So where will we finish this season?

[Jim Chimmerney]

This is just ridiculous. Blackwell is paid hundreds of thousands of pounds to sign players capable of producing decent performances in CCC. Bunn and Evans were two absolutely vital parts of his recruitment strategy last summer and they bordered on embarrassing at worst and mediocre at best (and I am being kind to them there in my opinion).

What mistakes has Blackwell made then? Spell em out, should make good reading.

If you want to remove Blackwell from the argument I am happy to focus on McCabe for today's entertainment. The great chairman who thinks that having thousands (my guess) of loyal Blades dead against the manager before the season starts is the way forward.

As others have said on this thread, no-one is removing Blackwell from the argument.

Blackwell is ultimately responsible for picking the team and how they perform. But, and it's a big but, he has a backroom full of staff doing the scouting, coaching, fitness training etc etc Why not blame Riddle, blame Ron Reid, blame Gary Speed, Sam Ellis, the scouts, no, you always put the blame for everything at Blackwell's door, that's my argument.

If Blackwell was a fantastic manager he'd be at a much bigger club than us. He has made mistakes that are plain for all to see, players out of position, tactics, apparent fall-outs with players, bad signings but name a manager that doesn't make these mistakes season in season out. He also was involved in a complete turnaround of the team post Robson and took us to the play-off final the year after. Now you will say that he inherited a decent squad and anyone could have done what he did. Maybe but Robson couldn't get them playing Blackwell did.

 

[Micalijo]

As others have said on this thread, no-one is removing Blackwell from the argument.

Blackwell is ultimately responsible for picking the team and how they perform. But, and it's a big but, he has a backroom full of staff doing the scouting, coaching, fitness training etc etc Why not blame Riddle, blame Ron Reid, blame Gary Speed, Sam Ellis, the scouts, no, you always put the blame for everything at Blackwell's door, that's my argument.

If Blackwell was a fantastic manager he'd be at a much bigger club than us. He has made mistakes that are plain for all to see, players out of position, tactics, apparent fall-outs with players, bad signings but name a manager that doesn't make these mistakes season in season out. He also was involved in a complete turnaround of the team post Robson and took us to the play-off final the year after. Now you will say that he inherited a decent squad and anyone could have done what he did. Maybe but Robson couldn't get them playing Blackwell did.

Blackwell as manager can I assume pick and choose his backroom staff. If they aint performing get rid, easier said than done I know but he's had plenty of time now. Maybe Leaning was the one under-performing, maybe he is the reason why we are such a painfully boring side to watch?

I stand 100% by my comments that you amongst others (and I know you enjoy playing devils advocate etc) are somehow removing the manager from the main issues affecting the club and I find that hard to believe from sensible lads like you. Even if other fatcors were at work,(and for all McCabe's faults he provided millions for him to spend last term) I fail to see any decent argument for him still being in charge. He's had his time, McCabe has said we're still as serious player etc at the forum so give someone else a chance rather than pulling the strings of a puppet like Blackwell.

He has so little respect amongst the fans, certainly the ones I bump into at work and out and about. I know I huff and puff on here but I think there are thousands of Blades who just laugh now at the thought of Blackwell in charge. He is a joke figure, as I have repeated to everyone's delight on here a billion times. Even the loyalist of the loyal like Cooper would be happy to see him go. There will be lareg scale unrest in the stands and the usual 'get behind the team' 'no, Blackwell Out' style arguments in the stands at most games until he is inevitably sacked. Never before has a season being so predictable in terms of the total lack of entertainment that will be on show.

...and for the umpteenth time, being better than Robson does not make him fit to manage a club of our stature and a club with our support and yes, even you could have got results with the squad he inherited.

 

[Ollessendro]

Mic will say Blackwell is crap because Bunn was pathetic, Ched was crap etc etc. My argument is that when we signed Bunn, it was potentially a decent signing, as was Ched, the fact the latter has failed to live up to the potential so far is not Blackwell's fault entirely.

Ok Jim, let's turn this on it's head. Ched seemed a potentially good signing. However Blackwell ultimately got the worst out of him. He refused to play him away from home and never gave him a run of games in the team, despite a positive start (I'm thinking of Watford). As the season went on Blackwell showed no faith in Evans and continually picked Henderson ahead of him. e then brought in another stiker (Camara) resulting in Evans doing more bench warming. In January Evans and Cresswell struck up a decent partnership and Evans looked like he'd come good. He had a good touch, was good in the air and strong on the ball .... he just lacked confidence and needed a goal. What happended? Well Blackwell brought his beloved Darius back asap and Ched was no more. This was his big signing.

I agree with Mic. I don't hate Blackwell, but how people can keep defending him and saying he is doing a decent job is beyond me. The performances have been embarrassing, he's got people arguing and fighting in the stands, his attitide and arrogance is unbearable and the way he balmes everyone but himself is infuriating. Most importantly he is just not upto the job. He is clearly and utterly out of his depth/ Anyway this season will prove all this. he is out of excuses and has to perform. However, come May when we are sitting around mid table (or the lower half) I expect injuries, bad luck, refereeing decisions, decreased wage bill, best players being sold etc etc for the reason why we didn't compete this year. By that point he will have lost this ridiculous matle that he has a higher percentage of winning games than any other Blades manager and everyone will see him for what he is (a shit manager).

 

[Jim Chimmerney]

Blackwell as manager can I assume pick and choose his backroom staff. If they aint performing get rid, easier said than done I know but he's had plenty of time now. Maybe Leaning was the one under-performing, maybe he is the reason why we are such a painfully boring side to watch?

