42 points needed from 39 games............

[Casper]

I think in Speed we have finally found the man to replace Warnock and move the club forward - IF we can avoid relegation. If ever a season can be described as "transitional", its this one! We just need to stick we the guy and let him get on with it - sure he will make mistakes, but i think, fundamentally, he has it right. So far some of the games have been bizarre lol, but he is trying to completely change the ethos of the club. Lets face, other than a couple of years post Basset, we have been a classic 'kick and run' side for the past 20 years. That cant be changed overnight - particularly with the same players brought in the the previous manager to play that type of football.

Some of the performances (and results) will be bizarre. Thats why i just hope we can get enough points on the board not to slip into the relegation mire and the confidence totally goes. McCabe must support Speed. I will start to really judge Speed when he has brought in 4 or 5 of his own players. Players who he feels fit into his footballing ideals and are truly comfortable playing that way.

If he gets it right, and i genuinely think he will, then we as a club will be in a much stronger position to challenge for (then hopefully retain) Premiership status.

Now is the time for patience!

 

[lenners]

If ever a match underlined the need for new players it was yesterday.
You can see what he is trying to do but he's painfully short of the right tools. More performances like yesterday will see us heading towards the bottom three.
A new forward is a must but I think overall we'd benefit from a new face or two to freshen up the squad. We might just be able to squeak by at the back but four goals in seven games says it all elsewhere.

 

[sitwell]

Agree with both those posts ,we are also desperately short of width ,the service from the flanks is woeful.

 

[DuncDisorderly]

Its way too early and way too pessimistic to be discussing the 'r' word. We can all see what we're short of, but we shouldn't forget what we have either. We can get a loan or two to help out on specific areas, and we have Hendo and Willo due back soon which will be like two new signings.

9pts from last 12. I know it hasn't all been great, but thats my point. We've ground out a couple of results where it would have been easy to drop five points (draw vs. Preston, loss to Portsmouth), but we didn't...

 

[shorehamview]

More performances like yesterday will see us heading towards the bottom three.

I know, fancy winning, eh? More wins like that and we'll surely be doomed. If only the league rewarded victories with three points, then we'd be all right. I bet Portsmouth are laughing their arses off at us today, especially that twat with the bell. They sure showed us how to snatch defeat from the jaws of a crap draw. What we could do with doing is finding some way to gain three points from a frankly cacky game and a disjointed performance.

Now, what Speed needs to do now that the transfer window is closed is trot along to the New Player Tree, and either give it a bloody good shake or get a stick and throw it tree-wards in a conker harvesting kind of action. He then should sweep all the fruit/nuts harvest the New Player Tree has so generously given and skip off back to his secret lair, singing "The Camptown Races" to himself like Foghorn Leghorn after he's paddled that dog's arse with a plank.

I know we need new players, I know we've not been very good of late, but perhaps somebody could kindly point out where Speed can get these mythical new players from, especially with us having to deal with several factors in our hunt for them, namely the transfer window being shut, other clubs wanting the same players, and us not having a pot to piss in. That's the grim reality which seems to be avoiding some. It's not identifying the need for new players, that's the easy bit, it's actually getting them to come.


Now if you'll excuse me, I need to hit a dog's arse with a piece of fence. I may well paint his tongue green too.
[youtube]Rvwh9_HsUmU[/youtube]

 

[Casper]

Its way too early and way too pessimistic to be discussing the 'r' word. We can all see what we're short of, but we shouldn't forget what we have either. We can get a loan or two to help out on specific areas, and we have Hendo and Willo due back soon which will be like two new signings.

9pts from last 12. I know it hasn't all been great, but thats my point. We've ground out a couple of results where it would have been easy to drop five points (draw vs. Preston, loss to Portsmouth), but we didn't...

the thing is with the blades atm its like tossing a coin - heads you win, tails you lose. We have had 3 heads v 2 tails. 3 goals scored in 5 games and 9 points is ridiculously fortunate odds. We didnt grind out results against Preston and Pompey - we simply scored and they didnt. Now i dont want to turn any of this into a negative because that is not the nature of point im trying to get over in this thread. But as we saw against Scunny when we went 2 down, and Pompey for large parts of the game yesterday....... if the confidence starts to go then we look fragile and mentally weak. Over the course of 46 games, bad things happen to fragile mentally weak teams!!

