I hope we never become like Manchester City

[JJ Sefton]

Those comments remind me of the SW fans who when it looks like they’ve blown promotion
all of a sudden don’t want to be promoted because the “real/ proper football” is in the Championship.

Go on the Norwich forum....now that it looks like they’ll be relegated more and more of their fans are saying they prefer the Championship.
They say the PL is all hype and false with no competition.....where the real game is at Championship level.

If the Saudi Royal Family announce that they will support the Prince and invest millions in Sheff Utd starting with a state of the art training ground and 42,000 expanded stadium. You can bet 99% of Blades would be really happy....some might suggest we could become like Man City and 99% will respond “bring it on”.

I have to admit that for a short period after the ref incident yesterday I did miss the Championship. It’s less crooked.

 

[bibbity bobbity boo]

Since CWAK took over I have genuinely expected to win every week.

 

[robbiez666]

I went to see Man City vs Barnsley at Oakwell once. On Halloween. When Stuart Pearce was there. I sat in the City end (went with a fan of each) and they were 3-0 by half time and started singing "You should have gone trick or treating" at them.

 

[GRUMPY BLADE]

It’s a difficult one is this.

Assume this upward trajectory we are on continues.

And continues, and continues .

Would you be prepared to jump off the train, just as it’s about to arrive at trophy town ??

I think that for clubs to move forward in the modern world there is, at the very least, an element of soul selling to be done.

As long as it’s not to the devil, most of us will stay on the train and enjoy the ride / view .

UTB

Just as long as no fucker puts VAR in the guards van eh?

 

[maidmarion]

I'm sure the older fans can cheer themselves up reminiscing about the late 90s when they were scuffling about in league 1 like we did.
And then they will remember how shit it was and be glad that they have a mega corp of "City football" backing them now.

I think you would get the odd few that wish they were still at Main Rd.

But could we do a man city and have huge Saudi backing but stay at BL and keep our dentity?

Can go further back than that........
However, do agree about the Premiership....it is so phoney ,but if you want the money you have to pay a price.
Similarly, coverage is worldwide.....success such as the sort that Man City etc gets means that they will get lots of supporters from overseas. It goes with the territory.
At the moment we have a capacity of just over 30,0000, if we were to expand , then it would mean more spare tickets for casual supporters, however it is those supporters that would probably spend money in the shop, on the concourse etc.
We can't have success without the evils of the Premiership.....

 

[georgebernardshaw]

Good point......and I feel the same about a move away from Bramall Lane.
However im under the impression that most stadium moves have been a success.
For example would Sunderland fans rather be at a modernised Roker Park or the stadium of light...I believe they prefer the SOL.

I think a lot depends on the actual stadium. Bramall has a city centre location, loads of pubs and amenities and never had serious parking issues like at Hillsboro.
Unlike most other stadiums Bramall Lane has too much to lose if SU ever moved....the positives of a move wouldn’t outweigh the negatives.

Did you ever hear the Roker Roar? I have four nephews, all SAFC season ticket holders, who would have liked to, but had to rely on their old man’s description of it. Stadium of Light is good when full, soulless when half full.

Roker Park was magical.

 

[ForgeBlade]

I totally agree. I dream of one day winning something. Even if it’s the league cup. Should we ever win the FA Cup then I will die a very happy man. That one day in the sun, that’s all I want. That one day. It’s the struggle to get to that win.

How would I feel if we were winning things every season? Surely it doesn’t become as special.

Should my beloved Blades ever win anything. The team would be hero’s, having celebratory dinners 30 years later. Fans talking about a special team etc.

I’d prefer it like that.

Can you imagine winning trophies every year? You’d get to the point where you’d forgot one surely.

So in short. I couldn’t agree more. I prefer our match day experience coupled with the struggle of one day winning something. It’s what makes it special.

Should we even make it to the FA Cup final I recon I’d be in floods of tears at “abide with me” even before the bloody match had started.

