Bolton / Sheffield United

[spongebobblade]

Who are the two or more lined up though? Everything seems to have gone incredibly quiet. And no-one's saying we need to be filling the squad up with shit, just that we need to be making a bit of visible progress on the admirably clearly defined targets that Chris Wilder has laid out.

I thought the very point of bringing Chris in so decisively and quickly was to let him get cracking on rebuilding the squad? Fuck knows why it's taking so long while all around us are starting to make progress.



(P.S. Not doubting CW at all here - got total faith in him still. Just got severe doubts about the ability he's being allowed to have to act in the transfer market.
But, for a character who's meant to be blunt and to the point, Chris's mixed messages on this subject aren't really that helpful.)

Like I've said in other posts. For me it's more important we bring in the correct players. Timescale for me is less important as long they are right for his style and this club. Wilder is often pressed on who and when and there are often issues which crop up and delay matters. I've no idea who the other two are. Just going on what Chris said. We just have to trust him whether we like it or not and stick with him. He could sign two or three in the next 7-10 days and then we will all but wondering what the fuss was about. Patience is the key

 

[Bladesway]

Have we had a "making use of the loan system" chat yet? That is usually a bad sign.

 

[FriethBlade]

Yes bladeway see today's Star !! Only that's gonna take ages too according to CW as the premiership teams wait to decide who to let go on loan.

To all those saying be patient the rest of us can remember every transfer window of the last 5 years !

Hopefully Hammond going will help but no doubt we've had to pay him the equivalent of 2 good players wages to get rid of him !

 

[Bert]

The lack of rumours is worrying as well.

It's the same with Bert, he keeps having panic attacks. Please God, give us some rumours.

 

[Blade56]

Clapper police are out in force.

Showing any concern at our lack of signings and zero CB's at the club is as popular as saying anyone who voted for Brexit is a racist at the moment.

Head says CW will pull a cohesive squad together with at least 2 CB's but based on 5 years+ custom and practice my heart says we will be picking over the leftovers from clubs with ambition.

Personally I'm feckin bricking it now, deadline for activity has been pushed back yet again to end of next week for 1 or 2 (take the lower number) when he admits we need at least 5.

I will bare my arse if we sign 3xCB, 2xCMF and a forward before we kick the season off or if we manage to hang on to Che.

 

[Snowman]

Clapper police are out in force.

Showing any concern at our lack of signings and zero CB's at the club is as popular as saying anyone who voted for Brexit is a racist at the moment.

Head says CW will pull a cohesive squad together with at least 2 CB's but based on 5 years+ custom and practice my heart says we will be picking over the leftovers from clubs with ambition.

Personally I'm feckin bricking it now, deadline for activity has been pushed back yet again to end of next week for 1 or 2 (take the lower number) when he admits we need at least 5.

I will bare my arse if we sign 3xCB, 2xCMF and a forward before we kick the season off or if we manage to hang on to Che.

You can have my arse as a stereo bare on the same terms.

 

[Houston_Blade]

We're too busy paying shit players we already have off to buy new ones. I'm waiting for the excuse around transfer funds going on paying off DDG and Hammond therefore we have to stick with the 7 first teamers we still have!

 

[S5Blade]

Clapper police are out in force.

Showing any concern at our lack of signings and zero CB's at the club is as popular as saying anyone who voted for Brexit is a racist at the moment.

Head says CW will pull a cohesive squad together with at least 2 CB's but based on 5 years+ custom and practice my heart says we will be picking over the leftovers from clubs with ambition.

Personally I'm feckin bricking it now, deadline for activity has been pushed back yet again to end of next week for 1 or 2 (take the lower number) when he admits we need at least 5.

I will bare my arse if we sign 3xCB, 2xCMF and a forward before we kick the season off or if we manage to hang on to Che.

It's not even this. It's the constant whining and drivel every single day with multiple boring threads just throwing a different slant on the same thing.

That and pointless facts to try and make us look bad and the downplaying of the current signings...

"No one has done less business than us" - so what? 8 teams have done exactly the same amount of us. That's a third of the league and players other clubs have signed that we would realistically want? Can probably count them on one hand, if I lost 3 fingers in a shark attack.

"We should be signing the best in this division and below" then we sign a player who was named in the division team of the year last year, aka, the best in this league and then he's an "aging player" because it suits an agenda

"We won't spend money on anyone" we paid for Duffy "was only a nominal fee" - ok, so maybe we should have paid more to placate the fan base

Whether a slasher or a clapper, we can all see we have signed two players, daily threads on lack of budget, getting left behind, twisting CWs comments to suit arguments is boring and tiresome especially when it's essentialy the same thread just using different language.

