The right hand side

[SwitchBLADE Smiles]

Femi Seriki

Andre Brooks

They’re completely dominating sides. Taking the piss going forwards (Brooks was electric today) and stopping everything coming back our way. They’re complementing each other perfectly and are a huge reason why we’re playing so well at the moment.

Absolutely unreal boys.

 

[blAdes96]

Looks a dynamic pair on the right, have been very impressed with both & how they've developed - especially by seriki.

 

[Bergen Blade]

Been waiting for them to play consistently together.

 

[lazyfecklessblade]

They compliment each other so well, it’s a joy to watch when they’re on form

 

[JOEYDEE]

McCallum and Hamer weren't bad together either

 

[Guesty]

As I said in the 'box, Andre was getting a right kicking around me. I took great delight dishing out a little stick when he won the penalty.

 

[Blackheath Blade]

By "getting a right kicking" do you mean they were slating him?

If so, whoever it was belongs in the Twats thread. Brooksy was immense today. Confidence is flowing through this squad at the moment. Stoke didn't deserve to be on the same pitch.

 

[Rodley]

By "getting a right kicking" do you mean they were slating him?

If so, whoever it was belongs in the Twats thread. Brooksy was immense today. Confidence is flowing through this squad at the moment. Stoke didn't deserve to be on the same pitch.

The sad thing is he’s a confidence player and one of our Academy players - he deserves backing. For some reason, we seem to reserve the worst stick for our own. Find it puzzling really.

 

[3Cheers4Ramirez]

They've always looked like a partnership

McCallum and Hamer looks like one too

There is a very good dynamic on both sides with these pairings, and we'll score a lot of goals from it

Brooks was exceptional today. When he's in his flow he glides around with the ball stuck to his feet and makes it look easy

 

[1973Blade]

Brooks best game for us today, excellent. Think Seriki will end up in the Premier League.

 

[S64 Blade]

Very exciting, the pair of them!

Brooks is a real confidence player. Hope he can continue to believe in himself a bit more and he’ll only get better and better.

Seriki is incredible. Still don’t get why people were saying he can’t defend. Can’t say I recall him ever really being caught out again and again in games each week.

 

[de g.]

Very exciting, the pair of them!

Brooks is a real confidence player. Hope he can continue to believe in himself a bit more and he’ll only get better and better.

Seriki is incredible. Still don’t get why people were saying he can’t defend. Can’t say I recall him ever really being caught out again and again in games each week.

He was great on RS too. Well spoken, humble and professional. I loved the end:
AO: How are you going to celebrate tonight?
FS: Recover, game on Tuesday...

 

[Kenilworth]

As I said in the 'box, Andre was getting a right kicking around me. I took great delight dishing out a little stick when he won the penalty.

He was outstanding.
Love Brooksy

 

[Houston_Blade]

Both 9/10 performers for me today, excellent

 

[CPB]

When I saw Seriki play Vs forest in 2022.
I thought it was one of the worst debuts or performances at RB I'd ever seen. Thought he would likely be a lower league player which is fine.

I'm not getting ahead of myself here.
The lad is showing the types of quality that could take him to the top. It's still early days in his career but he's got the pace, strength, battle. Reads the game well and is capable of running with the ball and putting in decent deliveries.

And you'd like to think he will improve too.

Brooks is starting to really look the part too.

 

[Frank the tank]

Brooks best game for us today, excellent. Think Seriki will end up in the Premier League.

I know bogle has done well at Leeds but judging the two purely off of their performances in a blades shirt then. It's Femi for me everyday of the week

 

[Simple Blade]

He’s better than Bogle was at his age, that’s for sure. Where he goes from here is entirely up to him.

 

[chesblade]

Just hope nobody tries to tempt any of them away in January

 

[Guesty]

By "getting a right kicking" do you mean they were slating him?

If so, whoever it was belongs in the Twats thread. Brooksy was immense today. Confidence is flowing through this squad at the moment. Stoke didn't deserve to be on the same pitch.

Sorry had my phone off, I do indeed. Every time he tore forward and didn't play in Seriki, he was labelled a greedy twat (for example).

 

[Sheffsteel]

My issue with Brooks has often been about application and focus.

Last season many games when ge started he seemed half asleep with little desire and effort.
His only decent performances were when he came on as sub when he seemed more fired up.

So I’m pleased to see that in recent matches….hes been fired up really battling and fighting to win the ball back.
Agree…..when they’re in the mood….the pairing of Sereki and Brooks gives us a new dimension.

It’s a cliche how we all say Sereki is great going forward but not good at defending.
Well today…..he surprised me because he even played great as a defender too….probably man of the match.

