Team for Satdee

[sheffielder]

I think Done (and I'm no great admirer) would rightly be spectacularly aggrieved!!

Not his greatest fan either but I reckon Tufty is going to have a Ricky Holmes style impact on him

 

[Iceybabey]

I don't think Basham is a CH. He's had as many poor games there as he has CM. He's ok as emergency cover but we have enough CHs to not have to play him there. His best attribute is running.

I would have Wilson play CH waaaaaaaaay before I would consider Basham.

 

[Champagneblade]

------------------------Moore--------------------

.............E-Landell Wright O'Connell-------

Freeman----------------------------------Lafferty

----------------Basham-----Coutts-----------

-------------------------Duffy--------------------

------------------Sharp---------Done-----------


Subs: Long, Wilson, Fleck, Scougall, Chapman, Clarke, Lavery


No real reason to make changes. I just hope the formation works as well at home, I think it should do with our narrow pitch. Peterborough are ideal opponents for Done. The subs I've named cover every possibility due to the versatility of the players on the pitch.

Seeing that line up and formation, makes you realise how much money in wages Adkins wasted in taking us from 6th to mid-table.

Afford him Billy, his go to signing but

------------------------Moore--------------------

.............E-Landell Wright O'Connell-------

Freeman----------------------------------Lafferty

----------------Basham-----Coutts-----------

-------------------------Duffy--------------------

------------------Sharp---------Done-----------


Subs: Long, Wilson, Fleck, Scougall, Chapman, Clarke, Lavery


No real reason to make changes. I just hope the formation works as well at home, I think it should do with our narrow pitch. Peterborough are ideal opponents for Done. The subs I've named cover every possibility due to the versatility of the players on the pitch.

I look at that line up and it just makes you realize what an appalling waste of money Adkins' recruitment was.

As soon as it was clear Murphy was going to be sold, and looking at the squad, he should have switched to 3-5-2 given we were never going to fund a like for like quality replacement. It still annoys me clearly how little he knew about the squad he inherited.

Allowing for his overriding desire to be reunited with Sharp, he could have had Done and Sharp together and spared us the 400k it cost us for a year @50% of Connor Sammon's wages and still had Che and McNulty on standby.

Had Basham and Coutts with an option of Baxter or Scougall or even Che in front and spared us the 500k in wages and 300k it no doubt cost to pay off Dean Hammond.

Had Brayford, currently excelling as right side of three centre halves in the division above right now and Freeman (or Flynn) doing well at right wing back and spared us another 250k in wage share for Edgar.

Had Harris in probably his most suitable role at left wing back (or Kieron Wallace) and saved us another 250k of Woolford.

That might have meant completing the back 5 with 2 from Collins, McGahey, McEveley but we finished 11th. We could have finished 11th or better (given Sharp's introduction as a recognized scorer) and spent about 1.75m less.

And we wonder why we are constantly pleading poverty when we support decisions like this (and the one which allowed the other 43 non-Adkins signings to swell the wage bill).

Just makes my blood boil at times when you look back at how this club is run. None of the above wastage was down to bad luck!

 

[Ricky]

Seeing that line up and formation, makes you realise how much money in wages Adkins wasted in taking us from 6th to mid-table.

Afford him Billy, his go to signing but


I look at that line up and it just makes you realize what an appalling waste of money Adkins' recruitment was.

As soon as it was clear Murphy was going to be sold, and looking at the squad, he should have switched to 3-5-2 given we were never going to fund a like for like quality replacement. It still annoys me clearly how little he knew about the squad he inherited.

Allowing for his overriding desire to be reunited with Sharp, he could have had Done and Sharp together and spared us the 400k it cost us for a year @50% of Connor Sammon's wages and still had Che and McNulty on standby.

Had Basham and Coutts with an option of Baxter or Scougall or even Che in front and spared us the 500k in wages and 300k it no doubt cost to pay off Dean Hammond.