I stand 100% by my comments that you amongst others (and I know you enjoy playing devils advocate etc) are somehow removing the manager from the main issues affecting the club and I find that hard to believe from sensible lads like you. Even if other fatcors were at work,(and for all McCabe's faults he provided millions for him to spend last term) I fail to see any decent argument for him still being in charge. He's had his time, McCabe has said we're still as serious player etc at the forum so give someone else a chance rather than pulling the strings of a puppet like Blackwell.

He has so little respect amongst the fans, certainly the ones I bump into at work and out and about. I know I huff and puff on here but I think there are thousands of Blades who just laugh now at the thought of Blackwell in charge. He is a joke figure, as I have repeated to everyone's delight on here a billion times. Even the loyalist of the loyal like Cooper would be happy to see him go. There will be lareg scale unrest in the stands and the usual 'get behind the team' 'no, Blackwell Out' style arguments in the stands at most games until he is inevitably sacked. Never before has a season being so predictable in terms of the total lack of entertainment that will be on show.

...and for the umpteenth time, being better than Robson does not make him fit to manage a club of our stature and a club with our support and yes, even you could have got results with the squad he inherited.

Ok Jim, let's turn this on it's head. Ched seemed a potentially good signing. However Blackwell ultimately got the worst out of him. He refused to play him away from home and never gave him a run of games in the team, despite a positive start (I'm thinking of Watford). As the season went on Blackwell showed no faith in Evans and continually picked Henderson ahead of him. e then brought in another stiker (Camara) resulting in Evans doing more bench warming. In January Evans and Cresswell struck up a decent partnership and Evans looked like he'd come good. He had a good touch, was good in the air and strong on the ball .... he just lacked confidence and needed a goal. What happended? Well Blackwell brought his beloved Darius back asap and Ched was no more. This was his big signing.

I agree with Mic. I don't hate Blackwell, but how people can keep defending him and saying he is doing a decent job is beyond me. The performances have been embarrassing, he's got people arguing and fighting in the stands, his attitide and arrogance is unbearable and the way he balmes everyone but himself is infuriating. Most importantly he is just not upto the job. He is clearly and utterly out of his depth/ Anyway this season will prove all this. he is out of excuses and has to perform. However, come May when we are sitting around mid table (or the lower half) I expect injuries, bad luck, refereeing decisions, decreased wage bill, best players being sold etc etc for the reason why we didn't compete this year. By that point he will have lost this ridiculous matle that he has a higher percentage of winning games than any other Blades manager and everyone will see him for what he is (a shit manager).

OK, let's deal with the facts. Blackwell took over when we were a sinking ship, got the team playing for themselves, playing decent enough football given what had gone before that season and almost snatched a play-off place. To this day, I believe that if we'd got in the play-offs we would have been successful, yes, even with our track record.

The time to find a new manager would have been then, Blackwell was employed to steady the ship which he did but having said that, there weren't many that didn't begrudge him the job. It is during the 2nd season that things started to go wrong. McCabe made the strange decision of extending his contract then decided to start pulling the rug from underneath him, selling Beattie etc. Despite the murmerings from the stands, we made it to the play-off final and we all know what happened there, Blackwell's fault that we didn't win, of course he has to take part of the blame and he knew that offering to resign. McCabe persuaded him to stay. The fact remains though that he took us to the final.

Last season is well documented and we don't need to dig it up again but Blackwell is a results manager, if he gets the results people will cut him slack, if he doesn't, everything is his fault. I don't think his tactics have particularly changed from day one but last season, the results dried up and consequently the playing style was brought into question. He has proved that he can get relative success with a settled team so to say he is out of his depth is clearly wrong when he's taken other teams to play-offs before. I agree that I'm not sure he can step up to the next level and produce a team that will take the division by storm but that's a different debate and I'm sure we'll all agree on that one.

As Mic says, a lot of this is devil's advocate stuff from me and I'm far from a Blackwell supporter. All I'm saying is that his track record in terms of results is pretty good for this division and there's no reason to believe why he won't do it again this season. He's neither a great manager nor a shit one, the next few months will tell us whether you two are right, or whether he did deserve another chance.

 

[super_pig]

i see many parallels between him and our school team manager.. at the end of the day.. no matter how everyone played last time.. how good they were in training.. in form or not.. he always picks his favourites.. hendo.. monty and quinn.. until we get rid of this triumvirate of mediocrity we won't get anywhere (and i won't renew my season ticket)

 

[davidpinder]

Ok Jim, let's turn this on it's head. Ched seemed a potentially good signing. However Blackwell ultimately got the worst out of him. He refused to play him away from home and never gave him a run of games in the team, despite a positive start (I'm thinking of Watford). As the season went on Blackwell showed no faith in Evans and continually picked Henderson ahead of him. e then brought in another stiker (Camara) resulting in Evans doing more bench warming. In January Evans and Cresswell struck up a decent partnership and Evans looked like he'd come good. He had a good touch, was good in the air and strong on the ball .... he just lacked confidence and needed a goal. What happended? Well Blackwell brought his beloved Darius back asap and Ched was no more. This was his big signing.

I agree with Mic. I don't hate Blackwell, but how people can keep defending him and saying he is doing a decent job is beyond me. The performances have been embarrassing, he's got people arguing and fighting in the stands, his attitide and arrogance is unbearable and the way he balmes everyone but himself is infuriating. Most importantly he is just not upto the job. He is clearly and utterly out of his depth/ Anyway this season will prove all this. he is out of excuses and has to perform. However, come May when we are sitting around mid table (or the lower half) I expect injuries, bad luck, refereeing decisions, decreased wage bill, best players being sold etc etc for the reason why we didn't compete this year. By that point he will have lost this ridiculous matle that he has a higher percentage of winning games than any other Blades manager and everyone will see him for what he is (a shit manager).

