A progress report on The Chedler...

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Cerberus Blade

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I went to watch Chesterfield play Bolton yesterday.

The Chedler - he was obviously the main one I was interested to watch. What I saw was a footballer who has some class, above that of most around him in this league. Every time the ball came to him, he killed it with one touch and was ready to lay it off or move off with it at his feet. Even balls hit at him at shoulder height, it was a quick shimmy of the chest and it was down there at his feet, waiting to go. His calmness on the ball and ability to lay it off to others was excellent.

He looked a threat up front when the ball came to him, but, he spent almost the whole game playing on his own up front and didn't have hardly any support at all as everyone else was spending most of their time defending.

Towards the end of the game, when Chesterfield were clinging on to a slender 1-0 lead, Ched was defending from the front, he was literally running his bollocks off trying to close down defenders on the ball to stop them passing it out. Matty Done fans on here would have loved it, because it was just like watching Matty Done, running like a mad dog from one player to the next, but not getting anywhere near the ball.

Just occasionally yesterday, he let himself down with little mistakes, or a lack of anticipation, that wasn't part of his game before. And I watched and felt a bit sad really that this lad had obviously lost some cutting edge compared to what he was - but it's perfectly understandable why he has.

The question is: Has he still got it? And I would say, yes definitely. But, he hasn't got that speed and match-sharpness which he had in the last season he played for us. I'd say he's about at 70% of what he was back then. Can he ever get that form back again? I honestly don't know. He has been out of the game for such a long time, I think it's a gamble whether he will get anywhere near the standard that he was. But, the other BIG question is, "How much of a gamble is it?"

If Chesterfield are thinking they can line their pockets and get big money for Evans then I think they are dreaming tbh - because he's not quite setting the world on fire at the moment - and he's missed quite a few games through injury - which I suppose is natural considering the length of time he's been out.

I think United could get him for not a lot of money. He's only on a small wage at Chesterfield, I hear it's £2k a week, so the wages shouldn't be an issue. And I think he's still got that ability on the ball, he's got something we don't have in our team at present. You could tell he's a player of a much higher standard than most of those around him. I kept thinking to myself, if he was playing in our team now he'd look good, because he'd have much better players around him.

I don't see any disadvantage to making a punt for him in Jan. As long as our fans are not expecting him to be the unstoppable goal machine he was when he left us. At least, not for a while yet until he's had a full season and a pre-season's training, behind him. But definitely a player that, this time next year, could be getting back to his best, for someone.

I hope it's us.
 



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Wrong section mate
 
Him being at little Chezzy is fine. Low key club for someone who probably wants a low key return to professional life.

If he signs for us, there'll be another shitstorm. Simply because it's us. Fans won't want that, club won't want that, Ched won't want that.

Best if we all move on in my opinion.
 
Just occasionally yesterday, he let himself down with little mistakes, or a lack of anticipation, that wasn't part of his game before. And I watched and felt a bit sad really that this lad had obviously lost some cutting edge compared to what he was - but it's perfectly understandable why he has.

The question is: Has he still got it? And I would say, yes definitely. But, he hasn't got that speed and match-sharpness which he had in the last season he played for us. I'd say he's about at 70% of what he was back then. Can he ever get that form back again? I honestly don't know.

It's acknowledged that if a player misses an entire pre-season it will take a few months to regain full match fitness (Lavery, for example). Ched has obviously missed several pre-seasons but I think, in a superior fitness regime at the Lane (and we have as proved by the way we run teams down), his exhilaration at being 'back home' and the love he'll get from the majority of fans (even those who - Remain-like - refuse to accept the outcome of his appeal), big crowds and a promotion charge I'm sure he'd be a valuable addition to our squad.
 
Him being at little Chezzy is fine. Low key club for someone who probably wants a low key return to professional life.

If he signs for us, there'll be another shitstorm. Simply because it's us. Fans won't want that, club won't want that, Ched won't want that.

Best if we all move on in my opinion.
Because we are really good at avoiding shitstorms :rolleyes:
 
A cash plus swap deal for mcnuts would be perfect. There will be no shit storm Imo as he has done nothing illegally wrong !

A small outlay for a player that may not even have peaked yet - after all how many had written coutts off last season???

Get him in on a low salaried 2 year deal and see how him and Billy get on :)

Add to that a proper LWB and we are flying

UTB
 
All the furore and unwanted hype and attention this signing would create. This team was (until Thursday) going quietly and confidently about its business , steadily steamrolling its way out of a division that its desperately been in for far too long. Would we really want to 'upset the apple cart' with ched. A player who is going to divide opinion. A player who took 3 seasons to get a decent season out of? Ched isn't the same player and I'd be looking at other options come January. Things are looking good at the moment so let's not give ourselves an excuse as to why we didn't get promoted.
 
A cash plus swap deal for mcnuts would be perfect. There will be no shit storm Imo as he has done nothing illegally wrong !

A small outlay for a player that may not even have peaked yet - after all how many had written coutts off last season???

Get him in on a low salaried 2 year deal and see how him and Billy get on :)

Add to that a proper LWB and we are flying

UTB

Totally agree. There wont be a shit storm if he re-signs as the man was found not guilty in a court of law. Legally he is an innocent man who could actully point out that he was wronged and therefore a victim himself of the legal system.

