tick tock

All advertisments are hidden for logged in members, why not log in/register?

Ollessendro said:
Have you seen our defence? What is it at the moment: Kozluk(!?), Morgs, Ertl (what is his natural postion) and Taylor. Even poor sides can/will rip that defense apart. Who is back up? Ryan France and erm .... ok. I agree that the division is average to poor, but so are we Lou. Midfield and up front is ok, but an injury to Britton and/or Cresswelll and we are in the shit.
Click to expand...

But that wont be our defence come the start of the season. Its quite clear that we're trying to sign defenders and that we'll probably have at least 3 coming in at some point soon. My concerns are over the fact that we still have a number of positions to fill with only a month to go until the season begins. I know we'll sign players but I dont like it when we sign them late on. It hampers preparation IMO but I'm sure our coaching staff know that.

Once the defence has been bolstered United will easily be good enough for a top ten finish minimum. As we agreed, the league is average but United are certainly very close to being one of the top 10 sides in the division IMO.

Injuries to key players is still a worry, youre quite right. But despite all the talk from our hierarchy that we will make sure it doesnt happen again this year, we're way off the situation changing at the moment. United wont be able to afford a bigger squad than last year, there's no chance. So I dont see how we're going to avoid that risk again this time! We'll be lucky to have a squad of 24 by the end of august, all things considered.
 



Review of things:-

If United are assumed to be playing 4-4-2, this is roughly what we look like at the moment;

--------------------Simonsen--------------------
Kozluk-----Morgan-----------Ertl--------Taylor
Ward----Montgomery------Britton------Yeates
----------Bogdanovic-------Cresswell----------

Subs: Aksalu; Lowton; Walton; Quinn; Reid; Evans; Henderson

I favour a 4-3-3 personally but we can assume 4-4-2 by default just to give us an idea. We also have Ryan France and the youngsters who I dont think are serious first team contenders at present.

Based on the above I think we still need 4 or 5 players as most would suggest. At least 3 have to be quality signings in the form of seasoned and proven Championship players. Defence is still horribly short. We'll obviously be looking another left back, right back and possibly two centre backs which makes up another four! After that I would be looking for another midfield because we still look one short there. Strikers are fine.
 
So the mighty Blades return from Malta and sign one more player (apparently). Reid is on his way out and hance we haven't really expanded the squad. We brought in Walton, but he's out for the season. How many players do we ahve now? 19 contracted? And Blackwell has stated we'll make 2 more signings. Now we have:

-------------- Simmo

Kozluk Nos Morgs Taylor

Ward Monty Britton Yeates

------- Cresswell Evans

Subs: Akalsu, Lowton, Ertl, France, Williamson, Quinn, Hendo, Boggy

Even if we sing 2 defenders we are embaressingly short. Our 2 full backs are not good enough and there is no cover. The midfield 4 looks pretty strong, but if Britton gets injured then we're stuffed. Up top we look ok, but if Ward and/or Cresswell get injured then we'll struggle to score. Of the squad players (on the bench) 2 can't be relied upon (due to fitness), one is not good enough and there are question marks around the others.

I'm sure people will lambast me with 'don't panic', 'stop being pessimistic' etc, but there is little to get excited about with that rabble of a squad. That team is screaming out mid table medicority or worse. Ah well, at least we're likely to see a lot of goals this season with our make shift defence.

Tick tock, less than 3 weeks until we get beat at Cardiff and we're still at least 5 signings away from being anything like challenging.
 
Its a division that is weak we would have to have even more injuries than last season to finish as low as 13th.
 
PeterNdlovu081 said:
You're predictions fill me with confidence because you are always wrong.
Click to expand...

so you think that we'll finish lower than 13th? I wouldn't be surprised at this rate.

Toronto Blade said:
Its a division that is weak we would have to have even more injuries than last season to finish as low as 13th.
Click to expand...

Have you seen our squad? Get ready for it.
 
Ollessendro said:
so you think that we'll finish lower than 13th? I wouldn't be surprised at this rate.
Click to expand...

We will obviously finish higher than 13th.

Your complete negativity and pessimism is completely unjustified just like it was last season when you said we would finish in the bottom half.
 
It seems that times running out but overall i think we have a decent squad. Maybe 3 more defenders and a left winger (replacement for shitty quinn) will do the job and maybe a decent creative midfielder just in front of monty and that be great :D
come on blades, prove me wrong that we are better then an average team next season!!!
 
In my mind this is the way we now shape up (assuming a 4-4-2 system);

-------------------------Simonsen-------------------------
---------------------------Aksalu---------------------------

Kozluk-----------Morgan-------Nosworthy---------Taylor
France------------Ertl------------???????-----------??????

Ward----------Montgomery------Britton-----------Yeates
Lowton----------Quinn---------Williamson---------??????

