Weird Worldview

[robbiez666]

I'm seeing some of the most ridiculous opinions this season (we all have them and have had them but something seems to have changed since Wilder left)

People only rating potential signings if they cost a lot of money
People judging the standard of a player on where we've bought them from
People expecting us to spend millions on players
People loving players one week and hating them the next

It's like some bloody QAnon nonsense

A lot of money now, in this league, for just about any club is £1 million. This is the new reality.

Some of our best signings have cost very little

Recently: Stevens, Fleck, McGoldrick, Basham, JOC, McGoldrick

Some of our most disappointing have cost a lot of money

Berge, McBurnie, Mousset, Burke, Robinson, Freeman

I'd rather get promoted spending nothing than promoted spending £50 million.

Some of my favourite players have cost relatively little and/or been signed from smallish clubs:

Alan Kelly - Preston
Brian Deane - Doncaster
Tony Agana - Watford
Mel Rees - West Brom

A clever team finds potential for cheap and helps the player realise that potential. They bring youth players through and mix them in. It doesn't matter where someone is playing or whether they're playing. Irrelevant. So many other reasons at play.

It's like saying Ndiaye was shit at the start of the season because he couldn't get in our team. Stop judging things on purely face value.

Since relegation (or while we're up) we seem to have attracted a fair number of billy big bollocks who seem to thing we're entitled to success because we've spent a lot of money or we got promoted before. I assume these might be floating Wednesday fans because it's starting to sound a lot like Owlstalk on here.

 

[Cheesebored]

I assume these might be floating Wednesday fans because it's starting to sound a lot like Owlstalk on here.

No it fizzing isn't.

 

[bromtom]

No it fizzing isn't.

#WeeWeePipe

 

[Bladesman]

I'm seeing some of the most ridiculous opinions this season (we all have them and have had them but something seems to have changed since Wilder left)

People only rating potential signings if they cost a lot of money
People judging the standard of a player on where we've bought them from
People expecting us to spend millions on players
People loving players one week and hating them the next

It's like some bloody QAnon nonsense

A lot of money now, in this league, for just about any club is £1 million. This is the new reality.

Some of our best signings have cost very little

Recently: Stevens, Fleck, McGoldrick, Basham, JOC, McGoldrick

Some of our most disappointing have cost a lot of money

Berge, McBurnie, Mousset, Burke, Robinson, Freeman

I'd rather get promoted spending nothing than promoted spending £50 million.

Some of my favourite players have cost relatively little and/or been signed from smallish clubs:

Alan Kelly - Preston
Brian Deane - Doncaster
Tony Agana - Watford
Mel Rees - West Brom

A clever team finds potential for cheap and helps the player realise that potential. They bring youth players through and mix them in. It doesn't matter where someone is playing or whether they're playing. Irrelevant. So many other reasons at play.

It's like saying Ndiaye was shit at the start of the season because he couldn't get in our team. Stop judging things on purely face value.

Since relegation (or while we're up) we seem to have attracted a fair number of billy big bollocks who seem to thing we're entitled to success because we've spent a lot of money or we got promoted before. I assume these might be floating Wednesday fans because it's starting to sound a lot like Owlstalk on here.

No point judging signings at Sheffield United by monetary value.

Our history has shown we tend to land better players for cheap or on a free than ones we spend fortunes on.

 

[nopigfansintown]

It all started with the Slav appointment. No real analysis of his past, just an assumption that we'd do well under him because he was successful with a blank cheque book and the hyper talented squads he inherited. Then his chronic failure, of course, was because all of our players were shit. It's a new breed...

 

[robbiez666]

It all started with the Slav appointment. No real analysis of his past, just an assumption that we'd do well under him because he was successful with a blank cheque book and the hyper talented squads he inherited. Then his chronic failure, of course, was because all of our players were shit. It's a new breed...

Imagine if Slav had won 4 of his first 6 league games and yet Heck is shit because he's not a big name and has a terrible record even though it's not actually terrible.

