The genius duo that is Chris Wilder and Alan Knill

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Casts a shadow over the summer recruitment tho eh?!

on a serious note, pleased for the lads to get the chance to get a run in the prem, however all the incoming personnel at (for us) big-ish money and we are going with the championship team plus a Bournemouth reserve!!

sure the rest will get their chance, and over a season will be needed

well done, not even the biggest rose tinted blade would have thought 5th a third of the way thro...
 
Our last Championship game line up

Henderson
JOC
Egan
Bash
Stevens
Baldock
Fleck
Norwood
Duffy
Didzy
Billy

Yesterday's line up at Spurs that climbed to 5th in the EPL

Henderson
JOC
Egan
Bash
Stevens
Baldock
Fleck
Norwood
Lunny for Duffy
Didzy
Moooose for Billy

'Nuff said.

I agree that Wilder and Knill have done a fantastic job, however...

You could interpret this another way. It suggests that we wasted about £40M on McBurnie, Robinson and Freeman. So that's the opposite of genius isn't it? Spending vast amounts of money on players who are no better than what we had already? It's a good job we are 5th from the top and not 5th from the bottom. Otherwise this board would be full of folks saying Wilder is out of his depth at Prem level, and using the money he's squandered on players not capable of making the first 11, as evidence.
 
On the one hand you could say/hint that we have wasted money considering the money we spent and their apparent lack of getting close to the starting 11....or you could say that the value of those players from last season have rocketed beyond the value of the players we brought in?!
Enda? Worth £10m? Baldock too??
Egan, JOC....worth £10-20m each considering the time left on their contracts.
Fleck, Norwood., Lunny all worth £10m plus??
And the only thing stopping McG, Bash being in a similar fee value is their ages.

So while we spent good money on Freeman, Osborn but huge money on McB and Robinson their fees are dwarfed compared to the real values of the players who’ve come up with us and proven they are good enough to play in the premier league.
And don’t forget Mousset is starting to look a bit of a bargain tbf.

We do however have much better back up players so it’s the overall quality of the squad that has been the difference
 
Casts a shadow over the summer recruitment tho eh?!

on a serious note, pleased for the lads to get the chance to get a run in the prem, however all the incoming personnel at (for us) big-ish money and we are going with the championship team plus a Bournemouth reserve!!

sure the rest will get their chance, and over a season will be needed

well done, not even the biggest rose tinted blade would have thought 5th a third of the way thro...
It also shows you how good our recruitment was over the last 2 seasons. That we can spend x amount of money (that is fans demand we spend) and the players aren’t better than the current crop. Due to us all probably underestimating their ability.

With all seriousness this duo is something very special.
 
I agree that Wilder and Knill have done a fantastic job, however...

You could interpret this another way. It suggests that we wasted about £40M on McBurnie, Robinson and Freeman. So that's the opposite of genius isn't it? Spending vast amounts of money on players who are no better than what we had already? It's a good job we are 5th from the top and not 5th from the bottom. Otherwise this board would be full of folks saying Wilder is out of his depth at Prem level, and using the money he's squandered on players not capable of making the first 11, as evidence.
Yes but that ignores that this is a squad game and other players have contributed significantly. Freeman v Palace, Robinson at Chelsea, McB scored v Leicester (although did not affect result) and Freeman, McB, and Robbo have all come on to sheer things up towards the end of games when we needed fresh legs. Jags has also been used. Who knows where we would be now if we didn’t have those in the squad.
 
I agree that Wilder and Knill have done a fantastic job, however...

You could interpret this another way. It suggests that we wasted about £40M on McBurnie, Robinson and Freeman. So that's the opposite of genius isn't it? Spending vast amounts of money on players who are no better than what we had already? It's a good job we are 5th from the top and not 5th from the bottom. Otherwise this board would be full of folks saying Wilder is out of his depth at Prem level, and using the money he's squandered on players not capable of making the first 11, as evidence.


Whilst your probably right, your still a miserable git 😉
 
I agree that Wilder and Knill have done a fantastic job, however...

You could interpret this another way. It suggests that we wasted about £40M on McBurnie, Robinson and Freeman. So that's the opposite of genius isn't it? Spending vast amounts of money on players who are no better than what we had already? It's a good job we are 5th from the top and not 5th from the bottom. Otherwise this board would be full of folks saying Wilder is out of his depth at Prem level, and using the money he's squandered on players not capable of making the first 11, as evidence.
You could interpret it like that if you don’t understand football and know the cost of everything but the value of nothing.
 
Yes but that ignores that this is a squad game and other players have contributed significantly. Freeman v Palace, Robinson at Chelsea, McB scored v Leicester (although did not affect result) and Freeman, McB, and Robbo have all come on to sheer things up towards the end of games when we needed fresh legs. Jags has also been used. Who knows where we would be now if we didn’t have those in the squad.

Ding ding ding. I'm kind of stunned that people are just done with some of our signings because we have other players who are playing better than them at the minute.

