15/16 Season Review and School Report - Part One

[Deadbat]

2015/16 SUFC SCHOOL REPORT


As I have traditionally done at the end of the last few seasons; it is that time again when I write a review of the campaign and also compile a school report for the different sections of the club. I will look at how they have fared and what are the prospects for next season for each respective department of the club.




I will begin with the review and a breakdown of the board and manager/s.




Over the next few weeks I will add to this with breakdowns of the players/squad at the club and do the same. Will look at contract situation (may be wrong with some of these so again come in if I have got any wrong) and what might happen to each are of the team.


Feel free to add comments/disagree/debate.....after each post I make.




I have graded the board, the manager, players and the fans; in a traditional school report style of A+ to F- (every player who started at least one game).




However, I have had to grade players based on the games they did play so some players who played a lot more may still get a lower grade despite disproportionate number of games in comparison. Eg- Alex Baptise for 7 games to say Dean Hammond’s 28 games but may…ahem… get a better mark for his performances in these 7 games compared to Hammond over the course of the season. If that makes sense?


Of course whilst I have seen all the home games; I have only seen a few away so that needs factoring into my analysis.

If I have missed anyone then please say. Feel free to weigh in with critique, opinions and even in some cases agreements!


Season review


The previous season had ended with United making the play offs but a bizarre game at the County Ground saw United score five and still lose on aggregate. Still many felt McCabe would keep faith with Clough despite the season ending in failure and the manager being given a lot of resources and overloading an already large squad. I recall being in London with the family Spring Bank week when the news filtered through that Clough had gone. I was quite shocked. More so than Weir, Wilson and Adams before that. Fans were quite split on radio phone ins and forums on the internet with some feeling it was harsh considering the cup runs (another semi-final) and them only just being short of another trip to Wembley for the playoff final.


However, others pointed to the negative style of football and the fact we were some way off automatic promotion yet again. They felt Clough’s stubbornness where he fell out with several players and ended up with full backs at centre back in the crucial playoff games.


So the hunt for a new manager was on. Names such as Phil Parkinson and Karl Robinson were linked but it did seem the strong favourite was Nigel Adkins due to his previous promotion success at this level and he was eventually appointed to mostly positive feeling from fans. Despite a poor record at Reading he had done well at both Scunthorpe and Southampton and was regarded as a bit of a coup for the Blades. I do not recall many voicing their disapproval and even some of those that had been against the Clough dismissal were pleased with his replacement.


There was not much transfer activity as United had a bloated squad and many were under contract that could not be shifted on. Michael Doyle and Ben Davies both left on frees to go to Portsmouth whilst after a few weeks of speculation Billy Sharp returned to the Lane, along with another former Adkins favourite Martyn Woolford. Also coming in on a season loan was Connor Sammon with it having all the hallmarks of a Clough signing before he left due to their previous connections.


You felt sure a centre back would come in and the need for reinforcements was clear but Adkins said he was giving everyone a fresh chance. You felt this may be his first mistake as many had been here through the last few campaigns and not been able to get United up. A decent unbeaten pre-season with some good performances against likes of Newcastle and Hull, saw optimism amongst many fans and the bookmakers agreed instilling the Blades as pre-season favourites for the title. There was a new pitch at the Lane and Adkins positive interviews saw this positive feeling around the club.



August


A sunny August afternoon saw United go down to Gillingham and were wearing a bright new green away strip. George Long got the nod in goal but a disastrous opening saw the Blades three down by the half hour and the game gone. All three goals came from poor defending and goalkeeping from set plays and United looked in disarray. They had the much maligned McEveley and Collins at centre back and lost 4-0 in the end. The next few days saw Jamie Murphy sold to Brighton netting United over a million pounds but suddenly reality hit home that despite having a new manager the same poor players remained and now minus their best player. David Edgar came in on loan and Mark Howard was restored to the side.

A narrow win at Morecambe in the cup in the week was followed up by a decent performance with two Che Adams goals seeing off Chesterfield. They then won 3-1 at Peterborough with Connor Sammon impressive and followed it up with a comfortable win against Blackpool at the Lane with Billy Sharp getting off the mark. After a defeat at Fulham in the cup; the Blades won again at Swindon with another solid performance and United were right up near the top and looking good with Edgar making a difference to the rear-guard.


September


After beating Hartlepool in the Johnstone Paint Trophy; they were brought back down to earth by two defeats in a week at the Lane to Bury and Colchester as they shipped 6 goals and despite Sharp scoring two (missing one penalty), the poor defensive play came back to haunt the Blades. More poor defending saw United on course for a third straight defeat at Bradford on Sky but Baxter and Sharp inspired a comeback to net a point. They then beat Doncaster at the Lane with Sharp and Sammon amongst the goals before getting a draw at table topping Burton. It had been a mixed start but United were amongst the top 6.


