Low-down on PNE

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sheffieldwhite

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It's safe to say that heading into the game on Saturday, spirits are not high 'in the camp' at PNE, nor on the terraces.

After a very good 7th placed finish last time around, 2 points off the play-offs, fans expected the manager to be backed by the owner, Trevor Hemmings, to bring in a big striker following the sales of Hugill (£9m) and Cunningham (£4m).

History repeated itself unfortunately (this happened under Billy Davies), as the owner did not sanction any serious cash for a striker to be brought in (specifically a target man to replace Hugill). He didn't sanction £1.5-2m for Kieffer Moore, or the wages to sign Cameron Jerome on loan. This despite making £12-13m this year alone on selling players.

Promising young players such as Ryan Ledson and Jordan Storey were signed, but they aren't first team material yet. Cunningham was replaced by Andrew Hughes from Peterborough, who looks decent but is not an upgrade. Another Irish punt in Graham Burke was signed, but nobody knows his qualities or best position.

Then, without coming even close to signing a striker all summer, a week before the season started Sean Maguire, our only decent one, was ruled out for 2 months with a hamstring injury. Billy Bodin did his ACL in training and was ruled out for 6 months. This led to 2 quick fire loan signings from Man City in Lukas Nmecha and Brandon Barker. Barker looks decent, Nmecha very raw and not capable yet of leading the line every week at this level. Louis Moult has been shocking and is lightweight. We have missed Hugill's physicality greatly.

As a result of all these problem such as lack of ambition and investment, and injuries, we have been awful going forwards and shockingly lightweight. We have now also started conceding goals, with our keeper Rudd totally out of form.

Ben Pearson, our best player and probably the stand out holding midfield player in this division (turned down £12.5m from Stoke in the summer for him) will be banned for this game, but Ledson will be back to play that role.

Him, Browne, and probably Robinson (who I'm told you bid for in the summer), will most likely not be here next season, another frustration for the fans as this season was probably the last with this group where the stars looked aligned if we invested in forwards. Instead it now looks about survival then selling.

The owner is now coming in for a lot of flak, about transfers and also about a proposed training ground development which the fans helped get through planning. There is a housing development next to it going ahead (he's wanted houses on the site for years) but is now stalling seemingly on the training ground. It's unacceptable. All this whilst he scuttles back off to the Isle of Man, and the staff faced the music at the fans' forum on Monday.

Said forum became very heated and punches were exchanged between supporters, and you need only look at our forum to see how high the tensions are and how split the fan base is right now.

So yes basically all in all a terrible summer transfer window and pre-season and a shocking start in the league. To finish 7th and have all the problems we do now is shocking management right from the top. The owner tried to get us to stand still, showing no ambition to kick on, and now we are falling backwards, as you do in football when you try to stand still.

I'd expect a comfortable win for the Blades on Saturday. You won't have to play very well to do so. I'd be amazed if we pull something off but I suppose stranger things have happened in this division.
 

sheffieldwhite much of this sounds familiar from years gone by at United.

Cheers for the lowdown! I watched you v Leeds and you looked terrible, as much as Leeds put you to the sword.

On the other side, we’ve strengthened well from the 10th place finish.

Dean Henderson on a season loan in goal is an upgrade on Blackman, who was decent last year.

Egan, a club record signing at Centre Half has boosted the defence, pushing Richard Stearman to the bench as Chris Basham continues to enjoy another excellent start to the season, much to the dismay of many Blades. We also fended off bids for the fantastic Jack O’Connell.

Midfield has seen a lot of changes. Jan signings Evans, Leonard and Holmes all gone out, none of whom have managed to do a job and fit in alongside Fleck since Coutts got injured. This has allowed us to bring in Oli Norwood and he’s been an instant hit, slotting in alongside fleck he’s looked Classy, but he also provides excellent set piece delivery, which has brought us goals already.