Points well made from both you and mic but remember Ched did get injured last season at Peterborough so who knows if he wouldn't have played. The problem with blackwell is he is to negative away from home, he is like warnock when we were in the prem, however the problem with blackwell is he doesn't have the managerial qualities to change that. All the away games last season form WBA onwards we should have played 4-3-3 with Cressy wide as a 3rd striker or a 4th midfielder that seem to work ok at home. Make them worry about us especially teams like Peterborough and Watford. I will give blackwell the first 6 games to prove himself next season this is because the team should be ready, no excuses, no new injuries to key players, however i don't expect a good start because Mr Blackwell as we know him will go 4-5-1 at Cardiff and Middlesborough as well as being out done tactically by our friend Neil because he doesn't have to bottle to go for it.

 

[Jim Chimmerney]

as well as being out done tactically by our friend Neil because he doesn't have to bottle to go for it.

Blackwell (SUFC) v Warnock

SUFC 2-2 Palace
Palace 0-0 SUFC
SUFC 2-0 Palace
SUFC 1-1 QPR

 

[Ollessendro]

OK, let's deal with the facts. Blackwell took over when we were a sinking ship, got the team playing for themselves, playing decent enough football given what had gone before that season and almost snatched a play-off place. To this day, I believe that if we'd got in the play-offs we would have been successful, yes, even with our track record.

The time to find a new manager would have been then, Blackwell was employed to steady the ship which he did but having said that, there weren't many that didn't begrudge him the job. It is during the 2nd season that things started to go wrong. McCabe made the strange decision of extending his contract then decided to start pulling the rug from underneath him, selling Beattie etc. Despite the murmerings from the stands, we made it to the play-off final and we all know what happened there, Blackwell's fault that we didn't win, of course he has to take part of the blame and he knew that offering to resign. McCabe persuaded him to stay. The fact remains though that he took us to the final.

Last season is well documented and we don't need to dig it up again but Blackwell is a results manager, if he gets the results people will cut him slack, if he doesn't, everything is his fault. I don't think his tactics have particularly changed from day one but last season, the results dried up and consequently the playing style was brought into question. He has proved that he can get relative success with a settled team so to say he is out of his depth is clearly wrong when he's taken other teams to play-offs before. I agree that I'm not sure he can step up to the next level and produce a team that will take the division by storm but that's a different debate and I'm sure we'll all agree on that one.

As Mic says, a lot of this is devil's advocate stuff from me and I'm far from a Blackwell supporter. All I'm saying is that his track record in terms of results is pretty good for this division and there's no reason to believe why he won't do it again this season. He's neither a great manager nor a shit one, the next few months will tell us whether you two are right, or whether he did deserve another chance.

I agree with a lot of what you say, but have a few comments.

On your first point. Credit were it is due. He turned the team around and got them playing. We took the division by storm for a while and looked shit hot. He was the right man to come in and deserved to be offered a new contract. On thing I will question on this is how good it sets him out to be. I fully believe that there almost any manager could have come in and done the same or similar job. The players were there (we had the best team/squad in the division) and they just need a lift and some belief.

Since the first season he has shown his true colours. It's just been negativity and results. In the firts season he got the results right and we nearly made it. Last season he got the results wrong and hence the pressure on him increased. The football has been horrible throughtout. My personal opinion is that he got lucky in the first year. By this I mean he inherited a fantastic team and (most importantly) a very good defense. The top class back 4 meant his negativity, grinding out results etc worked during 08/09. In 09/01 when players started to leave and he brought in his own the things got worse. We had a poor defense and he played the same tactics. Away from home we had the 3rd worst defensive record and he still played 4-5-1. Of course injuries made things difficult and made his job harder. But to counter that his lack of prepation (particularly over the CB issue) cost us and could have helped the situation had he got it right.

i think Blackwell is a poor manager, but that's where we can agree to disagree. You are entitled to your opinion that he is so, so and I won't argue with that. I agree with you though that this season should get rid of the doubts. We either perform or we don't: no excuses.

 

[SwissBlade]

This is just ridiculous. Blackwell is paid hundreds of thousands of pounds to sign players capable of producing decent performances in CCC. Bunn and Evans were two absolutely vital parts of his recruitment strategy last summer and they bordered on embarrassing at worst and mediocre at best (and I am being kind to them there in my opinion).

Hang on Mic, as you found last season, I'll agree with you a lot on Blackie, but I think your biaise is starting to completely cloud your view. As you say, Blackie signed players that were capable of decent performances in the Championship. Bunn was certainly a vital part of the recruitment, but this was forced because of Paddy. Not an excuse, thats fact. With Ched we can only speculate on how vital he was to last seasons recruitment, but I agree, for that type of fee, you would expect him to be a key player.

However, I can't agree that Blackie was entirely to blame for last season. There were a great number of factors and they were throughout the club.

True, as team manager with, I suspect an element of Budget responsibility, he takes the full footballing responsibility, it comes with the job and I would've also like to have seen him removed if we were continuining down the same route of last year... But with less than a fortnight until the new season and an apparent change in direction at the club as a whole it makes no sense to keep going over old ground. We all wanted changes, but apparently some will not be happy until the entire organisation is removed and replaced at the Lane, the hotel is knocked down, Chengdu and Fradi are gone and we get Tony Currie back playing...

