Posts Tagged ‘Sheffield United’

1FITG mid-season review: Sheffield United

Posted: February 14, 2013 by onefootinthegame in Uncategorized
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After last year’s catastrophic end to a season where they looked destined for promotion, Sheffield United have found this season  much tougher – @josephclift looks at what’s different at Bramall Lane this season, and their prospects for making it second time lucky.

With about a third of the season left to go, a handful of teams are running away with each division with one exception – League 1. After the games on Tuesday, four points are all that separate the top 7 clubs.

To the casual observer, that might suggest an unusually high quality to the division this year. Dedicated watchers though will know this view to be wholly inaccurate. League 1 is a visibly poorer division this year and Sheffield United have highlighted this fact well, in what has been an odd season at Bramall Lane.

While last season ended in the crushing disappointment of the playoff final, fans had at least enjoyed a revival of sorts in both the style we played and results we earned. Danny Wilson’s appointment saw a significant amount of fan anger – based on his past Wednesday connections and patchy managerial record. But he quickly got the team playing an attractive and successful style – and with supporters still licking their wounds from the bitter end to last season they’ve been prepared to give him a fair crack of the whip this year.

Expiring contracts and some notable sales though have forced Wilson to reshape the squad – leading to a more sluggish, more solid XI. Kevin McDonald, the key dictator of play last year, surprisingly remained, but the quality around him had vanished. Compounding matters is McDonald’s inconsistent form this term. But, while the football was poorer, it still yielded results earlier in the season.

However, there’s been a sense of unease at many of the games this season. Our previously water tight defence has become dangerously porous. Where games were comfortably won last season now they are nervy tense affairs. A less positive style has meant fewer chances and fewer goals and a greater danger that the odd goal conceded will be costly.

In January, pace and quality needed to be added. It had been clear that the squad has struggled to cope with injuries to key players like Neill Collins and Shaun Miller. Which was why the sale of top scorer Nick Blackman was met with a ‘WTF?’, ‘here-we-go-again’, and more than a few ‘McCabe-Out’s.

Chairman Kevin McCabe, in whom Sheffield United fans’ trust has steadily been falling since the Robson appointment, did little to provide reassurance. McCabe suggested he couldn’t stand in Blackman’s way (despite only signing him last summer) and regardless of selling him would be able to strengthen the squad (before still going ahead and selling him). This came in the middle of the worst run of the season, with 3 successive home defeats crumbling what had been an unbeaten home record till then. In a season where 39 managers have changed job, the manner of these defeats had fans for the first time seriously suggesting Wilson’s time was up. Wilson’s decision to bring former Academy product Jonathan Forte in on loan to fill Blackman’s shoes added fuel to this fire, despite his reasonable League 1 record.

He’s not quite Nick Blackman, but the early signs from Forte’s return to Bramall Lane have been positive

And yet, two comfortable away wins in the last week, alongside nearly all of the top 6 dropping points, leaves United still contesting League 1 which remains wide open at the top. Tranmere at last seem to be going through their bad spell, Donny don’t appear to have quite recovered from the shock of Saunders’s departure, Swindon seem in all sorts of trouble off the pitch, and I’ve lost track on how far MK Dons have fallen out of the equation. But despite Blackman’s sale, Wilson does seem to have added the depth he needed. Experience in the form of Danny Higginbotham and Barry Robson, a bit more pace on the wings through Jamie Murphy. And, of course, more strikers. Wilson said after tuesday’s game “we can’t rely on just one”. That’s not just a reference to the current need, as the Decreasingly-Secret Footballer Dave Kitson has become increasingly relied on for the goals, but also on last season. It’s no secret that the jailing of our, and arguably the league’s, top striker affected the run-in. In theory, Wilson had a Plan B in the form of loanee Will Hoskins. When he injured himself almost immediately, there was no Plan C to call on. With Forte already on board, Wilson’s capture of pacy striker/winger Dominic Poleon is a sign he’s wanting to avoid a repeat of last year where we were caught short at a critical moment.

Any team in the top 7 that can play consistently in the last few months of the season should end up in the top two. And while the spine of Sheffield United’s team has been about as reliable as Richard III’s for much of this year, they could end up there. Which, given how the team has performed, would be a perfect example of the mediocrity League 1 has seen this season.