Had Brayford, currently excelling as right side of three centre halves in the division above right now and Freeman (or Flynn) doing well at right wing back and spared us another 250k in wage share for Edgar.

Had Harris in probably his most suitable role at left wing back (or Kieron Wallace) and saved us another 250k of Woolford.

That might have meant completing the back 5 with 2 from Collins, McGahey, McEveley but we finished 11th. We could have finished 11th or better (given Sharp's introduction as a recognized scorer) and spent about 1.75m less.

And we wonder why we are constantly pleading poverty when we support decisions like this (and the one which allowed the other 43 non-Adkins signings to swell the wage bill).

Just makes my blood boil at times when you look back at how this club is run. None of the above wastage was down to bad luck!

It all shows you how utterly clueless he was, in the true sense of the word. You only realise just how clueless when you have a manager who knows what he's doing. And it's been a long time since we had one of them.

 

[Balham]

Amongst the pantheon of 6ft 3 footballers he is right up there as one of the poorest headers of a football. Not ideal for a League One centre-back.

Technical quibble: Basham's actually a decent header of the ball but what he does struggle with (as in finds nearly impossible) is judging the flight of the ball. He is almost always caught under a high ball and in this division that is a terminal problem for anyone playing at centre half.

 

[1danewhitehouse]

Seeing that line up and formation, makes you realise how much money in wages Adkins wasted in taking us from 6th to mid-table.

Afford him Billy, his go to signing but


I look at that line up and it just makes you realize what an appalling waste of money Adkins' recruitment was.

As soon as it was clear Murphy was going to be sold, and looking at the squad, he should have switched to 3-5-2 given we were never going to fund a like for like quality replacement. It still annoys me clearly how little he knew about the squad he inherited.

Allowing for his overriding desire to be reunited with Sharp, he could have had Done and Sharp together and spared us the 400k it cost us for a year @50% of Connor Sammon's wages and still had Che and McNulty on standby.

Had Basham and Coutts with an option of Baxter or Scougall or even Che in front and spared us the 500k in wages and 300k it no doubt cost to pay off Dean Hammond.

Had Brayford, currently excelling as right side of three centre halves in the division above right now and Freeman (or Flynn) doing well at right wing back and spared us another 250k in wage share for Edgar.

Had Harris in probably his most suitable role at left wing back (or Kieron Wallace) and saved us another 250k of Woolford.

That might have meant completing the back 5 with 2 from Collins, McGahey, McEveley but we finished 11th. We could have finished 11th or better (given Sharp's introduction as a recognized scorer) and spent about 1.75m less.

And we wonder why we are constantly pleading poverty when we support decisions like this (and the one which allowed the other 43 non-Adkins signings to swell the wage bill).

Just makes my blood boil at times when you look back at how this club is run. None of the above wastage was down to bad luck!

Good in theory and with hindsight but let’s not forget that Done, Coutts, Harris, Brayford, Flynn, Alcock and obviously James Wallace were all missing for a significant early chunk of the season meaning it would have been some time before he could have played something like that line-up and would have at least needed some loans to cover that period.

Everyone agreed we needed 1, probably 2 centre halves and Edgar proved to be better than Collins/McEveley/McGahey. Further, Collins proved in the Burton game that he couldn’t play that system as he always dropped too deep. You need certain attributes in your centre halves to play 352 so I think he was somewhat justified in that signing.

Pretty much everyone also agreed we needed a big striker to compliement what we had and there weren’t too many complaints when we signed Sammon and even less when he hit the ground running in those first few games. Unfortunately it went very wrong from there. It didn’t help that his relationship with the fans became toxic. I had visions of him reaching Porteresque cult hero status with a winner against Barnsley to keep our playoff hopes alive but it wasn’t to be.


I agree that Woolford and Hammond were poor value but I think it was as much about having characters he trusted in the dressing room as their footballing ability. I think though that his biggest mistake was underestimating how much these two had slowed down since he last managed them. They’d been good players for him before but struggled against younger, more mobile opponents.