 

[S5Blade]

Meant to add, CW has constantly said we need centre backs, every time questioned, we have literally no centre backs at the club, if anyone thinks this is how we will line up at the start of the season they need their head examining.

CW is a blade, he knows the club, knows what we need and knows that if we don't have a fucking good go at promotion this season then he will be fired, it's that simple.

Personally, I would rather wait a couple of weeks and get the right players rather than the Clough approach of throwing enough shit at the wall and hoping some of it sticks.

 

[Blade82]

Wouldn't say so, he's told supporters numerous things that haven't turned out to be true.

Doesn't mean he wasn't being honest when he said those things, just haven't come off as he wished. That's what he means, he's been too honest.

 

[robbiez666]

It's not even this. It's the constant whining and drivel every single day with multiple boring threads just throwing a different slant on the same thing.

That and pointless facts to try and make us look bad and the downplaying of the current signings...

"No one has done less business than us" - so what? 8 teams have done exactly the same amount of us. That's a third of the league and players other clubs have signed that we would realistically want? Can probably count them on one hand, if I lost 3 fingers in a shark attack.

"We should be signing the best in this division and below" then we sign a player who was named in the division team of the year last year, aka, the best in this league and then he's an "aging player" because it suits an agenda

"We won't spend money on anyone" we paid for Duffy "was only a nominal fee" - ok, so maybe we should have paid more to placate the fan base

Whether a slasher or a clapper, we can all see we have signed two players, daily threads on lack of budget, getting left behind, twisting CWs comments to suit arguments is boring and tiresome especially when it's essentialy the same thread just using different language.

It's mainly as a response to what Wilder says. The loan comment today and premiership teams not wanting to let players go. Low and behold people are already loaning players.

There's been a succession of Wilder saying something, it doesn't come off, excuse, and then saying something different. Players on holiday, struggling to get them over the line, we were in advanced talks, now were are not.

If we supported a well-run club I'd be much less concerned but it's similar speak to several of our recent managers who all ended badly.

 

[Blade56]

....we have literally no centre backs at the club, if anyone thinks this is how we will line up at the start of the season they need their head examining.

Oh dear S5B I so remember making that type of comment two seasons running!

People start boring repetitive thread cause there's nowt else to talk about on Blades related chat and it's the Blades time of season to expect disappointment, just as sure as Christmas coming around every December.

Alternatives are go discus Brexit (some more) on general chat or you could start a few interesting threads on here in the absence of WHF

No doubt CW will pull it together and we can get down to discussing actual football, until then let's keep it light hearted.

 

[mattbianco1]

So to sum up, they've signed 3 players and we have signed 2?

And the sky is falling !

 

[JohnDenver]

And the sky is falling !

Given we're a long term league 1 club with half a squad and a retinue of wasters who belong to previous managers, I'd say the sky has already fallen.

The only question now is how long it'll take us to put it back up....

 

[BigBed]

It's all straight from the "BRAMALL LANE MANAGEMENT HANDBOOK", same old same old, the only difference is that CW seems to actually do everything he can for the club as he's a Bladesman, shame his bosses are just in it for the readies.

 

[Grizzly blade]

I find it quite comical that some seem to think it's ok that we have only signed the same as others but less than most of our competitors.

To them I would like to say that I doubt any of our competitors have such a small squad.....and presently zero centre backs.
Before answering I would point out I can't be arsed to check, I'm assuming here because only our club would be in such a mess (save Blackpool of course)

 

[Grizzly blade]

Given we're a long term league 1 club with half a squad and a retinue of wasters who belong to previous managers, I'd say the sky has already fallen.

The only question now is how long it'll take us to put it back up....

I'm prepared to bet that in the cold light of day and in the secrecy of the boardroom they will admit we have zero chance of going up this season. They know the state of the finances, they know they are trying to bring in good players but knowing full well we aren't offering the money others are for their services, they know the manager is wasting his time looking at some of these players because we won't pay them what they want and can get elsewhere.....so it begs the question when are they going to be honest?

Clearly Wilder is being kept out of negotiations. And worryingly we are in the position of having inexperience conduct these negotiations, and probably why we are losing out on players.

Are they keeping quiet because they know deep down they have said a few white lies to Wilder? Has Wilder been naive in his own negotiations with McCabe thinking he's got a certain budget....only to find that his budget is considerably less after pay outs...and dependant on sales first?

