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Post by addicted2venos on Dec 9, 2008 8:55:25 GMT -1
I actually think we played some pretty good stuff under Warnock. Obviously, not all the time, but in 2002-3 I think we played better football than at any time since the early to mid 1970s. We were also pretty good for the first half of 2003-4, during our promotion season and for many home games in the premier league. Taken as a whole, I think what we saw under Warnock was far more entertaining than the last season and a half. We played with pace and power, but more importantly we looked like a team and a motivated one at that. At the moment we look quite disjointed and somewhat lacking in any self belief. If Warnock was in charge of this team we would not have lost to four out of the five sides currently above us in the league. When we had Brown, McCall, Ndlovu and Peschisolido we weren't a bad side to watch. After that we became too workman like, and over reliant on the defensive punt. I think for the promotion season and our season in the premiership, pressuring the ball and out willing teams was the key to any success we have. Those were two things that Warnock was very good at, in fact you rarely see a poorly motivated Neil Warnock side. However grit and determination will only ever get you so far, and I think we got as high as we could've done with a squad of fairly limited quality. I think now we need to be looking to strike a balance between the high energy, dogged football we played under Warnock and the more measured approach that Blackwell wants us to take. The one thing that does surprise me though is Blackwell's admission that he does coach attacking player, as he believes that they should just know what to do. Well I'd guess that 65% of our goals have come from set plays ........ so maybe re-thinking this policy might be a good idea!!
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Post by addicted2venos on Dec 9, 2008 8:56:48 GMT -1
I bet you find the thought of Warnock grubby fingerprints quite the turn on really!! *Shudders at thought of Warnocks grubby fingerprints*
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Post by ancientblade on Dec 9, 2008 18:47:07 GMT -1
Armstrong and Stead were Warnock players. they have gone and our squad is weaker as a result. Tonge has also gone and we have Howard instead. I am struggling to see how he has improved the midfield. He is no better in open play and his dead ball deliveries are miles poorer. On saturday, one of the main plus points of Cotterill coming on was that he started taking some of the corners instead of Howard. Also, it was Warnock who decided Sharp wasn't good enough and moved him on. Sad though it is, I feel he was probably right. I cannot fault Sharp's effort, but he simply does not score. And it's not just down to poor service. He also misses chances and is always getting caught offside, albeit he was unlucky on saturday, having a perfectly good goal ruled out as being offside when it wasn't. I would like to see Webber played as an out and out striker (instead of being brought on and stuck on the left wing) and given as prolonged a run in the side as Sharp. We might then see him regain his 2005-6 form. The goal he assisted against Barnsley was a superb demonstration of footballing skill. I do not know of any other player in our squad (except maybe Naughton) who could turn like that. What you say about Sharp's lack of pacve is true. And unfortunately no amount of effort or training can make him any faster. I can remember two occasions on saturday when good passes were played behind Burnley's defence for him to run onto, but he was just not quick enough. I've already bemoaned the loss of Armstrong. Stead is a different kettle of fish though, as one decent game was usually followed by 4 poor ones. As Ipswich have now found out, and changed his role from a starting one to one as perennial sub. Dead ball delivery may be the same but Howard is more positive and forward thinking. He is always looking to get or play forward, but as I said before our forward movement isn't great which mean there's usually very little space to play into. Again do you see Tonge's name appearing much in the Stoke starting line up?? Warnock was right about Sharp, and we're all sorry that he was. As we all would've like to have seen 'one of us' do well for the team. You need to be a yard quicker either mentally or physically than Sharp is if you a striker of his size. Webber never goes past a player, never runs in behind defenses, is injury prone, is easy to dispossess and has a game based around shifting the ball from side to side in order to make an angle for a shot. I'm amazed that having sold player like Kabba and Nade for been injury prone one trick ponies, that Webber is still here. He must have some saucy pics of Kevin McCabe stashed somewhere, or just be the luckiest man alive. We desperately need a pacey striker. Away sides in this league generally play with two solid banks of 4 in an attempt to deny space. If your strikers don't move much or not very quickly (like ours), then any reasonably well organised side should be able to cope. Which is why we've struggled to score from open play. Away from home a pacey striker can chase down the 'out' ball, and also keep defenses honest by providing the threat of running in behind. I don't honestly think we're too far short of where need to be. We need a bit more pace and at times to be a bit more adventurous in our mentality. I really don't see Howard making any more of a positive impact on the game than Tonge. Also Tonge used to get heavily criticised for his shortcomings in the defensive