than 4 /5 of the current first team squad, then expect more of the same next season in this agricultural division.

Its not necessary to spend millions to get out of L1 ........ what is necessary is to have big, strong, uncompromising, consistent players in the squad, with some real pace throughout the team and a bit of flair as well.

UTB & FTP

 

[Grappler]

I would expect any "big" club to get out of Division Three in two seasons, three at the most.

The crazy thing is that if you build a team of the cream of League One and League two players, with a sprinkling of the best academy lads and a couple of seasoned pro's to provide backbone and aggression, what are we looking at realistically? five million quid? Six million quid? What are the spoils of getting out of this league and into the Championship? Surely McCabe and the Prince can see the sense?

 

[BushBlade]

I would expect any "big" club to get out of Division Three in two seasons, three at the most.

The crazy thing is that if you build a team of the cream of League One and League two players, with a sprinkling of the best academy lads and a couple of seasoned pro's to provide backbone and aggression, what are we looking at realistically? five million quid? Six million quid? What are the spoils of getting out of this league and into the Championship? Surely McCabe and the Prince can see the sense?

That is exactly what I said before the start of the season. They had the choice of spending big to bring in new players and discard the ones that didn't suit Adkins and what he wanted to do or they could continue running at a loss with the current players who weren't good enough to get us up and end up both losing money and not getting promoted.

But the reality is, KM feels like he's lost enough already and the Prince doesn't really have enough money to own a football club of our size. He could end up losing his entire fortune at the rate we're going. He got mugged by KM. He was stupid enough to believe a man who told him he knew how to run a club despite it being the same man who had taken us into L1 and lost a fucking fortune in doing so.

There will be no proper rebuild next season, we will start the season with five or six senior players having one year left on their contracts and Adkins or Wilder or whoever will have the same problems as this season. And Che will be sold to cover the projected losses for next season.

 

[Darthblade]

I would expect any "big" club to get out of Division Three in two seasons, three at the most.

The crazy thing is that if you build a team of the cream of League One and League two players, with a sprinkling of the best academy lads and a couple of seasoned pro's to provide backbone and aggression, what are we looking at realistically? five million quid? Six million quid? What are the spoils of getting out of this league and into the Championship? Surely McCabe and the Prince can see the sense?

Regrettably ....... they can't because they don't know f**k all about football between them.

They do not have a clue !!

UTB & FTP

 

[super_pig]

this stuff isn't rocket science
look at the 'league one/two teams of the year'nominees..hoover up anyone who wasn't promoted to the championship.. a couple of million tops.

 

[grafikhaus]

this stuff isn't rocket science
look at the 'league one/two teams of the year'nominees..hoover up anyone who wasn't promoted to the championship.. a couple of million tops.

Not that simple. Walsall's Tom Bradshaw would certainly be 'up there' as one of Div. One's better players. Trouble is, Birmingham, Blackburn, Preston and Reading are all after him. Who did better on Saturday? Bradshaw or Sharp (both on 18 League goals)? Know who I'd rather have...

 

[Darren]

I would expect any "big" club to get out of Division Three in two seasons, three at the most.

The crazy thing is that if you build a team of the cream of League One and League two players, with a sprinkling of the best academy lads and a couple of seasoned pro's to provide backbone and aggression, what are we looking at realistically? five million quid? Six million quid? What are the spoils of getting out of this league and into the Championship? Surely McCabe and the Prince can see the sense?

I once posted that "big clubs" only generally stay in the lower division for a maximum of 5 years - United, Wednesday, Wolves, WBA, Leicester, Leeds, Forest, Southampton, Man City, Birmingham, Villa, and Stoke have all had lower division spells in my lifetime and were all promoted within 5 years. The only biggish club to buck that trend (as far as I am aware) is Portsmouth who had 7 years in the depths (1976-83 - but will now also have at least 6 years).

It really is depressing....

 

[Grappler]

I once posted that "big clubs" only generally stay in the lower division for a maximum of 5 years - United, Wednesday, Wolves, WBA, Leicester, Leeds, Forest, Southampton, Man City, Birmingham, Villa, and Stoke have all had lower division spells in my lifetime and were all promoted within 5 years. The only biggish club to buck that trend (as far as I am aware) is Portsmouth who had 7 years in the depths (1976-83 - but will now also have at least 6 years).

It really is depressing....

Agreed, I remember Man City being in our league, mid-late 90's. It should not take more than three seasons to re-group, re-build, and get promoted.

 

[CarlMcBlade]

There's no reason why it can't happen next season. We're the biggest club in this division.

Gillingham, Walsall, Burton, Bradford are all up there this season having been nowhere near last year and not even in anyone's thinking for promotion in pre season.

It's simple, get in the right players, pick a system and style of play to suit those players (I don't care what that looks like) and don't sell our best player in August.