Anyway, enough of this - blades to finish mid table this season. McCabe to give Speed a bit of help, then top 6 next season

 

[Santos]

the thing is with the blades atm its like tossing a coin - heads you win, tails you lose. We have had 3 heads v 2 tails. 3 goals scored in 5 games and 9 points is ridiculously fortunate odds. We didnt grind out results against Preston and Pompey - we simply scored and they didnt. Now i dont want to turn any of this into a negative because that is not the nature of point im trying to get over in this thread. But as we saw against Scunny when we went 2 down, and Pompey for large parts of the game yesterday....... if the confidence starts to go then we look fragile and mentally weak. Over the course of 46 games, bad things happen to fragile mentally weak teams!!

Anyway, enough of this - blades to finish mid table this season. McCabe to give Speed a bit of help, then top 6 next season

I'm not so sure it's about getting new players in. We absolutely hammered Derby and for 20 minutes it was like watching a really good side against Scunny. Yesterday, we just came up against a bunch of mid to lower table Premiership players. Nugent, Kitson, Lawrence, Utaka, Brown and Moekena are all really good players. This won't happen every week, infact I'd say on paper only Cardiff and QPR would rival Pompey.

We won, and I thought as the game wore on Pompey looked LESS likely to score (easy to say now I appreciate). We seemed to work them out a little bit and they had to resort to long range efforts. Credit should go to the players and staff for sorting it out as the first 5 minutes we could have had a QPR score.

As for getting new players in, I really now believe the old saying of 'whats the point if they're not going to be better' we have limited funds and all the good players who are available they'll be six or seven Championship sides in for them as well.

 

[Kev Gee]

I think he will be given time by the fans........ Now some of the players... Thats a different matter!

 

[Casper]

I'm not so sure it's about getting new players in. We absolutely hammered Derby and for 20 minutes it was like watching a really good side against Scunny. Yesterday, we just came up against a bunch of mid to lower table Premiership players. Nugent, Kitson, Lawrence, Utaka, Brown and Moekena are all really good players. This won't happen every week, infact I'd say on paper only Cardiff and QPR would rival Pompey.

We won, and I thought as the game wore on Pompey looked LESS likely to score (easy to say now I appreciate). We seemed to work them out a little bit and they had to resort to long range efforts. Credit should go to the players and staff for sorting it out as the first 5 minutes we could have had a QPR score.

As for getting new players in, I really now believe the old saying of 'whats the point if they're not going to be better' we have limited funds and all the good players who are available they'll be six or seven Championship sides in for them as well.

Actually yes, some good points made there. The Pompey players really are conning the fans. Yesterday they were up for it, then after about 65 minutes its as though they collectively thought...."oh bollox to it, we are still getting our wages anyway, who really gives a feck"

 

[Elsecar_Blade]

Let's face it, offer United any of the six forward players of Pompey (Lawrence, Utaka, Brown, Mullins, Nugent, Kitson) and we'd snatch their hands off. There is no way that Pompey will be bottom of the league come the end of the season, they have too much quality for that to happen. Simmo made several excellent saves (making up for not getting near any on Tuesday) and that's part of our team as well. It was a hard-earned win and we have to accept right now that we are not a top six side and we will have to get fortunate wins over the top sides this season. Saying that, we got to grips with them yesterday (aside from the first 10 minutes and a 10 minute spell second half) and were our usual selves under Speed - promising build up with no final product.

Speed is in a no-win situation right now. If I can adapt an analogy a little, you can't make an omelette when you haven't got eggs. He needs some ball playing players, some attacking players and they are either injured (Willo, possibly Hendo) or at other clubs. We need some pace as well and - aside from Ward - we haven't got none. It isn't his fault. That's the fault of Mr. Blackwell.