 

[coaxingstar71]

It is the way of the world these days. You only have to read the forum after we've played to know that.

If we win, we're playing well, going to get in the play-offs and it's all positive.
If we lose, we're rubbish, all the players are rubbish and we'll get relegated.

It's quite laughable, especially as we've had such an inconsistent season so far so it seems we get from one extreme to the other almost every week.

 

[Houston_Blade]

It is the way of the world these days. You only have to read the forum after we've played to know that.

If we win, we're playing well, going to get in the play-offs and it's all positive.
If we lose, we're rubbish, all the players are rubbish and we'll get relegated.

It's quite laughable, especially as we've had such an inconsistent season so far so it seems we get from one extreme to the other almost every week.

I think a lot of people are being done a disservice here. Most posters accept that we are ‘average’ and will finish somewhere in the middle to the top half of the table. Inconsistency will kill us.

 

[coaxingstar71]

I think a lot of people are being done a disservice here. Most posters accept that we are ‘average’ and will finish somewhere in the middle to the top half of the table. Inconsistency will kill us.

I get that and probably those posters, like you and me, don't join in the hysterical reactions that greet every result.

 

[steve26272]

Love your sentiment, but sadly I suspect the days of picking up a gem for £40,000 - £150,000 are gone

I doubt you would have heard of him, but look at this guy - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riley_McGree

23 year old Australian, bought from Charlotte in the US Major League

CW has spunked £3.3m of Gibsons money to take him to Boro (unless he's bought him himself, and now only has £700k of the payoff left)

Another one from the hotbed of world football, good 'ol US of A comes this chap

21 year old Yank, straight from Orlando City, Daryl Dike - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daryl_Dike

£7.7m to WBA

Finally we have Dilan Markandy - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dilan_Markanday

made 1 1st team appearance as a sub for Spurs in Euro conference league

Gone to Blackburn for £540k - over half a mil for a lad with a few mins under his belt in the crappy Euro league

All the above may go on to be excellent purchases, and for their careers I hope they do - Im just making the point that the days of picking up a lad from Donny for £40k are long gone - sadly

 

[Champagneblade]

I actually thought this was going to be a regular feature by robbiez666 on the ongoings at United World!

 

[Houston_Blade]

I get that and probably those posters, like you and me, don't join in the hysterical reactions that greet every result.

I'm miserable and petty when we play badly, not necessarily when we lose. But overall I don't get too up and down game by game. I just accept us for what we are, not what I wish us to be.

 

[Maidenhead]

I'm miserable and petty when we play badly, not necessarily when we lose. But overall I don't get too up and down game by game. I just accept us for what we are, not what I wish us to be.

You've got to love me for what I am

.

any excuse to listen to Karen Carpenter is good enough for me

 

[robbiez666]

Love your sentiment, but sadly I suspect the days of picking up a gem for £40,000 - £150,000 are gone

I doubt you would have heard of him, but look at this guy - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riley_McGree

23 year old Australian, bought from Charlotte in the US Major League

CW has spunked £3.3m of Gibsons money to take him to Boro (unless he's bought him himself, and now only has £700k of the payoff left)

Another one from the hotbed of world football, good 'ol US of A comes this chap

21 year old Yank, straight from Orlando City, Daryl Dike - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daryl_Dike

£7.7m to WBA

Finally we have Dilan Markandy - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dilan_Markanday

made 1 1st team appearance as a sub for Spurs in Euro conference league

Gone to Blackburn for £540k - over half a mil for a lad with a few mins under his belt in the crappy Euro league

All the above may go on to be excellent purchases, and for their careers I hope they do - Im just making the point that the days of picking up a lad from Donny for £40k are long gone - sadly

Look at the youth players we've picked up from bigger teams.

You're right, there's so much scouting nowadays that you're unlikely to pick up talented kids at a bargain price. But, you can still pick them up when they're released. Or from non-league. Or from teams where it hasn't worked out for them for one reason or another. There are lots of players who are released or sold for next to nothing to lower league or non-league teams. they're still talented but have not broken through. Some come back up through the divisions. It's following them and picking them up at the right time.

