Blackwell lacks Balls

[Linz]

at the moment there are only a few players who, when fit should be starting no matter what: Walker, Morgan, Killa and Monty.

I think it's very dangerous to say that we have players who should be starting no matter what.

Should they start even if they don't perform?

Many were saying Brian Howard would be a permanent fixture in our team when it looked like we weren't going to sign him back in February was it?

Players shouldn't play no matter what, they should be picked on their last performance.

If that last performance wasn't good enough, they shouldn't play. No matter who they are.

 

[matth]

Last few performances, I'd say - everyone can have an off day. It's when it turns into a habit that it's a problem.

 

[SotonBlade]

there are reasons why these players should start of fit. The defenders pick themselves due to lack of competition. Monty is the only one willing to chase back and get a foot in.

I agree with the principle of picking players based on the last performance, but i'm also of the belief that you should have a strong and consistant spine to the team, which Morgan, Killa, Monty and hopefully Evans will give us.

 

[lenners]

On Evans maybe?

Can't see that being the case as we were definitely in for them at the same time, agreeing fees etc and with all the Kyles, BT and Tevez dosh we ought to have a little more than £3m to spend.
Ultimately, Blackie can organise a defence and hopefully find us a decent keeper but going forward he's never really indicated he's got much idea.

 

[SotonBlade]

didn't McCabe indicate that the Tevez cash would be gradual over a few years and would go towards the day to day running of the club in his recent Fan's Forum?

 

[matth]

I keep thinking that the title of this thread is Blackwell licks balls...

 

[Isiah]

It seems to me that, as a club, we just are not capable of attracting the type of player needed.
I know that there are all sorts of things that go into attracting the right players and that as fans we really don't know enough of what goes on behind the scenes but looking at who we have against who we were supposedly trying for, something ain't right.
If we have the funds to approach the likes of Surman, Halford etc. and they turn us down in favour of Wolves who are in for a hard season and probable relegation we must ask why.
We are a, supposedly, ambitious club with excellent facilities and some of the best fans in the country. Sheffield ain't that bad a place to live - compare to Wolves again! - so where do we fall down? It can't all be down to the pull of the Premiership certainly not the bottom third of the Premiership at least.
We have a reputation, whether we think it deserved or not, for physical hoofball. That to some degree is a reflection of how the manager is perceived. I suspect that we are also penny pinching in our approach to contract negotiations, if only because we always seem to take so much longer than other clubs to bring people in, and that certainly is not the manager's fault.
The latter, if I'm correct, can quickly be addressed and I don't mean we have to go overboard. The former requires a major change of approach from the Manager - in deeds not words - or a new kid on the block.

 

[lenners]

Excellent post Isiah.
For me it was underlined with the Kyle sales which should have been immediately softened by taking a good young player from SPurs on loan as well as having Walker back.
Instead there was the usual mumbling about having first dibs and then nothing.
It shouldn't be that difficult to attract good loan players to United and not dross like Treacy.

 

[Stafford Blade]

i couldn't agree more with fiery blade's original comment. It's all well and good blaming the players, but how many of those players has Blackwell signed? A quick look at the team sheet and I reckon he signed 7 of the starting 11 plus offering Quinn a new contract. Therefore, they are HIS players and he should take some of the blame.

 

[GoldenBelleBlade_07]

