Well, Looks Like It's Happening...

[Le Cynique]

Chris Wilder: our players aren’t as good as those from other teams, we’re bringing a knife to a gun fight
Also Chris Wilder: do not sell any of our players or I will walk

 

[ChappyAppleBlade]

He'll always have a pint behind the bar from me for what he's done in the past but as others have said he's changed since March 2020.

His constant bleating on about how good the opposition are, is beginning to grate on me.

I'm sat here asking why have the coaching team haven't addressed the team's vunerability at set pieces or it's lack of decision making in the final third.

Even the very limited squad of 06/07 knew how to bombard the box to try and get a cross onto the big man's head.

Repeatedly playing the same system 38 times over, losing over 30 times (we all know It's going to be over 30) and doing nothing but blame the owners or bask in the quality of Burnley's bench, shouldn't make you untouchable to grief.

I hope he does stay and try again, but only if we get "we're not here for a day out" "never leave through the back door" Chris Wilder back, otherwise I'm not fussed.

 

[bromtom]

I think he does in this presser say he is partly to blame with how the season has turned out.

Fair enough, I haven't gone through it all.

He should be taking a lot of it though, and should have been for a while, doesn't really sit well with me him implying things about the board and the finances when this board has backed him so well, wages is an issue but that's on Wilder as well. Got a structure, don't want to skint the club etc.

Short memory from Chris considering our big money signing for the 2017/18 season was Richard Stearman for just under £1m.

I'm not saying I'm #TeamPrince or anything, but I have no issues with anything he's done thus far, and if he's got to cut down a bit because of us getting relegated, surely that's expected and Wilder will have known it when he was sorting the contracts out for the players he's signed.

 

[Bennyand the Blades]

Just how is he supposed to sound in interviews just now then ?
I mean to please everybody that is, should he be ever so humble and apologetic, tears running down his face perhaps, or maybe you would prefer the wild eyed look with ashes in the hair eh.
sorry you've got the wrong man, this guy is Sheffield, steel through and though mate, and hurting inside.
but he wont let you see it....

 

[Drunk blade]

He looks and sounds pissed to me.

He does seem like he's been on the sauce the night before... Can't blame him really

 

[ormester]

Why would Wilder think the board would want conversations with him if he has 3 years left on his contract and the prince has publicly said he wants Wilder to stay. There are no talks about his future to be had and Wilder could have shut down that question immediately . He chose not to.

But discussions on transfers etc

 

[Le Cynique]

Just how is he supposed to sound in interviews just now then ?
I mean to please everybody that is, should he be ever so humble and apologetic, tears running down his face perhaps, or maybe you would prefer the wild eyed look with ashes in the hair eh.
sorry you've got the wrong man, this guy is Sheffield, steel through and though mate, and hurting inside.
but he wont let you see it....

I don’t give a shite how he comes across in interviews if he’s doing the business where it matters. He can come on in drag and off his tits on sweet lady H as long as we’re giving it a decent go on the pitch

 

[finlaytheblade]

Cant put my finger on it but there's been a subtle change in cw ,and not for the better to be honest .

You have a good point dumming us down whoever we play making out we are small fry that becomes an inferiority complex.ok we have been out of the big time for much of the last 50 years Still a big club as our attendances show when we have a bit of success and that is without winning any trophy for nearly 100 years..
Villa are bigger that's accepted but there are good few clubs in the prem and championship who we are far bigger .what really counts nowadays are owners who make all the difference Bournmouth are testament to that and not the only ones.
We are suffering from lack of investment over a long period of time.Given the financial backing Leicester have just shows how you can turn a club into something big.
We have the potential to be bigger than Leicester and a number of prem teams with investment.
Maybe if Wilder bigged us up a bit the team would not feel so inferior to the opposition ,Kind of fed up being always classed as the underdog and trying to use it as a spur to the team to drive them on.
I know history counts for nothing when they step over the white line but pride in what your club is and has been should count for something ! Big it up rather than dumb it down !

Cant put my finger on it but there's been a subtle change in cw ,and not for the better to be honest .

 

[bladesmanluke]

Can we please dispell the myth that Chris saying we can't compete on wages is somehow insinuating the Prince or the board is to blame?

It isn't. It's insinuating we can't compete on wages. Simple. It's not the prince's fault he isn't a billionaire, nor is it the boards fault the club doesn't have the commercial clout of Manchester United to fund a large wage budget. It is nobodies fault that the club hasn't been able to keep up with the rapid rise of the first team's accomplishments under Chris Wilder. It will take time at the top level to grow the income streams in order to push on without outside investment.

Chris isn't stupid. He knows this. It's not a blame game, it's merely the reason we cannot compete on wages

 

[Bennyand the Blades]

I don’t give a shite how he comes across in interviews if he’s doing the business where it matters. He can come on in drag and off his tits on sweet lady H as long as we’re giving it a decent go on the pitch

But it's not happening for him is it or haven't you noticed, and he's got a lot more to lose than some glib punter who's just looking for a laugh right now .