October


A poor show at Port Vale saw the Blades beaten before they beat Notts County scoring five in the JPT. A late Collins header saw United just see off Rochdale in an exciting game where the Blades had been pegged back. A point at Oldham was followed up by a comfortable win against Fleetwood with loanee Dean Hammond making his debut but the stop-start season continued with two back to back defeats versus Millwall at the Lane in an early kick off and then at lowly Crewe in a really poor performance. For the first time manager Adkins was getting questioned over his team selection, tactics and performances.


November


Marc McNulty departed, another one going to Pompey, on loan before United had two mixed results in the cups; beating Worcester in the FA Cup but losing at Fleetwood in the JPT. United with Long back in goal; had not even got the last stages of this competition despite having six shots at it since coming down (in the same period Chesterfield and Barnsley have both got to the final). A draw at home to Southend saw the defensive shortcomings on show again. A decent point at Walsall was followed up by an awful display at Shrewsbury where United were 4-1 down and the crowd not happy. They then had seemingly done enough to beat Barnsley but a late goal denied them the win. Barnsley were bottom of the league (look what happened to them after this result).


December


Matty Done scored to help United beat Oldham in the FA Cup and then a more solid, if slightly more uncompromising Blades side beat Coventry with Sharp the hero again. They then got another 1-0 win at Scunthorpe (Sharp again) and an excellent performance saw them see off Bradford in front of 25,000 fans and united were right back in the promotion race. An odd game a few days later saw Peterborough snatch the three points as United conceded three again at home.


January


An unfortunate late defeat at Old Trafford in front of over 9,000 Blades fans saw United miss out on an exciting cup replay back at the Lane but only a few days later in Lancashire again, great fight back saw United get a point at Wigan with three late goals in a game that had seemed lost. A fortunate win at Colchester with a late Edgar goal was followed up with two draws against Swindon and Blackpool and united were now losing touch with the frontrunners.


February


February saw the inconsistency continue. A good Wigan side won at a canter at the Lane before United won a scrappy game at Doncaster with Adams converting. A shocking display at Bury saw the Blades lose 1-0 before a narrow win against Port Vale followed a few days later. A poor defeat at Rochdale ended the month.


March


Nigel Clough came back and saw his well-organised and methodical approach yield a sweet away victory over United as Adkins was now feeling the pressure as promotion seemed very unlikely with sixth place the best they could aim for. Alex Baptise made his full debut in a draw at Fleetwood; that only came about due to a late, late Adams penalty before a rare decent showing saw off Oldham at the Lane with United playing a new wing back system with Done and Brayford in such positions. However, a must win game at Millwall saw United surrender meekly and they needed a late Sharp winner to see off Crewe who had fought back from two down. A Sky tv game was perhaps United’s final chance to get into the top six but again they came up short and were out fought and out played.


April


Two excellent performances from United saw them beat Walsall and draw with Gillingham (they should have won this game). They then played equally well to easily beat Chesterfield and battled to a win at Shrewsbury and the faint hopes of a top six place remained. However, two limp performances followed which saw them draw with Barnsley and then lose at Coventry and another season in League One was confirmed.


May


The final game came at home to Scunthorpe, a side that still had a chance of the playoffs. United were easily beaten in a really poor showing that summed up the season.

Summary


If someone had said, we would finish ????? th in the League after Clough had been removed and Adkins had been brought in most if not all would have said that was totally unacceptable. They would be right. We did not make the wholesale changes we needed in the summer and opted to keep faith when many felt we needed to change so much of the side.

A shocking opening day was actually recovered from and United went on a good run but from October until maybe April United for the most part were not good enough. The defence remained porous, the midfield overrun and Sharp had little help up top. We struggled to put any kind of run together in terms of results or performance and quite quickly Adkins fell out of favour with many fans. His faith in many of the players who had been here last season saw us continue to ship goals and never look remotely like a serious promotion contender. It seemed from early on playoffs was the best we could hope for as sides like Gillingham, Walsall and Burton left us for dead.

We never had a settled side and relied too much on Sharp to score the goals. The midfield never provided or protected and you felt like we might concede whenever the opponent attacked.


Slowly Adkins started to clear out the dross as he realised what we could have told him earlier in the season as many departed either permanently or on loan but United’s inconsistency on the field remained. Adkins interviews in comparison became more predictable and even he did not know how to stop the rot.