It may or may not goe completely tits up, but all I would say at the moment is that as there have been a number of what I would call significant changes (and some subtle ones) at the club that we wait to see how things pan out.

 

[Revolution]

but all I would say at the moment is that as there have been a number of what I would call significant changes (and some subtle ones) at the club that we wait to see how things pan out.

Other than slashing the footballing budget and getting rid of Ron Reid, neither of which strikes me as a good thing, what exactly are these changes? Am I missing something?

I might also add that this:

On your first point. Credit were it is due. He turned the team around and got them playing. We took the division by storm for a while and looked shit hot. He was the right man to come in and deserved to be offered a new contract. On thing I will question on this is how good it sets him out to be. I fully believe that there almost any manager could have come in and done the same or similar job. The players were there (we had the best team/squad in the division) and they just need a lift and some belief.

Since the first season he has shown his true colours. It's just been negativity and results. In the firts season he got the results right and we nearly made it. Last season he got the results wrong and hence the pressure on him increased. The football has been horrible throughtout. My personal opinion is that he got lucky in the first year. By this I mean he inherited a fantastic team and (most importantly) a very good defense. The top class back 4 meant his negativity, grinding out results etc worked during 08/09. In 09/01 when players started to leave and he brought in his own the things got worse. We had a poor defense and he played the same tactics. Away from home we had the 3rd worst defensive record and he still played 4-5-1. Of course injuries made things difficult and made his job harder. But to counter that his lack of prepation (particularly over the CB issue) cost us and could have helped the situation had he got it right.

Is as good a two paragraph summary of KB's 2 and a bit seasons at the Lane as I have ever read.

 

[Micalijo]

Hang on Mic, as you found last season, I'll agree with you a lot on Blackie, but I think your biaise is starting to completely cloud your view. As you say, Blackie signed players that were capable of decent performances in the Championship. Bunn was certainly a vital part of the recruitment, but this was forced because of Paddy. Not an excuse, thats fact. With Ched we can only speculate on how vital he was to last seasons recruitment, but I agree, for that type of fee, you would expect him to be a key player.

However, I can't agree that Blackie was entirely to blame for last season. There were a great number of factors and they were throughout the club.

True, as team manager with, I suspect an element of Budget responsibility, he takes the full footballing responsibility, it comes with the job and I would've also like to have seen him removed if we were continuining down the same route of last year... But with less than a fortnight until the new season and an apparent change in direction at the club as a whole it makes no sense to keep going over old ground. We all wanted changes, but apparently some will not be happy until the entire organisation is removed and replaced at the Lane, the hotel is knocked down, Chengdu and Fradi are gone and we get Tony Currie back playing...

It may or may not goe completely tits up, but all I would say at the moment is that as there have been a number of what I would call significant changes (and some subtle ones) at the club that we wait to see how things pan out.

I don't see the need for the mention of bias clouding my views. My views are not clouded at all, I cannot be clearer. If he had plus points I'd say, I really, honestly, truthfully, genuinely don't see any and don't think he deserves to be in the job he is, a job which means alot to me. We'll soon be having the usual suspects saying saying I'm psychologically unbalanced just because I detest Blackwell being in charge at BDTBL, which is nearly the case but not quite true yet.

You make it sound as if Bunny was the only keeper available. Let's all blame Paddy rather than the man paid thousands to sign players.

I hope the subtle changes are good ones because I have not noticed any significant changes whatsoever. What exactly do you mean? There is no shock to me that we have signed Simmo, a proper keeper and a few others on proper contracts. That is what second tier clubs with decent support should do, ie sign a proper keeper and sign other fully contracted players to form a squad.

 

[davidpinder]

Blackwell (SUFC) v Warnock

SUFC 2-2 Palace
Palace 0-0 SUFC
SUFC 2-0 Palace
SUFC 1-1 QPR

I genuinely thought our record was worse than that, probably because the 2-2 draw felt like defeat.

 

[Ollessendro]

Is as good a two paragraph summary of KB's 2 and a bit seasons at the Lane as I have ever read.

Thanks Rev

 

[SwissBlade]

I don't see the need for the mention of bias clouding my views. My views are not clouded at all, I cannot be clearer. If he had plus points I'd say, I really, honestly, truthfully, genuinely don't see any and don't think he deserves to be in the job he is, a job which means alot to me. We'll soon be having the usual suspects saying saying I'm psychologically unbalanced just because I detest Blackwell being in charge at BDTBL, which is nearly the case but not quite true yet.

Sorry Mic, but it all seems clouded by bias to me, we had many discussions last season and I understand your point, on some things I agree... but this constant barrage is tiresome and on many issues I think we've moved on... at least we're moving... And I think, just like last season Blackie was to blame, he's now behind the change of direction. But not on his own, in conjunction with his management.

You make it sound as if Bunny was the only keeper available. Let's all blame Paddy rather than the man paid thousands to sign players.

No, you read it that as if Bunny was the only keeper available, but Bunn was the keeper we got, a keeper you intimated could be "capable of producing decent performances in CCC", so in theory he should've been a decent signing. I am blaming Paddy because ultimately it was him that got banned, not Blackwell...

I hope the subtle changes are good ones because I have not noticed any significant changes whatsoever. What exactly do you mean? There is no shock to me that we have signed Simmo, a proper keeper and a few others on proper contracts. That is what second tier clubs with decent support should do, ie sign a proper keeper and sign other fully contracted players to form a squad.