There wont be a peep out of anyone if he was to come back, mainly because he could potentially take legal proceedings against anyone who shouts a little too loud about it. Strangely enough that justice of the peace Jean H has gone back in her box and not made a squeak since the appeal was successful.

Anyway back to football, i saw enough in the chessie v blades game to still recognise a potentially very good footballer who could be a top signing for Utd with not much initial outlay. He's still at a relatively young age also. As he would crawl over broken glass to come back its a no brainer for me. Get him signed in Jan or in the summer and get a full pre season behind him and he will be flying again.
 
I listened to the last ten minutes of the game and it was commented on how much effort he was putting in defending from the front. He also got booked while I was listening for an overzealous tackle.

It did cross my mind that he might be putting the extra shift in for his ex club's fortunes as well as his current, or trying to impress knowing our eyes would be on their game, but maybe that's just me reading too much into things.
 



I listened to the last ten minutes of the game and it was commented on how much effort he was putting in defending from the front. He also got booked while I was listening for an overzealous tackle.

It did cross my mind that he might be putting the extra shift in for his ex club's fortunes as well as his current, or trying to impress knowing our eyes would be on their game, but maybe that's just me reading too much into things.

I would argue that if he's putting an extra shift in, it isn't just because our eyes on their game. He could play for a bigger club and possibly at a higher level. There are many suitors that meet that criteria other than us and I suspect there'll have been a number of representatives taking in the game yesterday with Jan just around the corner.
 
Best striker we can realistically sign and a few don't want him because it would upset a few loonie bum holes. Dear me
How do any fans know with any certainty who is realistic or not? I believe with how we play football now, the best addition to our strike force would be a loan from one of the top clubs.
 
The Coventry game has shown to me that we really don't need to worry about what people think of us. People will tell us we are horrible no matter what we do.

Ched is a free man. Get him back.

If fans of other teams have a problem with that, it's their problem.
You're usually referred to things in bad light when you're doing well. It's called jealousy.
 
Still waiting to hear specifically how Ched would 'upset the apple cart'....

Exactly. We're not talking about a 'heroes return', fanfares, Red Arrows flypast etc. He would be used as essential attacking back-up in case Billy gets injured or suspended or that we realise that Clarke just doesn't 'work' at United.
 
I'm quite divided on this one.
Heart says yes, very big points to prove, still has plenty to offer and would be a good addition to the squad.

However it could, probably will, attract unwanted attention that could have an adverse effect. Personally I think we are fine as we are. We are winning games with the squad we have without taking any risks.

At the start of the season I would have been overjoyed to have him in the team, now not so sure we really need him. Not so much due to him, but from how the others have stepped up as a whole.
 
Best striker we can realistically sign and a few don't want him because it would upset a few loonie bum holes. Dear me
Exactly. There's nothing for anyone to get upset/offended about now. If some people decide they still do want to be upset/offended by it (and my god people certainly do like to let themselves get upset/offended a lot these days) then they have the right to feel that way. United also have the right to ignore them, as they should have done in the first place.
 
Best striker we can realistically sign and a few don't want him because it would upset a few loonie bum holes. Dear me

From my point of view, I can't say I do or don't want him because I haven't seen him play recently. My reservations don't stem from any loony bum holes, but from looking at his present goal return compared to others in the division and the capacity to unsettle a tight knit and focussed group. I do not mean that as being because of who he is and what happened but purely because this is another striker coming into a club where there are a settled four consisting of one "king" and three "princes" and the king makes it plain who his favoured prince is. I am now starting to be impressed with Lavery and I wouldn't want to see him taking a backward step. I think he will score the winner in the play off final.
 
I heard from a well connected Chessy fan that Aston Villa are looking at getting him. If it costs them a couple of million to take a gamble on him, with the parachute payments that is as nothing, much like Everton taking DCL.

For what it's worth I would have him back in a heartbeat. UTB
 
If we don't sign him in January, I'm pretty sure someone else will in our division, a rival?? Maybe.
It would hurt if he started bagging goals to dent our promotion push.
 
Seems those who were most strident about Evans coming back while he was still classed as a rapist tend to be most strident about him coming back now.

(i.e. those who couldn't give a shit about any negative consequences back then still seem to blank out any potential negative consequences about signing him now. Such negatives don't matter to them.)

Personally, I just hope the powers that be are intent on moving on from the past & not keeping us stuck in it.

Promotion isn't in any way dependent on us signing Evans. We're more than capable of doing it without him - we're a unified club now. Wanting "stars" to "fix" things is exactly where we went wrong over recent seasons.
 
I heard from a well connected Chessy fan that Aston Villa are looking at getting him. If it costs them a couple of million to take a gamble on him, with the parachute payments that is as nothing, much like Everton taking DCL.

For what it's worth I would have him back in a heartbeat. UTB

He will not cost a couple of million. Chesterfield will take the first bid that comes in January. They are in dire straits. It would be a nominal fee from any club that would land him I feel. Might be less than £100,000.
 



If we can get him in for a few 100k then it'd be worth it. As said, it'd be low risk and there's no way that we'd be able to pick a proven striker up at this level for anything less.

Leave it to Wilder, if he thinks it'd be a good idea then he'll try for him, if he thinks not then he won't, but he will have what he wants to do in his mind right now either way, and I'm sure Ched will be one of many on his list of potential targets.
 

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