Agree with all this, but especially the last bit. I'd love to see us in the cup final, just once. I too would be in absolute pieces at "abide with me," there's just something about hearing the crowd sing that on cup final day that cuts to my soul.

 

[Bart the Blade]

Went to the Match yesterday, a friend invited me and the good lady to join in his corporate box. There are seats in the stand next to the fancy bar bit. It was a great experience overall. I was enormously proud of blades fans, as per normal in full voice. The home end you could have heard a pin drop. It was a bit surprising as arguably they have a deal more to be singing about. By the end I just wanted to walk over and sit in the away tiers. Great ground, great facilities. No passion.

 

[TJ blade]

Clappers though

I agree. I don't want the clap.. sorry clappers

 

[Cerberus Blade]

Obviously over the last decade, Man City have won trophy after trophy, have arguably the World’s best Manager and squad of players, but are their older fans truly happy? Hear me out here.

Got off the tram at the Etihad yesterday and walked towards the away entrance but felt more like I was at a Christmas market than a football match. Tourists taking selfies, Hot Dog stands etc (Sadly I didn’t get to see the player catwalk thing). It was anything but the intimidation factor you usually feel walking through masses of home fans pre game. Inside the ground, the stadium had the atmosphere of a morgue.

They’ve sold their soul. They’ve truly become the definition of the sanitised, Premier League commercialism of today. It’s sad to see as they used to be a traditional, working class club, like us. Now they have a squad of players with no connection to Manchester, bar Phil Foden who barely plays.

Sure, it must be great to watch your team winning everything, but for me the novelty would wear off very quickly. Don’t think I’d even enjoy going to games expecting to win every week. There’s much more to football than that.

I hope we never, ever become like them. I think I’d stop going. I can’t be alone thinking that, surely?

I don’t mind the razzamataz that comes with it tbh. I think the live band at the stadium and live analysis of the game, pre and post-match, is a good reason for fans to hang around and spend money. That’s got to be good for the club.

The thing that struck me most of all, whilst queuing for the Metro back to Piccadilly, was the number of foreigners in Man City gear and half and half scarves! I don’t think that’s a bad thing, far from it, it shows they are attracting a wide international fan base - again, that’s good for the club. But I was amazed at how many they were. I heard more foreign accents and languages than English ones.

There was about half a dozen on the Metro next to me speaking in what sounded like Russian. Not that I speak Russian but I’ve got a good ear for foreign languages and I can spot Russian quite easily. It sounds like my cassette recorder tapes used to sound when they got tangled and use to play backwards.

 

[GRUMPY BLADE]

I don’t mind the razzamataz that comes with it tbh. I think the live band at the stadium and live analysis of the game, pre and post-match, is a good reason for fans to hang around and spend money. That’s got to be good for the club.

The thing that struck me most of all, whilst queuing for the Metro back to Piccadilly, was the number of foreigners in Man City gear and half and half scarves! I don’t think that’s a bad thing, far from it, it shows they are attracting a wide international fan base - again, that’s good for the club. But I was amazed at how many they were. I heard more foreign accents and languages than English ones.

There was about half a dozen on the Metro next to me speaking in what sounded like Russian. Not that I speak Russian but I’ve got a good ear for foreign languages and I can spot Russian quite easily. It sounds like my cassette recorder tapes used to sound when they got tangled and use to play backwards.

Or the were from Withenshaw and thi hearings gone?

 

[tomtheblade]

Two sides to this.

There were some on here who said they didn't want to see us in the Prem: The experience would become sanitised, it would be too corporate, but most of all because it wouldn't be fun getting thrashed on a regular basis and resorting to dull, defensive football in order to survive every year.

And yet. Here we are. More Bladey than ever, 8th in the league, holding our own. Fans of other clubs jealous of our strong identity allied to fantastic football.

It can be done. It's possible to grow and keep our identity, strengthen it even. You can't tell me when we were struggling in L1 that it was a better atmosphere at the club? Everyone was at each others throats over differences in what they thought was the best way to save a club that was rotten from the inside.

