Countdown to Kick Off

Had Meet Her at the Love Parade in my head all week.  To most people who know me that aren't Blades fans and know my taste in music, the fact I have a 20 year old electro house track in my head might come as a surprise. But for me the tune can only mean one thing......countdown to kick off.

There's a sense of anticipation and excitement building, excitement that the extra 145 minutes we have to wait from 3pm might just be able to contain. There is a sense of positivity and confidence about the season ahead. There's a fine line that is often straddled to over confidence, we only have to cast eyes across the city to see past evidence of that. 

I've answered questions for When Saturday Comes and World Soccer's Football 2019 season preview magazines. For the former I had to put all 24 Championship teams in the position I thought they would end up in. I went for 10th, where we ended up last season.

For me, we have a much stronger squad than 12 months ago. There is competition for places in most positions and the depth of the squad is much better, despite the loss of the most prodigious talent I've seen at the Lane in my lifetime. And we still haven't touched his sale proceeds.

With Coutts to come back into the reckoning and Leonard only having played a limited role pre-season the selection  decisions are only going to get harder as the season progresses. Wilder makes great play on the unity of the squad and management. His recruitment decisions focusing on maintaining that happy equilibrium as much as the player's talents and financial cost. He is also quick to move players on that don't feature or don't work out, ensuring group spirit isn't affected negatively. 

In fact the only negative relates to issues a level above. The boardroom shenanigans are well documented. The only reassuring aspects being that Wilder felt confident in the assurances he received to sign the contract extension and that's evidenced in the quality of transfer dealings to date. In addition, we have garnered a reputation for development of young players that means players like Kean Bryan see us as a club of choice and Mourinho and Klopp trust us to help their best young talent flourish.

Maybe my mood is enhanced by events across the city. Having had their snipes for several years, you'd have thought last season would have been a timely reminder for them  of how quickly the balance shifts in the city of football. I'm too conservative and cautious to get over excited, as I know it can just as easily swing back, often when everything else that's happening suggests otherwise.

Chris Wilder, in an interview with James Shield of The Star said; 

"We're not a boom and bust club. We just want to keep improving and keep knocking on the door. I know our fans don't see it as being 'this is our year or we're doomed.' The big thing is the club keeps developing and that we don't put ourselves in the situation some clubs do. We just want to keep developing."

These words strike a chord. We feel like a progressive club, boardroom disagreements aside. So why am I not predicting a higher finish than last season, when I see us as progressive and stronger and with the best manager in the division and our best manager since Dave Bassett? 

One, it feels a tougher division, based on the clubs coming down and a couple of those stepping up. Things can still change and as transfers and loans continue for another week there could be further departures at some of the relegated clubs, but sometimes you have to step up your levels just to maintain a status quo and that is how it feels at present and it is only going to get more difficult with the riches of the Premier League and parachute payments.

Secondly, I think we are probably a striker short. The contribution of Clarke and Sharp was probably beyond expectations and although the latter ranked high in the leading goalscorer rankings, his goals were in fits and starts and only scored 5 from early December onwards. They're a year older and although David McGoldrick has contributed well in pre-season, we still lack an alternative, sharper option. We know Wilder is trying to address this, with reported interest in Waghorn, but if that falls through you wouldn't put it past him to pull off a surprise coup.

Get that recruitment right and it could be the difference between a mid-table/top half finish and a push for a play off spot. And if we got there......well our luck is going to have to change at some point.....isn't it?

I have also answered questions on the season ahead for a Championship preview for Brentford site Beesotted. You can read it here.

Remember, if you are otherwise indisposed on a matchday (working, on holiday, ill, or just have a stadium ban), our short Game by Game reports will follow most games. Factual, some opinion and a bit of fun.

Game by Game - 3

A balmy Friday night, lakeside in Doncaster is not on everyone's bucket list, but Jon Bradley was one of nearly 2,000 Blades fans to make the short trip to see the first team's pre-season schedule come to a close.  

Pre-Season Friendly: Doncaster Rovers (A), 0-2

Nothing quite like a local derby, in the loosest of terms, to end preseason in style.  As the Blades travelled to Doncaster, it was the supporters last opportunity to see their beloved Blades before the curtain goes up on the new season.  The pre-match chat was littered with suggestions of signings that people thought were the missing piece of the jigsaw puzzle. Everyone from Josh Windass to Ben Woodburn were mentioned but, for me, it could be one from leftfield. We all know Wilder may well pull a proverbial rabbit out of the hat and surprise us all with who comes in before the window slams shut.

United lined up in usual fashion, but with a midfield of Lundstram, Duffy and Holmes it was always going to be an interesting game without our main man Fleck in the middle of the park. He had been the lynchpin and all that was good in our pre-season to date. The back three also saw a slight reshuffle, with Egan and O'Connell joined by Stearman, rather than Basham.  It was evident Wilder was giving everyone the chance to stake a claim for a place against Swansea next Saturday.

