Osborn and Fleck Signs

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I can accept Osborn, but I am not inspired by Fleck. However, the club will still need players to cover injuries and suspension, plus lower priority cup games.
We have quite a few internationals who might need resting after long distance travel.

I prefer to have experienced professionals who know the club and understand the dressing room, to fill these roles. Any player coming in needs to be of first choice starting quality. If any first choice starter gets a long term injury, who is best placed to deputise?
It helps to understand the PH desire for ALL players to be retained. Let the manager manage, especially in light of the funding issues!

I hope JLT signs as well.
 

Just put a couple of you tube videos about them and everyone will be wanking themselves senseless about these signings!
 
jt64 said:
More accurately, it now requires us to use players like Fleck and Osborn, neither of who I think are better than Arblaster and Coulibaly right now, and pay more money to have a worse team while players we could be using are on loan doing work for someone else
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How many times have you seen Arblaster & Coulibaly play to enable you to arrive at that judgement?
 
I was thinking maybe Fleck has been poor for the past two seasons because he’s missed pre season. Unfortunately that’s not the case.

I felt like he did ok in spells last season, I’m not a fleck hater by any stretch I just think it was probably time for him to move on.

I kind of get Osborn he tended to play well in the games where we didn’t have the ball for long periods, he’s also versatile and presumably not on a big wage.

If my some miracle we stay up both have to go next summer
 
I really like Osborn's work rate and team ethic. Fleck has been a great servant, but has struggled for years.

They just about managed at Championship level.

But to be able compete in the toughest league in the world against many of the very best players in the world, we will need better, much better options.
 
JJBlade said:
Nobody takes a wage cut when the team gets promoted to the Premier League, it would be an insult to the players.

If they've been given a wage cut from their Championship wages they'd just sign for another Championship club instead
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I'd say that is right. Fleck probably had an automatic wage upgrade clause in his contract if we went to the prem. The club didn't take up that 12 month option and have offered something less I'd guess.

As you say it's probably more than he'd get from anyone in the championship, hence his decision to sign up. I guess it's also possible that there is an extra year based on appearances etc. built in as an incentive.
 
They'd struggle to get minutes at most championship teams, we've just given them new contracts in the Prem.

Yeah, we're going down.
 
jt64 said:
Ok, I was just trying to reconcile your comment of "There's no point in us signing players this window who aren't going to make the matchday squad as that would be a waste of our limited resources" when we have just spent probably closer to £2m than £1m in wages making for all intents and purposes new signings who will not be making the matchday squad. If we have an injury crisis, we have an injury crisis, throw one of the kids in if it happens, there's a decent probability that they're no worse and we are not wasting money and a squad spot by doing that. Heck, we could probably pick up a free agent off the street mid season if needs be who would be as good as Fleck is
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If you read my original post I did say I don't necessarily agree with these two getting new deals, but was trying to offer reasoning for why Hecky and the board have sanctioned it. Both are clearly not good enough to be premier league players. But hopefully neither will be relied on too much next season other than for cover.

You say we've probably spent close to £2m in wages extending their contracts when in reality you have no idea.

We know the board did not want to sanction a new deal for Sharp but have done for these two. We also know we chose not to trigger an extension in Flecks contract which I think we can assume means he was offered reduced terms. The fact they've both been given one year deals and flecks terms have been reduced indicates all parties agree these two won't be regular starters.

You also say that they're "for all intents and purposes, new signings". They aren't. They've been here years. They know the squad, Hecky knows them and their attitudes and believes they're good for the group.

We don't currently have enough players to name a matchday squad, even after these two have extended. Hopefully this now means we can focus on signing players who go straight into the 11.

I'd rather have fleck and Osborn stick around for 12 more months on reduced terms than end up with squad players like Rodwell, Morisson, Zivkovic again.
 
Balboni said:
They'd struggle to get minutes at most championship teams, we've just given them new contracts in the Prem.

Yeah, we're going down.
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Who had you in mind who would be better and be prepared to be on the bench or not in the match day squad ?
 
Revolution said:
Funny, if you add up the appearances and goals of Osborn and Fleck last season, you get 46 games played, 2 goals, and one assist.

