Passion Still There

[Santos]

This isn't a Pro or Anti Blackwell post merely an obvious observation from todays game. You could tell the players are still desperate to win, make the challenge, play the right ball and run all day long. The players either still believe in the manager or are just being extremely professional.

Very fustrating as once again the results have gone our way but we've failed to capatalise. Part of me wonders why I care about this as this team is surely the least likely SUFC side over the past fifteen years to win promotion but it's a funny old game at times.

I thought we were the better team today and to be honest I was a bit underwhelmed with Warnocks QPR who I thought would have a bit more about them. He looked delighted to win a point.

Blackwell Out? Probably but it isn't going to happen any time soon. I have a feeling that we'll beat Blackpool but I can only see us receiving an absolute tonking at the KeapMoat next week.

 

[AlienWoodward]

Sorry I thought this was a post about your sex life ... i'll move on

 

[LoughboroBlade]

This isn't a Pro or Anti Blackwell post merely an obvious observation from todays game. You could tell the players are still desperate to win, make the challenge, play the right ball and run all day long. The players either still believe in the manager or are just being extremely professional.

Very fustrating as once again the results have gone our way but we've failed to capatalise. Part of me wonders why I care about this as this team is surely the least likely SUFC side over the past fifteen years to win promotion but it's a funny old game at times.

I thought we were the better team today and to be honest I was a bit underwhelmed with Warnocks QPR who I thought would have a bit more about them. He looked delighted to win a point.

Blackwell Out? Probably but it isn't going to happen any time soon. I have a feeling that we'll beat Blackpool but I can only see us receiving an absolute tonking at the KeapMoat next week.

I must have been watching a different game! I thought for the vast majority of it we were second to the ball all over the pitch. Whilst I'm sure QPR will be delighted with a point, the number of clear chances they created deserved more in my opinion, and but for Bunn it would have been game over even by half time. Today re-emphasised all the current problems with the team we've seen develop over the course of the year - it did nothing to convince me that this season isn't going to end in disappointment, probably before we even reach the final set of fixtures.

 

[Santos]

I must have been watching a different game! I thought for the vast majority of it we were second to the ball all over the pitch. Whilst I'm sure QPR will be delighted with a point, the number of clear chances they created deserved more in my opinion, and but for Bunn it would have been game over even by half time. Today re-emphasised all the current problems with the team we've seen develop over the course of the year - it did nothing to convince me that this season isn't going to end in disappointment, probably before we even reach the final set of fixtures.

Fair point regarding their chances in the first half although I can only remember the one which hit the post and the one which Bunn saved when the QPR player was running through on the left hand side (poor shot). I don't think they created much in the second half and most of the play was in their half. Overall a draw was probably a fair result.

I'm under no illusion regards whats going to happen this season, i'll be utterly stunned if we finish in the top 6 and I'd still support a change in manager, but today wasn't as poor as I was expecting.

 

[marshy]

We weren't the better side.

Head, hoof, mis-pass, don't shoot just about sums it up.

Today was worse than I was expecting after missing the last two home games.

 

[davidpinder]

The club don't want to go up we can't afford it, keep in touch with the playoffs to keep fans interested and sell season tickets. Tuesdays will be my last game of the season it kills me to watch united play like they do i won't go after tuesday until that fat twat is removed.

 

[ken shabby]

Blackwell must have shares in a funeral parlour, not content with sapping the life of the population of leeds (not necessarily a bad thing) & luton, he is now killing off the life joys & passions of those in S2.


Him & taterface, his blind assistant, really don`t know what`s good for `em.



Runcorn FC that`s what`s good for `em.

 

[moDtheGod]

The club don't want to go up we can't afford it

Although I'm now a fully paid up Blackwell knocker and I'm feeling about as negative as is possible right now, this is still an absolutely ludicrous comment.

Go up: sell lots of season tickets because people want to watch Premier League football, get lots of TV money and set the club for the next few years

Stay down: lots of fans drift away, no TV money

What mysterious factors am I missing?

 

[Blade]

Although I'm now a fully paid up Blackwell knocker and I'm feeling about as negative as is possible right now, this is still an absolutely ludicrous comment.

