Is Europe realistic ?

[SK10Blade]

F.a. Cup anyone? When I was a kid that was the dream, to play at Wembley in the F,A. Cup final, it's lost some of the glamour but could this be tye season to have a go? Not sure Wilder/Knill would see it but could be a way to get into Europe

My sentiments exactly, been waiting for it to happen for 60 years.

 

[Sheffsteel]

Unfortunately football is a bit like investments - past performance is not always an indicator of future performance.

See what you mean and long term....without Wilder I agree....nothing is certain in football.
but Under Wilder we have been incredibly consistent, week in week out, for 3 years .
Regards investments I’d say Sheff United with Wilder in charge are gold.

 

[TCsLoveChild]

While I’m not sure the added workload of the Europa League would be good for us next year I would love it just to see the pain etching itself across the faces of the South Barnsley Grunters. they literally wouldn’t be able to be cope with the pain UTB

 

[BushBlade]

See what you mean and long term....without Wilder I agree....nothing is certain in football.
but Under Wilder we have been incredibly consistent, week in week out, for 3 years .
Regards investments I’d say Sheff United with Wilder in charge are gold.

Get ready for the investors to explain why gold isn’t always a good investment


The way I see it is, teams won’t underestimate us second time round, we’ll suffer a bit from minor injuries and we’ll play teams with a lot to fight for, either European places or to stay in the PL. I don’t think we’ll have a massive dip, just the occasional wobble.

 

[gordoncharles]

Thinking about qualification for the Europa League at this stage is over-reach - and I'm understating it saying that.

If we're still in the FA Cup in February, and have accumulated enough points, I'd like to see us at least take a shot at the cup. Even though we all realise it's a much devalued competition these days it's still actual silverware.

But qualifying for Europe based on League position (and with all those extra games in Belarus, Ukraine and Azerbaijan)? It's great to be excited, but FFS be realistic..

 

[blade.i.am]

We’ve been lucky with injuries and suspensions so far, I doubt that will last a whole season. In addition, some of the teams we’ve beaten (Arsenal, Tottenham, Everton) May be better second time round under new management. Let’s be happy with the prospect of finishing mid-table having not been involved in a relegation battle as so many predicted we would.

 

[FallowfieldBlade]

7th doesn't guarantee Europa League. Wolves got in because Man City (who won both cups) had already qualified for the Champs League. Only 5th gets access to the Europa League.

Man Utd finished 6th but qualified because City had won the League Cup. They would have had to go through Europa League qualifiers but because City then won the FA Cup too, it fast-tracked Man U straight to the group stage and presented Wolves with the qualifier route.

Finishing 7th will only help if Top 4 clubs win both cups. Or if 5th/6th place win the Europa League

I know but it is unlikely that a team outside the top 7 will win the fa cup

 

[The Vicar]

No thank you, our squad is too small to compete in Europe & the PL. Maybe in 2 seasons if we are still here.

Lets not get ahead of ourselves!

 

[mattbianco1]

I know but it is unlikely that a team outside the top 7 will win the fa cup

Its the top 5 that you want to win it so they can filter the spot to 6th and 7th.

This week's League cup (quarter finals) features only 3 teams who would give up the Europa League spot (currently)

 

[bartman]

Take away the top 3 but why not the rest? Battered Spurs/Man U/Wolves and Chelski 2nd half.

and we got four points from them as we aren't clinical enough up front. This is why 10th would be a great achievement

 

[Antonb]

Spurs and Man U won’t play as badly second time around. We have been a touch lucky that the so called bigger teams haven’t been as good this season. Not knocking how well we are doing, I’m loving it! But we are not on there level.

 

[Pittsburg Blade]

If we finish below Palace we’d be relegated, they’re absolutely bobbar!

Fortunately, we won’t finish below them.

Palace and Brighton both looked shiite yesterday. Long may it continue.

 

[Pittsburg Blade]

No chance of Europe sorry. There was a vote, remember?

 

[itsinyerblood]

T'would be nice.....but as much as I'd love us to go for global domination - I jest of course, in case you suddenly imagine that was said in all seriousness - I'm also grounded enough to realise that, not only are we doing exceptionally well and deservedly so, but we need to add quality recruits in able to consolidate our place in the Premier Division.

The plaudits that Chris Wilder and Alan Knill deserve cannot be minimised, or described as anything less than phenomenal given the resources that they've had ever since they became our management team. In three seasons we've risen from the bottom of Division 1 to the heights of the Premier Division. Personally I try to remain considered and aware of where we are and where we might end up. There are many vital ingredients that need to be considered if we're to remain in this division, investment in our training facilities, something that Wilder has repeated more than once, plus the recruitment of quality additions to our squad.

