Do you LOVE this team?

[Swannyblade]

The love I had for the Wilder promotion teams was undeniable. A rag tag bunch of players coached to play in an innovative system that produced a sum greater than its parts, managed by a Blade and captained by a Blade. So many great stories in that team and so many players punching above their perceived weight. The bond was effortless.

The current team left me cold for a long while. Success was expected or even integral for the future of the club. Expensive players had been underperforming for large spells or absent through injury. Old stalwarts were visibly slowing down. Performances were effective, not spectacular. A good half here, a nice 20min spell there - just enough to get the required results.

However over the past couple of months, I've finally felt the love for a United team again. I think it started with the Spurs cup game - it was nice to be unfancied underdogs again, punching up and giving a bigger boy a bloody nose. The siege mentality helped after we could feel Boro breathing down our necks - us against the flow of the media narrative again. The emergence of Doyle and McAtee was an easy story to get behind - young players giving their all for the red n white is easy to admire and another unadvised love affair with loan players was blossoming. The Blackburn cup game put a spring in everyone's step, gave us a trip to Wembley to get excited about, and seemed to translate across to our league performances and build momentum. Even the cold, serious Hecky cracked and built an affinity with the fans. During the promotion celebrations the personalities of the players have come to the fore and the bond between players and fans seem to be strong again and it's good to be able to say that I love this team (finally).

 

[brownblade]

Yes.
Yes, I do.

Please stay Iliman

 

[corner_flag]

Yes I love this team and they've earned it.
And I like that they seem to really look out for each other.
we've been through a lot together

 

[Teddy]

The love I had for the Wilder promotion teams was undeniable. A rag tag bunch of players coached to play in an innovative system that produced a sum greater than its parts, managed by a Blade and captained by a Blade. So many great stories in that team and so many players punching above their perceived weight. The bond was effortless.

The current team left me cold for a long while. Success was expected or even integral for the future of the club. Expensive players had been underperforming for large spells or absent through injury. Old stalwarts were visibly slowing down. Performances were effective, not spectacular. A good half here, a nice 20min spell there - just enough to get the required results.

However over the past couple of months, I've finally felt the love for a United team again. I think it started with the Spurs cup game - it was nice to be unfancied underdogs again, punching up and giving a bigger boy a bloody nose. The siege mentality helped after we could feel Boro breathing down our necks - us against the flow of the media narrative again. The emergence of Doyle and McAtee was an easy story to get behind - young players giving their all for the red n white is easy to admire and another unadvised love affair with loan players was blossoming. The Blackburn cup game put a spring in everyone's step, gave us a trip to Wembley to get excited about, and seemed to translate across to our league performances and build momentum. Even the cold, serious Hecky cracked and built an affinity with the fans. During the promotion celebrations the personalities of the players have come to the fore and the bond between players and fans seem to be strong again and it's good to be able to say that I love this team (finally).

Well said - the exploits of the Wilder years were extraordinary (possibly never to be repeated) so the players, the togetherness and achievements from that time will live long in the memory.

But the past is the past and it shouldn’t hold us back from loving this “new” group and there’s plenty to love about them (I say new, there’s plenty of much loved faces still around and that could be around for years to come, eg. Egan and Furious).

 

[Fjortoft's Aeroplane]

I love them but nah not on the same level as the last one. Like you say.. Blade manager.. Blade captain (in great form) plus where we had been previously just before Wilder.. 6 years in League One. It was just heaven and you could make arguments for so many players to make the step up to the Prem.

This time it feels like we have a few stars that are better than last time, but then also quite a few who are past their best and are doubtful to perform well in the Prem now. Performance wise we weren't all that convincing in many games but thankfully the defence did a great job. Being connected with potential new dodgy owners the last few months hasn't helped either.

Give me just a little more time...and our love will surely grow.. (hopefully)

 

[ElephantBlade]

The love I had for the Wilder promotion teams was undeniable. A rag tag bunch of players coached to play in an innovative system that produced a sum greater than its parts, managed by a Blade and captained by a Blade. So many great stories in that team and so many players punching above their perceived weight. The bond was effortless.

The current team left me cold for a long while. Success was expected or even integral for the future of the club. Expensive players had been underperforming for large spells or absent through injury. Old stalwarts were visibly slowing down. Performances were effective, not spectacular. A good half here, a nice 20min spell there - just enough to get the required results.

However over the past couple of months, I've finally felt the love for a United team again. I think it started with the Spurs cup game - it was nice to be unfancied underdogs again, punching up and giving a bigger boy a bloody nose. The siege mentality helped after we could feel Boro breathing down our necks - us against the flow of the media narrative again. The emergence of Doyle and McAtee was an easy story to get behind - young players giving their all for the red n white is easy to admire and another unadvised love affair with loan players was blossoming. The Blackburn cup game put a spring in everyone's step, gave us a trip to Wembley to get excited about, and seemed to translate across to our league performances and build momentum. Even the cold, serious Hecky cracked and built an affinity with the fans. During the promotion celebrations the personalities of the players have come to the fore and the bond between players and fans seem to be strong again and it's good to be able to say that I love this team (finally).

Yes. In a different way to Wilder's team. I feel like we are more of a well oiled machine now. Effective and get the job done.


With Wilder it felt more like a whirlwind of wonderful chaos.

I can't put it into words very well. Derp.