department, and yet Howard rarely ever tracks back, and his corners and free kicks are very poor. Tonge may not start much for Stoke, but if the radio 5 live 606 phone in on saturday night is anything to go by, Stoke supporters like what they've seen of him. The people who bother to phone in do anyway! But I do think he was a strange signing for them as he is not an obvious candidate to fit into their style of play. After Warnock left, Stead never got a settled run in the side, and when he did play it was usually on the wing! The most consecutive starts he had last season was four, and that only happened once. I feel he should have been played alongside Beattie in a proper 4-4-2, in similar fashion to when he played alongside Hulse. Webber is injury prone, but disagree that he does not get behind defences and does not beat players. I feel it's his finishing that has deserted him. Also, he can sometimes be a bit blinkered and go for goal when there is someone in a much better position than him. However, his pace does unsettle teams and I would rather he started matches than Sharp. i also wonder how his performances would improve if he was given the run in the side that Sharp has been given. But it's all conjecture as I suspect if Sharp is dropped it will be Henderson who gets the nod.
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Post by El Morto La Hoja! on Dec 9, 2008 22:43:19 GMT -1
Monty has barely played, but I think a Warnock ran out of patience with him and so did Robson. If Blackwell hasn't figured out the lad couldn't even pass 'the dutchie', he will before very long as it's blatantly obvious. I think we should be looking to continue purging Warnock type players from the squad (all effort and no quality) and Monty would be top of that list. Sharp works hard running the channels ....... but this is only due to fact that he knows he's not going to get any joy playing through the middle. He's just not quick enough to play right upfront. To play the 'small striker' role you need to carry the threat that you can sprint in behind a defense, and he doesn't. I we were to play him on regular basis in the team, he might actually be better playing in just behind a front two. I'd be looking to try and do a deal for Leroy Lita or someone of that ilk. Armstrong and Stead were Warnock players. they have gone and our squad is weaker as a result. Tonge has also gone and we have Howard instead. I am struggling to see how he has improved the midfield. He is no better in open play and his dead ball deliveries are miles poorer. On saturday, one of the main plus points of Cotterill coming on was that he started taking some of the corners instead of Howard. Also, it was Warnock who decided Sharp wasn't good enough and moved him on. Sad though it is, I feel he was probably right. I cannot fault Sharp's effort, but he simply does not score. And it's not just down to poor service. He also misses chances and is always getting caught offside, albeit he was unlucky on saturday, having a perfectly good goal ruled out as being offside when it wasn't. I would like to see Webber played as an out and out striker (instead of being brought on and stuck on the left wing) and given as prolonged a run in the side as Sharp. We might then see him regain his 2005-6 form. The goal he assisted against Barnsley was a superb demonstration of footballing skill. I do not know of any other player in our squad (except maybe Naughton) who could turn like that. What you say about Sharp's lack of pacve is true. And unfortunately no amount of effort or training can make him any faster. I can remember two occasions on saturday when good passes were played behind Burnley's defence for him to run onto, but he was just not quick enough. pretty much agree with all of that.
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Post by El Morto La Hoja! on Dec 9, 2008 22:44:13 GMT -1
I think it's very easy to just lay the blame at Blackwell door. However even after Robson, Warnocks fingerprints were all over the side. Robson found impossible to change the style of play of a side that under Warnock played most of its best football while not in possession of the ball, and once it had possession you always knew it wouldn't last!! Under Blackwell though we do keep the ball quite well and although the final pass doesn't appear to be quite there yet, we do play nice football. Which to be fair is a massive change in our footballing ethos, and Blackwell deserves credit for it. If we get a striker will pace who can work the defensive line, then this should help us as at the moment we're too static and predictable up front. We can't move defenses around so we struggle to create space in which to play into, so we can't play that 'killer ball'. I can't criticise Blackwell over most of the players he offloaded, I'd probably even say he wasn't radical or quick enough in shipping some players out!! I actually think we played some pretty good stuff under Warnock. Obviously, not all the time, but in 2002-3 I think we played better football than at any time since the early to mid 1970s. We were also pretty good for the first half of 2003-4, during our promotion season and for many home games in the premier league. Taken as a whole, I think what we saw under Warnock was far more entertaining than the last season and a half. We played with pace and power, but more importantly we looked like a team and a motivated one at that. At the moment we look quite disjointed and somewhat lacking in any self belief. If Warnock was in charge of this team we would not have lost to four out of the five sides currently above us in the league. .... and i agree with most of that too...