Look at Norwich. They were objectively better than us last season, signed hardly anyone, had a few injuries and are now the worst team in the league while we're rubbing shoulders with Man City.

Look at Mousset. People were taking the piss about his ability and goal record when we signed him, which it transpires were because he'd not been given a consistent run at Bournemouth because he had better players ahead of him. Now he's probably our first-choice striker.

McGoldrick was a bit of a running joke around this time last year, now he's possibly our most important attacking player. Lundstram was... well I don't even need to say what Lundstram was.

The squad needed evolving rather than overhauling. The main problem Fulham went through last season was ripping apart the core of their team and shoe-horning new signings into it. I'm sure most of our signings were bought with a view to them being first-team quality, but Wilder's also said several times that - particularly with the strikers - they were signed because they have different attributes and can do different things, ie there'll be an element of rotation, of using different players in different game situations.

Finally, loads of our signings were young and bring the overall age of the squad down. We had one of the oldest XIs in the Championship last season (only Bolton and Boro had a higher average age) so it was important we bought players who could potentially still be playing for us in 5-6 years. And hey, if they do turn out to be as shite as some people think, they'll come with plenty of resale value.
 
Cerberus Blade makes a valid point, but I would push back that you also need to consider the net cost and impact of a transfer window, rather than just assess the value for money on each player.

Freeman for example... whether or not this is down to him or not, upon his arrivalFleck has gone onto an entirely new level. If our wee man wasn't worth more than Freeman before, he certainly is now. And considering we signed him on a free, we have effectively invested in one of our assets and made it more valuable. Maybe the same could be said for Lundstram, who has kicked on immensely. So we spent 5m on Freeman and now stand back amazed at how our 2 starting box to box players are performing. Freeman also looked the business early on in the season to be fair, and will play a big role this season, I am sure of it.

The forward line was a big expense, no doubt about it, but PL strikers are rarely cheap and I would argue that in Mousset we got an absolute bargain at this level for 12m. If he continues to perform as he has so far and gets say, 10-12 goals, it was worth shelling out 30m on a strike force, because he might end up being worth that alone.
 
Can't quite work out why anyone should be disappointed with the performances of some of our summer recruits. No doubt Wilder wouldn't have given any assurances about their place in the team, the only guarantee will have been to tell them to impress, work hard, and prove why United paid the money they did.

I couldn't give a monkey's as to why McG is excelling, he just is and looks every part a quality Prem player. Our defence is little short of fantastic, be it Bash, Stevens, Egan etc, the key is that they all work hard, are disciplined, and show incredible reserves of not wanting to be beaten.

Once signed, any new recruit is on the same page as seasoned Blades, they need to impress, fit in, show something different, add that little bit extra, and if not, and if those selected make it almost impossible to be removed from the team, then man up and accept that you do your very best up until the chance comes to grab a place in the team. For myself, Lunny and Lys are the outstanding surprises so far, but then I think of McG, and of, and so on and so on......whether we're viewed as a team of misfits, uncultured cloggers, or whatever inappropriate term a clot chooses to use, we play football the way it was intended to be played, we play the right ball at the right time, we don't shirk our responsibility, we support one another, we attack with style, in short we're a fucking excellent football team UTMB!!!
 
I suppose you could point to Lundstram and say it's a little bit daft to question Wilder's signings after twelve games.

Freeman especially has looked good when he's featured and you can't see it as a negative that the current midfield three are playing so well that they aren't giving him a chance to get in the side. Robinson has looked good in bursts and McBurnie has a goal to his name. These are players with little to no experience at this level, adapting to our unfamiliar style of play, and Wilder has a record of developing players over time. On top of that, Mousset looks like an absolute steal. We could've spent the entire transfer budget on one player who looks as capable as he does.
 

I suppose you could point to Lundstram and say it's a little bit daft to question Wilder's signings after twelve games.

Freeman especially has looked good when he's featured and you can't see it as a negative that the current midfield three are playing so well that they aren't giving him a chance to get in the side. Robinson has looked good in bursts and McBurnie has a goal to his name. These are players with little to no experience at this level, adapting to our unfamiliar style of play, and Wilder has a record of developing players over time. On top of that, Mousset looks like an absolute steal. We could've spent the entire transfer budget on one player who looks as capable as he does.
You could point to Lundstram, Stevens, Baldock, Bob Booker and countless others but it doesn’t stop posters from repeating the same mistake over and over again, as if they lack the capacity to learn.
 
I agree that Wilder and Knill have done a fantastic job, however...

You could interpret this another way. It suggests that we wasted about £40M on McBurnie, Robinson and Freeman. So that's the opposite of genius isn't it? Spending vast amounts of money on players who are no better than what we had already? It's a good job we are 5th from the top and not 5th from the bottom. Otherwise this board would be full of folks saying Wilder is out of his depth at Prem level, and using the money he's squandered on players not capable of making the first 11, as evidence.
Fair point, but another way of looking at it is that the signings CW made were instrumental in pushing the current players on?
Fleck is playing as good as I've ever seen him, Didzy playing like a man possessed, the defence, well the defence is the defence, just f******g awesome!
 
