Deadbat
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- Aug 6, 2009
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I did not go to Chesterfield today and I am going to be a bit hypocritical to offer my thoughts considering my non attendance. I did not go to Rotherham either last year. A few years ago not going down the road (I could be at Proact in 15 minutes) was unheard of but this is how this club has got me. I did not even know the tickets were on sale and then by the time I thought about going they had gone (due to incredible loyalty and still passion despite so many let downs). I did not feel sad not to be going today. I sadly expected a loss to a hungry, young and well drilled side. It went as I expected it.
The season is now 10 games in. We have lost 4 of them and are chucking goals away most away games and showing little chance of ever going on a run. We do ok (at best) one week and then the next week its another step backwards. On what we have seen so far we will do well to get in the top 6 and look all the world a plodding mid table side.
We have a leaky defence, a midfield that does not create and don’t score goals with the worst collection of options up front in my United lifetime. We have enough experience and depth and some talent that occasionally sparkles but are really inconsistent (Murphy, Campbell Ryce, Baxter and Scougall). We change the side every week and we look no nearer to spending any significant funds to properly improve this team of journeyman and misfits.
So who is to blame? Well the reality is that everyone has to take a chunk apart from us lot.
The board
I have to say that the boards strategy and lack of ambition as always costs us any chance to move forward. We have not spent significantly in transfer fees or wages to be anywhere near good enough to be in the top two. We lost key players and after a good cup run and funds generated (Maguire) spent peanuts in comparison. As always there is excuse after excuse added to spin from our American friend as chairman. I don't buy it and neither do most fans.
My honest opinion is whether the Prince (and his associates) have money or not; they ain't spending it on this football club. If they were serious after us moving up the leagues and it being 'game changing' they would have spent the small sums in comparison to their fortune needed to get us out of the third tier. I don't think they are that bothered. I think it is a bit of a toy; a bit like his fantasy football league he always speaks of. Sadly I think in the next year or so he and the others will quietly disappear. Will it matter? On current evident it won't as there introduction as changed little with the only real significance that McCabe has allegedly wrote off his debts.
We have had lots of time to improve the squad and in reality they have not given Clough that much help to make us that dominant side that is not guaranteed promotion but one that has a very good chance. He had had to sign players that for the most part will still be on decent wages at this level and more than Chessy, Rochdale etc but not the sort of players who will get us out of this division. However......
The Manager
I would also argue other sides have managed to recruit players either loan or from the lower leagues (Peterborough, MK Dons, Bristol) spending not much more (Agard apart). The players Peterborough brought in Maddison from Gateshead and James from Hartlepool were not 'name' signings. Similarly could we have not got Freeman, Litte, Ayling, Wilbraham and some of others Bristol signed. Akobe for MK Dons? All have had big impacts.
Clough has to be honest and say the signings he did bring in overall have been really poor. Alcock has been steady until recent games and Campbell Ryce shown flashes but injury prone. McEveley started well but has gone off the boil. The Butler signing and outgoing was a fiasco. Higdon has been awful as has the abysmal Basham. McNulty looks a little out of his depth. He resigned Porter and also Davies (neither are considered starters). I feel sorry for some of lads such as Reed, Dimaio, Di Girolamo, Khan etc. Could they have done any worse?
The pre season saw the team messed around and this has continued. We have not started the same team for two successive games. We do not have any of the defensive solidity from last season and look disorganised. We also do not have the attacking fluency we had last season. Tactically and coaching wise he has been out performed many games this season. We are shipping goals all over and have been fortunate to have even got many of the results we have. The last 3 games we have let in 11 goals and other than a few late comebacks it could have ben even more embarrassing.
In short as good as Clough was last season and what a job he did; although taking over from the woeful Weir he had a free pass in some ways and could not do any worse (but still did a tremendous job to get us to the semi and cusp of the playoffs when we were staring down the barrel); he has been really poor this season. If he had not done what he had last year then many fans would be calling for a change. People may laugh at that but that is the truth. Wilson went when we were 4th. The football this season has been really poor. The performances average at best and the results a mixed bag but wholly unacceptable for a club of Uniteds standing to be scratching around in mid table for the 4th year if the third tier.
