Sander Berge

[dazzlingblade]

Stand by everything in that post.

Still pissed then???

 

[XM657]

Progressively, we will find the average height of our side increase going forwards.

Berge is a significant step in this direction.

UTB

With that in mind do you envisage, 18-36 months time United fielding 11 six foot plus players? I hope not, I feel quality not size is what we need with a mixture in players heights. Horses for courses, ability to change during a game to counter or break down whatever to drive on for a result.

 

[Sean Thornton]

Still pissed then???

Open goal.

 

[Balham]

No argument from me at all, Sander is going to be one hell of a player and we’ve mortgaged the farm to get him - he’s only been here for three games ffs.

Experts, my arse

Except that we've not mortgaged the farm. We took an educated guess that a) we would stay up therefore get the third year of parachute payments and b) Berge's resale will be at least the majority of what we paid. Add to that the fact that we'll be paying Genk over the next 2-4 years and it's a low risk gamble.

 

[Charlieblade]

The clubs that have recently developed into the big six, have been based on often expensive, continental talent, with a sprinkling of British, home grown players.
Are United on course to repeat that trend with the introduction of talented continental grown players like Berge.
The top sides like Man City and Liverpool currently enjoying the ascendency in EPL, now get all the benefits of continental talent, with a sprinkling of Brits in their sides.
Spurs, Man Utd, Arsenal are all struggling with transition between the two, and trying to determine the right mix for success at this level.
Through a combination of a transfer ban, and a policy dominated by British youth, Chelsea seem to have stumbled onto the correct mix of Brit and foreign players.
Maybe Wilder is slowly heading in the same direction, with the introduction of players like Mousett and Berge? Maybe he has taken the Brit based side as far as it can go at this level?
Just some food for thought.

 

[Niceguyeddie]

Hooftastic winner at the theatre of rust

 

[Akinbiyi]

Stand by everything in that post.

At least we know who not to pay any attention to in future then

 

[Nicolaus_Copernicus]

Send the Berge back, send the Berge back. We paid for a world class midfielder, they sent us f’ing crap! Oh, send the Berge back......... Too soon?

 

[BladeInIreland]

He's Nowegian
We will slag him off for no reason
Only played a few games for us this season
His name is Sander Berge

 

[mancunianblade]

There’s no way Berge has been brought in to play right side of a three.
He’s going to take over from Norwood at some point.

At the moment they just want him playing, and I’m wondering if Lunny is playing silly beggars with the contract talks so they are making a point.

For Reading, let's rest Norwood and put Berge in the middle. Treat it as if Norwood is injured. Play Fleck and Lunny alongside him.

keep the defensive shape, maybe play Osborn for Enda if he’s struggling with a strain. Retsos perhaps to get a game to see how he would fit in when needed, Bash rested or maybe JOC?

Up front...well maybe it’s time to see what Zachario can do? Alongside Mousset perhaps so the pace is a serious problem for Reading.

The point of making a few changes is to not risk crucial players and also see what options you have should you get an injury to one of them.
The cup game is an idea opportunity against a half decent side with the pressure and expectation on us to get a result.

Think this is the general consensus, also fits with Wilders whiteboard in the recruitment meeting

 

[Tarqs]

Stand by everything in that post.

So, McBurnie gets a slating and you're crying out for Richairo...who's been playing in the equivalent of the Big Gun round t'pool table championships!?

It's well documented that Richairo gives you pace, lots of pace, but not much else, so why a cameo against a side sat on their 6 yard box would suit him I dunno?!

 

[mancunianblade]

The comparison with Liverpool is a good one. No doubt Liverpool has made a far better stab at regenerating the city centre and you can’t fail to be impressed when visiting. I’d argue though that it’s got some of the most impressive architecture in the country, the cultural capital of the Beatles and LFC/EFC to trade off plus it’s legacy as a major port.

Liverpool also never had a Meadowhall equivalent. Sticking a massive shopping centre with free parking 3 miles closer to the rest of South Yorkshire, with only Chesterfield to the South and open countryside to the West was always going to kill the concept of Sheffield being the hub of the local area.