I agree second tier clubs should get properly contracted players in. But is this about "Blades v Other Second Tier Clubs"? I don't think so, its about "Last season v This season". So perhaps thats why you don't see the significant changes, so far i've seen the following positives (all my opinion of course, in no particular order, just off the top of my head):

Pemberton taking over the Academy - freshens things up comes with a good CV

Contract Management - We've tied up all our key players and virtually all the fringe players at least for this season, most I think are running 2 year contracts

Young Players - Plenty getting involved with first team

Parity on Wages - Big earners have all but gone, so most of the players will be on similar wages within a more realistic Championship

Loanees - I'm sure there'll be a couple to come, but its not anywhere near the same as last season

Football philsophy - So far I'm classing this as a subtle one, but it looks like it could be changing... Boggy being the in to feet striker, Britton coming in, the move towards bringing in Academy lads (some of this is out of necessity). Ched will also play a big role this season...

Blackwells comments/ attitude/ transfer attitude - Another subtle one - he's not made excuses so far for agents/ players we missed out on/ not looked to blame frustation, it sounds like the targets he's gone for he's got decisions quickly and moved on to another target, we haven't had the 'will he - won't he' that we had with Lita, in short he's seemed better organised.

Preseason Tour and Friendlies - From my point its been better run this summer. We've had a couple of the new players in on tour, the tour wasnt disrupted with 2 players leaving.

Malta is fast becoming familiar to many of the players, its almost routine now, the players know the drill. Estudiantes is obviously a huge coup for the club and well done all round for getting this friendly, sounds like 1 or 2 years of planning for this one is being fine tuned. I always think a preseason biggy allows us to get an early season buzz amongst the fans as well as giving the players a run out against excellent opposition.

Finally, Whilst you mentioned Other Second Tier clubs, tell me how the big guns which came down and the ones that were there or there abouts in the play off zone are doing this summer? Are they all on a sound footing? Are they all looking to kick on with big signings?

 

[Micalijo]

Sorry Mic, but it all seems clouded by bias to me, we had many discussions last season and I understand your point, on some things I agree... but this constant barrage is tiresome and on many issues I think we've moved on... at least we're moving... And I think, just like last season Blackie was to blame, he's now behind the change of direction. But not on his own, in conjunction with his management.



No, you read it that as if Bunny was the only keeper available, but Bunn was the keeper we got, a keeper you intimated could be "capable of producing decent performances in CCC", so in theory he should've been a decent signing. I am blaming Paddy because ultimately it was him that got banned, not Blackwell...



I agree second tier clubs should get properly contracted players in. But is this about "Blades v Other Second Tier Clubs"? I don't think so, its about "Last season v This season". So perhaps thats why you don't see the significant changes, so far i've seen the following positives (all my opinion of course, in no particular order, just off the top of my head):

Pemberton taking over the Academy - freshens things up comes with a good CV

Contract Management - We've tied up all our key players and virtually all the fringe players at least for this season, most I think are running 2 year contracts

Young Players - Plenty getting involved with first team

Parity on Wages - Big earners have all but gone, so most of the players will be on similar wages within a more realistic Championship

Loanees - I'm sure there'll be a couple to come, but its not anywhere near the same as last season

Football philsophy - So far I'm classing this as a subtle one, but it looks like it could be changing... Boggy being the in to feet striker, Britton coming in, the move towards bringing in Academy lads (some of this is out of necessity). Ched will also play a big role this season...

Blackwells comments/ attitude/ transfer attitude - Another subtle one - he's not made excuses so far for agents/ players we missed out on/ not looked to blame frustation, it sounds like the targets he's gone for he's got decisions quickly and moved on to another target, we haven't had the 'will he - won't he' that we had with Lita, in short he's seemed better organised.

Preseason Tour and Friendlies - From my point its been better run this summer. We've had a couple of the new players in on tour, the tour wasnt disrupted with 2 players leaving.

Malta is fast becoming familiar to many of the players, its almost routine now, the players know the drill. Estudiantes is obviously a huge coup for the club and well done all round for getting this friendly, sounds like 1 or 2 years of planning for this one is being fine tuned. I always think a preseason biggy allows us to get an early season buzz amongst the fans as well as giving the players a run out against excellent opposition.

Finally, Whilst you mentioned Other Second Tier clubs, tell me how the big guns which came down and the ones that were there or there abouts in the play off zone are doing this summer? Are they all on a sound footing? Are they all looking to kick on with big signings?

I was meaning to say Blackwell, inspite of ridiculous salary, almost constantly fails to sign players capable of decent performances in CCC (or consistently capable performances) and Bunn and Evans being two absolutely vital signings were horrendously bad imo. Mind you, even I've had enough of talking about Bunn so I'll shut it, unless Wendy sign him which would be brilliant.

Fair points re build-up. I expected (hoped) us to sign a couple of younger players from lower leagues or abroad with pace and athleticism but I know they don't grow on trees and it aint easy. I'm not as impressed as you seem to be with the signings and don't expect any improvement in the possession/tactical/enjoyment side of things at BDTBL, but it is a more stable situation than last summer yes and plenty of clubs in 2nd tier appear to be treading water at best.

 

[Ollessendro]

Sorry Mic, but it all seems clouded by bias to me, we had many discussions last season and I understand your point, on some things I agree... but this constant barrage is tiresome and on many issues I think we've moved on... at least we're moving... And I think, just like last season Blackie was to blame, he's now behind the change of direction. But not on his own, in conjunction with his management.



No, you read it that as if Bunny was the only keeper available, but Bunn was the keeper we got, a keeper you intimated could be "capable of producing decent performances in CCC", so in theory he should've been a decent signing. I am blaming Paddy because ultimately it was him that got banned, not Blackwell...