-------------------Evans---------Cresswell-----------------
----------------Henderson------Bogdanovic---------------

In most cases I see the pairings above challenging for starting berths. The one exception might be Ertl who could challenge Noz or play in midfield as well so he's the utility man. Apart from that we perhaps look one centre half short (potentially Bartley); we have no left back apart from Taylor and the left of midfield looks non-existent with only the right footed Yeates there! Shame Kyel Reid couldn't settle.

A left back is a major priority, then IMO we badly need a left sided midfield player unless we choose to play with a 4-3-3. The midfield still looks very lightweight to me but there is some definate quality in there with Britton, Willo and Wardy so we could get by in that department. Happy enough with the strikers for the moment..........

Once again though, we're going to be stretched if we get a couple of injuries :rolleyes:

Hopefully any academy lads supplementing the squad will be of reasonable quality because we might well need them!
 
PeterNdlovu081 said:
We will obviously finish higher than 13th.

Your complete negativity and pessimism is completely unjustified just like it was last season when you said we would finish in the bottom half.
Click to expand...

Ever the optimist Nuddy. I never actually said that we would finish bottom half last year, so get your facts straight. I'm not being negative and pessimistic just realistic. Look at Lou's post below and tell me that this squad is going to do well this year.

LouTheBlade said:
In my mind this is the way we now shape up (assuming a 4-4-2 system);

-------------------------Simonsen-------------------------
---------------------------Aksalu---------------------------

Kozluk-----------Morgan-------Nosworthy---------Taylor
France------------Ertl------------???????-----------??????

Ward----------Montgomery------Britton-----------Yeates
Lowton----------Quinn---------Williamson---------??????

-------------------Evans---------Cresswell-----------------
----------------Henderson------Bogdanovic---------------

In most cases I see the pairings above challenging for starting berths. The one exception might be Ertl who could challenge Noz or play in midfield as well so he's the utility man. Apart from that we perhaps look one centre half short (potentially Bartley); we have no left back apart from Taylor and the left of midfield looks non-existent with only the right footed Yeates there! Shame Kyel Reid couldn't settle.

A left back is a major priority, then IMO we badly need a left sided midfield player unless we choose to play with a 4-3-3. The midfield still looks very lightweight to me but there is some definate quality in there with Britton, Willo and Wardy so we could get by in that department. Happy enough with the strikers for the moment..........

Once again though, we're going to be stretched if we get a couple of injuries :rolleyes:

Hopefully any academy lads supplementing the squad will be of reasonable quality because we might well need them!
Click to expand...

It's looking bleak Lou. People can ramble on about Blackpool and Burnley using less than 20 players in their promition seasons, but the chances of it happening to us are slim. Our track record with injuries is poor and I really just can't see us keeping our key players fit all season. We have a complete lack of strength in depth. 2 quality signings (at RB and LB) and our first team will be good enough to challenge. A season without injuries and we might challenge. However, wo believes that one of Morgs, Britton, Willo, Ward (2 of these struggle with fitness anyway) or Cressy won't get injured or suspended? Then what?

I really want something to look forward to this season, but I can't see it. This is one of the worst squads that we've had for some seasons now (maybe since 2004-2005).
 
Reviewing the squad and what might happen by the start of the week, we could end up with this;

-------------------------Simonsen-------------------------
---------------------------Aksalu---------------------------

Kozluk-----------Morgan-------Nosworthy---------Taylor
France-----------Ertl-----------*Bruce---------*Dickinson


Ward----------Montgomery------Britton-----------Yeates
Lowton----------Quinn---------Williamson---------??????

-------------------Evans---------Cresswell-----------------
----------------Henderson------Bogdanovic---------------

That left midfield slot still looks like a gap that needs plugging to me. If we could afford to bring our Tongey back he would be ideal in my mind but cant see that. I'm not even going to dream about including Beattie in the above.
 
mattbianco1 said:
You know what Lou, that looks like a proper squad!

Quinn or Ward can cover on left

EDIT: Sam Ellis on OS says we wont sign Gilbert, Vignal or Logan http://www.sufc.co.uk/page/Reactions/0,,10418~2101440,00.html
Click to expand...

Shame about Gilbert. I thought he could have done a job for us.

Quinn is ok cover on the left but I would prefer not to use him there regularly. Ward would be forced onto his left down that side and you wouldnt see the best from him I dont think. He likes to go outside the full back so needs to be on his stronger side to do it.

Now that I have read your link I will amend my above post.
 
LouTheBlade said:
Reviewing the squad and what might happen by the start of the week, we could end up with this;

-------------------------Simonsen-------------------------
---------------------------Aksalu---------------------------

Kozluk-----------Morgan-------Nosworthy---------Taylor
France-----------Ertl-----------*Bruce---------*Dickinson


Ward----------Montgomery------Britton-----------Yeates
Lowton----------Quinn---------Williamson---------??????

