This season

[sufcboy95]

Very surprised at how pessimistic some of our fans are,especially after the season we have just had and the manager we have,personally I'd be very surprised if we weren't top half,pushing for the play offs with the current team

It's about realistic. The gap from the top end of league one to the top end of championship is huge

 

[Tunstall Fred]

It's about realistic. The gap from the top end of league one to the top end of championship is huge

Yes I think my post is realistic,yours overly pessimistic ,don't fall for the crap from our neighbours about the quality of the Championship and have a little faith in our managers and the players

 

[sufcboy95]

Yes I think my post is realistic,yours overly pessimistic ,don't fall for the crap from our neighbours about the quality of the Championship and have a little faith in our managers and the players

The fact that teams like Blackburn who were terrible last season are big favourites to win league 1, and Wigan who pissed league one and got relegated would say otherwise

 

[Tunstall Fred]

The fact that teams like Blackburn who were terrible last season are big favourites to win league 1, and Wigan who pissed league one and got relegated would say otherwise

Who were the favourites to go up from league one before a ball was kicked last season?

You want to believe the hype from our neighbours about the league we are now in,fill yer boots

 

[Sheffsteel]

It's about realistic. The gap from the top end of league one to the top end of championship is huge

That's why very few league 1 promoted teams get relegated in their first season in the Championship.
Also playoff finalist Barnsley sold their best players but still had a season on the edge of the playoffs.

I've seen the matches on Sky Sports and many of the teams Championship teams lack high quality.
Wednesday looked really poor (like England on a bad day) in most of their televised matches.

You can bet Wilder won't be telling the players how there's such a massive gap in standard.

 

[BushBlade]

Who were the favourites to go up from league one before a ball was kicked last season?

You want to believe the hype from our neighbours about the league we are now in,fill yer boots

It's not just our neighbours though. It's everyone I've spoken to who watches championship football regularly. Not pigs, QPR, Fulham and the likes.

We will stay up, we may do significantly better than that but if we do, it's because the staff and the players have worked ridiculously hard to achieve it. It's a step up. It's not insurmountable but it's a step up nonetheless.

We are not defined by what the pigs do or don't do and just because a pig says something, it's not necessarily wrong.

 

[HighfieldBlade]

Table as it stands. Phew, we just scraped it! Pigs down...

 

[JJBlade]

I think one or two need to calm down and get a grip

We will not pay the wages that other clubs will pay so if we have a good start to the season our better players will be offered mega money in wages at another club.

That's the predicament we're in
Do well and potentially lose what we've built
Struggle and we keep our average players

 

[sufcboy95]

That's why very few league 1 promoted teams get relegated in their first season in the Championship.
Also playoff finalist Barnsley sold their best players but still had a season on the edge of the playoffs.

I've seen the matches on Sky Sports and many of the teams Championship teams lack high quality.
Wednesday looked really poor (like England on a bad day) in most of their televised matches.

You can bet Wilder won't be telling the players how there's such a massive gap in standard.

I'm not saying we're going to get relegated, but top 6? Let's get real

 

[Sheffsteel]

I think one or two need to calm down and get a grip

We will not pay the wages that other clubs will pay so if we have a good start to the season our better players will be offered mega money in wages at another club.

That's the predicament we're in
Do well and potentially lose what we've built
Struggle and we keep our average players

That's the economics of football and applies to every club apart from Real Madrid, Barcelona, Man City and probably Paris St Germain.

Any player that performs really really will go to bigger fish.
Spurs couldn't stop Bale going to Real Madrid.
Man Utd couldn't stop Ronaldo going to Real Madrid.
And Liverpool hadn't a prayer of keeping Louis Suarez when Barcelona came calling.

If the biggest clubs in England can't keep their best players then what hope do Sheff Utd have?

 

[Grizzly blade]

I think one or two need to calm down and get a grip

We will not pay the wages that other clubs will pay so if we have a good start to the season our better players will be offered mega money in wages at another club.

That's the predicament we're in
Do well and potentially lose what we've built
Struggle and we keep our average players

Yeah yeah...so you say.

Or alternatively, perhaps the manager has put together a squad who place more value in success rather than money?

Anyone would think our players will be the lowest paid, when in fact they will be up there as some of the better paid. Yes, some clubs might be offering silly money, but those clubs tend to avoid good hard working honest players in favour of a fashionable foreign player, or ex player of note going down the spiral of age.
So at the moment I'm not worried about clubs in the same division.
All those players will be happy here and off record, quietly believing they have the momentum and manager to take them to the premier league.

Don't recall Bournemouth losing all their players the minute they looked good....or Swansea?? Let's see he!

 

[Sheffsteel]

I'm not saying we're going to get relegated, but top 6? Let's get real

Who's saying top 6?
That's not realistic. Doubt even an optimist would put money on us to finish top 6 with the current players.
However I do believe that by the time we've finished strengthening then top half is realistic.

We have loads of players with potential, so I suppose some of the predictions are more about what's possible instead of what's realistic.

Wilder seems to have this Midas touch, so it's possible we could finish top 6 and I wouldn't be in total shock if we did but of course anywhere close to the playoffs is NOT a realistic prediction but who knows?