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Post by El Morto La Hoja! on Dec 9, 2008 22:47:18 GMT -1
I bet you find the thought of Warnock grubby fingerprints quite the turn on really!! *Shudders at thought of Warnocks grubby fingerprints* .... i agree she does too... we were again pretty crap against forest..... but lets face it we're set up to pray upon and grind down the weaker team in this division (such as forest, sorry gt) little else.
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Post by addicted2venos on Dec 10, 2008 8:38:42 GMT -1
.... i agree she does too... we were again pretty crap against forest..... but lets face it we're set up to pray upon and grind down the weaker team in this division (such as forest, sorry gt) little else. It was freezing and one of the worst games I've seen!! I thought Killa was man of the match and Monty not far behind him. Although when Monty is a shining becon of competency in your team you know something is very wrong!!
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Post by addicted2venos on Dec 10, 2008 8:59:28 GMT -1
I really don't see Howard making any more of a positive impact on the game than Tonge. Also Tonge used to get heavily criticised for his shortcomings in the defensive department, and yet Howard rarely ever tracks back, and his corners and free kicks are very poor. Tonge may not start much for Stoke, but if the radio 5 live 606 phone in on saturday night is anything to go by, Stoke supporters like what they've seen of him. The people who bother to phone in do anyway! But I do think he was a strange signing for them as he is not an obvious candidate to fit into their style of play. After Warnock left, Stead never got a settled run in the side, and when he did play it was usually on the wing! The most consecutive starts he had last season was four, and that only happened once. I feel he should have been played alongside Beattie in a proper 4-4-2, in similar fashion to when he played alongside Hulse. Webber is injury prone, but disagree that he does not get behind defences and does not beat players. I feel it's his finishing that has deserted him. Also, he can sometimes be a bit blinkered and go for goal when there is someone in a much better position than him. However, his pace does unsettle teams and I would rather he started matches than Sharp. i also wonder how his performances would improve if he was given the run in the side that Sharp has been given. But it's all conjecture as I suspect if Sharp is dropped it will be Henderson who gets the nod. I think Howard in for Tonge was a good deal for all concerned. Tonge had become a bit of whipping boy for a large section of our support, and while he'd burst on the scene at first. In recent times his performances had gone backwards, probably due to him being a confidence player and him not having any. I think Howard is a more positive player who doesn't hide when things aren't going well. The supporters at Stoke don't pick the side though, and there's are also plenty of them who are bemused by them signing Tonge. Pullis obviously thinks he's not quite there, otherwise he'd be in the side. Stead has been inconsistent where ever he's gone, which is why he has continually been moved on by managers. On his day he's easily Premiership class, but as I said he's too inconsistent. Ask yourself, are we a good enough side to carry a player who's not playing well in 60% of games he plays in? He did get chances at United, but blew them all and in the end I think Blackwell didn't know what to do to get the best from him. I saw a passage of play last night that just summed Webber up in a nutshell. There was a break on 4 vs 3, he tore forwards and looked to have a very simple opportunity to play someone in. However he shunned that chance and ran himself into a cul-de-sac down the wing before losing the ball, then getting it back, then tripping over his own feet. I've no doubt he's got talent but he has no awareness of the game around him and doesn't score!! I've never come away from a game we've won so disheartened as I did last night. We were awful and only helped by the fact that Forest are also awful and can't finish.