His signings did not work (except Sharp) and his trusted lieutenant Hammond did not endear himself to fans with ill-disciplined and poor performances.


As the season came to an end; United found some form and performances but it was too little, too late and there were the first rumblings of whether Adkins may also be departing. The season petered out and there were few positive to take as a mostly poor division saw United so far off the pace yet again. With a stronger division next season and probably little funds for whoever is in charge, United face some strong questions as they move into their seventh season at this level.

 

[Deadbat]

Staff report




Board / Club

Kevin McCabe has been hammered and rightly so for overseeing the last 10 years when United have lurched from one crisis to another with some frankly appalling decisions from managerial appointments to player signings. McCabe seems insistent on blaming bad luck and said we were ‘jinxed’ at a recent forum. Whilst the events of Segers, Tevez and Ched Evans could have said to have had some fortune involved United are not great at taking hold of their own destiny. However, more than this McCabe has to forget the past and now try and focus on the future. This hard done by / rub of the green is tiresome. To hear him still harping on about such events is tiresome.


After another let down when it seemed he had got it right with Clough in 13-14 with the resurgence and the FA Cup semi final but 14-15 was a big let down. There were more cup runs but in reality the promotion many felt would happen under Clough was a long way off. The football became dour and doubts started to materialise whether he was the man long term to get United out of this division. Still despite this the news that Clough has been sacked still came as a surprise; to many both connected to United as a fan and those outside. Despite the ultimate aim of not getting promotion it did seem a little harsh for a side that finished 5th but there was a definite split in opinion. I did not feel we were moving forward under Clough and I actually applauded the decision by McCabe. The replacement in Adkins seemed a good one from his track record.

However, this season did not go to plan. Again. The board were critical of Clough overloading the squad but they must have sanctioned such signings? It seemed that Clough and Brannigan were given too much say and thus we heard at forums that it would not happen again. They appointed Adkins but did not really back him massively but with such a huge squad on big wages; it meant they probably could not throw more money. Still Sharp, Sammon, Woolford, Edgar, Hammond and Baptiste would not have been on cheap wages. The fact they sanctioned the departure of Murphy was reminiscent of the Weir situation with Kevin McDonald and did not help. It meant save for Murphy for Sharp we had almost the same side/squad that was way off automatic promotion.

The season limped along and we saw two transfer windows come and go without any significant signings. It seemed like we had put up the shutters and were more interested in jettisoning the high earners left as each month a different player/s left the club and the squad at least got further pruned.


McCabe was not really heard from in the early part of the season but started to attend more games as the season went on. We had an end of season forum but rumours swirl again of another possible managerial change as we seemed so far off promotion. He continues to blame bad luck and others for his mistakes. I will defend him to some extent. He has picked some terrible managers but the most recent appointment I felt was a good one but it seems he cannot get any right. Maybe he is right. Maybe we are jinxed but he seems to think picking a manager is enough or a chief scout. We have no ‘football’ people on the board and thus we have a scattergun approach to recruitment and signings; those that we do make.


We now are at another crossroads and face a further big summer. Do we make another managerial change? Can we make the number of signings we need to seriously challenge? Does the Saudi contingent even care anymore or is it now as much down to McCabe as ever before? He talks of more restructuring but we now seem to have less on the board but no one that gives me confidence they can get us moving forward. Those with money (Prince) are not here day to day and those who are here day to day are quite small time in terms of businesses they have and football experience. We are supposedly a huge football club with serious ambitions but at times are run akin to a non-league club.


McCabe just seems to fluctuate between being interested and disinterested. He does attend a lot more game than you probably think and I saw him at many games second half of the season but he seems incapable of making the decisions to turn it around. This is why he needs some help but then he may look at likes of Birch, Winter and Brannigan and think they have not worked either? I think he really does not know what the answer is to either getting us promoted and/or getting this club moving forward. He has lurched from different boards set ups to another, from different CEO’s to another and through several managers. Nothing has seemingly worked in his/our favour.

That is why ultimately whilst selling up is going to be hard he really does need to do his best to try and find someone who can either invest or make the right decisions that he seemingly cannot.


Prince HRH Prince Abdullah bin Mosaad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud At times you forget he is still our 50% owner. The fact is any summary of his involvement last season will be short sums it up. He was involved as the Saudi Arabian minister for sport and thus I do not think he even set foot in Sheffield maybe since the FA Cup Semi Final. He simply does not seem interested. If he is, then he is not showing it all. Even his aides are less involved now. I have had a gut feeling that him and those others will pull out completely soon and still feel it. The fact they are not involved in forums/not on social media, suggests that other than the stake and controlling interest I am not sure what actual influence he has anymore. McCabe says he still cares and they talk regularly and speaks of investment to keep club ticking over and not losing money but I don’t see it.


