Chris - Thank you and good luck

All advertisments are hidden for logged in members, why not log in/register?

Bell4

Bell4

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2016
Messages
7,113
Reaction score
12,393
I for one , and there are thousands more , believe in you and thank you for what you have done for our beloved club . Easy to throw stones and say you've no clue (WTF?) but actually guiding us through the devastation of last season to where we are now proves you have more clue in your little finger than the entitled PlayStation know-all warriors have .

So ....thank you , good luck to you and our players .....keep the faith and we`re behind you

UTB
 

If we go up would you keep him for a Prem campaign?

Genuine question.
 
Bell4 said:
Yup
Click to expand...

What have you seen from him this season that you wouldn’t get from any other championship manager with this squad? And what makes you convinced he has the tactical knowledge to be a prem manager?

I ask these questions as I agree there are reasons to be thankful, but also reasons to be concerned.

The football this season has been largely shit, and the league has been of a low standard.

We’ve got ahead and held on, at times that’s cost us points.

We’ve managed through injuries but haven’t strengthened the defence after Souttar was injured.

We’ve signed or loaned decent championship players and played them in odd systems or out of place.

We’ve seen some form from Brewster and then overspent on Cannon.

We’ve had 3 points from 18 against the current top four.

I’ll be behind him and the team for this push but I’d be lying if I said I would be happy with him for a prem attempt. His tactics and sub choices often baffle me, which can be masked by the standard in this league but gets exposed easily in the prem.
 
ekke287 said:
What have you seen from him this season that you wouldn’t get from any other championship manager with this squad? And what makes you convinced he has the tactical knowledge to be a prem manager?

I ask these questions as I agree there are reasons to be thankful, but also reasons to be concerned.

The football this season has been largely shit, and the league has been of a low standard.

We’ve got ahead and held on, at times that’s cost us points.

We’ve managed through injuries but haven’t strengthened the defence after Souttar was injured.

We’ve signed or loaned decent championship players and played them in odd systems or out of place.

We’ve seen some form from Brewster and then overspent on Cannon.

We’ve had 3 points from 18 against the current top four.

I’ll be behind him and the team for this push but I’d be lying if I said I would be happy with him for a prem attempt. His tactics and sub choices often baffle me, which can be masked by the standard in this league but gets exposed easily in the prem.
Click to expand...
People have massively overstated the ‘rebuild’ we did last summer. We lost one or 2 players who were of use for the future (Bogle and Osula). The rest was a case of getting rid of either deadwood or players who wanted to go elsewhere for a last payday.

We’ve then had a healthy budget and put together a side that you’d expect to be up near the top of the league.

It seems one of the positives given by his backers is replacing these players. If we look at some of those we let go or got rid of, they were Wilder MK1 signings and some from the previous shitshow of a summer window under Hecky. He’s not really made any signings apart from Cooper and Campbell (maybe Burrows) who have been standouts and he’s still flogging 2 dead horses in JLT and Brewster.

He’s played 2 of our potential best players in Hamer and BBD out of position and then left our best CB to get splinters in his arse whilst JLT plays week in week out.

He’s made a tit of himself on and off the field in interviews, pub karaoke sessions and scraps with oppo players.

Wilder MK1 was excellent, Wilder MK2 is far from it.
 
ekke287 said:
What have you seen from him this season that you wouldn’t get from any other championship manager with this squad? And what makes you convinced he has the tactical knowledge to be a prem manager?

I ask these questions as I agree there are reasons to be thankful, but also reasons to be concerned.

The football this season has been largely shit, and the league has been of a low standard.

We’ve got ahead and held on, at times that’s cost us points.

We’ve managed through injuries but haven’t strengthened the defence after Souttar was injured.

We’ve signed or loaned decent championship players and played them in odd systems or out of place.

We’ve seen some form from Brewster and then overspent on Cannon.

We’ve had 3 points from 18 against the current top four.

I’ll be behind him and the team for this push but I’d be lying if I said I would be happy with him for a prem attempt. His tactics and sub choices often baffle me, which can be masked by the standard in this league but gets exposed easily in the prem.
Click to expand...
All good points

But it's our perspective, from a non professional view point .

Step back a bit .......

Do we actually , factually , know the restrictions he has been working within ? Pre and post takeover.

Who do we know who could have overseen and lead our club, in active turmoil and enduring a traumatic transition , from the worst pound for pound seasons in its entire history , to a clear third (by miles) in one of the toughest leagues in Europe ? Would it have been Frank? , Would it have been Cooper ? ,Would it have been Sausage Roll ?, Would it have been some foreign sounding bloke who appears sexy at the time ? Who knows ... but actually , factually , it was Wilder - he factually and actually did

He was handicapped by an owner (despite the SPIN spouted by Thornton) from pre season until takeover. He picked us up off our arses, again ,until once more we have a feeling of connection , respect, pride and optimism in our club.