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Post by El Morto La Hoja! on Dec 10, 2008 13:21:59 GMT -1
.... i agree she does too... we were again pretty crap against forest..... but lets face it we're set up to pray upon and grind down the weaker team in this division (such as forest, sorry gt) little else. It was freezing and one of the worst games I've seen!! I thought Killa was man of the match and Monty not far behind him. Although when Monty is a shining becon of competency in your team you know something is very wrong!! it was colder than freezing *still shivering* Killa is turning into a very steady centre..... he also appears to be our best winger Monty was awesome ;D
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Post by Mrs H on Dec 10, 2008 13:39:29 GMT -1
Lol I had to laugh at RAdio Sheffield. There was a stupid Blade who called up on his way down to Forest to ask if Monty was playing, when they confirmed he was the bloke said he was getting off at the next junction and coming home. Do your fans really hate him that much???
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Post by El Morto La Hoja! on Dec 10, 2008 13:44:02 GMT -1
i think he's one of these players that completely splits opinion. he never gets booed and you can never doubt his effort.... i heard nothing but praise about him at forest - which was much deserved - i think he'll make a positive difference to the team.
.... too many people expect total football from players, its stupid.
*also its hard to think of a central midfielder past or present who's been at united that hasn't taken flak.
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Post by addicted2venos on Dec 10, 2008 15:21:49 GMT -1
Lol I had to laugh at RAdio Sheffield. There was a stupid Blade who called up on his way down to Forest to ask if Monty was playing, when they confirmed he was the bloke said he was getting off at the next junction and coming home. Do your fans really hate him that much??? If it is true that 'god loves a trier' then god must love Nick Montgomery more than anything else on the face of the planet. However he never saw fit to bless him overly with footballing ability!!
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Post by addicted2venos on Dec 10, 2008 15:38:13 GMT -1
it was colder than freezing *still shivering* Killa is turning into a very steady centre..... he also appears to be our best winger Monty was awesome ;D I'm sure I saw brass monkeys rolling their balls down the towpath before the game!! I think Killa also made the best run by a striker late in the game. It really was a complete performance. I saw Monty make a long cross field pass which not only landed at the intended recipients feet, they did even have to break stride. I think misplaced 2 passes all evening .......... if only he played like that every week!!
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Post by ancientblade on Dec 10, 2008 18:58:42 GMT -1
.... i agree she does too... we were again pretty crap against forest..... but lets face it we're set up to pray upon and grind down the weaker team in this division (such as forest, sorry gt) little else. It was freezing and one of the worst games I've seen!! I thought Killa was man of the match and Monty not far behind him. Although when Monty is a shining becon of competency in your team you know something is very wrong!! It's a strange thing, but I think Montgomery put in some of his best performances during our all too brief stay in the premier league. His injury was a major factor in our failure to get anything from our last two games. It's strange because Montgomery and premier league are not really two items that you would put together!
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Post by ancientblade on Dec 10, 2008 19:26:14 GMT -1
I really don't see Howard making any more of a positive impact on the game than Tonge. Also Tonge used to get heavily criticised for his shortcomings in the defensive department, and yet Howard rarely ever tracks back, and his corners and free kicks are very poor. Tonge may not start much for Stoke, but if the radio 5 live 606 phone in on saturday night is anything to go by, Stoke supporters like what they've seen of him. The people who bother to phone in do anyway! But I do think he was a strange signing for them as he is not an obvious candidate to fit into their style of play. After Warnock left, Stead never got a settled run in the side, and when he did play it was usually on the wing! The most consecutive starts he had last season was four, and that only happened once. I feel he should have been played alongside Beattie in a proper 4-4-2, in similar fashion to when he played alongside Hulse. Webber is injury prone, but disagree that he does not