New training pitch

[A Storm of Blades]

Sorry - still not buying training pitches being anything more than a secondary contributing factor to the injury list. I can imagine any lower end Championship, League 1 and League 2 sides have immeasurably worse facilities. I just don’t see other sides having this issue, and I certainly don’t see any side outside the Premier League having to install £ms Desso training pitches to stop soft-tissue injuries.

 

[ATL Recs]

Maybe we should train as little as possible and just use the matches as training, as they start to pile up. Play practice matches every week for those who don't play in the league

It'd probably reduce injuries and in that case the net result could be positive

Conditioning is very important your suggestion will only compound the injury list

 

[Frank the tank]

" Sounds like "

Sorry - still not buying training pitches being anything more than a secondary contributing factor to the injury list. I can imagine any lower end Championship, League 1 and League 2 sides have immeasurably worse facilities. I just don’t see other sides having this issue, and I certainly don’t see any side outside the Premier League having to install £ms Desso training pitches to stop soft-tissue injuries.

Chelsea have an Injury list as long as ours and the best facility's in the world

 

[Houston_Blade]

I may be slow to understand, but at a time of relatively mild weather with no penetrating frost or snow, why does a lack of undersoil heating stop you using the new training pitch ?
Is this a smokescreen for some other concerns that Hecky has ?

I really don’t know, he’s obviously pissed off with something.

I don’t blame him really, he’s got the team into a good position and the board seems to have disappeared. Where’s Bettis when you need him?!

 

[Fatlad666]

Easy way to solve the under soil heating issue. Go down to proper job ( other outlets are available) buy a plug and some 13amp fuses.

 

[Dkc]

We have a perfect pitch to train on in S2. Maybe we should use that a couple of times each week until we can use the new Shirecliffe pitch.

 

[Snowflake]

I know they're not ready to use yet, as Heckingbottom said it.
He also said that we have a difficult period coming up because we're going to be using the academy pitches which "have turned" (presumably to shit).

He wanted them ready by now, so as to avoid having to use the boggy fields.

True, but why ? Undersoil heating has not been necessary for several weeks.
As always there appears to be another agenda !

 

[Snowflake]

I really don’t know, he’s obviously pissed off with something.

I don’t blame him really, he’s got the team into a good position and the board seems to have disappeared. Where’s Bettis when you need him?!

...wiring the undersoil heating ?

 

[Keen Blade]

The story emerging re the delays in availability of the new pitch appears to show embarrassing incompetence by the club - I say appears , because I don't have the exact details.
However , what's more important is that Hecky has spoken out with implied criticism and publicly warned that unsatisfactory surfaces have caused injuries and will continue to put players at risk.
Again , not being a football coach , I can't judge whether Hecky's complaint is valid.
But the last thing we need is "trouble at Mill" , with a manager who has done so well in difficult circumstances.
So come on Board , get the pitch sorted and find some money for the striker Hecky wants.
To compromise the auto spot we currently hold would be madness when the big prize dangles before our very eyes.

 

[Stretch]

The story emerging re the delays in availability of the new pitch appears to show embarrassing incompetence by the club - I say appears , because I don't have the exact details.
However , what's more important is that Hecky has spoken out with implied criticism and publicly warned that unsatisfactory surfaces have caused injuries and will continue to put players at risk.
Again , not being a football coach , I can't judge whether Hecky's complaint is valid.
But the last thing we need is "trouble at Mill" , with a manager who has done so well in difficult circumstances.
So come on Board , get the pitch sorted and find some money for the striker Hecky wants.
To compromise the auto spot we currently hold would be madness when the big prize dangles before our very eyes.

I wouldn't disagree with any of that, but there is also a lot of speculation that the board are just sitting on their hands regarding transfers, which I find utterly inconceivable based on their track record, and as you say, with such a big prize firmly in our grasp.

Hecky keeps saying that nothing is close, but that doesn't mean that discussions aren't being had with other clubs and agents/players, in lieu of the takeover being ratified. I think it is highly likely that there are players out there who have been approached and who desperate to come here for a short loan and get a promotion on their CV. Is it not possible that they are happy to hold out for another couple of weeks until the financials are (hopefully) sorted?