Go up: sell lots of season tickets because people want to watch Premier League football, get lots of TV money and set the club for the next few years

Stay down: lots of fans drift away, no TV money

What mysterious factors am I missing?

yep i've heard this line many times and don't agree.

 

[raul]

Sorry I thought this was a post about your sex life ... i'll move on

That HRT programme kicking in mate?

 

[Pinchy]

We were dreadful; utterly appalling. They were not much better. We did not have a single attempt on target in the second half. Disgraceful. I heard a few shouts of 'Blackwell Out' today. They will get louder and longer.

The interview with the Assistant Clown was an insult to our intelligence; all of us. We can't let them get away with any more of this can we?

 

[AlienWoodward]

We were dreadful; utterly appalling. They were not much better. We did not have a single attempt on target in the second half. Disgraceful. I heard a few shouts of 'Blackwell Out' today. They will get louder and longer.

The interview with the Assistant Clown was an insult to our intelligence; all of us. We can't let them get away with any more if this can we?

If only us lesser mortals could understand the point you are trying to make

 

[Compound_Legend]

I think what he's trying to say is that Blackwell & Ellis believe in playing football in it's purest form.

Pure shit,that is...

 

[alcoblade]

The club don't want to go up we can't afford it, keep in touch with the playoffs to keep fans interested and sell season tickets. Tuesdays will be my last game of the season it kills me to watch united play like they do i won't go after tuesday until that fat twat is removed.

If they couldn't afford it, they'd simply get promoted, not spend any money and get relegated. A bit like last time really. We'd just need to avoid giving an alcoholic an open cheque book the season after.

UTB

 

[Wards]

the better team? Which game were you watching? We were wide open every time QPR came up field with the ball and looked like conceding everytime they went up. They should've been 3 or 4 nil up in the 1st half if they'd have taken their chances or picked the right pass.

I thought we were woeful from start to finish. Did we have a meaningful chance in the 2nd half?

 

[JohnDenver]

Blackwell Out? Probably but it isn't going to happen any time soon. I have a feeling that we'll beat Blackpool but I can only see us receiving an absolute tonking at the KeapMoat next week.

How many will we ship at St James Park? Evens on 3? I might have a nibble at 5 if the odds are decent.

It's pretty obvious we're genuinely poor without our strongest XI. Even with them, we're not strong enough to compete in away games.

We really need to get used to this sort of league position. It'll be a while until we can progress again. All I see a new manager bringing us is (potentially) a better style of football - I can't see results being much better with this squad.

 

[lenners]

How many will we ship at St James Park? Evens on 3? I might have a nibble at 5 if the odds are decent.

It's pretty obvious we're genuinely poor without our strongest XI. Even with them, we're not strong enough to compete in away games.

We really need to get used to this sort of league position. It'll be a while until we can progress again. All I see a new manager bringing us is (potentially) a better style of football - I can't see results being much better with this squad.

Carry on with this regime and our current league position will be a million miles away.
We are watching a relegation team that is only saved by the points gained before Xmas.

 

[JohnDenver]

Carry on with this regime and our current league position will be a million miles away.
We are watching a relegation team that is only saved by the points gained before Xmas.

You don't have any concerns that replacing Blackwell with a less pragmatic and authoritarian figure could lead to a total collapse? I fear that an aesthete of a manager would need something more solid to build on.

Afterall, any new manager won't be able to bring in a whole new squad, and the squad we have is plain weak.

Genuine question...

 

[raul]

Which is exactly why I think a good (ie in demand) manager won't even consider coming here. Nothing to gain and everything to lose. Someone who's done the rounds a la Dowie or McGhee'll pitch up and say all the right things but we'll end up no further forward unless there are some fundemental changes taking place we are currently unaware of.

 

[Jon Bon]

You could tell the players are still desperate to win, make the challenge, play the right ball and run all day long. The players either still believe in the manager or are just being extremely professional.

When Henderson missed getting on the end of that chance near the end, he didn't look at all bothered. He didn't even have the courtesy to dangle his leg at it. If he had swung at it, made contact and it had ended up in row Z then fair enough, but he just watched it roll right past him.

Proves nowt I know but you would have thought that even a lumbering leviathan like him would have made some effort to get a touch.