It is a transitional season and we have to be patient. We're going to have good performances (and lose some of them a la Scunny), we're going to have mediocre performances (and have to work hard for what we get a la Pompey) and we are going to have poorer performances where we might get what we don't deserve. Speed is a rookie manager and will make mistakes. PATIENCE is the key word for me. I wouldn't be happy with just avoiding relegation but after KB, I'd accept a better style of football that ends in mid-table but shows promise.

 

[Linz]

Some of the results in this league so far have shown that anyone can beat anyone (apart from Portsmouth, obviously. Some of their fans seemed to be quite cheerfully talking about relegation though as they wandered down Bramall Lane after the game.)

I think the games up until Christmas will be part of this transitional period but the real test of Speed will be from when the transfer window opens onwards. I was talking to someone who said that the scouts were doing 60 hour weeks at the moment to line up players ready for January. Not only have they got to fit into a team which isn't his, but they've got to be bloody cheap as well. It isn't an easy job and for that, I at least, realise that you have to give him time before the club is fully turned around.

EDIT: As for counting down to the magic 50 point total... doesn't everyone do that every year? We do!

 

[raul]

The other thing to remember is that, our star has burnt itself out to the extent that we'd be choosing our next mananger from a shortlist of Adams, Dowie and Hart. Let's give a guy a chance to succeed before turning to guys with a track record of not.

 

[alcoblade]

I'm really pleased with what I see, but there's no doubt we've got issues. Any side that can't score goals is going to end up at the wrong end of the table and we don't look like we've got goals in us.

I'll be happy to stay up and finish with a flourish with some real positive signs of a footballing outfit breaking out. We need to acquire a striker over the course of the season to give it a go next.

UTB

 

[Toronto Blade]

I agree with Alco that striker has to be found this season as the 3 clubs coming down at the end of the current one come with enlarged parachute payments of 48 million each.
Making it easier for them to bounce straight back and more difficult for Championship clubs to compete with them for players.

 

[Ollessendro]

I think in Speed we have finally found the man to replace Warnock and move the club forward - IF we can avoid relegation. If ever a season can be described as "transitional", its this one! We just need to stick we the guy and let him get on with it - sure he will make mistakes, but i think, fundamentally, he has it right. So far some of the games have been bizarre lol, but he is trying to completely change the ethos of the club. Lets face, other than a couple of years post Basset, we have been a classic 'kick and run' side for the past 20 years. That cant be changed overnight - particularly with the same players brought in the the previous manager to play that type of football.

Some of the performances (and results) will be bizarre. Thats why i just hope we can get enough points on the board not to slip into the relegation mire and the confidence totally goes. McCabe must support Speed. I will start to really judge Speed when he has brought in 4 or 5 of his own players. Players who he feels fit into his footballing ideals and are truly comfortable playing that way.

If he gets it right, and i genuinely think he will, then we as a club will be in a much stronger position to challenge for (then hopefully retain) Premiership status.

Now is the time for patience!

Top thread Casper. It's nice to see that some modest Blades are being realistic.

I'd go one step futher than saying it was 'transitional' and say that it will be a dog fight. Personally I'm relieved about yesterdays result. The performance was worrying, but at least we took 3 points in a relegation 6 pointer (something we failed to do against a worse teama few days before). We need to be poor teams at home and we did (even though by hook and crook).

You are right that we've been lucky (excellent coin toss anaology) and I doubt we'll pick up points on the road in the next 2 games. We got lucky yesterday, but it would be naive to think that this will keep happening.

If ever a match underlined the need for new players it was yesterday.
You can see what he is trying to do but he's painfully short of the right tools. More performances like yesterday will see us heading towards the bottom three.
A new forward is a must but I think overall we'd benefit from a new face or two to freshen up the squad. We might just be able to squeak by at the back but four goals in seven games says it all elsewhere.

