Barham Blitz

Just going on what a Blades fan said last night ! I personally have no idea.

He has promise because he has the physical tools to succeed at a relatively young age and has shown [some] promise with his finishing. Not the finished article by any means but that comes with experience - particularly for a young physical forward - which comes through game time. See Carlton Morris, who is doing well this season but who I would argue has a lower ceiling than Idah. Given the way that we are evidently setting up to play should we make it to the premiership, and give the fact that I would hazard Pukki is unlikely to sign an extension, we would be paying decent money to get anybody in with even those attributes. If he won't get game time this season which seems unlikely given the system and Pukki and Sargent rightly ahead of him a loan would seem to the obvious solution to getting that experience and seeing what he has with regular football.

Just been speaking to a very knowledgeable Blades fan about that game who was adamant that Pukki is the best player in the division and pointed out something which I didn't know but which rather backs up Parma's point. The Blades GK is apparently very left footed, and the way in which Pukki curved his closing down run forced him onto his right foot. Neither he nor I thought this was coincidental.

He looks somewhat ponderous at the moment I agree but I think it is evident that Hayden is still feeling his way back in physically and playing within himself. We saw in his debut where he put in a lengthy sprint to win back possession in the left back role and had us all worried that he'd injured himself again that he has some pace. But his defensive nous and leadership are something we don't have elsewhere in the squad. He isn't any less mobile than Tettey I suspect and better on the ball and we've been lamenting the latter's absence (Skipp aside) for a few seasons now. I'm fairly certain he'll be starting - fitness permitting - from now on and as I've said before I suspect he'll be captain within a couple of seasons if we sign him permanently.

You look a bit better than me, or at least (despite your username) play less often after a few beers or glasses of wine than I do, but I've messaged you on chess.com anyway ...

Just seen that assist from Pukki for Ramsay's second. Absolute quality touch. We will miss him when he goes.

Out of reactions but agree entirely.

This. An on song Cantwell where he puts in the work-rate along with the vision is absolutely our biggest weapon after Pukki. He is the player that all my non-City supporting mates who know something about football ask about and also incidentally the one most disadvantaged by the move to 4-3-3 albeit with Pukki not far behind. I hope that Webber gives him a clean slate in any future negotiation and looks at what he does and could bring to the team. I think the failed Bournemouth move has opened his eyes as to what made him successful in the first place and his recent cameos have demonstrated that. If he gets a better offer than we can afford or are prepared to make, or wants to go himself then fair enough. But to let him move on for the wrong reasons would just be small minded.

He is a #10 who is consistently asked to play wide without having any of the required attributes to do so. People get this now with Sargent - not sure why they don't with Dowell. To take an extreme example, it's like playing Hanley at right back and complaining that he isn't very good as a full back [insert Hanley joke here...]

Or playing 2 DMs in front of the defence and three flair players in front of them but just behind Pukki from the start ... Might catch on ... 🤔

There are variations within 4-3-3 depending on how the team sets up in and out of possession. Arguably 4-2-3-1 is just 4-3-3 with a double pivot and a #10 and slightly withdrawn wide attackers instead of the single pivot and two out and out wingers. My understanding of the way in which we set up the 4-3-3 last season was that the midfield 3 were all quite central and relatively deep and the idea was that the initial out ball was intended to be a longer vertical pass to one of the two wide attackers from one of Gilmour or Normann. Two of the three midfielders would then look to join the attack from deep as quickly as possible. This would (in theory) provide a more stable defensive screen in midfield and then enable faster transitions to attack. As it turned out, neither the central midfield or the wide attackers were of the required standard and the result was the ball coming back at us with tedious if rapid regularity. 4-2-3-1 seems suited to the majority of the players that we have as it lends itself to a shorter, possession based approach as well as offering additional cover against the counter. Persisting with 4-3-3 seems to be imposed from above though, with one eye on an increasingly hypothetical campaign in the Premiership next season ... It is noticeable that especially Sara and to a lesser extent Nunez seem more suited to roles in this sort of a midfield set up with the emphasis on runners from midfield and longer forward passes. Personally I'm yet to be convinced by this approach and would like to go back to 4-2-3-1.

