It is time to make a change in the recruitment department.

[BalticBlade]

Coincidentally, I usually find that applying the opposite rule to anything you post is generally a good idea

Just wait until you find out we sacked Hecky and replaced him with Wilder

 

[Carlton Blade]

I'm sorry, but were not brilliant in this area, and I think we need fresh eyes!
Mitchell seems to be the only one we hear about pointing out "talent", but I'm sure that a weeks holiday at Specsavers may be well over due!
It's time to have a shake up, if other teams can find and recruit gems, why can't we??
Everyone I've spoken to said the new keeper isn't what they were hoping?
I couldn't go yesterday, and refuse to watch highlights, if you can call them that......., of us getting schooled again.
But looking at Joao Pedro and the likes, and comparing those types of players to the ones we recruit, Brewster for example......well, summats not reyt.

Pedro is great, but Watford buy about 40 players a season so odds are someone was going to be good eventually. That's just not how United operate

Overall, 2 summers excluded (19 & 20) I think United have actually done a good job signing players since 2016 when you look at the relatively low £ spent.

 

[dc_blade]

After selling Ndiyae and Berge I'd have said "good shout, we're down anyway so perfect timing".

Commendable long-term thinking, possibly made easier by the benefit of hindsight, but I don’t think many of our fans would’ve shared that view

 

[BigBed]

Pedro is great, but Watford buy about 40 players a season so odds are someone was going to be good eventually. That's just not how United operate

Overall, 2 summers excluded (19 & 20) I think United have actually done a good job signing players since 2016 when you look at the relatively low £ spent.

It's just a shame that the high spends haven't been all great, and the fact that they take up big lumps of not a lot of money we had.
The academy seems to produce a fair few though.

 

[Carlton Blade]

It's just a shame that the high spends haven't been all great, and the fact that they take up big lumps of not a lot of money we had.
The academy seems to produce a fair few though.

Brewster cost at least £5m more in transfer fee than every player signed from the 3 seasons (L1 champs, Champ, Champ promotion) combined (£18-23m v approximately £13m).

 

[John Street West Terrace]

Paul Mitchell came with a great reputation from lower leagues. I’m not sure it’s the same thing now we’re fishing in a different pond. Eyes have definitely got to be on that department.

Bang on the money my friend

 

[Carlton Blade]

Who would we have on the bench, though?

More: if the owner had said this summer (or any summer previously) “we won’t he signing any players this window as we’re developing the scouting infrastructure” there would be the meltdown of all meltdowns on here. Fans want results now.

The simple fact is that there’s no shortcut to success in the transfer market that doesn’t involve having more money than we do.

I'd still love to see an honest Wilder/Mitchell interview about the plan post tv money. They had a really set way of working that had been spectacularly successful. Why change it?

 

[Greasy Chap Butty]

What I want to know is who recruited the players that got us promoted to the prem. Twice.
Maybe they could do a job for us?

 

[dc_blade]

I'd still love to see an honest Wilder/Mitchell interview about the plan post tv money. They had a really set way of working that had been spectacularly successful. Why change it?

I’m not sure it did change that much. They went from signing the best players in League One and League Two (with a preference for guys who had come through the academies of big teams but had something to prove) to signing the best players in the Championship.

 

[Fjortoft's Aeroplane]

What I want to know is who recruited the players that got us promoted to the prem. Twice.
Maybe they could do a job for us?

In the Championship they certainly could. Plenty of people excel in the Championship but can't make the step up to the Prem.

 

[Carlton Blade]

I’m not sure it did change that much. They went from signing the best players in League One and League Two (with a preference for guys who had come through the academies of big teams but had something to prove) to signing the best players in the Championship.

They also signed players with lots of experience who'd been through adversity. But mainly they signed players with good footballing intelligence and really strong tactical discipline. The ones who failed - Evans, Leonard, Holmes- were the 'flaky' ones. Robinson was basically an idiot, same could be said of Mousset. Freeman couldn't stay thin. McBurnie did ok and has certainly improved that side of his game. But to me, there was a big move away from grown ups who understood 'how to play'

 

[Nagima]

I'd agree with this. Especially when you look at some of the fees we've paid. McBurnie is worth half what we paid. Brewster 1/100th. Hamer a third. Souza about half. Archer about 40% (I'm sure villa are not thrilled at the prospect of buying him back for £17m as he wont fetch anywhere near that if they try and offload him again).