The next five managers to move on

Posted: February 7, 2013 by onefootinthegame in Uncategorized
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In 2012-13 we’ve seen a mass extinction of managers not seen since that asteroid killed off the dinosaurs. The boardroom bloodlust has shown no signs of abating. And managers themselves are muddying the waters by taking the decision themselves. With the George Boyd deadline day eye-test debacle leaving Alex McLeish considering that a life of blissful unemployment was a more attractive option, where will the winds of change sweep next. Here’s five to keep an eye on in the coming weeks.

1. Paolo Di Canio

English: Paolo Di Canio Upton Park 11 Septembe...

Arrivederci?

Swindon’s result on Tuesday night moved them into 3rd place in League 1, two points behind the top two. But while prospects for promotion are looking favourable for a Robins side going for its second promotion in two years, things are not all rosy at the County Ground. Swindon have started to show signs of serious financial trouble this season. Alarm bells should have sounded with fans at the start of the season when it emerged that they spent half a million in agents fees the previous season, dwarfing the money spent by clubs in both Leagues 1 and 2. At a time when clubs in the Football League are starting to adjust to the financial fair play requirements, Swindon immediately appears as a club living well outside its means. Owner Andrew Black, presiding over club debts thought to total £13m and the threat of administration, is attempting to sell.

For Di Canio, matters are starting to interfere with his ability to run the team. Winger Matt Ritchie was sold behind his back to promotion rivals Bournemouth. Much needed deadline day replacements such as Bradley Wright-Phillips were agreed and subsequently blocked by the League, who refused to ratify the club’s takeover the previous day. Describing his own position as ‘untenable’, the writing is perhaps already on the wall. Last night Di Canio could only field 4 of his possible 7 subs. This morning, one paper reports they may get rid because he’s too expensive. With potential Championship clubs willing to take a punt, Di Canio must wonder if it’s really worth continuing to stick it out.

2. Paul Lambert

It’s been coming from the minute Lambert came in, after a poorly-handled departure from Norwich. Whether under direction from Randy Lerner, or through his own slightly misguided approach, Lambert added inexperience to an already young squad and assembled together a collection of players dangerously low on Premiership quality. Dumped out of one cup by Millwall, another by Bradford, and around the relegation zone much of the season – it’s somewhat surprising he’s still in post.

The January transfer window should have been an opportunity to right the wrongs of the preseason recruitment and add some established Premiership experience to the squad, and perhaps give the excellent Benteke some support up front. Lambert instead made two signings – 22 year old defensive midfielder Yacouba Sylla arriving from Ligue 2, and loosely-associated-with-Spurs loanee Simon Dawkins, who despite being 25 and making his professional debut in 2008 is yet to play in the Premiership with his parent club. On signing Dawkins, Lambert said “Simon can play anywhere” – no doubt it’s the limitless possibilities presented to Redknapp and AVB in the past 5 seasons that left both feeling it was far simpler to just not play him, ever.

3. Danny Wilson

If you’ve not being paying attention to League 1 over the past month, you may have neglected to notice Sheffield United’s rapid decline down the table. Since a win on Boxing Day that left them top with one of the last remaining unbeaten home records, they’ve collected just 2 out of a possible 15 points. Of those 2 precious points, one was scraped at the death at 10-man Doncaster, the other taken off Notts County – who had 10 men for over an hour. Three consecutive home defeats to lowly Hartlepool, Yeovil and Coventry have destroyed a solid home record and the team’s confidence, leaving the club clinging onto 6th from a chasing pack.

Add to that a season-ending injury to in-form striker Shaun Miller during their last win before the rot, and the strange decision to sell top-scorer Nick Blackman to Reading (having only signed him in the summer) and you have to wonder what Wilson has done to suffer such ill-fortune. Unfortunately for him, League 1 is not known of late for keeping faith in managers going through a rough patch. Last year’s ‘month of the long knives’ saw Lee Clark and Gary Megson dumped by promotion-chasing clubs with ultimately positive outcomes – another loss for Wilson in the next week could be the last straw.

4. Lee Clark

It was somewhat of a surprise that after his sudden departure from Huddersfield a year ago after a series of unsuccessful promotion attempts, his next job would come at a club a bigger club in a league above, desperate for promotion. While Birmingham have been eking out points since August, in recent weeks they can’t have failed to notice a worrying upturn in form in the clubs below them.

