Reflections & priorities for next season

[blades_95]

After a few days to process the loss I think we’re all starting to reflect on the season & look ahead to next year. Aside from the obvious target (promotion), I think there are some key things we need to learn from this season & focus on for next year.

Reflection on this season:

• Overall, Wilder has done a decent job. 90/92 points while rebuilding the squad, especially after the shitshow of last season, is a very good return. It’s just unfortunate we came up against two 100 point teams.
• For 2.5 games in the playoffs we were good & comfortable - but somehow still conspired to throw it away as we crumbled under the pressure.
• 4-4-2 worked pretty well in the cup style of the playoffs, but to have the squad we do, be top two for most of the year & end with our main tactic being ‘hoof it to the big man’ is pretty embarrassing.
• While results were good, performances were for the most part uninspiring. There was no clear style of play & we actually seemed to get worse and even less clear about how we wanted to play as the season went on.
• Journalists constantly telling fans that we were naive & ungrateful when we were scraping wins relying on Hamer, playing poorly and sitting with 11 behind the ball - what was all that about?!
• Results against the better teams were horrible & showed we weren’t ready for the Prem. 6 defeats out of 7 against the other teams in the top 4, and Sunderland should’ve been out of sight in the game we did win.
• Fitness & conditioning were horrific. So many players who can’t compete after 60 minutes, which is down to the management team.
• Subs throughout the season had very little impact (except from against 10 men Bristol City & 4-0 down Bristol City). Even when subs came on they seemed as knackered at the rest of them!
• The attacking talent was pretty wasted - even without Hamer, how many teams in this division would kill for JRS/Brooks/O’Hare/BBD to play behind Campbell, Cannon or Moore?
• Robinson & Brewster weren’t good enough 3 years ago to be starting for a promotion chasing side - spoiler alert, they’re still not.
• January was a big waste of an opportunity - Clarke, Cannon, Holding contributed very little (for different reasons). Hamza was decent, BBD overall disappointing despite a few goals.
• Team selections were bizarre towards the end of the season with stubborn loyalty to average players, with other players mysteriously falling out of favour - Gilchrist, Brooks, JRS, O’Hare.

Looking ahead to next season:

• We will inevitably lose some players, but we still have the bones of a good squad that can be competitive again.
• We need to develop the good crop of young players we have (Peck, Blaster, Seriki, Burrows, One, Brooks). They should be big parts of the group next year & maximising their value - it’s the nature of the beast now for successful clubs.
• We NEED to work on our fitness and have players who can last 90 mins, and recruit more fit/athletic players.
• We need to build a playing style & clear identity. I’d like to see us be much more positive in our approach & be more comfortable in possession - even in this league if a team presses us we panic & resort to long aimless balls.
• In no way were our ‘style’ or fitness levels ready for the Prem, and I don’t believe you can just develop that in 8 weeks for the top level - we need to build that across this season.

I think the board need to decide what the priorities are for next season. If we want promotion at all costs & worry about all of this after, then yes maybe he is the right man.

But if we want to build a sustainable club to improve players, especially develop younger players, recruit smarter and have a fitter squad with a clear playing style - then I sadly don’t think Wilder has shown that he’s capable of this. I hope he proves me wrong if he stays (which I think he will), but these have all been clear weaknesses of his this year & I can’t see him changing that over the next few weeks. To be a modern forward thinking club I think we need a modern forward thinking manager who embraces these things & move away from the ‘biggest Blade’ style manager.

UTB

 

[Pollingtonblade]

Agree with the fitness and style of play stuff, I'd imagine most Blades do, let's hope in today's round of fucks the board were dishing out Wilder has been left in no uncertain terms that culture carrying blokes with a long throw who "get it" are the past and we need improving for the future.

 

[JayGreen17]

After a few days to process the loss I think we’re all starting to reflect on the season & look ahead to next year. Aside from the obvious target (promotion), I think there are some key things we need to learn from this season & focus on for next year.

Reflection on this season:

• Overall, Wilder has done a decent job. 90/92 points while rebuilding the squad, especially after the shitshow of last season, is a very good return. It’s just unfortunate we came up against two 100 point teams.
• For 2.5 games in the playoffs we were good & comfortable - but somehow still conspired to throw it away as we crumbled under the pressure.
• 4-4-2 worked pretty well in the cup style of the playoffs, but to have the squad we do, be top two for most of the year & end with our main tactic being ‘hoof it to the big man’ is pretty embarrassing.
• While results were good, performances were for the most part uninspiring. There was no clear style of play & we actually seemed to get worse and even less clear about how we wanted to play as the season went on.
• Journalists constantly telling fans that we were naive & ungrateful when we were scraping wins relying on Hamer, playing poorly and sitting with 11 behind the ball - what was all that about?!
• Results against the better teams were horrible & showed we weren’t ready for the Prem. 6 defeats out of 7 against the other teams in the top 4, and Sunderland should’ve been out of sight in the game we did win.
• Fitness & conditioning were horrific. So many players who can’t compete after 60 minutes, which is down to the management team.
• Subs throughout the season had very little impact (except from against 10 men Bristol City & 4-0 down Bristol City). Even when subs came on they seemed as knackered at the rest of them!
• The attacking talent was pretty wasted - even without Hamer, how many teams in this division would kill for JRS/Brooks/O’Hare/BBD to play behind Campbell, Cannon or Moore?
• Robinson & Brewster weren’t good enough 3 years ago to be starting for a promotion chasing side - spoiler alert, they’re still not.
• January was a big waste of an opportunity - Clarke, Cannon, Holding contributed very little (for different reasons). Hamza was decent, BBD overall disappointing despite a few goals.
• Team selections were bizarre towards the end of the season with stubborn loyalty to average players, with other players mysteriously falling out of favour - Gilchrist, Brooks, JRS, O’Hare.

Looking ahead to next season:

• We will inevitably lose some players, but we still have the bones of a good squad that can be competitive again.
• We need to develop the good crop of young players we have (Peck, Blaster, Seriki, Burrows, One, Brooks). They should be big parts of the group next year & maximising their value - it’s the nature of the beast now for successful clubs.
• We NEED to work on our fitness and have players who can last 90 mins, and recruit more fit/athletic players.
• We need to build a playing style & clear identity. I’d like to see us be much more positive in our approach & be more comfortable in possession - even in this league if a team presses us we panic & resort to long aimless balls.
• In no way were our ‘style’ or fitness levels ready for the Prem, and I don’t believe you can just develop that in 8 weeks for the top level - we need to build that across this season.

I think the board need to decide what the priorities are for next season. If we want promotion at all costs & worry about all of this after, then yes maybe he is the right man.

But if we want to build a sustainable club to improve players, especially develop younger players, recruit smarter and have a fitter squad with a clear playing style - then I sadly don’t think Wilder has shown that he’s capable of this. I hope he proves me wrong if he stays (which I think he will), but these have all been clear weaknesses of his this year & I can’t see him changing that over the next few weeks. To be a modern forward thinking club I think we need a modern forward thinking manager who embraces these things & move away from the ‘biggest Blade’ style manager.

UTB

What a great post! I hope the Owners and Wilder himself reads this, the owners because it’s a pretty great analysis of the season and what they should be thinking for am”modern” club, and Wilder to help his self reflection, but it will probably bypass his narcissistic traits.

If we are looking to be modem and progressive, there’s only one man and that’s Rossenior. Go get him new board.

 

[blades_95]

What a great post! I hope the Owners and Wilder himself reads this, the owners because it’s a pretty great analysis of the season and what they should be thinking for am”modern” club, and Wilder to help his self reflection, but it will probably bypass his narcissistic traits.

If we are looking to be modem and progressive, there’s only one man and that’s Rossenior. Go get him new board.

Thanks mate!

Totally agree a manager like Rosenior would be ideal & needs to be our next style of manager, whenever that is.

There are a few younger managers in the Championship that we should keep an eye on - I really rate Ruben Selles, then Lampard and Cifuentes are showing potential.

 

[Houston_Blade]

After a few days to process the loss I think we’re all starting to reflect on the season & look ahead to next year. Aside from the obvious target (promotion), I think there are some key things we need to learn from this season & focus on for next year.

Reflection on this season:

• Overall, Wilder has done a decent job. 90/92 points while rebuilding the squad, especially after the shitshow of last season, is a very good return. It’s just unfortunate we came up against two 100 point teams.
• For 2.5 games in the playoffs we were good & comfortable - but somehow still conspired to throw it away as we crumbled under the pressure.
• 4-4-2 worked pretty well in the cup style of the playoffs, but to have the squad we do, be top two for most of the year & end with our main tactic being ‘hoof it to the big man’ is pretty embarrassing.
• While results were good, performances were for the most part uninspiring. There was no clear style of play & we actually seemed to get worse and even less clear about how we wanted to play as the season went on.
• Journalists constantly telling fans that we were naive & ungrateful when we were scraping wins relying on Hamer, playing poorly and sitting with 11 behind the ball - what was all that about?!
• Results against the better teams were horrible & showed we weren’t ready for the Prem. 6 defeats out of 7 against the other teams in the top 4, and Sunderland should’ve been out of sight in the game we did win.
• Fitness & conditioning were horrific. So many players who can’t compete after 60 minutes, which is down to the management team.
• Subs throughout the season had very little impact (except from against 10 men Bristol City & 4-0 down Bristol City). Even when subs came on they seemed as knackered at the rest of them!
• The attacking talent was pretty wasted - even without Hamer, how many teams in this division would kill for JRS/Brooks/O’Hare/BBD to play behind Campbell, Cannon or Moore?
• Robinson & Brewster weren’t good enough 3 years ago to be starting for a promotion chasing side - spoiler alert, they’re still not.
• January was a big waste of an opportunity - Clarke, Cannon, Holding contributed very little (for different reasons). Hamza was decent, BBD overall disappointing despite a few goals.
• Team selections were bizarre towards the end of the season with stubborn loyalty to average players, with other players mysteriously falling out of favour - Gilchrist, Brooks, JRS, O’Hare.