You have to wonder if the scouts are taking bungs to overvalue and encourage us to pay over the odds.

It's difficult to figure out how they are so bad at their job. We don't know the criteria and direction they were given but even still its obvious they don't know a player when they see one.

In terms of this season did we consider Andros Townsend who was a freebie. Intelligent footballer with experience who is creative enough to provide chances. Archer isn't an Ivan Tony or an Ollie Watkins and so is very much over priced. Gyorkes has enough about him to be the type of striker we need.

McAtee is our creative outlet. MGW and Ndiaye were more influential. Hopefully BBD is a success. No matter what division you are in or how small your budget is in comparison to others in your division you need creativity and the players to change formations and adjust tactics.

 

[Carlton Blade]

I'd agree with this. Especially when you look at some of the fees we've paid. McBurnie is worth half what we paid. Brewster 1/100th. Hamer a third. Souza about half. Archer about 40% (I'm sure villa are not thrilled at the prospect of buying him back for £17m as he wont fetch anywhere near that if they try and offload him again).

You have to wonder if the scouts are taking bungs to overvalue and encourage us to pay over the odds.

Hamer is £5m? Where do you get that from? He dominated in the Championship last season and has done OK in a terrible PL team.

 

[Fjortoft's Aeroplane]

Hamer is £5m? Where do you get that from? He dominated in the Championship last season and has done OK in a terrible PL team.

To quote my favourite film he's "pretty fucking far from OK". OK to me = 6 or 7 out of 10 standard performances. I'd tate Hamers average performances at around 4.5/10. He's done the odd good thing but goes awol a lot and his decision making is not always the best (see the build up to West Broms 3rd).

 

[BigBed]

They also signed players with lots of experience who'd been through adversity. But mainly they signed players with good footballing intelligence and really strong tactical discipline. The ones who failed - Evans, Leonard, Holmes- were the 'flaky' ones. Robinson was basically an idiot, same could be said of Mousset. Freeman couldn't stay thin. McBurnie did ok and has certainly improved that side of his game. But to me, there was a big move away from grown ups who understood 'how to play'

Don't forget Ravel.

 

[Carlton Blade]

To quote my favourite film he's "pretty fucking far from OK". OK to me = 6 or 7 out of 10 standard performances. I'd tate Hamers average performances at around 4.5/10. He's done the odd good thing but goes awol a lot and his decision making is not always the best (see the build up to West Broms 3rd).

I'd disagree. He's been asked to carry the whole attacking threat for a lot of the season. He's not been brilliant, he's been ok. Plenty he could improve on but I have no idea why any of that means he's suddenly lost almost all his value?

 

[alcoblade]

What I want to know is who recruited the players that got us promoted to the prem. Twice.
Maybe they could do a job for us?

It’s the bigger money and more recent purchases that are in question for me.

Promotion last season was largely down to Ndiaye, and we are good in the academy department.

The previous promotion was again making the best out of what little we had, largely Wilder’s doing.

It’s difficult to see good value in many of the million plus purchases.

 

[Greasy Chap Butty]

It’s the bigger money and more recent purchases that are in question for me.

Promotion last season was largely down to Ndiaye, and we are good in the academy department.

The previous promotion was again making the best out of what little we had, largely Wilder’s doing.

It’s difficult to see good value in many of the million plus purchases.

Or the fact we haven't really recruited? We have bought some players who in truth were always going to be pushed to, or beyond, their limits.

 

[Carlton Blade]

Or the fact we haven't really recruited? We have bought some players who in truth were always going to be pushed to, or beyond, their limits.

We've also hardly signed anyone in the last 5 windows before this summer.

 

[Fjortoft's Aeroplane]

Hamer is £5m? Where do you get that from? He dominated in the Championship last season and has done OK in a terrible PL team.

I'd disagree. He's been asked to carry the whole attacking threat for a lot of the season. He's not been brilliant, he's been ok. Plenty he could improve on but I have no idea why any of that means he's suddenly lost almost all his value?

