What is it?

[blade too long]

strange how things can change ,Lord mayors parade at Villa , funeral parade at Crewe
We have to do what West Hams done , lose 6-0 and 5-0 , dust themselves off , file it as gone , and win a couple

 

[Jonboy60]

I think some of the problem may be that against Fulham and Aston Villa the pressure on us to win wasn't there. We were the underdogs and if we had lost then it wouldn't have been a disgrace as we are League One and its'expected'. When we play Crewe, Shrewsbury, Notts County etc, then WE are the team to beat. It's their FACup game if you like.
I have only been to two away matches this season Villa and County. At Villa the crowd were right behind the lads and the atmosphere was fantastic. At County, as soon as things went awry then negative comments were being shouted from the stand. Now I know that these lads are paid a fair wage to play for our beloved Blades. But, could you put up with some of the quite aggressive comments aimed at you in your place of work. I can think of very few jobs where you get yelled at abusively like our fans sometimes do. And no I don't think you can get used to it.

Not sure that it's their cup final, or that we're the team to beat anymore. I think other teams just see us as a soft touch,and easy 3 pts. When we played villa and fulham,without doubt they were both better than us, but we upped our game on the day. The teams you mention above are in the same league as us, are more committed, and view us,as results have shown that we are no great shakes in this league. Maybe when we first arrived in this league m/m, but at the moment no way.

 

[sitwell]

A big worry for me is Baxter who hasn't played this year as yet. Probably our most dangerous player and a catalyst for the team he has gone missing ,the hole he plays in appears to have swallowed him.

 

[JohnDenver]

A big worry for me is Baxter who hasn't played this year as yet. Probably our most dangerous player and a catalyst for the team he has gone missing ,the hole he plays in appears to have swallowed him.

I reckon he's one of those players who cannot drag a team through a game. The game needs to come to him before he's effective. And his team mates aren't doing him that favour at the moment.

 

[Patrick Suffaux]

Where do you start?.....Raul points out the overall problem quite well, that losing mentality we have. It will be hard to change that and as said above, will take some time. Personnel changes will go a long way to solving it but those brought in have to be the right sort of character and understand the minimum requirement when playing for this club.....good honest hard work and desire.....that's all the Blades ask for.....we accept that the win may or may not come but we DO NOT accept an unwillingness to strive for it.

Any player can say they want to win, but their actions speak louder than any empty statement in front of a mic or camera. We can't put heart into our players, that has to come from within them. Time for them to show if they have any because that display at Crewe was completely lacking in all of the above.

 

[UnitedBlade]

Remember, this is a club that has finished lower year on year six out of the last seven. I suspect a 2013 league table would see us relegated in that calendar year, and we've yet to see a three point outcome in 2014. Failure, and more importantly, resigned acceptance of failure seeps out of every nook and cranny in the place. We have, from top to bottom, The Losing Mentality.

No quick fixes available, just years and years of hard work should we stumble across anyone perpared to put it in.

I was thinking this about 2013 myself so I checked and to my surprise we would have had enough points to stay up.

From the 21 games at the end of last season we got 29 points.

From 25 this season (I had to include the first two games in Jan 2014 to add up to the required 46) we got 25 points.

So we'd have got 54 points.

The reason for this is that in 6 games between 9 Feb 2013 and 2 March 2013 we won 5 games and drew one - 16 points from 6 games ! Yes, I'd forgotten that as well. Four of the sides we beat were around the bottom of the league.

After this point to the end of 2012/13 we hit relegation form with 11 points from 11 games and quite frankly have never recovered. We scored 7 goals in those 11 games - that sounds familiar doesn't it.

If we don't have a good February 2014, I think we are in real trouble.

In conclusion, we've been in relegation form constantly since March 2013. (it is also 33 goals in our last 38 league games - absolutely fucking pathetic)

 

[Kev Gee]

Its no one factor. more a combnation of all the little fuck ups, making one massive clusterfuck of gigantic proportions.

