Clough knows what he's doing, have some faith.

[Borbokisfreekick]

There has been a lot of predictable nonsense written about NC the past few days. If only people would show a little patience.

His post match interview clearly outlined he know's what the minor problems are and he will fix it:

"We struggled to going, but played with a little bit more urgency in the second half," said Clough. "We kept complicating it a little bit. Sometimes we passed it around the halfway line too much, we've got to get it forward and hit the frontman."

There has also been criticism of his recruitment, yet I would say its not far off and again, shows he knows where the problems lie and is working to fix it. Our biggest problems last year were a lack of a goalscorer, penetration from midfield and lack of pace at the back.

It's no secret he tried to get O'Grady in the summer and has finally got his man.

He did add more penetration from mid in adding JCR and Wallace, unfortunatley Wallace has been injured, that's no fault of Clough and JCR is slowly getting there and has shown glimpses of what he can offer.

Finally he has addressed the lack of pace at CD by dropping Collins (which was essential) and getting in some new center halves. Now the next key step is getting a settled back 4, which again is probably taking a little longer than Clough wanted, but he'll get there, as shown with his preference for a solid back line last season.

The criticism of his preference for possession based football is also laughable. I couldn't believe my ears when I heard Keith Edwards say the words "just whack it up there" the other night, and now fans complaining of us passing the ball around. This would be the same Edwards and fans that ruined Warnock and Blackwell for their route one, no plan B football.

EVERY best side at any level of football bases their playing style around good possession and good passing. Its much easier to have a plan A, B and C if first and foremost your team can effectively possess the ball. If that philosophy and foundation is laid down first, then you can build different options off that...maybe some games we can play more direct, maybe some games we can play on the counter, maybe some games we need to dominate the game with possession and tire teams out. But when we need to revert to simply keeping the ball then we can do it. There were so many times under Warnock and Blackwell that when the only plan of launching it forward ran out, then we couldn't do the basics of possess and break a team down.

Again it all takes a little time. I'm not saying Clough has perfected the above just yet, but signs are he's laying down some strong foundations and a good basic playing style. All of which our so called fans have being crying out for for years.

If anyone knows what we need and what needs fixing it's Clough and everyone should just have a little faith in that and cut the guy some slack.

 

[JohnDenver]

One criticism that has struck me as ridiculous is that he lacks a Plan B. Seems to me that his Plan B has repeatedly worked wonders. He just needs to get Plan A knocked into shape and we'll be laughing...

 

[DSB-91]

"We struggled to going, but played with a little bit more urgency in the second half," said Clough. "We kept complicating it a little bit. Sometimes we passed it around the halfway line too much, we've got to get it forward and hit the frontman."

Anyone who's been to a game this season could have made that assessment. There were plenty saying those exact things on the Kop last week but it doesn't sound like it was any different this Friday.

I like Clough and I agree with you about possession football. Many, including me, whined about the more direct style we used to play and Clough has definitely moved the team forward in that sense. To be fair though, I haven't heard a lot of people calling for a return to Warnock-style long balls, most just want to see a bit more energy and a bit more desire to attack from the start of the game.

I don't know why we start so cautiously and invite so much pressure in the first half, Clough probably doesn't either, but it needs to be sorted soon if we're aiming for an automatic place.

 

[Duffy21Blade]

This is my first post on here but I agree completely with the majority of the above.

As it stands, Nigel Clough for me is doing a decent job, and compared to where we were this time last year progress has been made. Bottom three when he took over, to 7th in the league and a Wembley semi-final where we not only beat four sides playing higher than ourselves in the previous rounds, but we gave a good Hull side a run for their money at a venue where we have constantly failed to turn up at in the past. Of course I accept that is now in the past and that was last season but as for me personally, I will always be thankful to Clough for saving that season and bringing some positivity back to the football club again.