The truth is, we're after the same players that other clubs are attracted to, so goal scorers, great defenders, top class goalkeepers, and the sort of midfielders that have great engines allied to great technical gifts, in short two players for each position. To make that possible we'll need to pay wages that are comparable to clubs that have remained in this division for many, many seasons. I should add, I'll always want us to employ fiscal intelligence where wage structures are concerned, but there's an inevitability in all of this if we're to progress and become an even better team than we already are. It won't happen immediately, and if we can find two or three gems from the lower divisions we'll all be delighted, but we'll also have to broaden our net to look at players already with Prem teams, and then of course there are players who are signed to clubs in Europe or further afield, like Japan for example.

A lot to consider I'm aware, but we need to plan for the present and the future. What gives me an underlying confidence is the fact that our manager is top draw, a fact that some pundits are gradually coming round to appreciate, while one or two, Garth Crooks being the outstanding example of someone who has little or no appreciation of what it is we're about as a club, seem incapable of seeing what's before their eyes.....oh well, their loss.

 

[SouthEssexBlade]

T'would be nice.....but as much as I'd love us to go for global domination - I jest of course, in case you suddenly imagine that was said in all seriousness - I'm also grounded enough to realise that, not only are we doing exceptionally well and deservedly so, but we need to add quality recruits in able to consolidate our place in the Premier Division.

The plaudits that Chris Wilder and Alan Knill deserve cannot be minimised, or described as anything less than phenomenal given the resources that they've had ever since they became our management team. In three seasons we've risen from the bottom of Division 1 to the heights of the Premier Division. Personally I try to remain considered and aware of where we are and where we might end up. There are many vital ingredients that need to be considered if we're to remain in this division, investment in our training facilities, something that Wilder has repeated more than once, plus the recruitment of quality additions to our squad.

The truth is, we're after the same players that other clubs are attracted to, so goal scorers, great defenders, top class goalkeepers, and the sort of midfielders that have great engines allied to great technical gifts, in short two players for each position. To make that possible we'll need to pay wages that are comparable to clubs that have remained in this division for many, many seasons. I should add, I'll always want us to employ fiscal intelligence where wage structures are concerned, but there's an inevitability in all of this if we're to progress and become an even better team than we already are. It won't happen immediately, and if we can find two or three gems from the lower divisions we'll all be delighted, but we'll also have to broaden our net to look at players already with Prem teams, and then of course there are players who are signed to clubs in Europe or further afield, like Japan for example.

A lot to consider I'm aware, but we need to plan for the present and the future. What gives me an underlying confidence is the fact that our manager is top draw, a fact that some pundits are gradually coming round to appreciate, while one or two, Garth Crooks being the outstanding example of someone who has little or no appreciation of what it is we're about as a club, seem incapable of seeing what's before their eyes.....oh well, their loss.

Yes, but when Boris declares war on everything south of Dover, where does that leave us?

 

[itsinyerblood]

Yes, but when Boris declares war on everything south of Dover, where does that leave us?

Killjoy you'll have to excuse the absence of certain characters, old keyboard that I need to replace.

We've probably got a minimum of 10 years of Tory guff, lies, and self-righteous bollocks served up by Boris and the insidious Cummings. Good piece in yesterday's Guardian by Emily Bell about the Tory strategy to keep people in perpetual doubt about what truth is. She wrote, 'Invert the truth, discredit the press. This has traditionally been the playbook of dictators, but it is also adopted by politicians in democracies as an effective tactic to advance their own agendas'.....don't know about you mate, but that rings true to me.

 

[SouthEssexBlade]

Killjoy you'll have to excuse the absence of certain characters, old keyboard that I need to replace.

We've probably got a minimum of 10 years of Tory guff, lies, and self-righteous bollocks served up by Boris and the insidious Cummings. Good piece in yesterday's Guardian by Emily Bell about the Tory strategy to keep people in perpetual doubt about what truth is. She wrote, 'Invert the truth, discredit the press. This has traditionally been the playbook of dictators, but it is also adopted by politicians in democracies as an effective tactic to advance their own agendas'.....don't know about you mate, but that rings true to me.

lies, damned lies and then the politicians. Wilder in Europe might be a scary thought for them, telling it as it is.

 

[itsinyerblood]

lies, damned lies and then the politicians. Wilder in Europe might be a scary thought for them, telling it as it is.

He's a good 'un is Chris. You don't have to agree with him, but he's never less than sincere and most times he addresses the facts rather than someone's fantasy.

Think we landed on our feet the day we appointed him manager.

 

[BiggerBladeThanThou]

Well I for one am not going to keep my head down and only celebrate everything when we’re mathematically safe, what a boring life that would be. I don’t condition anything I say by those cunts at swillsbrough, I only say what I think or see and as it stands, right now, we have a realistic chance of finishing in the top 7, why is that so hard to accept?