 

[grafikhaus]

You need to keep things simple at this level and play a solid 4 4 2 with a couple of pacey / powerful strikers able to get 30 plus goals a season between them, ideally these strikers need to have the ability to create chances for themselves as the creative ability of midfielders at this level is generally hit and miss or poor.

We have nothing upfront and haven't had since Ched got sent down that's the main problem and it hasn't been addressed for six transfer windows now.

With just 26 goals from 27 goals the lack of striker(s) is obviously the problem. As you say, we've simply not addressed this. OK, getting a semi-prolific striker who is available is going to be a problem, but this continued filling-in with 'last payday' guys - Cresswell, Kitson, Bent etc. etc. is just a sticking plaster.

 

[blade too long]

as I put in another thread , where do you find these mythical prolific scorers ,7 (seven) last season in the entire division scored more than 15, they a a species under threat, 20 a season goal scorers are the new pandas
30 a season goal scorers are the new stegasaurus

 

[sheffielder]

A big worry for me is Baxter who hasn't played this year as yet. Probably our most dangerous player and a catalyst for the team he has gone missing ,the hole he plays in appears to have swallowed him.

He's playing too deep to make a difference

 

[SwissBlade]

He's playing too deep to make a difference

From what I've seen on the tv and listened to recently, we've played either 4-5-1 or 3-5-2. They don't seem to suit Baxter as he's playing much deeper. Do you think we'd be better with a 4-4-2?

I might be wrong but it seemed that Baxter was getting the goals when we played the more traditional formation.

As I said, I've not seen much other than highlights or the cup games so I'm relying on those who've seen us more often

 

[KenMcnaughtsNuts]

as I put in another thread , where do you find these mythical prolific scorers ,7 (seven) last season in the entire division scored more than 15, they a a species under threat, 20 a season goal scorers are the new pandas
30 a season goal scorers are the new stegasaurus

One who can score 10 a season would be a start. Or at least, one who can score more than Maguire can from central defence. Or better still, two who can. The difference between staying up and not could easily be down to one or two goals.

On the bbc website list of top scorers in the division, theres 25 players. None of em play for us. Is it really wrong to expect that as one of the biggest clubs in the division, we should have one player in the top 25 scorers in the division? Tranmere, Bristol City, Notts County, Walsall. Carlisle all manage to have a player in that list. Orient have FOUR. Four players who have scored more than any of ours have. Even Gillingham have two strikers who have both scored more than twice our leading forward has scored. Where do Gillingham find strikers that we can't??

 

[sheffielder]

One who can score 10 a season would be a start. Or at least, one who can score more than Maguire can from central defence. Or better still, two who can. The difference between staying up and not could easily be down to one or two goals.

Baxter can and has scored more than 10 goals if you play him up top

 

[sheffielder]

From what I've seen on the tv and listened to recently, we've played either 4-5-1 or 3-5-2. They don't seem to suit Baxter as he's playing much deeper. Do you think we'd be better with a 4-4-2?

I might be wrong but it seemed that Baxter was getting the goals when we played the more traditional formation.

As I said, I've not seen much other than highlights or the cup games so I'm relying on those who've seen us more often

I would rather he was playing around the penalty box. He currently drops into midfield leaving whoever our striker is isolated. If we played a 3-5-2 he could play behind the front 2 giving him more options or if we stick to a 4-4-2 we need to find a strong midfield 2 to allow him to stay up top. I want a 3-5-2 with Baxter behind Murphy and whoever.

 

[SandyMcBlade]

I think Ched showed if you have a goal scorer the rest of the team will muddle through, Beattie was another example, when you took either one out of the team it all fell down.
Now the emphasis has changed to midfield, and midfield players seem to be the only players we sign now a days, the goal tally has naturally gone down and down.
Since last seasons the Kitson and Cresswell type players have been replaced by mid field players and I think in this quest for continental type play we seem to have lost the whole aim of the game.
The thing that really gets your hart racing, SCORING GOALS...

