Can we still challenge for promotion?

[Eckingtonian]

With the in-different start we've had,can we still challenge for promotion?I still haven't given up hope,although i accept its going to be a tough ask.

 

[SteelCity Blade]

Yes we can, it is however highly unlikely.

 

[DP8789]

no we cant, this season is clearly about getting the new style and culture in place, to do that and get promoted with such a thin squad isnt possible i feel. id be happy if we finish above 12th.

 

[Highbury_Blade]

Highly unlikely. The squad needs reinvigorating, and this season is all about getting the right squad, and the team playing the right way for a promotion push next season.

I'd add avoiding relegation to that list of objectives.

Can't imagine the chequebook will come out much in january either

 

[PeterNdlovu081]

I think there'll be a couple of times during the season where we'll be sniffing around the play offs.

I expect us to finish about 8th again though.

 

[Elsecar_Blade]

I'd be happy with mid-table but a change in style and some hope for the future. We've been devoid of hope for the last season - even last year I knew where we were heading - and I lost the passion for the Blades. Going became a chore. I'm starting to rant at the referee and join in with the chants again, there are signs that I care again and that - with a comfortable placing - will do me for now.

 

[SteelCity Blade]

I think there'll be a couple of times during the season where we'll be sniffing around the play offs.

I expect us to finish about 8th again though.

No chance nuddy. There are at least 10 teams in this division better than us.

 

[Bladesway]

Optimism is a wonderful thing. No issues with those who have it but for myself we don't have a cat in hells chance of challenging for promotion. I see several teams better than us, problem is I don't see too many worse right now. No money spent in January and we are in one hell of a mess.

If McCabe spends the cash in Jan I'll tip my hat to him, if he doesn't then he is exactly what I think he is.

 

[Ballinpigpubs13]

Not a chance, wish I was wrong.

 

[DuncDisorderly]

I suppose that while everyone is looking down and how few teams there are between us and the relegation zone, its easy not to see that there is only five points and a bit of goal difference keeping us out of the play-off zone, and only nine off automatic. Possible? Yes; Likely? Not without the couple more bodies that we've been expecting since pre-season. Will they arrive in January? I dont know. The quality of players available isn't always great and if we are safely in mid-table there will be a great temptation to just stick with it and look to overhaul the squad at the end of the season.

I see this as a season of change and consolidation. We have a new and learning manager, and a squad that isn't well suited to the style of play that we now aspire to. I think we need to consider Ipswich, where Roy Keane struggled to get them going last season, changed it all around in the summer and they now sit fifth...

 

[Fiery Blade]

How can anyone talk about possible promotion?
We are struggling to put together back to back wins
We have only scored 5 goals in 10 games
We have a paper thin squad packed with loanees yet again
We do not have any creative midfielders
our powder puff strikers lack pace
Our defenders are prone to match losing gaffes on a regular basis
We are currently 4 places off the bottom of the league on the bacl of two 1-0 defeats
Lets get the team playing together, scoring more than 1 goal every two games and get in a few more permanant players before any talk of play offs or promotion material.
Get real Blades fans, currently our league position reflects the teams performance - We are where we deserve to be !!!

 

[broomhillblade]

Let's not forget the confidence factor. If the team can put together a couple of wins, the confidence will build and who knows what may happen?

Confidence can make average players perform above themselves. Lack of it can make even the most talented look distinctly average.

I haven't given up hope yet.

 

[davidpinder]

I am with a lot of people on this, think we need to avoid a relegation dog fight first because if were in one at christmas, we haven't got the squad to get out. To answer the original question though NO.

 

[Come from away]

Don't see a really big gap between us and anybody else, so change is possible. It comes down to whether Speed can lift the team out of its current hesitant approach. We will need loans plus new blood in Jan, but with Wright and De Laat it is clear that he has a good sense of quality. Just too early to write anything off - I just remember how close Blackwell came the first year when we all thought we were going nowhere.

 

[Fiery Blade]

Don't see a really big gap between us and anybody else, so change is possible. It comes down to whether Speed can lift the team out of its current hesitant approach. We will need loans plus new blood in Jan, but with Wright and De Laat it is clear that he has a good sense of quality. Just too early to write anything off - I just remember how close Blackwell came the first year when we all thought we were going nowhere.

Just to remind you under Blackwell we've been nowhere- we are still in the second tier

 

[Ollessendro]

With the in-different start we've had,can we still challenge for promotion?I still haven't given up hope,although i accept its going to be a tough ask.

Absoultely not! With the current squad we don't stand a cat in hells chance.

Fiery sums it up perfectly below.

How can anyone talk about possible promotion?
We are struggling to put together back to back wins
We have only scored 5 goals in 10 games
We have a paper thin squad packed with loanees yet again
We do not have any creative midfielders
our powder puff strikers lack pace
Our defenders are prone to match losing gaffes on a regular basis
We are currently 4 places off the bottom of the league on the bacl of two 1-0 defeats
Lets get the team playing together, scoring more than 1 goal every two games and get in a few more permanant players before any talk of play offs or promotion material.
Get real Blades fans, currently our league position reflects the teams performance - We are where we deserve to be !!!