If the rumours are also true that the new owner has already put money in, then I wouldn't be surprised if things happen very quickly towards the end of the window.

We'll see I suppose.

 

[BadgersBigToe]

Pitch issues frustrate Blades boss Heckingbottom

Sheffield United manager Paul Heckingbottom expresses frustration with ongoing training pitch issues at Shirecliffe.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[CPB]

As much as I think the Prince made a good decision in appointing Heckingbottom, and the general stance on our current most sought after players past 18 months for me it doesn't paper over the cracks. I also think that the structure for budgets from relegation would allude to us not overstretching and creating big problems for ourselves but again lets hope we don't have to wait and see there too.
Whilst we don't yet know who a new owner could be and how they will be we can only judge the Prince right now and from the outside it's a mixed bag.

I don't think he's our best ever owner like some suggest. Far from it generally speaking I think it's quite messy behind the scenes in terms of organisation and general club dealings/runnings.

From what I'm aware Wilder used to tear his hair out at times, you could see Slav's dejection at what he thought he was promised and Hecky's frustrations have been matters such as training pitch facilities and slow movement in many of our transfer/contract dealings. Right now we are running a risk on quite a few players of losing them for nothing. Listening back to when Hecky talks about when he took over in interim and he talks about how much of a mess the whole situation was by the board too.

Saying all this, Prince isn't the worst by any stretch and compiling the assets into one place makes it better which is likely why we are subject of takeover. And in terms of transfers when possible we have seen money spent, although this is a bigger subject and I don't mean talking about wasted money.

Lets hope for now the Prince sanctions the use of the new pitch (Supposed to be in use by now) and sanctions a loan or so to strengthen the squad.
Then lets wait on takeover, I'm guessing this will be after Jan.

 

[Snowflake]

The story emerging re the delays in availability of the new pitch appears to show embarrassing incompetence by the club - I say appears , because I don't have the exact details.
However , what's more important is that Hecky has spoken out with implied criticism and publicly warned that unsatisfactory surfaces have caused injuries and will continue to put players at risk.
Again , not being a football coach , I can't judge whether Hecky's complaint is valid.
But the last thing we need is "trouble at Mill" , with a manager who has done so well in difficult circumstances.
So come on Board , get the pitch sorted and find some money for the striker Hecky wants.
To compromise the auto spot we currently hold would be madness when the big prize dangles before our very eyes.

I think it is now beyond the Board’s control. Hecky has indicated that the grass needs to grow so that it bonds with the artificial fibres. That can now happen with the heating on, but nature has to take its course. The current cold weather doesn’t help !!

 

[RecordBreakers]

I'm sure in wilders time in charge we had significantly less injuries than we are having now and the facilities haven't really changed if anything slightly improved. Make of it what u will but laying the blame solely on facilities is a bit of a cop out.

 

[Sheffsteel]

Right now we are running a risk on quite a few players of losing them for nothing. Listening back to when Hecky talks about when he took over in interim and he talks about how much of a mess the whole situation was by the board too.

Saying all this, Prince isn't the worst by any stretch and compiling the assets into one place makes it better which is likely why we are subject of takeover. And in terms of transfers when possible we have seen money spent, although this is a bigger subject and I don't mean talking about wasted money.

Lets hope for now the Prince sanctions the use of the new pitch (Supposed to be in use by now) and sanctions a loan or so to strengthen the squad.
Then lets wait on takeover, I'm guessing this will be after Jan.

Not the slightest bit worried about losing players for nothing because apart from N'Diaye no PL clubs will show any interest in them.
If we get promoted then we can easily beat any offers they receive from Championship clubs. Also think we'll be looking for better players.
However agree, there will be problems if we fail to achieve promotion because they will still do a job at Championship level and we could loose them.

I suppose that's the problem....we don't know what division we will be in next season.....so we've no idea what strategy to use yet.
The difference between us preparing for the PL compared to preparing for the Championship is massive.

I suppose the Prince would argue why would he wish to sanction a new pitch, loans, signings etc when it's not going to be his club.
Surely would expect the new owner to be looking NOW at protecting his interest producing some money.