So - imo - (and I'm not saying he hasn't made mistakes) he has done a great job , and if he gets us up then yes imo he should carry on .

We have absolutely no idea of the circumstances he finds himself in , who is fit , who isn't , who he can buy , who he can`t , the risks he feels he has to take and why - we have a good squad , but , what are the consequences faced , risks taken to arrive at it ? ( think Holding , Davies , Cannon) .... we guess - we speculate - we challenge - great ....entertaining .. but one person has guided the club he loves to the verge of the most rewarding league in the world from ashes ...

Good luck to him .... UTB
 
The difference between Parker Farke and Wilder is only one of them have been successful in keeping a club up after promotion, and actually had a European push. Farke came up with us and went down in the same year wilder finished 9th.
 
Wilder to manage in the prem-but would rather he isn’t given the cheque book-director of football instead. Wilder spunked shitloads of prem money and got little in return. He’s good at free signings though….
 
I personally think the conversation around CW and him wasting money needs to be put to bed - it's naive to roll out as justification for him being relieved of his duties. He's not the owner of a sandwich shop, making all decisions about every part of his business. He doesn't operate independently of the structure of the club, getting his own way, in every way he wants. He works as part of the club, is advised by members of the staff, works in conjunction with the recruitment department, Betis, the owners, the board etc etc. If money has been wasted, the blame lays at everyone's feet, not just his.
 
Last edited:

Bell4 said:
I for one , and there are thousands more , believe in you and thank you for what you have done for our beloved club . Easy to throw stones and say you've no clue (WTF?) but actually guiding us through the devastation of last season to where we are now proves you have more clue in your little finger than the entitled PlayStation know-all warriors have .

So ....thank you , good luck to you and our players .....keep the faith and we`re behind you

UTB
Click to expand...
He did a great job under the Prince (both times) and no-one can ever take away what he's done for the club over the years. That said, he has been less inspiring since the new owners arrived and I definitely didn't enjoy the 3 losses on the bounce recently. But we can put a pin in that for now... a win at Wembley and he will achieve immortality and surely everyone will get behind Chris and the team as we aim to achieve that? We've beaten every team that might get a playoff place (once each) which proves Wilder and the team are capable of beating any of our play-off opponents on our day. There are reasons to be positive, like the song says:

It was the sixth year in division one when Chris Wilder came home...
 
More Bladier than thou said:
He’s good at free signings though….
Click to expand...
This season he got 2 free signings right out of 4 in O’Hare and Campbell. Shackleton has been a poor signing as he’s hardly played, we’ve replaced Osborn with a less fit Osborn. McCallum has been squad filler, was useful at the start of the season to see games out, hardly used in the back end of the season.

If I were being picky with Campbell and O’Hare the former would have been available more and able to play more than 60 mins when available, the latter would have had more goal contributions but overall as freebies they’ve been impactful and filled obvious gaps in the squad.

Going back in time:

16/17 - 6 freebies - Fleck and Duffy (excellent), Jake Wright (good), Lafferty (average), Wilson and Hammond (piss poor) 50% strike rate again.

17/18 - 2 freebies: Enda (excellent), Donaldson (average to poor) - 50% strike rate.

18/19 - 3 freebies: Didzy (great signing), Washington (poor), Kean Bryan (poor) - 33.33% strike rate overall.

19/20 - 4 freebies: Jags (ok), Verrips, Rodwell and Ravel (poor) - 25% strike rate is being generous.

Over his time with us then he’s signed 8 decent freebies (some were very good and credit is well deserved for those) and 11 poor signings. 42% strike rate.

Some of our thinking on his success rate with freebies is skewed by the successes.
 
He’s a great motivator and winner but doesn’t learn from his mistakes (because he actually thinks he doesn’t make any).

According to a psychologist friend he shows paranoid narcissist symptoms - delusions of infallibility; belief people are out to prove him wrong; demand for unquestioning loyalty from friends & colleagues. Apparently a typical profile for a religious cult leader (and both Trump & Putin!)
 
thehet said:
Up there with funniest comment on the forum.

Also, Wilder didn’t sign Hammond.
Click to expand...
Apologies for giving him the blame for Hammond, I just listed the freebies that season.

As for the comment you pointed out, it was a poorly worded way of saying that everyone remembers Duffy, Didzy and Fleck and forgets Rodwell, Bryan and Ravel.
 
Not sure how you would quantify success v's failure for multiple clubs across multiple seasons (wilder now has 300 games for us so is in a relatively small pool of managers through the game) but l suspect it you wouldn't need to look very hard to find plenty of managers that have similar success v's failure records on recruitment. It's not a science, it's more akin to an art. If it was straight forward, with a right and wrong way of doing it, no one would get it wrong.