We've just signed a keeper from Stoke for seemingly nothing. A keeper who has had a great season at this level and yet fell out of favour. We just need to be really on the ball. Sunderland just picked up Patrick Roberts for not a lot. He was worth millions a few years ago.

 

[Hagansbootlaces]

Look at the youth players we've picked up from bigger teams.

You're right, there's so much scouting nowadays that you're unlikely to pick up talented kids at a bargain price. But, you can still pick them up when they're released. Or from non-league. Or from teams where it hasn't worked out for them for one reason or another. There are lots of players who are released or sold for next to nothing to lower league or non-league teams. they're still talented but have not broken through. Some come back up through the divisions. It's following them and picking them up at the right time.

We've just signed a keeper from Stoke for seemingly nothing. A keeper who has had a great season at this level and yet fell out of favour. We just need to be really on the ball. Sunderland just picked up Patrick Roberts for not a lot. He was worth millions a few years ago.

You can, but its a well trodden path, what happened to Glen Hoddles academy, didn't he set something up 10/15 years ago to 'rescue' or hoover up players that had been released by clubs all over Europe and their academy's?

 

[Toronto Blade]

It comes down to an excellent scouting system. The club doesn't need to spend millions. There are gems to be found if the scouts are thorough and have the vision to find them.

 

[CaptainMorgans]

I'm seeing some of the most ridiculous opinions this season (we all have them and have had them but something seems to have changed since Wilder left)

People only rating potential signings if they cost a lot of money
People judging the standard of a player on where we've bought them from
People expecting us to spend millions on players
People loving players one week and hating them the next

It's like some bloody QAnon nonsense

A lot of money now, in this league, for just about any club is £1 million. This is the new reality.

Some of our best signings have cost very little

Recently: Stevens, Fleck, McGoldrick, Basham, JOC, McGoldrick

Some of our most disappointing have cost a lot of money

Berge, McBurnie, Mousset, Burke, Robinson, Freeman

I'd rather get promoted spending nothing than promoted spending £50 million.

Some of my favourite players have cost relatively little and/or been signed from smallish clubs:

Alan Kelly - Preston
Brian Deane - Doncaster
Tony Agana - Watford
Mel Rees - West Brom

A clever team finds potential for cheap and helps the player realise that potential. They bring youth players through and mix them in. It doesn't matter where someone is playing or whether they're playing. Irrelevant. So many other reasons at play.

It's like saying Ndiaye was shit at the start of the season because he couldn't get in our team. Stop judging things on purely face value.

Since relegation (or while we're up) we seem to have attracted a fair number of billy big bollocks who seem to thing we're entitled to success because we've spent a lot of money or we got promoted before. I assume these might be floating Wednesday fans because it's starting to sound a lot like Owlstalk on here.

You're moaning about something that I'm not really sure exists.

I think you'd struggle to find anybody that thinks we should spend millions on players, everyone knows the financial position we're in.

I don't think you'd find anybody that judges players purely on where they've come from either. A lot were very excited when we were linked with the young centre half from Fleetwood or John Souttar from Hearts.
Players will be judged if they've not done much in their career to date and fans from previous clubs didn't particularly rate them.

People loving players one week, hating them the next. Well, we're an inconsistent midtable team. One week players will be praised, the next slated. Fairly normal stuff.

And absolutely nobody would rather spend £50m than £0 to get promoted, you're not unique in that.

I certainly don't think that we're entitled to success. But I do think a squad that finished 9th in the Premier League in 2020 should be capable of more than midtable in the division below in 2022. I do think that the majority of our squad are underperforming, none more so than our most highly paid players.
And I also don't like the way the club is communicating with the fans. I worry about what is going on at board level.

If this makes me, others like me, Billy Big Bollocks then so be it...

 

[robbiez666]

You can, but its a well trodden path, what happened to Glen Hoddles academy, didn't he set something up 10/15 years ago to 'rescue' or hoover up players that had been released by clubs all over Europe and their academy's?

