Are we a "functional" club, or a "dysfunctional" club ?

[ShockingBadBuy]

Interesting comments from Russell Slade today, about the un-re-branding of Cardiff:-

"If you're going to be successful in any business, any football club, you need everyone pulling together as a unit. My job is to focus purely on football and preparing the team for games, but if your football club is even slightly dysfunctional these things can have a detrimental effect".

Using Russ's terms, are we currently a "functional" football club, or a "dysfunctional" one ?

 

[GRUMPY BLADE]

Interesting comments from Russell Slade today, about the un-re-branding of Cardiff:-

"If you're going to be successful in any business, any football club, you need everyone pulling together as a unit. My job is to focus purely on football and preparing the team for games, but if your football club is even slightly dysfunctional these things can have a detrimental effect".

Using Russ's terms, are we currently a "functional" football club, or a "dysfunctional" one ?

Think we are more functional at this time than some points in time since Warnocks time.

Now if we could just get out of this league.

 

[pommpey]

Dysfunctional. We have spent far too long running with one leg longer than the other ... in circles. If its not our capability, leadership and drive let down by our board being shifty cunts, its our board appropriating dysfunctional leadership and bestowing the ability for them to waste cash on shit players. We never have both legs the same length to run in a straight line. Occasionally we nearly get it ... John Harris, Dave Bassett and at times Neil Warnock, but more often than not we are hobbled by circumstance.

pommpey

 

[dingledog]

Dysfunctional, it really needs no explanation.

 

[Harry's Game]

We can't build for the future in this League that's a given so we are currently dysfunctional.

 

[boo radley]

The dysfunctionality started with the building of the 'South Stand'.

 

[Esablade]

I'm all for pulling together, but is the 'South stand' ..sounds a bit ' gay'

 

[Nick Jansky]

The dysfunctionality started with the building of the 'South Stand'.

It started a while before that, Boo. But yes, we have never really recovered from building that, under Hassall, who gets surprisingly little flack on here.

 

[Nick Jansky]

As I recall, we unveiled Chris Guthrie as our record signing just as it was completed.

I still believe that was the biggest missed opportunity of my lifetime. The previous season we had finished 6th with a good, but ageing team and with a very small squad, the Reserves were crap. A bit of investment in the squad could have cemented our place as a mid to top team, but the South Stand took priority & we went down.

 

[Canterbury Blade]

Our functional times are when we build the team from within, unearth some gems and then compliment that with experienced pro's ( players, not ladies, before anyone corrects me..). That is then commanded by a decent manager with some grip and an idea of how he wants to play and crucially an ability to inspire the best from the players. Sometimes, the manager and play may not be pretty but it seems to work.

I think of Harris, Bassett and Warnock

Currie, Dearden, Woodward, Badger, Deane, Agana, Bradshaw, Whitehouse, Jags, Kenny,

Our dysfunctional times are when we experiment with a manager who is either inexperienced, past it or pissed. We rely on expensive signings ( for us), unknown gambles and players past their best. Basically, the types who don't seem to care about United and are more for the money and the crap pubs of Dore.

Haslam, Weir, Robson

Butlin, Finnieston, Tibbott, Ryan, Houston and then frankly the list gets too long of players who don't have a belief.

To our credit we haven't gone down the dysfunctional route of some others by adopting a live for the day approach with the money. Leeds and Pompey spring to mind. Yes, it would be good to go to a euro cup semi or win a cup, however the short term pleasures are somewhat stolen, fleeting and look what happened after. Our financial functionality does mean we have the potential to be functional on the pitch.

The Clough era will be an interesting one. Currently, too early to say. He has a style, probably not the most passionate or buccaneering style we've seen, but he knows what he wants and that's important in any manager. We have some quality youth and are probably 6 months away from that all coming through (given the chance), the experience we have isn't at the highest level but then we get what we pay for and for this level it should be good enough. In the cup we play to our do or die strengths.

I think its a crucial time now for Nigel. Either sign a couple of higher level players, especially at centre forward, to take the league style up a notch or adopt the tactics around the players we do have that seem to work in the cup. Either of those options would seem to be functional.

To persist with playing what players we currently have in the style they have been so far, would I fear, see us heading rapidly along the dysfunctional route... For those of us who remember standing in front of Don Givens, we've been here before and it takes a long time to become functional again...

 

[WeltonBlade]

What's up with you, you dysfunctional lot? Call the stand by its proper name.

It's the NEW South Stand.

 

[Bladesway]

I'm all for pulling together, but is the 'South stand' ..sounds a bit ' gay'

Not entirely a comment in keeping with your lefty credentials. Tut, tut.