The owners at Birmingham, while no doubt disappointed by the absence of a promotion fight, had presumably been banking on three of Peterborough, Bristol City, Ipswich, Sheffield Wednesday and Barnsley to provide a safety net below them. With all those teams on the ascent, three of whom having changed they managers in recent months, and with Wolves and Bolton likely to improve, that gap will narrow further. Clark’s uninspiring performances, mixed with the general disappointment of his spell to date, could see a safer pair of hands needed.

5. Michael Appleton

It’s been nearly 4 weeks now at Blackburn. Surely he’s getting itchy feet?

Written by @josephclift

2012/13 predictions from 1FITG

Posted: August 6, 2012 by onefootinthegame in Uncategorized
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It’s barely been three months since Martin Tyler’s spine-chilling Aguero climax, or from the historic moment John Terry appeared in full Chelsea kit in Munich, commencing a lucrative Photoshopping career.

But following the entertainingly predictable Team GB failure in the mens football, the new season is now rapidly approaching, and here at 1FITG towers, we love a good prediction. So we’ve been asking some of our contributors to tell us what they think is in store for season 2012/13, with five simple questions – a few of the usual, with some of the unexpected thrown in there.

1. The Champions question: who will win the Premiership, Championship, League 1 and League 2

James Albion: Manchester City, Charlton, Sheffield United, Southend United.
@josephclift: Manchester City, Bolton Wanderers, Preston North End, Rotherham United.
@giraffefarmer: Manchester City, Bolton Wanderers, Sheffield United, Southend United.
Trebor A: Chelsea, Blackpool, Coventry City, Gillingham.
Dan Northcote-Smith (@dnsandnick): Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers, Sheffield United, Fleetwood Town.
Nick Moss (@dnsandnick): Manchester United, Bolton Wanderers, MK Dons, Rotherham United.
@Miller179: Manchester United, Leicester City, Sheffield United, Rotherham United.

2. The Ron Atkinson question: who will be the first manager to be sacked in the top four divisions?

James Albion: Neil Warnock (Leeds). Conventional wisdom says that Neil Warnock just needed time to mould Leeds in his image. However, sometimes it just doesn’t work for you at a club, and there were signs last year that Warnock may be struggling to work his alchemy at Elland Road. A slow start this year, could see Ken Bates try and salvage the season with an early managerial change.

Who’s up for the chop?

@josephclift: Andy Thorn (Coventry). I’m amazed he’s still in his job to be honest – Coventry look as though they’re a club that could have a Preston-esque year of transition in League 1, and a poor start to the season will probably see him sacked in September.

@giraffefarmer: Sean O’Driscoll (Nottingham Forest). High expectations coupled with a mediocre squad means that Forest could struggle at the start of the season. If that happens expect the patience of the new owners to wear thin very quickly, especially if they feel that a higher profile name could be attracted to the City Ground.

Trebor A: Steve Kean (Blackburn Rovers). How on earth has he managed to last this long? Could be sacked before the end of August.

Dan Northcote-Smith (@dnsandnick): Nigel Pearson (Leicester City). Continued investment at the King Power Stadium will demand results which on recent form seem unlikely to come.

Nick Moss (@dnsandnick): Steve Kean (Blackburn Rovers). Even though it seems he has actually improved the team, the owners aren’t going to understand the difficulty the Championship poses.

@Miller179: Chris Wilder (Oxford United). Oxford are a big club (in terms of the division0 who could be looked upon to have underachieved over the last few seasons.  If they don’t get off to a good start, the trap door could be beckoning for Wilder.

3. The Guy Whittingham question: who will be the top scorer out of the top four divisions?

James Albion: Jordan Rhodes (Huddersfield Town). Too good for League 1 last year, I fancy him to carrying on from where he left off in the Championship.

@josephclift: Stuart Beavon (Wycombe). Beavon did extremely well in League 1 last year, really impressed me when I saw him. I’m amazed that he hasn’t been snapped up by either a League 1 or Championship team. Assuming he stays, I can’t see League 2 defences coping with him, and provided Wycombe don’t implode I can see him having a great season for them.

