Last Night - PNE 2 Blades 4

[alcoblade]

I'd rather have Simmo than the Preston keeper. Having seen the goals on Calendar, he was a complete joke.

Maybe we're too hard on our own players?

There speaks a man who, I suspect, hasn't seen a lot of our Simmo?



---------- Post added at 11:40 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:39 AM ----------

All this is scenery. The key facts are:

- whether booed or not, Simonsen has been making terrible errors on a semi regular basis for at least a year now (the Forest clanger being the first I can recall)

- A drop in division has not improved things

- There is nothing to suggest the situation will improve

- Simonsen's increased propensity for mistakes is not even a matter of opinion - it is a fact

- United must have been aware of this problem for many months, but have chosen to do nothing about it, whilst it took the Pigs a whole 2 days to get a good new keeper when they needed one

- if the board really want a top six finish, they will get someone else in asap. If they do nothing, expect more mistakes and more lost points.

I feel sorry for Simonsen, especially after his good start with us, but he is currently not worth a first team place.

^^^^ This ^^^^

UTB

 

[Houso]

There speaks a man who, I suspect, hasn't seen a lot of our Simmo?

Iain Turner drops clangers with the same regularity as Simmo, so it's hardly an outlandish comment.

 

[Highbury_Blade]

I might also add one thing that I like about Simonsen - he made the greatest save I have ever seen a United keeper make in the second half of the home defeat to Boro last season, and that's high praise after some of the things I've seen Kelly, Kenny, Tracey and even Rees do.

It was indeed a stunning save.

Preston's 1st goal was a complete joke though.

 

[Sothall_Blade]

Weaver is out injured for months. His wages will be covered by insurance payments, meaning Wendy could afford to get a replacement in. We're paying Simonsen's wages (rightly or wrongly) and I would guess that there isn't the budget available to pay for a second first team goalkeeper.

Is this true? Does it apply to all injured players? If it does then we should be getting big insurance payments for Morgan, Ertl, Taylor etc and why all the fuss about paying Evans wages while he was out?

On the goalkeeper front, we brought the permanently injured Wright in and paid his wages all last season (or did we?)
We have also had the permanently injured Aksalu on the books for nearly 2 years and he's yet to make a first team appearance.
There's been plenty of scope and opportunity to sign a proper backup/replacement for Simonsen but none of the last five managers have done it.

 

[Kenilworth]

I agree that booing, mocking etc is counter productive. If Simmo's confidence is low, then this will not help. However there comes a point when patience runs out. Personally I think the Blades fans have been very patient with him. He chucked away points last year in crucial games and was probably the difference between us finishin in the bottom 3 and 4th/5th/6th bottom. For 18 months he has been dropping boo boo's and threatening to cost us points, or actually costing us points. This season his team mates have bailed him out on several occassions, but he looks a jittery wreck and like a bomb ready to go off (or make an error). The worst part is the guy is one of our highest paid players and probably the keeper on the biggest salary in the third tier. Sure he does not want to make cock up's, but the fact is that he is doign so. I don't agree with booing etc, but what other means do fans have to show they are not happy with the situation. The vast majority of Blades fans want Simmonsen dropped and Wilson needs to know that.

Plenty more clangers dropped by those in front of him last season. Have you already forgotton Nosworthy Olle?
There were so many bollcoks dropped at the back last year leading to goals being conceded before we had even broken sweat that it may be unsurprising that Simmo's confidense has taken a kicking just from that.

That said I think he needs a change just as much as we do.

And for the record I think Rees vs Liverpool was the best Blades goalkeeping performance I have ever witnessed. Simmo against Boro last season - the save was good - he reacted well but it was at a good height for him

 

[BornOnShorehamStreet]

Hodgy never clapped the Kop but he did always make a pistol with his hand and pretend to shoot them.

Especially after we sold Mick Jones and in the next home game the Kop was singing,

"Hodgy, Hodgy, buy us Mick Jones,
buy us Mick Jones,
buy us Mick Jones,
Hodgy, Hodgy, buy us Mick Jones,
buy us Mick Jones today."

 

[DazBlade88]

YOu must sit with your back to the pitch. I'm in the south stand, he comes out runs to the kop and applauds it EVERY home game. Keep an eye out v mk

Before I make this post, I'm not a big advocate of slagging players off. But... Since I noticed that he didn't clap the fans at Wycombe, I've watched him ever since just incase it was my eyes. He hasn't clapped the United fans before a match since the Colchester home game. I know people do pick on everything they can to get on players' backs sometimes but I've noticed it myself.

With the amount of stick he's had I don't blame him to be fair. He wasn't great for the first goal on Wednesday night but more importantly, Carlisle getting a free header at the back post is absolutely criminal.

 

[blade too long]

What we have got is a keeper who got stoke out of the championship , he may be at the right level now , but hes no worse than the majority in this division , and some gaffes have been punished , but keepers are prone to that .
Man Utd paid a bucket load for DeGea and he took plenty of stick but he earned them a point at Liverpool, hes starting to shine , I suspect Simmo will return to top form in time , we have to accept keepers do err , but like at preston do play their part .

 

[Ollessendro]

It's embarassing that people are still defending Simmonsen or questioning the doubts raised about him. There's no wonder we are in the situation we are in when we accept ..... no embrace such mediocrity.

Their 2nd goal. Oh we should have picked Carlisle up. True, but geez. The guy is there to keep the ball out of the net. How many times are we going to continue with this debate. He simply is not good enough and will cost us more points if we continue to play him.

