A three Way

[JOEYDEE]

Pity Brereton-Diaz don't qualify

 

[ReeceofBDTBL]

Surely it’s clear that this current team has barely got out of 3rd gear yet and is nowhere near its peak yet

 

[mattbianco1]

JonnyRed(WCFC) , mattbianco1 and Ron Jeremy.

Just so you know. I look nothing like my profile pic

 

[Brian Deane]

Rachel Riley,Margot Robbie and Gal Gadot

 

[Bennyand the Blades]

Surely it’s clear that this current team has barely got out of 3rd gear yet and is nowhere near its peak yet

You aint seen nothing yet.......

 

[DronnieBlade]

I was disappointed Billy didn't get much game time in 2019-20 but McBurnie and Mousset both had solid debut seasons.

They were our joint top scorers with 6 each.

Bill was cast aside and forced his way back in ahead of the 2 of them before lockdown curtailed the season.

Dids proved his worth the season after in an otherwise dismal year.

The 2 together were our best pairing for almost 30 years, and the gaffer thought he knew better. He didn’t.

Dunt get much wrong but with this, he surely did.

I’d give Moose a pass to an extent as he could have been pretty much anything he wanted to be. Shame about his shit for brains that prevented this !!

UTB

 

[crazyblade1889]

Yeah that wilder promotion team would win 8/10 games against this one and probably 7/10 against Hecky’s. It’s not just the skill levels - that team was packed full of captains with a winning mentality, at the peak of their powers. Proper bunch of men.

I like our current team and there’s definitely room to for them to grow into something special. But it would be men vs boys for the most part.

The players we have now have a much higher ceiling than the players from the wilder promotion one. Hamer, Arblaster, Gilchrist potentially Souza will have more distinguished careers at the top flight than any of that side did. The formation got the best out of average players who had largely been discarded to league 1.

 

[John Street West Terrace]

Blondie , Angelina & many … if you know you know

 

[tincan]

The current defence that has conceded 3 goals and a goalie who's only conceded 1 is currently better than any other. Heckys attack of McAtee, Ndiaye, Sharp and McBurnie were better than the others.

 

[SGBlade]

The players we have now have a much higher ceiling than the players from the wilder promotion one. Hamer, Arblaster, Gilchrist potentially Souza will have more distinguished careers at the top flight than any of that side did. The formation got the best out of average players who had largely been discarded to league 1.

Agree that the formation and style out of that team got the best out of them. Also agree that this team has a high ceiling. But any of the current players would be doing fucking well to get to a ceiling anywhere near where JoC, Norwood, Basham and Henderson were that first season (or Didz in the second). They were all upper quartile Prem players. Albeit for only one season.

I do think Blaster, Hamer and Cooper have a chance. I wouldn’t be completely shocked to see each of them representing their country one day. If they do, their peak might well be for a longer period thank one or two seasons, which I think is probably what you’re suggesting. But a lot has to go right for that to happen.

For context, I really like watching this current side. They’ve got skill, mobility and passion, and they’re a young bunch. But there’s a very long way to go before we can compare them to the 18-20 bunch.

 

[Houston_Blade]

Just so you know. I look nothing like my profile pic

Don’t do yourself down mate, I still would

 

[Geordie Blade]

If those three sides played each other, Hecky's team would just grind out the 1-0 wins without looking especially brilliant.

 

[crazyblade1889]

Agree that the formation and style out of that team got the best out of them. Also agree that this team has a high ceiling. But any of the current players would be doing fucking well to get to a ceiling anywhere near where JoC, Norwood, Basham and Henderson were that first season (or Didz in the second). They were all upper quartile Prem players. Albeit for only one season.

I do think Blaster, Hamer and Cooper have a chance. I wouldn’t be completely shocked to see each of them representing their country one day. If they do, their peak might well be for a longer period thank one or two seasons, which I think is probably what you’re suggesting. But a lot has to go right for that to happen.

For context, I really like watching this current side. They’ve got skill, mobility and passion, and they’re a young bunch. But there’s a very long way to go before we can compare them to the 18-20 bunch.

I think Basham typifies what that Wilder promotion team was all about. He had been bombed out to league 1 and didnt look particularly flattering in his first couple of seasons with us at that level. His career was going nowhere. We then moved him to an overlapping RCB position and he doesnt look out of place in the Prem. You could say the same about JoC, Didz, Fleck etc. It was a team of "journeymen" that no one else fancied but they found a style of play that all suited them. That is very different to the club crop of players. You could put Blaster or Hamer in any team outside of the top 10 in the Prem and they would look very good. We have recruited players that were very much fancied at other clubs and several for big money. Hamer, Souza, Blaster as a midfield 3 will go on to have distinguished careers and if they stay free of injury should achieve far more in the game than Fleck, Norwood or Duffy did. Cooper will likely have a similar ceiling to Henderson. Probably not quite good enough for a top Prem side but a very good keeper.

 

[Carlton Blade]

Just something to think about while we wait for Leeds

If Wilders promotion team, Hecky’s promotion team and our current team were to play in a round robin who would come out on top

I think possibly the current team due to the depth of the squad would shade over the other Wilder team

Secondly what would be your best 11 from the three teams mine is 5-3 -2

Hendo

George B, Bash, Souttar Jack O Burrows

Blaster Souza Ndiaye

Moore Sharp​

But I could be wrong

UTB

 

[crazyblade1889]

The 2018/19 side had quite a bit of naivety to it and was capable of self implosion. I dont see the current side chucking away a 3 goal lead.

 

[Houston_Blade]

The 2018/19 side had quite a bit of naivety to it and was capable of self implosion. I dont see the current side chucking away a 3 goal lead.

We managed it with a 2 goal lead to the mighty QPR!

 

[Pittsburg Blade]

Sorry to disappoint but MGW didn't get us promoted, he bottled his penalty.

But it won him a lucrative contract with…Forest

 

[Not_a_Cheat]

Is,Brewster injured?

And mcburnie suspended?

 

[brownblade]

The 2018-19 Wilder team was the best Blades team I've ever seen.

Henderson
Stevens
Basham
Egan
O'Connell
Baldock
Norwood
Fleck
Duffy
McGoldrick
Sharp

And it was largely the same group of players that finished 9th in the Premier League the season after.

Agree, that's the best team. Maybe not all the best individuals, but undoubtedly the best team.

And now I'm probably going to spend tonight thinking about picking the best team from the three squads put together...!

 

[loyalblade95]

Tweaked the formation to 3-4-3 for this. (Only a few players missing from my all time favourite Blades XI)

----------------Henderson
--------Bash-Souttar-O'Connell
Baldock-Arblaster-Fleck-Stevens
----------Ndiaye-Didzy-Hamer

Bench: Cooper, Egan, Burrows, Norwood, MGW, Duffy, Doyle, Sharp, L Clarke