I agree second tier clubs should get properly contracted players in. But is this about "Blades v Other Second Tier Clubs"? I don't think so, its about "Last season v This season". So perhaps thats why you don't see the significant changes, so far i've seen the following positives (all my opinion of course, in no particular order, just off the top of my head):

Pemberton taking over the Academy - freshens things up comes with a good CV

Contract Management - We've tied up all our key players and virtually all the fringe players at least for this season, most I think are running 2 year contracts

Young Players - Plenty getting involved with first team

Parity on Wages - Big earners have all but gone, so most of the players will be on similar wages within a more realistic Championship

Loanees - I'm sure there'll be a couple to come, but its not anywhere near the same as last season

Football philsophy - So far I'm classing this as a subtle one, but it looks like it could be changing... Boggy being the in to feet striker, Britton coming in, the move towards bringing in Academy lads (some of this is out of necessity). Ched will also play a big role this season...

Blackwells comments/ attitude/ transfer attitude - Another subtle one - he's not made excuses so far for agents/ players we missed out on/ not looked to blame frustation, it sounds like the targets he's gone for he's got decisions quickly and moved on to another target, we haven't had the 'will he - won't he' that we had with Lita, in short he's seemed better organised.

Preseason Tour and Friendlies - From my point its been better run this summer. We've had a couple of the new players in on tour, the tour wasnt disrupted with 2 players leaving.

Malta is fast becoming familiar to many of the players, its almost routine now, the players know the drill. Estudiantes is obviously a huge coup for the club and well done all round for getting this friendly, sounds like 1 or 2 years of planning for this one is being fine tuned. I always think a preseason biggy allows us to get an early season buzz amongst the fans as well as giving the players a run out against excellent opposition.

Finally, Whilst you mentioned Other Second Tier clubs, tell me how the big guns which came down and the ones that were there or there abouts in the play off zone are doing this summer? Are they all on a sound footing? Are they all looking to kick on with big signings?

Obi One has taught you well young jed eye!?

Just when Mic and I seemed to have brought you over to the dark side, you come up with the biggest clapperty clap i've seen in ages!!?

(just messing, there's some decent and interesting points in there)

 

[Jim Chimmerney]

I was meaning to say Blackwell, inspite of ridiculous salary, almost constantly fails to sign players capable of decent performances in CCC (or consistently capable performances).

OK, leaving out short term loans as they are mostly a necessity and driven by who's available at that time, here's Blackwell's permanent and long term loan signings;

Sun Jihai - free transfer, possibly driven by China links but most were happy with him when he played
Henderson - jury's still out on him but a decent signing for this division
Cotterill - essentially a Robson pick but he showed enough for KB to take him on, most were happy with the signing
Haber - Malta link, nothing more
Howard - again, most were happy with this signing
Ward - considered a 'god' despite the oft used 'crock' possibly being more suitable but again, everyone happy with the signing
Williamson - looks a decent player but unfortunately injuries have made it look a dodgy signing
Halford - no problems with this one
Kyel Reid - young player with potential, never came off
Bromby - a bit bizarre this one, suspect there was more to it than meets the eye
Taylor - jury's out but reasonable enough
Evans - most high profile flop, big season for him
Ryan France - the 1st sign of our re-profiling, and appears to be a waste of wages
Glen Little - past his best, showed glimpses but not good enough anymore
Jordan Stewart - another flop but then again may have been a necessity to offload Hendrie
Cresswell - no complaints, like HMS, another portion of humble pie for me
Yeates - could be a big player this season
Bunn - decent enough, a few dodgy games but not as bad as people made out IMO
Kyle W - cruelly recalled by Spurs

I've left out this Summer's signings but Simmo, Ertl, Nyron, Britton and Boggy look like decent players at this level and for a change, he's brought in players who will definitely play for the 1st XI rather than squad players.

What I will say is that his choice of short term loan player hasn't been good to say the least even though as I said above, it's more often than not short notice and you have to rely on what's available but looking at the list above, can you really say that he "almost constantly fails to sign players capable of decent performances" ?

 

[Grecian2000]

Interesting. My take on those players:

Sun Jihai - free transfer, possibly driven by China links but most were happy with him when he played - AGREE
Henderson - jury's still out on him but a decent signing for this division - How can the jury be out after two full seasons? Poor signing for me in the way he makes us play (not his fault).
Cotterill - essentially a Robson pick but he showed enough for KB to take him on, most were happy with the signing - He's a winger, he doesn't track back, why bother signing players like this if you don't like the way they play?
Haber - Malta link, nothing more - AGREE
Howard - again, most were happy with this signing - AGREE
Ward - considered a 'god' despite the oft used 'crock' possibly being more suitable but again, everyone happy with the signing - He wasn't a "crock" before we signed him. Best signing despite later happenings.
Williamson - looks a decent player but unfortunately injuries have made it look a dodgy signing - Again no sign of his injuries in career unless he was carrying when he arrived.
Halford - no problems with this one - Never found a best position for him. Completely wasted out wie and took up a position a proper winger would have been better occupying.
Kyel Reid - young player with potential, never came off - SEE COTTERILL
Bromby - a bit bizarre this one, suspect there was more to it than meets the eye - ?????
Taylor - jury's out but reasonable enough - Poor.
Evans - most high profile flop, big season for him - Dissappointing. I still believe.
Ryan France - the 1st sign of our re-profiling, and appears to be a waste of wages - AGREE in spades
Glen Little - past his best, showed glimpses but not good enough anymore - See COTTERILL AND REID
Jordan Stewart - another flop but then again may have been a necessity to offload Hendrie - Appalling
Cresswell - no complaints, like HMS, another portion of humble pie for me - AGREE
Yeates - could be a big player this season - Not convinced at all
Bunn - decent enough, a few dodgy games but not as bad as people made out IMO - AGREE
Kyle W - cruelly recalled by Spurs - Don't know about the cruel part but can't argue about us signing him.

