9th in the PL. Was it The System or The Personnel?

[Ron_Justice]

Lots of people saying it's about building something, honing players, crafting a squad that's becomes greater than the sum of it's parts, over an extended period of time. That's also the way I see it. To stand any chance of regaining our PL status and making it stick, we need to build, hone and craft a squad that will not only be technically good enough but will be prepared to run through those brick walls again. We need a couple of years IMO, five transfer windows and maybe then we'll have had enough time to rebuild with the right type of player.

 

[71Blade]

One very sad thought was not seeing Duffy in the premiership even as a bit part player one of my favourite ever Blades players and in 52 loved watching him Villa at home and of course away at the Wendies what a player

 

[SwitchBLADE Smiles]

We had a new style and very specific players that perfectly fit into very specific roles. We might not have been all that in terms of quality, but we would out fight you every minute of the game & always seemed to find space to hurt teams. Riding the wave of momentum, COVID murdered us.

We came back a completely different side. Lacklustre, lethargic & the belief had gone. Lots of talk of O’Connell getting injured costing us, and I’ve no doubt it did hurt us, but for me it was the belief that we were there on merit that went and resulted in our ultimate demise.

The COVID break also gave other sides the time to really work us out. Match us in formation, block the space around the corner of the box, put some pressure on Norwood & we were toothless. I’m still very much of the opinion that had COVID not happened, we would have qualified for Europe that season. As it was, it ended as a bit of a damp squib.

What could have been…

 

[Sheffsteel]

Was it The System or the Personnel? Is the conversation around 'right type' too overblown or do we need to pay special attention to the characters of the personnel, given we're going to working with a modest budget by todays standards?

60% the system 40% the players.

So the players did play a massive but surprisingly most of them were't even PL standard
which explains why we never received large bids for any of our star players.

However I often say players are only as good as the system they play
Play to a players strength and even average players can appear really good, play to talented players weakness and they suddenly look poor.

We were kind of fortunate that we had many players whose strengths really suited the system.
Norwood and McGodrick were really important players for us and of course they had 4 seasons to practice that system to perfection.

A well oiled machine (team) of average players will always beat a group of highly talented individuals players who dont play as a team.
I give Man Utd as an example of talented players, who often struggle to play as a an effective team.
Where as Luton Town still have players from the lower division but they all play as a team, hence they're doing better than both us and Burnley.

 

[Sheffsteel]

One very sad thought was not seeing Duffy in the premiership even as a bit part player one of my favourite ever Blades players and in 52 loved watching him Villa at home and of course away at the Wendies what a player

Agree....it must seem weird talking to neutrals,
I've been gong to the Lane since 1975 and if any neutral asks about my favourite players/ best players we've had.
Obviously I mention Currie and Sabella for skill but I also put Mark Duffy up there too, loved some of his dribbling and awareness.
I was shocked at how good he was...a real pleasure to watch him play.. he deserved to be better known nationally, than he was.

Anyone remember his goal away at Wimbledon, the way he feinted to shoot with one foot then slipped it over to his other foot was pure class.

 

[RWE]

The 19/20 team had a load of previous club captains in the team too, I always remember one of Wilders first interviews when he talked about signing either club captains or a teams player of the year. We also had a team/starting 11 that probably averaged 27 years old all in their prime. I also think the rebuild in league 1 to the Prem the first time round was like a machine both on the pitch and in the recruitment department, like when Coutts got injured and we tried Lee Evan’s in that role - did an ok job but nowhere near Coutt’s level, and then the next year we got Norwood in who was a brilliant replacement at the time. Another one of Wilders old quotes was not putting square pegs in round holes - which we’ve done throughout this season, we still haven’t worked out our best 11 or best system to go to this year and there’s 5 games left. We need at least 11 players next year who are all leaders and have an attitude to be self disciplined, I can’t imagine many in this group have any self motivation or drive to work hard and put effort in - and it’s shown on the pitch.

I think you could look at Ipswich and see real similarities with us when we went from League 1 to 9th in the prem. A squad that is a tight unit, no real superstar big name signing but they’d die for the cause and know there own and each others jobs to a tee. Not saying they’ll finish 9th next year btw but whenever I watch them on Sky it reminds me of us back then.

 

[Champagneblade]

Never subscribed to us being figured out, though it felt to me we did less well against teams playing 4-3-3, but losing O’Connell made us like a bird with a broken wing. Plus having flattened the midfield three to make us more robust, we didn’t have a Duffy to compensate either.

But injuries overall played a big part.

For all the iffy recruitment, 10/11 picked themselves and almost always played. You know who they all are.

We are forever making changes now and it bleeds out the continuity.

You can get an extra % if everyone knows what the other will do.

It will be a big summer for the club and for Chris. We have to hit the ground running. No fancying around this summer scan be permitted.

 

[finlaytheblade]

Never subscribed to us being figured out, though it felt to me we did less well against teams playing 4-3-3, but losing O’Connell made us like a bird with a broken wing. Plus having flattened the midfield three to make us more robust, we didn’t have a Duffy to compensate either.

But injuries overall played a big part.

For all the iffy recruitment, 10/11 picked themselves and almost always played. You know who they all are.

We are forever making changes now and it bleeds out the continuity.

You can get an extra % if everyone knows what the other will do.

It will be a big summer for the club and for Chris. We have to hit the ground running. No fancying around this summer scan be permitted.