 

[DuncDisorderly]

Which is exactly why I think a good (ie in demand) manager won't even consider coming here. Nothing to gain and everything to lose. Someone who's done the rounds a la Dowie or McGhee'll pitch up and say all the right things but we'll end up no further forward unless there are some fundemental changes taking place we are currently unaware of.

Even the pigs got Irvine so why wouldn't we find a good manager keen to come here? Don't imagine that this is a job that people wouldn't want, or that we are a club they won't be associated with. Thats Ballacks. All the usual suspects will be firing in their CV's but that doesn't mean we should take them.

For me, if we change manager we will need someone who is capable of handling the pressures of expectation that we put on them. The problem I have with O'Driscoll is that he has managed Bournmouth, where there was very little expectation on him, and at Doncaster where they are just delighted to be in the CCC. Some people perform best under the pressures of expectation, some don't perform at all (err, Billy Sharp for example...). Even so O'Driscoll had a couple of dodgy years when he first went to Donny, and it is credit to John Ryan that he stuck with him.

I simply don't buy the idea that you can take a couple of seasons, and plan for better football, but tolerate mid-table finishes. We planned for the play-offs this season and if opoor results continue could finish mid-table. What if we'd planned for mid-table? It is a flawed logic. The only objective any team should have is to finish as high as possible...

 

[Willie Carlin]

the better team? Which game were you watching? We were wide open every time QPR came up field with the ball and looked like conceding everytime they went up. They should've been 3 or 4 nil up in the 1st half if they'd have taken their chances or picked the right pass.

I thought we were woeful from start to finish. Did we have a meaningful chance in the 2nd half?

Had you left when Henderson had his grorious chance to win the game in the last few minutes ?

 

[davidpinder]

We can't afford to get relegated McCabe wants a happy medium keep fans interested to help sell tickets. If he wanted to go up he'd put his hand in his pocket.

 

[Santos]

Even the pigs got Irvine so why wouldn't we find a good manager keen to come here? Don't imagine that this is a job that people wouldn't want, or that we are a club they won't be associated with. Thats Ballacks. All the usual suspects will be firing in their CV's but that doesn't mean we should take them.

For me, if we change manager we will need someone who is capable of handling the pressures of expectation that we put on them. The problem I have with O'Driscoll is that he has managed Bournmouth, where there was very little expectation on him, and at Doncaster where they are just delighted to be in the CCC. Some people perform best under the pressures of expectation, some don't perform at all (err, Billy Sharp for example...). Even so O'Driscoll had a couple of dodgy years when he first went to Donny, and it is credit to John Ryan that he stuck with him.

I simply don't buy the idea that you can take a couple of seasons, and plan for better football, but tolerate mid-table finishes. We planned for the play-offs this season and if opoor results continue could finish mid-table. What if we'd planned for mid-table? It is a flawed logic. The only objective any team should have is to finish as high as possible...

The general consensus when you speak to most Unitedites is that they want SOD to replace Blackwell, therefore I'd like to think that if we were to appoint him he'd be cut a lot of slack compared to say a Peter Reid who would pretty much need to hit the ground running.

The key is to get a manager in who won't be hounded out when we lose two on the bonce. I think if we're atleast trying to play the right way the fans will stay on side.

It's a risk, but Unitedites are sick to death of the Blackwells of this world.

 

[lenners]

You don't have any concerns that replacing Blackwell with a less pragmatic and authoritarian figure could lead to a total collapse? I fear that an aesthete of a manager would need something more solid to build on.

Afterall, any new manager won't be able to bring in a whole new squad, and the squad we have is plain weak.

Genuine question...

We are totalling collapsing now - eight points from 30 is it?
I don't think we need a whole new squad, we need to make better use of the one we have and need a manager with knowledge of the lower divisions to pick up quality players.
Any I don't buy this argument of having an aesthete of a manager being somehow flimsy. O'Driscoll, and he's just an example, gets results, something tangible and solid.
Our culture of scuffling is now so ingrained that fans don't even conceive of the possibility of anything else having its own benefits and longer-lasting stability and solidity.

 

[marshy]

Even the pigs got Irvine so why wouldn't we find a good manager keen to come here? Don't imagine that this is a job that people wouldn't want, or that we are a club they won't be associated with. Thats Ballacks. All the usual suspects will be firing in their CV's but that doesn't mean we should take them.

