Good post by Hoppo 1978 on Bladesmad

[William Henry Foulkes]

He was talking about what Adkins said last night. We must give a lot of backing to our team throughout the season


He also spent the full evening going on about positivity and everyone pulling together from the fans to the staff to the team. He talked about how when he used to come to Bramall Lane as a player and a manager the tactics were always "keep it tight and a clean sheet for half an hour and then the fans will get frustrated and turn on the team and then the players will be affected and we can then get on top".

In my option that is why it is important that we all remain positive at the match and even in pubs, on social media and fans forums. Negativity is like a cancer and spreads, ultimately down to the team and impacts likelihood of success. Lendegoey has been riddled with negativity cancer for years. Certain people are naturally more negative in life I suppose. Take Len again and his only comment was to pick out the biggest negative in my initial post and exploit on it (even though it was a mistake and an incorrectly overegged figure given by Adkins which he regretted immediately). Instead of looking at the good points and referencing them he looks for the stuff to moan about. He and other overly critical and negative fans are part of the problem. If we can get a few more fans thinking positively about the season we can get the momentum building that Adkins keeps referencing and who knows where it could take us.

Wholeheartedly agree. The only thing I'd add is positive does not equate to uncritical. If there are criticisms they need to be realistic, constructive, and with the best interests of the club in mind.

 

[William Henry Foulkes]

It's not about the crowd turning, really.

Must be the fans fault that we are playing our 5th consecutive season in division 3. Shame on us eh?

Adkins said as an opposition manager he used the crowd against the team. He used the crowd against the team. This isn't any great insight, it's a tactic employed wherever football is played.

Isn't it just blindingly obvious that fans can negatively (and positively) affect the performance of the team?

How is this even a question?

I don't particularly want BDTBL to transform into an unquestioning utopia of happiness and joy regardless of what's going on on the pitch, but if fans do have a go at the team there are obvious negative consequences.

 

[Silent Blade]

right i'm going to backtrack slightly
the OP made some useful points but then spoiled his argument by having a dig at the supposed 'moaners'

Excuse me, I have just re-read my OP. The first two sentences were my own words and the rest was copied from Hoppo 1978 on BM. How did I spoil my argument when you said I was having a dig at the supposed moaners (I cant find the dig myself)

 

[Bladesway]

That's not moaning to me. That's debating and expressing concern. You've just created a straw man.

In some cases yes but you can normally name the people who will wade in with exaggerations about how we must sign someone this very minute. You have to wonder if by someone they mean anyone. I'd prefer to wait and see.

 

[itsinyerblood]

In some cases yes but you can normally name the people who will wade in with exaggerations about how we must sign someone this very minute. You have to wonder if by someone they mean anyone. I'd prefer to wait and see.

Just to underline Bladesway's point. We do possess a strain of poster who tends to use immediacy as their barometer. So we have a new manager, thus he should have signed those two vital center-halves, that one dominating midfielder, and the forward we've craved, all within 72 hours of getting his feet under his desk. It's as if the rules of real life are suspended when it comes to Sheffield United. Everything Adkins has said so far makes sense. He'll assess the squad, when he's been able to assess each player, then he'll be in a far stronger position to make decisions about who stays and who leaves. None of this will happen in training. The only way Adkins will be able to tell who's worth retaining is in real game situations..........or has Adkins said something completely different to the above that I've missed?

 

[metalblade]

Well said.

I'm afraid the problem with the "moaners" I have in mind (I have a different phrase for them that I'm not allowed to use) is that they want to have their cake and eat it. They will fight to the death for the right to moan; free rein to abuse and insult, for example, Nigel Clough but hugely intolerant of the rights of others to challenge their views. We have a graphic example at #53. There are no more than half a dozen of them. Coming soon to a Saturday Shoutbox near you...

Pot kettle and black etc spring to mind I very rarely post in the shoutbox, nor has teacher rapped my knuckles with the ruler due to abusing others in the shoutbox and then carrying on the same old crap in the main forum. Just saying like

 

[Blade58]

Good post. I've reported one or two points elsewhere before I read it.

Personally I have egg on my face because I insisted last season that Done couldn't be injured because he was on the bench some 6/7 times. Still don't understand how he was on the bench when he was unfit, but it seems we might be without him this season because of it.

Woody, where's it been reported we might be without Done this season because of injury?