 

[cc1]

I agree to a point. Where I disagree is when it's stated that this seasons results were inevitable based on the level of investment (I know you haven't said that but you made some good points so I wanted to respond)

Yep understood.

I'm sure there must be some boffin site that gives you the stats from the teams relegated from the prem and if theres any direct correlation between transfers , i.e lowest spenders generally go down.

Appreciate it's a more nuanced picture than that but cant help feel that the way we were spoiled with results and performances last season has set the expectations too high, leaving many of us frustrated to the point of losing a bit of sight about what has been achieved in such a short space of time.
You did a good piece on how much of a knife edge we were on last season with the goals conceded vs scored, and how we were unlikely to even get close to this achievement this season, which was spot on. Again, the management team set the bar stupidly high whilst the foundations were, in truth,pretty unstable from an investment perspective.

 

[Le Cynique]

But it's not happening for him is it or haven't you noticed, and he's got a lot more to lose than some glib punter who's just looking for a laugh right now .

I have noticed yes. It’s kind of hard not to notice that we’re bottom of the fucking league, playing turgid anti-football, trying the same thing again and again and again and expecting the result to change and in general pissing all the progress we’ve made over the past four years up the wall.

I don’t really think that people are upset so much by how he comes across in the interview but by the fact that he’s having a shit season and blaming everything but himself, his failed recruitment, his stubborn refusal to change tactics and his sometimes puzzling team choices.

 

[bromtom]

Just how is he supposed to sound in interviews just now then ?
I mean to please everybody that is, should he be ever so humble and apologetic, tears running down his face perhaps, or maybe you would prefer the wild eyed look with ashes in the hair eh.
sorry you've got the wrong man, this guy is Sheffield, steel through and though mate, and hurting inside.
but he wont let you see it....

Answer the questions, have a laugh or be spiky, whatever he wants, admit fault if it's not going to stink the place out (for example don't say "I bought Brewster and he's wank"), don't shit stir, and don't create division between a fanbase who've had to sit through statistically, what's likely to be the worst season we've ever had.

He should be trying to manufacture a bit of hope not fear of going down without a manager and all our players fucking off.

 

[Bennyand the Blades]

And then tell God to move over eh........

 

[Deadly_D'Jaffo]

CW gave us the moments we couldn't dare dream of. He reunited a broken United, reinstilled the spirit of the club and all the while playing scintillating football that made Saturday afternoons a joy.

However, and I am very sorry to say this, but he's a busted flush at the moment. Petulant, arrogant and he's become a version of himself that I don't think he enjoys being (e.g. bigging up opposition, shirking blame and constant excuse making). He's having a tough time and he doesn't know where the solution is.

I genuinely hope he gets some to reflect on his attitude recently and perhaps show a little more humility. But if his behaviour continues unchecked, how long does the "credit in the bank" protect him from outstanding failure in a "results business" and a "no room for sentiment" (his own words) industry?

What would it take for the most fierce Wilder loyalists to consider a future without him as Manager?

My answer is that we're almost there based on results, performances and his poor attitude in the media.

 

[Sportbilly /Detroit Blade]

I love Chris Wilder. I love the story of a Blade making it into the first team, then eventually returning as manager.

Nothing but respect and admiration for the job he's done, and I do think some people here are forgetting how far we've come, due mainly to Wilder, in such a short period of time.

I really want him to stay get us back up again and prove a few people wrong, but the negativity is so overwhelming that I can't see him being around next season. A parting of the waves may be coming.

Hope people realise that we're going to struggle to find an upgrade generally, you don't know what you've got until it's gone.

 

[bromtom]

I love Chris Wilder. I love the story of a Blade making it into the first team, then eventually returning as manager.

Nothing but respect and admiration for the job he's done, and I do think some people here are forgetting how far we've come, due mainly to Wilder, in such a short period of time.

I really want him to stay get us back up again and prove a few people wrong, but the negativity is so overwhelming that I can't see him being around next season. A parting of the waves may be coming.

Hope people realise that we're going to struggle to find an upgrade generally, you don't know what you've got until it's gone.

I think we'll struggle regardless, but moreso without Wilder obviously.

Don't know how you follow this season up with a promotion really, sure, the injured players will be back, and we'll sign some new ones, and Lunny will finally fuck off to somewhere he gives a shit ahout, but we're honking. It'll take a fair few washes to get the stink out.

He needs to start manufacturing some positivity doesn't he. Does nobody any good shit stirring in press conferences. He shouldn't be surprised there's negativity, he's well aware of the table and how we've been playing.

 

[wavy-blade]

 

[metalblade]

I don't know why everyone is getting there knickers in a knot he hasn't said much other than he wants to remain in charge next season. No doubt the board are looking at it and considering their options and rightly so. With a third of the season remaining I fully expect a meeting of management and boardroom to make plans in light of our impending relegation before the end of this season. The Prince has already said Wilder isn't going anywhere and I don't see him as one to change his mind from one week to the next. There will be changes there has to be we will not have a huge pot of money to splash about Chris Wilder will just have to live with that, if he can't well that is down to him no one is forcing him to go or stay.