For me, if we change manager we will need someone who is capable of handling the pressures of expectation that we put on them. The problem I have with O'Driscoll is that he has managed Bournmouth, where there was very little expectation on him, and at Doncaster where they are just delighted to be in the CCC. Some people perform best under the pressures of expectation, some don't perform at all (err, Billy Sharp for example...). Even so O'Driscoll had a couple of dodgy years when he first went to Donny, and it is credit to John Ryan that he stuck with him.

I simply don't buy the idea that you can take a couple of seasons, and plan for better football, but tolerate mid-table finishes. We planned for the play-offs this season and if opoor results continue could finish mid-table. What if we'd planned for mid-table? It is a flawed logic. The only objective any team should have is to finish as high as possible...

Is Irvine any good though - he's not saved the Pigs yet and they've just gone through a decidedly dodgy run?

Billy Sharp didn't perform, because as per usual, Blackwell seems to think he knows a players best position better than the player himself does.

It's easy to say sat here, but I'd honestly take a couple of seasons finishing 8th and watching some entertaining football, than watching a steaming dog turd flirt with the playoffs and, err....finish 8th. I'd even take it over 3rd and going to Wembley just to go through the motions.

Either way, I can't take much more of what we currently have to endure. I've only been going for about 8 seasons, but even Warnocks middle years were more entertaining than this crap.

 

[Wards]

Had you left when Henderson had his grorious chance to win the game in the last few minutes ?

Nope, was still there but had been bored into submission by that point and completely forgot about it. Though if we've taken 45 minutes to finally have another chance then I'll still consider us to have been pretty f*cking awful.

 

[DuncDisorderly]

Is Irvine any good though - he's not saved the Pigs yet and they've just gone through a decidedly dodgy run?.

Since he turned up they have got their shape back and six wins from the last 12 games 19pts. Sad to think that if the old bisons head could have hung on another month, they'd be well adrift on 22 or 23 points by now.

Billy Sharp didn't perform, because as per usual, Blackwell seems to think he knows a players best position better than the player himself does.

To be fair to Blackwell, Billy hadn't pulled up any trees before Blackwell got here. In my view Billy's problem was that he was playing second fiddle to Beattie and we played to Beatties strengths not Billy's. By the time Billy could be the star striker, his confidence looked shot, and after all he is never going to get the ball to feet around the penalty spot. Billy seems to be a lad who functions well as a big fish in a small pond. I doubt if we could build our team around him as Scunthorpe and now Donny are doing...

 

[Santos]

When Henderson missed getting on the end of that chance near the end, he didn't look at all bothered. He didn't even have the courtesy to dangle his leg at it. If he had swung at it, made contact and it had ended up in row Z then fair enough, but he just watched it roll right past him.

Proves nowt I know but you would have thought that even a lumbering leviathan like him would have made some effort to get a touch.

Why on earth wouldn't Henderson put 100% into getting on the end of the chance which would in an instant earn him a goal and win bonus, the adulation of 23,000 fans and most likely make him a certain starter for the next game.

 

[JohnDenver]

We are totalling collapsing now - eight points from 30 is it?
I don't think we need a whole new squad, we need to make better use of the one we have and need a manager with knowledge of the lower divisions to pick up quality players.
Any I don't buy this argument of having an aesthete of a manager being somehow flimsy. O'Driscoll, and he's just an example, gets results, something tangible and solid.
Our culture of scuffling is now so ingrained that fans don't even conceive of the possibility of anything else having its own benefits and longer-lasting stability and solidity.

I remember in '95 or '96 we played Alan Curbishley's Charlton at BDTBL on a Tuesday night. We won 2-0 but I've never seen an opposition team have so much of the ball. They kept it forever and a day but never ever put the thing into the box. Bizarre to watch.

With the benefit of 20-20 hindsight it was clear he was building something then - putting a method in place to succeed eventually. And it didn't half succeed. There was a relegation in there as well, but what he did was amazing.

My worry is, how many nights like that one in the mid-'90s would our fans suffer? Because we're going to have to go through plenty to get anywhere. The degree of negativity which people pass off as "Yorkshire wit" (or some such bollocks) is something I think is genuinely destructive.