SUFC Transfer Strategy

[Mojo]

The squad is an absolute thread bare mess and embarrassment. Any good will the prince has built up is rapidly diminishing. Blaming wilder for shit recruitment when it's been just as shit if not worse after he left

 

[Ridgeway Blade]

So disappointing that we haven't taken advantage of five great years and taken that extra step - I have seen a few such moments in my time over supporting the Blades for 60+ years.. Why don't we learn from history. I might not be around for the next great five years.

 

[247Blade]

There’s a decent point in there in that we’ve transitioned away from a very traditional set up where the manager has oversight on all footballing matters to a more modern approach where we almost have a head coach. The issue is it appears we’ve gone off half cock on that one because we haven’t brought in a director of football and I assume we’ve just expanded the roles of the existing executive team probably into areas they have little prior experience of. From the outside looking in it certainly appears there’s a lack of coherent leadership at the top of the club.

Yes lack of leadership from the top ... too many interests in too many clubs

 

[ancientblade]

So disappointing that we haven't taken advantage of five great years and taken that extra step - I have seen a few such moments in my time over supporting the Blades for 60+ years.. Why don't we learn from history. I might not be around for the next great five years.

yes ridgeway us oldies have seen it all before im afraid 74/75 being the prime example top class striker was all we needed and we went to southend for one just about sums united up

 

[Yogi]

Yes lack of leadership from the top ... too many interests in too many clubs

I’m not necessarily sure it’s an ownership thing as I’d be concerned if the prince was running the day to day activities of the club given his lack of expertise. It is an ownership failing not recruiting a director of football.

 

[Addison]

It’s Adkins/Clough all over again. Clough wanted to control everything, fell out with the board (which included PA and his entourage), left under a cloud, allegedly telling the board they didn’t know how to run a football club. Adkins comes in, his last success being at Southampton, who at the time had a very effective CEO or DoF (the bloke who sacked him and bought Poch in) and found we had no scouting network of our own to speak of or with the right contacts in the game to be able to move players on and a need to overhaul the squad. A very different scenario from when he’d last been successful. And coming off the back of a disappointing season at Reading.

Similarly Slav has shown at Fulham that if the recruitment isn’t right, as was the case when they got promoted, he can’t turn shit into sugar. He’s also come off the back of a season that I believe was considered a bit disappointing.

It seems that in both scenarios, our board believed that we had good players but a poor manager, when that was only partly true. It’s very rare that a manager can come into a struggling club and turn it round without bringing new players in. It’s quite naive to believe otherwise, particularly when you’ve been in a similar situation before and you’ve seen the outcome. It’s generally accepted by “football people” that if you sack a manager, it’s costly because you have to back the new manager. That seems to have been ignored.

The impression right now is, rather like under KM, the board is confusing doing things differently with doing things well. As with KM, our owner seems to be under the impression that he was more responsible for our success than he actually was and too hastily fell out with and got rid of the manager who brought the success, because he thought he knew better. He’s gone and bought three other clubs before he’s learned how to run the first one. Wilder leaving was the ideal opportunity to bring in a quality DoF, who knows the game, who has contacts. Like Brighton did when they nicked Dan Ashworth from the FA. If you don’t have money to splash on endless transfers then you need shrewd operators. The money in football is such that you get top quality people getting involved, people who’d be running or working for other major businesses. That’s what other clubs have and that’s what we’re competing against. Nepotism and cronyism won’t cut it in the modern football world. It didn’t work for KM and it won’t work for PA. And my biggest concern is that as the situation becomes more fraught, as he sees his club, his assets, decline on the pitch and decline in value, his decision making will become worse, it will become knee jerk until he’s spent the parachute money and we drop again, to a level where he doesn’t have to put money in, which is L1. Then United World gets sold to the first fucking chancer that is prepared to take it off his hands.

Exactly changes off the field are equally important as on the field. There has been very little change to the management structure and the same people who were negotiating transfers and commercial deals in league 1 are still in place.

 

[BushBlade]

Exactly changes off the field are equally important as on the field. There has been very little change to the management structure and the same people who were negotiating transfers and commercial deals in league 1 are still in place.

It’s a people business. I know fuck all about running a club but I do know a bit about people businesses - if you don’t get good people in, you haven’t got a good business.

 

[Pedro's Winger]

There’s a decent point in there in that we’ve transitioned away from a very traditional set up where the manager has oversight on all footballing matters to a more modern approach where we almost have a head coach. The issue is it appears we’ve gone off half cock on that one because we haven’t brought in a director of football and I assume we’ve just expanded the roles of the existing executive team probably into areas they have little prior experience of. From the outside looking in it certainly appears there’s a lack of coherent leadership at the top of the club.

Think we can add lack of communication to that.
Slav's English isn't great and his media output is definitely not helping when it comes to having much of an idea where we're headed or what we're trying to achieve.

 

[petcharlie]

I don't want to go over old ground on the other thread but I just don't see why we didn't choose to accept a lower bid for Ramsdale earlier on in the summer so we could use that money then and there to find and get his replacement in and rebuild the team.

