What will it take for blackie to get the boot?

[davidpinder]

Or walk?

Lots of posts flying around wanting him out now, at the end of the season or sometime soon. I fear we will have got to go through another year of bad football, loanees, excuse after excuse, and lots of hugs for opposition managers. So what will it take for him to get the boot or walk?

Boot
Poor season ticket sales?
3-6 points between now and the end of the season?
A bottom half finish?
Player fall outs?
Shoes off in car park?
Both Donny and Barnsley above us?

Walk
Asked to make further cuts?
Sell before you buy?
McCabe to sell up?

Anymore thoughts are welcome

 

[Sirius]

Can't see Blackwell walking away, nor will he get the boot until the property market recovers and Mc gets his money back. Just an opinion of course and I could be wrong.

 

[davidpinder]

Can't see Blackwell walking away, nor will he get the boot until the property market recovers and Mc gets his money back. Just an opinion of course and I could be wrong.

I have similar fears. Still managing to sleep ok though.

 

[GRUMPY BLADE]

Blackie won't be sacked; he has done a good job based on the criteria laid down by McC.

Poor season ticket sales and/or trouble at the ground [demo or fighting in the stands might cause it] but he’s McC’s ideal manager at this moment in time.

Will he walk?

Only if he thinks he can’t take us forwards and [remember this] if Blackie walks it will be because he will feel that his hands are being tied even tighter behind his back.

If Blackie walks don’t expect too much from the next guy in the hot seat as he will have less to work with than Blackie has now.

 

[LouTheBlade]

I'm telling you now he will be here until halfway through next season. After a poor start he will get the boot about november/december time. That's the way United do things. They don't nip it in the bud, they let the rot set in well into a new season and give the team and new manager a mountain to climb. They wouldn't have it any other way.

The only way you would see him go before the end of the season is if there are massive demonstrations coupled with piss poor season ticket sales. Apart from that I fear KB could lose nearly every remaining game and stay in charge. The lack of direction and non-existent communication from the board suggests they don't want to face the problem and have no intention of acting now.

The lack of direction and total malaise at the club is depressing

 

[AlienWoodward]

Blackie won't be sacked; he has done a good job based on the criteria laid down by McC.

Poor season ticket sales and/or trouble at the ground [demo or fighting in the stands might cause it] but he’s McC’s ideal manager at this moment in time.

Will he walk?

Only if he thinks he can’t take us forwards and [remember this] if Blackie walks it will be because he will feel that his hands are being tied even tighter behind his back.

If Blackie walks don’t expect too much from the next guy in the hot seat as he will have less to work with than Blackie has now.

Perhaps you and Jon Bon could have a fight and then Blackwell will leave

 

[GRUMPY BLADE]

We've got new pies coming in?

What more do you want?

 

[Ollessendro]

I fear that Grumpy is right and that McCabe will be reluctant to sack Blackwell. He is a yes man and this is exactly what the board wants at the moment. It would take something big to get rdi of him. That could be a car park demo or a huge drop in season ticket sales. But the season tikcet sales isn't clear cut. In the current economic climate and with football going the way it is then McCabe will be expecting a drop in sales. So by how much would they have to decrease for McCabe to get the message? They are 19k now, so if they dropped to 14k would McCabe act. You would hope so. I tried to demonstrate that it would be financially viable (even wothwhile) to sack KB now in a thread a few weeks ago, but the argument (althoguh strong) had some questionable assumptions.

So what is going on in McCabe's mind? That is the big question. Even the die hard McCabe supporters can see that Sheffield united is second to his prporty business. Not that this is a crtiticism. After all Ambramovich did stop selling oil, Elton john hasn't stopped singing, Al fayed has stopped dealing arms and Citys owners didn't give up their crown. My point is that McCabe is clearly distracted. So United will play second fiddle whilst we are in a recession and until the construction industry starts to pick up again.

But back to McCabe's mind. Has he had enough of the Blades? Is he waiting for someone else to come in and hence doesn't give that much of a stuff? Or is he just riding the storm? He may well be happy for 'cheap as chips' to manage whilst the economy is in recession and when the good times return then he will get rid of KB (his contract would be up by then). I am not trying to turn this into a McCabe debate, but I think it's fundamental in Blackwells future.

As for KB walking, I just can't see it. He is stubborn as a mule and this is his dream job (he is out of his depth and he realises it). He could be clever and jump ship when he gets his hands tied further. I.e. going out in smoke when McCabe announces more cuts, sells key players etc. This would at least look like (from outside BDTBL) that he wasn't completely incompetent.