Not as bad as it could have been. Having said that it's not his recruitment policy that bothers me. It's his negative/dull tactics and his complete lack of bollocks when they're required most.

 

[Jim Chimmerney]

Not as bad as it could have been. Having said that it's not his recruitment policy that bothers me. It's his negative/dull tactics and his complete lack of bollocks when they're required most.

I think it's similar to Warnock (not for the 1st time !) in that when he gets it right, he gets it right. After 2003 where he got the balance of the team spot on, Warnock stumbled round for a couple of seasons then it all clicked again in 05/06.

The problem is that primarily he's a defensive first manager and that relies on results. When you lose your consistency and solidity you've nothing left and that's what happened last season. I'm just hoping that he can get a settled back four and then I think the rest will follow as we certainly have attacking players good enough in this division. I still don't think Blackwell will outthink other managers, neither will he change his style and approach much but hopefully, if we have Britton finding attackers rather Squinny helping it on over his shoulder, players actually knowing who's playing week in week out, a full season out of Wardy, and the likes of Yeates and Ched doing the business, Blackwell's failures might just be papered over

 

[Micalijo]

OK, leaving out short term loans as they are mostly a necessity and driven by who's available at that time, here's Blackwell's permanent and long term loan signings;

Sun Jihai - free transfer, possibly driven by China links but most were happy with him when he played
Henderson - jury's still out on him but a decent signing for this division
Cotterill - essentially a Robson pick but he showed enough for KB to take him on, most were happy with the signing
Haber - Malta link, nothing more
Howard - again, most were happy with this signing
Ward - considered a 'god' despite the oft used 'crock' possibly being more suitable but again, everyone happy with the signing
Williamson - looks a decent player but unfortunately injuries have made it look a dodgy signing
Halford - no problems with this one
Kyel Reid - young player with potential, never came off
Bromby - a bit bizarre this one, suspect there was more to it than meets the eye
Taylor - jury's out but reasonable enough
Evans - most high profile flop, big season for him
Ryan France - the 1st sign of our re-profiling, and appears to be a waste of wages
Glen Little - past his best, showed glimpses but not good enough anymore
Jordan Stewart - another flop but then again may have been a necessity to offload Hendrie
Cresswell - no complaints, like HMS, another portion of humble pie for me
Yeates - could be a big player this season
Bunn - decent enough, a few dodgy games but not as bad as people made out IMO
Kyle W - cruelly recalled by Spurs

I've left out this Summer's signings but Simmo, Ertl, Nyron, Britton and Boggy look like decent players at this level and for a change, he's brought in players who will definitely play for the 1st XI rather than squad players.

What I will say is that his choice of short term loan player hasn't been good to say the least even though as I said above, it's more often than not short notice and you have to rely on what's available but looking at the list above, can you really say that he "almost constantly fails to sign players capable of decent performances" ?

If you add the word consistent then yes I can say that, apart from Cresswell and possible Henderson. I honestly don't think any of those players have had what I would call a positive impact on the club over any decent period of time. (Walker does not count as a Blackwell signing by the way!). Ward will for years be in deficit after his efforts at Wembley and he's never fit anyway.

I don't expect every signing to work out well, I know that just does not happen but that to me is a very sorry list.

 

[bricktop]

I genuinely thought our record was worse than that, probably because the 2-2 draw felt like defeat.

Or possibly you made that bit up to give your argument a bit more strength?

 

[LouTheBlade]

Interesting. My take on those players:

My ten penneth;

Sun Jihai - Started well, no real problem with the player. Couldn't get back in the side once Naughton emerged. Waste of wages.
Henderson - Seemed surplus at the time with Beattie and others on the books. Decent player at this level though despite the rubbish some people come out with.
Cotterill - Was delighted with this signing at first but he never recaptured his form while on loan. A massive flop.
Haber - Agreed, Malta link - NEXT!
Howard - I suspect he isnt half as good as his reputation suggests. A decent player who went a long way on a goal against Liverpool.
Ward - Quality player. Great signing. Nothing more to be said IMO.
Williamson - Good player, could be a lane favourite if he can get himself right physically.
Halford - Really like this player, shame we couldnt afford to keep him. One of KB's better signings.
Kyel Reid - Who?
Bromby - Had a great first season at United but very ordinary ever since. Shouldn't have re-signed him.
Taylor - I want him to prove me wrong but I feel he's so out of his depth its not funny. Poor signing.
Evans - Hasn't lived up to the hype. Shows flashes of promise and needs to do it this season. Jury's out!
Ryan France - Why?
Glen Little - Still a brilliant player with a fantastic football brain. At his age he should have been given more games.
Jordan Stewart - Bit of a nothing signing. I dont think he's half as bad as people make out but I still wouldn't have signed him.
Cresswell - Our last good capture. Ive always rated Cresswell but at his age I expected him to be past his best. He's surprised us all.
Yeates - Really dont know what to make of him. I'll give him until the turn of the year and then make a judgment.
Bunn - Stop gap. Did ok really. Nothing more to be said.
Kyle W - He'll play for England, mark my words. Should have kept him and sold Naughton (if possible).

