The enigma that is Paul Coutts

[SwissBlade]

We've got the following all pushing for 3 slots:
Coutts
Reed
Hammond
Flynn
Cuvelier
Whiteman
Basham

Adkins will lose Flynn and Cuvelier as their contracts are up and Hammond goes back to leicester.

I can see him trying to bring back Hammond but surely he'll want to try his luck in the championship (think hes too slow for that personally) and i can see him wanting to keep one of flo or flynn

Cold sweetie?

To follow up on my post, the issue we have is that Coutts and Hammond don't really work together. They don't have enough energy between them to really justify playing them both.

Coutts is a decent footballer and is able to control the play. He can't tackle, he doesn't score goals and is too slow. He therefore has one attribute as the play maker.

Hammond is good at breaking up play, but also lacks pace, often makes awful tackles and decisions, but he knows that his role is once he gets the ball, he needs to give it to the play maker. Hammond has improved over his time at United (Leiceister have sub contracted him to us to get him fit)

As a result, the only way we can really play them together is in a midfield 3. The other player having the energy. However, i still think in a 3 we need another player with pace and energy.

Basham has height and energy, basically everything that Coutts and Hammond don't have, but having seen him this season and last, his best position is Centre Half.

I'd personally let Hammond go, i think Doyle was a more suitable player for the role he plays, i think Reed could also play the role and also have the energy we need alongside Coutts - So it would be Cuvelier or Whiteman for the third slot, although i haven't seen Whiteman, just seen reports.

As for Flynn, i'd stick him as wingback in the absence of Brayford and Bash.

James Wallace and Baxter will both be gone in the summer

Coutts - drop him and try to loan him
Reed - keep and bring in gradually
Hammond - don't re sign him
Flynn - Sign and Use as winger/ wing back
Cuvelier - don't re sign him
Whiteman - keep and bring in gradually
Basham - keep and use in midfield/defence depending on who else is signed

Agree on the point for goal scoring midfielders, we had one of those recently but he liked the space dust too much... ooops sorry, i mean got his drink spiked

i would look in League one and Championship, keep away from the PL as they'll be too expensive, too old, too young, too shite

DronnieBlade I think i just posted the three posts above on this thread. Interesting to see the timing of my thoughts and what I thought about Coutts at each time.

I was bang on with Hammond and Basham, I was bang on with what we needed in a midfield 3.

My thoughts on Coutts were based on what we'd seen of him to that point. Was it wrong? No, because at that time we had not seen anything of what we see now except his ability to play the ball.

Note that i said he couldn't tackle. This for me is where his game has changed - Fitness and aggression in the midfield. I guess Wilder saw the footballer in him like me and worked on the fitness and aggression.

Correct me if i am wrong but didn't Wilder also transfer list Coutts last season?

 

[DronnieBlade]

DronnieBlade I think i just posted the three posts above on this thread. Interesting to see the timing of my thoughts and what I thought about Coutts at each time.

I was bang on with Hammond and Basham, I was bang on with what we needed in a midfield 3.

My thoughts on Coutts were based on what we'd seen of him to that point. Was it wrong? No, because at that time we had not seen anything of what we see now except his ability to play the ball.

Note that i said he couldn't tackle. This for me is where his game has changed - Fitness and aggression in the midfield. I guess Wilder saw the footballer in him like me and worked on the fitness and aggression.

Correct me if i am wrong but didn't Wilder also transfer list Coutts last season?

Decent on Coutts. By no means the worst.

Appalling on desperate Dean. Sorry. He was awful from minute 1 in a Blades shirt and got worse !

And Wilder is on record that both Coutts and Freeman were listed for financial, not footballing reasons.

UTB

 

[coaxingstar71]

I stand by my OP.
This was started after we'd drawn 0-0 with Barnsley at the end of the Madkins season. I'd seen glimpses of what Coutts could do, but at the time it was all too fleeting, hence the 'enigma' tag. Completely agree about the differences in the players around him and the totally different style of play and tempo.