 

[idleurchin]

Yes I do. I don’t love our “style” all that much, but the results speak for themselves.

 

[biggiesablade]

Any official Blades content with Coulibaly in is like my version of cute kitten videos. He's sooo pure and cute.

 

[Charlieblade]

I love the togetherness created by the lads themselves and the management team.

Those days in the pub league Reminds me of some of my early cars. Held together by duct tape and bacofoil.

The Wilder years were meteoric and innovative. I hope the current togetherness isn’t destroyed when so many of the squad move on, or take a back seat in our next EPL incarnation.

 

[DaddyDozy]

Any official Blades content with Coulibaly in is like my version of cute kitten videos. He's sooo pure and cute.

 

[Kizmet]

Do you feel entitled?
Even though we don't have the best manager
Even though you think all the players are shit
Even though we have no money for transfers
Even though we are Sheffield united and everything goes wrong for us
You still expect to turn up and beat every one and get promoted and are genuinely pissed off when we only beat teams by one goal

 

[Sanguine]

I do, but in a platonic, manly yet life affirming and wholesome way.

 

[Gavlar]

I have love for Ndaiye, Baldrick, Sharp, Anel and a few others. Nothing like the love for the last promotion team though. I love Hecky and McCall though, amazing what they have achieved.

 

[Old Programme seller]

We weren’t expecting to go up 2019 so it was a great surprise this season we were expected to gain promotion anything less would have been a disaster so there isn’t the same euphoria, next season I expect us to struggle but then again I expected us to struggle first season back last time although last time I thought we had a better equipped squad for a promoted team as we could defend better.

 

[lakedistblade]

Fell out of love with Wider pretty quick in prem when he fell in love with himself. Don’t love Hecky but have a lot of respect for him and very mixed feelings about individuals across the team. next season will sort out true blades from entitled newbies. Might not be pretty .

 

[Eza Blade]

Love the Blades, Love the team, ground and in the main the fans. But…..as a fan base we struggle to handle players that come at an expenses (Berge, Brewster) and have developed an inflated ego about expectations.

I think it’s amazing what the team has achieved, taking in to account shirecliff sniper, Dozy, T’embargo, a World Cup break, post pandemic, cost of living, extended cup run, having the biggest club in Europe on our door step and let’s not forget the court cases with Oli and Rhian. All in all bloody love em!

 

[nopigfansintown]

Anything would seem hollow compared to that team and management. A die hard Blade coaching a team from league one to the Prem with buttons with a genius, innovative style of play that nobody could cope with.

Perspective: we have a salt of the earth local guy who has worked his way up managing us. A relatable squad of players that have largely seen the ups and downs at the club - including a number of Wilder stalwarts. An exceptional academy wunderkind leading the charge. All captained by a 100% Blade that's been here since childhood. An injury record the likes we have never seen. When you factor in the boardroom turmoil seemingly trying to undermine us at every turn; it doesn't get much better than that.

 

[Bell4]

I want them , I need them - but there ain’t no way I’m ever gunna love them but dont be sad …..

 

[Boxer Blade]

For me it wasn't the spurs match where things started to change it was Sunderland away especially the first half an hour, he brought Doyle and Macatee in from the start and off we went, the fans really started to believe in the team again and got behind them.

Its funny because the fans had been wanting the two young lads in but it's rare in my opinion that the fans get it right but on this occasion the fans were right and we haven't looked back.

 

[More Bladier than thou]

I think you always have some feelings for your first love.

 

[Working Class Hero]

I think we have a likeable manager and a likeable set of players, and that's quite important to me. I'd hate for us to be one of those teams with a set of egotistical, overpaid prima donnas (see Watford).

The connection between the players and fans (me anyway) is still nowhere near at the levels of the last promotion team, but that's not their fault, there may never be another team like that.

 

[Sheffsteel]

Yes. In a different way to Wilder's team. I feel like we are more of a well oiled machine now. Effective and get the job done.


With Wilder it felt more like a whirlwind of wonderful chaos.

I can't put it into words very well. Derp.

I'd say we aren't a well oiled machine, the Wilder team was far more consistent,

The Hecky team has spells every game where we are very long ball and can't string 3 consecutive passes together
but then in the same match we have 15 minute spells where we look a good team.

The only similarities between this team and Wilders team is that both had good defences.
Think Wilder was more "a play on the front foot" manager, so we could be caught on the break
where Hecky is more Mourinho style, he's more pragmatic, it might not always look pretty but we've very effective and
have this knack of grounding out results with ease, opposition fans tend not to be impressed but our XG is always better than the opposition.

Under Hecky our defence can be quite busy, under pressure, however most matches our goalie has very little to do and hardly needs to make a save.
We attacked far more under Wilder but it was more structure, like painting by numbers.
Where as this team has higher quality players, we don't need to be playing well and don't need to attack much, then we create chances from nothing.

The Hecky and Wilder sides were very different, think I preferred the Wilder team to watch, as when we went 2-0 we'd try to go 3-0 up etc
where as this one can go 1-0 up then park the bus with ease, also think this one has a higher ceiling due to having higher quality players.

Regards the question, of course I love and appreciate this team
but love the Wilder team more because they started from league 1, took us on a journey and achieved promotion first.
The Wilder journey from bottom of league 1 to 6th place in the Premier League is the most special period I've witnessed in my 50 years supporting the Blades.