Mo Besic

[IdLiketoRogerMoore]

Freeman plays on the left so it’s not that likely Wilder is going to play him on the right.

Berge is obviously going to be the main man for the foreseeable future but he’s just played 100 minutes and we can see he’s not up to speed yet. It’s not unfeasible that Wilder rests him for the Norwich game. But yeah, if I had to put money on it, I’d probably go for Berge, if the fitness blokes say he’s OK.

Wouldn't disagree with any of that.

My only sneaky feeling is Tufty likes to rewards people who step up when given the opportunity (a la Billy) so wouldn't surprise me to see Freeman involved.

Besic? Unless a coronavirus outbreak hits the squad, I think he's done here...

 

[BushBlade]

Wouldn't disagree with any of that.

My only sneaky feeling is Tufty likes to rewards people who step up when given the opportunity (a la Billy) so wouldn't surprise me to see Freeman involved.

Besic? Unless a coronavirus outbreak hits the squad, I think he's done here...

We never really get far enough ahead to experiment. If we were battering Norwich and 4-0 up with 20 minutes to go, CW might be tempted to try 3412 with Freeman but we never have that luxury, it’s almost always a tight game. He might bring him on for Fleck towards the end of the game.

 

[Need4speed]

Surely it is just a question of who is and who isn’t our player Berger is Besic isn’t Therefore seems logical to develop our own player getting up to speed with the league and our system Think it tells us Besic will not be coming next season

 

[Swannyblade]

I know questioning Wilder is a good way to make one’s self look foolish, but I really think we’re missing a trick with Besic and being quite short sighted.
He’s proved that he can come into the side after long periods out of the first team and perform to a high standard.
He offers the bite in midfield we can be lacking and still looks tidy on the ball.
He’s perfect for games when we’re playing ‘better’ teams who will dominate possession like City & Liverpool.
He provides squad depth and has proven himself capable of playing within our unique system.
His style of play whips up the crowd and atmosphere.
He’d be an excellent option if we do qualify for Europe next year - he’s well travelled and used to playing in different football cultures and in non-British atmospheres (something we don’t have much of in our squad - he’s played for Fradi and is a Bosnian international...our atmospheres must be very tame in comparison).
I thought we might have put an offer together for him in January off the back of some good performances, so can only imagine that his demands were too high or we’d no room in the budget for an additional squad player.
We do need two options for each position though ideally

 

[bongleblade]

For the last three and a half seasons Wilder has made it very clear, in both his words and his actions, that he likes to play left footed players on the left and right footed players on the right.

Wilders 2.0 tactic will be all CM's both left and right footed and then we can switch them as required tactically

 

[ChipButtyBlade]

Hoping for some ET for Norwich tonite against Spurs.......#26

 

[BushBlade]

Hoping for some ET for Norwich tonite against Spurs.......#26

I’ll add to that. I hope they defend valiantly until extra time and then collapse like a house of cards and concede five in half an hour.

 

[ChipButtyBlade]

I’ll add to that. I hope they defend valiantly until extra time and then collapse like a house of cards and concede five in half an hour.

Could do with some Canary red cards,just for disruption purposes.........Cantwell would be nice to see two yellows for him.

 

[BushBlade]

Could do with some Canary red cards,just for disruption purposes.........Cantwell would be nice to see two yellows for him.

I’m not sure they count in the PL games so hopefully a minor muscle tweak that’ll take a week to recover from. And Pukki to take a swing at Farke after the game for subbing him.

 

[hidesbehindapseudonym]

I was fancying Norwich, Birmingham or the Pigs in Round 6.

Oh and I rate Besic

 

[MalvernBlade]

That’s not a tin hat post. He’s played in that position before for us and Lunny has had an impact off the bench for us. People can disagree but it’s not a daft suggestion.

Agree, but we play much better with few changes so made sense keeping one of the so called first choice midfield in the team and see how they played together. At one point we had McGoldrick dropping all the way back into defense to get the ball. Don't understand that. Rooney used to do that with England and then boot it up the pitch to no one. Still think we miss Duffy massively. Thought Berge looked good seeing as he only joined in January and he's getting up to speed. If he didn't play now then he won't be ready for next season

 

[John Street West Terrace]

I honestly thought we'd sign him in January, assuming the price was right. Disappointed to see him apparently frozen out having just put a run of good form together.

Didn't he sign a new three year deal with Everton in Jan.
Since then not realy been seen

Thought I read somewhere he’ll be in the last year of his contract in the summer , as he’s on season long loan and as transfer windows closed Wilder probably thinking if we want him we’d get him for a cheaper fee then ?
As I said earlier really rate the lad and see him as the natural challenger to Norwoods holding role

 

[Gretsch Blade]

Was at the “Mad Stad” last night. We appeared to lose the midfield battle during a large part of the second half. There was a 25 min period where Berge looked shattered and as a result they won most of the second balls. We needed some composure, a strong tackler and fresh legs. This was the perfect time to introduce Mo in central midfield..... but much to our amazement he wasn’t named on the bench? (Particularly with Fleck and Norwood not present).
Perhaps there’s things going on behind the scenes, may be not? Who knows... (I certainly don’t!)
But I for one rate Besic and believe he can play an important role at the club.

