Speed's Job: difficult or straight forward?

[SteelCity Blade]

First of all can I just say.....we haven’t signed anyone! How many threads is that now?

So at least we know what we’re working with now until January (aside from yet more loan signings) and as far as I’m concerned you can either bleat about it whilst boring the tits off the “clappers” or get on with it and just smile through it....ignorance is bliss after all After seeing us so far this season and considering what we have in the squad the team should pretty much pick itself. A lack of depth ensures this. So man for man I’m going to suggest a way forward:-

Simonsen will always play. He’s our only experienced keeper. Next..........

Morgan is immune from being dropped. Club Captain and Speed rates him in that role. Enough said.

Montgomery is immune from being dropped. He will play whenever he is fit. That’s not a sly dig at Monty it’s just a fact. He’s highly thought of at the club and Speed seems happy with him as well. You can kick and scream about Monty (if you don’t like him) until you’re blue in the face, it won’t change the fact that he will get picked every week.

Calve, Jordan, Ward, Britton, Evans and Cresswell have no serious competition for their places. So they are a cert for a starting berth as well. That’s no disrespect to Bogdanovic but surely the lad would have got a start by now?! Our strikers have scored 1 between them!

Bartley has Nosworthy for competition and the youngster is winning that race convincingly at the moment as far as I can see. So Bartley is surely certain to start.

Yeates seems to give us some urgency whenever he comes on so to me it beggars belief that he can’t get a start. Common sense says pick him but his situation smacks of Alan Quinn.

As for Ertl....he’s a good player but will always be shoe-horned into the team because he’s a Jack of all trades. Eventually he will be forced out of the side due to our wealth of centre back options and the fact that Montgomery is on the team sheet ‘default print’ option....once we switch back to 4-4-2 of course which seems inevitable to me.

The whole team is struggling to adjust to a 4-3-3....particularly in the attacking third. We look rigid and uncomfortable playing this way and our grand total of 2 goals in 4 games highlights this. I don’t buy this theory that we haven’t got the players for a 4-4-2. We have three centre forwards and if you count Ward and Quinny as wingers (I think most people do)....then we have four wide men.


Considering all of that, let’s just do this:-

--------------------------Simonsen--------------------------
-----Calve---------Morgan--------Bartley----------Jordan----
-----Ward-------Montgomery------Britton----------Yeates----
--------------------Evans--------Cresswell-------------------

It’s simple, it’s what we know, most players can adapt to it quite easily and it gives us an attacking/defensive balance. The above eleven is IMO our best, considering the circumstances I have mentioned above....so let’s go with this and stick with it for a run of games. We can then maybe for once in our argument ridden lives, develop some cohesion and familiarity amongst the players so we can kick on as a team!

Now for the inevitable barracking..........

UTB :thumbup:

 

[JohnDenver]

Speed will not get promotion with that XI so to answer the initial question - it's a bloody difficult job.

 

[SteelCity Blade]

Speed will not get promotion with that XI so to answer the initial question - it's a bloody difficult job.

I would tend to agree. Hence my despair at the lack of activity yesterday. Smiling through it though

 

[Fiery Blade]

Speedos job has been made extremely difficult due to the board not getting rid of Blackwell during the summer with the resultant problems:
Signed: Boggy (not as 1st choice striker), Ertl (Jack of all positions not commanding in any), Kozluk (not good enough 3 years ago, certainly not now), Jordan (lets wait and see), Britton (looks promising)and Simonson (no arguement)
Existing Players signing extension to contracts: Montgomery, Quinn and Morgan (none of which should be guarranteed a starting place in the 1st X1)
Blackwells previous signings: Evans, Cresswell (who look awful this season), Taylor (Not good enough at Championship level),Ward (yet to play five games on the trot without being injured), Williamson (constantly injured since arriving at the club) and Henderson (who misses more than 50% of matches every season through injury or suspension) and the Goalie (Never tried)

Not a lot there to get excited about - if he gets anywhere near the playoffs with that squad he should be up for manager of the year!

 

[Torrix1889]

Speed is on a hiding to nothing IMO and I think he will be like a lamb to slaughter. I can honestly see him walking in January if he doesn't get the funds to strengthen.

Unlike Blackwell who knew he was in the last chance saloon at BDTBL, Speed will walk into another job with ease, be it a Championship manager, Premiership No 2, Pundit or permanent Question of Sport captain!