United stroked it around with purpose in the first half but, as we have become quite accustomed to seeing in some games in recent memory, we looked very laboured in the final third.  The most noteworthy chance came when O'Connell produced a crunching challenge on the halfway line which gave Duffy the opportunity to play in Clarke, which materialised in very little.  

The most noteworthy mention though has to go to Simon Moore.  Moore produced four outstanding saves in the half, including two in quick succession.  Proving that there is a lot more he can offer the club this season than the pleasant way he spoke about us, following the signing of his new contract on Thursday.

As the second half started Holmes looked full of energy and purpose yet went down too easily for my liking.  But it was the introduction of McGoldrick which proved to be the much-needed spark for United on the hour.  A neat move saw him jinx in the box before pulling his shot wide. This was followed by a perfect chance for him at the far post where he couldn't have hit it truer but, unfortunately for the Blades latest signing, it hit the side netting.

Moments later the Blades had the ball in the net as Norrington-Davies crossed for McGoldrick who slid in to poke the ball home.  At 1-0 Doncaster huffed and puffed, but to little avail.  This allowed McGoldrick and United to break quickly and the scorer turned provider as McGoldrick weighted a perfect pass for Sharp to do what he does best and double the Blades lead.  Lavery went close late on but proved what we all already know, that he just isn't quite good enough for where we are now as a club.

As the heavens opened United finished their preseason campaign undefeated and any Doncaster based Blades had some very tentative bragging rights to take to the pub or into work on Monday.

Three final thoughts:

Dean Henderson had better be ready to fight for the number 1 jersey as Moore certainly showed a desire to push the loanee all the way.

McGoldrick is a different striker to what we have had for a while. He has the ability to link the play and the thought of him and Duffy striking up a relationship gives me a very warm feeling inside.

Despite the ongoing uncertainty behind the scenes, the supporters played their part and at the end of the game made it clear to the new signings that there is nothing equivocal about the love between players and fans in this group.

Jon Bradley - Twitter (@curlywisejon)

Photo Copyright: Paul McDonald

Game by Game - 1

A United View is back for the new season, but rather than being mostly the efforts of one man, it is going to be the work of a Blades collective. If you want to get involved in any of the new features as they develop, get in touch.

The first feature is Game by Game which aims to provide a short (no more than 600 words) match report from each game this season and then leave you with three final thoughts from a Blades perspective. 

First up, Paul McDonald went to Valley Parade (in old money), no idea what it's called currently, to watch the Blades start their UK based build up to the new season against Bradford City.    

Pre-Season Friendly: Bradford City (A), 2-3.

After being starved of live football for a full 48 hours after the end of a World Cup that might have just surpassed my previous favourite, Italia 90, it was back in the car for the relatively short trip to Bradford to see my first pre-season game of 2018/19.

With twitter doing what twitter does when United take someone who doesn’t happen to capture the imagination, the main focus was mainly on former Ipswich man David McGoldrick who did more than enough to silence the doubters with an assured performance that could easily have been marked with a goal with just a little bit more luck.

It was McGoldrick who had the first chance of the evening, cutting inside and then forcing a stop from O’Donnell from a tight angle. United didn’t have to wait long to take the lead, however, and it was a goal that will surely take some beating during the course of the regular season.

When Bradford striker Charlie Wyke gave the ball away needlessly near half way to Mark Duffy, there appeared to be little danger. However just 5 touches later the ball was in the back of the net after a sublime one touch move involving Duffy, Clarke and Evans led to John Fleck finishing superbly first time from the edge of the box. Wyke played no further part, seemingly substituted due to embarrassment before the game restarted.

United’s (unbelievably still uncapped) Scottish midfielder was looking sharp throughout the half, and one wonderful touch and pass that found Baldock was worth the admission fee alone, unfortunately the wing back was adjudged offside despite finding the back of the net. This led to my mate Al getting paranoid that there were scouts in the crowd who would be more than willing to take him off our hands, “Stop being so good FFS”, among the many anguished comments he made.

The Blades were in full control and doubled their lead just after the half hour mark. McGoldrick was again involved, playing a fine through ball to Lafferty who’s pull back beyond the goalkeeper found Leon Clarke who stroked home via a slight touch off a Bradford defender.

The hosts had the better of the opening exchanges, and it didn’t take long for them to find a way back into the game. Jack Payne, recently signed on loan from Huddersfield Town, cut inside and beat Henderson low to the keeper’s right from just outside the penalty area. Almost immediately, the two goal advantage was almost restored as McGoldrick found himself in a great position 12 yards out but could only find the base of the post, although from my angle I did wonder if the keeper got the slightest of touches to prevent a debut goal.