Agree Len, but I'd argue that 2 new midfielders (creative CM and winger) are needed more than a striker. We've no width and can't create anything. We have strikers that can score (Ward, Cressy and Hendo to come abck from injury). Christ we've even got Boggy who scored 15 goals (5 times more than Ched) for a shite team last year.

Its way too early and way too pessimistic to be discussing the 'r' word. We can all see what we're short of, but we shouldn't forget what we have either. We can get a loan or two to help out on specific areas, and we have Hendo and Willo due back soon which will be like two new signings.

9pts from last 12. I know it hasn't all been great, but thats my point. We've ground out a couple of results where it would have been easy to drop five points (draw vs. Preston, loss to Portsmouth), but we didn't...

It's purely naive to think that we won't be caught in a relegation battle. We've fluked 2 home wins against poor teams to keep us out of the drop zone. Goal difference gives the best indication we are in for a relegations scrap.

I'm not so sure it's about getting new players in. We absolutely hammered Derby and for 20 minutes it was like watching a really good side against Scunny. Yesterday, we just came up against a bunch of mid to lower table Premiership players. Nugent, Kitson, Lawrence, Utaka, Brown and Moekena are all really good players. This won't happen every week, infact I'd say on paper only Cardiff and QPR would rival Pompey.

We won, and I thought as the game wore on Pompey looked LESS likely to score (easy to say now I appreciate). We seemed to work them out a little bit and they had to resort to long range efforts. Credit should go to the players and staff for sorting it out as the first 5 minutes we could have had a QPR score.

As for getting new players in, I really now believe the old saying of 'whats the point if they're not going to be better' we have limited funds and all the good players who are available they'll be six or seven Championship sides in for them as well.

Sure we have Willo to come back from injury (and Hendo) but we badly need fresh faces. Also, why is Speed not using (potential) talent likes Bogdanovic, Quinn and Yestes when it is not working out there? If someone is not performing then you drag them off. Yeates and Quinn must be looking at Monty and Ertl creating nothing, shooting wayward etc and thinking christ, what did I do to Speed. Boggy must be looking at Ched and thinking, I can hit a barn door so why won't the gaffer give me a chance.

Some of the results in this league so far have shown that anyone can beat anyone (apart from Portsmouth, obviously. Some of their fans seemed to be quite cheerfully talking about relegation though as they wandered down Bramall Lane after the game.)

I think the games up until Christmas will be part of this transitional period but the real test of Speed will be from when the transfer window opens onwards. I was talking to someone who said that the scouts were doing 60 hour weeks at the moment to line up players ready for January. Not only have they got to fit into a team which isn't his, but they've got to be bloody cheap as well. It isn't an easy job and for that, I at least, realise that you have to give him time before the club is fully turned around.

EDIT: As for counting down to the magic 50 point total... doesn't everyone do that every year? We do!

We badly need new faces and I hope the board back Speed in Jan. I'd like to see him bring a few loans in now, but also to invest in Jan. If he is the right man then he should be backed. You would hope that Birch/McCabe are watching Speed closely and seeing if they think he can take us to the promised land. If so then he should be given some cash. However, I won't be holding my breath.

 

[PeterNdlovu081]

I don't think we'll be anywhere near the relegation zone come the end of the season.

We had no problems scoring goals last season so why should we this season when we have largely the same bunch of players?

I think the reason we haven't been scoring many is purely down to the fact that the strikers haven't really got going yet and are going through a bit of a bad patch. Ater all, we have three proven goalscorers in Cresswell, Henderson and Bogdanovic who scored a combined total of 44 league goals last season. There are also others who are always capable of scoring like Ward.

Give it a bit of time and I think before long we're going to be handing out a couple of thrashings.

 

[Ollessendro]

....

We had no problems scoring goals last season so why should we this season when we have largely the same bunch of players?

I think the reason we haven't been scoring many is purely down to the fact that the strikers haven't really got going yet and are going through a bit of a bad patch. Ater all, we have three proven goalscorers in Cresswell, Henderson and Bogdanovic who scored a combined total of 44 league goals last season. There are also others who are always capable of scoring like Ward.