That's an ever present Championship midfielder who doesn't score much or create many chances. For comparison, Norwood played 46 games for 2 goals and 5 assists.

The last time they were in the PL, Fleck played 31 times and got zero goals and 2 assists (the cross for Didzy v Spurs and the corner for Bryan v Man Utd). Osborn played 24 times and scored in the defeat at Leeds, the only goal from open play scored all season by a Blades midfielder.

I don't think anyone who has seen them would argue that they haven't taken a step back over the last 2 seasons. Fleck in particular cannot be effective for more than 20 to 30 mins now. Osborn was injured for 5 of the 9 months of the season.

This is very much quantity over quality. Just getting bodies in. I like both players, I am very appreciative of what Fleck in particular has done for us, but this doesn't strike me as good transfer business. In particular I don't understand why both have been re-signed.

People keep saying that Fleck could replicate what he did in 2019-20. He could, but that season looks like an outlier for goals. He's scored 2 in 3 seasons since in 74 starts and 18 sub appearances. His assist figures were excellent in his first 3 seasons, but he's only managed 7 in the last 4 seasons. He's clearly on the downslope.

Whilst recognising that someone has to fill the squad, resigning both of these guys is not likely to help to address the most glaring problem we have: we are going into next season with the same midfield that was an offensive black hole 3 seasons ago. We need someone who can create and chip in with goals desperately.
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Look at the goals & assists of McAtee last season , can anyone imagine Fleck getting anywhere near that , even in the Championship ... And now it's the PL !
 
Keen Blade said:
Look at the goals & assists of McAtee last season , can anyone imagine Fleck getting anywhere near that , even in the Championship ... And now it's the PL !
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No one is suggesting that Fleck will take Macatee’s place in the starting line up. He will be here as back up and nothing more.Our new LWB will be outstanding.
 

Our problem is lack of money which a lot of it has been spent on last years bills when the season ticket sales came (and went) the club settled up previous debts so we’re on a make do and mend I’m still quite surprised that we never kept Billy.
 
I am well aware of the fact that anyone on here who claims to have even the slightest level of inside information in respect of our club’s activities is inevitably treated with at least the utmost suspicion but more often outright derision , which is something I have never understood.

Given the fact that we have over 9,000 members many of whom have been deeply involved with the club for many years , surely the odds are heavily stacked against none of them having such a contact or at least an acquaintance who is .

In respect of the latter I most certainly have and he is the one who I quoted on here before the beginning of last season as saying that we had 3 or 4 very very promising signings / loans lined up which would greatly improve our chances of promotion , and so it proved to be .

When I spoke to him last week , he told me that in spite of the extreme budget restrictions placed on them, Hecky and co. were quite upbeat about repeating this achievement and bringing in a number of players who would seriously improve our squad .

He said that an important part of this was the fact that many top flight clubs have been impressed by the way we have developed the likes of MGW , Doyle and McAtee and are more than happy to let us have others of similar quality / potential on loan .

Given this information , I’m looking forward to next season even more and am reasonably assured we’ll make a good fist of it .

UTB .
 
Isaw Joeshaw said:
I am well aware of the fact that anyone on here who claims to have even the slightest level of inside information in respect of our club’s activities is inevitably treated with at least the utmost suspicion but more often outright derision , which is something I have never understood.

Given the fact that we have over 9,000 members many of whom have been deeply involved with the club for many years , surely the odds are heavily stacked against none of them having such a contact or at least an acquaintance who is .

In respect of the latter I most certainly have and he is the one who I quoted on here before the beginning of last season as saying that we had 3 or 4 very very promising signings / loans lined up which would greatly improve our chances of promotion , and so it proved to be .

When I spoke to him last week , he told me that in spite of the extreme budget restrictions placed on them, Hecky and co. were quite upbeat about repeating this achievement and bringing in a number of players who would seriously improve our squad .

He said that an important part of this was the fact that many top flight clubs have been impressed by the way we have developed the likes of MGW , Doyle and McAtee and are more than happy to let us have others of similar quality / potential on loan .

Given this information , I’m looking forward to next season even more and am reasonably assured we’ll make a good fist of it .

UTB .
Click to expand...
We can only have 2 premier league loans
 
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