Looking ahead to next season:

• We will inevitably lose some players, but we still have the bones of a good squad that can be competitive again.
• We need to develop the good crop of young players we have (Peck, Blaster, Seriki, Burrows, One, Brooks). They should be big parts of the group next year & maximising their value - it’s the nature of the beast now for successful clubs.
• We NEED to work on our fitness and have players who can last 90 mins, and recruit more fit/athletic players.
• We need to build a playing style & clear identity. I’d like to see us be much more positive in our approach & be more comfortable in possession - even in this league if a team presses us we panic & resort to long aimless balls.
• In no way were our ‘style’ or fitness levels ready for the Prem, and I don’t believe you can just develop that in 8 weeks for the top level - we need to build that across this season.

I think the board need to decide what the priorities are for next season. If we want promotion at all costs & worry about all of this after, then yes maybe he is the right man.

But if we want to build a sustainable club to improve players, especially develop younger players, recruit smarter and have a fitter squad with a clear playing style - then I sadly don’t think Wilder has shown that he’s capable of this. I hope he proves me wrong if he stays (which I think he will), but these have all been clear weaknesses of his this year & I can’t see him changing that over the next few weeks. To be a modern forward thinking club I think we need a modern forward thinking manager who embraces these things & move away from the ‘biggest Blade’ style manager.

UTB

Great objective post, not sure the Wilderites will pay much attention past the ‘92 points’ bit though.

 

[robbiez666]

Next season we desperately need a strong captain. We've been missing one for years and there's no one in the pitch to sort things out when it's going wrong.

 

[Menage a petit pois]

Balance and objectivity on this forum??.....no no no...this is simply unacceptable...

Can't fault your analysis ...it will be interesting to see how the close season goes. Some players will leave and others will be brought in but the real litmus test will be whether those coming in leave us ultimately stronger.

 

[Westbrook Blade]

After a few days to process the loss I think we’re all starting to reflect on the season & look ahead to next year. Aside from the obvious target (promotion), I think there are some key things we need to learn from this season & focus on for next year.

Reflection on this season:

• Overall, Wilder has done a decent job. 90/92 points while rebuilding the squad, especially after the shitshow of last season, is a very good return. It’s just unfortunate we came up against two 100 point teams.
• For 2.5 games in the playoffs we were good & comfortable - but somehow still conspired to throw it away as we crumbled under the pressure.
• 4-4-2 worked pretty well in the cup style of the playoffs, but to have the squad we do, be top two for most of the year & end with our main tactic being ‘hoof it to the big man’ is pretty embarrassing.
• While results were good, performances were for the most part uninspiring. There was no clear style of play & we actually seemed to get worse and even less clear about how we wanted to play as the season went on.
• Journalists constantly telling fans that we were naive & ungrateful when we were scraping wins relying on Hamer, playing poorly and sitting with 11 behind the ball - what was all that about?!
• Results against the better teams were horrible & showed we weren’t ready for the Prem. 6 defeats out of 7 against the other teams in the top 4, and Sunderland should’ve been out of sight in the game we did win.
• Fitness & conditioning were horrific. So many players who can’t compete after 60 minutes, which is down to the management team.
• Subs throughout the season had very little impact (except from against 10 men Bristol City & 4-0 down Bristol City). Even when subs came on they seemed as knackered at the rest of them!
• The attacking talent was pretty wasted - even without Hamer, how many teams in this division would kill for JRS/Brooks/O’Hare/BBD to play behind Campbell, Cannon or Moore?
• Robinson & Brewster weren’t good enough 3 years ago to be starting for a promotion chasing side - spoiler alert, they’re still not.
• January was a big waste of an opportunity - Clarke, Cannon, Holding contributed very little (for different reasons). Hamza was decent, BBD overall disappointing despite a few goals.
• Team selections were bizarre towards the end of the season with stubborn loyalty to average players, with other players mysteriously falling out of favour - Gilchrist, Brooks, JRS, O’Hare.

