LCFCJohn

Top and Ruskin say ‘hold my beer’!

I’m not saying I support this transfer, absolutely not as Ayew is bang average and I wouldn’t support it if he was 5 years younger. My point was about tarring all 33 year old players. If there was someone who came in for £4mill on a 2 year deal say, that had the impact Cambiasso had at his age when we were promoted last time, I’d be quite ok with that.

That isn’t a problem in itself. It’s small money for a Premier League side, even us, that kind of money is chucked at season loans. It’s the quality of the player more so than the age or £4mill. Very underwhelming and wouldn’t add what we need.

Yeah so as per my point, what is the point of getting a new left back in? Whoever it is they will just be written off so literally just save the cash and don’t bother.

And people will say exactly the same about the next left back!

I agree they don’t have to be, but we do continually go down this route. That is my point really, if we can pick up some low cost signings for the future, that does with the thought process I outlined. I think there is little point in us spending big with contracts we will be lumbered with.

It’d take an extremely optimistic and probably blue tinted person to see us staying up as it is. I don’t think it’s negative to full expect an embarrassing and painful season. But, the short term future for this season may be grim. But the medium term doesn’t have to be. The more I think about it, spending to try and stay up doesn’t seem like a great plan as even a couple of £20mill signings won’t suddenly make us better than 3 other sides. Part of me wonders whether a more sustainable plan to help us be stronger in coming seasons could be to try and loan as many of the following to the Championship and get them experienced ready for next season. Stolarcycz Alves Braybrooke Nelson Golding Cannon And there is McAteer and Wanya. If we assume Mads would leave, Jakub could be ready to step up. In terms of outfield, you have half a side, and spine, albeit young, ready to go. If you manage to keep Fatawu and Mavididi, and have some experience in the remaining positions. We could have a really exciting season and be building for the future whilst getting the financial situation under control. Obviously getting them all the right moves would be work in itself (although Mr Huth seems quite competent) and of course the risk any of them swap places with us and get pinched next summer…

Probably already out of reach for us.

I like their story. Yes they have spent more than their competitors on both leagues but they have likely covered it through sponsorships, exposure and the documentary. It’s a masterclass in the commercial side of things as oppose to purely chucking money at it and accruing debt (not to say they haven’t put their own money into it which they have). To say that Ryan and Rob didn’t know football, it’s a great team of them with their commercial connections and draw, with Shaun Harvey providing the football side and Humphrey Kerr who just seems to be a very clever guy who has slotted into that role. It’s a shame our lot didn’t have a fraction of the commercial sense to take advantage of our achievements on the pitch a few years back and Vichai is included in that.

Anyone thought maybe the players look not confident due to the fact that there has been no effort to strengthen the team and they probably also realise we are screwed whoever is in charge? Maresca did a good job at bringing the confidence back but he was extremely well backed last summer and had a lot of shiney new toys to play with. The atmosphere around the club is more negative than last summer despite promotion.

Seriously? Give a guy a chance FFS! Of course we are going to go down, the club is a complete mess. That is not the fault of Cooper and blaming him is just letting those who are responsible off the hook. Fair play to him for taking on this mess when it becomes clearer by the day that most in the game are avoiding us like the plague!

Good move for him. Still think given a chance in the right kind of side he should be a very good player at that level. Obviously not proven himself at the level up. They seem to have made some handy signings for the Championship if they can get them to gel. O’Hare, Moore, Burrows, McCallum brought in. And a true Sheffield United side need a big lump at the back. To be honest, if he does well there, he probably swaps places with us in May and plays at a higher level than us next season if they keep him on.

This is what gets me. Teaching the young generation to hate for the sake of hating. We actually took our daughter to a soft play about 200 meters from this hotel, on the same road whilst this was taking place. I had seen this was going to be taking place so we have found a way to get there and out again avoiding it but we were damned if we were going to change our plans on account of these scum. What is sad, and quite possibly linked, was how quiet the soft play was. People all out for a big day out with the kids up the road maybe? Just absolutely non-parenting, dragging their kids up! What chance do they have in life really!

