We all know that Sander Berge wouldnt get a place in the England squad if he was English.

[Wilderat Heart]

I normally like silent blades contributions but this just feels petty. Of course Sander doesn't get in this England side. Not many do. As a Sixty five year old Blade so old enough to have seen him play. Tony Currie doesn't get in this squad.Certainly not as a starter.

 

[mattbianco1]

Norway are a very good side. They play with speed and intensity.

They won all 8 of their qualifying games including beating Italy 3-0 and 1-4.

They put 11 goals past Moldova. Yeah it's only Moldova, but when have England put in a scoreline like that?

I can see this gonna penalties tonight

 

[S17 Blade 1889]

Adam Wharton, Conor Gallagher

Thanks, as Wards says agree with Wharton, a good shout. Gallagher is a great player who i watched live in Spain once but not convinced he's world class, though i guess that's your point re Anderson. I think Anderson will be by the Euros.

 

[3Cheers4Ramirez]

Henderson and Mainoo are in England's squad in midfield, FFS. Of course Berge would stand a chance

As for "possibly" Odegaard in the OP -

England haven't picked their best squad, but theyre not very good regardless

Without Kane they're fucked

I give England the advantage in this game but not much more than 55% probability

The defence is bizarre and shite and Haaland can have a lot of joy against them

An England v Argentina semi would be quite an event and I'd look forward to that

Regardless, I think it'll be France v Argentina again but unfortunately the opposite result, because they simply have too many top players in form and in their prime. No one can touch Mbappe

 

[CT1889]

For the record I don’t hate Berge

What I do hate is what he symbolizes to me

And that is the End of Wilder’s golden touch.

He pushed a massive amount of our chips into the table betting that Berge was going to be a top Midfielder. And while he has proven in time to be a competent Perm Midfielder, he is not elite.

First of many costly miss steps

 

[Geordie Blade]

Both things are true. On the ball, Berge is quality. He rarely loses the ball, knows when to pick a simple pass and when to take a a risk (even if some fans think he’s too cautious). And he can be utterly brilliant when driving forwards.

However, there are two main weaknesses, which I think he should have addressed years ago:

Heading. I can barely remember ever seeing him head the ball. He actively avoids it. For someone of his size and build, it’s inexcusable. Last night, when Norway hit the bar, the ball dropped down to Berge on the six yard line. If he wins the header, it’s an open goal. Instead, he was very easily beaten to it - I just don’t think he wanted it enough.

Protecting the back four. As a defensive midfielder with his build, he should be like an extra central defender. He should be getting in the way of everything and busting a gut to make sure that the ball doesn’t even get to his back for. Watch England’s first goal last night. Bellingham picks the ball up on the edge of the area. Berge has three chances to stop it. Firstly, Berge should be blocking the inside pass to him, but he doesn’t. Secondly, he should close Bellingham down, but he doesn’t. He stays five yards off him the whole time, which is what gave Bellingham the space to score. Thirdly, he has to try everything to get a block in once Bellingham shoots. Instead, he half-heartedly sticks a leg out and gets nowhere near it.

The languid stuff can look great when things are going well, but sometimes a player lucky enough to have Berge’s physique should be able to do a lot better defensively.

 

[HeCanDoMagic]

For the record I don’t hate Berge

What I do hate is what he symbolizes to me

And that is the End of Wilder’s golden touch.

He pushed a massive amount of our chips into the table betting that Berge was going to be a top Midfielder. And while he has proven in time to be a competent Perm Midfielder, he is not elite.

First of many costly miss steps

Berge is elite though. Top premier league midfielder. Top international midfielder. Absolutely elite.

 

[Kenilworth]

For the record I don’t hate Berge

What I do hate is what he symbolizes to me

And that is the End of Wilder’s golden touch.

He pushed a massive amount of our chips into the table betting that Berge was going to be a top Midfielder. And while he has proven in time to be a competent Perm Midfielder, he is not elite.

First of many costly miss steps

Disagree entirely about all our chips. That was supposed to be the start of the type of player we’d be recruiting and we got him when he was being looked at by many clubs. If we’d have got into Europe that season, had there been no covid to screw things up, I believe we would have had more such signings, given the budget would have increased. (And maybe we wouldn’t have been relegated the season after)

 

[Kenilworth]

Both things are true. On the ball, Berge is quality. He rarely loses the ball, knows when to pick a simple pass and when to take a a risk (even if some fans think he’s too cautious). And he can be utterly brilliant when driving forwards.

However, there are two main weaknesses, which I think he should have addressed years ago:

Heading. I can barely remember ever seeing him head the ball. He actively avoids it. For someone of his size and build, it’s inexcusable. Last night, when Norway hit the bar, the ball dropped down to Berge on the six yard line. If he wins the header, it’s an open goal. Instead, he was very easily beaten to it - I just don’t think he wanted it enough.