As for this season, there has been an overhaul in playing staff. We lost Maguire and didn't retain Coady and Brayford, all three were at the core of the side that were part of second half of season success if you like. The jury is still out on the players Clough has brought in this summer and in my opinion there's only been McEveley and Wallace (when he's played) who have stood out in terms of improving the side. Basham is starting to look like a decent player for us but I still think he's better suited at CB. The Butler situation is a strange one but managers can make mistakes, classic examples in the past were when Warnock signed Barry Hayles and Danny Cullip, both didn't last long at the club but sometimes it just doesn't work out. McGahey has time on his side but Clough seems to prefer the experience of McCarthy and McEveley at the moment. He's raw but gives the ball away too cheaply at times for me but the only way he will learn is through experience. If Collins was in favour and was available for cover I would have thought a loan spell somewhere wouldn't hurt McGahey. McNulty and Higdon both have 5 goals and considering they've both been in and out of the side I don't think that's a bad return. Higdon has his critics and his overall workrate at times is rightly questioned but with the right service and maybe in a 4-4-2 we would see more from him.

Everyone are entitled to their own opinions and even though we might all disagree with each other, we are all Blades who want whats best for our club at the end of it. As for me, I do think a change in tactics, starting with reverting to a simple 4-4-2 would not hurt us - possibly with O'Grady and McNulty leading the line. I hope O'Grady is the missing link in terms of the attack. More urgency at the start of the game is needed too.

He's not always got it right (but what manager does?) - our current position suggests he's got more right than he has wrong so far. In Nigel we trust!

 

[Blackheath Blade]

This is my first post on here but I agree completely with the majority of the above.

As it stands, Nigel Clough for me is doing a decent job, and compared to where we were this time last year progress has been made. Bottom three when he took over, to 7th in the league and a Wembley semi-final where we not only beat four sides playing higher than ourselves in the previous rounds, but we gave a good Hull side a run for their money at a venue where we have constantly failed to turn up at in the past. Of course I accept that is now in the past and that was last season but as for me personally, I will always be thankful to Clough for saving that season and bringing some positivity back to the football club again.

As for this season, there has been an overhaul in playing staff. We lost Maguire and didn't retain Coady and Brayford, all three were at the core of the side that were part of second half of season success if you like. The jury is still out on the players Clough has brought in this summer and in my opinion there's only been McEveley and Wallace (when he's played) who have stood out in terms of improving the side. Basham is starting to look like a decent player for us but I still think he's better suited at CB. The Butler situation is a strange one but managers can make mistakes, classic examples in the past were when Warnock signed Barry Hayles and Danny Cullip, both didn't last long at the club but sometimes it just doesn't work out. McGahey has time on his side but Clough seems to prefer the experience of McCarthy and McEveley at the moment. He's raw but gives the ball away too cheaply at times for me but the only way he will learn is through experience. If Collins was in favour and was available for cover I would have thought a loan spell somewhere wouldn't hurt McGahey. McNulty and Higdon both have 5 goals and considering they've both been in and out of the side I don't think that's a bad return. Higdon has his critics and his overall workrate at times is rightly questioned but with the right service and maybe in a 4-4-2 we would see more from him.

Everyone are entitled to their own opinions and even though we might all disagree with each other, we are all Blades who want whats best for our club at the end of it. As for me, I do think a change in tactics, starting with reverting to a simple 4-4-2 would not hurt us - possibly with O'Grady and McNulty leading the line. I hope O'Grady is the missing link in terms of the attack. More urgency at the start of the game is needed too.

He's not always got it right (but what manager does?) - our current position suggests he's got more right than he has wrong so far. In Nigel we trust!

Sensible post MCGribble, welcome to the forum.

 

[Dkc]

The criticism of his preference for possession based football is also laughable. I couldn't believe my ears when I heard Keith Edwards say the words "just whack it up there" the other night, and now fans complaining of us passing the ball around. This would be the same Edwards and fans that ruined Warnock and Blackwell for their route one, no plan B football.

EVERY best side at any level of football bases their playing style around good possession and good passing..

The top sides know how to play unexpected balls once in a while and mix things up a bit. From what I have seen this season we're too predictable. I'm not saying we should whack the ball randomly upfield all the time, but there's nothing wrong with attempting a long pass from defence for our forwards to chase occasionall, especially when we're not making any headway passing through the midfield.

I've not seen many games, but from what I have seen we're too rigid in structure and don't have the skill to pass the ball into the net in the same way that Arsenal or Barca try to do. And both those sides play long balls at times too, but they're generally referred to as "inch-perfect passes".

