Zipwire
Active Member
I once won letter of the week, with my only missive I sent.
Here it is in all its glory
Dear In Off The Post,
Having watched the Blades labour to another average result, against average opposition this afternoon against Queens Park Rangers, i left Bramall Lane very disappointed with what i have seen, and also fearing what the future hold for Sheffield United in the short, medium and long-term future. I feel that at the moment the club is settling for mediocrity and second best and don't seem to be able to find the answer's within that will help the club progress on the football side, and build on the solid foundations we have built off the field and at the moment.
The first point i wish to raise is the fact that we have several loan player's within the framework of the first team and this is not an ideal situation as we should really be looking to spend the transfer and wage budgets on players that belong to Sheffield United and have a long-term future at the Lane and the opportunity to flourish as Sheffield United players rather than being here as they are deemed not good to enough to play for their parent clubs this season. This also sends out a negative message to the younger players at the club as they must be frustrated as they see a conveyor belt of loan players coming in and out of the club, and denying them an opportunity of getting near the first team.
Tactically we also look very one dimensional, as we are too over reliant on long balls pumped up field from defence and very rarely show any other ideas and when the long ball is not working then very rarely there seems to be a plan B. Plenty of people regularly state we must not be a team that people enjoy playing against due to our physical approach, but on the other side i think sides secretly enjoying playing against us, as we are predictable, and quite often due to the boring, one-dimensional football we play.
Kevin Blackwell has had the time to put his stamp on things at Bramall Lane. To be quite honest i think that looking at our forward line we have several players who have the ability to become a real threat up front for the Blades and score prolifically at this level but haven't had the opportunity to due to the style of play not being suited to their talents, or being played out of position on the wing. Jamie Ward excites a lot of supporters but more often than not he will be played out on the wing (which makes me wonder why Kevin Blackwell signed Kyle Reid and Glenn Little in the summer, as well as bringing in Keith Treacy in on loan whilst having David Cotterill on the books at the same time), Billy Sharp is on fire at Doncaster Rovers who play a more fluid and inventive game than we do and has been criminally wasted at the Lane and is someone who will do well at this level playing a game better suited to his game. For Billy Sharp see Ched Evans who whilst Kevin Blackwell remains manager, will struggle to get a run of games and when he does get on the pitch the type of football we play is not conducive to his style of play. Having said this Blackwell has addressed his attacking problems by paying £500k for a 31 year old whose level is the Championship, and this in itself sends out a negative message to the supporters.
At the moment the way the things are going at Bramall Lane, it is becoming more and more apparent that this one-dimensional approach is seen as the key to our long-term future, and towards the end of the season this could be a dangerous thing as a lot of United's season ticket holders are getting fed up and depressed with the boring, sterile and negative football we play and not enjoying the matches any more. If something doesn't change, i can see quite a lot of the large number of season ticket holders we have accumulated over the last 4 or 5 years deciding that it is no longer worth the investment and finding something else they will get enjoyment out of for their season ticket money.
Yours Sincerely
Zipwire
Here it is in all its glory
Dear In Off The Post,
Having watched the Blades labour to another average result, against average opposition this afternoon against Queens Park Rangers, i left Bramall Lane very disappointed with what i have seen, and also fearing what the future hold for Sheffield United in the short, medium and long-term future. I feel that at the moment the club is settling for mediocrity and second best and don't seem to be able to find the answer's within that will help the club progress on the football side, and build on the solid foundations we have built off the field and at the moment.
The first point i wish to raise is the fact that we have several loan player's within the framework of the first team and this is not an ideal situation as we should really be looking to spend the transfer and wage budgets on players that belong to Sheffield United and have a long-term future at the Lane and the opportunity to flourish as Sheffield United players rather than being here as they are deemed not good to enough to play for their parent clubs this season. This also sends out a negative message to the younger players at the club as they must be frustrated as they see a conveyor belt of loan players coming in and out of the club, and denying them an opportunity of getting near the first team.
Tactically we also look very one dimensional, as we are too over reliant on long balls pumped up field from defence and very rarely show any other ideas and when the long ball is not working then very rarely there seems to be a plan B. Plenty of people regularly state we must not be a team that people enjoy playing against due to our physical approach, but on the other side i think sides secretly enjoying playing against us, as we are predictable, and quite often due to the boring, one-dimensional football we play.
Kevin Blackwell has had the time to put his stamp on things at Bramall Lane. To be quite honest i think that looking at our forward line we have several players who have the ability to become a real threat up front for the Blades and score prolifically at this level but haven't had the opportunity to due to the style of play not being suited to their talents, or being played out of position on the wing. Jamie Ward excites a lot of supporters but more often than not he will be played out on the wing (which makes me wonder why Kevin Blackwell signed Kyle Reid and Glenn Little in the summer, as well as bringing in Keith Treacy in on loan whilst having David Cotterill on the books at the same time), Billy Sharp is on fire at Doncaster Rovers who play a more fluid and inventive game than we do and has been criminally wasted at the Lane and is someone who will do well at this level playing a game better suited to his game. For Billy Sharp see Ched Evans who whilst Kevin Blackwell remains manager, will struggle to get a run of games and when he does get on the pitch the type of football we play is not conducive to his style of play. Having said this Blackwell has addressed his attacking problems by paying £500k for a 31 year old whose level is the Championship, and this in itself sends out a negative message to the supporters.
At the moment the way the things are going at Bramall Lane, it is becoming more and more apparent that this one-dimensional approach is seen as the key to our long-term future, and towards the end of the season this could be a dangerous thing as a lot of United's season ticket holders are getting fed up and depressed with the boring, sterile and negative football we play and not enjoying the matches any more. If something doesn't change, i can see quite a lot of the large number of season ticket holders we have accumulated over the last 4 or 5 years deciding that it is no longer worth the investment and finding something else they will get enjoyment out of for their season ticket money.
Yours Sincerely
Zipwire
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