Freeman is back as Right Wingback after a season out, looking fantastic. Johnson has come in on loan from Boro to provide a pacey attacking option to Stevens.

We also brought in £12-15 through the sale of Brooks, but his loan replacement, the much coveted Woodburn from Liverpool has so far failed to displace Duffy and needs time to adapt.

Up front though is the biggest talking point. All summer it was clear we needed additional strikers. Wilder stated so and we’ve seemingly been linked or chased every striker in the division, yet not had the funds or the desire to match some of the daft fees for the likes of Waghorn.

So we settled on McGoldrick after his trial and he’s looked very good at times, however it seemed to still be that we'd be in for another big signing. The main window closed and then we brought in Connor Washington from QPR to add “pace, power and hard work” (his words). After two cameos he's not excited the fans. Leon Clarke remains Wilders favourite and Billy Sharp has maintained his excellent scoring record.

It sounds like everything is rosy at United from the above, however, all Summer we've had ownership wrangling, which is now awaiting the courts to decide the way forward.

Results wise we lost the first two, against Boro and Swansea (before Norwood came in), but then went on to win the next four, performances against Bolton away and Villa at home, both being demolitions, the Villa 4-1 win being one of the best performances of recent years.

The International break didn't help us though, close defeat against Bristol City and then Wednesday nights 0-0 with Birmingham after Wilder tried to combat Birmingham with Power and pace, which just didn't work to get the win, but it was another point on the board.

I think its fair to say that we have recruited well, but we've recruited to take us forward, we're still not quite there up top and we've gone two games without a goal, without creating much.

On to Saturday, I'd be surprised if we don't come out of the blocks and try to get an early goal on Saturday, the last two games have appeared to have been points dropped. I expect a reaction to the last two games from Wilder and the players, whether we get it is another thing.
 
Looked like CW made the players walk back from Bristol last night they were that jaded.
 
Very good post that from SheffieldWhite. Articulate, objective, fair. I hope for your sake Mr SheffieldWhite, your season turns out to be not quite as bad as you expect it to be. But not starting on saturday obviously!

The one thing I've come to expect of Sheffield United under Wilder is that we will take the game to teams, no matter what. He's instilled a way of playing football that is all about pressing the opposition high up the pitch and not giving them any time to settle on the ball. And then, when we take possession, we try and keep it, no matter what. Which leads to a thousand passes, not all of them in a forward direction, but it's like he's got it drilled into them, "keep possession at all costs" even if it does mean advancing to the other team's 18 yard box, then going right back to our own 18 yard box again with it. At times it's like watching the tide go in and out.

When it comes off of course, it leads to the most sublime performances, and there's plenty of YouTube videos now of us passing it 347 times before eventually tapping it into the goal. Which looks great! But it would be nice to have a bit of variety I think. Like someone setting off like their arse is on fire, bollocks to passing it to anyone else, and running straight down the middle of the opposition defence and having a bloody crack at goal. We occasionally see Duffy do this, but very rarely do any of the others try it. It's positively discouraged to show blistering pace and individuality. The emphasis is much more on "team" and "passing" than "individual" and "shooting" or "dribbling" for that matter.

This is not a complaint btw - there are many ways of skinning the cat - our preference is to do it slowly and methodically. I'm just pointing this out because I don't know how you "Lillywhites" like it best? Do you like the long slow build up, with lots of stroking and squeezing, or do you prefer it fast and hard and straight down your throat?:eek:

I think, depending on your answer to that, you may find playing Sheffield United either very difficult, or no big deal. Because we won't be changing our style anytime soon.
 
Thats probably guaranteed a Preston win !!
 
sheffieldwhite said:
It's safe to say that heading into the game on Saturday, spirits are not high 'in the camp' at PNE, nor on the terraces.

After a very good 7th placed finish last time around, 2 points off the play-offs, fans expected the manager to be backed by the owner, Trevor Hemmings, to bring in a big striker following the sales of Hugill (£9m) and Cunningham (£4m).