Clough has shown this season why he was in non league for 10 years and why at Derby they never realy moved forward. He has done very little in his managerial career but showed so much promise last season. I thought at last a no nonsense manager who got us playing with some style and brought some pride back. This season we have gone completely backwards. It is better than Weir but no better than the average dross Wilson served up in his second season. We look miles off a decent side and the buck has to stop with Clough for that whatever limitations he may have had. I am sure the likes of many other managers above us in the league (Alexander at Fleetwood, Hill at Rochdale, Cook at Chesterfield) would love to have his limitations. The honeymoon is over for me now and I know some may feel by criticising him that it is taking away from the board and the deserved criticism I have given above. However, he has to much better in preparing the sides (2 or 3 down every away game at the moment is pathetic) and get them sharper, tighter, better drilled and more ruthless. We look a soft touch all over the field. I can accept the lack of goals, creativity but being out worked and out thought has been a constant much of the season.
The players
Too many seem to have not got going. Murphy and Flynn have mostly reverted to type. Scougall does not look the same player and Collins and Doyle although sometimes harshly seen as in line with our recent demise are still what they are. Average. They at least wont be at the club this time next year. We have a mixed bag of journeymen players. However even these should be doing better. Some of these wont have ever played for a club like us and wont again. They should be proud to wear the red and white stripes and run through brick walls.
Many are on a good wage at this level but many seem like either they cant be arsed or kind of happy to accept mediocrity. Murphy and Flynn are casing points. Two players who have enough ability to be stand outs at this level but at the moment they are looking no better than anyone else and will be stuck playing football here or lower for United or someone else unless they realise and start waking up. Many have come here and should be desperate to show almost 20,000 what they are about but have been shocking (Basham, Higdon etc). If they don’t improve they will end up at some crap hole soon on less wages and
I wonder if they regret not making the most of a golden chance to play in front of big crowds, have great training facilities and have fans wanting and hoping for them to be heroes.
Verdict
Some fans say we should have to accept where we are and realise we are League One. I am sorry but that is not acceptable to have that attitude. I know we can’t do much but does not mean we should accept such mediocrity. I hear some say United are some of worst fans that they are up one week, and down the next. I do not agree with this.
Yes all clubs have fans like this but do you know what for the dross and the position and where we are in the football pyramid, the fans support has been incredible for me. In many ways we are the most patient bunch in the land. We are comfortably the biggest underachievers for a club of our size/support in the league and yet we keep turning up most weeks. We are about the only good thing this club has (don’t give me the Academy as anyone any good is sold anyway).
The rest of this club is a bit of a mess that is plodding along with no sense of urgency and drive. James Phipps comments on twitter to me are quite patronising (unbroken etc). We deserve better. Will we get it. Probably no time soon. Up the Blades.
The season is now 10 games in. We have lost 4 of them and are chucking goals away most away games and showing little chance of ever going on a run. We do ok (at best) one week and then the next week its another step backwards. On what we have seen so far we will do well to get in the top 6 and look all the world a plodding mid table side.
We have a leaky defence, a midfield that does not create and don’t score goals with the worst collection of options up front in my United lifetime. We have enough experience and depth and some talent that occasionally sparkles but are really inconsistent (Murphy, Campbell Ryce, Baxter and Scougall). We change the side every week and we look no nearer to spending any significant funds to properly improve this team of journeyman and misfits.
So who is to blame? Well the reality is that everyone has to take a chunk apart from us lot.
The board
I have to say that the boards strategy and lack of ambition as always costs us any chance to move forward. We have not spent significantly in transfer fees or wages to be anywhere near good enough to be in the top two. We lost key players and after a good cup run and funds generated (Maguire) spent peanuts in comparison. As always there is excuse after excuse added to spin from our American friend as chairman. I don't buy it and neither do most fans.
My honest opinion is whether the Prince (and his associates) have money or not; they ain't spending it on this football club. If they were serious after us moving up the leagues and it being 'game changing' they would have spent the small sums in comparison to their fortune needed to get us out of the third tier. I don't think they are that bothered. I think it is a bit of a toy; a bit like his fantasy football league he always speaks of. Sadly I think in the next year or so he and the others will quietly disappear. Will it matter? On current evident it won't as there introduction as changed little with the only real significance that McCabe has allegedly wrote off his debts.
We have had lots of time to improve the squad and in reality they have not given Clough that much help to make us that dominant side that is not guaranteed promotion but one that has a very good chance. He had had to sign players that for the most part will still be on decent wages at this level and more than Chessy, Rochdale etc but not the sort of players who will get us out of this division. However......