Sheffield could be a lot better but people writing it off as “wank” because it doesn’t have a Harvey Nichols is lazy. There is also loads beyond the city centre that never seems to enter the equation. I always find that incomers seem to value the city as a whole far more than people born and brought up here.

I’m sure Sander won’t be too disappointed anyway plus if he wants to buy some overpriced shite or the restaurants aren’t suitably Instagramable then Leeds is only half an hour away.

I left Sheffield 10 years ago and I’ve been amongst its biggest critics. I had my car serviced over there a few months back and was forced to walk around the city for 4 hours, and in all honesty the place is really starting to look up with regards restaurants and bars etc, mainly in the off the beaten track areas which is how it all starts usually.

Do think though that in the internet age retail in Sheffield will never improve. Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool all had a good foundation predating the internet. It’s a shame because the proximity to the peaks and the fact that pretty much all outdoor gear brands are trendy it would make good sense to have a number of big brands have small stores on the outskirts at least.. thankfully we are an hour away from Cheshire where anyone who plays in the north lives

 

[DronnieBlade]

With that in mind do you envisage, 18-36 months time United fielding 11 six foot plus players? I hope not, I feel quality not size is what we need with a mixture in players heights. Horses for courses, ability to change during a game to counter or break down whatever to drive on for a result.

No.

And I also agree 100% with your sentiment.

However, unless we are in the market for Agueros and Salah’s, this is the direction CW will go.

Im also not convinced by it, but convinced this is what will evolve.

UTB

 

[SouthEssexBlade]

I think our supporters have to take Blades glasses off when viewing transfers now.

With the Blades goggles on £22m is a fucking fortune and this player should be Currie, Woodward, Deane and Fleck combined.

With the PL goggles on £22m is an above average squad player, or young un with bags of potential.

 

[GrayBlade]

I think our supporters have to take Blades glasses off when viewing transfers now.

With the Blades goggles on £22m is a fucking fortune and this player should be Currie, Woodward, Deane and Fleck combined.

With the PL goggles on £22m is an above average squad player, or young un with bags of potential.

Absolutely spot in SEB!

 

[Balham]

No.

And I also agree 100% with your sentiment.

However, unless we are in the market for Agueros and Salah’s, this is the direction CW will go.

Im also not convinced by it, but convinced this is what will evolve.

UTB

Only the forwards we signed in the summer were 6' or above*. That's changed in January when all bar Robinson are: maybe that was a weakness identified in the first half of the season? None of the signings are particularly well built (Mousset the possible exception) - there seems to have been a desire to add dynamism as well as height to the squad.

Berge 1.95m (6'5")
McBurnie 1.88m (6'2")
Rodwell 1.88m (6'2")
Zivkovic 1.87m (6'2")
Retsos 1.86m (6'1")
Mousset 1.84m (6'0")
Besic 1.80m (5'11")
Jagielka 1.80m (5'11")
J Robinson 1.80m (5'11")
L Freeman 1.76m (5'9")
Osborn 1.76m (5'9")

*I'm ignoring Verrips and Henderson as goalkeepers under 6' are a rarity.

 

[BigBed]

So, McBurnie gets a slating and you're crying out for Richairo...who's been playing in the equivalent of the Big Gun round t'pool table championships!?

It's well documented that Richairo gives you pace, lots of pace, but not much else, so why a cameo against a side sat on their 6 yard box would suit him I dunno?!

Where am I "crying out for Richario"!??
And, the reason we needed pace was pretty obvious from where I was sat, we were being held by their 3 big defenders, especially when the ball came over the top, our better attacking plays came from wide, but we had nobody quite quick enough to get behind.
Now unless you were watching a totally different game, you must've noticed that!??

 

[itsinyerblood]

I think our supporters have to take Blades glasses off when viewing transfers now.

With the Blades goggles on £22m is a fucking fortune and this player should be Currie, Woodward, Deane and Fleck combined.

With the PL goggles on £22m is an above average squad player, or young un with bags of potential.