Nice that my thread is still alive and kicking!

 

[grafikhaus]

Looking at the first few pages of this thread it seems the majority were saying he's a good player who's just wasn't doing it and didn't have the right players around him

Or maybe a crap manager like Adkins would make Messi look shite?

 

[Bladesway]

Or maybe a crap manager like Adkins would make Messi look shite?

What utter shit this comment is. It didn't work out for us and he was a disaster, no one argues that. But look at what he has done previously and to say he is crap is just incorrect. There are many reasons it doesn't work for a manager but I don't remember many moaning when he came in. We have all at some point taken a job that we thought was going to work out only to regret it. The reasons can be many fold. This was the case for Adkins. He's a decent man and has been a decent manager. I still can't understand why it didn't work out for him. Oh and he did bring Billy back so let's not forget that.

Regarding Coutts, I think he only got fit under Wilder. He always seemed a yard off it and add to that the malaise at the club under Adkins it magnified his ineffectiveness.

 

[SwissBlade]

Decent on Coutts. By no means the worst.

Appalling on desperate Dean. Sorry. He was awful from minute 1 in a Blades shirt and got worse !

And Wilder is on record that both Coutts and Freeman were listed for financial, not footballing reasons.

UTB

On Hammond what did i say that was appalling? I don't think i said anything about wanting to keep him but mentioned his attributes (which were apparent at that time)

I think to be going back in time and trying to say people were wrong from what they saw at the time is very misleading, because sadly, Coutts was poor from when Clough signed him to when Wilder picked up the pieces after Adkins.

It says much more about the Player (and his fitness, desire etc) as well as Clough and Adkins for not getting more out of him.

However, it says much more about Wilders ability to get the best out of players and also Coutts renewed desire to resurrect his career.

 

[Cerberus Blade]

Coutts had been out long term injured before we signed him. We saw flashes of what he could do under Clough and Adkins, but his all round game wasn't convincing. However, some of us could see that he was a good composed passer of the ball. Whereas others could only see what he couldn't do. Playing him deep, taking the ball off our defenders and being the anchor in that midfield, is perfect for him. Last season when we were going through our poor start and he wasn't in the team, I posted on here that we should bring him into the team, because a problem we were having back then was keeping hold of the ball - and that's something he could do. The change in fortunes coincided with him being brought back into the squad last season (and the more regular inclusion of Fleck). And here we are today with one of the best midfield players outside the Prem. One that has been given vile abuse and told to fuck off by some of the "supporters" on here in the past.

 

[ucandomagic]

When he came on for the second half v Southend at 3-0 down was the magic moment when Tufty saw how he could build the team that he wanted.

As Coutts has grown so has the team.

The Magic is Back - and Growing

 

[I should coco]

He's a decent man and has been a decent manager

I think you put an unnecessary space in there. 'Hasbeen' covers it quite nicely.

If only we'd gone for' tomorrow's man'; Michael Appleton....

 

[DronnieBlade]

When he came on for the second half v Southend at 3-0 down was the magic moment when Tufty saw how he could build the team that he wanted.

As Coutts has grown so has the team.

The Magic is Back - and Growing

This. 100% this.

This single moment is the moment in history where I will look back and say "that's the exact moment our slide stopped".

Significantly, its prompted a seed change in philosophy, formation (3:4:1:2) from which we have gone from strength to strength.

UTB

 

[Fulwood Blade]

Coutts had been out long term injured before we signed him. We saw flashes of what he could do under Clough and Adkins, but his all round game wasn't convincing. However, some of us could see that he was a good composed passer of the ball. Whereas others could only see what he couldn't do. Playing him deep, taking the ball off our defenders and being the anchor in that midfield, is perfect for him. Last season when we were going through our poor start and he wasn't in the team, I posted on here that we should bring him into the team, because a problem we were having back then was keeping hold of the ball - and that's something he could do. The change in fortunes coincided with him being brought back into the squad last season (and the more regular inclusion of Fleck). And here we are today with one of the best midfield players outside the Prem. One that has been given vile abuse and told to fuck off by some of the "supporters" on here in the past.