The Manager
I would also argue other sides have managed to recruit players either loan or from the lower leagues (Peterborough, MK Dons, Bristol) spending not much more (Agard apart). The players Peterborough brought in Maddison from Gateshead and James from Hartlepool were not 'name' signings. Similarly could we have not got Freeman, Litte, Ayling, Wilbraham and some of others Bristol signed. Akobe for MK Dons? All have had big impacts.
Clough has to be honest and say the signings he did bring in overall have been really poor. Alcock has been steady until recent games and Campbell Ryce shown flashes but injury prone. McEveley started well but has gone off the boil. The Butler signing and outgoing was a fiasco. Higdon has been awful as has the abysmal Basham. McNulty looks a little out of his depth. He resigned Porter and also Davies (neither are considered starters). I feel sorry for some of lads such as Reed, Dimaio, Di Girolamo, Khan etc. Could they have done any worse?
The pre season saw the team messed around and this has continued. We have not started the same team for two successive games. We do not have any of the defensive solidity from last season and look disorganised. We also do not have the attacking fluency we had last season. Tactically and coaching wise he has been out performed many games this season. We are shipping goals all over and have been fortunate to have even got many of the results we have. The last 3 games we have let in 11 goals and other than a few late comebacks it could have ben even more embarrassing.
In short as good as Clough was last season and what a job he did; although taking over from the woeful Weir he had a free pass in some ways and could not do any worse (but still did a tremendous job to get us to the semi and cusp of the playoffs when we were staring down the barrel); he has been really poor this season. If he had not done what he had last year then many fans would be calling for a change. People may laugh at that but that is the truth. Wilson went when we were 4th. The football this season has been really poor. The performances average at best and the results a mixed bag but wholly unacceptable for a club of Uniteds standing to be scratching around in mid table for the 4th year if the third tier.
Clough has shown this season why he was in non league for 10 years and why at Derby they never realy moved forward. He has done very little in his managerial career but showed so much promise last season. I thought at last a no nonsense manager who got us playing with some style and brought some pride back. This season we have gone completely backwards. It is better than Weir but no better than the average dross Wilson served up in his second season. We look miles off a decent side and the buck has to stop with Clough for that whatever limitations he may have had. I am sure the likes of many other managers above us in the league (Alexander at Fleetwood, Hill at Rochdale, Cook at Chesterfield) would love to have his limitations. The honeymoon is over for me now and I know some may feel by criticising him that it is taking away from the board and the deserved criticism I have given above. However, he has to much better in preparing the sides (2 or 3 down every away game at the moment is pathetic) and get them sharper, tighter, better drilled and more ruthless. We look a soft touch all over the field. I can accept the lack of goals, creativity but being out worked and out thought has been a constant much of the season.
The players
Too many seem to have not got going. Murphy and Flynn have mostly reverted to type. Scougall does not look the same player and Collins and Doyle although sometimes harshly seen as in line with our recent demise are still what they are. Average. They at least wont be at the club this time next year. We have a mixed bag of journeymen players. However even these should be doing better. Some of these wont have ever played for a club like us and wont again. They should be proud to wear the red and white stripes and run through brick walls.
Many are on a good wage at this level but many seem like either they cant be arsed or kind of happy to accept mediocrity. Murphy and Flynn are casing points. Two players who have enough ability to be stand outs at this level but at the moment they are looking no better than anyone else and will be stuck playing football here or lower for United or someone else unless they realise and start waking up. Many have come here and should be desperate to show almost 20,000 what they are about but have been shocking (Basham, Higdon etc). If they don’t improve they will end up at some crap hole soon on less wages and
I wonder if they regret not making the most of a golden chance to play in front of big crowds, have great training facilities and have fans wanting and hoping for them to be heroes.
Verdict
Some fans say we should have to accept where we are and realise we are League One. I am sorry but that is not acceptable to have that attitude. I know we can’t do much but does not mean we should accept such mediocrity. I hear some say United are some of worst fans that they are up one week, and down the next. I do not agree with this.
Yes all clubs have fans like this but do you know what for the dross and the position and where we are in the football pyramid, the fans support has been incredible for me. In many ways we are the most patient bunch in the land. We are comfortably the biggest underachievers for a club of our size/support in the league and yet we keep turning up most weeks. We are about the only good thing this club has (don’t give me the Academy as anyone any good is sold anyway).
The rest of this club is a bit of a mess that is plodding along with no sense of urgency and drive. James Phipps comments on twitter to me are quite patronising (unbroken etc). We deserve better. Will we get it. Probably no time soon. Up the Blades.