 

[Bladesway]

There has been a lot of predictable nonsense written about NC the past few days. If only people would show a little patience.

His post match interview clearly outlined he know's what the minor problems are and he will fix it:

"We struggled to going, but played with a little bit more urgency in the second half," said Clough. "We kept complicating it a little bit. Sometimes we passed it around the halfway line too much, we've got to get it forward and hit the frontman."

There has also been criticism of his recruitment, yet I would say its not far off and again, shows he knows where the problems lie and is working to fix it. Our biggest problems last year were a lack of a goalscorer, penetration from midfield and lack of pace at the back.

It's no secret he tried to get O'Grady in the summer and has finally got his man.

He did add more penetration from mid in adding JCR and Wallace, unfortunatley Wallace has been injured, that's no fault of Clough and JCR is slowly getting there and has shown glimpses of what he can offer.

Finally he has addressed the lack of pace at CD by dropping Collins (which was essential) and getting in some new center halves. Now the next key step is getting a settled back 4, which again is probably taking a little longer than Clough wanted, but he'll get there, as shown with his preference for a solid back line last season.

The criticism of his preference for possession based football is also laughable. I couldn't believe my ears when I heard Keith Edwards say the words "just whack it up there" the other night, and now fans complaining of us passing the ball around. This would be the same Edwards and fans that ruined Warnock and Blackwell for their route one, no plan B football.

EVERY best side at any level of football bases their playing style around good possession and good passing. Its much easier to have a plan A, B and C if first and foremost your team can effectively possess the ball. If that philosophy and foundation is laid down first, then you can build different options off that...maybe some games we can play more direct, maybe some games we can play on the counter, maybe some games we need to dominate the game with possession and tire teams out. But when we need to revert to simply keeping the ball then we can do it. There were so many times under Warnock and Blackwell that when the only plan of launching it forward ran out, then we couldn't do the basics of possess and break a team down.

Again it all takes a little time. I'm not saying Clough has perfected the above just yet, but signs are he's laying down some strong foundations and a good basic playing style. All of which our so called fans have being crying out for for years.

If anyone knows what we need and what needs fixing it's Clough and everyone should just have a little faith in that and cut the guy some slack.

Tell you something, if we lost Clough for whatever reason, we really would be up shit creek. Doesn't mean he should be beyond some level of criticism when it isn't going right however.

 

[Harry's Game]

"but there's nothing wrong with attempting a long pass from defence for our forwards".

Forwards??

What is this strange phenomenon of which you speak?

 

[JasonEllis]

Tbf clough signed Wallace knowing his injury record, don't know unfortunate he has been in this regard

 

[Revolution]

Tbf clough signed Wallace knowing his injury record, don't know unfortunate he has been in this regard

Absolutely right. It's unfortunate if the player had no injury history (Lee Williamson springs to mind) but Wallace has never been fit enough to play half the games in a season in his entire career. There has to be a plan B when you have a player like that.

 

[FleaPitBlade]

There's a lot of cotton wool around Wallace at the moment. He's being rested, bought off and not playing with tiny niggles that others may soldier on through. Its a long game to sorting out the injury proneness with the return on that investment being a cracking player who can progress as the club does.

Everyone knew the score when we signed him. If hr didn't come with that baggage he would probably be player at a higher level.

 

[Damski]

I do feel that Clough has what it takes to get promoted. I think he should be given the rest of this season and the first part of next season at the very least. But I would like to see more attacking football. Against sides like Bristol, Preston, Swindon, etc I think it's fair enough to act with caution, but most sides in this division are quite poor and any team that organises themselves and attacks regularly will win. We've been too timid too often with relegation sides that by all rights we should be slotting away 2/3-0 at home on a regular basis.

 

[Fulwood Blade]

This is my first post on here but I agree completely with the majority of the above.

As it stands, Nigel Clough for me is doing a decent job, and compared to where we were this time last year progress has been made. Bottom three when he took over, to 7th in the league and a Wembley semi-final where we not only beat four sides playing higher than ourselves in the previous rounds, but we gave a good Hull side a run for their money at a venue where we have constantly failed to turn up at in the past. Of course I accept that is now in the past and that was last season but as for me personally, I will always be thankful to Clough for saving that season and bringing some positivity back to the football club again.