Protecting the back four. As a defensive midfielder with his build, he should be like an extra central defender. He should be getting in the way of everything and busting a gut to make sure that the ball doesn’t even get to his back for. Watch England’s first goal last night. Bellingham picks the ball up on the edge of the area. Berge has three chances to stop it. Firstly, Berge should be blocking the inside pass to him, but he doesn’t. Secondly, he should close Bellingham down, but he doesn’t. He stays five yards off him the whole time, which is what gave Bellingham the space to score. Thirdly, he has to try everything to get a block in once Bellingham shoots. Instead, he half-heartedly sticks a leg out and gets nowhere near it.

The languid stuff can look great when things are going well, but sometimes a player lucky enough to have Berge’s physique should be able to do a lot better defensively.

I saw him score a header at Cov, once ( before O’Hare ripped us a new one)

 

[Trigger]

Don’t understand this Berge love in.
Doesn’t play for us anymore, neshed every tackle and header going when he did, work shy and will never going to play for a top side.
Only gets a place in an International team because it’s Norway because they’re not that good.
Don’t get the club’s/supporters obsession with players who have moved on.
Sander Berge will hardly give us a thought these days and to be honest I care even less about him.
Sheffield so frustrates me as a City because the so many people look back and not forward.

 

[sitwell]

Massively over rated, he was Englands second best midfielder last night.

 

[Edgar Allan Poo]

Got bundled over a couple of times last night which is ridiculous for a bloke his size.

It was really helpful the way he ground Norway's movement to a stop though.

 

[Silent Blade]

Both things are true. On the ball, Berge is quality. He rarely loses the ball, knows when to pick a simple pass and when to take a a risk (even if some fans think he’s too cautious). And he can be utterly brilliant when driving forwards.

However, there are two main weaknesses, which I think he should have addressed years ago:

Heading. I can barely remember ever seeing him head the ball. He actively avoids it. For someone of his size and build, it’s inexcusable. Last night, when Norway hit the bar, the ball dropped down to Berge on the six yard line. If he wins the header, it’s an open goal. Instead, he was very easily beaten to it - I just don’t think he wanted it enough.

Protecting the back four. As a defensive midfielder with his build, he should be like an extra central defender. He should be getting in the way of everything and busting a gut to make sure that the ball doesn’t even get to his back for. Watch England’s first goal last night. Bellingham picks the ball up on the edge of the area. Berge has three chances to stop it. Firstly, Berge should be blocking the inside pass to him, but he doesn’t. Secondly, he should close Bellingham down, but he doesn’t. He stays five yards off him the whole time, which is what gave Bellingham the space to score. Thirdly, he has to try everything to get a block in once Bellingham shoots. Instead, he half-heartedly sticks a leg out and gets nowhere near it.

The languid stuff can look great when things are going well, but sometimes a player lucky enough to have Berge’s physique should be able to do a lot better defensively.

Spot on. He did well to last 120 minutes which did surprise me. Some of our players looked leggy and so was Haaland, Odegaard was Norway's best player.

Yes that header was a 80% chance for Berge and I wasnt surprised he was beaten to the header as he was like that for us, think it was Konsa who beat him to the header.

Straight after the match a Norwegian friend videocalled me to congratulate me, we had a bit of a discussion about the match and we agreed that Nyland should have caught Rogers shot rather than push it away. Pickford had a few scares too.

 

[CT1889]

Berge is elite though. Top premier league midfielder. Top international midfielder. Absolutely elite.

Well we have a different definition of elite and that’s ok

Elite compared to all pro Midfielders in the world right now, Yes he is Elite.

Does he play for an Elite club side and by that I mean Top 10 team in Europe. No he plays for Fulham, who I would class as a Competent mid table Perm team.

Which suits him to a tea, as he’s a Competent mid table Perm midfielder

 

[CT1889]

Disagree entirely about all our chips. That was supposed to be the start of the type of player we’d be recruiting and we got him when he was being looked at by many clubs. If we’d have got into Europe that season, had there been no covid to screw things up, I believe we would have had more such signings, given the budget would have increased. (And maybe we wouldn’t have been relegated the season after)

Did not say all, but massive amount

He was sold to us as the next step in the journey

Buy the top prospects in Europe, get 2 to 3 seasons out of them and sell on for a nice profit and repeat

Problem is with any trade, if you over pay you are screwed

If we had gotten Berge for say 10m. We would all look back say that was a great piece of Business.