Saying it will take three years is utter garbage. It's not like we don't have any infrastructure, amazing facilitaties big budget. It's not like it was in the 80's. We have everything there ready to go, just need 5 quality players and a manager who knows what he's doing.

The trouble with us being the biggest club in this division also make us complacent about getting out of it. We think enticing players from higher divisions confirms our status as the biggest club. Every club above us in the league and quite a few below have all got young hungry talented players who have tortured our midfield and defence this season. Does this big club arrogance of prevent us shopping for league 1 starlets?

 

[Darren]

Agreed, I remember Man City being in our league, mid-late 90's. It should not take more than three seasons to re-group, re-build, and get promoted.

They did it in one season. They got to the play off final against Gillingham. It was 0-0 up to the 81st minute, when Gillingham scored (Carl Asaba) and then again in the 87th minute. Game over for City one would have thought. Nope. They get 2 goals in injury time and then win on pens.

As if that would happen to us....

 

[SouthEssexBlade]

I remember when we dropped into this division last time. Bassett couldn't keep us up, there was despair at the quality of the players, no money for rebuilding and certainly not the set up within the club (ground, facilities etc.) that we have now.

Bassett had signed Agana to get the goals to stay up, it hadn't worked (I didn't think much of him at that point) but he stayed and added bits and pieces around the team. A tall, gangly lad from Donny arrived, looking very raw, a Scots winger, a defender, midfielder who was really a defender. Generally a right bunch of misfits. I was certainly not confident at the beginning of that season. But they all knew what they were supposed to do within a system that got the best out of them, pace off the bench in Francis helped, and promotion happened. Belief went through the roof for that team, a few ex-Wimbledon arrive with others and they fly.

Just pointing out, at this level, that it can take very little in terms of recruitment to turn things around. More important is having a manager with a clear idea of how he wants to play and allowing him to recruit to suit that, which Bassett did for next to nothing. It's the one thing that makes me think Adkins should be given next season, he has a clear idea of how he wants to play (odd games recently suggest some players might be getting it) and hopefully can find the players to achieve. But then again, the board might not go for it.

 

[coaxingstar71]

Presuming he's still here, and I think he will be, Adkins has got a crucial summer ahead of him. Based on his 'performance' in transfer dealings so far in his reign, I have no confidence that he will sign the kind of players we need to push for promotion next season. If, as everyone seems to assume, he signs Hammond permanently - that for me will just prove that he isn't going to achieve promotion next season. Too old, too slow, and although he apparently has some unseen talent in the work he does for the team, there's no denying that he's far too ponderous on the ball and regularly get's either caught in possession or gives the ball away, like the 2nd goal conceded at Southend. What we need are some young, hungry players with pace and desire. Another thing is if he solves the now 2 seasons problems of signing 2 decent centre backs and at least one decent midfielder with all the attributes we need, not just some of them. At the moment we've only got midfielders who can one or two things but not others, see below :-

Basham - committed, puts tackles in but generally can't pass and goes 'missing' (Saturday being an all too seldom one off).
Coutts - an enigma. Has got skill, love the way he sometimes glides past opponents with great skill and control and can pass it. Constant doubts over fitness and work rate and ok with the ball at his feet but not good without the ball. Lack of goals.
Flynn - another that's good on the ball and has been involved in some good moves in recent games but not good at defending and not strong enough.
Hammond - can tackle, cover and defend although because he's so slow, get's booked every game and likely to get sent off. Terrible on the ball unless he's got all the time in the world. Passing is poor and gets caught in possession.
Reed - nice passer of the ball but not good defending and goes missing when playing physically bigger teams. Flat track bully type player. Never scored.
Woolford - not seen anything from him apart from the odd cross (v Bradford) to suggest he should be anywhere near the first team.

We need a couple of midfielders who have the full range of midfield skills, not just one or two. A player like Morsy would have been ideal but once Wigan were interested we didn't stand much chance.

 

[blade too long]

Will we still be relying on acquiring Dan Burn, lets face it Fulham havent been held up as a template for solid defending this season have they
I think you look at any promoted club and its usually the attack thats the priority to get you up
Any old defenders will do if you put in more at the other end
Wigan have looked dicey at the back at times , but just keep scoring
what a simple game football is really

 

[Gavlar]

They did it in one season. They got to the play off final against Gillingham. It was 0-0 up to the 81st minute, when Gillingham scored (Carl Asaba) and then again in the 87th minute. Game over for City one would have thought. Nope. They get 2 goals in injury time and then win on pens.

As if that would happen to us....

I heard that Noel Gallagher left Wembley thinking they had lost, and then had to go back and get back in to watch the pens when he realised it wasn't over. He may have done the same thing when they beat QPR with two goals in injury time to win the prem aswell.