I know he's injured at the moment, but not seen any reports to suggest he may not be back in due course

 

[BushBlade]

Just to underline Bladesway's point. We do possess a strain of poster who tends to use immediacy as their barometer. So we have a new manager, thus he should have signed those two vital center-halves, that one dominating midfielder, and the forward we've craved, all within 72 hours of getting his feet under his desk. It's as if the rules of real life are suspended when it comes to Sheffield United. Everything Adkins has said so far makes sense. He'll assess the squad, when he's been able to assess each player, then he'll be in a far stronger position to make decisions about who stays and who leaves. None of this will happen in training. The only way Adkins will be able to tell who's worth retaining is in real game situations..........or has Adkins said something completely different to the above that I've missed?

I suspect that before a NA gets to sign a lot of players he'll have to give the board a full appraisal of what we currently have. Who he can use, who he can't and why. I think the board will accept obvious weaknesses such as a lack of senior centre halfs and lack of strength in depth of wide players, hence Woolford, but we have a lot of players in other positions and the board will want to know why he can't use them.

We've got a number of forgotten men; Cuvelier, McGahey, Higdon, Wallace and kids who may be able to contribute. If NA can get a couple of those playing and continue the development of Reed, Adams, De Girolamo and possibly others, we're only a couple of players short of a good squad.

The players we need have to be first teamers so NA has to get it right; we have neither the time nor the money to get it wrong so it makes sense to take as much time as needed.

We're already a tight squad and I doubt we'll bring in more than four. We don't need a full pre-season to blend them in.

 

[Woodwardfan]

Woody, where's it been reported we might be without Done this season because of injury?

I know he's injured at the moment, but not seen any reports to suggest he may not be back in due course

No, my careless wording, he's not fit to train properly as yet, but not season threatening as far as I know. Adkins mentioned his problems last Thursday night.

 

[Woodwardfan]

wow.. so it was the fans fault all along.. maybe some of the bigger blades can knock some of the moaners into shape then..

btw i can't believe NA said that. i'd like to see the transcript first.. otherwise it is just the same suspects knocking the fans on here.. btw i'll put this in capitals to save bandwidth
JUST BECAUSE I MOAN ON HERE DOESN'T MEAN I MOAN AT THE SHIRT WHEN THE GAME IS ON

He said it, but it's only par for the course when playing away at a bigger club. It is true that there is extra pressure at the big club and it is true that the crowd at any big club will start to get anxious if the team is not well on top after half an hour or so. Just a fact of life and certainly the case at Bramall Lane, we all know that.

 

[Woodwardfan]

Excuse me, I have just re-read my OP. The first two sentences were my own words and the rest was copied from Hoppo 1978 on BM. How did I spoil my argument when you said I was having a dig at the supposed moaners (I cant find the dig myself)

Silent, you stuck your head above the parapet and penned an OP. This is what happens on here when you do that. Don't be put off, it's a good thread and we all learn different angles from it.

 

[Blade58]

No, my careless wording, he's not fit to train properly as yet, but not season threatening as far as I know. Adkins mentioned his problems last Thursday night.

ah right, good and cheers

 

[wizadry]

When our support is good it's really good and has quite often as the saying goes been the twelth man on many occasions, alternatively, when we start to get on the players back it can sometimes show in their performances, i say we because that's just how it is.

I think they should take the rough with the smooth and get the fuck on with it. The team play well and get paid for it, the team under perform, play shite and they still get paid the same, we don't get to pay less just because they play shite, what should happen is they all should man up and stop looking for excuses when the chips are down.

What Adkins said should really come naturally and all we as fans can do is try to help the team as much as we can, admittedly, at times last season that was hard to do but we're moving on from that now and look forward to a succesful season. Ultimately, as players, they should roll their sleeves up and give the fans that give the most grief to them less or nothing to moan about, that way they won't get berated half as much, we shouldn't stop discussing our faults on here though, i'm pretty sure that's a part of the reason this forum exists.

Roughly 2,000 Blades at Ilkeston for a friendly game so i don't think we need to worry too much about being United.

 

[William Henry Foulkes]

Roughly 2,000 Blades at Ilkeston for a friendly game

Is this an eye-witness account? Blade's estimate 2000, local plod estimate 43?

 

[wizadry]

Is this an eye-witness account? Blade's estimate 2000, local plod estimate 43?

It's an estimate WHF but there certainly wasn't many Ilkeston fans there by the looks of it.