The game settled into a typical pre-season affair with a raft of changes on both sides and United looked to have paid the price for their over-elaborate play in seeking a third when Jordan Gibson found himself in acres of space and fired in a close-range equaliser past trialist Luke Steele.

Just like the last time we were at Valley Parade, another Blades goal quickly followed one from the home side. While last time it was Bash who sent the away fans into raptures during that thrilling 3-3 draw, this time Billy Sharp tucked home with the aid of a slight deflection to much less fanfare from the 500 or so Blades who had made the trip to West Yorkshire.

Three final thoughts:

United’s passing and movement was again excellent and typical of what we have now come to expect of what is a very good, very entertaining side.

If I have one slight criticism, again it was the tendency to over play in and around the opposition penalty area, particularly in the second half, something that I thought we did too much of in the second half of last season.

I do, however, have no doubt that we will improve in this area and if the strikers being targeted are of the same quality of defender that has just been brought into the club to add to the undoubted talent we possess in the likes of O’Connell and Fleck, then we could be in for another memorable season.

Paul McDonald - Twitter - @thecase1907

Uptight? Everything's Alright....For Now

 

 

Monday's announcement of the fixtures, as ever, sent alittle ripple of excitement through me. Like the announcement of pre-seasonfixtures (anyone for a trip to New York………..Stadium?) the fixture announcementis a chance to plot a route through another football season and decide whichaway trips might be a possibility. A weekend in Bournemouth for my birthday?Even the prospect of another, and probably more difficult, season in League Onedid not diminish the excitement.

For as many who shared my tingle of anticipation, there arejust as many naysayers, those for whom the prospect of a first day visit ofShrewsbury only arouses the stale whiff of another end of season failure lessthan a month ago. Or those who point to the distraction of an exciting EuropeanChampionship where there is plenty of on pitch excitement, rather than onscreen lists.

One other reason for the despondency appears to be thesilence emanating from Bramall Lane since the retained lists were announcedfollowing the Play-Off final defeat. With other clubs already making changes toplaying squads, making the signings that might make the required  difference, there has been little to reportat Bramall Lane. For many this is not a good thing, however I think we need toreign in a bit of this rampant negativity.

When the silence was broken, with Danny Wilson's interviewson Wednesday the murmurings were hardly positive, but realistically can weexpect anything different?

The Play-OffFinalists' delay

As with any team reaching a play-off final there is a delayin issuing your retained lists and being able to move for targets; in some waysplacing both winners and losers at a slight disadvantage. Whilst I don't doubtUnited had two plans in place, dependent upon outcome, there is still a lag incommencing both negotiations with those out of contract and those that theymight be able to attract. Dilatory responses from the players just exacerbatesthe delay.

If you look at transfers since 24th May, 12 League One teamshave signed players, half of the division. In some cases the transfers havebeen intra-League One so there has been a little merry-go-round between clubsas players move round. Of those clubs signing players, three were promoted fromLeague Two in May and five finished outside the Top 8 last season so may beseen to have a need to change things around. Of the other 4, Doncaster arere-building after a side disrupted by the Willie Mackay experiment last seasonand Notts County and Stevenage are replacing players that have moved on. OnlyCarlisle have made a net addition, excluding the impact of released players.

Of those players that have moved so far, I would have saidthe main one that would have interested me is Scott Laird of Stevenage, butwould we have had the additional pull to tempt him away from his reunion withWestley at Preston? You could argue the three Swindon signings have all hadpotential to be successful, but are they any better than what we have atBramall Lane?

Financial Fair Play

As has been well publicised, the Salary Cost ManagementProtocol means that any League One club spending over 65% of their turnover inthe 2012-13 season, or 60% of their turnover in the 2013-14 season will be hitwith a transfer embargo. Clubs have to provide budgetary information at thestart of the season to the league and this is to be updated as the seasonprogresses.

In the accounts for the year ending 30th June 2011 SheffieldUnited plc paid out total staff costs of £17m on Turnover of £16m. This is not just player salaries; £1mrelates to directors and further amounts will relate to staff costs at theclub, hotel and academy, but it will form a large proportion. Turnover fromongoing activities totalled £14.4m and so,even assuming no fall in turnover (unlikely as the £4.8m of TV revenues will be significantly reduced) thatleaves a wage bill of £9.4m. Realistically, turnover with reduced gates and tv monies will be around £10-11m and a wage bill of around £7m. 

We knew that means certain players would be released andplayers still under contract may have to be sold. Bringing players in with suchrestrictions was always going to be difficult. The sale of a squad player likeNick Montgomery will not only bring in a fee, but also release at least £0.5mof the wage bill. Others may have to go to give us room for manoeuvre. To thosesuggesting McCabe should be funding signings and throwing more money at theclub, the SCMP means that this just isn't feasible. It isn't so much the fees that it may cost, although that is no doubt an issue, but the wages cannot feasibly increased.