I don’t think the buck can stop with any individual, the problems we are facing stem from board level to management and it’s a long road down from there! Just getting rid of Blackwell will not solve all our problems, besides it isn’t peas able McCabe would never get rid of Blackwell! All McCabe wants is a manager who doesn’t cost much, who isn’t perfect, who will always be at the forefront of any criticism when things go wrong, Blackwell will be sacrificed to the wolves when things go wrong (as he is now! Of course he has to shoulder some blame, but the buck shouldn’t stop there)
McCabe wants a Warnock type manager who will bring in players (in the majority) on the cheap and harvest potential ‘gems’. Under this philosophy it took 7 years to gain promotion!
We have sold/lost our best players & brought in fillers who are mediocre or unproven at this level. It begs the question why can’t we attract the better quality players in this league, If we are top of the wages chart which tends to be a major factor in why players go to clubs? We have sold/let go of players that we cannot replace quality wise & in turn this has a knock on effect to potential targets who want to go to premier bound clubs what sort of statement is it sending out getting rid of our best assets?
Blackwell has gone out and bought premier league reserves because that is the best quality at present he can attract to the club. With this comes the gamble of players who have never/not often played at first team level so really it is hard to tell how good they are.
We did have good players last season who carried the odd one or two who weren’t good enough, this season the balance is increasingly to the latter and we’re sinking in quick sand.
I don’t want to make out Blackwell is not blameless, he is too negative and cautious tactically, we play to stifle other teams creativity instead of relying on our own (what we have anyway).
It pees me off aswell that certain individuals are getting constant stick when others worse or just bad come in for no criticism at all.
I predict a dim forecast for us as it stands and the voices will be even louder if things continue to go wrong, considering the messages sent out to the fans in the summer!

 

[Stafford Blade]

I don’t think the buck can stop with any individual, the problems we are facing stem from board level to management and it’s a long road down from there! Just getting rid of Blackwell will not solve all our problems, besides it isn’t peas able McCabe would never get rid of Blackwell! All McCabe wants is a manager who doesn’t cost much, who isn’t perfect, who will always be at the forefront of any criticism when things go wrong, Blackwell will be sacrificed to the wolves when things go wrong (as he is now! Of course he has to shoulder some blame, but the buck shouldn’t stop there)
McCabe wants a Warnock type manager who will bring in players (in the majority) on the cheap and harvest potential ‘gems’. Under this philosophy it took 7 years to gain promotion!
We have sold/lost our best players & brought in fillers who are mediocre or unproven at this level. It begs the question why can’t we attract the better quality players in this league, If we are top of the wages chart which tends to be a major factor in why players go to clubs? We have sold/let go of players that we cannot replace quality wise & in turn this has a knock on effect to potential targets who want to go to premier bound clubs what sort of statement is it sending out getting rid of our best assets?
Blackwell has gone out and bought premier league reserves because that is the best quality at present he can attract to the club. With this comes the gamble of players who have never/not often played at first team level so really it is hard to tell how good they are.
We did have good players last season who carried the odd one or two who weren’t good enough, this season the balance is increasingly to the latter and we’re sinking in quick sand.
I don’t want to make out Blackwell is not blameless, he is too negative and cautious tactically, we play to stifle other teams creativity instead of relying on our own (what we have anyway).
It pees me off aswell that certain individuals are getting constant stick when others worse or just bad come in for no criticism at all.
I predict a dim forecast for us as it stands and the voices will be even louder if things continue to go wrong, considering the messages sent out to the fans in the summer!

Golden. Please tell me who is worse than Quinn and Howard?

 

[DuncDisorderly]

On the contrary Lennie boy. My thinking has always been quite clear, and I'm nowhere near the clapper everyone might imagine because of the Chin-up Club. I still prefer to look on the bright side, and refuse to let poor results and performances get me down. However the debate is more balanced here, and so it is possible to express concerns in a more intelligent fashion rather than just chucking more paraffin onto a 'we are so crap' thread.

As to The Smith and McIndoe money, who knows. Try [email protected]...

 

[rachyblade]

geez.... two games... and this, honestly you lot are depressing.

 

[DazBlade88]

I said before the game I wasn't bothered if we went out, but all last night says to me is that we can't afford to get any injuries.

 

[The One]

geez.... two games... and this, honestly you lot are depressing.

rachy, did you see how awful it was?

 

[Sensiblade]

Any manager who picks a team (as is there job) is open to criticism from supporters/media etc.
If the team that is picked doesn't perform to there ability the blame cannot be laid directly at the managers feet nor at the players feet, but somewhere in between.
Managers should be able to motivate the players to play to the best of their ability, but the player also has to motivate himself and follow instructions (be them good in peoples opinions or bad) from the manager.
To simply say we were rubbish it's Blackwell's fault is impossible in my opinion.