There are so many factors at play when it comes to building a successful team/squad. Just off the top of my head:
Availablity, wages, legacy contracts, dead wood, position, age, style, footedness, character, international status, fitness, injury record, physical suitability, height, pace, endurance, willingness to relocate, other clubs dealings, agents, player career path, conflict/clicking of personalities, off field nastyness (Bogles recent behaviour) etc etc. You put all those in a spread sheet, not to mention the actual footballing factors that I'm in no position to speculate on, and imagine the size of the pool you're fishing in when trying to find a center back.

Obviously no one is going to get it right all the time - and by the way, this idea that all the blame is on CW's shoulders is laughable. As l said in another post, if there's blame to be placed, it's with the club at large not any single person. Recruitment is one of the hardest parts of football, that's why there's a vast global industry, worth billions, that supports the 90 minute spectacle on a Saturday afternoon.
 
I started playing golf a couple of years ago. I’ve gradually got better and my handicap is down to around 22-24. I hope before I depart this world to get into the teens. But I know THAT IS AS GOOD AS I WILL EVER GET.

I will never make a club captain, play the tour etc because I am at the extent of my ability. I will work on areas of my game to improve and I do occasionally have a storming card (usually followed by a few shockers).

My analogy is Wilder is brilliant but has peaked.

He will NEVER hold the PL trophy, Champions League Trophy etc. he might have a good run and lift a minor trophy like FA/League Cup but as we have seen when the chips are down we under Wilder are good but not good enough and never will be.

So, question isn’t about the manager/Wilder, no arguments he’s been fantastic. Question is about fans.
1. Are you happy to continue with ground out mediocrity that inevitably ends in failure?
2. Do you want the club to grow into a sustainable PL club?
 
ekke287 said:
What have you seen from him this season that you wouldn’t get from any other championship manager with this squad? And what makes you convinced he has the tactical knowledge to be a prem manager?

I ask these questions as I agree there are reasons to be thankful, but also reasons to be concerned.

The football this season has been largely shit, and the league has been of a low standard.

We’ve got ahead and held on, at times that’s cost us points.

We’ve managed through injuries but haven’t strengthened the defence after Souttar was injured.

We’ve signed or loaned decent championship players and played them in odd systems or out of place.

We’ve seen some form from Brewster and then overspent on Cannon.

We’ve had 3 points from 18 against the current top four.

I’ll be behind him and the team for this push but I’d be lying if I said I would be happy with him for a prem attempt. His tactics and sub choices often baffle me, which can be masked by the standard in this league but gets exposed easily in the prem.
Click to expand...
Every promoted team will struggle. It will largely depend how well you can compete in the transfer market.

If a team goes up and comes straight back down it won’t be down to the manager. It will largely depend on the amount of resources they were afforded.
 
I have been critical of CW at times recently and wasn't wholly in favour of his return given the circumstances surrounding his original departure. Hell, we are nowhere near good enough yet for another season in the Prem. But despite all that, I am desperate to cast off the play-off curse that has seemingly befallen us. For that reason, I will give my unswerving backing to CW and the lads. Let's give the playoffs our best shot, on and off the pitch and, when the dust settles on the campaign whenever and wherever that may be, let us reflect t, regroup and go again. UTB - FTO.
 
ekke287 said:
What have you seen from him this season that you wouldn’t get from any other championship manager with this squad? And what makes you convinced he has the tactical knowledge to be a prem manager?

I ask these questions as I agree there are reasons to be thankful, but also reasons to be concerned.

The football this season has been largely shit, and the league has been of a low standard.

We’ve got ahead and held on, at times that’s cost us points.

We’ve managed through injuries but haven’t strengthened the defence after Souttar was injured.

We’ve signed or loaned decent championship players and played them in odd systems or out of place.

We’ve seen some form from Brewster and then overspent on Cannon.

We’ve had 3 points from 18 against the current top four.

I’ll be behind him and the team for this push but I’d be lying if I said I would be happy with him for a prem attempt. His tactics and sub choices often baffle me, which can be masked by the standard in this league but gets exposed easily in the prem.
Click to expand...
Aye
All I’ve “seen” is we’re (well clear) in 3rd despite your catalogue of inadequacies.
How do you think Farke (if given the ‘opportunity’) or Parker will fare?
Perhaps we should replace Wider with Cooper (Van Nistelroy, & Maresca may soon be ‘available’ ), Martin (Jurić) or McKenna ?
Could we can tempt Marsch away from Canada (or Allardyce from his couch)
Maybe Heckingbottom could fancy another crack at it & Edwards currently ‘kicking his heels’ ,although Kompany may be a bit beyond us.
Probably the best bet is Marinakis (& his (gerrymandering) cheque book)
 
Bell4 said:
I for one , and there are thousands more , believe in you and thank you for what you have done for our beloved club . Easy to throw stones and say you've no clue (WTF?) but actually guiding us through the devastation of last season to where we are now proves you have more clue in your little finger than the entitled PlayStation know-all warriors have .