Nicely summarised, and I think you can extend this to many other areas of what happens at United.

This season we've spent in a way that is so unlike this club. I know we've had the Prem money to suddenly offer the opportunity to sign the type of players that were once no more than a figment of somebody's wish list, but what seems to have happened as a consequence of this newly found ambition is the realisation that those old historical spending patterns are no longer the basis for who we sign. A combination of relief and excitement now seem to spur many Blades when it comes to who we might sign, you can't blame any Blade for this of course, although with this giddiness comes a sense of expectation that is sometimes unrealistic.

Firstly, McBurnie arrived and was a completely different type of player to those we've signed previously. Add to which, it's taken him a few months to adjust to the way we play, and slowly but surely he's getting there, and his all round game is now justifying Wilder's belief that McB can add something different to our game.. Then we have the young Norwegian lad, who arrived with a hefty reputation, something that for some Blades will have triggered an expectation that is unfair and most definitely unrealistic. The price tag isn't the player's responsibility, all they can do is embrace the new environment they've found themselves in and apply themselves in training.

Personally I'm excited by what's happening, and although I'm not foolish enough to make predictions about any player, what I do like is the ambition that we're showing. It feels like this club is finally going to do everything within it's remit to make our place as a Premier Division club something that will extend far beyond one solitary season. Of course I appreciate that no one, and this includes CW and AK, can forecast where we'll end up come the season's end, but the fact that we're sitting in 7th position and doing so comfortably, well that's all any of us could have asked for, in fact it's probably beyond the pre-season expectations of most Blades, hence the joy we're all experiencing after what seems like an eternity of dejection and wasted opportunity.

So as SEB mentioned, it's always preferable to take off the Blades' goggles and see things for what they are. Currently, life is about as good as most of us have experienced, and thanks to our fabulous management team, we have a team, no, a squad, to be proud and excited about. UTMB!!!

 

[Akinbiyi]

Where am I "crying out for Richario"!??
And, the reason we needed pace was pretty obvious from where I was sat, we were being held by their 3 big defenders, especially when the ball came over the top, our better attacking plays came from wide, but we had nobody quite quick enough to get behind.
Now unless you were watching a totally different game, you must've noticed that!??

Pace would've made no difference, we were pretty much pinning them back anyway

 

[petcharlie]

Nicely summarised, and I think you can extend this to many other areas of what happens at United.

This season we've spent in a way that is so unlike this club. I know we've had the Prem money to suddenly offer the opportunity to sign the type of players that were once no more than a figment of somebody's wish list, but what seems to have happened as a consequence of this newly found ambition is the realisation that those old historical spending patterns are no longer the basis for who we sign. A combination of relief and excitement now seem to spur many Blades when it comes to who we might sign, you can't blame any Blade for this of course, although with this giddiness comes a sense of expectation that is sometimes unrealistic.

Firstly, McBurnie arrived and was a completely different type of player to those we've signed previously. Add to which, it's taken him a few months to adjust to the way we play, and slowly but surely he's getting there, and his all round game is now justifying Wilder's belief that McB can add something different to our game.. Then we have the young Norwegian lad, who arrived with a hefty reputation, something that for some Blades will have triggered an expectation that is unfair and most definitely unrealistic. The price tag isn't the player's responsibility, all they can do is embrace the new environment they've found themselves in and apply themselves in training.

Personally I'm excited by what's happening, and although I'm not foolish enough to make predictions about any player, what I do like is the ambition that we're showing. It feels like this club is finally going to do everything within it's remit to make our place as a Premier Division club something that will extend far beyond one solitary season. Of course I appreciate that no one, and this includes CW and AK, can forecast where we'll end up come the season's end, but the fact that we're sitting in 7th position and doing so comfortably, well that's all any of us could have asked for, in fact it's probably beyond the pre-season expectations of most Blades, hence the joy we're all experiencing after what seems like an eternity of dejection and wasted opportunity.

So as SEB mentioned, it's always preferable to take off the Blades' goggles and see things for what they are. Currently, life is about as good as most of us have experienced, and thanks to our fabulous management team, we have a team, no, a squad, to be proud and excited about. UTMB!!!