The collaboration with the Prince has not worked. He simply does not seem interested. Look across at our City rivals. Chansiri has put in big money and is often involved day to day. He has made a real difference and been a legitimate game changer. I would not be surprised if I write these notes in a year he has not moved onto his next play thing. He will have to write off any money he has put in but knows it could be 5-10 years before we realise his dream of competing at the top level. It might take that long to get up and just establish ourselves in an increasingly wealthy and competitive championship.


Jim Phipps The affable Phipps was the mouthpiece for the last 2 or 3 seasons since the Prince ‘bought’ into the club and was seen as likeable and honest kind of bloke. He took a lot of abuse on social media but always fronted up unlike the above two. He became seen as a bit of a fall guy for the owners mistakes but is still listed as co chairman at the club. He seemed to be involved day to day and was often in the UK and at games. He was a little cringe worthy at times but did always face up and took the good and mostly bad. Whether his engagements on twitter and Facebook were deemed excessive or his ill health had seen him have to take a back seat, we heard or saw little from Phipps from Christmas onwards. It was suggested there had been a fall out but maybe he was just genuinely unwell. McCabe said he was possibly going back to the USA and Utah with his family and I heard someone say that he was not even acting as an aide to the Prince anymore. I think there is a fair chance he may not be involved moving forward. He seemed to embrace the culture of being a Blade but was faced with an impossible job at a difficult time of keeping the natives restless and despite being co chairman I am unsure how much influence he had. Seemed a likeable chap but he has now resigned as chairman and also on the board so doubt we will see him again.


Selahattain Baki Baki is another one who we heard a lot from on Social Media in connection to United but we have heard less and less of him. He is also listed on the board but heard he never attends board meetings (as has Phipps in the last 6 months) so unsure what the representation is from the Prince’s side day to day. We used to hear a lot from them when they first came in but now very little. McCabe said at a recent forum he was still involved.


McCabe appointed Tareq Hawasli to the board but we have heard little from him. Not sure he is even connected to the Prince. His CV suggests he has industry experience extends from real estate to energy (including oil, natural gas and alternative energy), IT, healthcare and commodities coupled with extensive experience with both conventional and Shariah compliant financial structures. Yes, I have copied and pasted that from his business profile! Not sure what role he plays on the board.


The rest McCabe’s sons Scott McCabe and Simon McCabe are still there. As is Jeremy Tutton. All three are part of McCabe’s Scarborough Group. I am unsure how involved these are and the fact that day to day, their business is his property empire does not fill me confidence. Do all football club board have members who in affect see this as almost a side-line?

The technical football board I am unsure who is on it but I am guessing it involves the below who were all part of the restructuring in December.


David Green heads up a Construction firm based in Renishaw; Green Piling. Once again without being detrimental I am unsure of his business or football acumen. Granted he is a Blade but seems again worrying he now has responsibility for Football Operations. What experience does he have in this side of things? I am unsure he had any football background. Ditto for the other Vice Chairman, his name sake, Martin Green has run Redtooth a gaming company, based in Barlborough and he now oversees the board’s non footballing decisions as another vice chairman. We have Carl Shieber who oversees player contract negotiations (must be an easy job – there has not been any!) and Simon Westbury who is involved in the administration side or was until the end of the financial year so would suggest he is no longer there??


Mal Brannigan departed about the same time some of these were given new roles. He was inextricably linked with Clough and when he left, you felt the writing was on the wall for him. He hung on for a few months before going. It seemed he had been well respected in football circles before but at United had oversaw some dreadful signings and some bloated contracts for ageing players. Like Birch, Winter and others before he had failed in this side.


However, what we are left with is a bit of a mess. I am not sure whether likes of the two Greens’ are any more qualified to make footballing decisions than me or you. People say we are crying out for a Dooley type or even a Director of Football such as a Warnock. Not sure about that but we are crying out for someone to oversee signings/recruitment and day to day footballing stuff. Someone who could maybe head up the both the first team and academy operations (especially now Cox has moved on). I think this sort of role is essential as we cannot have footballing signings and decisions being made by the people we have now. It is akin to having Adkins, Wilkins and Crosby making decisions about Engineering, Gaming or whatever else these guys are involved in? It is not as simple to say they are successful businessman. Football is a totally different kind of business. McCabe to me has not got enough football people involved. When the co chairman Phipps say he knows nothing about football and that fans know more than him as he has conceded in talks before; that is a worry.