Henderson is crocked, Creswell is being played out of position (as is Ward) and Bogdanovic is warming the bench because the prolific Ched Evans (adding a massive 4 to your tally last season) is leading the line.

Are you suggesting that it might be the tactics/team choice, rather than personnel Nuddy?

 

[PeterNdlovu081]

Are you suggesting that it might be the tactics/team choice, rather than personnel Nuddy?

Nah, just a bit of a bad patch.

Cresswell was on fire last season but has looked a little bit off the pace this season.
Bogdanovic hasn't really had a proper chance yet.
Henderson hasn't played.
Evans has scored 2 and is doing alright.

Nobody else has chipped in with any other goals so far apart from Calve. I think things will only get better.

 

[CopenhagenBlade]

There is no waythat we will be in a relegation battle this year. Yes confidence is fragile and I think that our away results will be better than our home ones due to the reduced pressure. We will be safe with at the most 5 games to go and still be in with a chance of the play offs with 5 games to go. Amazing how all of our wins are lucky and the losses deserved. 9 points from 12 says its own story.

 

[Ollessendro]

There is no waythat we will be in a relegation battle this year. Yes confidence is fragile and I think that our away results will be better than our home ones due to the reduced pressure. We will be safe with at the most 5 games to go and still be in with a chance of the play offs with 5 games to go. Amazing how all of our wins are lucky and the losses deserved. 9 points from 12 says its own story.

In your humble opinion of course. My opinion is that we are in for a dog fight at the wrong end of the table. Maybe if Speed is given money to invest in January then we might pull away from the bottom, but i'd be over the moon if we were safe with 5 games to go!!

It's funny I got pulled up for 'distorting stats' in the other thread, yet here Copenhagen is. I make it 10 points from 7 games. Or maybe 9 from 5 games if you want to just count Speed's game and ignore our others.

 

[Highbury_Blade]

And you don't think that 9 in 5 is a decent return?

 

[Ollessendro]

And you don't think that 9 in 5 is a decent return?

yes. I really hope he can keep that going.

 

[Foxy]

It's funny I got pulled up for 'distorting stats' in the other thread, yet here Copenhagen is. I make it 10 points from 7 games. Or maybe 9 from 5 games if you want to just count Speed's game and ignore our others.

If the league table lies, as you've previously said.... Isn't 10 points from 7 therefore a lie? and not representative as to how we've done?

Or does that bit only count if it allows us to be more downbeat than our position suggests we should be?

The most important games are those for the remainder of the season.

 

[Highbury_Blade]

yes. I really hope he can keep that going.

Well why don't you get behind him then? Not that it matters if you're in B&Q every weekend anyway.

 

[CopenhagenBlade]

In your humble opinion of course. My opinion is that we are in for a dog fight at the wrong end of the table. Maybe if Speed is given money to invest in January then we might pull away from the bottom, but i'd be over the moon if we were safe with 5 games to go!!

It's funny I got pulled up for 'distorting stats' in the other thread, yet here Copenhagen is. I make it 10 points from 7 games. Or maybe 9 from 5 games if you want to just count Speed's game and ignore our others.

Even if we take it from the start of the season we are averaging about 1 1/2 points a game, which over the course of the season will give us 69 points. Saying we will be safe with 5 games to go is realistic as 5 games = 7 1/2 points and that is about 61 points which is more than the 50 that we need. If we work on Speed's average over the 5 games then we are just under 2 points a game which will give us about 88 points plus the 1 from KB and we will be close to promotion. Looks good to me!

 

[Ollessendro]

If the league table lies, as you've previously said.... Isn't 10 points from 7 therefore a lie? and not representative as to how we've done?

Or does that bit only count if it allows us to be more downbeat than our position suggests we should be?

The most important games are those for the remainder of the season.

yes the league table lies. Burt from the other 2 games we got exactly what we deserved. We were good for our point against Cardiff and deserved to lose aginst QPR.