How long before we see Wilder out the door? (This is my concern....we have previous for shifting blame onto managers)

 

[S5Blade]

It's mainly as a response to what Wilder says. The loan comment today and premiership teams not wanting to let players go. Low and behold people are already loaning players.

There's been a succession of Wilder saying something, it doesn't come off, excuse, and then saying something different. Players on holiday, struggling to get them over the line, we were in advanced talks, now were are not.

If we supported a well-run club I'd be much less concerned but it's similar speak to several of our recent managers who all ended badly.

As pointed out, the loan comment wasnt from today, was just a recycled quote from an interview when previously he asked how he planned to use the loan market. Has nothing to do with whether we sign players or not - these are just in addition to any permanants but as usual, people lose their shit over a recycled stir article...

 

[Lord Bos of Eckington.]

I'm prepared to bet that in the cold light of day and in the secrecy of the boardroom they will admit we have zero chance of going up this season. They know the state of the finances, they know they are trying to bring in good players but knowing full well we aren't offering the money others are for their services, they know the manager is wasting his time looking at some of these players because we won't pay them what they want and can get elsewhere.....so it begs the question when are they going to be honest?

Clearly Wilder is being kept out of negotiations. And worryingly we are in the position of having inexperience conduct these negotiations, and probably why we are losing out on players.

Are they keeping quiet because they know deep down they have said a few white lies to Wilder? Has Wilder been naive in his own negotiations with McCabe thinking he's got a certain budget....only to find that his budget is considerably less after pay outs...and dependant on sales first?

How long before we see Wilder out the door? (This is my concern....we have previous for shifting blame onto managers)

I think Wilder honestly thought the pull of the club , ground , training facilities would be the catalyst to bring players into the club . Unfortunately it's just one thing - money and it is becoming more and more evident , we are not bidding the highest and our great set up is not counting for much .

Money is king , Facilities , nice to have but not essential.

UTB

 

[Grizzly blade]

I think Wilder honestly thought the pull of the club , ground , training facilities would be the catalyst to bring players into the club . Unfortunately it's just one thing - money and it is becoming more and more evident , we are not bidding the highest and our great set up is not counting for much .

Money is king , Facilities , nice to have but not essential.

UTB

Exactly....to us fans the pull of the lane and those facilities would be the nuts....however Donny have a nice ground....Bolton...Charlton....hell even Scunny have a fancy new ground being built with new Academy facilities on the side!
It should be the lure of the future that brings players, listening to the vision of the club and seeing which other players are coming, the style of play and the vocal backing of thousands of loyal supporters....and at least matching the contracts on offer by our competitors.
And this is what has me concerned.....are players coming here, having discussions like that and opting to go elsewhere?

But being honest, if I were an outsider looking in and had the chance to play for United as it is now....I would want more money to make up for the amount of pressure and stress I was going to be under. It won't be fun playing in front of our own supporters the last couple of seasons and I bet it will be much the same if we aren't slaying all before us after a few weeks.

I just hope this time the wrath is finally turned on the board rather than the manager.

 

[judge]

Or that we have signed 2 with 2, possibly more lined up? Dates mean nothing. It's what we line up with on the 6th August that counts. I'd rather we had late quality signings that will grow into the team rather than filling the squad as early as possible with overpaid or uncommitted players. Been there done that. It's all a game of patience

So it doesn't matter if you sign all your players on August 5th ?
Having your players in to train with you for a month assess their strengths and weaknesses,work on set pieces ,build a team bond a togetherness ,build fitness ,get their kit size ?
None of these things are a slight advantage ?

We will be in league one forever with that attitude running through the club

 

[BushBlade]

I've posted on here before that I think the club's primary aim is to stop losing money. I don't think either owner has the desire to lose any more. They will ensure that next season, our wage bill is such that we break even.
However, they still need to sell season tickets and keep attendances up, or we will have to keep reducing our wage bill.

At the moment, they're trying to balance the two by giving the impression promotion is a bigger priority than it is and having Wilder as a human shield, hoping that his links with the club will carry him through this season without them having to sack him to raise our morale.

Providing we can maintain decent attendances we will still have a good enough budget to challenge for promotion if we spend the money wisely. But it will take two to three seasons of transition, unless, of course we fluke it. Stranger things have happened. We just have to hope that CW does enough over this season for the majority of supporters to keep backing him and let him try to build something.

 

[Revolution]

I've posted on here before that I think the club's primary aim is to stop losing money. I don't think either owner has the desire to lose any more. They will ensure that next season, our wage bill is such that we break even.
However, they still need to sell season tickets and keep attendances up, or we will have to keep reducing our wage bill.