We have the affable Dave McCarthy involved still but he has gone from being Operations Director/Chairman at Sheffield FC to doing the same at the Lane. I think his role is just more around the club being run day to day.


Paul Reeves also went from being involved at Brinsworth Training (a relatively small training company) to the same at the Lane. I knew someone who worked with Reeves and was aghast he landed the top job at the Lane. It seemed a huge jump. That is no disrespect to him and sure he does a decent job.


We have local companies like John Holland Cars and DB Logistics as our main sponsors which is great we work with such companies but everything feels a bit small time. Where are the big national companies or even large regional ones?


The deal with Adidas is one silver lining but that deal ends next year and we even got that wrong with a poor home strip that apparently did not sell well. I am unsure we will have the same company this time next year and fear we may be back with some cheaper and lower quality company like Macron again.


I am sure all these people do good jobs and do their best but we do seem to have elevate people from small-ish companies in comparison to a multi-million pound company in SUFC. None of them have had any real football experience at the top level or even football league level. I have seen nothing to suggest this current set and restructure leaves us any further forward and less likely to avoid the mistakes of the past.


The ticket prices have still remained ok and whilst match day it is still pricey for League One Football; it is similar to many other grounds. Season tickets were cut. They had to be but we will struggle to get to the crowds of 18,000-19,000 we have had this season.


To repeat comments from last season there are some sterling people behind the scenes such as Mick Rooker and John Garrettsupporters’ liaison officer, always seems to do a decent job behind the scenes and always spoke well when on the radio or at forums.


Mark Todd has done a sterling job with the Sheffield United community foundation and they seem very visible around the city and beyond in terms of the educational and community stuff. My own son attends the camps quite a bit and the people who do the coaching and organising are brilliant with the kids. The camps are great value too and my little un is always raving about them when he comes home.


As an aside the two groundsmen; Glenn Nortcliffe and Kelly Barrowclough have been able to now have something to work with. The new Desso pitch saw a great deal of money spent on it after years of having a poor surface and after a rocky start (it looked poor at the start of the season) it bedded down and was great. We did not have too bad a winter which helped but when you compare to the surface across the city, ours looked very good. It is the best it has ever been in May and with few bare patches of note, even in the goal areas. Hopefully this will be maintained. Not sure how it works in terms of it longer term, whether you need to redo it or whether the fibres just simply remain (any gardening experts?) but you would hope any cost put in would be covered by yearly maintenance. I saw Nortcliffe was commended but even in this award (pitch of the year) we lost out to Shrewsbury! Suppose it is something saying we might have the best ground and maybe best pitch in the division. Shame about what is on the pitch most weeks!


Grade E- (Last season B-)


Next season


The board has changed in some of the personnel but they seem unable to make the key decisions to turn things around. Ultimately McCabe is still making the day to day decisions and poor ones at that. We now seem to have less Saudi influence and have gone back to local businessman running the club. At least they are here and involved but unsure if they have either the funds or football nous to get the club moving. We have wanted some bold decisions and statements for the last few years but seem to be just meandering along.


Will be interesting to see what happens over the summer. I think they will keep the faith with the manager but I could be wrong and the past has shown how unpredictable McCabe is. If Adkins remains or whoever comes in then they will have to be given some funds for new signings but hopefully with so many departing they can at least bring in some young, hungry and up and coming players. The quotes from the forums suggest the manager will have to play more Academy players though. I am unsure if any are at the level or good enough to help us get promoted. This league needs size, physique and some agricultural play. I am not sure you get out of it with a side littered with kids. Sure I want to see them being given a chance and the u21 and u18 runs are encouraging but that is a long way from professional football.


Off the field; the ground still looks good and remains one of the best outside the top flight. Yes, they could make changes to the Kop and other aspects but without us moving up the league it is not a priority. Ticket prices have remained decent really and it is not expensive compared to some other grounds at this level (certainly for season tickets) in a ground of decent comfort and facilities (Kop aside maybe). However, it will be interesting to see if the attendance does drop. One thing is for sure, the product on the pitch has not been good enough and many will vote with their feet. Poorer crowds and another poor start and if Adkins has remained, then sadly his fate will be sealed early on. What the board needs to do above anything else is give whoever the manager is the chance to bring in players from League 1/2 of the right age. Get the best players from the other clubs and players on the way up not ageing players on the way down. I am unsure we will do this with the current structure in place and the record of Adkins/Turnbull so far does not bode well.