 

[pblades]

Whats he up to now Louis Suarez? Just gone to chezzy ant he?

 

[Ricky]

Love how anyone saying the Championship's a tough league could only possibly think so based on 'what Wednesday fans say'. Brilliant.

 

[Sirius]

United will catch a lot of teams on the hop for the first couple of months. This will be due to the fitness level and attacking style of play (assuming Wilder has the balls to stick with it). This will leave us in a healthy position come October but the crux is whether we can build on this from then on or if it just fizzles out once the oppo wises up to our style. If Wilder adopts an overly cautious style of play from day one then I anticipate a Nigel-type season - no danger in going down but expect some turgid stuff.

I believe that other teams may attempt to second guess Wilder's formation. It's one thing doing that but its another thing to be able to counteract it, especially as Wilder & Knill are smart enough and quick enough to change things during a game

I do hope that we don't pick a team to counteract others, let's play to our strengths and let other teams do the worrying . IMO that's where previous managers failed, If we have the ball in an attacking position, it stands to reason that the other team will do the chasing

Getting quite exited now, the first time in a long time for me. I am thinking about giving the ball a kick and coming over for a few games. Such is the difference and outlook at the Lane. Thanks to all for bringing hope and good football back to the Lane . It feels especially good to be a Blade these days
UTB

 

[Sirius]

Who's saying top 6?
That's not realistic. Doubt even an optimist would put money on us to finish top 6 with the current players.
However I do believe that by the time we've finished strengthening then top half is realistic.

We have loads of players with potential, so I suppose some of the predictions are more about what's possible instead of what's realistic.

Wilder seems to have this Midas touch, so it's possible we could finish top 6 and I wouldn't be in total shock if we did but of course anywhere close to the playoffs is NOT a realistic prediction but who knows?

When Lord Bassett got us promotion from the old third division to the second, most pundits believed that mid table would be our lot. We surprised everyone, Now before someone tells me that things have changed since then. Yeh so they have, but Wilder IMO has brought things up to date so I would not write off a top six finish. I will save this post and hope at the end of the season, my clock is not covered in egg

 

[finlaytheblade]

I think one or two need to calm down and get a grip

We will not pay the wages that other clubs will pay so if we have a good start to the season our better players will be offered mega money in wages at another club.

That's the predicament we're in
Do well and potentially lose what we've built
Struggle and we keep our average players

So we are going to lose our best players to other championship clubs are we ? Get real if we make a good start those players will want to take us all the way ,just like last season and get rewarded accordingly ,there is a drive amongst those players and it's called Chris Wilder.
Players like Lennie will regret not joining us

 

[Cerberus Blade]

It wouldn't surprise me if we continue to play an open expressive free flowing style.

It would surprise me if we didn't, because Wilder and Knill have already made it clear that we will.

 

[Cerberus Blade]

Sorry Herb,don't agree. We have hopes,we have expectations and we have demands. Staying up is a decent season bottom line. I believe we'll do well,but have seen absolutely nothing to indicate unrest below 12tyh.
We will be fired to finish abovr the pigs. Wilder will demand it.

There will be unrest after just 2 defeats, like there was last season, for some people. "Job too big for Wilder" brigade will be out in force again.

We must not consider for one moment that "survival" is a decent season bottom line. It isn't. Not with this squad, not with this manager, not with this club. Anything less than top 10, whilst obviously an improvement on where we have come from, will be disappointing given the talent we have at our disposal.

 

[Bedrock Blade]

I think we will be in the top 4 after 10 games until the end of the season. I honestly don't think there is much in this division.

Top 1 for me.

 

[Cerberus Blade]

Who's saying top 6?
That's not realistic. Doubt even an optimist would put money on us to finish top 6 with the current players.
However I do believe that by the time we've finished strengthening then top half is realistic.

We have loads of players with potential, so I suppose some of the predictions are more about what's possible instead of what's realistic.

Wilder seems to have this Midas touch, so it's possible we could finish top 6 and I wouldn't be in total shock if we did but of course anywhere close to the playoffs is NOT a realistic prediction but who knows?

Mate... You remind me of that "Captain Blade" poster that used to come on here (or was it somewhere else?) a few years ago - he could sit on the fence for England.

You start out saying "top 6 isn't realistic" and then a little bit further down you say, "it's possible we could finish top 6" and then you finish it with '"anywhere close to the playoffs is NOT a realistic prediction but who knows?'

I'll give you one thing mate, you're never going to be wrong with predictions like that!

 

[Cerberus Blade]

I've read through most of the posts on this thread and I think it's really interesting to see which camp people are falling into. And I don't necessarily mean, "optimist" or "pessimist" either.

If you consider for a moment, what is happening at Sheffield United FC is the club is entering a period of significant change. We are going from a division where we have been for the past 6 years, into a new one, a higher standard one - and we've really no idea how the team will adapt at this next level up. None of us know - not even me! We don't even know who will be in the team yet as further players could come and go.