In summary I fear the worst. Next year a lower middle half of the table finish with crowds of around 17'000. Not only that but dire, dire football. More excuses, more loanees, more shite. Incidentally, does his contract finish at the end of next season?

 

[davidpinder]

I think he signed a 3 year deal after he took over is that right?

 

[Grecian2000]

Will he walk?

Only if he thinks he can’t take us forwards and [remember this] if Blackie walks it will be because he will feel that his hands are being tied even tighter behind his back.

If Blackie walks don’t expect too much from the next guy in the hot seat as he will have less to work with than Blackie has now.

I don't think anyone could make a worse job of dealing with the resources at his disposal than Blackwell has. A new man could have his wrists tied to his ankles and still get more from the group of players he is given.

My problem with Hoof has been his abject negativity from the moment he was given the job on a permanent basis.
His only idea away from home was go and defend and try and sneak a win. This is DIRE even if it was "successful" from a results perspective (too many draws meant ultimately it wasn't). It is a piss poor way of setting up and once you are "found out" is dire and unsuccessful.
His main focus at home became The Hoof. Throw some percentage balls into the box and hope some will fall for you. Hopeless.
I went through last season and enjoyed about 3 or 4 games. That's 3 or 4 worthwhile games IN A SEASON!

This season has been the same set up, the same tactics just with a worse team and therefore worse results. It was coming all last season but some people, including McCabe, chose to ignore what was plain to see.

If he doesn't get shifted on soon then someone at the club is sleepwalking us to a relegation in the next two seasons.

 

[Willie Carlin]

Or walk?

Lots of posts flying around wanting him out now, at the end of the season or sometime soon. I fear we will have got to go through another year of bad football, loanees, excuse after excuse, and lots of hugs for opposition managers. So what will it take for him to get the boot or walk?

Boot
Poor season ticket sales?
3-6 points between now and the end of the season?
A bottom half finish?
Player fall outs?
Shoes off in car park?
Both Donny and Barnsley above us?

Walk
Asked to make further cuts?
Sell before you buy?
McCabe to sell up?

Anymore thoughts are welcome

I've asked this before but here goes again. Hollawy, Stracken , O'Driscoll, Coleman and the Reading managers teams are all on roughly the same points as Blackwell and United. To hear people talk Hollaway has worked wonders as has the Reading manager. O'Driscoll is Gods gift to football management. Stracken and Coleman are rebuilding. Are there fans asking for their blood I wonder. Yet some United fans go on about nothing else other than getting Blackwell the boot. Some say he should have had the balls to tell McCabe if he was going to sell players from under him he would resign. Do these people live in the real world, turn away from a £400,000 a year job. I don't think so to do that would have been verging on sheer stupidity. It isn't Blackwells fault United are in the financial state they are. There's no manager living could have done any better than he has under the curcumstance he's been made to work under.

 

[davidpinder]

I've asked this before but here goes again. Hollawy, Stracken , O'Driscoll, Coleman and the Reading managers teams are all on roughly the same points as Blackwell and United. To hear people talk Hollaway has worked wonders as has the Reading manager. O'Driscoll is Gods gift to football management. Stracken and Coleman are rebuilding. Are there fans asking for their blood I wonder. Yet some United fans go on about nothing else other than getting Blackwell the boot. Some say he should have had the balls to tell McCabe if he was going to sell players from under him he would resign. Do these people live in the real world, turn away from a £400,000 a year job. I don't think so to do that would have been verging on sheer stupidity. It isn't Blackwells fault United are in the financial state they are. There's no manager living could have done any better than he has under the curcumstance he's been made to work under.

I don't agree we are playing the worst football under blackwell i have possibly ever seen. Have you considered that? Also look at Swansea and Cardiff they have bags of money don't they and both happily sat in the playoffs. We are a laughing stock in that division our style of play is up there in the worst in the league plus look at records broken while blackwells been in charge. Double buy the pigs first for 80 years is it? Scunny never won at the lane they have now, Peterborough never beaten sheffield united, they have now. Scunny never done a double over us, i also think donny have enjoyed the best results over us while blackwells been in charge. The man is a joke and needs removing.

 

[ghandi]

I think he signed a 3 year deal after he took over is that right?

A 3 year deal a little after he joined followed by an extension of 1 year just after the start of last season (close to the time when announced we wouldn't be renegotiating players contracts during the season - we now know why) later so I reckon he has at least 2 years left on his contract.

 

[GRUMPY BLADE]

Wouldn't hurt to play some football though would it. The last two years have been shit to watch.