Well said I agree with all that you have put.Some have very short memories it was not more than seven months ago that we were praying to finish forth from bottom,how can anyone knock Wilders decisions ?We have the best manager in Britain who else could have done a better job?He sees things in a player others don't .Think of some of the players who before he came were not worth a lite .I remember Couttes (spelling could be wrong)he was shocking Wilder arrives and he was magical until his leg break and we all wonder how we would manage without him.Now we have a player who attracted attention from some big clubs he has only been here five minutes and some are having a pop at him.Give him time he is just a young lad in a strange country playing in a unfamiliar league.He admits it is much quicker than anything he has had to contend with before.If Wilder and Liverpool plus other top clubs think he is class that's alright by me.Give him a chance.Wilder has not had time yet to work his magic on him.Remember we have a gem in Wilder ,3 years ago we were in the old third division and we could not get out we had found our level now look at us being disappointed having only drawn with Brighton and Man united should tell us how far Wilder has took us.I think no one else could have done it so don't knock him he deserves our full backing no matter what decisions you might not agree with,he has shown he knows better than all us armchair managers.

 

[BigBed]

Pace would've made no difference, we were pretty much pinning them back anyway

With no end product, drawing defenders out of position with pace, is how you open a back line, or has something changed in football apart from VAR?

 

[Nick Jansky]

We will have to wait & see what Richario gives us other than pace. I find that a strange signing, but trust our recruitment team. Mousset also gives us pace but lacks fitness. Billy is not an EPL player & Robinson is ripping it up in the top end of the Championship, where he belongs. I expect us to recruit someone to play alongside McB in the summer.

 

[SouthEssexBlade]

With no end product, drawing defenders out of position with pace, is how you open a back line, or has something changed in football apart from VAR?

You can run about like Road Runner in front of a defence and it won't draw out a defence that has decided to concede that space, sit deep and make a team try and break through them rather than behind them.

 

[BushBlade]

You can run about like Road Runner in front of a defence and it won't draw out a defence that has decided to concede that space, sit deep and make a team try and break through them rather than behind them.

It may tempt them to drop an anvil on you or draw a fake tunnel on the side of the kop.

 

[DronnieBlade]

McB is not, and will never be, an EPL level player.

This will disappoint a few, but for those of you that plan to build a team around him, do yourselves a favour !!

UTB

 

[SouthEssexBlade]

It may tempt them to drop an anvil on you or draw a fake tunnel on the side of the kop.

True, we've abandoned Acme and now use Crab Industries for all hardware, though. Wouldn't trust that tunnel.

 

[Nick Jansky]

McB is not, and will never be, an EPL level player.

This will disappoint a few, but for those of you that plan to build a team around him, do yourselves a favour !!

UTB

He’s already proved that he is.

I’m sorry if you are disappointed at that, but its how it is. Generally recognised by most of us now.

 

[Akinbiyi]

With no end product, drawing defenders out of position with pace, is how you open a back line, or has something changed in football apart from VAR?

Don't you understand how it works? The trickery of McGoldrick made infinitely more sense than putting more pace on upfront.
I repeat, Mousset's pace would've made absolutely no difference in this game as we were already pinning them to their own 18 yard box

 

[Akinbiyi]

McB is not, and will never be, an EPL level player.

This will disappoint a few, but for those of you that plan to build a team around him, do yourselves a favour !!

UTB

As happy as I am that I was right, and as happy as I am for Oli that he's getting the plaudits he deserves, I'm equally sad for you.

Imagine nailing your colours FIRMLY to the mast, even so much you're basically going overboard in critique every time you speak about them, only to be wrong about said player. It must be so heart wrenching. My heart goes out to your Mrs, she must have copped for it since

 

[Carlton Blade]

McB is not, and will never be, an EPL level player.

This will disappoint a few, but for those of you that plan to build a team around him, do yourselves a favour !!

UTB

You could do everyone a favour and find a new topic? Just a thought