We seem to say every year it is a big summer but what I do know is if they get things wrong this summer with either the manager or recruitment and the crowds who remain will really turn. We will then become in affect an established League One side and will have as much chance as going down as up. The longer we stay down, the harder it will get in terms of wage bill getting cut and us being in effect on a level playing field with the rest.

 

[Deadbat]

Managerial team/Coaches



Nigel Adkins I have to confess when Clough went and we appointed Adkins I was delighted. I felt it was an excellent move and getting someone with experience of promotions and knowledge of lower leagues would finally see us out of this division. His optimistic interviews and positivity was a far cry from the monotonous and dull Clough. I hoped he would be a breath of fresh air and his reasoned his poor spell at Reading was an aberration in an otherwise largely successful managerial career so far. His successes at Scunthorpe and Southampton meant United felt they had got the ideal man to finally get out of the division.


It was a slight concern that he seemed to want to keep faith with many of the players who had been here last season. Had he actually watched DVD’s or listened to those in the know about the failures of previous seasons? To be fair the club had bizarrely extended some contracts (McEveley) before sacking Clough which did not help and many were still under contract. He signed a few old boys (most managers do) in Sharp and Woolford and Sammon came aboard. However, after a decent pre-season he felt the defence was good enough and went with Long, McEveley and Collins. This was a disaster opening day and he had to sign David Edgar.


We did then go on a decent run with some impressive away wins but we never looked totally convincing and the results showed this. He was continually shuffling the side around early on as inconsistent results and performances were a feature. We did look better than we had under Clough with Sharp to the fore (despite him losing Murphy) but continued to not protect the defence or control the midfield and also were shipping goals with 2’s and 3’s going in against us at the Lane. We lost ground with the frontrunners and could barely string any results together. We finally were able to do this when Adkins went back to basics after a shocking home defeat at home to Shrewsbury and in came another old mate Dean Hammond.


He brought in a more physical approach and we became even duller to watch but at least got some results and around Xmas we had moved up the league but it did not last and more poor performances and results came. The likes of Walsall, Burton, Gillingham on far less budgets moved further away from United.

The fans became exasperated with Adkins chopping and changing and his inability to get the best out of the players we had. Even Clough had got more out of these players and we slipped further away. Jose Baxter’s off field issues did not help and another transfer window came and went with no incomings. We did sign Alex Baptiste and also slowly Adkins started to move out some of the dross he should have moved on in the summer. Higdon, Wallace, Freeman, Scougall, Dimaio, Harris, Collins, McNulty, Campbell Ryce, Alcock all departed permanently or on loan at some point. He decided to reduce the size of the squad and get more of a settled side and this did have some impact but it was too little, too late. In big games against play off rivals we came up short at Millwall and Southend and our final real chance versus Barnsley.

He gave some quite baffling interviews and said the same comments time after time (‘resilience’, ‘togetherness’, ‘desire’, ‘win a football game’, ‘stick it in one end and keep it out the other’, ‘togetherness’ etc. Fans had actually seen United go further backwards under Adkins. A change of formation late on saw some improved results but it was too little, too late. His interview after the final game where he criticised the fans and said we will always be the same gave the air of a man who may know he is on his way out.


Overall the season petered out and it was a major disappointment. He had inherited a poor, bloated squad lacking pace, goals and physicality but the previous incumbent Clough had got much more out of them. Indeed, so had Wilson before him. All these managers had got us to the playoffs (albeit Wilson had a better squad). Adkins can say he did not have much in terms of resources for new signings but the argument is in Sharp, Woolford, Sammon, Hammond, Edgar and also Baptiste; all would be on sizeable wages. Indeed, it is hard to see any clubs outside Wigan having a wage bill as high. Granted he was left a lot of dross but outside of Sharp all his signings were really ineffective. So whilst we did not make any permanent signings since the summer he did little to indicate any incomers would improve things.


Adkins never really found a consistent pattern of play or selection. The fact he kept changing personnel and tactics showed he really did not have a clue. He continued to be outcoached by less experienced managers and seemed bereft of ideas or plan B/C. He talked of his knowledge of the lower leagues and having gone round the world to look at different management/coaching ideas when he left Reading but he seemed someone out of touch. His motivational speeches and business speak did not impress on either the players or the fans.


In short, it was hard to find many things to be positive about. He showed no real direction we were going; talking of the pathway of youth but then not always following this through. We finished as low as we have done since we came down and looked a long, long way off promotion. Indeed, even the playoffs looked a reach all season.


He finally did start to offload some of the players we all knew were not good enough and hopefully this will continue this summer when most of those out of contract should be moved on; along with others such as McNulty, Scougall and Freeman. However, McCabe’s track record with managers and the rumours swirling on some message boards make it far from certain he will remain.