 

[Ollessendro]

I've asked this before but here goes again. Hollawy, Stracken , O'Driscoll, Coleman and the Reading managers teams are all on roughly the same points as Blackwell and United. To hear people talk Hollaway has worked wonders as has the Reading manager. O'Driscoll is Gods gift to football management. Stracken and Coleman are rebuilding. Are there fans asking for their blood I wonder. Yet some United fans go on about nothing else other than getting Blackwell the boot. Some say he should have had the balls to tell McCabe if he was going to sell players from under him he would resign. Do these people live in the real world, turn away from a £400,000 a year job. I don't think so to do that would have been verging on sheer stupidity. It isn't Blackwells fault United are in the financial state they are. There's no manager living could have done any better than he has under the curcumstance he's been made to work under.

Havie you been watching the games Willie?

How people can defend the man that is leading that debacle is beyond me.

Your statement is bold just makes me laugh. Hnag on, it's you isn't it Kevin? He has slowly managed to turn a good team bad. He might have had his hands tired, but his signings have been woeful. He has refused to play players who are good quality becuase they don't fit into his system. As Grecian points out his negativity is the worst factor. He has refused to play qaulity players because they 'can't defend', constantly plays players out of position and is tactically inept. His style is defend and hoof. Not only is it boring to watch, but it doesn't work. We've been found out and we're going downhill. Exactly the same way he took Leeds and Luton.

 

[JJ Sefton]

Hed have to be pictured in the match programme hanging out the back of Mrs McCabe.

 

[Micalijo]

I've asked this before but here goes again. Hollawy, Stracken , O'Driscoll, Coleman and the Reading managers teams are all on roughly the same points as Blackwell and United. To hear people talk Hollaway has worked wonders as has the Reading manager. O'Driscoll is Gods gift to football management. Stracken and Coleman are rebuilding. Are there fans asking for their blood I wonder. Yet some United fans go on about nothing else other than getting Blackwell the boot. Some say he should have had the balls to tell McCabe if he was going to sell players from under him he would resign. Do these people live in the real world, turn away from a £400,000 a year job. I don't think so to do that would have been verging on sheer stupidity. It isn't Blackwells fault United are in the financial state they are. There's no manager living could have done any better than he has under the curcumstance he's been made to work under.

No words can convey how much I disagree with your last sentence.

 

[Grecian2000]

I've asked this before but here goes again. Hollawy, Stracken , O'Driscoll, Coleman and the Reading managers teams are all on roughly the same points as Blackwell and United. To hear people talk Hollaway has worked wonders as has the Reading manager. O'Driscoll is Gods gift to football management. Stracken and Coleman are rebuilding. Are there fans asking for their blood I wonder. Yet some United fans go on about nothing else other than getting Blackwell the boot. Some say he should have had the balls to tell McCabe if he was going to sell players from under him he would resign. Do these people live in the real world, turn away from a £400,000 a year job. I don't think so to do that would have been verging on sheer stupidity. It isn't Blackwells fault United are in the financial state they are. There's no manager living could have done any better than he has under the curcumstance he's been made to work under.

1. Strachan and The Reading Manager are less than a season into the job so comparision is strange to say the least (although McDermott taking them from 2nd bottom to just behind us would seem he has done OK).
2. O'Driscoll is manager of Doncaster Fucking Rovers. If you find it acceptable that they are above us (on merit) with their resources and history then fair enough. I find it very annoying to be honest.
3. Holloway is manager of Blackpool. First full season in charge, so again, perhaps in a honeymoon period, but when was the last time The Seasiders were anywhere near a play-off spot at the top end of our division?
4. Coleman. Is probably the fairest comparison (only one that is in any way logical to be honest). Coventry are not that long out of the Premier League so perhaps they should be up there challenging. I have no idea if Coventry fans are happy or not. If they were forced to endure the tedium we have the last two seasons I expect they aren't.

Finally, I find your last sentence absolutely astounding.

 

[Ollessendro]

There's no manager living could have done any better than he has under the curcumstance he's been made to work under.

No words can convey how much I disagree with your last sentence.

That's because it is the most farcical statment I have ever heard. I can't believe that anyone other than Blackwells wife and daughters saying anything like that.

I am absolutely sure that on the resources he has had I could have done a better job!?

 

[LouTheBlade]

That's because it is the most farcical statment I have ever heard. I can't believe that anyone other than Blackwells wife and daughters saying anything like that.

I am absolutely sure that on the resources he has had I could have done a better job!?