As for this season, there has been an overhaul in playing staff. We lost Maguire and didn't retain Coady and Brayford, all three were at the core of the side that were part of second half of season success if you like. The jury is still out on the players Clough has brought in this summer and in my opinion there's only been McEveley and Wallace (when he's played) who have stood out in terms of improving the side. Basham is starting to look like a decent player for us but I still think he's better suited at CB. The Butler situation is a strange one but managers can make mistakes, classic examples in the past were when Warnock signed Barry Hayles and Danny Cullip, both didn't last long at the club but sometimes it just doesn't work out. McGahey has time on his side but Clough seems to prefer the experience of McCarthy and McEveley at the moment. He's raw but gives the ball away too cheaply at times for me but the only way he will learn is through experience. If Collins was in favour and was available for cover I would have thought a loan spell somewhere wouldn't hurt McGahey. McNulty and Higdon both have 5 goals and considering they've both been in and out of the side I don't think that's a bad return. Higdon has his critics and his overall workrate at times is rightly questioned but with the right service and maybe in a 4-4-2 we would see more from him.

Everyone are entitled to their own opinions and even though we might all disagree with each other, we are all Blades who want whats best for our club at the end of it. As for me, I do think a change in tactics, starting with reverting to a simple 4-4-2 would not hurt us - possibly with O'Grady and McNulty leading the line. I hope O'Grady is the missing link in terms of the attack. More urgency at the start of the game is needed too.

He's not always got it right (but what manager does?) - our current position suggests he's got more right than he has wrong so far. In Nigel we trust!

Yes, welcome to the forum.

Can't agree with the 4-4-2 though. We saw with Rochdale and Oldham that each of those teams had a very "busy" midfield 4 - we don't possess busy midfield players. Doyle, Murphy,Flynn, Baxter are not busy players. Scoogs is, Reed could be and Wallace appears very much an all round player (when fit). Basham is busy, but even NC doesn't know his best position.

If we played 4-4-2 with a midfield of Flynn(or JCR), Doyle, Basham and Murphy as an example, we would be totally over run by younger and fitter and more committed players.

We seem set up for this slower type of passing game which needs 5 in midfield. Up top COG or Higdon is "supposed" to bring the others into the game, but up to now it has failed to materialise.

I wouldn't mind 4-4-2, you just need the right 4 to do it. Once Rochdale/Oldham start picking up injuries/suspensions/loan players returning they might struggle.

UTB

 

[Kev Gee]

I too think we can still make it up this season.

BUT its vital we try & get in someone who can get forward from midfield & support the front man.

too often there is no-one on the end of any attacks.

 

[GRUMPY BLADE]

One criticism that has struck me as ridiculous is that he lacks a Plan B. Seems to me that his Plan B has repeatedly worked wonders. He just needs to get Plan A knocked into shape and we'll be laughing...

Plan B is for the last 20 minutes, it's plan A that's not working.

 

[yorkshirecoast]

There has been a lot of predictable nonsense written about NC the past few days. If only people would show a little patience.

His post match interview clearly outlined he know's what the minor problems are and he will fix it:

"We struggled to going, but played with a little bit more urgency in the second half," said Clough. "We kept complicating it a little bit. Sometimes we passed it around the halfway line too much, we've got to get it forward and hit the frontman."

There has also been criticism of his recruitment, yet I would say its not far off and again, shows he knows where the problems lie and is working to fix it. Our biggest problems last year were a lack of a goalscorer, penetration from midfield and lack of pace at the back.

It's no secret he tried to get O'Grady in the summer and has finally got his man.

He did add more penetration from mid in adding JCR and Wallace, unfortunatley Wallace has been injured, that's no fault of Clough and JCR is slowly getting there and has shown glimpses of what he can offer.

Finally he has addressed the lack of pace at CD by dropping Collins (which was essential) and getting in some new center halves. Now the next key step is getting a settled back 4, which again is probably taking a little longer than Clough wanted, but he'll get there, as shown with his preference for a solid back line last season.