 

[Ollessendro]

Fooking ell, it's going to be difficult for Cheap as Chips Mark II to get anything out of that rabble. The answer to your question is difficult. I haven't seen Cheap as Chips Mark II walking on water before so he's got a big job on his hands. Still if he gets them playing then he might just secure himself a premiership managers job for next season!?

 

[SteelCity Blade]

I would suggest in terms of getting promotion....indeed an extremely difficult and highly improbable job. But surely from the point of view that expectation is low, his job should be fairly straight forward?

The team and system picks itself to me. Speed will just try to get the players and ball moving about differently. If the majority arent expecting miracles from Speedo then why is the job difficult????

 

[Eckingtonian]

Very difficult IMO.Firstly he as to coach/manage/coax,the negative hoof ball tactics out of the players he's inherited.Secondly he's dealing with a chairman who clearly isnt going to back him with funds for new players.Thirdly and most importantly he as to try and win the lost fans back.Die hard Blades who after the Blackwell regime were that sick of being lied to,cheated and generally shat on that they finally said enough is enough.I really hope Speed can sort it out and become a success.Other wise we might be about to see a shift in power in Sheffield football that have occurred historically.Us being top dogs then the pigs.The chances we've missed to ram home our superiority is incredible.We should be years in front of them but now we're becoming closer together again.Not through them improving but us worsening.

 

[Latters]

Is anybody actually expecting us to mount a promotion push? Because if we, together with Messrs McCabe and Birch are realistic and only expect a mid-table finish then Speed's job shouldn't be too difficult.

If, on the other hand, people expect more, then he might be struggling.

The interesting bit is whether we intend to look longer-term and build on our current mid-table side or if we just waller about happy with the "same owd same owd".

 

[shorehamview]

Speed's job is both straightforward and very difficult. Get the club in the Premier League playing nice football. What could be simpler and harder?

 

[Ollessendro]

I would suggest in terms of getting promotion....indeed an extremely difficult and highly improbable job. But surely from the point of view that expectation is low, his job should be fairly straight forward?

The team and system picks itself to me. Speed will just try to get the players and ball moving about differently. If the majority arent expecting miracles from Speedo then why is the job difficult????

maybe, but there is competition for places in a few areas (albeit if the back ups are not very good). I'd actually have a different line up to yours SC.

.......

--------------------------Simonsen--------------------------
-----Calve---------Morgan--------Bartley----------Jordan----
-----Ward-------Montgomery------Britton----------Yeates----
--------------------Evans--------Cresswell-------------------

Mine would be the same, but with Quinn instead of Monty. I'd have Britton sitting infront of the back 4 and then Quinn supporting the forwards. I'm not convinced by Quinn, but as an attcking/creative option he is better than Monty and Ertl.

 

[BornOnShorehamStreet]

Said it elswhere, Rome wasn't built in a day and Speedo has a mammoth job on his hands because once again we have a manager having to pick players he wouldn't necessarily have chosen in the first place.

I think he will eventually make a good fist of it and if he is wanted by a Prem team then they will have to compensate us for the balance of his three - year contract.

Now then, wasn't it a good idea to give him a three year contract?

 

[SteelCity Blade]

Mine would be the same, but with Quinn instead of Monty. I'd have Britton sitting infront of the back 4 and then Quinn supporting the forwards. I'm not convinced by Quinn, but as an attcking/creative option he is better than Monty and Ertl.

I agree....Britton in front of the back four but in a 4-4-2 I think he would naturally do that anyway unless otherwise instructed. I dont think you necessarily need an attacking player up ahead of Britton because he has the ability to carry the ball into the opposing half himself.

As long as we get some sort of movement from the forwards and wide men then it could work I think.

 

[Toronto Blade]

I don't believe a Premiership Club who could attract the best managers in the world would be in for a rookie manager.
Perhaps if he could gain promotion, they will let him learn from his mistakes in the Championship before they are interested.

 

[gavtheblade]

speeds job would be made much easier with some money behind him,but its not materialising.hard job then.

 

[Sothall_Blade]

Making the best of what we've got....

With the current squad, I think we're best suited to a 3-5-2 formation like the days of Spackman, McGrath and Borbokis. I would play:-

------------Simonson----------------
-----Morgan Bartley Nosworthy-------
Calve--------Britton-----------Jordan
------Ward-----------Yeates--------
-----------Evans--Creswell----------

This formation could work home or away with at least four attack-minded players in the team and the wing backs pushing forward more at home without leaving us too exposed. Ward and Yeates would be given license to roam and create, with the forwards told to stay fairly close together in and around the box.

Having said that I'd still like to see Evans replaced with a pacy, skilful forward!