Grade F+


Andy Crosby came in as assistant to Adkins. He had been with him at previous clubs. He was tasked with defensive work and set plays. Well neither of these areas improved! We did not hear too much of him although a few interviews he gave were more honest than Adkins!


Dean Wilkins was brought in as coach. Another Adkins favourite. Brother of Ray. He was involved with elements of pattern of play and fitness at former clubs but again we saw no real difference in these areas either! I am unsure any of the three new managerial team can say they have had much of a positive influence. All three need to do much better or these two along with Adkins will be looking for new work very quickly.




Chris Morgan seemed to be less involved than he was under Clough and went back to essentially being u21 coach. He did not seem to be on the side line on match day often he was in the stands when we were at home. When Danny Wilson took over the Chesterfield job he asked Morgan to join him as his number two and off he went. It had been a long time him being part of United since 2004 in some capacity and over 11 years at the Lane. It was probably time for him to go elsewhere. He is probably more involved with Wilson and Chesterfield than he was at the Lane where he had been marginalised somewhat. You get the feeling if Wilson gets the sack at another local club, Morgan might get a shot at the manager job. If this does not happen then Morgan may have to move into non- league or hope a League Two team gives him a shot. You get the feeling he might end up back at the Lane in some capacity one day.


Darren Ward is the keeping coach and the on-off form of both Howard and Long has seen both keeper switched season to season. Matt Duke combines playing for Alfreton (voted player of the season) with coaching the goalkeepers at the Academy and it is pleasing we seem to have two good un’s coming forward.


Fitness or should I say strength and conditioning coach is Lee McMahon and the physio is Ed Owen. They also have two other fitness/conditioning coaches in Tony Denton and Jules Hayton. The amount of injuries has reduced this year – save for James Wallace and Kieran Wallace, we have not had too many long term ones until Brayford went down. However, I do think the fitness of the squad could be much improved. Too often sides seem to have more in the gas as games come to an end. Maybe that is down to the ageing, immobile players as much as fitness work but we do need to be better in this area. I look at likes of Adams, Cuvelier, Baxter and Kennedy (all top heavy) and we need to look at how we develop players physically. Adams in particular has lost some pace this year and his build needs looking at.



In addition, United's performance analyst is Mike Allen. We do not seem to win one to one battles or do very much from set plays. Whatever analysis is taking place, we see nothing from Adkins or the players to suggest we have any advantage or that they know how to counteract player weaknesses either individually or collectively. Southend away we saw Brown make subtle tweaks in game and overran us in a key game. Barnsley for instance worked out how to nullify our threats as did others by pressing us and closing us down knowing we lack pace and movement to break teams downs.


The season has been successful in terms of results for the u21’s and u’18’s with long winning runs and getting through to the finals of respective competitions. Some players were playing successfully for both teams in these runs. We apparently have some good kids coming through and the likes of Gilmore, Gordon, Hallam and Ramsdale have been getting rave reviews. Both teams had players playing a lot younger than many of their respective opponents. Despite a lot of talk over our Academy and players coming through, we have not really had production you would have hoped. Long and Maguire came through 4 or 5 years ago. Reed, Calvert Lewin and Whiteman have been ok but not really stood out and made first team place their own in a poor League One. So many others have come and gone. You don’t expect more than a few to come through but hope we have not missed the boat. I hear Chansiri is spending a lot on the academy at SWFC and we may struggle to attract the best players or keep them (being only Category 2 – players can be gobbled up by bigger clubs even at young age as has happened apparently this season to 2 8 year olds poached by Man City!).


Nick Cox has been heading up the Academy operations for the last few years and has overseen some good prospects coming though although the cynic would say other than Long and Maguire none have really gone onto be regular first teamers or difference makers? It seems Cox is on his way though and his work has gone noticed with Man Utd looking to team him with Nicky Butt running their own academy. With this departure, if confirmed, we will wait and see on his replacement or if they will simply change things around.


It seems Travis Binnion may be given a role higher up overseeing things – Binnion himself had inherited the u18 coaching job after Pemberton, Unsworth and Hoyland had all come and gone. Derek Geary has been promoted to the under 18 job by all accounts after being involved with younger groups.


With the u21/u18’s; we had Binnion and the more experienced John Dungworth who was here under Bassett 25 years ago; seemingly the main coaches. Brian Deane has also been involved with the under 21’s but this seems more informal and not sure he is even contracted to the club long term. Mick Wadsworth was also involved in the coaching this season. Adam Pilling Head of coaching in the Academy; and formerly worked with Cox at Watford was also here. Remains to be see what changes will happen away from the first team with the developmental squads if Cox has left.


