Myth or fact re International Players…..

[Tom Bott]

Give him a chance, he might...all have rumored bids or at least interest

If Wilder wanted to reduce the forrins he could have sold Hamer to Leeds in the summer.

 

[Houston_Blade]

The trouble is, you have to coach different if you've got a squad of international players.

I remember watching the coaching videos from the start of last season. Larouche and Slimane were stood at the back, bored, paying no attention. As the coaches talked to the squad, in English.
Don't think they understood a word

Slimane speaks better English than most of our fans when I’ve heard him speak.

 

[AdamSufc1997]

He’ll have no choice if we want to progress.

 

[Alex Cheeseright]

If Wilder wanted to reduce the forrins he could have sold Hamer to Leeds in the summer.

I think the owner at the time had some say

 

[Tom Bott]

When we loose a game of football, it's Wilders fault.
When we win a game of football, it's down to the players.

When we sign a foreigner, someone else is in charge of recruitment.
When we sign a british player, it's Wilders blinkered stubbornness.

I think I'm beginning to understand how it works.

 

[Houston_Blade]

When we loose a game of football, it's Wilders fault.
When we win a game of football, it's down to the players.

When we sign a foreigner, someone else is in charge of recruitment.
When we sign a british player, it's Wilders blinkered stubbornness.

I think I'm beginning to understand how it works.

When someone blindly follows Wilder this is the kind of post I expect.

 

[Tom Bott]

Big difference between blind and blinkered though.

Have you seen where we are in the table ?

 

[fifty shades of blade]

About as much as BBD is Chilean

Errmm Wells was born and raised in Bermuda...so you're wrong there.

 

[Houston_Blade]

Big difference between blind and blinkered though.

Have you seen where we are in the table ?

If we’re still there at the end of the season then he’ll be vindicated, the expectation this season is promotion so anything less and it’s a failure in my eyes. We’re not ‘plucky little Sheffield United’ any more, we’ll have a top 3 wage bill and are top 3.

 

[CopenhagenBlade]

I don’t think you’re paying close to £10m for a foreign equivalent of Cannon, probably about £2m , depending on which country.
Like anything, you get the best talent in that your budget allows, no matter where they are from. The language issue really isn’t a problem for most countries and English football is still a huge attraction for many.

 

[fifty shades of blade]

I don’t think you’re paying close to £10m for a foreign equivalent of Cannon, probably about £2m , depending on which country.
Like anything, you get the best talent in that your budget allows, no matter where they are from. The language issue really isn’t a problem for most countries and English football is still a huge attraction for many.

Completely agree. And many countries, particularly those in europe, have a forward thinking state education system and insist pupils learn multiple languages, one of them is always English. It's just we have an education system that lets our kids down, thinks they don't need to speak another language, for some reason. Learning another language should not be a choice in school, it should be mandatory. That said, many kids in England leave school barely able to write a legible sentence in English

 

[CopenhagenBlade]

Completely agree. And many countries, particularly those in europe, have a forward thinking state education system and insist pupils learn multiple languages, one of them is always English. It's just we have an education system that lets our kids down, thinks they don't need to speak another language, for some reason. Learning another language should not be a choice in school, it should be mandatory. That said, many kids in England leave school barely able to write a legible sentence in English

It does seem as though foreign players are better educated and speak better grammatically correct English than English players

 

[Kev Gee]

You should sign the best players that your budget allows.....

 

[FMBlade1]

I can see there's a difference between international players established in the UK and those playing abroad.

It's usually cheaper to buy international players from abroad but there's also the risk that they'll be unable to adapt to the rigours of English football.

There are lots of great players who have not made it in England but gone on to have good careers abroad.

What you do need is top notch scouting networks. Easy to spot talent. Probably many on here quite easily could. But spotting talent and being able to judge character, physique, development etc is much trickier.

It's why you see players being snapped up further down the chain because they'll be on the radar of the big teams but there will be too much uncertainty.

Thread 'Scouting infrastructure problems'

Aug 17, 2017

This is something myself and a few others have been going on about for quite a while so I was glad someone brought this up at the fan's forum.

I am not glad however at the response which seems to be extremely shortsighted. The championship is full of players who have been brought in from overseas, they are able to do this because of the scouting infrastructure that they have. Why do we not have this as well?

Our strategy of lower league British players is all well and good but the market is getting more and more heated here, so now (which is why I bring this up)...

• FMBlade1
• Replies: 183
• Forum: General Blades Chat

• 

Agreed- made this point in 2017 and not much seems to have changed since!

 

[fifty shades of blade]

It does seem as though foreign players are better educated and speak better grammatically correct English than English players

I was listening to praise and grumble yesterday, they interviewed that Lewis Sibley who is on loan at Barnsley. He must have said 'obviously'about 32 times within 5 mins

 

[loyalblade95]

Something else that might be worth noting about our business this season, is quite a few of our signings and potential signings have come into the club already knowing some of their teammates and/or CW and the coaching staff.

Surely knowing some of your teammates before signing might help some players settle in and gel quicker as there are friendly faces in dressing room who could help them settle in.

Moore knew both Adam Davies and RND from the Wales squad, Alan Knill also did a bit of work with Wales in 2023 I believe?

BBD has mentioned before that he knows Jack Lester from when he was at Forest, Anel said the same when he signed in 2022.

Others like Cooper and Burrows probably didn't know anyone in the squad prior to signing (as far as I can work out)

Choudhury and JJK (assuming they sign) will know some of our players/coaching staff before they sign. Choudhury (CW, Cannon) and JJK (Tom Davies and possibly Jamie Hoyland)

 

[utd4ever]

Big difference between blind and blinkered though.