The criticism of his preference for possession based football is also laughable. I couldn't believe my ears when I heard Keith Edwards say the words "just whack it up there" the other night, and now fans complaining of us passing the ball around. This would be the same Edwards and fans that ruined Warnock and Blackwell for their route one, no plan B football.

EVERY best side at any level of football bases their playing style around good possession and good passing. Its much easier to have a plan A, B and C if first and foremost your team can effectively possess the ball. If that philosophy and foundation is laid down first, then you can build different options off that...maybe some games we can play more direct, maybe some games we can play on the counter, maybe some games we need to dominate the game with possession and tire teams out. But when we need to revert to simply keeping the ball then we can do it. There were so many times under Warnock and Blackwell that when the only plan of launching it forward ran out, then we couldn't do the basics of possess and break a team down.

Again it all takes a little time. I'm not saying Clough has perfected the above just yet, but signs are he's laying down some strong foundations and a good basic playing style. All of which our so called fans have being crying out for for years.

If anyone knows what we need and what needs fixing it's Clough and everyone should just have a little faith in that and cut the guy some slack.

It's all about opinions of course.

Mine is that the quote you include from Clough reflects how we have played in just about every game this season. So why do we keep making the same mistakes week in week out and why is Clough allowing it to happen?

As for the style of football, I'm not suggesting a return to hoof but the football this season has often been mind-numbingly tedious - too slow and, of course, far too negative.

If you look at the pitiful ratings that Clough has received in the match ratings section on here, that shows that many fans are very unimpressed with his tactics and team selections so far.

I hope he still comes good - but he needs to change his approach and fast.

 

[botoble]

Not saying I want Warnock or Blackwell back nor their style of play. But Warnock saved us from relegation and got us competing comfortably in the championship...Coming up against very decent teams that had stronger playing staff and more money than us and we occasionally battered teams poorer than us by 3 or 4 and he eventually got us promoted to the premier league. In the promotion season we started with a 4-1 win we also beat Burnley Millwall and Southampton by similar margins.
We now have one of the strongest teams and potentially the strongest finances in the league below and I don't think a) we will finish in the top 2 b) beat many teams comfortably on the score sheet c) get promoted.

Come the end of the season and we fail to gain promotion through the playoffs....AGAIN what then, give Clough another shot at scraping past shocking teams by the odd goal and complain we didn't get the rub of the green when we draw 1-1.

He has to start getting back to back wins more clean sheets and make us look as solid as we did at the end of last season. We are far far too negative and teams like Bristol Swindon MK dons will free score their way to promotion while we claim to have dominated games but drawn...

 

[bartman]

Not saying I want Warnock or Blackwell back nor their style of play. But Warnock saved us from relegation and got us competing comfortably in the championship...Coming up against very decent teams that had stronger playing staff and more money than us and we occasionally battered teams poorer than us by 3 or 4 and he eventually got us promoted to the premier league. In the promotion season we started with a 4-1 win we also beat Burnley Millwall and Southampton by similar margins.
We now have one of the strongest teams and potentially the strongest finances in the league below and I don't think a) we will finish in the top 2 b) beat many teams comfortably on the score sheet c) get promoted.

Come the end of the season and we fail to gain promotion through the playoffs....AGAIN what then, give Clough another shot at scraping past shocking teams by the odd goal and complain we didn't get the rub of the green when we draw 1-1.

He has to start getting back to back wins more clean sheets and make us look as solid as we did at the end of last season. We are far far too negative and teams like Bristol Swindon MK dons will free score their way to promotion while we claim to have dominated games but drawn...

Define 'negative' . We kept 3 consecutive clean sheets in October in the League- is that negative ? We had 3 league wins on the trot in October but only scored 5 goals. Is this negative ?

NC has tried to promote clean sheets and scoring just enough to win. He hasn't changed this philosophy from last season (we don't often score more than 2 in a game) and I can't see him changing that. It worked then so by the end of the season it might work again

What about at the end of the season we do get promoted with these tactics ? Would that be negative ? Admittedly at times we don't go 'gung-ho' to win games but there are matches where we have had dozens of chances and we just need a bit of quality up front to make a win more. Our away form has been good and the performances at Preston, Peterborough, Donny and Crewe were very good. At home we seem to start well then slow the tempo down when we don't score which appears to be the issue.