When faced with significant change, people have different responses to it, and these are based on lots of factors, past experience, personality type, environment that they are in, social standing, level of empowerment or responsibility, etc.

What we are seeing here is people's response to change. I suspect that those on here who are saying they'd be happy with "survival" are people who are naturally very cautious in nature and resistant to change. They are probably not high earners or big achievers in life. If they do go on holidays, they probably go to the same place every year, "because they know what to expect".

At the other end of the scale, those who are saying we will get promotion, or even automatic promotion, are probably the "go-getters" in life who see no boundaries to what can be achieved and by very virtue of them thinking this way, they will be more successful than the majority of others.

And the majority of course are somewhere in between. They are quite a fluid group. They'll shift their opinions from positive to negative very quickly.

What I'm also seeing is that Wilder is in this "go-getter" category. He accepts there are limitations, but in some ways, for him, this only makes him more determined to prove others wrong and to break the mould. And the mould of course is, paying out multi-millions for average players at this level. Do you think Wilder will be preparing the lads for the new season by saying...

"right lads, we know we can't compete with lots of clubs at this level, I'll be happy with survival, just do what you can" ?

or will he be saying...

"right lads, we have good enough players here to give any club in this division a game on the day, let's make sure we do and see where that takes us" ?

I know what I think he'll be saying - and I've never met the chap. But I think anyone in his squad who is willing to settle for 15th or survival as being an achievement would be out of the door like a flash. And so they should.

It's not unrealistic at all to believe that this very good Sheffield United team (one of the very best Sheffield United teams I've ever seen for sure) will compete at the top end of the Championship this coming season. And I'l personally be surprised and a bit disappointed if we don't at least make the top 10.

 

[Boxer Blade]

Well I'm still looking forward to it, wherever we finish is months away, I reckon we are in for another exciting season and like most everybody else have faith in our management to keep taking it further, last season was the start, when we have a bit of a bad run the fans will rally round the team unlike the previous few seasons

 

[Sheffsteel]

It would surprise me if we didn't, because Wilder and Knill have already made it clear that we will.

Hope you're right.

I'd also prefer an open expressive attacking style. It'll be great to watch but being so open will be our downfall every now and then.
I can just see how it will pan out on this forum.

We beat Brentford 3-0 and it's "we're going for promotion, what a fantastic team"
Then we lose 0-3 away at Middlesbrough and it's "Wilder is tactically naeve and needs to be more defensive away from home".

I don't want us to go back to the over tactical, over cautious slow keep possession Clough style where it's 0-0 at half time, then we up the tempo a little 2nd half and try to grind out a 1-0 win.

But of course, when the pressure is on, managers focus on getting results by any means.
Some Blades have even admitted they'd accept poor performances and no entertainment if it meant we won 1-0 but I disagree and wouldn't accept poor/ negative football. Loved last seasons football so much it's made me buy my 1st season ticket since the PL year.

 

[Mario1889]

As much faith I have in Chrissy Wilder and the squad he's assembled which has been built in an amazing team spirit, this is going to be a very very tough season.

Taking into account the 3 sides coming down from the Prem with £100m on top of the parachute payments which gives them a huge advantage, then you have the 3 sides the list in the play offs, then you have the likes of Derby, Villa and Norwich who all underperformed last season and then you have Brum and Wolves who are now spending large amounts due to new Chinese ownership, I think a top 12 finish will be a stretch too far.

In a few years time of steady building under Wilder I've no doubt we will be one of the top sides in the division but not just yet.

That said I don't believe the likes of Ipswich, Burton, Barnsley, Millwall, Bolton, Brentford, Forest and QPR can compare with us so I think we'll finish lower mid table which I'd settle for right now.

 

[BushBlade]

All this writing Brentford off. Why's that? Because they've got a shit ground?

 

[Boxer Blade]

All this writing Brentford off. Why's that? Because they've got a shit ground?

As good a reason as any I suppose

 

[BushBlade]

As good a reason as any I suppose

Yeah, just like Bournemouth.

 

[Tunstall Fred]

All this writing Brentford off. Why's that? Because they've got a shit ground?

I would say it's got character more than being shit,I believe one of the pubs on the 4 corners,has closed,although that is an unconfirmed rumour,

Our manager will be making sure our players don't write Brentford off

 

[Ricky]

As much faith I have in Chrissy Wilder and the squad he's assembled which has been built in an amazing team spirit, this is going to be a very very tough season.

Taking into account the 3 sides coming down from the Prem with £100m on top of the parachute payments which gives them a huge advantage, then you have the 3 sides the list in the play offs, then you have the likes of Derby, Villa and Norwich who all underperformed last season and then you have Brum and Wolves who are now spending large amounts due to new Chinese ownership, I think a top 12 finish will be a stretch too far.

In a few years time of steady building under Wilder I've no doubt we will be one of the top sides in the division but not just yet.

That said I don't believe the likes of Ipswich, Burton, Barnsley, Millwall, Bolton, Brentford, Forest and QPR can compare with us so I think we'll finish lower mid table which I'd settle for right now.

No doubt it's going to be a very challenging season but I think it looks harder on paper than it will prove to be in reality.