 

[raul]

It's PC gone mad Bladesway, what's wrong with simple common sense like what Gaunty says?

 

[SwissBlade]

I think sticking strictly to the definition in the OP (which i think was the point that ShockingBadBuy was trying to make) then we are a Functional club. Everyone within the club from academy to the top management seem to be pulling in the same direction, with the same philosophy and with the same goal, promotion out of this league, but ultimately into the Premier League.

Whether we're getting that result is an entirely different question which will only be answered at the end of this season, initially...

 

[Lord Bos of Eckington.]

Our functional times are when we build the team from within, unearth some gems and then compliment that with experienced pro's ( players, not ladies, before anyone corrects me..). That is then commanded by a decent manager with some grip and an idea of how he wants to play and crucially an ability to inspire the best from the players. Sometimes, the manager and play may not be pretty but it seems to work.

I think of Harris, Bassett and Warnock

Currie, Dearden, Woodward, Badger, Deane, Agana, Bradshaw, Whitehouse, Jags, Kenny,

Our dysfunctional times are when we experiment with a manager who is either inexperienced, past it or pissed. We rely on expensive signings ( for us), unknown gambles and players past their best. Basically, the types who don't seem to care about United and are more for the money and the crap pubs of Dore.

Haslam, Weir, Robson

Butlin, Finnieston, Tibbott, Ryan, Houston and then frankly the list gets too long of players who don't have a belief.

To our credit we haven't gone down the dysfunctional route of some others by adopting a live for the day approach with the money. Leeds and Pompey spring to mind. Yes, it would be good to go to a euro cup semi or win a cup, however the short term pleasures are somewhat stolen, fleeting and look what happened after. Our financial functionality does mean we have the potential to be functional on the pitch.

The Clough era will be an interesting one. Currently, too early to say. He has a style, probably not the most passionate or buccaneering style we've seen, but he knows what he wants and that's important in any manager. We have some quality youth and are probably 6 months away from that all coming through (given the chance), the experience we have isn't at the highest level but then we get what we pay for and for this level it should be good enough. In the cup we play to our do or die strengths.

I think its a crucial time now for Nigel. Either sign a couple of higher level players, especially at centre forward, to take the league style up a notch or adopt the tactics around the players we do have that seem to work in the cup. Either of those options would seem to be functional.

To persist with playing what players we currently have in the style they have been so far, would I fear, see us heading rapidly along the dysfunctional route... For those of us who remember standing in front of Don Givens, we've been here before and it takes a long time to become functional again...

Every club at some point are either functional or dysfunctional over the years , but some either maintain there stature or bounce back. Yes i would rather be a blade than following Leeds or Portsmouth . Our neighbours in S6 have been on the slippery slide like us , but even without any great investment , seem to be hacking it in the championship and there dealings in the transfer market is helping them to become stabilised.

Its all about the players and manager whether they have the bottle and desire to succeed. This under Mr Clough we are now in the process of achieving , but to move this forward we have to get out of league 1 , as no progress can be made to fully stabilise whilst we are there.

The Don Givens point is a good one for all of us who can remember or was there, The problem is for a lot of players , managers , its just a job , were even failure brings you employment at another club. They do not care about the collateral damage it creates with the fans when we get hit with the shrapnel of which through the turnstile we have funded in one way or another.

It is a important time this season for SUFC as a club , and i hope the board realise this as much as us fans , who are no fools and have a lot of common sense and knowledge when it comes to all things blades.

The worry is that we are 50 / 50 .

UTB

 

[Woodwardfan]

Here I go again, it is pertinent, but please forgive me making this point again.

Our football club started a new era in September 2013 under the new ownership. Prior to that our sole owner was a busted flush and had sworn not to put any more cash in, who can blame him. I reckon we had been broadly functional but only modestly successful; at least we never went pop like our neighbours nearly did. Many of our fans distrusted the owner it's fair to say; even if many did trust him, they accepted he had made numerous mistakes but had given it a go.

Our destiny is in the hands of the new owner. Whether we are dysfunctional or not depends on him and how he can work with KM in the short/ medium term until he fully takes over the club. How good is he, how committed is he, how much cash will he invest? None of us know and it will be fascinating and equally frightening watching it all unfold.

What I feel I have to say is that we supporters are part of the functionality of the club and we have to play our part. We should encourage the man and his agents at least until such time as we have enough information to form an opinion whether he is good for the club and can run it functionally. How? Well judge times under his stewardship for a start, rather than rant on about previous disappointments.