This bit is an example of something that could happen
We play 4-5-1 as we tend to do.
3 out of the 4 defenders play well, one doesn't
the midfield plays ok (Wishful thinking I know but bare with me)
the wingers play alright too
The lone forward plays rubbish
We don't score due to the lone forward playing rubbish and concede a goal due to the one defender who played badly.
Is this the managers fault?
Is it all the teams fault?
Is it the Forwards fault for not scoring?
Is it the Defenders fault for messing up?
Or is it a combination of all of these things?

I'd say just saying 'It's his fault' very loudly may get peoples attention but it doesn't make it right.

Also Blaming the board for players not performing and managers not great tactics is like saying it's the cleaners fault. The board may give the go ahead for signings and managers being appointed but they do not decide on the before mentiond team selection and tactics.

Rant over

 

[rachyblade]

rachy, did you see how awful it was?

Fortunatly no i didn't, i listened online though and we seemed to make a fair few chances and their keeper had a good game.

But thats not what I meant.

We are only two games in, one was in the league and we should be happy with a point away at boro.

We will win on Saturday and the whole board will change their minds again.

 

[HoodedClaw]

Only 2 games played and we've not had a fully fit set of players to pick from yet and we've got a few new additions that are going to need time to bed in with the existing players and time for the existing players to get used to them.

Can we all get some perspective please, lets at least see what its like after say 10 - 12 games.

If no improvement then fair enough, but lets give OUR team as much chance as possible to succeed.

I am glad we got knocked out though, as Im not sure we have the squad to cope with League and Cup competitions, in terms of numbers, at the moment.

At least Blackwell has acknowledged that we still need players and in the areas we've all known have needed strenghtening, he may be like the old British Rail, slow but gets there in the end.

 

[The One]

The point we are making is that will Blackwell have the balls to actually change things? Or will he carry on with Quinny and Howard?

We've played poor football for a while now.

 

[DazBlade88]

Only 2 games played and we've not had a fully fit set of players to pick from yet and we've got a few new additions that are going to need time to bed in with the existing players and time for the existing players to get used to them.

Can we all get some perspective please, lets at least see what its like after say 10 - 12 games.

If no improvement then fair enough, but lets give OUR team as much chance as possible to succeed.

I am glad we got knocked out though, as Im not sure we have the squad to cope with League and Cup competitions, in terms of numbers, at the moment.

At least Blackwell has acknowledged that we still need players and in the areas we've all known have needed strenghtening, he may be like the old British Rail, slow but gets there in the end.

I agree with you. My only concern is the depth in the squad.

We're lacking in all 3 departments at the moment, even more so with Williamson's injury. I was looking forward to seeing him come into the midfield, but that's a big blow for the squad in my opinion.

I've seen that Cranie has signed for Coventry today, I'd have liked to have seen him come to the Lane because we still need a defender. And we do need more depth up front, so Blackwell will have to act quick.

 

[AlienWoodward]

Ooopsss

Sorry miss read the post.
I thought it said "Blackwell LICKS balls" and was just about to post my mobile number.
Never mind ......

 

[Come from away]

Fair points, but where on earth do you get it from that we dominated Vale? We really didn't, other than for the first 10 minutes. They seemed to ease into the game while we were squeezed out.


Listening on radio and reading the post game comments which seemed (in general) to match. It's not the 1st team, he gave players some rope and hopefully we will see some change. Given that most were not going to play anyway on Saturday it is probably the Quinn issue that will be the test.

 

[SotonBlade]

I think this post is mean't to be about the fact that Blackwell has come out and critiscised members of the squad. He hasn't named which members he is focussing on, but we are guessing at Quinny and/or Howard being one or both of them.