At the moment, they're trying to balance the two by giving the impression promotion is a bigger priority than it is and having Wilder as a human shield, hoping that his links with the club will carry him through this season without them having to sack him to raise our morale.

Providing we can maintain decent attendances we will still have a good enough budget to challenge for promotion if we spend the money wisely. But it will take two to three seasons of transition, unless, of course we fluke it. Stranger things have happened. We just have to hope that CW does enough over this season for the majority of supporters to keep backing him and let him try to build something.

You might be right, but this is a foolish strategy. Wages are going to keep rising. It's going to get more expensive to go up year on year.

You are right, the only way we go up is if we fluke it. And we don't do things like that.

 

[blade too long]

Bolton - appoint Phil Parkinson as new manager 22 days ago, on 10th June, at a time they were still under a transfer embargo.

United - appoint Chris Wilder as new manager 52 days ago, on 12th May.


Bolton get their transfer embargo lifted (apparently) on 1st July and, one day later, they sign Chris Taylor. If rumours are to be believed, they've got both Jamie Proctor and Mark Beevers lined up on the verge of being signed.

Meanwhile, United haven't brought a soul in since signing Duffy and Hussey on 1st June, 31 days ago now, despite Chris Wilder having identified a need for three centre-halves, a left-footed midfielder, a target man, and another wide player.


Who knows if Bolton will sign Proctor and Beevers?
Problem is though, if they do, and we continue to wait on signings, our "strategy" is gonna start to look a bit silly.

amazing how you can easily add targets bolton are after to bolster this idiotic thread , but totally discard any we are chasing like mc fazdean

your argument is they have actually signed 50 per cent less than us but are believed to have 2 more lined up total 3
whereas united are a joke club as we have signed 2 with only mcfazdean a possibility ,again total 3
so united are a joke club for matching a team thats just left the championship

my we need supporters with your high held opinions of us

 

[Grizzly blade]

Blade too long.....how many players do Bolton need to actually put a side out?

I'm betting it's considerably less than our club. That's the worry.

If it takes a month to scrape together a deal for one CB, I would suggest we may be in a spot of bother if we are needing 6! Chris has rightly reminded everyone that premier league clubs are unlikely to let their kids out yet, so it is looking like we will be starting the season with the bare minimum, and with the transfer listed lot in the squad.

Bolton are in a better position and will fare better than us. But what's the difference between them and us?
We allegedly wrote off debt and had a new owner....much the same. The difference is the complete and utter incompetents running our club at board level.
I can't stress this enough, but we really are going feckin nowhere but downwards until we have a complete clear out at the top. Football clubs lose money, especially ones our size in L1. If they want money, they will have to lose a shit load to get to the premier league. So they should either accept this or feck off.

At least then we would know where we stand instead of all the bollocks they spout.

 

[judge]

amazing how you can easily add targets bolton are after to bolster this idiotic thread , but totally discard any we are chasing like mc fazdean

your argument is they have actually signed 50 per cent less than us but are believed to have 2 more lined up total 3
whereas united are a joke club as we have signed 2 with only mcfazdean a possibility ,again total 3
so united are a joke club for matching a team thats just left the championship

my we need supporters with your high held opinions of us

But they have just been saved from going bust and have had a transfer embargo

They are probably the best example of a club with a bad start to next season and yet they don't seem to be struggling to put deals on the table for players


Does that not worry you?

 

[BushBlade]

You might be right, but this is a foolish strategy. Wages are going to keep rising. It's going to get more expensive to go up year on year.

You are right, the only way we go up is if we fluke it. And we don't do things like that.

It's the Leicester effect. The one off event that flies in the face of the evidence of the last 20 years that allows people to perpetuate the myth that 'it's not about money, it's about team spirit'.

 

[blade too long]

But they have just been saved from going bust and have had a transfer embargo

They are probably the best example of a club with a bad start to next season and yet they don't seem to be struggling to put deals on the table for players


Does that not worry you?

it doesnt worry me one bit that we havent signed 10 players by july 3rd

when it gets to july 28th and weve only signed 2
then I might start to worry

what is the fuxcking rush , its another week before training starts

we are one of 8 clubs thats signed 2 so far
that suggests its not really got going yet

 

[Finn Keane o' Balmaqueen]

Money is king

He ain't wrong.

 

[blade too long]

They are probably the best example of a club with a bad start to next season and yet they don't seem to be struggling to put deals on the table for players

why are they an example of a club with a bad start ´
under new owners, fresh money, still one of the best grounds around
would think the new board will want to return quickly