It should have been obvious that this squad needed an overhaul not tinkering, in fact I recall even McGoldrick saying so at the end of last season!

I think it was Sir Alex Ferguson who said 'If you don't refresh the squad, the squad refreshes you'.

Wilder in his first season here got it spot on from day one, released all the out of contract players rather than have them in for pre-season and faff about with contracts and proactively went out and got Fleck etc. in early on free transfers.

The squad wanting new blood last year but one by one all the targets signed for other clubs . The failure to refresh the team is the reason we are where we are. We reached the prem and then gave up adding quality to the squad resting on our arses looking back at what we achieved and giving ourselves a pat on the back . Being happy with what we had instead of thinking about improving our team cost us dear.

 

[petcharlie]

So disappointing that we haven't taken advantage of five great years and taken that extra step - I have seen a few such moments in my time over supporting the Blades for 60+ years.. Why don't we learn from history. I might not be around for the next great five years.

Yes you are right mate you sound as if you are my age and i to have seen this all before. We seem to get so far then give up and start selling anything we can whilst slipping back down the leagues.

 

[Addison]

It’s a people business. I know fuck all about running a club but I do know a bit about people businesses - if you don’t get good people in, you haven’t got a good business.

So true. I spent my latter years of employment helping to restructure major organisations for outsourcing companies. Too many had top loaded management systems led by old fashioned macho managers in the Kevin McCabe mould. Those who didn't like change were swiftly moved on, those that embraced it grew as individuals. The companies benefited from efficiency improvement models and financial growth ensued.

When I read in the Court reports that PA wanted to bring in Deloittes to assess how SUFC was being run I thought we had a reformer as owner that would embrace consultants recommendations and deliver an EPL management structure fit for purpose. Seems that solution has been binned, they probably were never employed, in preference for a United World hybrid model where no one has a defined role. The result is a lack of accountability which will impact on speed of decision making and probably prove to be even more cumbersome than what went before. The early evidence seems to confirm that and the first visible benefits don't currently appear to be heading in SUFC's direction.

 

[Stretch]

It's been a proper shitshow for 2 consecutive windows now, but I will reserve a full judgement until this one has closed.

Everything hinges on the Ramsdale money. If a fair chunk of that doesn't get reinvested on a few new faces, then I can foresee an almighty backlash.

Club Wilder already have their knives sharpened, but there will be plenty who join them in their protests if this club is allowed to slide backwards again, at least without a fight anyway.

 

[JJBlade]

There's a questionnaire before we even consider a player.

Are you a skilled cultured player Y/N

Do you like to join the attack Y/N

Can you spot a key pass and make it Y/N

Can you take on a defender and get past him Y/N

Do you like to entertain the crowd Y/N

Can you play football without receiving a screaming bollocking from the manager before the game, at half time, and at full time Y/N

Can you control a football first time making your second touch a more creative and enterprising pass Y/N

Are you fit and ready to play Y/N

Mostly yes's
You fancy yourself as a bit of a fancy Dan, a bit of a show off. There is no place in football for the likes of you.

You need to work harder on your endeavor, guts, attitude, and hoofness.

Mostly No's
You are a wonderful versatile player with all the attributes we need to keep our fans happy. You are more than happy to play for peanuts because no fucker else of any note wants you. I hope you join us, but we understand that a late bid from MK Don's or Scunthorpe may scupper the deal.

 

[MagnifiqueShorehamStreet]

Adlene Guedioura sat in the stand at the lane yesterday, apparently, prior to signing
Sums our transfer strategy,up really
A 35 year old, journeyman player who’s played in Saudi, for the past 2 years, is the best we can do.
Underwhelming!

 

[robbiez666]

I hope the club use some of the Ramsdale money to invest in our scouting and recruitment network because it seems really broken at the moment.

 

[BirchingtonBlade]

An absolute must to have a midfield that will run past defenders to get into positions to support strikers. We play too deep in midfield and lack pace.
Better team plan yesterday but can’t understand the substitutions.
Brewster and McBurnie need to play as a unit and will need several games to be able to do that.

 

[Mojo]

Think it's done by committee. Here they all are before the match yesterday

 

[Mojo]

Oh look Liverpool bragging about ripping us off again after bragging about ripping us off for Brewster

Liverpool: Ben Davies business hailed

Liverpool have been hailed as a ‘very savvy’ by an agent after loaning Ben Davies to Sheffield United, The Athletic’s Simon Hughes writes.

www.footballtransfertavern.com

 

[Bladesince59]

A strategy would be good. Clearly totally alien to the present board

 

[Auld Reekie Blade]

We have one?

 

[Surrey Blade]

The squad is an absolute thread bare mess and embarrassment. Any good will the prince has built up is rapidly diminishing. Blaming wilder for shit recruitment when it's been just as shit if not worse after he left

Worse? There has been a lack of transfer activity since CW departed, but that's largely down to the money he squandered during his tenure. He has left us overloaded with full backs and strikers and a hopelessly under strength midfield. His legacy, sadly, is not the one we would have hoped for only 18 months or so ago.