Three seasons ago we were flat track bullies. But when it came to the crunch games we lost against Oldham and Walsall when we were not 'negative' enough.(granted we had defensive absentees for the Walsall game but we lost a two goal lead at home to Oldham IIRC) Battering teams 4-0 or better does not guarantee promotion as MKD and Swindon have proved in previous seasons.

Recently,the entertainment at BDTBL has been lacking. However, with 27(?) games to go we are in with a realistic chance of automatic promotion.

A lot of fans appear to be in 'panic' mode at the moment seemingly waiting for the manager and team to fail. If you dare to look on Blades Mad their appears to be fans wanting the team and the manager to fail. I suspect by the end of December we will be in a similar position to where we are now . We will grind out wins and slowly haul in the other teams. Bristol City may well stay in the hunt as they have large resources(however they have drawn nearly a third of their games ) but PNE I'm not convinced about especially as Garner is now out. As for MKD, don't they always do OK at the start then slowly fade away ?

You are assuming we will fail to win promotion(if I have misinterpreted this I apologise). We are in close proximity to the top two with over half the season to go. I think the manager has earned a little bit more patience from fans (although I too wish we were a little more entertaining at home)

 

[Lord Bos of Eckington.]

Yes, welcome to the forum.

Can't agree with the 4-4-2 though. We saw with Rochdale and Oldham that each of those teams had a very "busy" midfield 4 - we don't possess busy midfield players. Doyle, Murphy,Flynn, Baxter are not busy players. Scoogs is, Reed could be and Wallace appears very much an all round player (when fit). Basham is busy, but even NC doesn't know his best position.

If we played 4-4-2 with a midfield of Flynn(or JCR), Doyle, Basham and Murphy as an example, we would be totally over run by younger and fitter and more committed players.

We seem set up for this slower type of passing game which needs 5 in midfield. Up top COG or Higdon is "supposed" to bring the others into the game, but up to now it has failed to materialise.

I wouldn't mind 4-4-2, you just need the right 4 to do it. Once Rochdale/Oldham start picking up injuries/suspensions/loan players returning they might struggle.

UTB

Some good posts on this thread . For someone who is very pro Mr Clough and appreciating that the ethos of the whole club is being changed in a very short period of time , my view is the issue is not the formation we play ( we do need 5 in midfield at the moment ) , it is the mental side of the players ( which is as important as physical ) , that is the problem

Mr Clough has a philosophy and attitude "to get a result " , which is working , but the 3 points for a win , can make you loose track on the pace of the teams above you , when not losing but drawing games . ( especially at home)

Confidence is contagious and we appear to lack it , in certain parts of the game

We do not yet have the knack of the general ability to perform well as a unit / team and win important home games.

We seem to lack the task of having a specific belief on passing , tackling , decision making , running a game.

Lack of confidence breeds negativity , that is why we have played poor in a number of games.

Hearing is believing and this is the side of the game , where Mr Clough has to work his magic and instil a inner belief in to the playing staff.

Patience is a form of confidence , and unfortunately us fans lack it at times , with our reaction to the players , due to desperately wanting promotion out of this league , we are stuck in.

Not much that is really wrong at the lane , as we do have the right manager , at the right time , but a little psychology could work

 

[botoble]

"Define 'negative' . We kept 3 consecutive clean sheets in October in the League- is that negative ? We had 3 league wins on the trot in October but only scored 5 goals. Is this negative ?"

Clean sheets against 10 men for half of game against Bradford even being down to 10 they hit crossbar and a worldy from howard stopped it being 1-1 before McNulty was gifted the 2nd

Yeovil and Crewe currently bottom 2 teams...

I'm suggesting we are being overly cautious/negative in our approach to some games. When maybe getting the goals, by playing real strikers in a front 2, would put a result in the bag early doors and prevent results like 1-1 at home to teams we should be beating with a team like ours.

However maybe I'm wrong and Notts county, Oldham and Barnsley are all teams we feel we need to be cautious of and that we are now at their level and we should hope to nick a 1-0 over each one. Granted Notts county have a had a good start to the season but against Sheffield United at away they should be expecting to turn up get battered by attack after attack and leave feeling they have walked away very lucky! not come away thinking apart from a spell in the 2nd half we deserved at east a point!