The only way round it wouldbe some sort of commercial sponsorship deal on overly generous terms,sponsoring a stand or two, or the academy? Increasing turnover and thus allowing monies to be spent on wages. However, given the significant amounts loaned to the club by McCabe and Scarborough companies (a large proportion subsequently converted to equity) and the deterioration of the construction/property industries, this has to be unlikely. People urge him to put money in that would get us out of League One, such gambles have been taken before and that is one of the reasons we are where we are.

The need for change

Of the players released by United, only Steve Simonsen was aregular in the first team last season and we clearly signed Mark Howard fromBlackpool with one eye on Simonsen's contract expiration. Of the elevenreleased, three others have taken a place in the first team squad, but much oftheir contribution has been marred by fitness concerns, long term injury and alack of quality. Obviously, the loss of Ched Evans has left a gaping deficiencyupfront that needs to be filled and this has to be Wilson's priority.

Other moves become dependent upon other player movement.Last season was noticeable for a lack of defensive cover, particularly in themiddle, a lack of proper width and the need for adequate back-up for Evans,which has now become the need for a replacement. We have young players thatJohn Pemberton has already said will be making the step-up into the first teamsquad, but we still need experience in each of those positions. Before addingin these players the squad size is 20, so again I see a few outs to facilitatethe recruits in the key areas.

Wilson's Way

One noticeable change in United's operations under DannyWilson is a lack of bluster about what we are doing and how we are going aboutit; features that have characterised some of the other managers in our recenthistory. Things are reported or discussed when there is something worthmentioning. We quietly go about our business until there is something concreteto report. What will incessant questioning of whether Lee Williamson or KevinMcDonald have signed actually achieve? It will certainly not influence orhasten their signing.

When I first wrote this I assumed that United and Wilsonmust have a deadline in mind and that we will know the outcome in the fullnessof time. His comments in interviews this week suggests we are awaiting ananswer from them, that our ability to move in the market is in their hands?Some have said they cannot believe Wilson doesn't have a budget. The fact is hehas, but that budget might increase and his priorities change if players leave,or those with offers don't accept. Thus he may have more to spend in certainareas pending other moves. It is a difficult situation for him to be in.

Elements of the Blades support may think that the club arebeing too lax. Having reflected on Wilson's statement I would like us to put adeadline in place so that there is some certainty in terms of requirements andspending power, but we need to believe that whatever the manager and board dois in the best interests of the club.

Two of the three players were key to our season; McDonaldthe midfield fulcrum around which our passing style was fixed, Williamson thesecond top scorer and midfield threat. Of course Wilson would rather haveplayers he knows and trusts rather than having to replace them. There will beinterest from other clubs, maybe their injury records and past misdemeanourswill count against them? We will have to wait and see.

The need forinformation

In today's modern media, where fans crave any brief mentionon Sky Sports News, where they scour the internet for reports linking theirclub to players, where those reportedly "In the know", or who justseek attention, post idle comments about who they have heard is signing, fansare becoming more demanding. Idle gossip, becomes fact, leading to someoneclaiming their best mate's dad has seen player X's car in the Cherry Street carpark, or a petrol station near East Bank Road.

In the mind of many supporters, other clubs signing playerswhen we are not means we are missing out on potential targets. They panic,they're vocal about it, the panic becomes contagious. "We always leave itlate……We never get players in for pre-season….." Yet the true level oftransfer activity set out earlier in this post shows the perception and realityare two separate things.

Danny Wilson says he has already missed out on targets dueto the delays, yet his list of targets could be 20/30 players. Is this reallyreason to panic?

I don't doubt that this will be a much changed United teamcome the 11th August and Burton Albion's first visit to Bramall Lane in theCapital One Cup, but I see little to fear in other teams in League One. We willbe weaker in squad terms than last season and a good League One striker is a priority but,that aside, the three teams coming down are financially restricted in theirability to recruit. Of those that remain in the division I think MK Dons,Brentford, Notts County, Carlisle are those most likely to challenge. Swindonmight well be the team with the momentum coming up.

Where we benefited from dampened expectations last year, relativesuccess is creating a demand for more of the same. Albeit with a slightly moresuccessful outcome required. No-one can say right now that we will not achieveit.

Let's enjoy the Euros and see where we are at as pre-seasoncommences. We came out of a torrid period this time last year, playing goodfootball, winning matches and with a manager who won the fans over. No-onewould have predicted how close we would come to promotion. Let's not be undulynegative this time and wait for something to be properly uptight about. Younever know, it might not arise.