 

[Mojo]

Worse? There has been a lack of transfer activity since CW departed, but that's largely down to the money he squandered during his tenure. He has left us overloaded with full backs and strikers and a hopelessly under strength midfield. His legacy, sadly, is not the one we would have hoped for only 18 months or so ago.

Yes, chasing Ronaldo Vieira for a month when he was obviously cropped is just one example

 

[west_yorks_blade]

It seems to have followed a particular theme over the years

1. Identify a few (and by that I mean less than a handful) key targets

2. Refuse to pay the club what they ask for early on in the window to get the price down, and likewise wages for the player

3. If we're lucky we strike an agreement and sign the player, if not...

4. Another club gazumps us, or it falls through because of visa issues, medical or another complication (even us changing our mind)

5. This is where we find ourselves at now. The targets that we cherry picked (with the exception of Davies) are not here, and we suddenly have to look elsewhere having done no groundwork and are forced to either panic buy or go for dregs late on in the window with an unsettled team low on confidence.

6. Use the excuses 'We wanted to see what we had' and 'We had to wait to see how the PL teams confirmed their squads'

I hate mentioning them but clubs like Villa seem to have the right approach. Bid for dozens of players, open negotiations with the agents/clubs early on and get the ball rolling with multiple discussions. If player 1 doesn't work, ok we're down the line with player 2 who plays in the same position and so on.

We cut our options down in the Wilder years by refusing to look for players aboard, ok it worked well for a while going domestic, whilst appreciating UnitedWorld developments we still don't seem to have a decent scouting infrastructure either at present either.

The other thread asking who's running the show and who is running our transfer negotiations is particularly pertinent.

Also adding to the above, whilst it's good to be going for ambitious players like Diallo it's a waste of time and effort if we're counting on them when inevitably they don't come here.

Of course I'm not itk for the club's dealings, but can anyone surmise what our strategy is?

Think Toystory
New plaything didn’t work out. Now discarded in corner.
Andy isn’t interested anymore.

 

[Chilttheblade]

I don't want to go over old ground on the other thread but I just don't see why we didn't choose to accept a lower bid for Ramsdale earlier on in the summer so we could use that money then and there to find and get his replacement in and rebuild the team.

It should have been obvious that this squad needed an overhaul not tinkering, in fact I recall even McGoldrick saying so at the end of last season!

I think it was Sir Alex Ferguson who said 'If you don't refresh the squad, the squad refreshes you'.

Wilder in his first season here got it spot on from day one, released all the out of contract players rather than have them in for pre-season and faff about with contracts and proactively went out and got Fleck etc. in early on free transfers.

Spot on from day one?
Is that when he sold DCL and Ramsdale for peanuts and his buying strategy amounted to buying up lower league clubs players of the year winners like Fleck and Stevens?

 

[FMBlade1]

Spot on from day one?
Is that when he sold DCL and Ramsdale for peanuts and his buying strategy amounted to buying up lower league clubs players of the year winners like Fleck and Stevens?

Not sure if you're being sarcastic?

Selling DCL and Ramsdale for what we did was absolutely fine as it unlocked money early to bring in these players for when we needed them, not holding onto players who would be good in several years time.

 

[Tony_Kaufman]

What's doing my nut in is the absolute silence coming from the club. Normally by now the rumour wheel has gone into overdrive or the managers confirms that we're speaking to clubs about prospective deals. We're hearing nothing. There's little of substance in the media, there's nothing coming from Slav and nothing from the club.

I am reluctantly waiting for us to sign no one by the end of the transfer window, and by the time we identify targets for January the Prince will pull the plug on transfers again, as it'll be obvious that we're heading down to League One.

Who knows what the strategy is, if indeed we even have one.

 

[Chilttheblade]

Not sure if you're being sarcastic?

Selling DCL and Ramsdale for what we did was absolutely fine as it unlocked money early to bring in these players for when we needed them, not holding onto players who would be good in several years time.

So we are happy to have the players he bought at the time with the money who are still around? These players that have made such a great start to the season ?Compared with keeping quality young players that could be the nucleous of the club for years or get high fees for them?

 

[FMBlade1]

So we are happy to have the players he bought at the time with the money who are still around? These players that have made such a great start to the season ?Compared with keeping quality young players that could be the nucleous of the club for years or get high fees for them?

So if we sell Jebbison for a lower fee than you'd like and we reinvest that money with new players and go up that'd be a problem for you?

 

[SwindonBladeJnr]

Maybe think before you rush to reply?

Chortle.

 

[nopigfansintown]

The Prince's tenure will be decided by the end of this window. Contrary to much outrage we are two or three players away.They are young, highly skilled and out there. Find them. Don't and the talk at the end of the season will look very hollow.We have 119 million minimum (more if Berge goes) coming into the club over the next three years, so that for once isn't an excuse.