I agree though that with hindsight, we perhaps should have gone to 352 sooner. Though again, I think most people saw Adams as Murphy’s successor with one of JCR/Flynn/Coutts playing on the other side. It was seen as the best way to get our better players into the team.

The biggest problem for me last season was the complete imbalance of the squad. On one hand, Adkins insistence on being reunited with Sharp furthered that problem but on the other, it was a chance to land a player who combined quality with the right attitude, something that is all too hard to come by.

 

[Pinchy]

Technical quibble: Basham's actually a decent header of the ball but what he does struggle with (as in finds nearly impossible) is judging the flight of the ball. He is almost always caught under a high ball and in this division that is a terminal problem for anyone playing at centre half.

Yes, that puts it more accurately than I did. Either way, he's no centre-back. As already said, Wilson is ahead of him for that spot. Basham is doing well at the moment but ultimately his limitations outweigh his qualities.

 

[BushBlade]

Good in theory and with hindsight but let’s not forget that Done, Coutts, Harris, Brayford, Flynn, Alcock and obviously James Wallace were all missing for a significant early chunk of the season meaning it would have been some time before he could have played something like that line-up and would have at least needed some loans to cover that period.

Everyone agreed we needed 1, probably 2 centre halves and Edgar proved to be better than Collins/McEveley/McGahey. Further, Collins proved in the Burton game that he couldn’t play that system as he always dropped too deep. You need certain attributes in your centre halves to play 352 so I think he was somewhat justified in that signing.

Pretty much everyone also agreed we needed a big striker to compliement what we had and there weren’t too many complaints when we signed Sammon and even less when he hit the ground running in those first few games. Unfortunately it went very wrong from there. It didn’t help that his relationship with the fans became toxic. I had visions of him reaching Porteresque cult hero status with a winner against Barnsley to keep our playoff hopes alive but it wasn’t to be.


I agree that Woolford and Hammond were poor value but I think it was as much about having characters he trusted in the dressing room as their footballing ability. I think though that his biggest mistake was underestimating how much these two had slowed down since he last managed them. They’d been good players for him before but struggled against younger, more mobile opponents.


I agree though that with hindsight, we perhaps should have gone to 352 sooner. Though again, I think most people saw Adams as Murphy’s successor with one of JCR/Flynn/Coutts playing on the other side. It was seen as the best way to get our better players into the team.

The biggest problem for me last season was the complete imbalance of the squad. On one hand, Adkins insistence on being reunited with Sharp furthered that problem but on the other, it was a chance to land a player who combined quality with the right attitude, something that is all too hard to come by.

I doubt 352 would have worked without Baptiste or someone like him.

 

[HeCanDoMagic]

Moore

Freeman eel Wright oconnell

Basham coutts

Done Duffy lavery

Sharp

Ooossshhh

2 players being played out of position where they are ineffective.

No need to change the winning formation or team selection from the last 3 games.

Bosh.

 

[Champagneblade]

Good in theory and with hindsight but let’s not forget that Done, Coutts, Harris, Brayford, Flynn, Alcock and obviously James Wallace were all missing for a significant early chunk of the season meaning it would have been some time before he could have played something like that line-up and would have at least needed some loans to cover that period.

Everyone agreed we needed 1, probably 2 centre halves and Edgar proved to be better than Collins/McEveley/McGahey. Further, Collins proved in the Burton game that he couldn’t play that system as he always dropped too deep. You need certain attributes in your centre halves to play 352 so I think he was somewhat justified in that signing.

Pretty much everyone also agreed we needed a big striker to compliement what we had and there weren’t too many complaints when we signed Sammon and even less when he hit the ground running in those first few games. Unfortunately it went very wrong from there. It didn’t help that his relationship with the fans became toxic. I had visions of him reaching Porteresque cult hero status with a winner against Barnsley to keep our playoff hopes alive but it wasn’t to be.


