keep the faith

[DP8789]

I went today, we were unlucky, that is without doubt. Alright, we lack firepower and ched hasnt impressed alot of people, i'm also of the opinion cresswell is much better suited to a 442 style, but to be fair to the both of them, they need good delivery.

what alarms me and worries me the most is how over the last week we have seen mass criticism of the strikers, and ive been guilty of it, but the last few weeks has made me realise it is not all their fault, a point i think we overlook too easily.

Its pretty much down to the midfield. whilst i have watched united, i havent seen a midfield that has been 'guaranteed' to start, we dont have a recognised winger (other than yeates), who doesnt play at the club. People can go on and on about montys 'qualities', but at the end of the day, he's shite. Ertl is too similar to him. and Britton will get sussed out unless he gets support.

fuck 433 - we need 442, proper wingers, attacking full backs and a defensive midifelder who cannot only take the pressure of the attacking midfielder (ala monty) but can also pass (ala not monty) - fuck giving the strikers grief, its all about our pathetic midfield, and it always has been. we've had some strikers who are really good at this level, but when it drys up, we blame them or the gaffer. its the midfield!! I hope speedo subbing monty mid game is a sign of him being phased out, and i pray we get this investment and it all goes on creative and defensive ball playing midfielders. long live success, long live the blades,

carry on regardless

 

[alcoblade]

What was our midfield when we were promoted? It is about the strikers, and they're bobbins.

UTB

 

[DP8789]

is it bollcoks, cresswell wasnt bobbins last year when he was banging em in, neither was boggy at the dingles. ward is tidy, but needs confidence, and ched (ok i dont know what to say about him)

our midfield when promoted (was a mixture of tonge, monty, jagielka, the quinns. gillespie)

lets nots forget shipperly and webber and the immenseness of morgan and paddy though.

our striker aren't bobbins, our midfield is bobbins, wake up and smell the fucking gravy

 

[alcoblade]

is it bollcoks, cresswell wasnt bobbins last year when he was banging em in, neither was boggy at the dingles. ward is tidy, but needs confidence, and ched (ok i dont know what to say about him)

our midfield when promoted (was a mixture of tonge, monty, jagielka, the quinns. gillespie)

lets nots forget shipperly and webber and the immenseness of morgan and paddy though.

our striker aren't bobbins, our midfield is bobbins, wake up and smell the fucking gravy

I'm wide awake thanks. Though if you rate our goal every 10 game striker so highly, I'd like a little of what you're smoking to help me sleep.

UTB

 

[super_pig]

dp is spot on.. you cant score a goal if you dont get a shot.. our midfield has been shite since brown left and maccall retired.. noone noticed because we haven't utilised one for the last 4 years

 

[Rudders]

When we got promoted Ifill chipped in with about 8 goals from midfield. Alan Quinn was also on fire for the first few games of the season scoring a few and setting up quite a few. So we actually had a pretty good midfield that year.

I reckon we could do with someone in central midfield now with a physical presence and a bit of experience, ideally someone like Kevin Nolan or Gary Speed in his pomp. I know there's no chance and these players cost £millions but we should be looking for that sort of player lower in the league or overseas...
Ertl maybe could do this if he lost some 'timber'.

As regards the strikers I think we will look better with Henderson back but we do need someone new in now with height and pace as well.

 

[raul]

Is it not perfectly possible you're both right? Our midfield AND our forwards are shit? I've never seen a Blades squad so ill at ease with themselves.

 

[Ballinpigpubs13]

I definately prefer the style of play when we have wingers flying down the wings ala Colin Morris, regardless of how good the striker in the middle waiting is.

 

[Rustyblade]

I think Raul's got it pretty much spot on although shit might be a little OTT but not by much.

Watching yesterday was painful at times, almost like watching one of those charity teams made up of the once half decent whose legs have now gone.

Our midfield and attack contain decent enough players all of whom could fit into a side individually if and only if they had the right mix around them. The problem seems to me to be that, apart from Britton who has a decent short burst on him, the rest are ridiculously one paced and by that I mean painfully slow.

When Britton got the ball in his own half yesterday, what options had he got? Even if Cresswell had got forward far enough it still left the equivalent of two traffic cones up front neither of whom could outjump or escape their marker and both with the first touch of a bumper on a pinball machine. Ward? Tidy enough but did little when he came on but take over deadball duties and demonstrate his obsession with getting into the showers before everybody else.

Looking around him, what had he got there? Anyone moving quickly into space in a slightly forward position? Hardly. He had Ertl, a good enough player for sure but not the man you want as part of a quick give and go; or Monty, good at his job but giving him the ball is the equivalent of buying a lottery ticket. You may get a winner but the chances are awfully slim considering he runs with and passes the ball like an an enthusiastic and eager to please Labrador puppy. Or maybe Quinny? To me he's like a Van de Graaf generator, I've never seen anyone so seemingly full of energy and yet only able to expend it whilst stood in one place. And if Cresswell is supposed to provide an outlet on the left, a link between midfield and attack, well, if your idea of a quick link is a mule train then he's your man.

