La Liga (sic).....so far?

[itsinyerblood]

Must admit, the worrying noises that emanated from S6 made me pause. Us, the minnows from central Sheffield, having to confront the 'almost' giants from the municipalities of Birminham, London, and even Derby.......the warnings were clear, we had little chance of surviving, yet so far so good. Delighted and excited more than any other emotion, and although I'm taking little for granted, I think Wilder's learning curve is doing rather nicely.

If I had one observation to make, it would be the inclusion of pace. It's what the very best teams seem to have in abundance, so the sooner we can begin to accommodate this into our style of play the better. No doubt Wilder and company are ahead of most of us and are scouring the divisions for players able and capable of bringing this talent to the Blades.....but as I say, no complaints so far, and relatively pleased with the efforts of all concerned.

 

[Scooter_mcgavin]

Woooah..

Getting way ahead of yourself here, haven't you heard that we're purely performing as we're unknowns and teams will suss us out pretty quickly.

Normal service will then be resumed, we'll get Relegated and the pigs will wind up 2nd.

That's the latest in this little soap opera anyway, comical really.

 

[itsinyerblood]

Woooah..

Getting way ahead of yourself here, haven't you heard that we're purely performing as we're unknowns and teams will suss us out pretty quickly.

Normal service will then be resumed, we'll get Relegated and the pigs will wind up 2nd.

That's the latest in this little soap opera anyway, comical really.

Cut me a tiny bit of slack Scooter, I'm nothing but a realist, so one game at a time and I know how quickly feelings can swing.

We're doing ok, no more or less. I'd have taken that before the season began. If we continue in the same vein I'll be a happy chap.

 

[Scooter_mcgavin]

Can't cut you any slack I'm afraid.

I'd swap places in a heartbeat.

 

[DronnieBlade]

Early days.

But a few clever sorts chose to trust what their eyeballs told them about La Liga, rather than rely on what a few deluded grunters would have you believe !!

It ain't all that. With 2 or 3 quality additions to the squad, UTD are well equipped to cope.

Maybe even a bit more than that

UTB

 

[robbiez666]

The main difference for me is that chances are much more of a premium and mistakes tend to get punished (as we did so well on Saturday)

Agree on the need for pace. It's also going to become more difficult as teams start to get to know how we play and stop underestimating us.

In terms of learning curve, it seems steepest away from home. We've found so far that we can't just rock up with the same formation and personnel we play at home and dominate teams. We need to adapt and play a different way. I think Wilder is looking at transfers he can bring in to make this happen. Much of that is improving our ability on the counter.

I think we'll get stronger over the autumn. New players are slowly getting the fitness needed to play the way we do. Those who maybe 'enjoyed' summer more fully are just about up to speed.

Much will depend on what business we can do in the transfer market this week. Also, ensuring we retain our best players. I still think we're a few players short of having a squad for both home and away and one which can deal with key injuries. It's a balancing act. We've played teams with players who cost millions and seen that doesn't guarantee anything. It's about having a squad with the strength and depth we need without losing the spirit and work ethic which is vitally important to our success.

 

[wizadry]

Good thread but as I've said many times before, pace can be in the speed of thought and quality of your play, we have more than enough.

Whilst pace is nice to have it's not a necessity which we are more than showing.

 

[derfblade.3]

You see it's like this. My porkine friends broke their necks to tell me we would have to invest heavily to survive La Liga this season.
But i told them "We have a very good team" but it fell on deaf ears. How could they tell me what we needed? Did they watch United week in week out? No they didn't, so how they can tell me what our team needs is ludicrous.
What it is my friends is pure fear. Fear that we will do well, and they can't cope with that. Early days i know but the response by the players and management has been superb. We accept that defeats will come , we know that. Little steps at a time should be our aim but you can bet your bottom dollar that the boss will want more. Good times ahead.

 

[Scooter_mcgavin]

Of course it is. They have blown their best chance they'll get by adopting the Bryan Robson school of managing. They're paying through the nose for bang average, dull, negative football. They only wish they had a Billy Sharp (never will score at this level) and a Chris Wilder (talks a load of shit), but instead they have a huge group of overpaid mercenaries that are approaching the twilights of their career.

Enjoy it fellow Blades, we could be in for some fun come May...and if we don't, who cares, we were never expecting to do anything, but it's clear we might ruffle a few feathers from all these BIGGER CLUBS.

 

[Boxer Blade]

Friday night we were talking in the pub ( including two derby mates) about the game on sat 1-1 was the most popular vote but my point more than anything else was, " how well we play against one of the more established sides" I was more interested in this, how we play, how much possession, how we adapt when its not going our way, I obviously came away very, very happy indeed with how we went about it, we all know we will not have as much of the ball (70% first half)? as last season, not into all this take it one game at a time bollocks, but not quite as nervous as I was, good times, gotta enjoy it while its here.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

We haven't played Real Pork though yet, but must admit I can't see them above us in the table? Must be a mis-print.

 

[itsinyerblood]

Good thread but as I've said many times before, pace can be in the speed of thought and quality of your play, we have more than enough.

Whilst pace is nice it's not a necessity which we are more than showing.

All good points wiz. Yes, speed of thought can make an awful lot of difference, so recruiting players who can respond to this is vital.

In the last year I've noticed a lot of the top teams have pace to burn, both in thought and in physical execution. No doubt it will come at a premium, but there again we've recruited from teams that are not exactly 'fashionable', so for the moment it should be possible to find players able to add to our existing range of qualities.

