Was about to start a similar thread
itsinyerblood but you've beat me to it so I'll post in here
Here we go again.... (and here’s my opinion on it for what it’s worth, which is next to nowt
)
As the new season dawn's on us, I've purposely kept off the messageboards and as best as possible decided to attempt to take a break from SUFC matters until August.
Why? After sitting through that game at the County Ground, I was gutted, absolutely gutted. As the masters of heroic failure (or dramatic failure!), we ultimately managed to outdo ourselves. After conceding three goals in eighteen minutes, we clawed ourselves back into it & then nearly forced extra time with the outcome being an 'entertaining for the neutral' five-all affair. We gave it a good go late on but it was all too little too late. Not that we really deserved to be there in the first place, it's already been repeated time & time again what went wrong last season - Clough's managerial style, the negative tactics, the dropped points, the player fallouts etc etc. but it's gone now, it's in the past & now we move onto the new.
Into the hotseat steps Nigel Adkins, a man with the experience of achieving promotion. His positive attitude has been more than welcomed by the majority of fans & we pin our hopes that he can help to deliver the goods come May.
Every player has been given a clean slate & a fresh start & players that were frozen out by previous management have been handed a lifeline. Whether we have enough in the squad now as it is I'm unconvinced however you cannot fault Adkins policy that he wanted to see first-hand what was at his disposal before bringing anyone fresh in. Adkins himself has admitted that right now he does not believe we currently have enough in there to gain promotion & I expect movement to be made on the transfer front before the window closes to help 'sure up' the backline.
The men Adkins has brought in so far;
Martyn Woolford - experienced winger with a sweet left foot who can play either side. Reminds me of a left-footed Keith Gillespie.
Connor Salmon - a hard-working forward who has been capped by his country, played all his career at Championship level & has reached a time in his career when it's 'make or break' time having had unsuccessful spells elsewhere.
Billy Sharp - Fox in the box. Needs no introduction, wasn't sucessful in his first spell here (which I would count under Robson as he wasn't given a fair crack of the whip under Warnock). Previously been successful under Adkins & let's hope he can replicate that form this time round.
The three signing's should add goals to the frontline however the centre back area is one position many Blades including myself feel still needs addressing. We conceded too many sloppy goals last season, many from set-plays & I trust Nigel to bring in the right type of player to fill the gap at the back, a leader back there would be welcome.
The squad size now needs reducing & I wouldn't be surprised to see movement on outgoings in the upcoming weeks now the new management team have had a chance to review the current squad. As long as key players are not sold to make way for incomings it will have been a fairly positive pre-season compared to previous campaigns with positive results, the emergence of youth coming through & Che Adams hitting the net regularly in a more central position.
However as the old cliche goes, pre-season counts for nothing & it only counts from when the first ball is kicked on August 8th.
I've purposely tried (& failed) to take a break from United matters this summer after the overall disappointment of the last campaign. The 2013/14 season ended with such optimism & hope that I felt we we're nailed on to gain promotion last season whether that be via automatic or via the play-offs & for us not to achieve promotion left me & I'm sure many other Blades absolutely gutted. Despite all that had gone off throughout last season I still thought we'd have enough to see us over the line when the play-off's arrived. Blind optimism? Probably.
This pre-season instead of getting too wrapped up in all the on-goings at SUFC, I reflected.
I reflected on the money spent on tickets, the money spent on travelling, the time spent travelling, the weekends taken up, the leave used, the tired Wednesday mornings after Tuesday night away games, the freezing cold away ends, the shite beer, the good beer, the shite pies, the shite food, the good away days, the shite aways days & began to question if I'm ready to do it all over again?
Well that's a silly question isn't it
The itch is always there, the bug never goes...
We go again.
Let's hope for the love of God it's 'our turn' this season
Up The Mighty Blades
Keep the faith
