Why we're lucky to have a manager who "treats the club's money as if it were his own."

[JohnDenver]

Of course. That's why we all follow the Blades - to see that the club is properly run, as a business. How satisfying.

I honestly don't feel a need for that degree of rectitude. Are all of the clubs mentioned above, and there were more than 20 of them without even including the likes of City, Chelsea et al, not properly run ? If so, that's more than 25% of professional clubs in England dismissed at a stroke - is it really the case that Utd's own corporate governance is so much more important?

Isn't football at least to some extent escapism ?

It's only a business insofar as the owners want or need it to be. If the Prince and his buddies think our current budget is sufficient to get out of this league (and it probably should be enough), then I'm not complaining.

The only thing I can fault this regime for has been the inability to find a first-choice striker. Game changing investment was a loaded term, but without this regime we'd still be relying on McFadzean, Kennedy and Ironside to come good in order to compete in this league.

 

[wizadry]

It's only a business insofar as the owners want or need it to be. If the Prince and his buddies think our current budget is sufficient to get out of this league (and it probably should be enough), then I'm not complaining.

The only thing I can fault this regime for has been the inability to find a first-choice striker. Game changing investment was a loaded term, but without this regime we'd still be relying on McFadzean, Kennedy and Ironside to come good in order to compete in this league.

So even though we have sold Maguire for a reported £2.5 million,cup money of just over £2 million and increased ST sales,we would still have to put up with the players mentioned I'd like to think not JohnDenver ,but something tells me you could be right.

 

[Patrick Suffaux]

Of course. That's why we all follow the Blades - to see that the club is properly run, as a business. How satisfying.

I honestly don't feel a need for that degree of rectitude. Are all of the clubs mentioned above, and there were more than 20 of them without even including the likes of City, Chelsea et al, not properly run ? If so, that's more than 25% of professional clubs in England dismissed at a stroke - is it really the case that Utd's own corporate governance is so much more important?

Isn't football at least to some extent escapism ?

How satisfying it was the last time we threw money at it. Need I remind anyone of the Robson/Blackwell era and how that ended up? Did you enjoy the outcome of that because I didn't.

It seems a lot of the time that supporters just want to see substantial fees spent without much care for who we would actually sign. It's as if they want a trophy signing as a show of ambition. I would understand some of the complainants if any one of them could actually show me specific examples of where we didn't do something and what we should have done. Maybe the name of a player Clough actually wanted that is actually worth more than we were willing to pay.

All we have to go on is three unnamed players, none of which we can be sure are worth more than the supposed bids we made or were even going to be available for a much higher bid. The criticism is based on nothing but hearsay.

 

[Hague Blade]

It didn't work well the last time we threw some money around (though note even then not as much as many of our peer-group clubs have done) because the manager doing the throwing, Robson, was an appallingly bad choice for the job. It was terrible to see a lot of the money wasted, I agree, but we've got a much better manager now, which gives us all some comfort.

No-one on this forum can give you the names of players Clough wanted but couldn't afford - we don't know. What people can do, just to try and illustrate a point, is to come up with the names of strikers who are, or have been until very recently, playing in the third division and would potentially have strengthened our squad in the area where it is plainly weakest - Nakhi Wells, Callum Wilson, Kieran Agard, Sam Baldock - I'm sure those better informed than I am can come up with more names. As others have posted above, we are a big, well-supported club in this division - we ought to be able to compete, strongly, in the transfer market at our level. Perhaps we can and a great loan signing is just around the corner - it'd be nice, wouldn't it?

I don't see it as binary - it's not "In Clough we must trust, absolutely, and don't presume to question anything" on the one hand, versus "Everything the club does is rubbish and they're all liars" on the other. I still think it's legitimate to be pleased with where we are, while also thinking that more could be done to improve our chances. Ultimately, it's not about trophy signings - it's about putting a team on the pitch that can get us into the top two and out of the third division.

 

[Cyprus Blade]

it's about putting a team on the pitch that can get us into the top two and out of the third division.

Now that sounds like a proper business plan to me

 

[JohnDenver]

So even though we have sold Maguire for a reported £2.5 million,cup money of just over £2 million and increased ST sales,we would still have to put up with the players mentioned I'd like to think not JohnDenver ,but something tells me you could be right.

We wouldn't have had Clough, Scougall or Baxter without the Prince, so we wouldn't have had the cup run. And Maguire was playing like a pub footballer under Weir.

I really think we'd still be in the pickle we were at this time last year.

 

[Jim Chimmerney]

Players from higher divisions and to a certain extent, promising targets from our level will continue to look elsewhere whilst we're in this division. Having said that, it will be easier to attract better players in January if we are seen as promotion material. Chicken and egg situation as we saw last season with the likes of Callum Wilson and Alan Judge.