get behind defences and does not beat players. I feel it's his finishing that has deserted him. Also, he can sometimes be a bit blinkered and go for goal when there is someone in a much better position than him. However, his pace does unsettle teams and I would rather he started matches than Sharp. i also wonder how his performances would improve if he was given the run in the side that Sharp has been given. But it's all conjecture as I suspect if Sharp is dropped it will be Henderson who gets the nod. I think Howard in for Tonge was a good deal for all concerned. Tonge had become a bit of whipping boy for a large section of our support, and while he'd burst on the scene at first. In recent times his performances had gone backwards, probably due to him being a confidence player and him not having any. I think Howard is a more positive player who doesn't hide when things aren't going well. The supporters at Stoke don't pick the side though, and there's are also plenty of them who are bemused by them signing Tonge. Pullis obviously thinks he's not quite there, otherwise he'd be in the side. Stead has been inconsistent where ever he's gone, which is why he has continually been moved on by managers. On his day he's easily Premiership class, but as I said he's too inconsistent. Ask yourself, are we a good enough side to carry a player who's not playing well in 60% of games he plays in? He did get chances at United, but blew them all and in the end I think Blackwell didn't know what to do to get the best from him. I saw a passage of play last night that just summed Webber up in a nutshell. There was a break on 4 vs 3, he tore forwards and looked to have a very simple opportunity to play someone in. However he shunned that chance and ran himself into a cul-de-sac down the wing before losing the ball, then getting it back, then tripping over his own feet. I've no doubt he's got talent but he has no awareness of the game around him and doesn't score!! I've never come away from a game we've won so disheartened as I did last night. We were awful and only helped by the fact that Forest are also awful and can't finish. I agree that the time had probably come for Tonge to go, in that it had got to the stage that no matter how good a perfortmance he put in, a section of the crowd would find fault. Against Cardiff this happened throughout the match, and he even got blamed for other people's mistakes. The Halford non-run in the first half being one. Tonge played a lovely little ball down the left side in the first half. An incisive ball that should have put the winger away behind the defence. Unfortunately the winger was Halford, whose anticipation was a little bit lacking (probably because he isn't really a true winger!) and so Cardiff were able to regain possession and snuff out the danger. Tongehad done his job, but Halford had not done his, and yet the crowd berated Tonge. There were several such incidents in this match, the details of whicvh I won't bore you with unless you really want them! However, I don't think this constant barracking was good for the player. It certainly didn't help his confidence. Pullis obviously likes Tonge or he wouldn't have bought him. It maybe that he sees him as able to do a job in particular matches. Bassett was sometimes like that, changing the side from game to game to deal with the particular strengths or weaknesses of the opposition. Two million was a fair price for him and as far as I can see Howard has come to us at a bargain basement price. So, from a financial point of view it made sense. But, I still do not think Howard has made any more of a positive contribution to our midfield than Tonge did. But, things may get better I suppose, and he did score last night. As far as Stead goes, I disagree and we will have to differ on this one as well! He was played in a haphazzard manner and usually out of position by Robson and has had hardly a look in with Blackwell. He never had any run of any length in the side under those managers, so I don't see how he can be considered to have blown his chance. He never got a chance (unlike Sharp under Blackwell!). And yet he performed consistently to a high level in the premier league, and then he was played as a genuine second striker instead of being stuck out wide. I agree that Webber does lack awareness and have stated before that he sometimes has blinkers on and I agree he doesn't score anymore. However, one start followed by five on gthe bench won't change that. He can score and can really take sides apart on his day (remember Leeds!). During the promotion season he got 10 in 23 starts. Sharp has yet to get to 10 in total. I just think Webber is worth a run in the side, but as with Stead it has to be as a proper striker and not stuck out wide.