Lee Turnbull is the chief scout brought in soon after Clough and his brother Simon (previous chief scout) departed. Seen as someone who had found some real gems at Scunthorpe; we thought we may have someone who could make a difference in the area United had been so poor in; player recruitment. However, we did not make one permanent signing, drafting in loans Edgar, Baptiste and Hammond – all players Adkins would know about. I expected a few lower league or non-league signings but nothing happened. Maybe the board told him and Adkins no one was coming in till we got rid of many of the current squad; with many on high wages at this level. If that is the case then surely the last few months Turnbull and his team should have been working tirelessly to identify the key men. We have seen a few trialists in the under 21’s to end the season but still await a full signing. The last one we made was Sharp/Woolford. I might be wrong but do not think we have signed anyone permanently since? We clearly needed players to improve as the team was not good enough so the board must have surely decided to wait. Not sure why apart from the aforementioned reasons of money but we will see this summer I suppose.




Next season


The main reasoning between keeping Adkins seems to be simply that we have sacked too many managers and maybe that is true but that is hardly a sound argument for keeping him. I would not be surprised if McCabe did sack him. He has hardly done enough to remain but may get the benefit of the start of next season. If he does go, he cannot grumble. He had made a real mess of things and all his ‘nicey nice’ interviews and positive talk mean nothing. It is about where we finished and seeing some kind of development. Regardless of personnel (4 or 5 are his) he has to get more out of what he has and have the side better organised, more committed and playing at a faster tempo. The overall level of play was slow, methodical and predictable. In truth it was no better than Clough. That is how damning the analysis of Adkins is.

If he remains he has to ensure the recruitment is better and that we start next season well. If he gets things wrong, then he will not be here long into next season. We cannot afford another season to be a write off and all this talk of us needing more transfer windows does not wash with me. We need to be decisive this summer. If Adkins remains, then lets back him and get the players in from League One/Two. Young, hungry players who are on the up need to be prioritised.


However, Adkins needs to stop treating us like fools and maybe tell it how it is us sometimes. We can see it has been poor quite a lot of the time. He needs to stop telling us that things have been good when it clearly has not. He needs to think more about his plans for teams and needs to ensure that he does not get out thought either before or in games. He needs to make better substitutions and needs to ensure the defence and side is solid but with an attacking intent. The midfield has to have legs and as a side we need to be much fitter. In short he can improve all aspects of what he has done. If he does remain; he has to improve and fast. If he does not, then he could end up being on the managerial scrap heap by next Autumn. There are no more excuses for me. As much as the board have made some bad mistakes I am not sure you can totally lambast them when you look at the probable wages he has brought in. He chose to sig the players he did to compliment what we had (a side that save Murphy for Sharp) got the playoffs the previous year.


We will wait to see what happens with new signings and this is where Turnbull earns his money. We also have another academy reshuffle imminent if Cox leaves. It seems very year we have no stability in any of the key areas but sadly lack of results dictates changes to the first team management/coaching. I have no idea if in 12 months as I pen these words, if I am writing about another change. I hope if Adkins remains he does not repeat his mistakes and can change the mentality of the approach both individually and collectively. His biggest challenge is to get players in and a get a side with a winning attitude. At the moment too many have gone through the motions. We need an injection of passion and belief and this has to be done by the manager either himself or by the players he brings in. If he cannot address this aspect of the club, then the writing will be on the wall.

 

[SUFC Handsworth]

When I was at school E- was the lowest mark, so for Adkins to get F+ says it all (F off to Adkins might be more appropriate).

The only argument I've seen in Adkins favour is that we've sacked too many managers in recent years. For me that reasoning doesn't wash. If we've picked the wrong pony giving him more time isn't going to magically make things better (we gave Haslam 3 years in which time we went from a mid-table tier 2 team with plenty of young exciting players on the books to gates of the 4th division with a set of has-beens - is that want people want with Adkins).

The problem at the club isn't that we are sacking too many managers, it's that we're not appointing the right ones in the first place. It's simple for a manager to have longevity at the Lane, do a decent job and we'll keep you, don't and on your bike pal.

 

[Roygbiv]

What you say about the whole boardroom being small time is spot on and is in my opinion the biggest issue we have. We are ran like we are a non league side. Its disgusting

 

[Deadbat]

Well what a waste of time that was!!!

Did have an inkling Adkins might be going though hence why I got it up yesterday

I have written the rest on the respective areas of the side but am not changing it all now!

Big * when I reveal the rest of my sections!

Keepers/Defenders to come end of the week.....