I agree that Wilder and Knill have done a fantastic job, however...

You could interpret this another way. It suggests that we wasted about £40M on McBurnie, Robinson and Freeman. So that's the opposite of genius isn't it? Spending vast amounts of money on players who are no better than what w

e had already? It's a good job we are 5th from the top and not 5th from the bottom. Otherwise this board would be full of folks saying Wilder is out of his depth at Prem level, and using the money he's squandered on players not capable of making the first 11, as evidence.


Couldn't disagree more:
1. Cover needed for injuries and suspension.
2. Strong bench essential in P.L
3. Competition for places lifts overall standards.
4.We've bought 5 players with loads of football in front of them in the future. Years and years in fact.
5.We needed 8 players to field a squad of 24 plus Clarke.
6. We had no serious strikers for a full P.L. season.
7. We had no pace.
8. We only had 3 serious centre backs.
9. We needed a firrst team keeper.
10. £40m is peanuts at this level.
11. We are 5th after 12 games.

🤩CWAK🤩
 
It can clearly take some players time to adjust to our style of play. I think Luke Freeman has been a bit unlucky because when I've seen him, he's played well but it's just that the 'flat 3' is working well and Fleck is playing out of his skin - is that because he knows there's someone ready to take his place if he doesn't? It's another factor when looking at the bigger picture.

I don't think McBurnie or Robinson have done anything particularly wrong, it's just that Mousset and McGoldrick have been better and the balance of those two seems to work perfectly.
 
Looking at bare goals scored stats doesn't tell the whole picture anyway. McBurnie and McGoldrick are vital at the back when we're defending set pieces. They clear more than our defenders to my eyes.

But yeah, writing players off after 480 minutes playing time is ridiculous.
 
However ffs !

5th in the league , I mean come on 🤮
 
Looking at bare goals scored stats doesn't tell the whole picture anyway. McBurnie and McGoldrick are vital at the back when we're defending set pieces. They clear more than our defenders to my eyes.

But yeah, writing players off after 480 minutes playing time is ridiculous.

John Lundstram could possible argue he was given less than that before being thrown on to the scrap heap by the 'experts' on S24SU.

Some people on here never learn.

This is Chris Wilder and Alan Knill. Let them get on with it.
 
The side that won promotion has clearly pushed on. In part that will be due to them being advised in no uncertain terms, that they only have two choices. Up your game for the PL or move on. Another motivation for them, is the players now waiting to relieve them of their first team status, mostly from expensive and youthful players, brought in to create competition for places and make the TEAM stronger.
Most have already commented on the improvement overall, and the contributions that surprised some of us, made by existing players.
A side built by CWAK is now truly coming of age this season, and I'm hard pressed to think of anyone who has not lived up to Wilders expectations when he brought them in, or kept them on as brought in by his predecessors.
This collection of players reminds me of a careless match tossed into an open box of fireworks. Exciting and explosive, some with a slow burning fuse, but great to watch.
 
And don't forget we'll need to use all these players next season, the Champions League games will take their toll in terms of fitness and injuries.
 
And don't forget we'll need to use all these players next season, the Champions League games will take their toll in terms of fitness and injuries.
Yes but over in S6 it would be the weakest champions League in year's 😁
 
But yeah, writing players off after 480 minutes playing time is ridiculous.

I was going to say Lunny. Enda wasn't exactly flavour of the month when he started, either.

John Lundstram could possible argue he was given less than that before being thrown on to the scrap heap by the 'experts' on S24SU.

Some people on here never learn.

This is Chris Wilder and Alan Knill. Let them get on with it.

We are 5th (FIFTH) in the League, yet some of our wonder fans still want to have a pop at individual players.

Even if McB and CR haven't really shown it on the pitch, what about their effects on competition and squad morale? Would Moose be playing as energetically and hungrily, without other strikers vying for his place?

CW/AK's only real purchase error after 3.5 years is arguably Holmes, as we actually made money on Lenoard and Evans and Carruthers made a contribution to get us out of L1. You might think that would earn them the right to be cut some slack.......
 
It doesnt cast a shadow on our recruitment whatsoever. Football is a squad game. Who is to say that the arrival of those players hasnt made our other players step up thier game?
Agree totally, look at Fleck's form, seeing Freeman come in and do well seemed to scare the life out of him. He has been brilliant since.
 

Our last Championship game line up

Henderson
JOC
Egan
Bash
Stevens
Baldock
Fleck
Norwood
Duffy
Didzy
Billy

Yesterday's line up at Spurs that climbed to 5th in the EPL

Henderson (Shrewsbury)
JOC (Utd)
Egan
Bash (Utd)
Stevens (Portsmouth)
Baldock (MK Dons)
Fleck (Utd)
Norwood
Lunny for Duffy (Oxford)
Didzy
Moooose for Billy

'Nuff said.
Seven of the above were League One players (or lower in Stevens case) three years ago.
 

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