What if ?

[beightonblade]

The Blades fail to sign any new QUALITY players pre season ?

Where will the Blades be ?, Top six ?, mid table ?, relegation battle ?

My opinion mid table.

 

[Sensiblade]

What if they do sign quality players?

They could finish top six, mid table or be in the relgation battle.
Anything can happen during a season, so not a question anyone can answer realistically.

My opinion, Wait and see.

 

[beightonblade]

Anything can happen during a season, so not a question anyone can answer realistically.

Perhaps yer reight, don't stop yer from having an opinion though.

 

[SouthEssexBlade]

Good point Sensi! The good scousers of thiefpool have spent millions and millions on quality players to win the PL and are no closer now than they were 8 years ago

 

[Linz]

Where do you think we'll be if we do sign what is, in your opinion, quality?

I don't think signings are the single biggest indicator of where the team is going to end up. Simply signing good players doesn't mean they can come into the squad and play as part of a team. For months and months, people on here were calling for Hendrie to be signed and when we was, he became a scapegoat for poor performances.

I would expect with the team we already have (note the use of the word team) to be there or thereabouts come the end of the season and signing good team players can only improve this.

 

[Sensiblade]

Perhaps yer reight, don't stop yer from having an opinion though.

I'll wait n see who we sign and then decide where I think we might finish.
July 1st is coming, but we prob won't sign anyone till a few weeks after.
So long as United play, at Bramall Lane, In Red and white stripes and we beat Wendy I'm happy, anything else is a bonus.

 

[beightonblade]

Hope i'm wrong but i think the team we have now will struggle to compete with the top six in the Championship next season, the lack of pace alone tells me this.

 

[Sensiblade]

Hope i'm wrong but i think the team we have now will struggle to compete with the top six in the Championship next season, the lack of pace alone tells me this.

Who do you class as the top 6?
and are they full of Linford Christie esq sprinters?

 

[beightonblade]

Who do you class as the top 6?
and are they full of Linford Christie esq sprinters?

Come off it !

Can you tell me the Blades have plenty of pace ? are you not concerned at the lack of it ?

 

[Sensiblade]

Come off it !

Can you tell me the Blades have plenty of pace ? are you not concerned at the lack of it ?

Did I say anything about United?
my questions again
Who do you class as the top 6?
And are they full of LC esq sprinters?

 

[beightonblade]

Top six : QPR, Birmingham,Reading,Wolves,Palace, any one of Watford,Derby,Charlton.

There is mi answer.

Now where is yours.

Are you concerned at the lack of pace in the Blades team ?

 

[jodman]

Hope i'm wrong but i think the team we have now will struggle to compete with the top six in the Championship next season, the lack of pace alone tells me this.

Where was the all important pace when we were promoted to the premiership a few years ago? Who are the pacey midfielders in the Stoke or Hull City teams?

Pace is one of many different attributes which can contribute to a successful team but it is by no means the only way to be successful.

I would like to see a couple of pacey wingers added but i do not think this will be the difference between us breaking the top 6 or languishing in mid table.

This squad is capable of a top 6 finish and i expect us to be in the play-offs. I think Birmingham and Reading will leave the rest of us behind but i am confident that we can be amongst the 4 teams to contest for the final place in the prem without a single addition.

 

[Sensiblade]

There is mi answer.

Now where is yours.

Are you concerned at the lack of pace in the Blades team ?

No not really, passing is an important part of the game so if a team can pass the ball well (which I think United can) then pace doesn't matter as much as say a 'Lump it and chase team' like Watford.
Keep the ball by passing and you don't need to run around like maniac's for 90 minutes.

 

[beightonblade]

This squad is capable of a top 6 finish and i expect us to be in the play-offs. I think Birmingham and Reading will leave the rest of us behind but i am confident that we can be amongst the 4 teams to contest for the final place in the prem without a single addition.

Well i doubt it !

Hope i'm wrong.

 

[jodman]

Well i doubt it !

Hope i'm wrong.

Out of interest, did you expect Stoke City and Hull to be promoted this year?

 

[butchaboy]

Top six : QPR, Birmingham,Reading,Wolves,Palace, any one of Watford,Derby,Charlton.

There is mi answer.

Now where is yours.

Are you concerned at the lack of pace in the Blades team ?

Where is the pace at Palace, Watford, and Charlton?

We have, Cotterill, Martin (If signed), Shelton, Geary's oright
at the end of the day, we hardly had pace the season we went up, you could have a team full of the fastest players in the world and you still wont go up, you still need to know how to put a ball into a net etc

 

[DazBlade88]

Where is the pace at Palace, Watford, and Charlton?

We have, Cotterill, Martin (If signed), Shelton, Geary's oright
at the end of the day, we hardly had pace the season we went up, you could have a team full of the fastest players in the world and you still wont go up, you still need to know how to put a ball into a net etc

Palace have got bags of pace to be fair mate.

Cotterill and Martin aren't ours yet, Shelton has pace and nothing else unfortunately Geary's average speed so no complaints about that.

I'm with beightonblade on this, we do need to get some pace in the midfield definitely. 2 wingers and someone in the middle of the park to bomb forward. It doesn't need to be blistering pace, just someone who's fairly quick because such as Tonge, Speed, Gillespie are all decent players but don't have any pace. Speed doesn't need it in the holding role though, so it doesn't worry me. We need it going forward!