Partially. But 1, we are even more so due to the unknowns around point deductions and the fact our higher ups are clueless (see comments from the last few managers and even Cooper already and even that agent of Soule). And 2, maybe it says you are targeting unrealistic players? Ipswich have brought some decent players in because they are being realistic and nothing deluded ideas of where they are as a club like Top has.

Kind of is. There are reasons why nobody seems to want to join us and it is the responsibility of plenty at the club for making us such an unattractive prospect.

I think the same three down as came up again. We were barely better than Ipswich last season, they have made some good signings and have the desire and ambition to do well. However I think they will come up short. I think Southampton will reallt struggle with Martin and we had their number last season twice. I think we slot in 19th with Southampton bottom. Unless we get a significant point deduction in which case bottom. I reckon us and Southampton like Burnley and Sheffield Utd, never really in the conversation to survive and Ipswich a bit like Luton, make a fist of it but ultimately a step too far. The usual dross to survive like Everton and Forest.

I do think BD-R makes sense as a free transfer with a good head, professional and experienced and still a few years to give. That is a sensible one. Golding as well, there is little downside to signing a prospect for a low fee. Okolie is the one with the jury out. He may be very good but it may be a case that he isn’t good enough to keep us up but isn’t the right fit for the Championship (thinking like Faes). I think most of our fans would have rather seen us sign Edwards. Even if Okolie might be better this season, Edwards would have represented longer term thinking. Ultimately, those we have brought in aren’t bad. They are probably decent options or prospects in Golding’s case. It’s more about the business we haven’t done and the gaps we haven’t filled (yet).

Right you are, perfectly reasonable when you frame it that way I just don’t think there is a direction either way. If the plan was to take the money, you’d be looking for future proofing for the Championship again. For example, why not go for Ronnie Edwards for whatever Southampton paid, £5mill? Rather than spending over double on Okolie if we are trying to spend less. Plenty of exciting young players in the EFL but we don’t seem to want to look at them. Obviously the same goes for overseas leagues but let’s not expect too much of our powers that be!

Yet the club expect fans to part with £72 for a match day ticket….

Agreed. Sara likely wants a shot at the PL so I guess it would depend on other offers. Hamer, I suppose lived the worst case scenario for us this season in what happened at Sheff Utd last season. Possible there could be a factor there that two seasons in a row could begin to had an adverse affect on his career? Maybe not keen in that case.

Definitely hit hard and come as a shock this one. I had forgotten the news from October with the diagnosis and even then nothing more was said (not that it should be when it’s peoples private and personal lives). An understated legend for the day part he played at the club in numerous spells. Looking at all the tribute shows how well he was thought of in the game even if not the main face apart from his spell in 2017. Nice words from the club and hopefully they follow it up with recognising his achievements and through either tributes/memorial of some kind or all of the above. It was a privilege to have him at the club and see his work. RIP Shakey 💔

The comments are absolutely spot on. As for whether they should have been aired in public by this agent, you can interpret that as either an unprofessional individual or perhaps the club caused tension with them during negotiations hence these cheap shots in the media.

It feels as though you are using the newly promoted/points deduction etc as a justification for it making Rudkin’s job harder. But those factors are as a result of him (and others, Top, Whelan maybe as well as finance people as well as Rodgers and Congerton) screwing up so significantly in the first place. This is a situation of the clubs own making with Rudkin central to footballing matters so it is a situation they need to fix and not be used as an excuse either by or for them as to how it makes the job more difficult!

Sheffield United fans know… Probably end up with Danny Ward from Leicester on loan on 30th August at 10pm if no takeover money comes through. The reply… Oh man, Don’t speak Danny wards name into existence - they should be paying us to take him. He’s dogshit!

‘I have no doubt. I think you are going to concede in different ways, so you need to decide in which way you need to concede a goal’. Did clean sheets go out of fashion or something?