All the things the OP discusses are real dangers, but they are traps: Building or developing a soulless stadium, over-prioritising foreign markets compared to local support, relying on massive transfer fees over steady and smart investment. As the club continues to do well it will be more difficult to avoid these traps, but, I think they are avoidable. I think we've shown that so far.

 

[Scarebus]

I don’t mind the razzamataz that comes with it tbh. I think the live band at the stadium and live analysis of the game, pre and post-match, is a good reason for fans to hang around and spend money. That’s got to be good for the club.

I thought the build up to kick off was fantastic, genuinely enjoyed all the pomp, especially the 5 minutes before with the team intro, but it failed to create any atmosphere what so ever.

 

[KiwiBlabe]

If we were to achieve Man City levels of success organically, keeping the club as it is now, then it’s a totally different story. But how realistic is that?

If it happened after being taken over by multi-billionaires, with a squad of multi-millionaires I felt no connection with, moving from the Lane to a giant soulless bowl filled with iPad-wielding tourists, then that’d a be a different incarnation of Sheffield United. One that after the first couple of years/trophies, I genuinely think for me, the novelty would wear off and the trophies would become commodity items. I’d be wishing we were back at Lane amongst familiar faces.

Others will disagree and would happily sell our soul for success and that’s fine.

Totally agree with this.

 

[HillmortonBlade]

My second Blades game, and my first with Lady HB, was a 4-2 win over Manchester City. They have lived in our shadow ever since.

 

[Keef Chedwyn]

I agree. I don't want the clap again.. sorry clappers

Amended

 

[Lawrence]

Good point......and I feel the same about a move away from Bramall Lane.
However im under the impression that most stadium moves have been a success.
For example would Sunderland fans rather be at a modernised Roker Park or the stadium of light...I believe they prefer the SOL.

I think a lot depends on the actual stadium. Bramall has a city centre location, loads of pubs and amenities and never had serious parking issues like at Hillsboro.
Unlike most other stadiums Bramall Lane has too much to lose if SU ever moved....the positives of a move wouldn’t outweigh the negatives.

It also has a Footballing history, a legacy second to none, so it would be stupid to move and throw all that away!

 

[YES Blade]

I thought the build up to kick off was fantastic, genuinely enjoyed all the pomp, especially the 5 minutes before with the team intro, but it failed to create any atmosphere what so ever.

It’s all relative, I bet the Etihad is rocking for a Manchester Derby or a big Champions League night. Playing against a newly promoted team, no matter how well we are doing isn’t going to generate a great atmosphere when you expect your team to win 90% of the time.

It’s similar to when we were in League One, we played teams like Fleetwood, Northampton, Rochdale, Burton etc. all teams we rightly expected to beat at home. It wasn’t an electric atmosphere from minute one and you wouldn’t expect it to be either. It was a case of the players creating a great atmosphere by putting in a performance (or not depending on who was the manager).

 

[Cerberus Blade]

Two sides to this.

There were some on here who said they didn't want to see us in the Prem: The experience would become sanitised, it would be too corporate, but most of all because it wouldn't be fun getting thrashed on a regular basis and resorting to dull, defensive football in order to survive every year.

And yet. Here we are. More Bladey than ever, 8th in the league, holding our own. Fans of other clubs jealous of our strong identity allied to fantastic football.

It can be done. It's possible to grow and keep our identity, strengthen it even. You can't tell me when we were struggling in L1 that it was a better atmosphere at the club? Everyone was at each others throats over differences in what they thought was the best way to save a club that was rotten from the inside.

All the things the OP discusses are real dangers, but they are traps: Building or developing a soulless stadium, over-prioritising foreign markets compared to local support, relying on massive transfer fees over steady and smart investment. As the club continues to do well it will be more difficult to avoid these traps, but, I think they are avoidable. I think we've shown that so far.

I think you make some really good points. I heard from many Blades fans, not just on here, that they'd be quite happy to stay in the Championship and weren't bothered about going to the Prem - and getting beat every other week was the main reason. Some fans were happy for things to stay as they were.

