Season of consolidation?

[Champagneblade]

Maybe this is the year we take stock.

Last year I thought until Coutts’ injury it could be our year.

This year I just don’t get the feeling the opportunity is there. There’s a few too many giants or at least financial powerhouses woken from their slumber.

Leeds have a skilled coach and have invested.
Villa have staved off FFP through investment and are market movers again.
Boro have some big money deals flying around.
Derby, thiugh manaed by anovice have bought goals
WBA have kept players and loaning Gayle was a good move.
Stoke have spent money and are further linked.
Forest have splashed the cash on the Mendes route.
Swansea have money, will raise money and will continue to invest.

That’s at least 8 valid reasons why we won’t be in the top 6. Now, maybe we’ll be so ruthless vs ‘the rest’ we’ll be in the mix, but we’re up against it this term I feel.

 

[AdamSufc1997]

i don't expect us to be near top anyway, we haven't improved team with quality at all

 

[Revolution]

We don't consolidate.

We usually do one of 4 things:

- get promoted
- get in the playoffs and lose
- mount a playoff/promotion challenge and gradually slip out of contention, usually finishing between 8th and 11th.
- get relegated

In the last quarter of a century, only 3 seasons - 2000, 2002, and 2014 - do not fit this criteria. In 2002 we never really got going (we drew the first 5 games) and ended up 13th, but were never really in trouble. In the other 2 seasons a hopeless manager got us in trouble and a competent one kept us up with ease.

For some reason, this club is incapable of trotting along, Ipswich style, in midtable. In one respect this is good because it's never boring. In another it's frightening, as whenever we are in trouble late on we always go down. Hence my worry about this season.

 

[Bookers Mullet]

we'll be bottom half but avoid relegation, we've no chance of troubling the top six.

 

[PeterNdlovu081]

Calling it now...

Last day of the season us and Wednesday will be fighting to avoid the last relegation spot.

The city of Sheffield really is the smelly anus of English football.

 

[nopigfansintown]

Would snap your hand off for consolidation. I said the same two games ago.We needed significant investment in the first team squad, and haven't got it.

 

[Torrix1889]

9 wins in the last 32 games tells us many things;

1; if we continue in that vein we will be in a relegation battle
2; our squad isn't actually very good
3; our Managers tactics and team selection aren't actually very good
4; Blades fans are fuckin deluded if they don't agree with points 1-3..!!!

 

[Rob86]

I think your analysing teams at the wrong end of the table. Having witnesses those two performances, and the manager quoted as saying “why should I not pick the best team”, perhaps we should look at who the weaker teams are in the division.

Rotherham, Reading, Ipswich - now the most wanted forward in Britain has been sold, Bolton ? Although I think they’ve recruited fairly well. Pigs ? Could be in for a hard slog as well

 

[vorpal blade]

opened by a mini season of liquefaction.

 

[super_pig]

Maybe this is the year we take stock.

Last year I thought until Coutts’ injury it could be our year.

This year I just don’t get the feeling the opportunity is there. There’s a few too many giants or at least financial powerhouses woken from their slumber.

Leeds have a skilled coach and have invested.
Villa have staved off FFP through investment and are market movers again.
Boro have some big money deals flying around.
Derby, thiugh manaed by anovice have bought goals
WBA have kept players and loaning Gayle was a good move.
Stoke have spent money and are further linked.
Forest have splashed the cash on the Mendes route.
Swansea have money, will raise money and will continue to invest.

That’s at least 8 valid reasons why we won’t be in the top 6. Now, maybe we’ll be so ruthless vs ‘the rest’ we’ll be in the mix, but we’re up against it this term I feel.

can't see us being mid table. being a blade is a rollercoaster. we're either battling at the top or the bottom, never in the middle

 

[JohnDenver]

Would snap your hand off for consolidation. I said the same two games ago.We needed significant investment in the first team squad, and haven't got it.