 

[diplomat]

I think we can portion some of the blame on Blackwell for the £14m spent on players. If a manager comes into a club and see's one player on X wages another on Y wages, then surely you think to yourself, 'christ, we could pay for 4-5 with this cash, let's ship em out!'. Blackwell didn't he stuck with them and brought in mediocrity and loans. He's waited until we've suffered for consistency, through lack of numbers and the loan market, before getting rid of big earners such as Sharp and Naysmith.

Too little too late?

To be fair I'd like to see you find anyone who would have taken Naysmith if his wages were what I have been led to believe. . . and he was injured all last year. The only reason we ended up with Stewart was as some kind of compromise to get rid of Hendrie whose wages made him immoveable

 

[diplomat]

I think the key for us is a settled back five. I believe if we'd have had Paddy last season we would have got in the play offs even with no other change to the catalogue of bad luck and injuries.

I was upset that no-one really gave us any credit (I didn't know about this board then, but among people I sit with. . . ) for stuffing Blackpool and Reading when they were in the middle of terrific runs before and after we played them. I thought they were both good, enjoyable evenings of football but there were still grumbles as I left the ground. what do you want?

At the end of the day we are capable of challenging. If we can have a good start like last time we went up then belief follows. We've got a few people with experience of doing it before with us or Stoke and we are their best chance of ever playing in the Prem again so they will be focused and drive others on. I think we have a good mix but we'll see how the squad looks at Cardiff.

Re Blackwell; I despaired at the quality of some games last year. Sometimes it isn't just down to us though. The championship has loads of "percentage" teams focusing on pressing tactics. I hope to see a bit more subtlety and guile to go with the effort we all demand. I think he was picked to do a job of cost cutting (practiced at Leeds) whilst remaining competitive. I think he has done that. I'm not sure it is as easy as some make out and seriously can't think of someone who could have done it other than Neil (who I don't want back). If Blackie had some schooling in not always seeming like he is being personally attacked when asked a question and added a bit of warmth to his persona I don't think he'd have as many knockers.

 

[Come from away]

Thank-you Diplomat, appreciated your thoughts.

 

[davidpinder]

Or possibly you made that bit up to give your argument a bit more strength?

Not at all i thought he got the better of us.

 

[Ollessendro]

I think the key for us is a settled back five. I believe if we'd have had Paddy last season we would have got in the play offs even with no other change to the catalogue of bad luck and injuries.
I was upset that no-one really gave us any credit (I didn't know about this board then, but among people I sit with. . . ) for stuffing Blackpool and Reading when they were in the middle of terrific runs before and after we played them. I thought they were both good, enjoyable evenings of football but there were still grumbles as I left the ground. what do you want?

At the end of the day we are capable of challenging. If we can have a good start like last time we went up then belief follows. We've got a few people with experience of doing it before with us or Stoke and we are their best chance of ever playing in the Prem again so they will be focused and drive others on. I think we have a good mix but we'll see how the squad looks at Cardiff.

Re Blackwell; I despaired at the quality of some games last year. Sometimes it isn't just down to us though. The championship has loads of "percentage" teams focusing on pressing tactics. I hope to see a bit more subtlety and guile to go with the effort we all demand. I think he was picked to do a job of cost cutting (practiced at Leeds) whilst remaining competitive. I think he has done that. I'm not sure it is as easy as some make out and seriously can't think of someone who could have done it other than Neil (who I don't want back). If Blackie had some schooling in not always seeming like he is being personally attacked when asked a question and added a bit of warmth to his persona I don't think he'd have as many knockers.

Your 1 st point in bold is vert true Diplomat. Unfortuantely at the moment the back 5 is not good enough and hence I don't agree with the second statement in bold. (I've said this a hundred times before) thatthere is no conincidence why when we had a back 5 of Paddy, Naughton, Killa, Morgs and Naysmith (the best in the division) we finished 3rd. Blackwell got away with his negative hoofy tactics because noone could score against us. Awat from home we had a fantastic record, purely from grinding teams down, not conceding and nicking a goal. If we sign 2 better full backs, they gel with Morgs and Nos and they all stay fit then we have a chance. However injuries, suspensions and lack of quality (i.e. our full bacs) will take it's toll (IMO) and hence I don't think we'll challenge.

 

[Revolution]

thatthere is no conincidence why when we had a back 5 of Paddy, Naughton, Killa, Morgs and Naysmith (the best in the division) we finished 3rd. Blackwell got away with his negative hoofy tactics because noone could score against us. Awat from home we had a fantastic record, purely from grinding teams down, not conceding and nicking a goal.

We had our best defensive record since 1970, and in a season with 4 games more as well. The performance of the defence was exceptional - and of course not repeatable without players of a similar calibre. This is why I despair at 4-5-1 away from home. we don't have the players to make it work effectively anymore.

 

[Ollessendro]

We had our best defensive record since 1970, and in a season with 4 games more as well. The performance of the defence was exceptional - and of course not repeatable without players of a similar calibre. This is why I despair at 4-5-1 away from home. we don't have the players to make it work effectively anymore.

Couldn't agree more Rev. I don't think we appreciated just how good that defense was and how well they played together. The fact that KB hasn't realised this saddens and frustrates me. Trying to adopt the same tactics didn't wor last season with much more inferior players and it won't worik this season. I'd love to be optimistic that KB will change it, but just can't see it.

 

[Jim Chimmerney]

I don't think we appreciated just how good that defense was and how well they played together. The fact that KB hasn't realised this saddens and frustrates me.

Very difficult for KB to stick to that same defence when one was banned, one was sold, one wanted out and the other had a season long injury !