Looking ahead to next season:

• We will inevitably lose some players, but we still have the bones of a good squad that can be competitive again.
• We need to develop the good crop of young players we have (Peck, Blaster, Seriki, Burrows, One, Brooks). They should be big parts of the group next year & maximising their value - it’s the nature of the beast now for successful clubs.
• We NEED to work on our fitness and have players who can last 90 mins, and recruit more fit/athletic players.
• We need to build a playing style & clear identity. I’d like to see us be much more positive in our approach & be more comfortable in possession - even in this league if a team presses us we panic & resort to long aimless balls.
• In no way were our ‘style’ or fitness levels ready for the Prem, and I don’t believe you can just develop that in 8 weeks for the top level - we need to build that across this season.

I think the board need to decide what the priorities are for next season. If we want promotion at all costs & worry about all of this after, then yes maybe he is the right man.

But if we want to build a sustainable club to improve players, especially develop younger players, recruit smarter and have a fitter squad with a clear playing style - then I sadly don’t think Wilder has shown that he’s capable of this. I hope he proves me wrong if he stays (which I think he will), but these have all been clear weaknesses of his this year & I can’t see him changing that over the next few weeks. To be a modern forward thinking club I think we need a modern forward thinking manager who embraces these things & move away from the ‘biggest Blade’ style manager.

UTB

Excellent post - my thoughts exactly!

 

[Tony_Kaufman]

For me the manager, whomever that may be, needs to find a system that suits the players he has. Wilder did neither. He picked a formation, signed a bunch of players who didn't suit it, then played players out of position to stubbornly stick with it. Both Hamer and O'Hare are central midfielders but he put them out wide for tbe majority of games. He put Brewster and BBD on the wings as he had no wingers. Why didn't he try to sign a left winger in January as we already had Brooks and Rak-Sayki?

That's bad management, plain and simple. You either pick a formation and sign players who will suit it, or you look at what you have and find a system that plays to their strengths until you can recruit as per the latter.

We spent our relegation season with strikers as wingers, then Wilder brings in only one winger and tries to play a system that requires inverted wingers without having any at his disposal.

Two seasons of madness. Do I think he'll change that this summer? Do I ****!

The only way this will change is if he's removed from being involved in transfers. Even then the club could sign two amazing, pacey goal scoring wingers and Wilder will play a 4-2-4 system and refuse to play them, because it's his way or no one's way.

 

[reedy63]

Only one priority: Automatic promotion. I don't care how attractive we play or not as long as we win.

 

[Tony_Kaufman]

Only one priority: Automatic promotion. I don't care how attractive we play or not as long as we win.

How you play does matter though, as this season showed. If you go up on nothing more than grinding out results and luck then you have nothing to build on for the following season. Momentum and confidence gives you belief. If you go up being outplayed and grinding out results, relying on luck then you have zero chance of staying up. Performances build confidence, flukey results don't.

And no, before someone comes out with the tired cliche, winning when you play bad is not the sign of a good team. A good team playing well and winning every week, then having an off day, playing poorly but winning anyway is what they mean by this. Playing poorly and winning every week is not the sign of a good team. It's the sign of a team pushing it's luck and not doing anything to change this.

I've argued all season that performances are more important than results as you're more likely to get good results from good performances than vice versa.

 

[MayorOJC]

Best and most reasonable analysis I've seen on here

 

[reedy63]

Your analysis is good, of course, and a good post. However, we have played poorly and won a lot of games this season.
We blew it by losing three games on the trot and losing the playoff final, just a slightly different opinion that's all.

 

[vas borbokis]

I'm a Wilder in person as I think he gets a lot more things right than wrong, however do agree on the fitness issues..

You don't have to look much further than Jayden Bogle to see that the fitness levels at Leeds are miles in front of us. That player alone is one we could never get fit. Something there definitely needs to improve across our team.
It might be due to running with a light squad with limited coverage, under Abdulla and that affected us until the JTW, and maybe beyond due to flogging everyone in the first half of the season... Who knows.
However,
I never saw Bogle have anything like the energy for us in several seasons, than he has for Leeds this time around...

 

[MiserableBlader]

Reflection on this season:

• Overall, Wilder has done a decent job. 90/92 points while rebuilding the squad, especially after the shitshow of last season, is a very good return. It’s just unfortunate we came up against two 100 point teams.

Based on that analysis mate
- The operation was a success, sadly the patient died -
I think you should cut out the dope.
it's making you one