The problem with this approach is that things won't stay as they are. Things never stay as they are in fact. They evolve. Things are changing all the time.

In football terms the big change and evolution over recent years has been the amount of money pouring into the game. That's brought many benefits, but ultimately it creates a situation where, if you're not competing in the Prem, you are getting further adrift of it every season. And there's a huge financial risk in that. Most Championship clubs are posting big losses every year. It's not really sustainable to carry on like that indefinitely.

To some extent I agree that we need to be cautious about over-stretching ourselves with ambitious development plans for the club. But, I don't necessarily agree that all the things you mention are "traps". I think if we make moderate increases to the capacity of our stadium - and market the club well - we can increase revenues without taking undue risks. I also think that developing our club as a brand overseas is really important. I don't know if you saw the article on the BBC website last year, but it stated that half the clubs in the Prem do not need supporters to actually come to watch the game live at all anymore - because they aren't dependent on the revenues from gate money. It's a piddling amount compared to the revenues that they make elsewhere. The same article also said that of the clubs in the Championship, Sheffield United were more dependent on gate receipts than any other.

No one wants to see a day where football is played behind closed doors and only accessible to a "pay per view" TV audience. But, we have to evolve our club to take advantage of changes in the environment we are in. We can't just stay as we were. So to me it's about anticipating change and taking advantage of it, rather than resisting it and being disadvantaged by it.

 

[TAMUS]

It is Manchester City or Man City , not City this and City that , they were not even the original City , great little set-up mind .

 

[lakedistblade]

This season might be peak bladeyness , fantastically achieving underdogs. Low budgets, a settled team of British isles journey men and episodes of immense pride watching games beating Arsenal , matching Chelsea , Liverpool and Man City and yes enjoying the media recognition. I don't support united for success , I have no choice becuase of my upbringing. This is what it's all about and I don't want it to change. Probably in a few years we will have parted with the likes of Egan, Baldock, Basham and Billy but for me this will have been the golden time of pride, identifying with the team and delight in our relative success i.e. Peak bladeyness. We ve got it better than those man ciity fans.

 

[YES Blade]

Got off the tram at the Etihad yesterday and walked towards the away entrance but felt more like I was at a Christmas market than a football match. Tourists taking selfies, Hot Dog stands etc (Sadly I didn’t get to see the player catwalk thing). It was anything but the intimidation factor you usually feel walking through masses of home fans pre game. Inside the ground, the stadium had the atmosphere of a morgue.

They’ve sold their soul. They’ve truly become the definition of the sanitised, Premier League commercialism of today. It’s sad to see as they used to be a traditional, working class club, like us. Now they have a squad of players with no connection to Manchester, bar Phil Foden who barely plays.

I’ll probably get shouted down for this view, but why should a football club in 2020 be a local club for local fans? Maybe it’s my age or liberal views, but why should anyone feel the slightest bit intimidated going to a football match?

We should surely welcome fans from all corners of the globe if they want to watch Sheffield United play? I’m not saying fill the Kop with tourists, but why not sections of the Lane End Upper Tier? Or John Street? Surely we want a welcoming atmosphere around the ground where families and tourists can come to matches and enjoy a great day out?

I’m not saying fans can’t go to the pub and have a few, but that’s probably what City fans do. Drink elsewhere and get a tram/bus/taxi to the stadium.

As for players with connections to Manchester, who really cares? We’ve got one player from Sheffield and he hardly plays either, yes Wilder is a Blade but he’s manager on merit and him being from Sheffield is a bonus. We don’t recruit or keep managers based on where they are from or who they support.

I just think lots of people of all ages, races, nationalities, religions, genders, sexualities (think I covered everyone!!!) enjoy football. Just because some like the working class, go to the pub and swear at ref type atmosphere doesn’t mean everyone will. We need to move on from the view that this is the only way to enjoy football. We should be able to cater for everyone that wants to come and enjoy football in whatever way gives them the most enjoyment. (even if that’s taking fucking selfies! )