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Post by GUPTA on Dec 10, 2008 19:32:35 GMT -1
Lol I had to laugh at RAdio Sheffield. There was a stupid Blade who called up on his way down to Forest to ask if Monty was playing, when they confirmed he was the bloke said he was getting off at the next junction and coming home. Do your fans really hate him that much??? got to admire his honesty ;D
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Post by ancientblade on Dec 10, 2008 20:28:31 GMT -1
I actually think we played some pretty good stuff under Warnock. Obviously, not all the time, but in 2002-3 I think we played better football than at any time since the early to mid 1970s. We were also pretty good for the first half of 2003-4, during our promotion season and for many home games in the premier league. Taken as a whole, I think what we saw under Warnock was far more entertaining than the last season and a half. We played with pace and power, but more importantly we looked like a team and a motivated one at that. At the moment we look quite disjointed and somewhat lacking in any self belief. If Warnock was in charge of this team we would not have lost to four out of the five sides currently above us in the league. When we had Brown, McCall, Ndlovu and Peschisolido we weren't a bad side to watch. After that we became too workman like, and over reliant on the defensive punt. I think for the promotion season and our season in the premiership, pressuring the ball and out willing teams was the key to any success we have. Those were two things that Warnock was very good at, in fact you rarely see a poorly motivated Neil Warnock side. However grit and determination will only ever get you so far, and I think we got as high as we could've done with a squad of fairly limited quality. I think now we need to be looking to strike a balance between the high energy, dogged football we played under Warnock and the more measured approach that Blackwell wants us to take. The one thing that does surprise me though is Blackwell's admission that he does coach attacking player, as he believes that they should just know what to do. Well I'd guess that 65% of our goals have come from set plays ........ so maybe re-thinking this policy might be a good idea!! I think pressuring the ball and out willing teams during our promotion season was important, but not the the thing that gave us that extra edge to get to the promised land. That season we were able to really stretch sides in a way that we couldn't do for many of the preceding seasons (2002-3 excepted). For me the signings of Ifill, Unsworth and (much to my own surprise) Shipperley were crucial. We also had genuine pace in the side. Kabba was firing on all cylinders in the first half of the season and Webber contributed in the second half. Both worked very well with Shipperley. Ifill could be frustrating at times, but he had the guile to unlock defences. Nine goals and seven assists was pretty good. And Unsworth's ability to switch play from one side of the field to the other with accurate long range cross field passing added to our unpredictability. Also, the football was actually quite entertaining. I would certainly swap this team for that one any day of the week.
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Post by addicted2venos on Dec 11, 2008 8:59:40 GMT -1
I agree that the time had probably come for Tonge to go, in that it had got to the stage that no matter how good a perfortmance he put in, a section of the crowd would find fault. Against Cardiff this happened throughout the match, and he even got blamed for other people's mistakes. The Halford non-run in the first half being one. Tonge played a lovely little ball down the left side in the first half. An incisive ball that should have put the winger away behind the defence. Unfortunately the winger was Halford, whose anticipation was a little bit lacking (probably because he isn't really a true winger!) and so Cardiff were able to regain possession and snuff out the danger. Tongehad done his job, but Halford had not done his, and yet the crowd berated Tonge. There were several such incidents in this match, the details of whicvh I won't bore you with unless you really want them! However, I don't think this constant barracking was good for the player. It certainly didn't help his confidence. Pullis obviously likes Tonge or he wouldn't have bought him. It maybe that he sees him as able to do a job in particular matches. Bassett was sometimes like that, changing the side from game to game to deal with the particular strengths or weaknesses of the opposition. Two million was a fair price for him and as far as I can see Howard has come to us at a bargain basement price. So, from a financial point of view it made sense. But, I still do not think Howard has made any more of a positive contribution to our midfield than Tonge did. But, things may get better I suppose, and he did score last night. As far as Stead goes, I disagree and we will have to differ on this one as well! He was played in a haphazzard manner and usually out of position by Robson and has had hardly a look in with Blackwell. He never had any run of any length in the side under those managers, so I don't see how he can be considered to have blown his chance. He never got a chance (unlike Sharp under Blackwell!). And yet he performed consistently to a high level in the premier league, and then he was played as a genuine second striker instead of being stuck out wide. I agree that Webber does lack awareness and have stated before that he sometimes has blinkers on and I agree he doesn't score anymore. However, one start followed by five on gthe bench won't change that. He can score and can really take sides apart on his day (remember Leeds!). During the promotion season he got 10 in 23 starts. Sharp has yet to get to 10 in total. I just think Webber is worth a run in the side, but as with Stead it has to be as a proper striker and not stuck out wide. I don't understand why Blackwell persists in playing Halford as a winger. I think the idea is that Naughton and him are then interchangeable, but it doesn't work very well and it tends to make Halford look poor. I think we should be playing with out and out wingers anyway. What exactly was the point of signing Cotterill if he's never going to play? I wouldn't mind Webber being given a run in the side, as Sharp has had his chance and Henderson is too similar to Beattie for them to play together. My gut instinct tells me he'll either get injured or just not do much, but he's worth a go until January!!