That only puts them in the shop window though, doesn't it? And hasn't it closed?

 

[Hagansbootlaces]

It comes down to an excellent scouting system. The club doesn't need to spend millions. There are gems to be found if the scouts are thorough and have the vision to find them.

Chatted with a guy in Barnsley many years ago, he was apart time scout for Coventry, I mentioned Barnsley potentially losing players to Coventry, he countered with the 45 minute travel rule? then mentioned ManU flying in their under 15 goalkeeper by helicopter to get around the rule

 

[Hagansbootlaces]

That only puts them in the shop window though, doesn't it? And hasn't it closed?

Just Googled it opened in 08 closed (company dissolved 2014) Rix, Spackman and Beasant were all involved, contract included resort style room and board to anyone that was accepted, rumoured over the years it worked out as an expense of 50k per player (no idea of this also includes a breakdown re coaches wages, facility maintenance) the biggest or most recognisable names, they 'produced' Clucas and Hugill.

But it just goes to show, hand picking talent from those released by even the top clubs academies, doesn't look easy, or seemingly profitable

 

[robbiez666]

Just Googled it opened in 08 closed (company dissolved 2014) Rix, Spackman and Beasant were all involved, contract included resort style room and board to anyone that was accepted, rumoured over the years it worked out as an expense of 50k per player (no idea of this also includes a breakdown re coaches wages, facility maintenance) the biggest or most recognisable names, they 'produced' Clucas and Hugill.

But it just goes to show, hand picking talent from those released by even the top clubs academies, doesn't look easy, or seemingly profitable

Probably a good example of a club trying to make an academy profit-making was Chelsea and their mad-hatter version of scooping up all the young talent around the world and keeping them well into their 20s until they could make money from them.

Thankfully, that can no longer happen.

 

[steve26272]

Look at the youth players we've picked up from bigger teams.

You're right, there's so much scouting nowadays that you're unlikely to pick up talented kids at a bargain price. But, you can still pick them up when they're released. Or from non-league. Or from teams where it hasn't worked out for them for one reason or another. There are lots of players who are released or sold for next to nothing to lower league or non-league teams. they're still talented but have not broken through. Some come back up through the divisions. It's following them and picking them up at the right time.

We've just signed a keeper from Stoke for seemingly nothing. A keeper who has had a great season at this level and yet fell out of favour. We just need to be really on the ball. Sunderland just picked up Patrick Roberts for not a lot. He was worth millions a few years ago.

Agree with some of that mate, but looking back on our transfers i can only see the below that we have bought in for less than £1m
21/22
A. Davies - £250k for a 6 month deal for a lad who was back up for Stoke? see what happens
J. Starbuck - undisclosed, from Grimbsy to go into our U23's, may come good, time will tell
20/21
Non
19/20
Verrips - gamble, didnt pay off, cost us a lot of money on wages
Jags - good cover, bit of a legend, probably went ok, but not the bargain up & coming were talking about
R. Morrison - dont, just dont.
18/19 season
Kean Bryan - free, didnt really work out for him
Connor Washington - forgot about him
Goldie - great success, but again, a punt on a 30yr old that was unemployed
17/18
Stearman, Evans, Leonard, Baldock , Ched, Lunny, Holmes, Henegan, Thomas, Donaldson, Stevens
Id go Stearman, Baldock, Lunny (till became a cunt) & Stevens as successes - Lunny was youngest at that time at 23.

There should be a plethora of young uns that get hoovered up by the big boys and released - Man City had 36 players out on loan last year

Either our scouting system is shit, or even an average kid goes for milions these days

 

[CaptainMorgans]

Probably a good example of a club trying to make an academy profit-making was Chelsea and their mad-hatter version of scooping up all the young talent around the world and keeping them well into their 20s until they could make money from them.

Thankfully, that can no longer happen.

It was very clever though.

 

[robbiez666]

It was very clever though.

But ultimately they let the best two players in the EPL go elsewhere and really dropped the ball with Lukaku.