History repeated itself unfortunately (this happened under Billy Davies), as the owner did not sanction any serious cash for a striker to be brought in (specifically a target man to replace Hugill). He didn't sanction £1.5-2m for Kieffer Moore, or the wages to sign Cameron Jerome on loan. This despite making £12-13m this year alone on selling players.

Promising young players such as Ryan Ledson and Jordan Storey were signed, but they aren't first team material yet. Cunningham was replaced by Andrew Hughes from Peterborough, who looks decent but is not an upgrade. Another Irish punt in Graham Burke was signed, but nobody knows his qualities or best position.

Then, without coming even close to signing a striker all summer, a week before the season started Sean Maguire, our only decent one, was ruled out for 2 months with a hamstring injury. Billy Bodin did his ACL in training and was ruled out for 6 months. This led to 2 quick fire loan signings from Man City in Lukas Nmecha and Brandon Barker. Barker looks decent, Nmecha very raw and not capable yet of leading the line every week at this level. Louis Moult has been shocking and is lightweight. We have missed Hugill's physicality greatly.

As a result of all these problem such as lack of ambition and investment, and injuries, we have been awful going forwards and shockingly lightweight. We have now also started conceding goals, with our keeper Rudd totally out of form.

Ben Pearson, our best player and probably the stand out holding midfield player in this division (turned down £12.5m from Stoke in the summer for him) will be banned for this game, but Ledson will be back to play that role.

Him, Browne, and probably Robinson (who I'm told you bid for in the summer), will most likely not be here next season, another frustration for the fans as this season was probably the last with this group where the stars looked aligned if we invested in forwards. Instead it now looks about survival then selling.

The owner is now coming in for a lot of flak, about transfers and also about a proposed training ground development which the fans helped get through planning. There is a housing development next to it going ahead (he's wanted houses on the site for years) but is now stalling seemingly on the training ground. It's unacceptable. All this whilst he scuttles back off to the Isle of Man, and the staff faced the music at the fans' forum on Monday.

Said forum became very heated and punches were exchanged between supporters, and you need only look at our forum to see how high the tensions are and how split the fan base is right now.

So yes basically all in all a terrible summer transfer window and pre-season and a shocking start in the league. To finish 7th and have all the problems we do now is shocking management right from the top. The owner tried to get us to stand still, showing no ambition to kick on, and now we are falling backwards, as you do in football when you try to stand still.

I'd expect a comfortable win for the Blades on Saturday. You won't have to play very well to do so. I'd be amazed if we pull something off but I suppose stranger things have happened in this division.
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oh no preston haven’t won in ages.. welcome to BDTBL :/
 
sheffieldwhite said:
It's safe to say that heading into the game on Saturday, spirits are not high 'in the camp' at PNE, nor on the terraces.

After a very good 7th placed finish last time around, 2 points off the play-offs, fans expected the manager to be backed by the owner, Trevor Hemmings, to bring in a big striker following the sales of Hugill (£9m) and Cunningham (£4m).

History repeated itself unfortunately (this happened under Billy Davies), as the owner did not sanction any serious cash for a striker to be brought in (specifically a target man to replace Hugill). He didn't sanction £1.5-2m for Kieffer Moore, or the wages to sign Cameron Jerome on loan. This despite making £12-13m this year alone on selling players.

Promising young players such as Ryan Ledson and Jordan Storey were signed, but they aren't first team material yet. Cunningham was replaced by Andrew Hughes from Peterborough, who looks decent but is not an upgrade. Another Irish punt in Graham Burke was signed, but nobody knows his qualities or best position.

Then, without coming even close to signing a striker all summer, a week before the season started Sean Maguire, our only decent one, was ruled out for 2 months with a hamstring injury. Billy Bodin did his ACL in training and was ruled out for 6 months. This led to 2 quick fire loan signings from Man City in Lukas Nmecha and Brandon Barker. Barker looks decent, Nmecha very raw and not capable yet of leading the line every week at this level. Louis Moult has been shocking and is lightweight. We have missed Hugill's physicality greatly.