 

[BladeTillIDie]

Who's Richard and ian who interview him?

Guessing Yorkshire post and skysports

 

[Bladesince59]

I'd like a Tesla. Can't afford one so it's a Yaris for me. No-ones fault, i simply don't have the dosh.

 

[Bladesman]

I don't know why everyone is getting there knickers in a knot he hasn't said much other than he wants to remain in charge next season. No doubt the board are looking at it and considering their options and rightly so. With a third of the season remaining I fully expect a meeting of management and boardroom to make plans in light of our impending relegation before the end of this season. The Prince has already said Wilder isn't going anywhere and I don't see him as one to change his mind from one week to the next. There will be changes there has to be we will not have a huge pot of money to splash about Chris Wilder will just have to live with that, if he can't well that is down to him no one is forcing him to go or stay.

That presser was a mountain out of a mole hill regarding him leaving.

I am more irked by him bigging up other clubs up and talking about how much money they have.

 

[bromtom]

That presser was a mountain out of a mole hill regarding him leaving.

I am more irked by him bigging up other clubs up and talking about how much money they have.

That awkward moment when Burnley's net transfer costs for the last 6 seasons are less than what we paid for Brewster, McBurnie and Berge.

 

[Robboblade1889]

Fair enough, I haven't gone through it all.

He should be taking a lot of it though, and should have been for a while, doesn't really sit well with me him implying things about the board and the finances when this board has backed him so well, wages is an issue but that's on Wilder as well. Got a structure, don't want to skint the club etc.

Short memory from Chris considering our big signing for the 2017/18 season was Richard Stearman for just under £1m.

I'm not saying I'm #TeamPrince or anything, but I have no issues with anything he's done thus far, and if he's got to cut down a bit because of us getting relegated, surely that's expected and Wilder will have known it when he was sorting the contracts out for the players he's signed.

Yes and short memories from our fans that he managed to get the club promoted by signing 1m players. You know getting us promoted on a shoe string earning the owners upwards of 350m. The owners would do well to not forget that as well as a small portion of this fan base.

 

[Bladesman]

That awkward moment when Burnley's net transfer costs for the last 6 seasons are less than what we paid for Brewster, McBurnie and Berge.

Exactly, plus he is the one the other month praising Burnley and how that is the model we should follow.

 

[bromtom]

Yes and short memories from our fans that he managed to get the club promoted by signing 1m players. You know getting us promoted on a shoe string earning the owners upwards of 350m. The owners would do well to not forget that as well as a small portion of this fan base.

And they've given him over a hundred million quid back for players, and spent on infrastructure.

Neither side is without fault, but the owner not spending what he can't afford is for the club's benefit surely, and Wilder who always says that the club's security comes first, shouldn't be throwing it in his face in my opinion. As much as we'd all like him to be as rich as Sheikh Mansour, he isn't.

I think everyone at United should just shut up to be honest, players, staff, owners, hangers on of owner, friends of manager, wives of players, until the end of this horrendous excuse for a season.

Res non verba, I'd just rather they show me on the pitch and with actions, not shit stirring.

 

[Bladezz]

It's just that as fans it causes panic that he will leave, and that irks many of our fans. I'd rather him do that in private, but maybe he was just being honest and doesn't know if he will be here next season which is obviously worrying.

Or maybe the manager is desperate to stay and for SUFC to be run a certain way which he believe will help us gain promotion

 

[Robboblade1889]

And they've given him over a hundred million quid back for players, and spent on infrastructure.

Neither side is without fault, but the owner not spending what he can't afford is for the club's benefit surely, and Wilder who always says that the club's security comes first, shouldn't be throwing it in his face in my opinion. As much as we'd all like him to be as rich as Sheikh Mansour, he isn't.

I think everyone at United should just shut up to be honest, players, staff, owners, hangers on of owner, friends of manager, wives of players, until the end of this horrendous excuse for a season.

Res non verba, I'd just rather they show me on the pitch and with actions, not shit stirring.

Who’s asked him to spend what he can’t afford? I assume that all Chris wants to do is be given the opportunity to keep the group together as much as possible bring in a few fresh faces and have a go at it again. He should be afforded that much at least and the respect from our fan base should be a given. That’s not to say he can’t be critised but today we have posters questioning his character and even his achievements.

 

[ancientblade]

Yes and short memories from our fans that he managed to get the club promoted by signing 1m players. You know getting us promoted on a shoe string earning the owners upwards of 350m. The owners would do well to not forget that as well as a small portion of this fan base.

think thats the problem robbo hes worked miracles in league 1 and the championship on limited funds but when hes had the money i.e the last 2 years hes failed badly with transfers definete similarity to neil warnocks reign here i hope he stays but i dont think the vibes are looking good if he gets told hes got to lose 3-4 players this summer i think this era for the club will be over and he will be gone

 

[chesblade]

I just think they need a proper holiday and break from football. Last year it was almost impossible to go away and when you think they usually get 2 months break. We had lock down and then football behind closed doors delaying the season. No proper pre season and no proper break has taken its toll.