Sheffield United 2021/22

[247Blade]

The fact is 3-5-2 can be very flexible with the right personnel, we just didn’t have them.
It can become 3-4-3 if you push your number 10 on, or get them to sit behind to become 3-4-1-2, or invert that if you have a target man who holds up the ball, 3-4-2-1.
If your on the back foot you can pull the midfielder deeper and look to hit out more on the break, or even retain position in midfield if you want to see the game out 3-2-3-2 or the 3-5-2 we’ve been playing with a flat 3.
All the above can be done without needing subs should you wish.
Also if you have the centre halves (which we don’t currently) you can make a single sub to switch to 4 at the back and the million combinations that would give you.
I think 3 at the back gives you the greatest flexibility with the right player with the right intelligence and fits the squad we have most comfortably with the minimum amount of overhaul. We could always look to build 2 better centre halves should we be successful and implement the 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1, 4-2-1-3 the following year.

SJ has plenty of time to think on it .... he's not officially our manager until beginning of July ... so a lot of conjecture on our part until this time..... your guess as good as mine .... only hope we've got time then to sort squad and system out

 

[Flatulent_Bob]

SJ has plenty of time to think on it .... he's not officially our manager until beginning of July ... so a lot of conjecture on our part until this time..... your guess as good as mine .... only hope we've got time then to sort squad and system out

Don’t you think he’ll have been doing that in the last month or so while they’ve been talking? He’ll have presented his view within those conversations as to where he wants to go with this squad and what he believes needs doing. We’ll be onto securing our targets now.

 

[247Blade]

Don’t you think he’ll have been doing that in the last month or so while they’ve been talking? He’ll have presented his view within those conversations as to where he wants to go with this squad and what he believes needs doing. We’ll be onto securing our targets now.

Really hope so Bob or is his hands tied until his contracts up ... as he's not got a backroom team sorted yet just makes you wonder how quick things will develop?

 

[Upton_Blade]

This was the way I hoped wilder would take us but it never materialised
Instead we just looked like a basic 5-3-2 and the overloads and fluidity and rotational movement of players just stopped dead

That's the bit I can't quite understand re our 2 PL seasons under CW.

It was quite widely quoted that the tweak to our formation upon promotion to make us a bit more solid in MF was a switch from 3412 to 3421. Robinson and Freeman were then signed for around £15m to facilitate this and McBurnie was bought to be the focal point up top.

By all accounts what happened next was that Lundstram was so good in pre season that CW decided to go with a flat 3 and try and turn Robinson into a striker. I had no issue with this up to the 1st lockdown as no one could have predicted how well we would do but after lockdown when results were, to put it kindly, mixed why did we suddenly jettison the 2 players that had been signed for decent money that would have allowed us a plan B? On top of that was the fact that we'd shown that the PL wasn't the big, scary division we probably thought it would be before playing in it so didn't need to persist with the flat 3.

 

[Flatulent_Bob]

Really hope so Bob or is his hands tied until his contracts up ... as he's not got a backroom team sorted yet just makes you wonder how quick things will develop?

I’d also say deals for the back room team will be in flight. You don’t take this long to conclude the deal unless this has already been agreed. I think they only announced it because it had leaked and was gathering momentum.
For comparison, I’m applying for a new role which would start in a couple of months with a new company and I’ve already drawn out the structure and my plan of the roles I’d want in place plus how it’s going to function. I’d be continuing to work on it right up to my start date and feeding back. You want as much in place on day one as possible so I’d be genuinely shocked if United and Slav aren’t doing the same.

 

[Upton_Blade]

I’d also say deals for the back room team will be in flight. You don’t take this long to conclude the deal unless this has already been agreed. I think they only announced it because it had leaked and was gathering momentum.
For comparison, I’m applying for a new role which would start in a couple of months with a new company and I’ve already drawn out the structure and my plan of the roles I’d want in place plus how it’s going to function. I’d be continuing to work on it right up to my start date and feeding back. You want as much in place on day one as possible so I’d be genuinely shocked if United and Slav aren’t doing the same.

Him sorting his own backroom team was one of his "red lines" apparently.

 

[CTRL ALT DE LAET]

Could see us lining up with:

Ramsdale

Egan
Basham
O'Connell

Bogle
Stevens

Fleck
Norwood

McGoldrick

McBurnie
Brewster

The sining of Tom Ciarney would be amazing just behind the two strikers. Think then we're only really missing cover for Norwood Egan and Basham.

Providing we don't have to sell anyone this is easily good enough to challenge the top two.

 

[Sheff de party]

Sheffield United 21/22

GK Ramsdale/Verrips
RWB Bogle/Baldock
LWB Norrington-Davies/Stevens
RCB Basham
CB Egan
LCB JOC/Robinson
RCM Berge/Brunt
CM Coulibaly/Norwood
LCM Fleck/Osborn
STR Jebbison/Sharp
STR Didzy/Brewster

That still leaves

Ndiaye
Maguire
Seriki
Hackford
Neal
Slater
Lowe
Boyes
Ayari
Osula
Burke
Moose
McBurnie
Bryan (if deal renewed)

Not to mention: Moore, Dewhurst, Foderingham and Amissah as other keeper options

Minimal signings needed unless Jokanovic wishes to trim this squad down significantly.

