If someone were to tell you after Sarfend in August...

[SwissBlade]

Ah yes. Should stop going to bleddy fucking Statto. Great site but they don't half hate updating their tables.

Brilliant!

 

[ucandomagic]

Coutts came on at half time and everything became calmer and smoother.

Sometimes he slows the game too much when we need to drive on, but at that moment 3-0 down it was like having a cuddle from your Mum when you'd fallen off your bike.

JOC was only half way through his nightmare though. Own goal and a panic with the keeper in no time flat and still the Millwall penalty to come. My, how he has grown up from that day. Was that really the same person as the colossus who scored one and created one to avenge himself on Millwall this Tuesday?

There are many stories in our team from that day to this, but I think that in a few years time we'll be remembering this season for the emergence of a real Blades CB hero.

UTB

The Magic Is Back

 

[coaxingstar71]

I think I posted after the Southend game that if we carried on playing like that, we'd get relegated. The general play, especially before Coutts came on was simply awful, just hoofing it up with no idea. You could see in the following home game v Oxford that the tide was slowly turning and we were starting to play properly. You could sense when Wilson scored the winner how much it meant to the players and we've never looked back since.

 

[Rodley]

...that by the end of March we'd be 13 points clear of third and 10 clear of second, what would your reaction be?

Me, I'd ask them what the fuck they were smoking. I was so hyped for Wilder going into the season and I was beginning to think we'd ended up with Micky Adams Mark II. Even as someone willing to give ADKINS a chance, I was having major doubts. I was still hoping he could turn things around and get us into the playoffs, but auto was just a wild dream at that stage. The possibility of being champions by quite a large margin was summat else.

After 3 or 4 matches it was too early to form a view

 

[fuerstenberger]

What the Blades have achieved this season is truly remarkable. I remember a thread, pre season, where a contributer, who said he was a professional, saying Wilder was bringing in poor players. He predicted a relegation battle. I think Jake Wright was one of those he named. Wilder has to be applauded for creating a very good team, with some unfashionable players. I keep banging on about this, but Alan Knill's contribution can not and should not be underestimated. For me, the two are equally heroic.

 

[BushBlade]

I've realised that it's impossible to judge a team after 3 or 4 matches. I always wait until at least 10 matches into a season before I start forming an opinion.

History shows that there's loads of clubs that have had appalling starts to the season then gone on to win promotion.

I remember a few year ago I believe Norwich lost their first match of the season 6-1 to Colchester. Their manager Gunn was sacked and then they appointed Lambert who got them promoted.

I think I posted we had to give CW 10 games, for those reasons. I tended to avoid the many threads at the time saying 'we're doomed' partly because it was depressing, partly because I thought it was a bit of an overreaction (and I was close to over reacting too) and partly because I felt I'd been too generous in my defence of Adkins in the previous season. I kept saying give him time when the correct statement would have been give him the sack. But I do remember posting on one saying give him ten games. (I think that might have been with the proviso 'sack him if he's not sorted it out).

Playoffs wouldn't have surprised me. My gut feeling was that we'd make the playoffs, lose unfortunately (and possibly controversially) and then smash the league next season once Wilder had cleared out all the 'crap' (like Coutts and Freeman!). So I was both 'almost right' and 'completely wrong' at the same time. That's what the Blades do to you.

 

[Boxer Blade]

Iwas excited at getting rid ofadkins, who wasn't? But was I particularly excited about wilder coming? No I wasn't, in fact was more excited at the signing of Adkins 12 months previous, I was pleased to give him a go but for me there was too much " he's a blade" just goes to show, as I have said previously, in 10 years time this will go down as one of our best, hopefully we will also be saying it's where it all started

 

[Tray]

I've realised that it's impossible to judge a team after 3 or 4 matches. I always wait until at least 10 matches into a season before I start forming an opinion.

History shows that there's loads of clubs that have had appalling starts to the season then gone on to win promotion.

I remember a few year ago I believe Norwich lost their first match of the season 6-1 to Colchester. Their manager Gunn was sacked and then they appointed Lambert who got them promoted.

I think it was even 7-1! Conceding 7 on the opening day, so they nicked the opposition's manager. Brilliant.

Can you imagine if we had sacked Wilder and hired Phil Brown because we lost to them near the start of the season!

Luckily I was away for the Southend game, but I just had a sinking feeling that we wouldn't see the top half of League One for some time, never mind the Championship.

As it happens I was in Dublin so I got suitable pissed to forget about it all.

I'm not exactly known for my correct predictions, so I'm over the moon to be wrong once again

 

[Silent Blade]

I remember a few year ago I believe Norwich lost their first match of the season 6-1 to Colchester. Their manager Gunn was sacked and then they appointed Lambert who got them promoted.

It was 7-1

Norwich won 5-0 in the return match

2009-10 season

 

[blade too long]

after millwall game one we were bottom after millwall game 2 we were top by 7 points

quite a transformation



shows early games can be deceptive