Playing out from the back is great as long as you have the players capable of receiving the ball on the half turn and there is the movement from the rest of the team to offer a simple pass quickly. In our recent promotion sides we had players and a formation and style that could do that and indeed required it. A couple of moves in that win against Man City spring immediately to mind. Not sure that is currently the case - only Gibbs and Cantwell seem to provide this from midfield based on what I've seen this season. It is just all too slow at the moment, the passing becomes sideways and unpenetrative and either gets us into trouble against an organised press or results in a panicked hoof up the pitch anyway to players ill-suited to that approach. The amount of time that Hanley in particular seems to dwell on the ball or the number of times that Aarons makes a forward run only to have to turn and play the ball back seems indicative of a lack of cohesion that for all our historical faults was rarely an issue in relatively recent memory. I get that the Barca-lite Farkeball has been ditched for something allegedly more pragmatic but we are currently neither fish not fowl in our tactical approach.

I'm not particularly anti-Webber - considering the financial limitations that we work within the two promotions and the work around the infrastructure have been very good. I can see what he was trying to do last season but the recruitment - which it has to be said most here were pretty excited by at the time - has been the issue, but I can at least understand the thinking behind it even if I wouldn't have personally gone for that approach. My issue with him is in his refusal to hold his hands up and admit that mistakes were made. If he came out and said why the style of play was changed and why Gilmour and Normann were signed but that it didn't quite work out I'd have a lot more sympathy for or at least empathy with him. Rashica and Tzolis are more understandable as they are still our players and may yet have a role to play or at least resale value to maintain. Even the 90% comment would be more understandable in a work life balance if he didn't come across in such an arrogant way. He just comes across as unlikeable and happy to take the plaudits but less keen on admitting responsibility when things go wrong. I don't expect guaranteed Premiership football every year. It will always be a struggle on our budget. But I liked the identity and the style and the sense of doing things differently that we had in Farke's pomp and I really don't think that we have that same sense of a plan since - and I am adamant that this was imposed or at least prompted from above - Webber interfered in the team structure at the beginning of last season.

Remember when we used to pass like this ? It's like they have an extra man on the pitch at times. That said, still 0-0 and there were signs a moment ago that we were considering playing some football.

Dazed and confused -Led Zep.

Wasn't he considering giving up football to become a teacher before Farke signed him ?

Was it Wenger that asked Farke where he unearthed him from after a crazily good display against Arsenal ? Zimbo was a quality defender at his best for us with physicality, aggression and intelligence. Not the best on the ball and never quite came back from that injury, but at certainly at least Championship quality and signed for peanuts. I"m not sure that Hanley for example is much of an upgrade on peak Zimmerman and I suspect he'll make a decent coach if he wants to follow that path.

Berge is missing for them so the majority of the flair has gone. They aren't in form but neither are we. McBurnie is the sort of striker we make look better than he is. Scrappy game and a 1-0 loss. Probably to a tap in at the far post. As a steel city resident who plays football with a bunch of very vocal Blades fans and will be going to the match with them, an afternoon and evening of verbal abuse to follow. Hope I'm wrong.

I'm no fan of Smith's but he has until the Rotherham game for me. IMO the games between don't necessarily need wins (albeit I'd like to see a minimum of 5 points) but something needs to improve to show that we can compete effectively against some of the better teams in the division with the majority of the squad back and fit. If it doesn't improve that gives a couple of games for any replacement to assess the squad before some serious work over the world cup break. If I were Webber I'd be getting the black book out now and putting out some tentative feelers to avoid the debacle of the last recruitment process though. Just in case.

David Peace is no doubt frantically copyrighting the title 'The Damned Disunited' and arranging a meeting with his publisher as I type ...

You could see a 4-3-3 (which for some reason appears to be the formation to which we aspire) with Hayden at the base and Sara and Nunez as sort of roving #8s in the midfield. Personally I see it as a really bad idea without penetrative wide players (which can be pace or ability to pick a pass) but the club aren't paying me the big bucks to make these decisions...

On limited viewing Hayden looks to be that guy.

This. Hanley actually gestures to Dowell who he should be picking up just before the ball comes across but as you say Dowell comes too central and into Hanley's position.

Indeed. Maybe that approach just works against us then.

Tea AND toast - Deano will be banging on Webber's door for some transfer funds in January...