So ....thank you , good luck to you and our players .....keep the faith and we`re behind you

UTB
Click to expand...
Lovely post and great to see. The club and fans can certainly benefit from some togetherness in the coming weeks.

We have to look at this season and realise that its been an incredibly strong top 3 this year and from the position we were in over the summer, following on into much of the season (ironically when we had our best form), we've had a very very good season overall.

If it ends with play off defeat or success we should be proud of what has been a very young side for much of the season.
 
Bell4 said:
I for one , and there are thousands more , believe in you and thank you for what you have done for our beloved club . Easy to throw stones and say you've no clue (WTF?) but actually guiding us through the devastation of last season to where we are now proves you have more clue in your little finger than the entitled PlayStation know-all warriors have .

So ....thank you , good luck to you and our players .....keep the faith and we`re behind you

UTB
Click to expand...
Great post mate! I can't believe the criticism Wilder gets on here. Tbh following a defeat I tend to leave this place well alone ..... the flat feeling inside is depressing enough, never mind coming on here and reading all the PlayStation Peps impart their wisdom. Then of course there's the undercover pigs, wums and keyboard warriors...... great social media init :rolleyes: Nope, for me it's the pub with my mates sharing our grief and frustration, but then generally coming to a positive conclusion agreeing that ffs.......... we endured the 80s, pigs dominance of the 90's and all those lean years in League 1.................. wtf are we moaning about that "we are only in the playoffs" with probably the best team and academy set up we've had in donkeys.

BUT............... although a massive Wilder fan, I do wonder how far he actually can take us, should we make the Prem and the owners show a real desire to kick on. Chris's record with major signings and his seemingly reluctance to delve deeply into the foreign market - or indeed his knowledge/liking of the foreign market - scares me a little. That's where the real value for money is, IF you can get the strategy and approach right.

So for me, it's back Chris and the boys to the hilt, let's get the play off curse off our backs. However, we need to think long and hard should we go up. Me, I'm undecided on how we should play it........................ but as I'm just a normal bod with just a 'punters' knowledge of the game, I'll leave those decisions to people who know much more than I do.... or at least are putting their money where their mouth is, so have the right to make these decisions.
 
ekke287 said:
What have you seen from him this season that you wouldn’t get from any other championship manager with this squad? And what makes you convinced he has the tactical knowledge to be a prem manager?

I ask these questions as I agree there are reasons to be thankful, but also reasons to be concerned.

The football this season has been largely shit, and the league has been of a low standard.

We’ve got ahead and held on, at times that’s cost us points.

We’ve managed through injuries but haven’t strengthened the defence after Souttar was injured.

We’ve signed or loaned decent championship players and played them in odd systems or out of place.

We’ve seen some form from Brewster and then overspent on Cannon.

We’ve had 3 points from 18 against the current top four.

I’ll be behind him and the team for this push but I’d be lying if I said I would be happy with him for a prem attempt. His tactics and sub choices often baffle me, which can be masked by the standard in this league but gets exposed easily in the prem.
Click to expand...
I personally think he's the best fit, for United at the moment. Various chairman have tried to be clever in the past and appoint people such as Jokanovic and Robson, which have turned out to be failures and an expensive waste of time. Out of interest and sorry if I've missed it, but who do you believe would have improved the situation this season?
 

Bell4 said:
I for one , and there are thousands more , believe in you and thank you for what you have done for our beloved club . Easy to throw stones and say you've no clue (WTF?) but actually guiding us through the devastation of last season to where we are now proves you have more clue in your little finger than the entitled PlayStation know-all warriors have .

So ....thank you , good luck to you and our players .....keep the faith and we`re behind you

UTB
Click to expand...
It gives me the shits to think of the weekly bum rapings we'd be in for with Wilder at the helm in the Prem.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

C
Chris Wilder new contract
6 7 8
Replies
210
Views
10K
BangorBlade
BangorBlade
Slim Man
Name our 'good' performances so far this season
4 5 6
Replies
153
Views
6K
Blade56
Blade56
jono_t2000
THIS IS OUR TIME - SHEFFIELD UNITED, STAND UP AND BE COUNTED
Replies
13
Views
956
Freddie
Freddie
William Carey
Do Souza and Anel come straight back into the team for Burnley?
2 3
Replies
60
Views
4K
Kozzy_is_my_Dad
Kozzy_is_my_Dad
B
Good luck Chris
3 4 5
Replies
121
Views
10K
Toronto Blade
Toronto Blade

All advertisments are hidden for logged in members, why not log in/register?

All advertisments are hidden for logged in members, why not log in/register?

Back
Top Bottom