Might I inject a note of positivity?

[Blade for Sale]

We are 5th in the league. This with a new manager and an entirely new forward line. The manager has proved himself time and time again to be the best in this league and extremely competent in the one above. One must therefore assume that he will get better and improve the team as the season progresses, if you believe, as I do, that 7 league games is nowhere near enough time for any manager truly to stamp his identity on a football club.

We have, in Ryan Flynn, John Brayford and Matt Done, 3 excellent, proven performers at this level all due to return from injury. One must therefore assume that not only will the manager improve the team, but also that the quality of raw material at his disposal will also improve markedly in the coming weeks.

I also believe the squad will be strengthened during the loan window, although I fully respect the sceptical view based on our previously poor use of this option.

The defence is a concern. However I don't believe it is as poor as the last 2 games suggest, in just the same way as I didn't believe it to be as strong as the previous 4 matches suggested either. It's an average defensive block capable of errors and solidity alike. It needs strengthening and it will be strengthened.

If we are in the mix at the end of October, as I fully expect us to be, we will have 2/3 of the season to go equipped with a much stronger and cohesive unit than that which tackled the first 3rd.

Keep the faith, up the Blades.

 

[BushBlade]

I said pre-season that unless the board is prepared to throw money at Adkins so he can bring in new players before shifting out the old, it would take him two seasons to sort us out. I've seen nothing to change that opinion so far.

 

[MobileBlade]

Without going into too much detail but I overheard a conversation at half time on Tuesday involving people deep within the club. Basically, we are within FFP at the moment but there will need to be some shipping out. Injuries have not helped - we actually had 19 players to pick from on Tuesday. There are some on contracts that will need shipping out and that will cost us money - basically NA is HAVING to work with a lot of last seasons squad and we are not in a position to change it overnight.

 

[Ted Danson]

The defence is a concern. However I don't believe it is as poor as the last 2 games suggest, in just the same way as I didn't believe it to be as strong as the previous 4 matches suggested either. It's an average defensive block capable of errors and solidity alike. It needs strengthening and it will be strengthened.

13 months and counting since that was plainly obvious yet still no strengthening, wish I had your faith in our manager and board

 

[PeteBlade]

We are 5th in the league. This with a new manager and an entirely new forward line. The manager has proved himself time and time again to be the best in this league and extremely competent in the one above. One must therefore assume that he will get better and improve the team as the season progresses, if you believe, as I do, that 7 league games is nowhere near enough time for any manager truly to stamp his identity on a football club.

We have, in Ryan Flynn, John Brayford and Matt Done, 3 excellent, proven performers at this level all due to return from injury. One must therefore assume that not only will the manager improve the team, but also that the quality of raw material at his disposal will also improve markedly in the coming weeks.

I also believe the squad will be strengthened during the loan window, although I fully respect the sceptical view based on our previously poor use of this option.

The defence is a concern. However I don't believe it is as poor as the last 2 games suggest, in just the same way as I didn't believe it to be as strong as the previous 4 matches suggested either. It's an average defensive block capable of errors and solidity alike. It needs strengthening and it will be strengthened.

If we are in the mix at the end of October, as I fully expect us to be, we will have 2/3 of the season to go equipped with a much stronger and cohesive unit than that which tackled the first 3rd.

Keep the faith, up the Blades.

No. No you may not.

 

[robwestterraceblade]

first time on forum so go steady with me agree with alot of whats been said but the one thing that keeps going round my head is we will not get promoted with a back four that collins and mceverly are in and it could be november before we start to get our better players back and at it

 

[Dec]

From December 22, 2014...

Once Wallace is back, all will be OK.

 

[Bladesince59]

The weaknesses shone through pretty much all last season since Harry left.

 

[FTPE]

We need a Wallace type player in that isn't Wallace. I think I've been more patient than most but he's done!

 

[raul]

Aren't we 5th, with players returning from injury and a nice looking run of fixtures to come pretty much most seasons?

 

[Worksop II]

I also believe the squad will be strengthened during the loan window, although I fully respect the sceptical view based on our previously poor use of this option.

We just keep round in circles, after the loss to Burnley in the Playoff Final, where we finished the game with Lupoli and Craig Beattie up front, both on loan

And McCabe had bemoaned the system before


McCabe said that we had not used the loan system well, and that we would not rely on it so much in the future

But here we are, going back to loans, and relying on that system, but failed doing just this previously

Round and Round we go - same shit different season

and, sorry for the Craig Beattie reference but it had to be said

 

[PeteBlade]

Aren't we 5th, with players returning from injury and a nice looking run of fixtures to come pretty much most seasons?

If Bury and Colchester at home aren't a good run of fixtures, then I've really no idea what constitutes good fixtures in this league.