I think Clough has made some good signings and if he unleashed them on some lesser teams we could show intent get fans behind the team and push on for autos. I accept the 4-5-1/4-2-3-1 or whatever you want to call it which usually ends up 4-6-0 maybe right for games like this where MK dons are coming off the back of spanking Colchester or even when we play promotion rivals away from home. I just cant see why we fear average to poor 3rd tier football teams at the lane and feel playing 2 upfront would be a bad idea?

 

[Small Mendonca]

I'm not so sure he does at times. If he knew what he was doing then why are we repeatedly making the same mistakes every game? The same mistakes we've been making since pre-season.

 

[finlaytheblade]

Absolutely right. It's unfortunate if the player had no injury history (Lee Williamson springs to mind) but Wallace has never been fit enough to play half the games in a season in his entire career. There has to be a plan B when you have a player like that.

all this talk of wallace being injury prone,he,s 22 and was having a great season with tranmere top of the league that was his first full season as a first team player he came on loan to tranmere the previouse season (late in season) and they got him for a snip 2 seasons ago.He got a seriouse knee injury and tranmere fell away as he was the driving force behind the team.
he tried to come back too quickly and picked up groin problems towards the end of last season this is where we stepped in and
clough is trying to nurse him back to full fitness.He will be worth the wait as clough keeps telling us.
so lets not say he is injury prone just yet!! he is a player that will shine when we get to the championship and beyond
and getting him when we did was a good stroke of business by clough

 

[Kenilworth]

Define 'negative' . We kept 3 consecutive clean sheets in October in the League- is that negative ? We had 3 league wins on the trot in October but only scored 5 goals. Is this negative ?

Er, yes

 

[robbiez666]

I get confused how people know that Clough knows what he's doing. He might be but this season so far seems to not agree with that. From the worst pre-season in history to constantly making the same mistakes and changing the team. His track record doesn't back up the OP's post as well.

This isn't a go at Clough but a go at people who keep saying "he knows what he's doing" with such certainty. It's a bizarre conclusion based on the evidence in front of us.

 

[Bladesman]

FOUR FOUR FUCKING TWO!

 

[JasonEllis]

I get confused how people know that Clough knows what he's doing. He might be but this season so far seems to not agree with that. From the worst pre-season in history to constantly making the same mistakes and changing the team. His track record doesn't back up the OP's post as well.

This isn't a go at Clough but a go at people who keep saying "he knows what he's doing" with such certainty. It's a bizarre conclusion based on the evidence in front of us.

Agreed, it's up there next to "someone's going to get a hammering soon"...

 

[robbiez666]

FOUR FOUR FUCKING TWO!

Did you not notice him trying out striking partnerships or bringing on a CB and playing him upfront when we're 1-0 down? That's just pure genius.

 

[Bladesman]

Did you not notice him trying out striking partnerships or bringing on a CB and playing him upfront when we're 1-0 down? That's just pure genius.

Basham was injured to be fair.

Although you would have thought he would have started with 4-4-2.

 

[robbiez666]

Basham was injured to be fair.

Although you would have thought he would have started with 4-4-2.

Well, you know. Being 1-0 down with a few minutes left he might have though. "ooooo, I know, I'll bring on that big pie-eating factory I signed and said was a great striker, instead of bringing on a young CB I've already demoralize and then play him upfront. "

He really needs to look at himself in a mirror and ask himself: "what the fuck am I doing".

 

[botoble]

Define 'negative' . We kept 3 consecutive clean sheets in October in the League- is that negative ? We had 3 league wins on the trot in October but only scored 5 goals. Is this negative ?

Tell me more about how clough isn't negative...
Being slightly the better side is useless when your attack is made up of one player who is either injured, needs a man to play off, unfit or an attacking midfielder!
Clough knows what he's doing if he is planning on dragging Sheffield United into another play off campaign!
He's got a lot of rethinking to do about this predictable unimaginative too cautious blunt formation! with JCR Murphy O'Grady Flynn Scougall Baxter Higdon and McNulty we should be attacking teams not playing one up front