Who’s going to score a shedload?

@giraffefarmer: Freddy Eastwood (Southend United). Back at the club where he made his name in the Football League, he’s far too good for this level and will supply the goals for a Southend United side that is likely to dominate the league.

Trebor A: Sergio Agüero (Manchester City). What a debut season from the diminutive Argentinean. I fully expect him to avoid the dreaded second season syndrome.

Dan Northcote-Smith (@dnsandnick): Jordan Rhodes (Huddersfield Town). Proven finisher – think Huddersfield will do well this year under Simon Grayson.

Nick Moss (@dnsandnick): Jordan Rhodes (Huddersfield Town). Great finisher, now working under a manager that made Beckford look Prem quality. More of the same.

@Miller179: Sergio Agüero (Manchester City). The complete striker/poacher.  He has everything - pace, agility, strength, and finishing.  With the service that he will get I’m sure it will be goals galore this season.

4. The Marco Boogers question: which new signing will completely flop?

James Albion: Nuno Gomes (Blackburn). The Portugal international has a fine pedigree, but if I were a Blackburn fan I’d prepare to be underwhelmed – very underwhelmed. Having spent the bulk of his career challenging for honours at Portugese giants Benfica, the move reeks of a player whose only remaining interest is in bolstering his pension. Now 36, does Gomes really have the mettle for the rigours of a long Championship season in a cold, half-empty, Ewood Park? Well, you can guess what I think.

Who is this season’s Marco Boogers?

@josephclift: Steven Naismith (Everton). David Moyes simply doesn’t have a good overall record with strikers. He’s done well with some, but terrible with most – for every Jelavić he’s signed there’s a James Beattie or Jermaine Beckford blotting that record. Naismith was always the lesser of the pairing at Rangers, and coming off the back of a cruciate ligament injury I can’t see him doing well in his first year. Particularly if he’s stuck somewhere in midfield, which he may have to expect given Moyes’s bizarre allergy to selecting two strikers.

@giraffefarmer: Ben Burgess (Tranmere Rovers). This question was answered early this year, Ben signed for Tranmere Rovers in June 2012 and then retired from football in July 2012. A sad end for a solid pro, but definitely a flop.

Trebor A: Eden Hazard (Chelsea). The football prostitute, cavorted himself to a plethora of potential suitors. Fluttering his eyelids, and continually pursing his lips. Before announcing his decision on twitter. In a ridiculously over-hyped fashion. You would think Chelsea have signed Leo Messi. Well they haven’t. Hazard is just another player, whose 5 minute YouTube videos precede him.

Dan Northcote-Smith (@dnsandnick): Olivier Giroud (Arsenal). Can’t see him dominating Premier League centre-backs like he did in France. Plus, will Arsenal start chucking crosses into the box?

Nick Moss (@dnsandnick): Edin Hazard (Chelsea). Tough call this as his talent isn’t in question. His adaptability, especially in the first season, is though. A hefty price tag, and most likely having to find space on the left wing won’t help.

@Miller179: I wouldn’t say flop signing because this player has great potential,  but Edin Hazard (Chelsea).  I’m not sure if his style is suited to Chelsea - for me the way they play is too rigid and unexpressive.  I think he will have a very tough first season.  He should have gone to Man United.

5. The Titanic question: which club is going to have a nightmarish disaster of a season?

James Albion: Portsmouth. Given Pompey may not even exist at the start the season, this may actually be a poor choice. At the time of writing the club had just 3 first team players on its books. Assuming they satisfy the administrators on the 10th August, it’s hard to see how the remaining players – along with any last minute additions – will do anything other than struggle. It raises the humbling prospect of the 2008 FA Cup winners starting the 2013 season in the bottom division.

Who’s entering troubled waters?

@josephclift: It would be easy to say Portsmouth. I’m instead going for Nottingham Forest. A new manager once again, and while Sean O’Driscoll was raved about prior to 2011 it’s difficult to forget that it all ultimately went very wrong for him at Doncaster. His style of football was generally pleasing on the eye for a team with zero expectations – with the rich new owners and heightened expectations, I’m not convinced O’Driscoll’s up to the task. They’ll be looking at a top 6 finish – I reckon they’ll be midtable or worse, with potential upheaval in the new year from jittery owners concerned about their investment.