 

[Worksop II]

I've really no idea what constitutes good fixtures in this league.

Sheffield United away .................................

 

[Blade for Sale]

13 months and counting since that was plainly obvious yet still no strengthening, wish I had your faith in our manager and board

I would argue Edgar is an improvement on what we had. Would you be happy with a back 4 of Brayford Burn Edgar and Freeman? Hypothetical I know but Burn does seem to be very closely linked.

 

[BushBlade]

Aren't we 5th, with players returning from injury and a nice looking run of fixtures to come pretty much most seasons?

Shouldn't we be in the top two and not losing to sides that will finish in the bottom half of the table? Is that really too much to ask?
We've just spent fuck knows how much getting rid of a manager and his staff who got us in the top six because that wasn't good enough.

 

[BushBlade]

I would argue Edgar is an improvement on what we had. Would you be happy with a back 4 of Brayford Burn Edgar and Freeman? Hypothetical I know but Burn does seem to be very closely linked.

No because Freeman isn't a proper left back, he's a right back who can fill in.

 

[Blade for Sale]

No because Freeman isn't a proper left back, he's a right back who can fill in.

fair enough. However unwittingly you have just caused the words BOB HARRIS to shout themselves loudly in my mind, who I completely ignored in the original post and arguably strengthens my case further!

 

[BushBlade]

We just keep round in circles, after the loss to Burnley in the Playoff Final, where we finished the game with Lupoli and Craig Beattie up front, both on loan

And McCabe had bemoaned the system before
View attachment 13393

McCabe said that we had not used the loan system well, and that we would not rely on it so much in the future

But here we are, going back to loans, and relying on that system, but failed doing just this previously

Round and Round we go - same shit different season

and, sorry for the Craig Beattie reference but it had to be said

That bloke should have stood against Corbyn. He just says what he thinks we want to hear.

He's got the reverse-Midas touch when it comes to football. Everything he touches turns to shit. While in the background we've got Jim shouting 'go Blades, go soccer' and Adkins thinking 'that's it, I've fucked my career'.

 

[Fiery Blade]

Apart from the fact that most of our players are Joe Average skill wise, the majority of them have no Balls, Heart, Backbone or Desire to fight to get us out of the division.
Whilst Billy Sharp does show intent and commitment it is easy to see why he struggled to score goals in the higher division after Tuesdays debacle - as for penalties ........................don't start me off ! He missed two out of three Tuesday !!!

 

[GRUMPY BLADE]

Aren't we 5th, with players returning from injury and a nice looking run of fixtures to come pretty much most seasons?

We're in the third division, every where you look at the fixtures is 'a nice run'.

Pity we've still got our bed socks on and the running shoes are still on ebay not even purchased.

 

[itsinyerblood]

Apart from the fact that most of our players are Joe Average skill wise, the majority of them have no Balls, Heart, Backbone or Desire to fight to get us out of the division.
Whilst Billy Sharp does show intent and commitment it is easy to see why he struggled to score goals in the higher division after Tuesdays debacle - as for penalties ........................don't start me off ! He missed two out of three Tuesday !!!

Don't worry Fiery, I read somewhere that welcoming Billy back would mean he'd tear this division a new one, whatever that vulgarism is meant to describe

 

[Revolution]

The OP lost me when he called Ryan Flynn an excellent proven performer.

 

[blade too long]

it willbe a nice run , when Adkins finally gets a players out injured back and b fills in the holes with loans at first then january buys
Im happy so far , not happy we blew 2 home games but hey ho wasnt happy after wed got tonked at gillingham but we responded nicely to that
39 games 117 points ahead to play for we want 80 of them so we can only drop another 37 points

 

[TJB.]

basically NA is HAVING to work with a lot of last seasons squad and we are not in a position to change it overnight.

This is one of the biggest factors going against us and it's something I call 'The Cloughover'.

We are still suffering from some elements of Clough's reign. Although I praise him for recruiting Adams, Done and Brayford, there were many others who had question marks over them at the time of signing and still do to this day. It's alright some saying we need to buy X, Y and Z, but the squad is huge and nobody will be on a pittance. We can't just throw money at the problem and if the squad is overloaded with some bang average or injured players, it becomes harder to shift people on while they're under contract. Case in point = Craig Alcock; both injured whilst the window was still open and a pretty poor player in my eyes. Who's gonna buy him?

We allowed Clough to pursue the players he wanted within the budget (even stretching it hugely in Brayford's case). He created a huge squad which was way off the quality needed for automatic promotion. He might be gone but his legacy is still very much alive with this squad, and it'll be a while before Adkins can truly shape the squad he wants.