-------------------Evans---------Cresswell-----------------
----------------Henderson------Bogdanovic---------------

That left midfield slot still looks like a gap that needs plugging to me. If we could afford to bring our Tongey back he would be ideal in my mind but cant see that. I'm not even going to dream about including Beattie in the above.
Click to expand...

The problem we have is that Hendo and Squinny haven't featured at all pre-season, you never know what Wardy's fitness levels are and Willo is out for the foreseeable so it gives us few options for midfield / strikers on the bench.

If Cardiff was this weekend I would expect him to start Boggy and Ched up front with Yeates on the right, Cresswell on the left which gives us only Wardy on the bench as an attacking option.

With Brucey Jnr apparently signed up, we don't look too bad defensively but we're still short of wide options unless Lowton is pencilled in for the job.
 
Jim Chimmerney said:
The problem we have is that Hendo and Squinny haven't featured at all pre-season, you never know what Wardy's fitness levels are and Willo is out for the foreseeable so it gives us few options for midfield / strikers on the bench.

If Cardiff was this weekend I would expect him to start Boggy and Ched up front with Yeates on the right, Cresswell on the left which gives us only Wardy on the bench as an attacking option.

With Brucey Jnr apparently signed up, we don't look too bad defensively but we're still short of wide options unless Lowton is pencilled in for the job.
Click to expand...

Surely you don't expect blackie to go attacking against cardiff he hasn't done that for 2 years against a decent side. He will go 4-5-1 as per usual
 



LouTheBlade said:
Reviewing the squad and what might happen by the start of the week, we could end up with this;

-------------------------Simonsen-------------------------
---------------------------Aksalu---------------------------

Kozluk-----------Morgan-------Nosworthy---------Taylor
France-----------Ertl-----------*Bruce---------*Dickinson

Ward----------Montgomery------Britton-----------Yeates
Lowton----------Quinn---------Williamson---------??????

-------------------Evans---------Cresswell-----------------
----------------Henderson------Bogdanovic---------------

That left midfield slot still looks like a gap that needs plugging to me. If we could afford to bring our Tongey back he would be ideal in my mind but cant see that. I'm not even going to dream about including Beattie in the above.
Click to expand...

mattbianco1 said:
You know what Lou, that looks like a proper squad!
Click to expand...

Are you kindding me? Look at that back 4 (and their replacements ..... and some of those we haven't even signed yet). The full backs are a big weakness and I expect us to be conceding a lot of goals this year. The rest of the squad looks pretty good, but (as Jim pionted out) there are big question marks around the fitness of key players. Perhaps we'll get a bit of luck with injuries and fitness (i.e. get and keep key players fit) but a couple of injuries to good players and we're in big trouble.
 
Ollessendro said:
Are you kindding me? Look at that back 4 (and their replacements ..... and some of those we haven't even signed yet).
Click to expand...

Don't forget Olly - Ertl, Nosworthy & Lowton can all play RB.

If Dickinson does sign he will probably be 1st choice LB with Taylor as back up that to me doesn't seem bad. I think if Taylor OR Dickinson get injured (or whoever the new left back will be) then we may have a problem but CB & RB is more than covered.

Also, a LB must be coming in as we didn't sign Vignal up who I thought looked more than a capable player.

By the sounds of iit Bruce is nailed on signing and I wouldn't be surprised if Nosworthy then gets pushed to RB?? Not sure.

If we get a left winger we've then got 1 backup player for every position based on what Lou said.

I would also like us to have "Strike partners" i.e. so it's like Evans & Cresswell or Henderson & Bogdanovic rather than rotate them round, taht way they get used to their surroundings. Cresswell can also play wide left remember
 
Ollessendro said:
Are you kindding me? Look at that back 4 (and their replacements ..... and some of those we haven't even signed yet). The full backs are a big weakness and I expect us to be conceding a lot of goals this year. The rest of the squad looks pretty good, but (as Jim pionted out) there are big question marks around the fitness of key players. Perhaps we'll get a bit of luck with injuries and fitness (i.e. get and keep key players fit) but a couple of injuries to good players and we're in big trouble.
Click to expand...

Hmm.....I agree with your thoughts on the back up players but the first choice back four under that scenario looks a right back short of being acceptable to me.

(Fill this void) Morgan Nosworthy Dickinson

Looks pretty decent to me with a new right back. You could even go for this for the time being;

Nosworthy Morgan Bruce Dickinson

Admittedly we havent confirmed two of these signings yet but it looks pretty much nailed on in both cases from what we've heard. Kyle Bartley would have been nice to get back on loan but with us signing Bruce I dont see that happening now. Ertl can play centre half also.