This thread asks whether we ARE a dysfunctional club, not whether we WERE one. There are a couple of good posts which answer the OP.

Thing is, we don't know until the Clough era plays out over the next couple of years. The prince has committed himself to Clough and only if the manager succeeds will everyone still be pulling together by then i.e. functional.

 

[Esablade]

Not entirely a comment in keeping with your lefty credentials. Tut, tut.

'Lefty'?

 

[Lord Bos of Eckington.]

Here I go again, it is pertinent, but please forgive me making this point again.

Our football club started a new era in September 2013 under the new ownership. Prior to that our sole owner was a busted flush and had sworn not to put any more cash in, who can blame him. I reckon we were broadly functional but only modestly successful; at least we never went pop like our neighbours nearly did, but many of our fans distrusted the owner it's fair to say, though many did.

Our destiny is in the hands of the new owner. Whether we are dysfunctional or not depends on him and how he can work with KM in the short/ medium term until he fully takes over the club. How good is he, how committed is he, how much cash will he invest? None of us know and it will be fascinating and equally frightening watching it all unfold.

What I feel I have to say is that we supporters are part of the functionality of the club and we have to play our part. We should encourage the man and his agents at least until such time as we have enough information to form an opinion whether he is good for the club and can run it functionally. How? Well judge times under his stewardship for a start, rather than rant on about previous disappointments.

This thread asks whether we ARE a dysfunctional club, not whether we WERE one. There are a couple of good posts which answer the OP.

Thing is, we don't know until the Clough era plays out over the next couple of years. The prince has committed himself to Clough and only if the manager succeeds will everyone still be pulling together by then i.e. functional.

We have to stick with Mr Clough and the board , we have no other choice . At least with Mr Clough we have a manager who is steady , passionate and a leader , and is leading us in to stability and success with the assistance of the board. You become unstable and dysfunctional by continually chopping and changing with the manager and playing staff.

Yes it will be fascinating and frightening as a supporter how we progress , but thats part of life.

Whatever any body says about the new start , we are not a new -co SUFC ( 2013) Ltd , therefore the jury is still out on Mr Prince , and his advisors as far as i am concerned. Confidence will be gained and respect earned , on our transfer dealings in the JTW. It what we do on the pitch that provides transparency for me.

Very pro Clough but still believe we are 50 / 50.

UTB

 

[Fulwood Blade]

We are undoubtedly functional at this moment in time after being dysfunctional for many years.

To put it another way - the oil tanker has turned round in the same way that our S6 neighbours have done.

There is a log way to go, but to attribute the present regime to past failures is very typical of some on here. The jury is out, just give them time. The past is the past. The future looks bright but is it Red and White!

UTB and more importantly at present - JE SUIS CHARLIE

 

[Lord Bos of Eckington.]

We are undoubtedly functional at this moment in time after being dysfunctional for many years.

To put it another way - the oil tanker has turned round in the same way that our S6 neighbours have done.

There is a log way to go, but to attribute the present regime to past failures is very typical of some on here. The jury is out, just give them time. The past is the past. The future looks bright but is it Red and White!

UTB and more importantly at present - JE SUIS CHARLIE

Yes Fulwood Blade , as fans , community there is nothing we can do but be together.

UTB

 

[Fulwood Blade]

Our functional times are when we build the team from within, unearth some gems and then compliment that with experienced pro's ( players, not ladies, before anyone corrects me..). That is then commanded by a decent manager with some grip and an idea of how he wants to play and crucially an ability to inspire the best from the players. Sometimes, the manager and play may not be pretty but it seems to work.

I think of Harris, Bassett and Warnock

Currie, Dearden, Woodward, Badger, Deane, Agana, Bradshaw, Whitehouse, Jags, Kenny,

Our dysfunctional times are when we experiment with a manager who is either inexperienced, past it or pissed. We rely on expensive signings ( for us), unknown gambles and players past their best. Basically, the types who don't seem to care about United and are more for the money and the crap pubs of Dore.

Haslam, Weir, Robson

Butlin, Finnieston, Tibbott, Ryan, Houston and then frankly the list gets too long of players who don't have a belief.

To our credit we haven't gone down the dysfunctional route of some others by adopting a live for the day approach with the money. Leeds and Pompey spring to mind. Yes, it would be good to go to a euro cup semi or win a cup, however the short term pleasures are somewhat stolen, fleeting and look what happened after. Our financial functionality does mean we have the potential to be functional on the pitch.