As a result of all these problem such as lack of ambition and investment, and injuries, we have been awful going forwards and shockingly lightweight. We have now also started conceding goals, with our keeper Rudd totally out of form.

Ben Pearson, our best player and probably the stand out holding midfield player in this division (turned down £12.5m from Stoke in the summer for him) will be banned for this game, but Ledson will be back to play that role.

Him, Browne, and probably Robinson (who I'm told you bid for in the summer), will most likely not be here next season, another frustration for the fans as this season was probably the last with this group where the stars looked aligned if we invested in forwards. Instead it now looks about survival then selling.

The owner is now coming in for a lot of flak, about transfers and also about a proposed training ground development which the fans helped get through planning. There is a housing development next to it going ahead (he's wanted houses on the site for years) but is now stalling seemingly on the training ground. It's unacceptable. All this whilst he scuttles back off to the Isle of Man, and the staff faced the music at the fans' forum on Monday.

Said forum became very heated and punches were exchanged between supporters, and you need only look at our forum to see how high the tensions are and how split the fan base is right now.

So yes basically all in all a terrible summer transfer window and pre-season and a shocking start in the league. To finish 7th and have all the problems we do now is shocking management right from the top. The owner tried to get us to stand still, showing no ambition to kick on, and now we are falling backwards, as you do in football when you try to stand still.

I'd expect a comfortable win for the Blades on Saturday. You won't have to play very well to do so. I'd be amazed if we pull something off but I suppose stranger things have happened in this division.
Click to expand...

Hasn’t Hemmings kept PNE afloat for the last decade? Does he deserve the grief - is he really cashing in?

With regard to the striker situation, you’re in a similar boat to us. It’s nearly impossible to sign a proven striker without breaking wage ceilings. Even if you spaff half the Hugill cash on a fee, it’s impossible to compete on wages with the league’s big spenders. Time to look abroad or take a punt on promise....
 
sheffieldwhite said:
It's safe to say that heading into the game on Saturday, spirits are not high 'in the camp' at PNE, nor on the terraces.

After a very good 7th placed finish last time around, 2 points off the play-offs, fans expected the manager to be backed by the owner, Trevor Hemmings, to bring in a big striker following the sales of Hugill (£9m) and Cunningham (£4m).

History repeated itself unfortunately (this happened under Billy Davies), as the owner did not sanction any serious cash for a striker to be brought in (specifically a target man to replace Hugill). He didn't sanction £1.5-2m for Kieffer Moore, or the wages to sign Cameron Jerome on loan. This despite making £12-13m this year alone on selling players.

Promising young players such as Ryan Ledson and Jordan Storey were signed, but they aren't first team material yet. Cunningham was replaced by Andrew Hughes from Peterborough, who looks decent but is not an upgrade. Another Irish punt in Graham Burke was signed, but nobody knows his qualities or best position.

Then, without coming even close to signing a striker all summer, a week before the season started Sean Maguire, our only decent one, was ruled out for 2 months with a hamstring injury. Billy Bodin did his ACL in training and was ruled out for 6 months. This led to 2 quick fire loan signings from Man City in Lukas Nmecha and Brandon Barker. Barker looks decent, Nmecha very raw and not capable yet of leading the line every week at this level. Louis Moult has been shocking and is lightweight. We have missed Hugill's physicality greatly.

As a result of all these problem such as lack of ambition and investment, and injuries, we have been awful going forwards and shockingly lightweight. We have now also started conceding goals, with our keeper Rudd totally out of form.

Ben Pearson, our best player and probably the stand out holding midfield player in this division (turned down £12.5m from Stoke in the summer for him) will be banned for this game, but Ledson will be back to play that role.

Him, Browne, and probably Robinson (who I'm told you bid for in the summer), will most likely not be here next season, another frustration for the fans as this season was probably the last with this group where the stars looked aligned if we invested in forwards. Instead it now looks about survival then selling.