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Post by El Morto La Hoja! on Dec 12, 2008 1:07:52 GMT -1
.... i'd send halford back to sunderland, i prefer sun and naughton at right back to halford and if i had to choose which right back to player on the right wing i'd go for sun and naughton before halford.... ... basically halford is playing cos he's 6ft 4 and blackwell likes the idea of him beating the oppositions left back in the air when kenny hoofs the ball forward
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Post by Neko Bazu on Dec 12, 2008 6:07:54 GMT -1
... there are big problems at Sheffield United and alot of them lay at the feet of Kevin Blackwell. To put my impending criticism into prospective, i'll admit that you can't blame a manager for everything such as lack of funds; much criticism leveled at Brian Laws seems to ACTUALLY relate to the fact he has no money to spend and player under-performance; as awful-a-manager as Bryan Robson it is very noticeable that many players during his time at Bramall Lane did not perform for him... ... however there are certain areas which are purely the realm of the manager and as such any criticism leveled at them for these areas, they are at fault for. Such as tactics, team selection and transfer policy and as such i'd like to run through Kevin Blackwell's performance in these areas. *turns off pc mode* TacticsWhy the. fuck. are we playing such a turgid, defensive form of football? we look like that leeds side that lost the championship playoff final to Watford (managed by Blackwell) and they were fucking shite! If we don't get a penalty or free kick in shootable range we're fooked! Thats how uncreative and backward to are at the minute, and god for-sake us if we actually come up against a GOOD attacking side (note results against Reading, Wolves, Burnley....) I've seen all but 2 of our home games this season and i've only seen us lose once, but thank is we've been crap throughout the season. Do the players know each other!?!? .... however some of this is undoubtedly down to team seletion.... Team SelectionWHY ARE WE PLAYING A FULL BACK ON THE RIGHT WING!? AND A CENTRAL MIDFIELDER ON THE LEFT!?!?!?! Halford has never, will never be a right-sided midfielder and should NEVER be played there!! Its taken Blackwell almost a third of the fecking season (and a third of the game against Burnley) to realise that if he INSISTS on playing two right full backs with one on the right wing, maybe he should play the two footed one who can run a players (naughton) in midfield! not the lanky sod who is only good at defending and long throws But why not just play WINGERS anyway!?!? .... well that'd be down to transfer policy.... Transfer PolicyWe have 4 proper wingers: Coterill - never starts, Dyer - on-loan from Soton, never plays, Carney - Frozen out, Keef - Frozen out and loaned out to Charlton WTF!? i wonder why we play such shocking football and find it hard to break teams down? But lets review some of the other transfers... Stead - Runs his socks off, scores goals - webber should have gone instead Hulse - Hard worker, scores goals - Beattie (on £40,000 A WEEK) should have gone instead Alan Quinn - if we had Alan Quinn we would have needed Howard Halford - WHY DO WE HAVE THIS GUY!?! Geary, Naughton, and Sun are all better full backs. Geary - Off to Palace on loan, one of our most consistent players for the last 3 season, and inspite of formerly being an owl a fans favourite. WE NEED PLAYERS LIKE THIS!! Sheffield United need to have a complete overhaul in playing style - i'm actually remembering Warnock fondly as we played attacking passing football . but not now..... i've heard people say we've played well this season, i assume they mean we've dominated possession and done little with it. We'll probably still make the playoffs, but god help us if we get promoted.... HOWEVER do you know whats worse than all of the above? THEY'VE GIVEN HIM A NEW CONTRACT!!! Supposed because the board like what they've seen this season What I'VE seen is a disjointed sided playing shit football, capable of grinding results out against weaker sides, but incapable against those with at bit of know how! - the board have just cost themselves more money. Prediction: Blackwell to be sacked within the next 12 months... On a side note, cudos to Owen Coyle. With a quarter of the resources we can muster, he's put together a very good attacking and determined Burnley side, who as a Blades fan, i envy. They completed deserved their win today. Bloody saying Trav was right; I believe I said much the same too! ;D
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