Covid did us in my opinion and Wilder felt the same.
Fans just gave us that extra % in games especially home games.We needed that push they gave us! without it we were left to play games with inferior players to most teams a gap we couldn't bridge, having also a smaller squad of players also was a factor.
Today we have a team with no leaders a ship without a rudder is doomed from day one we were up against it .
Wilder has a load of players most look really poor which was the case 1st time round, he did a good job sussing out the ones he could work with.
Here we are again some of the players are really talented harnessing them to new recruits is key ! !Wilders job!
He has to get it right!

 

[Laney Blade]

A bit of both for me Ron. The system we played was unique to the Blades and worked brilliantly in a league that didn't know how to deal with it effectively.

Wilder also built a squad of players who were prepared to run through brick walls for him. The squad we have now wouldn't go to the fuckin corner shop for him.

The players we have now aren't his players. Players have loyalty to the one who signed them. There aren't many of these left now. Pre Prem CWA chose all the players they wanted. Some didn't work out but this is the same everywhere. Especially when they're cheap so the buyer is taking a punt on them. The ones signed when we were promoted were Jan Van Winkles choice as he was DOF & abdullah's favourite. CW wanted Maupay, Watkins , Cash but he got Winckels recommendations of Brewster, Moose etc. Then when it became obvious these weren't as good as JVW said JVW disappeared saying he was too busy to help SUFC. The word " Help " is ironic. CWAK know a different word! I get so tired of not well informed fans keep saying CWAK peed £100 M up the wall 5 years ago. They didn't JVW & Abdullah did.

 

[bonobo]

I think it also shows the best bet for staying up, is the team that takes you up, organisation and team spirit. You need to support it and fill out the squad, but you are never going to sign 10 prem quality players, almost every transfer is gamble on the budget most promoted teams have. Forest spent 200 mill on a new team and just scraped it ( with signings it later turned out should never have been made). Burnley spent a mountain and its taken a year to get them playing together. We tried building a new team on peanuts.

 

[Keen Blade]

It wasn't the personal in terms of individual talent. Only Henderson has really got his foot in the premier league since.

And JoC would have

 

[Keen Blade]

I think the gist of this thread reveals a consensus that whatever happens in the summer we will be nowhere near a finished article and unlikely to be challenging for promotion - recruitment by committee needs to stop - whoever is the manager he needs to be allowed to try and blend a team.
And looking at what we have today , we are miles off , the squad has no cohesion whatsoever and is saddled with some who are completely the wrong character , some who are too injury-prone & some who just aren't good enough.
Very hard times ahead.

 

[The Crab]

Remember the 'big men turn up for big games' mantra..

More like umpa lumpas this season

 

[Badger Blade]

Remember the 'big men turn up for big games' mantra..

One that's aged well...

If the current mob had anything about it, they'd have maybe taken 4 points out of the Brentford and Burnley games and stood some faint chance at survival.

There's barely anybody in the current squad who would run themselves into the ground for the cause or produce a moment of quality to win a game. Hamer, McAtee and BBD are the only ones with any quality but anything that they produce will soon be cancelled out by some hideous mistake by the Benny Hill brigade at the back who switch off or were never switched on to start with.

 

[IdLiketoRogerMoore]

One that's aged well...

If the current mob had anything about it, they'd have maybe taken 4 points out of the Brentford and Burnley games and stood some faint chance at survival.

There's barely anybody in the current squad who would run themselves into the ground for the cause or produce a moment of quality to win a game. Hamer, McAtee and BBD are the only ones with any quality but anything that they produce will soon be cancelled out by some hideous mistake by the Benny Hill brigade at the back who switch off or were never switched on to start with.

Absolutely. What worries me the most is like I've said elsewhere, our last 3 Championship campaigns we've had the best player in the division (Didzy, MGW, Ndiaye) coupled with defensive solidity and an iron will.

Next season we'll have none of those things....

 

[Bladesman]

We had a new style and very specific players that perfectly fit into very specific roles. We might not have been all that in terms of quality, but we would out fight you every minute of the game & always seemed to find space to hurt teams. Riding the wave of momentum, COVID murdered us.

We came back a completely different side. Lacklustre, lethargic & the belief had gone. Lots of talk of O’Connell getting injured costing us, and I’ve no doubt it did hurt us, but for me it was the belief that we were there on merit that went and resulted in our ultimate demise.

The COVID break also gave other sides the time to really work us out. Match us in formation, block the space around the corner of the box, put some pressure on Norwood & we were toothless. I’m still very much of the opinion that had COVID not happened, we would have qualified for Europe that season. As it was, it ended as a bit of a damp squib.

What could have been…

A succession of bad luck really which is about right for us. Throw in some bad decisions at the time regarding transfers and not really adapting what we had built to counter the fact teams were working us out.

Agreed I reckon we would have finished 6th had COVID not happened. That said I do think we would have struggled for different reasons the following season though as there is no way we would have been able to deal with European games and the rigours of the PL.

 

[Pintor75]

We were on the crest of a wave from div 1 to premiership, kept most of the squad and did well first season, then the aging players weren't replaced, and I often said that the test of the manager is when we start losing, we did and it went belly up. All the talk of O'Connell being injured is true, but he may have been sold if a top team came in, and the covid effect was the same for all teams. They were great days, good football and everyone , me included, enjoyed every minute of it, now we are the completely opposite, everyone on a downer hoping next year is going to see us do better, let's hope so, because this season has been a shocker, utb

 

[Oreyt]

Both of those and momentum/confidence/chutzpah/cajones etc.

 

[nopigfansintown]

System. The most innovative system I've seen in football. Not having backup personnel in key positions with specific attributes to fit that system undid it in the end.