But we didn’t and followed it with an even worse Buy in Brewster

There’s a saying “some times the best trades are the ones you don’t make”

 

[SwissBlade]

I know Berge made a couple of errors and gave the ball away to England last night but he more than held his own and looked decent at times against a very strong England Midfield three

Berge was not at this World Cup making up numbers, he’s a class player. Hes certainly grown since he left us and looks very at home with some of the best in the world

 

[Grappler]

Sander lived for a while in an apartment in Broomhill (the old "Hallam Towers" hotel site), and a mate of mine, who lived there, met him.

My mate is from Bristol and doesn't follow football. He came into the pub one day and said, "I met your goalkeeper yesterday, he is coming to live in one of the apartments", I said, really?, that's good, our old keeper, Simon Moore lived close to you as well, he said, yes, Sander seems like a nice lad.

I said, "Sander?" he's not our keeper, he plays midfield. He said, "No, this lad must be a goal keeper, he's a giant!"

 

[Tom Bott]

Did not say all, but massive amount

He was sold to us as the next step in the journey

Buy the top prospects in Europe, get 2 to 3 seasons out of them and sell on for a nice profit and repeat

Problem is with any trade, if you over pay you are screwed

If we had gotten Berge for say 10m. We would all look back say that was a great piece of Business.

But we didn’t and followed it with an even worse Buy in Brewster

There’s a saying “some times the best trades are the ones you don’t make”

Which is exactly what West Ham fans are saying, three hundred and twenty million pounds net spend since 2021.

But Wilder wasted £ 60 million in two years while we were in the PL, outrage?

Perspective shows that these fees paid for Berge, Brewster and Mcburnie while enormous fees by Blades standards were the norm/average for PL players.

The financial muscle of the Premier League routinely inflates fees, and the lure of Premiership wages often attracts players who never quite justify the investment.

 

[Bergen Blade]

Spot on. He did well to last 120 minutes which did surprise me. Some of our players looked leggy and so was Haaland, Odegaard was Norway's best player.

Yes that header was a 80% chance for Berge and I wasnt surprised he was beaten to the header as he was like that for us, think it was Konsa who beat him to the header.

View attachment Berge header.mp4

Berge's not a good header of a ball and there's no guarantee he would have nodded it in, even unchallenged. Regarding the challenge, there's a high elbow/push helping Konsa to move the mid air Berge away. Given Norway's disallowed goal there's been some claims that this situation should also have been looked at.

 

[Snake]

View attachment 240146View attachment 240145

Berge's not a good header of a ball and there's no guarantee he would have nodded it in, even unchallenged. Regarding the challenge, there's a high elbow/push helping Konsa to move the mid air Berge away. Given Norway's disallowed goal there's been some claims that this situation should also have been looked at.

Deffo a pen for me, that. Ok we all know Berge can't head a ball, but that's irrelevant. The defender had his arm on Berge's shoulder - restricting his jump, and helping his own. Can't believe that wasn't given.

 

[Silent Blade]

Deffo a pen for me, that. Ok we all know Berge can't head a ball, but that's irrelevant. The defender had his arm on Berge's shoulder - restricting his jump, and helping his own. Can't believe that wasn't given.

It has to be a clear and obvious offence that can make VAR ask the ref to overturn his decision. If the ref awarded a penalty then the VAR would not ask the ref to overturn his decision

 

[CT1889]

Which is exactly what West Ham fans are saying, three hundred and twenty million pounds net spend since 2021.

But Wilder wasted £ 60 million in two years while we were in the PL, outrage?

Perspective shows that these fees paid for Berge, Brewster and Mcburnie while enormous fees by Blades standards were the norm/average for PL players.

Not sure what point you are trying to Make

West ham spent 320 over 11 windows ~ 29 per window and ended up relegated

Wilder spent 75 over 3 windows ~ 25 per window and ended relegated

Concussion teams that waste the vast sums of money that being in the perm brings, end up not in the Perm.

well that’s ok then, Wilder was not to blame because other teams are just as Feckless?

What’s our go forward strategy

Hope Wilder pulls off an other miracle and get us back in the Perm, and then also hope that there at least 3 worse organized clubs.

Well I’ve got bad news for you, there are no Clubs in the Perm that are run as badly as us, not by a county mile.

And we are not looking to clever by Champ standards either at the minute

 

[Super Furry Blades]

Both things are true. On the ball, Berge is quality. He rarely loses the ball, knows when to pick a simple pass and when to take a a risk (even if some fans think he’s too cautious). And he can be utterly brilliant when driving forwards.

However, there are two main weaknesses, which I think he should have addressed years ago:

Heading. I can barely remember ever seeing him head the ball. He actively avoids it. For someone of his size and build, it’s inexcusable. Last night, when Norway hit the bar, the ball dropped down to Berge on the six yard line. If he wins the header, it’s an open goal. Instead, he was very easily beaten to it - I just don’t think he wanted it enough.