 

[butchaboy]

Palace have got bags of pace to be fair mate.

Cotterill and Martin aren't ours yet, Shelton has pace and nothing else unfortunately Geary's average speed so no complaints about that.

I'm with beightonblade on this, we do need to get some pace in the midfield definitely. 2 wingers and someone in the middle of the park to bomb forward. It doesn't need to be blistering pace, just someone who's fairly quick because such as Tonge, Speed, Gillespie are all decent players but don't have any pace. Speed doesn't need it in the holding role though, so it doesn't worry me. We need it going forward!

still, 2 out of 3 aint bad

 

[beightonblade]

Constructive criticism...................

I say we need the midfield sorted and some pace, if i'm wrong i'm wrong but thats what i think !

 

[Sensiblade]

Constructive criticism...................

I say we need the midfield sorted and some pace, if i'm wrong i'm wrong but thats what i think !

I agree that we need a new face in the midfield. Pace would be nice, but if we end up with a speed demon that can't actually pass the ball then there is no point and we may as well stick with what we've got.

We will prob start to need a left back sometime during the next year too, cos Armstrong seems to be going backwards due to not getting a regular game and Naysmith hasn't got that many seasons (baring injury) left in him IMO.
Plus we need a new centre back unless Hall's is going to be backup (if we sign him) still think we need a new one anyway.

 

[matth]

It's a myth that we need pace; we do need it if we're going to be playing to that particular strength, but if we choose a different tactic - long ball, or a passing game - pace is less important.

Of more importance to me at the moment is figuring out exactly how we want to play next season. If you look at a player like David Beckham, his impact and quality could never be disputed, but he never was never particularly pacey, and he was relatively poor in the tackle. What he could do, and do well, was place the ball, and this was used to great effect by the team.

I think a more pressing question is not how much pace we're going to try and shoehorn into the current team, but whether we're going to build a tactic that works on the current strengths of the team and go with that, or try to bring players in who can fit into a particular structure and style of play. I think that last season we were lacking in a tactical direction at many times - admittedly less so since we got rid of Robson - and if we can play as a team, and with a definite tactical direction that suits the team next season, it won't matter if we don't make hundreds of signings.

 

[Come from away]

It's hard to argue with a one line statement, I suppose it is one way to win a debate. But I would be pleased to see/read some reason to support these repetitive statements. Why, because it is one way I can learn about the team from those who get to see far more of it than me. I am interested in the discussion not who wins. The only winner I care about is the Blades. So, why is pace so critical? When we went up we had Ifill and Gillespie and it was the slowest of the two who did better in the Premiership.

 

[jodman]

It's hard to argue with a one line statement, I suppose it is one way to win a debate. But I would be pleased to see/read some reason to support these repetitive statements. Why, because it is one way I can learn about the team from those who get to see far more of it than me. I am interested in the discussion not who wins. The only winner I care about is the Blades. So, why is pace so critical? When we went up we had Ifill and Gillespie and it was the slowest of the two who did better in the Premiership.

It all comes down to the way the team play the game; if a style of play which takes advantage of players blessed with great pace is adopted then it can be extreamly successful.

It is a deffender's worst nightmate to come up against a player with pace because it puts you in a catch 22 situation. if you go in tight and get beaten then the chances are that you wont be able to catch the player who beat you.

If you stand off and allow the player to run at you then you will conceed too much ground and the player will either get a shot off or find a team mate in a better position to do so.

The case which stands out in my mind was when Manchester United had Giggs on one wing and Kanchelskis on the other.

Over the past 10 years we have adopted a tactic of using a target man, often by passing the midfield completely in order to speed up our attacks. We have often mixed this with a bit of passing as and when the opportunity arises but i would say that we are still a team which use a direct style of play.

It was that tactic which got us promoted and i dare say it will be that tactic which we will see again this season.

Adding players with pace may give us another option but we have done quite well over recent years without much pace across the middle of the park and i see no reason why this cannot continue.

 

[keenzy]

IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!


Lets not start panicking yet. there will be stuff in the pipe line for these "pacy" players.... maybe. I dont care, i will support united anyway.

 

[The One]

We do need pace BUT it's something we've lacked for a while. Maybe that's been our stumbling block? But we havn't been too affected by it in the past.

I think our main aim is to get at least one pacey winger in. And then if we are lucky someone who's like Olofinjana from Wolves if not the guy himself!

 

[butchaboy]

I like pacy players, there good to watch, especially cotterill, (martin at times) i also liked watching webber and shelton, its because you feel they can do something spontaneous (sp) and suprise you, and its true, look what Coterrill did when he found the confidence, he took on other teams defenders with ease, i do feel an injection of pace would be good, however not just for the sake of it, also because of this speed, you will find that they loose the ball more but this is because they are trying to take men on, and fans get frusrated by this but id rather have players take on there man and loose the ball sometimes rather than moving it accross the field
Cotterill, and Webber fully fit would make the team a bit faster

 

[shorehamview]

My daughter has a jigsaw.
It's a nice one. Disney characters and trees and stuff. Cute bunnies and princesses.
There are a few pieces missing though.
So, should I look carefully for the missing pieces, taking my time and being careful?
Or should I get a few expensive pieces from her Gruffalo jigsaw, and whack them into place with a big hammer, and to hell with the consequences?

 

[keenzy]

we dont need any pace.

We brought in speed to cover the pacy side of things.