The owner is now coming in for a lot of flak, about transfers and also about a proposed training ground development which the fans helped get through planning. There is a housing development next to it going ahead (he's wanted houses on the site for years) but is now stalling seemingly on the training ground. It's unacceptable. All this whilst he scuttles back off to the Isle of Man, and the staff faced the music at the fans' forum on Monday.

Said forum became very heated and punches were exchanged between supporters, and you need only look at our forum to see how high the tensions are and how split the fan base is right now.

So yes basically all in all a terrible summer transfer window and pre-season and a shocking start in the league. To finish 7th and have all the problems we do now is shocking management right from the top. The owner tried to get us to stand still, showing no ambition to kick on, and now we are falling backwards, as you do in football when you try to stand still.

I'd expect a comfortable win for the Blades on Saturday. You won't have to play very well to do so. I'd be amazed if we pull something off but I suppose stranger things have happened in this division.
Click to expand...

Lowdown on SUFC - We'll lose.
 

JohnDenver said:
Hasn’t Hemmings kept PNE afloat for the last decade? Does he deserve the grief - is he really cashing in?

With regard to the striker situation, you’re in a similar boat to us. It’s nearly impossible to sign a proven striker without breaking wage ceilings. Even if you spaff half the Hugill cash on a fee, it’s impossible to compete on wages with the league’s big spenders. Time to look abroad or take a punt on promise....
Click to expand...

Hemmings keeps us afloat / retains control of the club through soft loans. He does this and very little more, and it’s more down to his own interests than any sort of passion for the club. Many fans were shafted when he took all the shares in 2010. Picked up 70% for around 175k.

Every time we’re on the cusp of something he does not strike whilst the iron is hot. He lacks passion for football and understand of the modern game, and fundamentally lacks ambition. He expects the staff and the manager to work miracles every season.

Kieffer Moore would’ve given us the physical presence and legs we need at the top end of the pitch, whilst chipping in with a few goals. He wanted to come, would’ve slotted into our tight wage structure and would’ve cost around a fifth of the fee we sold Hugill for.

The fee of £1.5-2m wasn’t sanctioned by Hemmings.

We knew it was going to be difficult to replace Hugill but after 9 months there is no excuse, and claiming our ambition last season was the Prem (Prem trophy all over season ticket advertising), only to sell our main striker on January deadline day mid-season, was a joke.
 
Silent Blade said:
Heppolette you mean!
Click to expand...

I can remember racially insensitive Blackburn Rovers fans chanting "Preston's got a Paki" when I went with a mate to see them v Preston in about 1971.

Coincidentally, Mrs Trig's last boss at the NHS was called Heppolette and he was astonished when I asked him if he was any relation, which he was, nephew. I got the feeling he didn't get asked very often.
 
Trigger Blade said:
I can remember racially insensitive Blackburn Rovers fans chanting "Preston's got a Paki" when I went with a mate to see them v Preston in about 1971.

Coincidentally, Mrs Trig's last boss at the NHS was called Heppolette and he was astonished when I asked him if he was any relation, which he was, nephew. I got the feeling he didn't get asked very often.
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Ricky's sister was married to Mick Parry who is a Blade that sits near me at home games. The Heppolettes are of Burmese descent.
 
JohnDenver said:
Hasn’t Hemmings kept PNE afloat for the last decade? Does he deserve the grief - is he really cashing in?

With regard to the striker situation, you’re in a similar boat to us. It’s nearly impossible to sign a proven striker without breaking wage ceilings. Even if you spaff half the Hugill cash on a fee, it’s impossible to compete on wages with the league’s big spenders. Time to look abroad or take a punt on promise....
Click to expand...
McCabe has kept United afloat for much longer than the last decade but he still gets plenty of flack, why should it be any different at Preston?

Bloody club owners pocketing all the profits
 
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