Fuck the pigs, they’re an irrelevance to us.

Celebrate things, go wild when we win, fuck it celebrate when we draw, like we all do - me included. Youre talking about European football which means you're jumping ahead by over half a season. We haven't got to this position by having this sort of big bollocks attitude. Sir Chris being the biggest purveyor of the phrase "one game at a time"....

 

[wizadry]

Celebrate things, go wild when we win, fuck it celebrate when we draw, like we all do - me included. Youre talking about European football which means you're jumping ahead by over half a season. We haven't got to this position by having this sort of big bollocks attitude. Sir Chris being the biggest purveyor of the phrase "one game at a time"....

It’s not a big bollocks attitude, it’s showing confidence in our team and saying they’re good enough as it stands to qualify for Europe, I’m pretty sure that if you asked Sir Chris Wilder the question in private he’d say why can’t we?

The question wouldn’t be asked with one game to go with us sitting in 3rd place or 13th, it then wouldn’t be a question that could be answered as it would already be resolved, at least this sparks debate.

I very rarely celebrate a draw by the way and I’m also certain Sir Chris doesn’t, unless the circumstances allow it.

I just wish people would not portray Blades of a pigs mentality when we all know it’s bollocks and they’re deluded as fuck, they’d be expecting Europe as a cast iron certainty from here, where as we are simply saying we have a chance and fancy achieving it. Fuck the pigs anyway.

 

[Carlton Blade]

I think 50 points is much more likely than 60.

 

[SelbyBlade]

We have to keep our eyes on the league. Although we have done very well, every team will have experienced our tactics after we play "Citeh". They can't do anything about innovation like Bash's back heel and Didzy's overhead flick to Fleck, but they can do a Newcastle in terms of setting up against us and exploiting our mistakes. So I think we have to fight for every point / 3 points we can get and hope it's enough to stay up. Hopefully we will have enough innovation to keep picking up points. If we get to 40 points in the next couple of months then we can look at other possibilities but not until we are safe.

 

[BiggerBladeThanThou]

It’s not a big bollocks attitude, it’s showing confidence in our team and saying they’re good enough as it stands to qualify for Europe, I’m pretty sure that if you asked Sir Chris Wilder the question in private he’d say why can’t we?

The question wouldn’t be asked with one game to go with us sitting in 3rd place or 13th, it then wouldn’t be a question that could be answered as it would already be resolved, at least this sparks debate.

I very rarely celebrate a draw by the way and I’m also certain Sir Chris doesn’t, unless the circumstances allow it.

I just wish people would not portray Blades of a pigs mentality when we all know it’s bollocks and they’re deluded as fuck, they’d be expecting Europe as a cast iron certainty from here, where as we are simply saying we have a chance and fancy achieving it. Fuck the pigs anyway.

"we are simply saying we have a chance and fancy achieving it"

You're not though are you, you said "it's happening"...

 

[JimmyMuir94]

It depends on how the squad copes with injuries and suspensions. The former may not be such an issue as we have had an excellent injury record under CW. Not sure we’ll avoid the latter for much longer. Similarly there may come a point where we have to rotate for fatigue, such as after international breaks.

A further challenge maybe that we see a few of the stronger sides adopting the park the bus, counter attack style if we keep going as we are and a point at Bramall Lane, or indeed just against us, becomes a good/key point.

The milestone is the 40 pts and if we can achieve that by the end of February, it would be an incredible achievement.

Would you say the only way to beat that tactic is to do it ourselves, would make for a boring game, but if we come up against sides that can park the bus as good as Newcastle, what other options are there?

 

[BushBlade]

Would you say the only way to beat that tactic is to do it ourselves, would make for a boring game, but if we come up against sides that can park the bus as good as Newcastle, what other options are there?

There aren’t many that can park the bus like Newcastle can.

 

[Nick Jansky]

There aren’t many that can park the bus like Newcastle can.

Watford had a good go

 

[BushBlade]

Watford had a good go

And how did that work out for their manager?

 

[wizadry]

"we are simply saying we have a chance and fancy achieving it"

You're not though are you, you said "it's happening"...

I haven’t said it’s happening, I’ve said we have a realistic chance of achieving a top 7 spot. If you can find where I’ve said we’re getting in Europe no matter what happens then I’ll gladly hold my hands up, you might be struggling though.

 

[jono_t2000]

Get ready for the investors to explain why gold isn’t always a good investment


The way I see it is, teams won’t underestimate us second time round, we’ll suffer a bit from minor injuries and we’ll play teams with a lot to fight for, either European places or to stay in the PL. I don’t think we’ll have a massive dip, just the occasional wobble.

Gold is dead. Digital gold (Bitcoin) bottom is in. You will regret not buying here in 2 years.

Not financial advice!

 

[robbiez666]

Yes, Europe is unrealistic.