The Clough era will be an interesting one. Currently, too early to say. He has a style, probably not the most passionate or buccaneering style we've seen, but he knows what he wants and that's important in any manager. We have some quality youth and are probably 6 months away from that all coming through (given the chance), the experience we have isn't at the highest level but then we get what we pay for and for this level it should be good enough. In the cup we play to our do or die strengths.

I think its a crucial time now for Nigel. Either sign a couple of higher level players, especially at centre forward, to take the league style up a notch or adopt the tactics around the players we do have that seem to work in the cup. Either of those options would seem to be functional.

To persist with playing what players we currently have in the style they have been so far, would I fear, see us heading rapidly along the dysfunctional route... For those of us who remember standing in front of Don Givens, we've been here before and it takes a long time to become functional again...

Good post cants - but disagree with the last bit. Whilst on one hand, we have seen clubs in the past need big strong players to get out of this division and we are trying the less favourable route of smaller yet skilful players. The question is: will it work? I suppose we need a bit of luck, but then ALL those advocating another route, is in itself, fraught with potential disaster of not signing the correct players.

We have a skilful set of players and we need a bit of luck in perhaps making the playoffs and succeeding this time. Some don't believe we have players capable of playing a level up - but they offer little reason to why we are so good in the cup games against supposedly superior teams who are allegedly more skilful. We have the skill - NC has to realise we just need a bit of steel in the right areas - notably CH. Wallace was supposed to be that bit of steel in centre mid, but injuries have curtailed that option. What a great combination Wallace and Reed could be and it actual excites me as a fan. I was a great admirer of Sidwell/Harper combination at Reading - Wallace/Reed could be the better of that - easily.

Should we sacrifice brain for brawn? - difficult to answer, perhaps a bit of tweaking with what we already have plus a couple of additions.

UTB

 

[Bladesway]

We are undoubtedly functional at this moment in time after being dysfunctional for many years.

To put it another way - the oil tanker has turned round in the same way that our S6 neighbours have done.

There is a log way to go, but to attribute the present regime to past failures is very typical of some on here. The jury is out, just give them time. The past is the past. The future looks bright but is it Red and White!

UTB and more importantly at present - JE SUIS CHARLIE

Webster?

 

[Grappler]

I think we are all starting to pull in the right direction. The dark days of Mickey Adams, or David Weir seem to be behind us, days when the manager and the team seemed to be at odds (Adams) and he would say on Radio Sheff that "certain players" were not giving their all. He sounded like a man on death row, week in, week out. Weir was on Radio Sheffield one week, saying that Marlon King would not be joining SUFC, two weeks later he was part of the team. I am convinced that Weir had told the board he did not want King, and that it was done behind his back.

Functional, to me, means a multi part approach, with all parts in agreement and goiing (or trying to go) in the same direction. It starts at the top, with the board, who need to have ambition, bring financial stability as well as provide finance for funding the growth plans. The management team need to build the right team, or nurture and coach the players we have to scout and target the right players that will fill in the gaps. The team have to give their all, put their body on the line when needed, and run themselves into the ground. We all remember the Warnock days, the reputation of being the fiitest team, battling to the last minute and the last minute goals. How many times did Neil Warnock say to the press, "these lads don't know when they are beaten", after yet another last ditch winner. The press loved us that era, it was easy copy for them when writing about us, "The gritty Yorkshiremen fought back", "The battling Blades came back yet again to win", etc.


The fans have to get behind the team and the manager, show a united front. Cheer them on, we all remember the Greasy Chip Butty song lifting the lid at BDTBL and the pressure cooker environment at "fortress Bramall Lane", a place that opposition teams did not like playing in.

Sorry for thr long winded post, I guess what I am trying to say is that, for the first time in a while, I think we are all going in the right direction.

Many years ago, two computer companies were neck and neck to being the first to go from a standing start, to reaching a billion dollars in turnover, they were called Compaq Computers and Sun Microsystems. I always remember the boss at Sun saying the reason for the success was that the whole team, from top to bottom, pulled in the same direction, and it all started at the top, clear communication on strategy, a united management team, etc.

He said that as a young lad he had seen a strip cartoon in a newspaper, first panel is a trooper saying to General Custer, "The indians are here, and I have good news and bad news", next panel, Custer says, "what is the good news?", trooper says, "they only have one arrow between them", next panel, Custer says, "so what is the bad news?", trooper says, "it is a &%!!*^^ big arrow!", last panel the view has pulled back to reveal an arrow the size of a space rocket pointed at the back of Custers head. After seeing this, he used the phrase, "all the wood, behind one arrow", and the copmpany followed it.