I agree that Woolford and Hammond were poor value but I think it was as much about having characters he trusted in the dressing room as their footballing ability. I think though that his biggest mistake was underestimating how much these two had slowed down since he last managed them. They’d been good players for him before but struggled against younger, more mobile opponents.


I agree though that with hindsight, we perhaps should have gone to 352 sooner. Though again, I think most people saw Adams as Murphy’s successor with one of JCR/Flynn/Coutts playing on the other side. It was seen as the best way to get our better players into the team.

The biggest problem for me last season was the complete imbalance of the squad. On one hand, Adkins insistence on being reunited with Sharp furthered that problem but on the other, it was a chance to land a player who combined quality with the right attitude, something that is all too hard to come by.

Agree the hindsight element is on how badly we did not justifying us paying what we did to bring these guys in.

On the recruitment I wasn't personally in favour of any of his signings at the time, including Sharp.

My own thoughts as I recall them. which I don't expect all to agree with was that we were pretty much ok up front. We'd got McNulty who was young and had got 13 despite not being given much of a run. I hoped the new manager would give him more of a go. We'd got Done who'd managed 22 goals and 11 assists for 2 clubs. We'd also got Baxter who managed close to double figures. We'd got Adams who managed 6 and was emerging strongly. We'd then got Higdon as a big lump plan B plus a couple of young lads.

Issues seemed to me to be the centre of defence and midfield.

Once Murphy had gone and knowing our leaning towards not reinvesting, then it was less likely we would be able to play the same way and reverting to a system with three in central midfield seemed to favour a number of our players. Reed and Scougall had done better in a three. So had Baxter and Coutts had shown too little of his ability to be considered in a two.

Adding that extra body at centre half would have helped certainly.

That said it would have been a brave manager who arrives on the back of a season that ended in disappointment, sees the best player sold then declares the team much better prepared.

It may have in a weird way. One thing we have not sponsored in a long time is continuity. We seem to favour mass upheaval and then wonder why the team does gel from the off.

At least now there is less wastage on the books. It's not a squad of 43 or 49. It's 20 senior pros, 4 second year pros in Whiteman, Brooks, Eastwood and Wright (both the latter are out on youth loans), 7 first year pros in Ramsdale, Kelly (on a youth loan), Gordon, Smith, Crofts, Hall and the recently signed up Semple plus the unwanted James Wallace.

 

[BushBlade]

Agree the hindsight element is on how badly we did not justifying us paying what we did to bring these guys in.

On the recruitment I wasn't personally in favour of any of his signings at the time, including Sharp.

My own thoughts as I recall them. which I don't expect all to agree with was that we were pretty much ok up front. We'd got McNulty who was young and had got 13 despite not being given much of a run. I hoped the new manager would give him more of a go. We'd got Done who'd managed 22 goals and 11 assists for 2 clubs. We'd also got Baxter who managed close to double figures. We'd got Adams who managed 6 and was emerging strongly. We'd then got Higdon as a big lump plan B plus a couple of young lads.

Issues seemed to me to be the centre of defence and midfield.

Once Murphy had gone and knowing our leaning towards not reinvesting, then it was less likely we would be able to play the same way and reverting to a system with three in central midfield seemed to favour a number of our players. Reed and Scougall had done better in a three. So had Baxter and Coutts had shown too little of his ability to be considered in a two.

Adding that extra body at centre half would have helped certainly.

That said it would have been a brave manager who arrives on the back of a season that ended in disappointment, sees the best player sold then declares the team much better prepared.

It may have in a weird way. One thing we have not sponsored in a long time is continuity. We seem to favour mass upheaval and then wonder why the team does gel from the off.

At least now there is less wastage on the books. It's not a squad of 43 or 49. It's 20 senior pros, 4 second year pros in Whiteman, Brooks, Eastwood and Wright (both the latter are out on youth loans), 7 first year pros in Ramsdale, Kelly (on a youth loan), Gordon, Smith, Crofts, Hall and the recently signed up Semple plus the unwanted James Wallace.