This. I’m not chucking my toys out, but it’s plain realism. We need our younger players to develop this season or else we’re in real strife next time. It’s the nature of being a low budget outfit.

 

[Cerberus Blade]

Maybe this is the year we take stock.

Last year I thought until Coutts’ injury it could be our year.

This year I just don’t get the feeling the opportunity is there. There’s a few too many giants or at least financial powerhouses woken from their slumber.

Leeds have a skilled coach and have invested.
Villa have staved off FFP through investment and are market movers again.
Boro have some big money deals flying around.
Derby, thiugh manaed by anovice have bought goals
WBA have kept players and loaning Gayle was a good move.
Stoke have spent money and are further linked.
Forest have splashed the cash on the Mendes route.
Swansea have money, will raise money and will continue to invest.

That’s at least 8 valid reasons why we won’t be in the top 6. Now, maybe we’ll be so ruthless vs ‘the rest’ we’ll be in the mix, but we’re up against it this term I feel.

Here we go again! “Consolidation”.

All the points you make about other teams are true. That was always going to be likely. Every season the gap gets wider between the haves and have nots. We’ve known that for years at Prem level. But now we are seeing it at Championship level too. Any team in with faintest sniff of a promotion has to push to get there because that chance can evaporate very quickly and the subsequent seasons are likely to become even harder not easier.

But 2 games in is not the time to be thinking about consolidation. 22 games in and adrift at the foot of the table maybe, but not now.

Now is the time to be thinking about putting our best 11 players on the pitch and going for a win in every game. Hopefully we’ll try this in our next league game v QPR?

 

[JackSUFC]

We're not good enough to challenge for promotion as we don't have the £££. Simple as. Anyone thinking we can push on this season are kidding themselves. Wilder has worked miracles but I fear he's taken us as far as he (or anyone else) can with our budget.

If we finish in the top 12 and take points off Wednesday, with a few good away wins too then I'll be content. We won't push on until we get serious investment. It's sad but true.

 

[Harry's Game]

Said in the pre season prediction thread a repeat or improvement on last years finish would be a remarkable achievement.

Predicted 14th.

But we will have to improve significantly on our first two games to get to that and without incomings that won’t be easy.

 

[Esablade]

Consolidating right into the Premier league via the play off’s!

 

[Revolution]

Calling it now...

Last day of the season us and Wednesday will be fighting to avoid the last relegation spot.

The city of Sheffield really is the smelly anus of English football.

And, of course, we are away and they are at home, as usual when we are in the same division.

 

[Bladesince59]

Season of survival.

 

[Bladesince59]

9 wins in the last 32 games tells us many things;

1; if we continue in that vein we will be in a relegation battle
2; our squad isn't actually very good
3; our Managers tactics and team selection aren't actually very good
4; Blades fans are fuckin deluded if they don't agree with points 1-3..!!!

Point 3 because of point 2

 

[SteveBlade]

Season of shithousery.

 

[snootyfenooty]

I fear Wilder is not the man to be trusted with a transfer pot if we ever did get the investment. His transfer record is pretty dismal if we're being honest. However, saying that we do have quality in the squad but they either don't get played or get played out of position. Duffy & Woodburn fit the former catergory and Fleck the latter. This might be a good starting point to get our season off the ground before we resign ourselves to consolidation, or as others have said, more likely relegation this being SUFC.

 

[Bladesince59]

It will always be like this until we get an owner whose passion isn't land/property where they also happen to play football.

UTB

 

[I should coco]

It will always be like this until we get an owner whose passion isn't land/property where they also happen to play football.

Yes, if only we had one like Mr Chansiri whose first love is tuna, or those nice Venky people and their chickens.

The Glazer's first, second and third love is money, but the Johnny-come-lately United don't do too bad.

 

[PeterNdlovu081]

And, of course, we are away and they are at home, as usual when we are in the same division.

And as usual they will come out on top (1993, 2012).