 

[itsinyerblood]

This is one of the biggest factors going against us and it's something I call 'The Cloughover'.

We are still suffering from some elements of Clough's reign. Although I praise him for recruiting Adams, Done and Brayford, there were many others who had question marks over them at the time of signing and still do to this day. It's alright some saying we need to buy X, Y and Z, but the squad is huge and nobody will be on a pittance. We can't just throw money at the problem and if the squad is overloaded with some bang average or injured players, it becomes harder to shift people on while they're under contract. Case in point = Craig Alcock; both injured whilst the window was still open and a pretty poor player in my eyes. Who's gonna buy him?

We allowed Clough to pursue the players he wanted within the budget (even stretching it hugely in Brayford's case). He created a huge squad which was way off the quality needed for automatic promotion. He might be gone but his legacy is still very much alive with this squad, and it'll be a while before Adkins can truly shape the squad he wants.

Agree completely with that TJB. That first summer when we were looking forward to several new acquisitions, where the players we expected to be brought in would be obviously better than we already had, well the dream went up in a puff of smoke. All it would have taken is about 6 or 7 at most to make a noticeable difference, instead it was as if the club stood outside of the employment exchange and signed just about anyone who vaguely looked fit. Perhaps not entirely accurate, but in essence it's what's left us with at least 8 or 9 players who aren't good enough to compete at a higher level, and sometimes that applies to this level!

 

[Ted Danson]

I would argue Edgar is an improvement on what we had. Would you be happy with a back 4 of Brayford Burn Edgar and Freeman? Hypothetical I know but Burn does seem to be very closely linked.

Edgar looks like a good signing but it seemed to be a knee jerk reaction after Gillingham rather than getting him early, a CB should be an easy position to fill and shouldnt have taken all summer plus a 4-0 thrashing for Adkins to achieve it. Plus thats only 1 temporary signing not the 2 permanent we needed. For me Adkins signings dont fill me with any confidence, Woolfords woefull, Sharps meh, all we signed him for was to finish and hes just missed 4 sitters on the last 2 games. Sammon looks like he could fill a void we had up front for a big mobile striker but overall the team looks less balanced than last year and now we need some wingers too.

Burns not a Blades player, I'll believe it if / when he signs

 

[TJB.]

signed just about anyone who vaguely looked fit

We went one further than that, fella. We even signed a player who wasn't fit, started him up top on his own in his first league game when he's not suited to that style of play, and gave him the fecking captain's armband!

 

[GRUMPY BLADE]

We went one further than that, fella. We even signed a player who wasn't fit, started him up top on his own in his first league game when he's not suited to that style of play, and gave him the fecking captain's armband!

But we've made progress since then










haven't we?

 

[BushBlade]

We went one further than that, fella. We even signed a player who wasn't fit, started him up top on his own in his first league game when he's not suited to that style of play, and gave him the fecking captain's armband!

I'll raise you a Wallace and a Coutts.

 

[Balham]

This is our current squad, with my view of how high up they could realistically expect to be regulars. Inj = injury prone/injured, unp = unproven)

Goalkeepers (3):
Howard (L1), Long (L1), Willis (unp)

Full backs (6)
McEveley (L1), Harris (Ch), Brayford (Ch, inj), Freeman (Ch), Alcock (L1), McFadzean (L2)

Centre backs (4)
Edgar (Ch, on loan), Collins (L1), Kennedy (Ch, inj), McGahey (L1)

Wingers (4)
Adams (Pr), Flynn (L1, inj), Campbell-Ryce (L1), Woolford (L1)

Central midfielders (6)
Basham (Ch), Coutts (Ch, inj), J Wallace (Ch, inj), Cuvelier (unp, inj), Reed (L1), Dimaio (unp)

Forwards (5)
Sharp (Ch), Sammon (L1, on loan), McNulty (L1), Done (Ch, inj), Higdon (L1)

Luxury players** (3)
Baxter (Ch/Cf*), Scougall (L1), De Girolamo (unp)

Utility*** (1)
K Wallace (L1)

I reckon that of the current first team squad of 30 players, 11 could play at a higher level. Of those 11, 5 are out injured - three of whom are chronically injury prone (Coutts, J Wallace and Kennedy). That means that we can only field 6 players who I think should be capable of getting us out of this division and we're short at centre half, goalkeeper and centre midfield - key positions.

Our problem is that we've got a huge squad, the majority of whom signed from higher divisions. We still haven't learned the lessons which got us relegated to this division in the first place.

*Baxter: Championship technically, Conference mentally.
**Luxury players don't fit into Adkin's traditional 4-4-2 formation
***I honestly didn't know where to put Kieron Wallace. He's covered centre mid, left wing, left back and centre half without nailing any one position down.