 

[Kevincarterversion2.0]

I'm seeing some of the most ridiculous opinions this season (we all have them and have had them but something seems to have changed since Wilder left)

People only rating potential signings if they cost a lot of money
People judging the standard of a player on where we've bought them from
People expecting us to spend millions on players
People loving players one week and hating them the next

It's like some bloody QAnon nonsense

A lot of money now, in this league, for just about any club is £1 million. This is the new reality.

Some of our best signings have cost very little

Recently: Stevens, Fleck, McGoldrick, Basham, JOC, McGoldrick

Some of our most disappointing have cost a lot of money

Berge, McBurnie, Mousset, Burke, Robinson, Freeman

I'd rather get promoted spending nothing than promoted spending £50 million.

Some of my favourite players have cost relatively little and/or been signed from smallish clubs:

Alan Kelly - Preston
Brian Deane - Doncaster
Tony Agana - Watford
Mel Rees - West Brom

A clever team finds potential for cheap and helps the player realise that potential. They bring youth players through and mix them in. It doesn't matter where someone is playing or whether they're playing. Irrelevant. So many other reasons at play.

It's like saying Ndiaye was shit at the start of the season because he couldn't get in our team. Stop judging things on purely face value.

Since relegation (or while we're up) we seem to have attracted a fair number of billy big bollocks who seem to thing we're entitled to success because we've spent a lot of money or we got promoted before. I assume these might be floating Wednesday fans because it's starting to sound a lot like Owlstalk on here.

Welcome to the forum, Mr Bettis.

People like you are exactly why we have decade after decade of failure. You 'prefer' us not spending money and you think it is 'billy big b*llocks' to expect a club of our size to have any more success than a season in the PL every 20 years. You deserve owners like bog roll and players like Jack Robinson with that mentality. I hope you enjoy the next decade in the dark (although I am sure you will based on your post).

 

[robbiez666]

Welcome to the forum, Mr Bettis.

People like you are exactly why we have decade after decade of failure. You 'prefer' us not spending money and you think it is 'billy big b*llocks' to expect a club of our size to have any more success than a season in the PL every 20 years. You deserve owners like bog roll and players like Jack Robinson with that mentality. I hope you enjoy the next decade in the dark (although I am sure you will based on your post).

You must have been completely irate when Wilder took us up to the Premiership with such a small wage bill and spend.

 

[JJBlade]

No point judging signings at Sheffield United by monetary value.

Our history has shown we tend to land better players for cheap or on a free than ones we spend fortunes on.

Exactly, you can go back generations and find "our" big money signings, and can't remember getting the best out of any of them.
You can even go back decades, when for us, these players cost a lot.
Alan Young
Chris Guthrie
Steve Finnieston
Terry Curran
John Ebrell

 

[Nick Jansky]

Welcome to the forum, Mr Bettis.

People like you are exactly why we have decade after decade of failure. You 'prefer' us not spending money and you think it is 'billy big b*llocks' to expect a club of our size to have any more success than a season in the PL every 20 years. You deserve owners like bog roll and players like Jack Robinson with that mentality. I hope you enjoy the next decade in the dark (although I am sure you will based on your post).

What a weird post.

What are you doing to change things then? Apart from bitching & whining?

 

[robbiez666]

Exactly, you can go back generations and find "our" big money signings, and can't remember getting the best out of any of them.
You can even go back decades, when for us, these players cost a lot.
Alan Young
Chris Guthrie
Steve Finnieston
Terry Curran
John Ebrell

John Ebrell had a truly great 45 minutes though

 

[Hagansbootlaces]

Welcome to the forum, Mr Bettis.

People like you are exactly why we have decade after decade of failure. You 'prefer' us not spending money and you think it is 'billy big b*llocks' to expect a club of our size to have any more success than a season in the PL every 20 years. You deserve owners like bog roll and players like Jack Robinson with that mentality. I hope you enjoy the next decade in the dark (although I am sure you will based on your post).