IMHO - that's an excellent post.

UTB

 

[grafikhaus]

What utter shit this comment is. It didn't work out for us and he was a disaster, no one argues that. But look at what he has done previously and to say he is crap is just incorrect. There are many reasons it doesn't work for a manager but I don't remember many moaning when he came in. We have all at some point taken a job that we thought was going to work out only to regret it. The reasons can be many fold. This was the case for Adkins. He's a decent man and has been a decent manager. I still can't understand why it didn't work out for him. Oh and he did bring Billy back so let's not forget that.

Regarding Coutts, I think he only got fit under Wilder. He always seemed a yard off it and add to that the malaise at the club under Adkins it magnified his ineffectiveness.

I don't remember many moaning when Weir came in. Or Wilson. Or Clough. Or Adams. It was only when we saw how crap these people were at managing our club that unrest set in. Nobody got too excited when CW came in - we're Blades and will always give people a chance to prove their worth. And what is this 'malaise at the club under Adkins' that you speak of? Same chairman, same set up. Yes, he signed Billy but - to prove a stopped clock is right twice a day - he also brought his pal Hammond in and Adkins left the club with a payoff for failure that wiped out the entire receipts from the Man. U. cup game.
But the game (and this forum) is all about opinions and you might be right. I just haven't seen a queue of clubs after Adkins' services since he left, despite 'what he has done previously'...

 

[Bladesway]

I don't remember many moaning when Weir came in. Or Wilson. Or Clough. Or Adams. It was only when we saw how crap these people were at managing our club that unrest set in. Nobody got too excited when CW came in - we're Blades and will always give people a chance to prove their worth. And what is this 'malaise at the club under Adkins' that you speak of? Same chairman, same set up. Yes, he signed Billy but - to prove a stopped clock is right twice a day - he also brought his pal Hammond in and Adkins left the club with a payoff for failure that wiped out the entire receipts from the Man. U. cup game.
But the game (and this forum) is all about opinions and you might be right. I just haven't seen a queue of clubs after Adkins' services since he left, despite 'what he has done previously'...

Because Wilson and Clough both did a decent job and were decent managers. Weir was a complete unknown and I think was dealt a cack hand by the board. Adams I remember many declaring it being a disaster, but once again wrong man in the wrong place at the wrong time. Not in essence a bad manager.

No there aren't a queue of people lining up for Adkins because mainly of his abject failure with us. He did take Southampton to the Premier League if memory serves me and did well with Scunthorpe so not entirely a failure at all levels.

Everyone is too quick to just write the manager/player off and not think about the bigger picture etc. To say Adkins is a crap manager is just not right in my opinion. In the same way saying Coutts is crap may have been a point in 2016 but now those same people would have to reassess their views.

 

[Dnblade]

You could tell Coutts looked a decent Footballer from day one...you had to allow for his long injury lay off,but part of the problem for our midfield and Coutts was a lack of options...it's difficult to create when for the most part in recent years,we tended to play in front of teams and little threat in behind or in wide areas,apart from Wilson and Clough's first season's...how can you play a through ball or ball over the top to players lacking the pace to get there...it was passed wide or up to a striker and passed back again...no wonder he got accused of going back and square.
Pairing him with Fleck was the best thing for Coutts and having options out wide with our wingbacks for instance.

 

[sitwell]

Thought I'd bump and old post instead of posting another Coutts one.

I'm confused how Coutts has suddenly become the answer after a good game and 45 minutes. Where he created no chances and scored no goals, and much of which against a team with no need or no midfield to close him down.

He's proved since he came here that:

He can't score
He creates nothing
He's slow
He's immobile
He can't (and won't) tackle
He can't mark

As he can't tackle, run or mark his job will be the playmaker. The playmaker who hasn't scored for us and has maybe created two goals in 52 appearances for us.

Granted, he's a very good technical player who is good at holding the ball up and keeping the ball. He's neat and tidy and can play short accurate passes. This isn't particularly difficult when you're playing constant easy passes (mostly sideways or backwards).