Anyone who is still talking of promotion at this stage is completely deluded. On top of what Fiery said (an excellent summary) we lack pace, flair and danger. We've lost our 'difficult to beat' tag and have become the league's powder puffs. A goal every 2 games will see us flirting with the bottom 3, rather than the top 6, especially if we carry on defending like Killamarsh St Joesephs under 11's. This is going to be a long hard season.

I think we are at the very least 3 quality players away from being anywhere near the top 6.

 

[Come from away]

Just to remind you under Blackwell we've been nowhere- we are still in the second tier

As long as you pick a high enough standard you can make anyone a failure. My point was we did see a big change when Blackwell came in so, this early in the season, it is simply too early to know. Speed has made some good choices, so I choose to wait and see. Under Blackwell we did get close while under Robson we were going nowhere. We've been in the second tier , or worse, for a long time, so I'll take competitive - I won't live and die by promotion. So I also chose to hope for better things and am as likely to get what I want as any who glorify in the prediction of failure.

 

[Ollessendro]

As long as you pick a high enough standard you can make anyone a failure. My point was we did see a big change when Blackwell came in so, this early in the season, it is simply too early to know. Speed has made some good choices, so I choose to wait and see. Under Blackwell we did get close while under Robson we were going nowhere. We've been in the second tier , or worse, for a long time, so I'll take competitive - I won't live and die by promotion. So I also chose to hope for better things and am as likely to get what I want as any who glorify in the prediction of failure.

Speed taking over and Blackwell doing the same are stark opposites. KB inherited a very good team, with an excellent defence, pace, creativity and flair. Over time (with massive help from KM) he has turned the team into on without pace, flair and creativity and a bunch of work horses (who are not good enough). Hence Speed has taken over a very poor side. I feel a bit for Speed, as I think if he had taken over the team Blackwell took over we'd be doing well. Players such as BT, Sharp, Tongue, Kilgallon and Hendrie would have thrived in a passing side.

I'm with you come from away ...... i won't liver or die by promotion ..... but it's relegation I'm worried about.

 

[beightonblade]

Can we still challenge for promotion ? ...................... don't make me laff ....were just making up the numbers.
An inexperienced manager a team full of nowts and a chairman who's either skint thrown in the towel or both ! ............ is that a pig flyng ?

 

[frechyblade]

I really am not bothered about whether we challenge for promotion. I want to go to BDTBL and be entertained. See a competive game of football were the best team wins that hopefully will be the blades but it might not be.
I don't miss being part of the PL circus, it's bent and corrupt. For every Arsenal high theres a Liverpool fix.
I'm enjoying going to the lane again, long may it continue. The football is better still not there but I can see the green shoots. A lot of the moaning gits that sat around us have stopped going, though still populate the forums!
Why do we go to watch football? For me it's an opportunity to spend some time doing something i enjoy with my dad and one of my lads, we go for a drink and meet up with friends and family, go and hopefully enjoy a competitive game of football and then spend the journey home discussing what we'd just seen. A thoroughly good Saturday afternoon, win lose or draw, the journey home can be a lot quieter after a defeat!!

UTB

 

[Ollessendro]

I really am not bothered about whether we challenge for promotion. I want to go to BDTBL and be entertained. See a competive game of football were the best team wins that hopefully will be the blades but it might not be.
I don't miss being part of the PL circus, it's bent and corrupt. For every Arsenal high theres a Liverpool fix.
I'm enjoying going to the lane again, long may it continue. The football is better still not there but I can see the green shoots. A lot of the moaning gits that sat around us have stopped going, though still populate the forums!
Why do we go to watch football? For me it's an opportunity to spend some time doing something i enjoy with my dad and one of my lads, we go for a drink and meet up with friends and family, go and hopefully enjoy a competitive game of football and then spend the journey home discussing what we'd just seen. A thoroughly good Saturday afternoon, win lose or draw, the journey home can be a lot quieter after a defeat!!

Oreit Frechy. I agree with your 1 st statement, but as far as I can am concerned then we are still missing the entertainment factor. Speed has tried to get them playing football, but we still way too defensive and negative. I would have more respect and faith if we went out and attacked from the 1st minute and really tried to win the game.

As for your 2nd statement (or the one I've highlighted in bold) where are the green shoots? Personally, other than the Deby game, I haven't seen any evidence that we are going to get better.

 

[frechyblade]

Hi Olle
I guess the green shoots, for me anyway, is that we are at least trying to play football by passing the ball, I'll openly admit that we are trying to do this with some who are definately finding this new ethos a bit difficult!
I didn't go to Derby so can't comment on that game. AT home I thoroughly enjoyed the Scunthorpe game, two teams playing football and we got walloped because we couldn't finish or defend. We started poorly against Portsmouth but they played really well belying the position they were in, if you look at their attacking unit there isn't a player there that you wouldn't have in our side. We got better and started to play a little.
Watford was a poor game, probably the least entertaining home game of the season. This after starting with two upfront, which seems to be the formation that some want but it didn't work.
Hey ho roll on Saturday a few beers and cheering the blades against Burnley.
UTB