Mesmerising to see Jebbsion, with his 3-4 games and one tap in, ahead of McBurnie, with his 60 odd games in the championship and a goal every other game.

Classic S24SU, getting ahead of ourselves. Not to mention Mousse. Obviously had his issues but if he comes back renewed and fit, he’s a lot better than both of them.

 

[ancientblade]

3421 isnt a bad set up 343 with a tweak in the front 3 but still think slav will bring the players in to go 433

 

[Balham]

Bringing this back up now the dust is settling on the first games after both the transfer window closing and Jokanovic getting an international break to work with the players.

Stretch mentioned in the shoutbox that he'd counted 29 players in the squad who could be classed as 'first team'. That got me thinking and this is where I ended up: basically with a core squad of 23 with the remaining 6 all surplus to requirements. Some of these were difficult to classify - I was leaning towards downgrading McGoldrick and Freeman while putting Bash in with little chance of being a regular was a sad moment but actually the core of the squad has been well built by Jokanovic in terms of the approach, pace and skill they will bring. I would be genuinely surprised if Burke & Mousset made more than 10 league appearances between them between now and the end of the season while I don't think we'll ever see Slater, Verrips or Eastwood play for us again.

First choice
GKs
GK Olsen
DR Baldock
DL Norrington-Davis
DCs Egan, Davies
MC Norwood, Fleck, Berge (all under pressure)
AMC Gibbs-White, Ndiaye (maybe getting carried away!)

Rotation
FC Sharp (I know he's in the best shape of his life but realistically he can't be expected to play every game), McBurnie, Brewster
MC Osborn, Hourihane
AMC McGoldrick, Freeman

Backup with a chance of becoming a first team regular
DR Bogle
DL Stevens (guess, as he's been out all season)
MC Guedioura

Backup, little chance of becoming first choice
GK Foderingham - beneficiary of Verrips' failure at West Brom
CB Robinson, Basham

The Jack O'Connell "who knows if he'll ever come back from injury" category
DC Jack O'Connell

Surplus to requirements
GKs: Verrips, Eastwood
LB Lowe (out on loan)
MC Slater
FC Mousset (fitness)
FR Burke

Academy prospect
DR Seriki (out on loan)
DC Lopata, Gordon
MC Brunt, Coulibaly (out on loan)
FC Jebbison

 

[Stretch]

Bringing this back up now the dust is settling on the first games after both the transfer window closing and Jokanovic getting an international break to work with the players.

Stretch mentioned in the shoutbox that he'd counted 29 players in the squad who could be classed as 'first team'. That got me thinking and this is where I ended up: basically with a core squad of 23 with the remaining 6 all surplus to requirements. Some of these were difficult to classify - I was leaning towards downgrading McGoldrick and Freeman while putting Bash in with little chance of being a regular was a sad moment but actually the core of the squad has been well built by Jokanovic in terms of the approach, pace and skill they will bring. I would be genuinely surprised if Burke & Mousset made more than 10 league appearances between them between now and the end of the season while I don't think we'll ever see Slater, Verrips or Eastwood play for us again.

First choice
GKs
GK Olsen
DR Baldock
DL Norrington-Davis
DCs Egan, Davies
MC Norwood, Fleck, Berge (all under pressure)
AMC Gibbs-White, Ndiaye (maybe getting carried away!)

Rotation
FC Sharp (I know he's in the best shape of his life but realistically he can't be expected to play every game), McBurnie, Brewster
MC Osborn, Hourihane
AMC McGoldrick, Freeman

Backup with a chance of becoming a first team regular
DR Bogle
DL Stevens (guess, as he's been out all season)
MC Guedioura

Backup, little chance of becoming first choice
GK Foderingham - beneficiary of Verrips' failure at West Brom
CB Robinson, Basham

Surplus to requirements
GKs: Verrips, Eastwood
LB Lowe (out on loan)
MC Slater
FC Mousset (fitness)
FR Burke

Academy prospect
DR Seriki (out on loan)
DC Lopata, Gordon
MC Brunt, Coulibaly (out on loan)
FC Jebbison

The mods might need to merge the thread I started now mate. Not that any bugger has replied yet, and your post is better than what I put out anyway

 

[Balham]

The mods might need to merge the thread I started now mate. Not that any bugger has replied yet, and your post is better than what I put out anyway

I was going start my own thread but Foxy's "similar threads" function popped up with YorkBlade's

I also forgot JOC, thanks for the reminder

 

[Stretch]

I was going start my own thread but Foxy's "similar threads" function popped up with YorkBlade's

I also forgot JOC, thanks for the reminder

I forgot about Slater tbf