 

[Sheff de party]

puts tin hat on
I'd have Mo start over Lunny then have Lunny as a bit more of an impact sub such as the Bournemouth match, gives us more going forward if we need it

Been saying the same for months. Lunny had a great start but Besic is better than him.

Once that start ran out, it should have been Besic.

 

[BladeInAustria]

Besic has a great blend of tenacity and athleticism. Berge has shown a bit of the latter, but little of the former and I'm sorry, but that is a prerequisite of a Blades midfielder in the Wilder era. This will hopefully change as he adapts to our style and the PL. Besic can feel hard done by (if uninjured). He did nothing wrong and scored a great goal.

 

[Ridgeway Blade]

Besic has done well when needed. If we had been in a dogfight at the bottom of the league and the team, all of them, hadn't been so consistently good, then Besic would have more time on the pitch. In addition, we have had so few injuries and suspensions to the first 11 to warrant regular changes. As it is, we have done so well we have attracted a player of the calibre of Berge who, even if he isn't the finished article, is a player of great promise that we wouldn't have got if we had been in the relegation zone. The club's view in the January window was perhaps different to what was originally thought necessary and that we were in a position to look at players for the the longer term and not just survival. If we hadn't signed him then we may not have got him in the summer as he was on the radar for a number of teams. Of course, Lundstram's contract has not been signed yet so it is still possible we keep Besic if Lundstram doesn't sign. One thing is for sure, Wilder wants us to keep improving and we must trust his judgement. He deserves that. he may want Besic to stay but the player may not want to of course. It must be frustrating for Freeman, Osborn etc that they are having to bide their time. Competition for places is fierce and this is just what Wilder wants.

 

[Charlieblade]

I think it’s a bit sad that, although Mo Besic has all the qualities that could make him a stand out Blade, he belongs to another club, and we cannot break the wage structure, or afford the fee that Everton would expect for him. (This was probably explored, and dismissed in January).
It also explains why he wasn’t on the bench against Reading.
Luke Freeman is the benchmark on the left side and he is our player, so no comparison there.
Berge and Lundstram can play each other against the needs of the club and the manager, who is now in a canny position, having two players for one shirt at RM. Berge will continue to start there, to justify his transfer, and maybe persuade Lenny to knuckle down, sign his new contract and fight for the shirt, otherwise, he’s gone.
Wider is in the driving seat either way. Clever man.

 

[Blade58]

According to Nixon, we've sent him back to Everton. Apparently not required any more

 

[Bruce Wayne]

According to Nixon, we've sent him back to Everton. Apparently not required any more

He was only training a couple of days ago, very surprised that we would do this when we could easily lose a player or two through a positive test.

 

[8lade]

Bit surprised but Everton have our pants down on a regular basis so I can imagine a similar scenario was transpiring. But there's a new sheriff in town.

 

[Ricky]

Is bit in paper? Can't find bit on Twitter.

 

[Blade58]

Is bit in paper? Can't find bit on Twitter.

 

[John Street West Terrace]

Surprising considering the run in we’ll have , as with most things probably more to the story .. gutted really as rated the lad and as I said previously a natural challenger to Norwood holding role

 

[Ricky]

Strange one.

Surely we'd rather keep him for the run in?

But if he has no permanent future here and is unlikely to play much maybe it's the right thing, especially if there are any difficulties extending his loan.

 

[Greasy Chap Butty]

Almost makes out that he will end up somewhere else, not at Everton.
Have we shot ourself in the foot, in that it just leaves us a man down?

 

[LoughboroBlade]

If true must be extremely confident that the break and fixture buildup won’t lead to any injuries for the players. We were obviously going to part ways in the summer anyway, but given we can’t bring anyone in to replace him in the 25, it does seem a strange choice. Though Wilder I think did talk about there being an issue with extending one past June 30, so maybe we’d have wanted to keep him but Besic doesn’t fancy it – I think everyone had assumed that was one of the players we owned like Freeman or Clarke, but seems it might have been Besic.

 

[Guesty]

I thought he'd been better than what we've seen from Berge so far, so I'm slightly disappointed with this.

 

[Addison]

CW mentioned in his interview at 22.00 with Biggs that two players loans finish on 30 May so presumably Besic was one of those. So he hasn't gone back early just that we've decided not to extend. Not sure who other one was but assume they've been extended.

 

[CaptainMorgans]

Should have extended Besic for the run-in. Feels like a mistake this.

 

[EddieColquhoun]

Probably unrelated but, from some of the training clips the other day, Regan Slater was training with the squad.