 

[Frank the tank]

I've always thought serikis defending is fine
Not perfect but for someone of his limited experience about right ,he is getting better the more he plays
As you would expect

 

[ben1987]

Was nice to see Brooks have a go with the right foot a bit more today as well. He was first class. As was Femi.

 

[Sheffsteel]

Just hope nobody tries to tempt any of them away in January

If we fail to be promoted we see a loss of about £28 million a season.
So we’ll need to make massive salary cuts and sell off 2 or 3 of our better players if we receive good offers.

Basically if we receive any stupid offers for any of our players….they are definitely being sold.
Some of our fans might not like it….but we must stay within the FFP rules otherwise we’ll see points deductions.

Then the same fans demanding we reject offers and keep our best players will be complaining about the over spending by the owners.

 

[Bergen Blade]

Sorry had my phone off, I do indeed. Every time he tore forward and didn't play in Seriki, he was labelled a greedy twat (for example).

Brooks doesn't have to use Seriki every time. It's part of the advantage of the overlaps, making the opposition unsure what we're going to do. On occasions it'll open up space for Brooks to cut inside. We should expect them to improve their understanding and decision making the more they play together.

Looking back it seems like we've tried very hard not to play them together, as shown by the signings of Gilchrist, Shackleton, Clarke, Godfrey, Ogbene + playing a few out of position at right back. They didn't start once together last season. They've started five in a row now, a draw and four wins, a gd of 13-2, and they've shown how good their partnership can be, both defensively and offensively.

 

[fifty shades of blade]

Imagine having Seriki run at you, knowing that even though you know he will try to beat you on the outside, he's so fast that you also know there is little you can do about it.

 

[Joshp]

They both get a lot of flack but given their minutes they’ve been great servants of the club already. Seriki particularly a stand out for the bit part role he’s played, under rated for what he gives.

 

[Grey Blade]

They're forming a great partnership on the right.
I loved the way Seriki passed the ball into the net. Real class.

 

[CaptainMorgans]

Echo all of the above.

I've thought Seriki has PL potential for a good while now, I was frustrated at Wilder's lack of belief in him. We have a Sheff Utd academy product showing great things at first team level, but we wanted to push Alfie Gilchrist and Harry Clarke ahead of him. I didn't rate either of them as having any attributes better than Seriki.

Selles had even less faith, shoehorning anyone and everyone in at RB.

For me, we should be a good enough side at this level to let teams worry about us a bit and what Seriki offers going forwards far outweights any perceived defensive shortcomings... and I've never been a subscriber to the theory he can't defend.

I was less convinced on Andre Brooks. He excited me with his performance away at PNE, but he lacked consistency.
He showed flashes of good attack play, but lacked the execution of someone like Rak-Sakyi.
In truth, I still don't think he has great attacking instincts. His decision making and positivity in possession isn't always the best....
However, what I really admire about him is that he grafts. He presses very well, makes tackles, looks after the ball and combines really well with Seriki who offers width.

I was at the Watford away match last season when he cut inside and bended one into the far corner to win us the game.
He has a decent shot on him and I'd like to see him get a few more off. If he can start adding goals to his game he'll really kick on.
He has a lot of tools at his disposal and with all this game time he's starting to pull it all together and is shaping into a really useful player.

MOTM was between these two. I'd probably give Seriki a 9/10 and Brooks 8.5/10.
It's an absolute joy seeing two academy lads doing so well together.. and not forgetting Sydie Peck adding to his goal tally.

 

[Guesty]

Brooks doesn't have to use Seriki every time. It's part of the advantage of the overlaps, making the opposition unsure what we're going to do. On occasions it'll open up space for Brooks to cut inside. We should expect them to improve their understanding and decision making the more they play together.

Looking back it seems like we've tried very hard not to play them together, as shown by the signings of Gilchrist, Shackleton, Clarke, Godfrey, Ogbene + playing a few out of position at right back. They didn't start once together last season. They've started five in a row now, a draw and four wins, a gd of 13-2, and they've shown how good their partnership can be, both defensively and offensively.

View attachment 226919

That's exactly what my brother and I were saying, Seriki being there as an "option" doesn't work if you take it every time. But, people are blinded by their desire to slag off our youn'uns.

 

[Younger Dryas Blade]

Femi has been on loan to to lower league clubs over the past few years and has struggled to even get start. He's 22 and it seems like he has been around for ages. I mean Rochdale benched him, Roverum said he was shit and even Boston Utd were like WTF.
The rapid improvement in ability is astonishing, he's not only got speed to burn, he can dribble, smack in a goal from 22 yards, get back and put in a last ditch tackle, pick a pass and basically be a nightmare to play against.
Astonishing improvement.