Protecting the back four. As a defensive midfielder with his build, he should be like an extra central defender. He should be getting in the way of everything and busting a gut to make sure that the ball doesn’t even get to his back for. Watch England’s first goal last night. Bellingham picks the ball up on the edge of the area. Berge has three chances to stop it. Firstly, Berge should be blocking the inside pass to him, but he doesn’t. Secondly, he should close Bellingham down, but he doesn’t. He stays five yards off him the whole time, which is what gave Bellingham the space to score. Thirdly, he has to try everything to get a block in once Bellingham shoots. Instead, he half-heartedly sticks a leg out and gets nowhere near it.

The languid stuff can look great when things are going well, but sometimes a player lucky enough to have Berge’s physique should be able to do a lot better defensively.

Nailed it
He actively avoids having to tackle an attacking player , he's a right Nancy.

 

[MagnifiqueShorehamStreet]

He was a class player, you could tell that. At United his gliding runs past players on the outside, were great to watch.I enjoyed his spell at `United, but I’m afraid we weren’t a great fit.Our fans and manager,mostly prefer a little grafter, which he was not.
He’s enjoyed a good career, in the Premiership and for his country,and I hope he remembers his time here, as I do fondly.
Up the Blades!

 

[Rob86]

View attachment 240146View attachment 240145

Berge's not a good header of a ball and there's no guarantee he would have nodded it in, even unchallenged. Regarding the challenge, there's a high elbow/push helping Konsa to move the mid air Berge away. Given Norway's disallowed goal there's been some claims that this situation should also have been looked at.

I thought it was a penalty at the time. He’s clearly about to head it and then gets the arm/elbow to the back.

England got away with it big time, Norway were the better team and should have finished it off in the 90 mins but Haaland was immobile most of the game.

Then what a way to lose with that goalkeeping howler. But take nothing away from Bellingham’s finish, it was sensational

Edit: as the threads about Berge, I thought he did alright to be honest and didn’t look out of place. Solid without doing anything spectacular, usual Berge really. But completing 120 mins was a surprise !

 

[GrunkyPeep]

View attachment 240146View attachment 240145

Berge's not a good header of a ball and there's no guarantee he would have nodded it in, even unchallenged. Regarding the challenge, there's a high elbow/push helping Konsa to move the mid air Berge away. Given Norway's disallowed goal there's been some claims that this situation should also have been looked at.

I'm still bitter about the Spence one.

If they can clear through Spence because he got in the way then Berge can be cleared out too.

Either both should be a pen or neither should be for me.

 

[Zeblades34]

Only player i've seen for united who got smaller when he jumped. Bloke is 6'5 and has the physicality of 5'7. Good when he drifts past players. About it really, he's just good/okay imo

 

[Davalon]

Sander lived for a while in an apartment in Broomhill (the old "Hallam Towers" hotel site), and a mate of mine, who lived there, met him.

My mate is from Bristol and doesn't follow football. He came into the pub one day and said, "I met your goalkeeper yesterday, he is coming to live in one of the apartments", I said, really?, that's good, our old keeper, Simon Moore lived close to you as well, he said, yes, Sander seems like a nice lad.

I said, "Sander?" he's not our keeper, he plays midfield. He said, "No, this lad must be a goal keeper, he's a giant!"

Used to pass him and George at Broomhill many mornings

 

[Iffy Onuora's Shiny Head]

On reflection the fee paid for Berge was probably fair. £20m for a raw player who has since developed into a good Premier League player for a decent premier league team.

I don't think he was what we needed at the time and the money should have been utilised to cement our position with better squad cover and rotation options.

If you look at all our signings on players over 5m, he's one of the few that went onto to bigger and better things after us. Given everyone mentions the Brighton/Brentford/Bournmouth models - this is what we should be aspiring to be.

 

[Tom Bott]

Well I’ve got bad news for you, there are no Clubs in the Perm that are run as badly as us, not by a county mile.

Aside from West Ham, Burnley, Wolves.
Leicester, Southampton.
Near misses for Spurs (380 million net spend in the last 2 years) and Forest.
Lets see how Sunderland manage season two after £140 million spend in the first year after promotion.

You could also include the likes of Norwich, Watford and others in the list, but no clubs are as badly run as we are?

Wilder spent £75 million in three windows so it's all his fault?

The clubs which may have a few seasons in the PL Sunderland,Forest spent £ 150 million in their first season, do you ever see United having owners with such deep pockets?
To attract the better players with this level of spending also means having a healthy (for the players) wage bill of £ 70 million+.