 

[blade too long]

well you donate a million quid to the club so we can get better , easy peasy

I thought donny getting kirkland was something of a coup , but they lost 3-0 hes out injured and their left now with a keeper whos been told he wasnt good enough

cant barnstorm changes , especially in specialist positions

 

[stannyblade]

well you donate a million quid to the club so we can get better , easy peasy

Dont think it would need that much.
When you think we let bennett go, and didnt sign matt duke. Both better than simmo

 

[blade too long]

are they though
why is duke a free agent

why was Bennet released

Turner last night , was arguably Wednesdays best player 2 years ago , was culpable for our third and was beaten twice at the near post

 

[alcoblade]

are they though
why is duke a free agent

why was Bennet released

Turner last night , was arguably Wednesdays best player 2 years ago , was culpable for our third and was beaten twice at the near post

Bennet was released because we thought we'fd got better options. We were wrong.

I really don't think improvingf on Simmo would cost anything like £1M. Forwards are more expensive, and we've just taken 2 on loan to improve our weakness there.

UTB

 

[blade too long]

well name any keeper whos available on a free , thats better

which top divisions club is carrying a spare
and remember the trouble donnys just had

 

[alcoblade]

well name any keeper whos available on a free , thats better

which top divisions club is carrying a spare
and remember the trouble donnys just had

Why not just give me Wilson's job?

I have no clue who's available right now, and at what cost. I can't believe there haven't been options over the period.

As pointed out above, Wendy managed it. And I'm not talking point in time. How many clangers over what period of time do we have to accept before it's a sensible idea to replace?

UTB

 

[Pedro Verde]

are they though


why was Bennet released

Bennett was released because we only gave him chances in League Cup games and when Paddy was out we entered the loan market (what a surprise). He has had a run of games in Huddersfields 1st team and looked a far better keeper than Simmo at BDTBL.
Heard we couldnt / wouldnt afford Dukes wages as we are paying Simmo plenty of £sss and used any spare cash we had to strengthen elsewhere ie MacDonald and Williams.
We should get Long out on loan ASAP and get him some experience in League football either at L2 level or even at Conference a lot better than the odd reserve fixture

 

[Revolution]

And for the record I think Rees vs Liverpool was the best Blades goalkeeping performance I have ever witnessed.

that'a my second best. My best is Kelly vs Stoke away in 1994-5.

 

[sitwell]

The best I ever saw was Jim Brown at St James Park Newcastle late seventies at Christmas time ,he was applauded off the pitch by players of both teams.

 

[WorkingtonBlade]

And for the record I think Rees vs Liverpool was the best Blades goalkeeping performance I have ever witnessed.

that'a my second best. My best is Kelly vs Stoke away in 1994-5.

Mine's the same - it was just ridiculous. Aside from several other fine saves, Stoke had about seven one-on-ones and he stopped every one. Christ knows what happened to our defence that day. All I remember is Stoke strolling through, seemingly at will, time after time, and Kelly stopping it!

 

[bricktop]

Bennett was released because we only gave him chances in League Cup games and when Paddy was out we entered the loan market (what a surprise). He has had a run of games in Huddersfields 1st team and looked a far better keeper than Simmo at BDTBL.
Heard we couldnt / wouldnt afford Dukes wages as we are paying Simmo plenty of £sss and used any spare cash we had to strengthen elsewhere ie MacDonald and Williams.
We should get Long out on loan ASAP and get him some experience in League football either at L2 level or even at Conference a lot better than the odd reserve fixture

We released Benno as he was nearing 40, and lets face it, he wasn't really going to get much of a chance, and was there as a number two, so saving on his wages was a logical thing to do.

 

[LoughboroBlade]

Oh for the days when we could pick someone up cheaply and have them play consistently well over a number of years for us. Tracey, Kelly, Kenny - we've been spoilt really. The problem with Simonsen is that he's making errors consistently that someone with his level of experience simply shouldn't be making. He is a pretty good shot-stopper, as those saves of Wednesday highlight - if it's a shot from the edge of the box or further out, he can be relied on.

Within the box, and his judgment seems to be severely lacking. Indecisive at crosses, a tendency to push shots back forward offering up another chance to the opposition rather than pushing the ball round the post and accepting you have to give a corner away. These are basic goalkeeping skills that if he hasn't got now then he's unlikely to suddenly pick them up. He is not a long term goalkeeping solution - he may be good enough for us to get out of League 1, but we need to be looking at someone to take over from him soonish. Maybe we wait a year and let Long take over, but that seems to have its own risks. My preference would be for us to look at someone from League 2 who is young, able to learn, and able to make the step up.

 

[blade too long]

The best I ever saw was Jim Brown at St James Park Newcastle late seventies at Christmas time ,he was applauded off the pitch by players of both teams.

I was there , I have to agree and Id seen Bob Widdowson


I still think the criticism of Simmo is harsh
He spent all last season playing behind a collection of strangers, he turned up never knowing who,d be marshalling a defence or who most of them were.
Its bound to have affected his game, but hes a good keeper , and on Wednesday started to show it again , like most footballers its about confidence
Trouble is too many in here are close minded , see one or 2 mistakes , say its all his fault and start calling him useless

Blades fans , some of them are like dogs with bones , set up a hate figure and wont let go , Simmo can do a job , given the opportunity , behind a more settled defence

Thought our name was supporter , not destroyer
One thing I dont like about the net is the ability to concentrate the bile, some wish to spread, give him a chance