I'd argue the same way if we were playing well and losing (i.e. that we've been unlcuky and should be higher) but aht isn't the case. I think we've been lucky, not unlcuky. So therefore I am telling it as i see it (as always).

Even if we take it from the start of the season we are averaging about 1 1/2 points a game, which over the course of the season will give us 69 points. Saying we will be safe with 5 games to go is realistic as 5 games = 7 1/2 points and that is about 61 points which is more than the 50 that we need. If we work on Speed's average over the 5 games then we are just under 2 points a game which will give us about 88 points plus the 1 from KB and we will be close to promotion. Looks good to me!

Hmmm, if only I shared your optimism.

 

[shorehamview]

yes the league table lies.....

Give over. The league table can't lie any more than it can do quadratic equations or the long jump.

It tells you how many points you've got from the games that you've played. It also tells you how many you have won, lost, and also drawn, and correlates these into a handy place somewhere amongst the 23 other teams. It even does the goals too - for, against and works out the difference for the thicker readers.

It can only tell you how a team has done so far - it can't guess how it will do, and it can't offer a false position. All it does is tell you the facts. It offers no opinion, it offers no suggestion, and it offers no three-for-two meal deals. It has no indicator for "lucky" or "unlucky", "cheated with a handball", "had a shit referee" or "spozzed one in off the post and the defender's arse".

The one thing the league table can't do is lie. It doesn't paint a picture of how the season is going to be, that's not it's job, it can only tell us what has happened so far. It only deals in facts. It does not speculate.

 

[Ollessendro]

Give over. The league table can't lie any more than it can do quadratic equations or the long jump.

It tells you how many points you've got from the games that you've played. It also tells you how many you have won, lost, and also drawn, and correlates these into a handy place somewhere amongst the 23 other teams. It even does the goals too - for, against and works out the difference for the thicker readers.

It can only tell you how a team has done so far - it can't guess how it will do, and it can't offer a false position. All it does is tell you the facts. It offers no opinion, it offers no suggestion, and it offers no three-for-two meal deals. It has no indicator for "lucky" or "unlucky", "cheated with a handball", "had a shit referee" or "spozzed one in off the post and the defender's arse".

The one thing the league table can't do is lie. It doesn't paint a picture of how the season is going to be, that's not it's job, it can only tell us what has happened so far. It only deals in facts. It does not speculate.

Funny how you defeat your own argument within your post SV. The league table lies exactly for the reasons you pointed out in bold. The league table contains randomness, because teams don't always get what they deserve from games (for reasons you say in bold). We've been lucky of late (i.e. we've won when we didn't deserve to) and hence we are in an inflated position.

 

[Trigger Blade]

The one thing the league table can't do is lie. It doesn't paint a picture of how the season is going to be, that's not it's job, it can only tell us what has happened so far. It only deals in facts. It does not speculate.

The league table is perfect for Olle, because he's only interested in facts, he told us that last week. But they do have to be the right kind of facts that show what he needs us to see. We've picked up undeserved points (and that's a fact, in his opinion), so we're not where we should be in the league.

Even though we are where we are, which was your point, that's not a proper fact, so it doesn't count.

Are you with me?

 

[PeterNdlovu081]

The league table contains randomness, because teams don't always get what they deserve from games (for reasons you say in bold). We've been lucky of late (i.e. we've won when we didn't deserve to) and hence we are in an inflated position.

I've never understood all this nonsense about "deserving" more or less than what you actually got. Unless there is some kind of obscene refereeing decision or bizarre happening then a football team that wins a match always deserves to win it regardless of what actually happened during the 90 minutes.

If two teams were playing each other and one of them had 99% possession, 50 corners, 50 shots on goal, 20 efforts hit the woodwork and the other team had 1% possession, 0 corners, 0 shots on goal but ended up running up the other end of the pitch in the last minute and scoring in off the keeper's arse in a comical fumble and winning 1-0 then they would have deserved that victory.

Football is about goals. If you score more than you concede then you deserve to win.