We've got goal poachers coming out of our ears, now Gerra a couple of great big strikers up front Cloughy

UTB

 

[TopBoy]

The game is all about partnerships, front two, the two down the left, two down the right, central defenders etc. but I don't see an awful lot of understanding in any of those areas. Nothing wrong with the individuals. Maybe it's just down to the lack of time they've played together as we seem to be chopping and changing every other week?

 

[SwissBlade]

I think Ched showed if you have a goal scorer the rest of the team will muddle through, Beattie was another example, when you took either one out of the team it all fell down.
Now the emphasis has changed to midfield, and midfield players seem to be the only players we sign now a days, the goal tally has naturally gone down and down.
Since last seasons the Kitson and Cresswell type players have been replaced by mid field players and I think in this quest for continental type play we seem to have lost the whole aim of the game.
The thing that really gets your hart racing, SCORING GOALS...

We've got goal poachers coming out of our ears, now Gerra a couple of great big strikers up front Cloughy

UTB

The thing with ched and billy sharp was that firstly they need to be fit and confident. Ched was given a boost by Wilson in the fact that he didn't always take him off after 60-80 mins. I'm pretty confident that he rarely subbed him except when the game was won. ched and billy before him didn't have that under previous managers.

Second thing though was that the team knew how and where ched wanted it. The team knew and ched knew that if they put it in front of him we'd have a chance.

Previously, we saw the ball going into ched with his back to goal or having to take the ball with a defender coming through him. Shipperly, cresswell and BT could handle those balls, ched couldn't.

Bradford away I saw a similar player to ched in Taylor. He was bursting to get that ball in front of him, but we played him alone up front. Miller is the same, looks great in behind porter ready to go forward, but struggles when he's got to do the graft and make his own space. Not a disservice to those players, it's just what they want.

So we need to work out how Baxter, Murphy, miller want the ball and feed them...

 

[SandyMcBlade]

Both Baxter and Murphy to me are poachers, we need some one to punch a hole through defenses to give them the opportunity to poach. but running just the one guy up front isn't working,it has to be a pair.
This idea of the one player up front on his own singlehandedly pulling the defense apart is simply not working, they have to work as a pair, he needs some one to knock the ball to.
And if that big down field ball is to the same guy every time the deference just two him as they did with Kitson...

 

[davidpinder]

We,ve been on a downer since Mcdonald left IMO or maybe go as far back as when Wilson was sacked we haven't seemed to want it. Can you remember back to the Notts County game at the lane opening day? how excited were we, it might have only finished 2-1 but we battered them 20+ shots all i thought was we needed was a good goal scorer (still do) and i expected us to challenging. Since that win it has all been downhill 1 or 2 good performances most in the FA cup but other than that its been a terrible season so far and i can't help but think is it since McDonald went. Something is not right down there and it is down to the manager and his backroom staff to sort it out he has 19 games left to find out exactly what is wrong.

 

[UnitedBlade]

One who can score 10 a season would be a start. Or at least, one who can score more than Maguire can from central defence. Or better still, two who can. The difference between staying up and not could easily be down to one or two goals.

On the bbc website list of top scorers in the division, theres 25 players. None of em play for us. Is it really wrong to expect that as one of the biggest clubs in the division, we should have one player in the top 25 scorers in the division? Tranmere, Bristol City, Notts County, Walsall. Carlisle all manage to have a player in that list. Orient have FOUR. Four players who have scored more than any of ours have. Even Gillingham have two strikers who have both scored more than twice our leading forward has scored. Where do Gillingham find strikers that we can't??

Exactly !

We've been in relegation form since 9 March 2013. In the last 11 games of last season we got 11 points and scored 6 goals.

This season 26 points from 27 games scoring 26 goals.

So 32 goals in our last 38 league games and here are our scorers. Obviously I know they didn't all play in all the games, some have gone, some have arrived but it makes you weep when you look at our "top" goalscorers. Absolutely pathetic.

Porter 5 (1 pen)
Maguire 5
Baxter 4
OG 2
Kitson 2
Collins 2
Taylor 2
Flynn 2
Coady 2
Murphy 2
Doyle 1
Robson 1 (pen)
McDonald 1
King 1
Total 32