The question this post is asking is, now that Blackwell has openly critiscised these players, whoever they are, will he have the balls to follow up on his promise made in the post match interview yesterday.

the post seemed to be going on a bit of tangent, so thought i'd clarify things

 

[keenzy]

Any manager who picks a team (as is there job) is open to criticism from supporters/media etc.
If the team that is picked doesn't perform to there ability the blame cannot be laid directly at the managers feet nor at the players feet, but somewhere in between.
Managers should be able to motivate the players to play to the best of their ability, but the player also has to motivate himself and follow instructions (be them good in peoples opinions or bad) from the manager.
To simply say we were rubbish it's Blackwell's fault is impossible in my opinion.

This bit is an example of something that could happen
We play 4-5-1 as we tend to do.
3 out of the 4 defenders play well, one doesn't
the midfield plays ok (Wishful thinking I know but bare with me)
the wingers play alright too
The lone forward plays rubbish
We don't score due to the lone forward playing rubbish and concede a goal due to the one defender who played badly.
Is this the managers fault?
Is it all the teams fault?
Is it the Forwards fault for not scoring?
Is it the Defenders fault for messing up?
Or is it a combination of all of these things?

I'd say just saying 'It's his fault' very loudly may get peoples attention but it doesn't make it right.

Also Blaming the board for players not performing and managers not great tactics is like saying it's the cleaners fault. The board may give the go ahead for signings and managers being appointed but they do not decide on the before mentiond team selection and tactics.

Rant over

You have just contradicted yourself there, We can't blame the manager or players, it's in between. Then when the board is it's put on the manager???

I agree that players have got to pull there socks up, but it's no good not being organised and having no inspiration. When Morgans not on the pitch, blackwell needs to be telling them and not playing the same crap time after time.

Good tactics win things.... look at the romans.... :thumbup:

Only 2 games played and we've not had a fully fit set of players to pick from yet and we've got a few new additions that are going to need time to bed in with the existing players and time for the existing players to get used to them.

Can we all get some perspective please, lets at least see what its like after say 10 - 12 games.

If no improvement then fair enough, but lets give OUR team as much chance as possible to succeed.

I am glad we got knocked out though, as Im not sure we have the squad to cope with League and Cup competitions, in terms of numbers, at the moment.

At least Blackwell has acknowledged that we still need players and in the areas we've all known have needed strenghtening, he may be like the old British Rail, slow but gets there in the end.

Why 2 games? it's been happening for a long while now this from "Big Game" blackwell. He's a poor version of warnock who can't get the players in the right mind for the game.

What's pre season for? shouldn't the players learn to bed in that time at all? They looked last night as if it was the first time they had met! We need to start mixing pre season games and play some variety of levels.

It needs to change, Quinn and Howard have had about 5 good games between them the past season, yet they are continually picked? is this down to the players picking themselfs??

Blackwell is the cheap option who is not good enough. It's starting too look like the Weeds Situation here.... Chasing 2nd place and bottling the big games (leeds chasing us when we went up, Us chasing Brum) Getting to the playoff final and loosing... Bad start to the season (I know its early days...) And then relegation! I bloody hope not!!!

 

[Sensiblade]

I didn't say just blame the manager with respect to the board

Also Blaming the board for players not performing and managers not great tactics is like saying it's the cleaners fault. The board may give the go ahead for signings and managers being appointed but they do not decide on the before mentiond team selection and tactics.

I just said they don't decide on the team selection and tactics

 

[breeny]

I think this post is mean't to be about the fact that Blackwell has come out and critiscised members of the squad. He hasn't named which members he is focussing on, but we are guessing at Quinny and/or Howard being one or both of them.

The question this post is asking is, now that Blackwell has openly critiscised these players, whoever they are, will he have the balls to follow up on his promise made in the post match interview yesterday.

the post seemed to be going on a bit of tangent, so thought i'd clarify things

He didn't follow up his promise to leave the club after his comments post play-off final. I think his comments have done little to inspire any confidence in his abilities.

Am looking forward to getting my 'Ched 9' away shirt on Sat though

 

[Fiery Blade]

Perhaps he may play it the Warnock way and put in a bid for Richards from Vale - he scored two must be worth a £million