I'm not getting ahead of myself, first we have to adjust and respond to this new challenge. After too many years where we were drawn into a period of low expectation, we now have momentum, slowly we're showing that we're able to compete, to attract the calibre of player that previously we were unable to bring to this club. It's not a case of assuming or forecasting, but being realistic about where we are, and what we're capable of achieving, is surely the first step in progressing as a club. It's what Wilder wants as a manager, I love his sense of ambition and aspiration, so I'm more than happy to let Wilder take us as far as we're capable of going.

 

[wizadry]

Huddlestone is a ball player of an high magnitude, him and the others didn't get a sniff out of our far superior three, the future is very bright indeed.

 

[Esablade]

Good thread but as I've said many times before, pace can be in the speed of thought and quality of your play, we have more than enough.

Whilst pace is nice to have it's not a necessity which we are more than showing.

I think combining the two is the tough one..look at Theo Walcott ...

 

[itsinyerblood]

I think combining the two is the tough one..look at Theo Walcott ...

Yes, flatters to deceive, and his decision making is often poor.

 

[wizadry]

I think combining the two is the tough one..look at Theo Walcott ...

That was exactly my point. Not using Theo as an example because he does have some uses but you could have Usain Bolt but if you can't play football you're struggling.

 

[FATTYFOULKE]

I must admit I was getting a little concerned about what was waiting for us the way the pigs were going on.

Despite seeing plenty of Championship action last season on the box I was beginning to question my own judgement and almost wondering if they were right. Then I got a grip of myself, remembered what a delusional set of fuckwits they are and stopped fretting.

I knew the scruffy scummy tramps had no idea about the quality of our football because they'd never seen us play apart from 30 seconds of 'Goal Rush'. I knew they were basing their assumptions on the fact we were league one and therefore must be crap. I knew they seriously think that team they've got is top two material this season.

That alone says to me they haven't got a fooking clue what they're talking about.

It's gone now from "they don't know what's in store for them, the Championship's a different beast since they were in it" to "wait 'till after Christmas when teams have sussed them out"

We'll be more than alright.

The players have stepped up. Wilder knows who he wants to improve and is getting them in. He also has the ability to change things around for the better when all is not going well.

Bramall Lane can be a fortress and the crowds will only get bigger and the atmosphere even better. It's going to be a great season. No pressure on us and proper clubs coming to the Lane.

Quality teams yes, but we'll more than hold our own

 

[fuerstenberger]

I think we started the season with a bit of fear and trepidation. Against Brentford we looked a bit scared. It stopped us playing our natural game. I think we are now growing in confidence. I also think other teams are starting to respect us. This will stop them pressing us and hanging off a bit. Trust me, players talk to each other and Fleck's, Duffy's and Coutts' performance on Saturday will not have gone unnoticed.
For some daft reason Burton v Mittwoch was on out here. Both teams looked well matched and nothing special. However, I hate to say this, Mittwoch do look to have potential to do better. We will need the new lad from Tottenham against Burton's Sordell.

 

[Boxer Blade]

We haven't played Real Pork though yet, but must admit I can't see them above us in the table? Must be a mis-print.

Real pork! Classic one bruce, better than south barnsley, will definitely be bringing that one up in the boozer tonight, real pork haha

 

[shorehamview]

That was exactly my point. Not using Theo as an example because he does have some uses but you could have Usain Bolt but if you can't play football you're struggling.

Luton Shelton springs to mind for some reason....

 

[HighfieldBlade]

I'm really enjoying the ride at the moment. There was an intangible vibe and energy about BDTBL yesterday. Particularly the last 10 minutes yesterday the kop was absolutely buzzing. Long may it continue.

 

[shorehamview]

I'm really enjoying the ride at the moment. There was an intangible vibe and energy about BDTBL yesterday. Particularly the last 10 minutes yesterday the kop was absolutely buzzing. Long may it continue.

This, basically.

 

[wizadry]

Luton Shelton springs to mind for some reason....

 

[ForgeBlade]

We haven't played Real Pork though yet, but must admit I can't see them above us in the table? Must be a mis-print.

You forget, the BBC/Sky etc don't add the extra 10 points the pork are entitled to for having a FRACTIONALLY higher average attendance than us so far, as well as the bonus point they get for being so "massive," in their own eyes.

Deluded wankers...can't wait for us to stuff them at their shithole ground and make them really "mind the gap."

 

[wizadry]

 

[coaxingstar71]

Really good thread itsinyerblood . There's a lot of talk about pace or the percepted lack of it, but I think we are doing our players a bit of injustice. I saw Fleck successfully chase down Vydra on Saturday and he looked no slouch. Coutts glided effortlessly past a couple of their players a number of times and although I can't say Duffy ran rings round them, he beat them in speed of thought for the whole time he was on. Stevens looked quite pacy too as he chased and cut a ball back from the by-line. Lavery certainly has pace, if he could just add a bit of compusure he'd be very dangerous. Admittedly a Tammy Abraham type loan would do us no harm.

 

[blade too long]

what the pigs told us was Billy wouldnt score many due to his impending pension kicking in and the Usane Bolt qualities of Championship defenders who would all have us in their back pockets,

Well in truth they appear as fallible as anything weve got , in fact our defenders look well capble of shackling chapionship players .

Our passing and movement isnt half causing these hampionship supermen a lot of problems