Compare him to Baxter, someone who offered a similar lack of mobility/tackling/marking. He at least scored a fair few and set-up most of our chances.

We must be desperate if people genuinely think he can play in the middle next to Fleck. He provides no actual useful function at this level.

He also can't play the way Wilder (allegedly) wants to, which makes his inclusion and sudden second coming baffling.

He's on high wages and we should get rid as soon as we can. He's entirely useless in this division, and to be fair, would probably fair better in the Championship/Scotland.

If you look at the best playmakers, such as David Silva, they may play a lot of short passes but they're constantly buzzing around and offering themselves for the ball, chasing after players and generally working for the team.

Freeman is another one. One decent performance and suddenly he's a solution at right back. Next up K Wallace and Scougal.

The only thing relying on Coutts in the centre will get us is relegation.

This aged well. Interesting how this thread developed.

 

[themaninblack]

This aged well. Interesting how this thread developed.

Ouch sitwell that’s a bit mean

 

[mattbianco1]

Maybe with better players around him he'd shine, but there isn't-so he can do all his neat little touches and turns somewhere else because we need a creative player who creates chances and preferably gets 12 goals a season too.

He knew

 

[Sean Thornton]

This aged well. Interesting how this thread developed.

Sometimes, even with the benefit of hindsight, you read an old post and think drugs were far better then.

 

[Revolution]

The Coutts situation is very easy to explain.

Pre Wilder: didn’t try very hard

Post Wilder: tried hard.

Source: every interview Coutts has ever given on the subject.

 

[Ndiayewillalwaysloveyou]

Both Coutts and Freeman were transfer listed in the summer and then became our promotion hero's.

 

[coaxingstar71]

Who agrees that we could do worse than sign a 2018 version of Coutts now?

 

[DronnieBlade]

Who agrees that we could do worse than sign a 2018 version of Coutts now?

We got Oli N and Sandra B. So no room at the Inn !

But prime time PC was joyous and instrumental in what we achieved under Wilder.

Let’s all just remember and greatly appreciate that for what it was.

UTB

 

[coaxingstar71]

We got Oli N and Sandra B. So no room at the Inn !

But prime time PC was joyous and instrumental in what we achieved under Wilder.

Let’s all just remember and greatly appreciate that for what it was.

UTB

I do think we need more options in midfield.

 

[DronnieBlade]

I do think we need more options in midfield.

Oh I completely agree but primarily in the LCM and RCM positions.

Norwoods form in that deep lying playmaker roll has been impressive and I am certain that SB, when available, would be more than capable of the same.

Box to box type and also a midfield ball winning cruncher would top my list of priorities in this area of the pitch.

UTB

 

[blade13]

We got Oli N and Sandra B. So no room at the Inn !
UTB

Sandra Bullock. Damn I thought injuries were bad, but signing a Hollywood star would be eye wateringly expensive and we don’t even know if she can play.
I’d rather stick with what we’ve got.

Unless Sunjihi has been chatting again and he knows something about the media teams Christmas video and Sandra is a closet Blade. Can’t blame her if she is.

Interesting casting of Oli at Norwood as Joseph. Then again he is a carpenter and Oli knows his way round a slide rule pass.

 

[AWetFlannel]

This aged well. Interesting how this thread developed.

I wonder how many bad takes someone could dig up of they had the time? Bet there would be even worse than this.

 

[Bladesman]

Who agrees that we could do worse than sign a 2018 version of Coutts now?

I think we need a John Fleck who is still in his 20's.

 

[BladeInIreland]

I wonder how many bad takes someone could dig up of they had the time? Bet there would be even worse than this.

My biggest one was thinking Bash was our weak point in league one. Went on imo to be our best premier League player.

 

[AWetFlannel]

My biggest one was thinking Bash was our weak point in league one. Went on imo to be our best premier League player.

I had big doubts about Hecky, I'll be cracking out the humble pie if we get promoted.