Have you seen where we are in the table ?

I know he’s your uncle so get the protection but come on.
He did amazing building a team that nearly got European qualification. When the wheels fell off it was mainly due to not investing in quality players. His British player theory will always be flawed. You are always going to overpay for average players. That where all the money disappeared. If only he had got a scouting network set up across Europe I am sure we could have built a stronger more competitive team for a lot less.

 

[ATL Recs]

Anel Ahmedhodžić - Born in Sweden to Bosnian parents

Gustavo Hamer - Born in Brazil

Vinícius de Souza Costa - Born in Rio de Janeiro

So why has Wilder not shipped out these forrins then, and replaced them with british talent ?


Myth.

Because they are three of the best players in the team and he won’t get Brits at the same level at the price within our budget

 

[Houston_Blade]

Thread 'Scouting infrastructure problems'

Aug 17, 2017

This is something myself and a few others have been going on about for quite a while so I was glad someone brought this up at the fan's forum.

I am not glad however at the response which seems to be extremely shortsighted. The championship is full of players who have been brought in from overseas, they are able to do this because of the scouting infrastructure that they have. Why do we not have this as well?

Our strategy of lower league British players is all well and good but the market is getting more and more heated here, so now (which is why I bring this up)...

• FMBlade1
• Replies: 183
• Forum: General Blades Chat

• 

Agreed- made this point in 2017 and not much seems to have changed since!

You do make this point often and I think it’s wide of the mark to say we don’t have a ‘network’ overseas. Every club does because there are legions of scouts offering their services on a consultancy basis. The difference between us and other clubs is that we clearly don’t use this network very well.

 

[Greystones Blade]

Where are we actually scouting for players ?
Surely if we want to even attempt to compete at P L level we have to be casting the net far and wide.
I saw Khussenov came from Belarus to Lens for a million euro,and then he's going for over 30 not long after.

Did we have a better scouting network in 1996 when United brought in Petr Katchuro from Dinamo Minsk of Belarus? I hadn’t realised he played for Dinamo Minsk four times with transfer to other Clubs - not loans - in between. Look at his goal scoring record at Minsk when we bought him - 52 goals in 60 games…pity he didn’t match that with us.. More here…

Pyotr Kachuro - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[Blacksea]

Did we have a better scouting network in 1996 when United brought in Petr Katchuro from Dinamo Minsk of Belarus? I hadn’t realised he played for Dinamo Minsk four times with transfer to other Clubs - not loans - in between. Look at his goal scoring record at Minsk when we bought him - 52 goals in 60 games…pity he didn’t match that with us.. More here…

Pyotr Kachuro - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

In the 90'ies we had quite a few half decent foreign players we got directly from various countries,and a few poor ones too.
That Portuguese striker who went to Birmingham seemed to score nearly every game for us.

 

[Houston_Blade]

In the 90'ies we had quite a few half decent foreign players we got directly from various countries,and a few poor ones too.
That Portuguese striker who went to Birmingham seemed to score nearly every game for us.

He got 25 in 65 games, we’ve spent a hell of a lot more on players who’d get nowhere near that in the Championship nowadays!

 

[Blacksea]

He got 25 in 65 games, we’ve spent a hell of a lot more on players who’d get nowhere near that in the Championship nowadays!

Yes, Marcelo,just checked he was born in Brazil but his career started in Portugal.Some scout was on the ball with him because we signed him from Alaves after he scored zero in twenty odd games for them.

 

[Tom Bott]

Maybe the game has changed in the last 35 years.

 

[mancunianblade]

The trouble is, you have to coach different if you've got a squad of international players.

I remember watching the coaching videos from the start of last season. Larouche and Slimane were stood at the back, bored, paying no attention. As the coaches talked to the squad, in English.
Don't think they understood a word

Speaks perfect English

 

[HarryHaslam]

Did we have a better scouting network in 1996 when United brought in Petr Katchuro from Dinamo Minsk of Belarus? I hadn’t realised he played for Dinamo Minsk four times with transfer to other Clubs - not loans - in between. Look at his goal scoring record at Minsk when we bought him - 52 goals in 60 games…pity he didn’t match that with us.. More here…

Pyotr Kachuro - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Alan Kelly scouted him. Ireland played away in Belarus and Katchuro played really well so when Kelly returned to United he told the staff about him and the rest is history.

 

[Blacksea]

Anybody know if Laurent D'Jaffo is still scouting for us?

Also

https://www.thestar.co.uk/sport/football/sheffield-united/sheffield-united-meet-the-former-blade-who-helped-bring-a-world-cup-winner-to-england-3625283

 

[St Annington]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/65151433

Wilder explains his stance here while at Watford.

And he accused the Hornets of playing like individuals rather than a team in their defeat at Kenilworth Road.

"It might be a bit of a cultural re-set [is needed] for the football club," Wilder told BBC Three Counties Radio.

"This is Championship football, you've got to do a lot of things right physically and mentally before the tactical and technical part even come into play.

 

[ShockingBadBuy]

The trouble is, you have to coach different if you've got a squad of international players.

And possibly ‘man manage’ differently too.

It might be that “I don’t think it works” = “I don’t have the confidence / knowledge to make it work”.

 

[S64 Blade]

I am not sure I see his point in all honesty - the biggest and best clubs in the World have international players throughout their sides, so how is it a hindrance? It's only a problem if they aren't up to the right quality, which can equally apply to British players.