@giraffefarmer: Swansea City. Swansea lost their talented manager Brendan Rodgers over the post-season and look set to lose star players such as Joe Allen. With little clout to bring in new players or the time needed to integrate any newcomers into their (slightly overrated) sub-tiki-taka style of play, the team is likely to be weaker than last season. Couple this with second-season syndrome and Swansea will seriously struggle. If that wasn’t bad enough, potential success for rivals Cardiff this season after their cash injection means Swansea could be relegated while being leapfrogged into the Premier league by their biggest competitors – which would definitely be a nightmarish disaster of a season.

Trebor A: Aston Villa. Yeah, I know last season wasn’t exactly a vintage one, for Villa fans. The McLeish era wasn’t something to regale you about. However, I fear that everything is about to get a lot worse. A meagre budget, coupled with average players means one thing. Relegation is clearly on the horizon. England’s 2nd city will soon have no football clubs in the top-flight.

Dan Northcote-Smith (@dnsandnick): QPR. Low caibre signings and they will be without the delivery of errant midfielder and social media expert Joey Barton.

Nick Moss (@dnsandnick): Coventry City. A couple of demoralising results early on – that slip can turn into a slide.

@Miller179: Liverpool. For me the Brendan Rodgers era is going to get off to a very slow start. Everyone talks about the style of play that Rodgers employs, but what people don’t realise is that this takes time – a lot of time  to get to that level. It doesn’t happen overnight. Remember Rodgers at Reading??? People won’t see the full fruits of this until next season. The first few months could be a tough slog for the Reds.

How do you get out of the Hell that is the Championship?

Posted: September 16, 2010 by onefootinthegame in Championship
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Over the last few years the Championship has picked up a (highly deserved) reputation as being a tough and very competitive division. There are now a host of teams that can boast fairly recent Premiership experience (Sheffield United, Portsmouth, Leeds, Burnley, Ipswich, Reading, Hull, Middlesboro) as well as those that can think of themselves as ‘established’ Championship sides looking to kick on to the next level (Cardiff, Bristol City, Nottingham Forest, QPR). All this means that it can be very difficult to pick out who the winners and losers will be of a weekend as there are usually a couple of surprises and teams can be counted on to take points off each other. It also means that the difference between mid table and the playoffs can be a well-timed semi-decent run of matches at the back of the end of the season (see Blackpool last year).

Last night provided an example of how this competitiveness can result in some ludicrous stuff. Somehow Cardiff lost to Leicester but still managed to hold onto 2nd spot in the league due to other teams below them trading blows. The league is 6 games old and frankly any team that loses a match in the first 10 games of the season would expect to drop a couple of places.

Another ludicrous example was Cardiff’s collapse in form just after Christmas last year which carried on into the February of 2010, where occasional scrappy wins punctuated draws and defeats. Despite this, Cardiff managed to maintain their place in the playoffs during this period until their form recovered as others below and around them traded punches.

However these are exceptions rather than the rule and a mini-slump in form can often see a team dropping like a stone or rising like a whale that’s running out of breath. So how is it possible to escape the melee that is the mid to upper end of the Championship table? The simplest approach is to rise above the kicking and punching scrum by storming out into an early lead. This is easier said than done, but by escaping out of it all you can score an easy and early psychological blow. Opposition teams will feel there’s no point trying to haul you back in as you’re effectively out of reach, so they’ll concentrate on those a bit closer to them and making sure that they don’t get away. This forms a virtuous circle as you keep on picking up points while all those in the chasing pack keep taking points off each other in an effort to keep in touch. The perfect example came last year with Newcastle (admittedly a very good side at that level) who sailed away into an early lead and simply kept it going. Other examples include Reading in 2005/06 and Sunderland in 2004/05.

I suppose it’s quite simplistic; ‘win league by being top from the start’ isn’t exactly a revolutionary approach, but after watching this division for a number of years it seems to be the best approach to avoid the manic end of season jostling for position that inevitably happens. Could QPR be the team that will do that this year? It’s too early to tell but they are certainly the early runners with a string of impressive results during their first 6 games. If they’ve got a 7 point lead after 10/11 games then it’ll be interesting to see how teams approach games against them.

Of course, the other option is to just fluke your way up like Blackpool did.