 

[FallowfieldBlade]

Pitch issues frustrate Blades boss Heckingbottom

Sheffield United manager Paul Heckingbottom expresses frustration with ongoing training pitch issues at Shirecliffe.

www.bbc.co.uk

Smart move preparing an excuse before you may eventually need one

 

[CPB]

Not the slightest bit worried about losing players for nothing because apart from N'Diaye no PL clubs will show any interest in them.
If we get promoted then we can easily beat any offers they receive from Championship clubs. Also think we'll be looking for better players.
However agree, there will be problems if we fail to achieve promotion because they will still do a job at Championship level and we could loose them.

I suppose that's the problem....we don't know what division we will be in next season.....so we've no idea what strategy to use yet.
The difference between us preparing for the PL compared to preparing for the Championship is massive.

I suppose the Prince would argue why would he wish to sanction a new pitch, loans, signings etc when it's not going to be his club.
Surely would expect the new owner to be looking NOW at protecting his interest producing some money.

I admit it's a bit tricky for some of these players given if we step up a division will they be required.

However the likes of Wes probably deserves a new deal and can be part of our squad in the league above.
McBurnie if he gets back to how he was before the WC/Op we've got the player that commanded interest from PL clubs and we bought him for £17.5m. To lose him on a free is bonkers whatever you think about his whole time here, he's still only 26.
Norwood is in fine form and whilst I'd hope we might well adapt a bit differently in the PL again he could be part of the squad in the tier up.
Jebbison may also be out of contract this summer.
With the rest I can see the value in waiting and seeing what we decide come summer.

But aside from players that we have another year option on (And I'm not sure which ones they would be) we are currently running the risk of clubs outside the English league trying to sign them right now as well. Clubs can talk 6 months in advance of an expiry. Most likely offers being from the Scottish leagues.

If we go up, I'd hope we see many new signings of course (not as many as Forest mind you!) but it makes sense to keep players together that helped you get there and who may still be worth being part of you're squad.

 

[Bladesman]

 

[Sheffsteel]

McBurnie if he gets back to how he was before the WC/Op we've got the player that commanded interest from PL clubs and we bought him for £17.5m. To lose him on a free is bonkers whatever you think about his whole time here, he's still only 26.
Norwood is in fine form and whilst I'd hope we might well adapt a bit differently in the PL again he could be part of the squad in the tier up.
Jebbison may also be out of contract this summer.
With the rest I can see the value in waiting and seeing what we decide come summer.

Regards McBurnie I'm still not convinced he's PL standard (altho accept he was decent when last there)
A factor with McB is he's still quite young, so could attract some future re-sale value.
Think loads of Championship clubs would want him offering £15K a week but think PL clubs will stay well away.
For example the Scottish fan think he's laughably crap and want him to stay well away from their team and that's a struggling international side.
We can wait for his contract to run down. if we're promoted offer him £20K a week and that should be the best offer he receives.

Norwood is in fine form for us but like McBurnie his stock at PL level is pretty low.
He'll receive offers from the Championship at £10K (he's older with no resale value) but can't see any PL team wanting him.
The style he plays for us with his long passing wouldn't suit many PL managers because it's just giving away possession too much.
Accept every now and again Norwood makes some brilliant passes but he uses the "long pass" tactic too much, so is guilty of plenty of misplaced passes.
Really think he's one of them players who is quality in the Championship but not enough speed or physicality to play at a good level in the PL.
Playing for us really suits his style because we play to his strength, so if we offer £15K to £20K in the Summer that's likely to be the best offer he'll receive.

Jebbison, agree it's likely a PL might take a punt on him like a Chelsea etc as he's really young with high future potential.
They might offer him £20K a week for 5 years and never play him....just loan him out every year to a Championship team
but if he's being advised properly surely he'd be better accepting our £10K to £15K/week offer (plus bonuses) as he's more chance of seeing game time in the PL.

However some agents advise their client to choose the Jordan Slew career path and if a PL club offers Jebbison £20K a week for 5 years.
He might sign it to become a millionaire and not be bothered about career progression or whether he plays or not.

 

[Tom Bott]

Smart move preparing an excuse before you may eventually need one

Sean Dyche could train his troops on a ploughed field.