 

[Patrick Suffaux]

Nakhi Wells, Callum Wilson, Kieran Agard, Sam Baldock

Did Clough want any of those? Did he ask the board to sign them?

I would hazard a guess that your answer is "I don't know" and neither do I. So what point do any of those four names illustrate?

 

[Hague Blade]

Did Clough want any of those? Did he ask the board to sign them?

I would hazard a guess that your answer is "I don't know" and neither do I. So what point do any of those four names illustrate?

Did you actually read what I wrote? Try the first two sentences of the second paragraph again.

Does anyone on here know who Clough wants or what the board might sanction ? Of course not.

Do some posters think there are players that have been playing in our division or are being signed by our rivals that would seem to be improvements on what we have and ought to be in our price range? Yes.

Is that controversial? Really?

 

[Jim Chimmerney]

Did Clough want any of those? Did he ask the board to sign them?

I would hazard a guess that your answer is "I don't know" and neither do I. So what point do any of those four names illustrate?

We were certainly in for Wilson last season but the fact he went to Bournemouth for around £3M explains another reason why it was never going to happen. When you see Assombalonga going for £5M plus it shows what we're up against but then again, there's always Jamie Vardy's hanging around in the lower leagues, you just have to be lucky enough to stumble across them.

 

[BeatleBlade]

We were certainly in for Wilson last season but the fact he went to Bournemouth for around £3M explains another reason why it was never going to happen. When you see Assombalonga going for £5M plus it shows what we're up against but then again, there's always Jamie Vardy's hanging around in the lower leagues, you just have to be lucky enough to stumble across them.

Fortunately we have the sort of manager who can pick out those people. Did Brayford and Buxton both come from the non-league to play for Derby?

 

[wizadry]

We wouldn't have had Clough, Scougall or Baxter without the Prince, so we wouldn't have had the cup run. And Maguire was playing like a pub footballer under Weir.

I really think we'd still be in the pickle we were at this time last year.

Fair points mate,can't debate nothing there.

 

[oldblade]

How satisfying it was the last time we threw money at it. Need I remind anyone of the Robson/Blackwell era and how that ended up? Did you enjoy the outcome of that because I didn't.

It seems a lot of the time that supporters just want to see substantial fees spent without much care for who we would actually sign. It's as if they want a trophy signing as a show of ambition. I would understand some of the complainants if any one of them could actually show me specific examples of where we didn't do something and what we should have done. Maybe the name of a player Clough actually wanted that is actually worth more than we were willing to pay.

All we have to go on is three unnamed players, none of which we can be sure are worth more than the supposed bids we made or were even going to be available for a much higher bid. The criticism is based on nothing but hearsay.

It wasn't just the outcome that was not enjoyable! The football on offer during that period was some of the most unentertaining fare that I've ever witnessed at Bramall Lane even though large sums of money had been spent.

 

[oldblade]

We wouldn't have had Clough, Scougall or Baxter without the Prince, so we wouldn't have had the cup run. And Maguire was playing like a pub footballer under Weir.

I really think we'd still be in the pickle we were at this time last year.

Without the Prince we would currently be a mid table fourth division side with a very, very bleak outlook.

 

[Patrick Suffaux]

Did you actually read what I wrote? Try the first two sentences of the second paragraph again.

Does anyone on here know who Clough wants or what the board might sanction ? Of course not.

Do some posters think there are players that have been playing in our division or are being signed by our rivals that would seem to be improvements on what we have and ought to be in our price range? Yes.

Is that controversial? Really?

My second read confirms that I understood it perfectly the first time. You're claiming that your point can be illustrated by people naming strikers that could have strengthened us and were playing in our division recently. Please confirm if that is what your words meant....

Right, here's my point again and I will save you the trouble of reading it again....your argument is redundant. You don't even know if Clough wanted them. Who said anything about your argument being controversial?

I think you need to proof read post mate not me.

 

[Patrick Suffaux]

Without the Prince we would currently be a mid table fourth division side with a very, very bleak outlook.

Correct

 

[Davie Blade]

Time to bump an old thread!.

 

[Pittsburg Blade]

Time to bump an old thread!.

I remember those boring days when the arguments were logical and reasoned with minimal angst and vitriol. What happened?

 

[MobileBlade]

I remember those boring days when the arguments were logical and reasoned with minimal angst and vitriol. What happened?

BladesMad went tits up.

 

[Pittsburg Blade]

Well..I guess we can't blame the Bladesmad refugees for searching for another home after theirs was destroyed.