To summarise, he signed two strikers, Sammon and Sharp with the idea of playing 442 when the squad was set up for 433, with no central midfielders capable of playing in a two. He eventually brought in one midfielder who used to be able to play in a two but wasn't mobile enough any more and didn't have a partner who was good enough to compensate for that.

He finally realised we had to play three in CM, was committed to having two up front and eventually found a defender who could make three at the back work.

By then, it was too late and his faffing around with signings, formations and team selections, his persistence in playing certain players and playing players out of position meant he'd lost the confidence of the players, supporters and the board.

 

[Balham]

To summarise, he signed two strikers, Sammon and Sharp with the idea of playing 442 when the squad was set up for 433, with no central midfielders capable of playing in a two. He eventually brought in one midfielder who used to be able to play in a two but wasn't mobile enough any more and didn't have a partner who was good enough to compensate for that.

He finally realised we had to play three in CM, was committed to having two up front and eventually found a defender who could make three at the back work.

By then, it was too late and his faffing around with signings, formations and team selections, his persistence in playing certain players and playing players out of position meant he'd lost the confidence of the players, supporters and the board.

To summarise, Adkins' decision making was atrocious.

 

[1danewhitehouse]

I doubt 352 would have worked without Baptiste or someone like him.

I think it worked to an extent with a back 3 of Basham- Edgar- McEveley when Collins was out before we signed Baptiste. When we tried to play Collins in there, it didn't work at all because it is dependant on a high line.

 

[Antonb]

Same team that started on Saturday.It's a no brainer.

 

[Cerberus Blade]

No real reason to make changes. I just hope the formation works as well at home, I think it should do with our narrow pitch. Peterborough are ideal opponents for Done. The subs I've named cover every possibility due to the versatility of the players on the pitch.

Does anyone have an explanation as to why we have narrowed the pitch?[/QUOTE]

Is it because the stewards are becoming obese and need more room to waddle about?

 

[Champagneblade]

I think it worked to an extent with a back 3 of Basham- Edgar- McEveley when Collins was out before we signed Baptiste. When we tried to play Collins in there, it didn't work at all because it is dependant on a high line.

Why do you think 3-5-2 requires a high line?

If you play too high a line you're no better off than 4-4-2 as you can still be susceptible to the ball over the top if you don't have pace in defence.

3-5-2 evolved from the sweeper system where the third defender is slightly behind the others sweeping up. It's not known as a system in which you play the offside trap as the extra man is likely to play them on.

 

[1danewhitehouse]

Why do you think 3-5-2 requires a high line?

If you play too high a line you're no better off than 4-4-2 as you can still be susceptible to the ball over the top if you don't have pace in defence.

3-5-2 evolved from the sweeper system where the third defender is slightly behind the others sweeping up. It's not known as a system in which you play the offside trap as the extra man is likely to play them on.

In my experience it's usually a system that supports a high pressing style. If you're pressing opposition high up the pitch and the defence doesn't play high up the pitch, the gaps between defence and midfield are too big allowing opposition to create 4 on 3 breaks. I agree though that the system, the way I've always seen it played and think it should be played requires some pace at centre half which we didn't really have when Adkins came in

 

[Harry's Game]

Is Lavery for enough for the bench yet?

 

[JOEYDEE]

Lavery on bench.clarke injured.
Unchanged team

 

[Teddy]

Anyone know why Long is not on the bench? Have I missed something, or is Ramsdale the new number 2?!

 

[itsinyerblood]

Can't wait to see how Lavery performs. Can't imagine for one moment that he'll stay on the bench.....think we've got good options on the bench if we need to call upon any of them.

I hope they leave the dressing room with the belief in what they're capable of, good luck Blades, do your very best boys, UTB

 

[Bladey McBladeface]

Clarke's leg is in a brace, just walked out of Copthorne

 

[FriethBlade]

That's bad news...knee injury ?

Be interesting to see how good Lavery is, lots of talk about him but he hardly set division two alight last season so hope we aren't expecting too much too soon !