Most improved over the year

[Woodwardfan]

Experience, not old age, brings wisdom. Computer games certainly don't. I take no lessons about football or anything else from wet behind the ears young tyros who play Junior Computer Manager or some such trivia and think they know it all but have seen nowt. One or two of them are far too full of their own computer generated opinions when in truth they haven't a fucking clue. I try to help them with the benefit of quite a lot of real world experience - of football and life. Instead of thanks, I get confrontation. They get what they ask for. Arguments they can't win. It's not a level playing field. They are kicking up hill.

Anyone who regards "terrible" as synonymous with "indifferent" is indeed in urgent need of a dictionary. On that topic, Paul Coutts was never "awful" either. If you want "awful", let's consider your boy Little Louis after the novelty wore off. Subbed at half-time on two different occasions to save him from further embarrassment - that's awful.

Pinchy, if you really hope to help these young Blades, the future of the club, why not let them kick 'downhill' all the time and debate rather than chastise. You seek "thanks and get confrontation", could that be a result of the way you conduct yourself? With the benefit of all that life time experience couldn't you show maturity when your opinions are tested?

You make big assumptions that excessive participation on computer games is at the root cause of youngsters' poor knowledge. I would obviously challenge that and warn against stereotyping but have you ever thought about the irony that all the excessive time you spend on here has affected your own view of self and has fashioned this aggressive character on here? Could that " experience of real world and life" actually be a negative rather than a positive? Certainly a view that age qualifies as correct is a dangerous view indeed.

Your inflated view of self is broadcast repeatedly on here, think about that in your old age.

Not sure what all that about dictionary definitions is about, maybe your 'old school' coming out again. The comments about Coutts and Reed show your immaturity perhaps, red herrings in this context if I may say so.

My experience tells me that you are creating conflict as a form of entertainment in your old age.

 

[Gimli]

Pinchy, if you really hope to help these young Blades, the future of the club, why not let them kick 'downhill' all the time and debate rather than chastise. You seek "thanks and get confrontation", could that be a result of the way you conduct yourself? With the benefit of all that life time experience couldn't you show maturity when your opinions are tested?

You make big assumptions that excessive participation on computer games is at the root cause of youngsters' poor knowledge. I would obviously challenge that and warn against stereotyping but have you ever thought about the irony that all the excessive time you spend on here has affected your own view of self and has fashioned this aggressive character on here? Could that " experience of real world and life" actually be a negative rather than a positive? Certainly a view that age qualifies as correct is a dangerous view indeed.

Your inflated view of self is broadcast repeatedly on here, think about that in your old age.

Not sure what all that about dictionary definitions is about, maybe your 'old school' coming out again. The comments about Coutts and Reed show your immaturity perhaps, red herrings in this context if I may say so.

My experience tells me that you are creating conflict as a form of entertainment in your old age.

He's right about Coutts to be fair WWF. He could put his point across more diplomatically but hey ho.
Coutts always had ability - he needed someone like Fleck to bring out the best in him. He's hardly going to be as effective when he's got Hammond next to him being invisible.

 

[Woodwardfan]

He's right about Coutts to be fair WWF. He could put his point across more diplomatically but hey ho.
Coutts always had ability - he needed someone like Fleck to bring out the best in him. He's hardly going to be as effective when he's got Hammond next to him being invisible.

Many of us were right about Coutts but don't need to remind everybody time and again.

 

[Gimli]

Many of us were right about Coutts but don't need to remind everybody time and again.

Agreed.
Don't be playing the poster though WWF - remember, play the post, not the poster!

 

[I should coco]

My experience tells me that you are creating conflict as a form of entertainment in your old age.

His holy Pinchiness, the grand old sage of this board and The Universe generally?

Surely not?

 

[Woodwardfan]

Agreed.
Don't be playing the poster though WWF - remember, play the post, not the poster!

Good one Gim, maybe should have PM'd him. It's the umpteenth time I've thought about it though, I'll excuse myself.

 

[LJBlade]

The retreat from "terrible" which you told me he "most certainly" was, then quickly performed a volte-face in a subsequent reply.

Coutts is a high quality player, who was labouring under a significant and prolonged injury for much of his early career with us. He is now what he was always going to be. The most vital link in our team. The one that keeps possession and starts all our best moves. He's a proper footballer and an absolute pleasure to watch.

I've seen many terrible United players, some of them Bladey favourites because they Runaround a lot, despite having little or no talent. I know what they look like. I know how they 'play'. Paul Coutts is not one of them.

The 'retreat' from 'terrible' was to avoid upsetting sensitive souls like yourself. Whichever word you'd like to use he wasn't a very good player.

Coutts has loads of ability and is a very good player, that was always obvious, which actually makes his performances worse. You can have all the talent and ability in the world but it's no good if you don't use it. I'm surprised you were actually pleased with how he was playing back then, I would've thought you'd have higher standards than that.

 

[I should coco]

I'm surprised you were actually pleased with how he was playing back then, I would've thought you'd have higher standards than that.

It's the BIC you see. Pinchy was cap doffing to Derby as they'd let such an obviously talented player join a smaller lower league outfit. like us

 

[Grappler]

Depends on what you mean by improved. If "improved" refers to fitness it's Coutts. If it's effort its Coutts. If its application it's between Coutts and Freeman. If it's confidence it's Freeman. If it's positional improvement its Basham. My take for what its worth.

This (above) is probably closest to reality, for me at least.

When we signed Paul Coutts, a mate of mine in Preston said he was fantastic, they would have had him back in a heartbeat, can't believe he has gone to SUFC, etc. My Derby mate said the same thing, we had found a gem of a player, but did say he had a long lay off with a serious injury (dislocated knee cap) and he might not be the same player he once was. The latter appeared to be true. I don't know if the management rushed Coutts back too early, or if the player himself pushed for a starting place, but he was clearly not match fit, and he (understandably) backed out of 50/50 tackles, just like Rob Hulse did when he came back from injury (double leg fracture).

We could all see that Coutts was an outstanding footballer, who just had no pace, often gave up chasing his man, would not get stuck in (as I said, understandable after the knee injury) but could pick a pass.

Basham was almost the opposite, going forward non-stop, never giving up the chase, going in with ball-winning slide tackles, but didn't appear to have a footballing brain, often ran into dead ends and would almost never have a shot on goal, despite racing to the edge of the box, where he would invariably panic and start to dither, looking for the off load.

Freeman was a young swashbuckler, bombing down the wing, trying to get the cross in, sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't, but was frozen out of the team, for reasons yet to become clear (there is a story, that he had "words" with Nigel Adkins) and ended up on loan at Portsmouth. I could never get my head around that.

Today, we have three players that I cannot imagine us starting a game without.

Paul Coutts (alongside John Fleck) controlling the game, Basham defending like his life depends on it and Freeman, probably second (last season) to Sir Billy Sharp OBE, in the "player-most-likely-to-score" scenario. To go from hardly scoring to double figures in a season is an incredible achievement.

Maybe it was just a confidence thing with all three, and maybe that is what CW and AK do behind the scenes, quietly lift the lads confidence in a subtle way, so it doesn't appear contrived or forced, but slowly, the player blossoms, and you end up with three huge parts of the team machine.

 

[Bladey McBladeface]

I've always thought Basham was a good player so whilst he has improved I don't see him as the most improved.

Both Coutts and Freeman are good calls but I've gone for Freeman. Coutts always had ability, he now just applies it.