I don't think the statement you refer to is farsical, but I do disagree with it.

 

[Jon Bon]

Perhaps you and Jon Bon could have a pint and then Blackwell will leave

As much as I'd like to see the back of Blackie, having met the man mountain that is Grumpy, that is my only offer- take it or leave it...!

 

[mattbianco1]

Or walk?

Lots of posts flying around wanting him out now, at the end of the season or sometime soon. I fear we will have got to go through another year of bad football, loanees, excuse after excuse, and lots of hugs for opposition managers. So what will it take for him to get the boot or walk?

Boot
Poor season ticket sales?
3-6 points between now and the end of the season?
A bottom half finish?
Player fall outs?
Shoes off in car park?
Both Donny and Barnsley above us?

Walk
Asked to make further cuts?
Sell before you buy?
McCabe to sell up?

Anymore thoughts are welcome

I do think if we'd not had all the injuries we've had we'd be easily in the play offs by now. Maybe even pushing for top 2. The quality is there.

Que ear bashing!!

 

[madeinsheffield]

Wouldn't hurt to play some football though would it. The last two years have been shit to watch.

Thats the problem a lot of people seem to be missing, last year when we had a better collection of players, less injuries etc etc we still didn't play that well, the tactics have hardly changed, when we had better players it didn't look as bad but we were playing rubbish percentage football a lot of the time, now the players are not as good the cracks are really showing.

The damage we are seeing now has been a long time coming, it needs fixing quickly

 

[Bramley]

Or walk?

Lots of posts flying around wanting him out now, at the end of the season or sometime soon. I fear we will have got to go through another year of bad football, loanees, excuse after excuse, and lots of hugs for opposition managers. So what will it take for him to get the boot or walk?

Boot
Poor season ticket sales?
3-6 points between now and the end of the season?
A bottom half finish?
Player fall outs?
Shoes off in car park?
Both Donny and Barnsley above us?

Walk
Asked to make further cuts?
Sell before you buy?
McCabe to sell up?

Anymore thoughts are welcome

Can't see shoes off happening.

 

[Worksop_Blade]

"Also look at Swansea and Cardiff they have bags of money don't they and both happily sat in the playoffs." David Pinder

Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit.

 

[Jon Bon]

Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit.

I find dramatic irony a tad overrated too...

 

[shorehamview]

Blackwell has been asked to do a certain job by McCabe and he has done it. It's not the end result that annoys me, it's how that result has been achieved. It can be argued that Blackwell has done well considering the injuries and all that jazz, and it's a wonder how we have managed to be in the position we are, and that is true to a certain extent. It would have been hard for any manager to have had to cope with the players injured that Blackwell has.

What really makes it hard to swallow is how we have come to be in the situation we are. More shit loans than Barings Bank or Nick Leeson are the starting point. One or maybe two loans is acceptable - any more is gambling far too much. There has been little squad cohesion this season - how can there be when half of the players have only known each other for a few weeks, and in some circumstances days?

If Spurs can insert a recall clause into a loan then why can't we? If Donny didn't want one they could have easily been told "tough shit - recall clause or no loan". Our back four this season has been a fairly patched up affair at the best of times, and losing Killa and Walker in January can't have helped. If promotion was indeed an objective Kilgallon should not have been sold. Better to take the gamble and keep him, or at least have an adequate replacement lined up to buy, not borrow an injured old crock.

We have needed two decent players for every position, and possibly three for the 'keeper's slot. We haven't had this by a long way. The main cause I have for compliant is that there seems to be little attention paid to forward planning other than cutting the wage bill. It's all very well getting rid of the high earners like Beattie and Hendrie, but players will need replacing, and not with any old shite.

Perhaps Blackwell may indeed do well next season, but I can't see us finishing any better than tenth. We'll be a poor second behind Donny Rovers, and that is fucking hard to take.

 

[DuncDisorderly]

So what will it take for him to get the boot or walk?

I think you should start at least three threads every day, going over and over this matter from slightly different angles. Worth a try..?

 

[Pinchy]

Getting rid of Blackwell and waking McCabe from his slumbers are issues which dwarf all other right now. They will continue to dominate the agenda and so they should. Until they are resolved our club will continue to decline. Questions like 'who should play up front?' and 'let's get Billy back' pale into insignificance (not that they should be stifled of course).

I would take a 3-0 at The Piggery with pleasure if it procured Hoof's departure.

 

[JohnDenver]

I would take a 3-0 at The Piggery with pleasure if it procured Hoof's departure.

Soap. Water. Mouth. Get to it!!