I agree with you that the back up options such as Kozluk, France and Taylor dont exactly set the pulse racing (to say the least), but what else can the club do. They cant afford to have 8 defenders of first team quality - it seems quite apparent to me. I think you're expectations might be a little high Olle given our financial status. Ive come to terms with lowering my expectations recently.
 
LouTheBlade said:
Hmm.....I agree with your thoughts on the back up players but the first choice back four under that scenario looks a right back short of being acceptable to me.

(Fill this void) Morgan Nosworthy Dickinson

Looks pretty decent to me with a new right back. You could even go for this for the time being;

Nosworthy Morgan Bruce Dickinson

Admittedly we havent confirmed two of these signings yet but it looks pretty much nailed on in both cases from what we've heard. Kyle Bartley would have been nice to get back on loan but with us signing Bruce I dont see that happening now. Ertl can play centre half also.

I agree with you that the back up options such as Kozluk, France and Taylor dont exactly set the pulse racing (to say the least), but what else can the club do. They cant afford to have 8 defenders of first team quality - it seems quite apparent to me. I think you're expectations might be a little high Olle given our financial status. Ive come to terms with lowering my expectations recently.
Click to expand...

Nah mate, my expectations are pretty low at the moment. i've public stated (numerous times that I don't think we'll challenge). However, there are a lot of people on here who think that we'll challenge and I'm just saying that we won't (with our current squad).

You have a point baout what the club should do in current circumstances. But is out of the question (remember that we haven't paid a penny in transfer fees) to have 6 defenders who are first team quality? We know there will be injuries and certainly suspensions. In my eyes we've got 3 so far (and I'm being generous).

I got a bit of stick when i started this thread and people were telling me to chill out and la de da. It is now less than 2 weeks to the start of the season. In the interest of gelling, fitness, settling and fitting into the club it is already too late to be signing players. Still we are a good 5 players away from getting anywhere near the play offs. I can see us singing 2 more players tops.

Tick tock .......
 
Ollessendro said:
Nah mate, my expectations are pretty low at the moment. i've public stated (numerous times that I don't think we'll challenge). However, there are a lot of people on here who think that we'll challenge and I'm just saying that we won't (with our current squad).

You have a point baout what the club should do in current circumstances. But is out of the question (remember that we haven't paid a penny in transfer fees) to have 6 defenders who are first team quality? We know there will be injuries and certainly suspensions. In my eyes we've got 3 so far (and I'm being generous).

I got a bit of stick when i started this thread and people were telling me to chill out and la de da. It is now less than 2 weeks to the start of the season. In the interest of gelling, fitness, settling and fitting into the club it is already too late to be signing players. Still we are a good 5 players away from getting anywhere near the play offs. I can see us singing 2 more players tops.

Tick tock .......
Click to expand...

I cant argue with you that our preparations haven't been hampered because they clearly have. Blackwell clearly stated that he wanted the vast majority of his squad together before Malta and at that point he was 4 or 5 players short of what he was after.

I think United will sign another 3 but that will be it and IMO that's still a couple short of the mimimum number we'll need to safeguard against last seasons problems. It is a concern and people who arent concerned are either supremely confident or cant see with their own eyes. I am concerned without being all panicky. I'm going to give the club another week to see what they can come up with. Then I might start frettin!

KB will be pleased with the players he has captured so far but I dont think it tells the whole story. I get the impression this summer has not exactly gone according to plan. Think back to Paddy and Naysmith departing, which would have come as a surprise to United and altered the manager's plans in the transfer market totally. You then had the Walton injury and various players that KB said we couldnt get because of unrealistic wage demands..........

These issues in my mind, are what have caused us to be 4 or 5 players short as we speak.

tick tock indeed.......... :hug:
 



JohnDenver said:
Having scanned soccerbase, sadly I cannot find a player unfortunate enough to be named 'Nomark'. If only....
Click to expand...

I'm sure we can rustle up a few more trialists to make up the numbers.
The state of Sheffield football is pretty shameful for our city.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

ReeceofBDTBL
Play offs and a cup run
Replies
4
Views
371
CPB
C
Kozzy_is_my_Dad
What tactical change(s) would you make?
Replies
14
Views
700
bonobo
B
W
Goals from outside the box
Replies
27
Views
928
wak1889
W
Silkblade
Is Reuben Selles changing formation?
Replies
20
Views
1K
designedbyross
designedbyross
BalticBlade
Wilder - 'January can't come soon enough'
4 5 6
Replies
151
Views
9K
Bell4
Bell4

All advertisments are hidden for logged in members, why not log in/register?

All advertisments are hidden for logged in members, why not log in/register?

Back
Top Bottom