If you gave me the choice of 2 Gus Hamers or 1 Sander Berge I'd take 1 Sander every time. The only thing I can say in Hamer's defence is he had his work cut out playing a chunk of the season alongside Norwood and Hecky's Souza (he's come on a bit under Wilder). If Hamer ever moves on from the Blades it will be interesting to see what we get for him, but if it's over £7m then he must have really upped his game from what we've seen so far. He needs to up his fitness and stop going awol so much. There is a player in there but might just be high level Championship rather than Premier League.

 

[Carlton Blade]

If you gave me the choice of 2 Gus Hamers or 1 Sander Berge I'd take 1 Sander every time. The only thing I can say in Hamer's defence is he had his work cut out playing a chunk of the season alongside Norwood and Hecky's Souza (he's come on a bit under Wilder). If Hamer ever moves on from the Blades it will be interesting to see what we get for him, but if it's over £7m then he must have really upped his game from what we've seen so far. He needs to up his fitness and stop going awol so much. There is a player in there but might just be high level Championship rather than Premier League.

I think most attacking players out of the Championship, into struggling PL teams look like that though. He's gone from a team that attacked a lot to one that does it rarely and he's playing a different role.

I think Hamer and Berge are similar. Hamer is willing to take risks in possession to play incisive passes, Berge loves a sideways pass. Berge carries it well, Hamer us prone to losing it doing that

 

[alcoblade]

Or the fact we haven't really recruited? We have bought some players who in truth were always going to be pushed to, or beyond, their limits.

We signed plenty of players in the summer, but few if any have made the grade, or look anywhere near to it. We spent plenty in the premier league last time, and it was all terrible value.

I do get the gulf in class in the leagues, and perhaps some of them will prove their worth next season.

 

[Greasy Chap Butty]

We've also hardly signed anyone in the last 5 windows before this summer.

But that isn't the responsibility of the recruitment team, it's available funding.

 

[Greasy Chap Butty]

We signed plenty of players in the summer, but few if any have made the grade, or look anywhere near to it. We spent plenty in the premier league last time, and it was all terrible value.

I do get the gulf in class in the leagues, and perhaps some of them will prove their worth next season.

We've recruited players who weren't really PL budget. I don't think we can point the finger at the recruitment team for that.

 

[Carlton Blade]

But that isn't the responsibility of the recruitment team, it's available funding.

I know? I was referring to the fact that it's not something we've done a lot of which means tge pressure us even higher on those decisions. Brighton, Brentford etc bring in lots of players and understand you'll get a fair few wrong

 

[alcoblade]

We've recruited players who weren't really PL budget. I don't think we can point the finger at the recruitment team for that.

It depends if overall we’ve strengthened in proportion to the money spent. I don’t believe we have.

Players like Traore, Robinson, Freeman, Burke, Brewster - looked miles off from the off. Mouset hit the ground running but his temperament was awful, another £10m gone.

 

[Bladezz]

Paul Mitchell came with a great reputation from lower leagues. I’m not sure it’s the same thing now we’re fishing in a different pond. Eyes have definitely got to be on that department.

I think this is the issue. He’s good but his strengths aren’t where we are now.

 

[Sean Thornton]

I was under the impression that our scouting department consisted of a 13 year old kid watching tekkers comps on Youtube while googling mildly amusing footballer names!

You ever been in Rumour Mill?

 

[jono_t2000]

Wrong, we have a whole network of scouts with Mitchell at the head of it. Even Bettis said a while ago on video that Mitchell has got a big team of staff working for him, the biggest he has ever had.

And yet the last recruitment for our scouting department was inhouse with someone in a completely different department of Sheffield United with no scouting experience joining Paul Mitchell as we were so short of people to assist him.

 

[HarryHaslam]

And yet the last recruitment for our scouting department was inhouse with someone in a completely different department of Sheffield United with no scouting experience joining Paul Mitchell as we were so short of people to assist him.

There is plenty of people in the scouting network. The person who joined him in the scouting dept with no experience in scouting is going to be doing what? Scouting?. Well unless it’s a qualified coach I find that hard to believe, plenty of coaches do scouting missions. Or is the person from analysis and doing analysis work? Because that is pretty normal for the analysis team to help the scouting team.