The mix is just all wrong and all down to Blackwell and, to the extent to which he sold off our other striking options and our only pacy full backs, the biggest blade in the world ever - Mr McCabe. Speed is in a terrible, unenviable position of having to somehow craft a side out of ill fitting parts and, according to Mr Birch, no monies for any upgrades.

I do, however, think Speed's the right man for the job but, until such time as McCabe's cash flow problems ease up and that could take a long time - and no, it won't happen in time for the January transfer window - I'm afraid we're in for pretty much of the same. I don't think we'll go down but the play-offs? Yeah, right.

Not quite the wilderness years yet but, was that a tumbleweed I saw just then?

 

[yorkshirecoast]

I agree with most of what's on here. Speed has inherited a poor team and given that McCabe prefers selling good players and buying cheaper average ones, he's unlikely to get any help from the Board.

I think the two biggest problems are the lack of pace throughout the team and the fact that our strikers are unbelievably poor - can't run, can't create space & get a shot in, can't take people on, can't control the ball and - of course - can't put the ball in the net. It really is the worst set of strikers we've had in years.

I think we are going to struggle until there are changes at Boardroom level. The only ray of light is that the Pigs are even worse than we are.

 

[JohnDenver]

Think I agree with warnock on this one. It's all about the strikers in this division. A good strikeforce can cover a multitude of weaknesses in a team.

Our current lot don't offer enough and aren't accustomed to the system. How long do we give them to adapt?

 

[SteelCity Blade]

We have problems in midfield and up front. My point in the other thread about our inability to score is about the team collective, not just one area of the pitch.

Our midfield isnt bobbins it just totally lacks balance because we're playing with three holding players. Despite that, when you're playing with three up front (supposedly) the guys up top should be able to create enough chances between them AND take them!

We desperately need to get Williamson fit and sign another creative player in the middle. As far as the strikers go, some people wont like this comment but we miss Henderson. Whether you like him or not he gets in where it hurts and fashions chances through his positioning. His strength brings others into it as well. The sooner we get the two of them back the better.

 

[LoughboroBlade]

When we got promoted Ifill chipped in with about 8 goals from midfield. Alan Quinn was also on fire for the first few games of the season scoring a few and setting up quite a few. So we actually had a pretty good midfield that year.

We had a great midfield that year that not only created plenty but could score too. Ifill got 9, Jags 8 (mostly from midfield), Quinn got 4. But we also had Kabba with 9, Webber with 10 and HMS Shipperley with 11. Add Morgs and Unsworth with 4 each.

We are nowhere near that sort of team - it had goals all over the place. You knew that if one of the strikers had an off day, a midfielder might grab one, or one of our sub strikers. We had a strong defence, an exciting midfield, and options up front. Of our current 11, only Britton would have really improved on that 05/06 team - who else would anyone realistically say is better than those players at that time, particularly based on current performances? Warnock was no idiot that summer - he saw exactly what we were lacking and brought it in. I suspect Speed knows exactly what we're lacking, but I suspect it's too long a list to sort this season alone. And unfortunately, I think next year's league will be altogether tougher than this season.

 

[Bergen Blade]

Some good posts here, think most of us now agree on our lackings.

 

[JohnDenver]

As far as the strikers go, some people wont like this comment but we miss Henderson. Whether you like him or not he gets in where it hurts and fashions chances through his positioning. His strength brings others into it as well.

As much as I dislike the player for his crudeness and brainlessness, I agree that we really could use him at the moment. He's our only true target man.

 

[Toronto Blade]

We had a great midfield that year that not only created plenty but could score too. Ifill got 9, Jags 8 (mostly from midfield), Quinn got 4. But we also had Kabba with 9, Webber with 10 and HMS Shipperley with 11. Add Morgs and Unsworth with 4 each.

We are nowhere near that sort of team - it had goals all over the place. You knew that if one of the strikers had an off day, a midfielder might grab one, or one of our sub strikers. We had a strong defence, an exciting midfield, and options up front. Of our current 11, only Britton would have really improved on that 05/06 team - who else would anyone realistically say is better than those players at that time, particularly based on current performances? Warnock was no idiot that summer - he saw exactly what we were lacking and brought it in. I suspect Speed knows exactly what we're lacking, but I suspect it's too long a list to sort this season alone. And unfortunately, I think next year's league will be altogether tougher than this season.

Next years three coming down will do so with much bigger parachute payments in their pockets!