Exceeding Pre Season Expectations

[Yorkshire Canary 118]

Disappointing though a couple recent performances and results had been, keeping our feet on the ground, most supporters in my opinion would have jumped for joy if we were told we would be top at this stage of the season. We had come off a terrible second half of the PL season and no one knew how many of our better players we would lose, what our injuries would be like and how many of the more established players at the club would perform at championship level again. To be in this position we must have been doing something right albeit there are also some alarm bells.

Firstly the upside. Our defense has been outstanding in particular the two main CBs.  We have kept most of our better players despite speculation and got good money for the ones that have left. Of the new arrivals Sorenson  playing out of position has made a very positive impact and Skipp albeit only on loan has been outstanding. Hugill when he gets a chance and when he is not injured has started to show signs of being a good striking option at this level. We have by and large shown very great determination and resilience grinding out results, not pretty but effective for the most part.

Now the downside going forward this season and next regardless of which Division we are in. I may get a bit of flack here but  despite the positives outlined above i do not think we are as good a squad as the last championship one and we have many areas of concern going forward. We have not really played anyone off the park yet and most wins have been by the odd goal. Of our upsides Gibson and Skipp have been 2 of our better players. If we go up Gibson will sign and possibly Skipp may be allowed another season on loan if not he  will be a big hole to fill.  If we do not go up we probably will struggle to afford a package for Gibson and Skipp will want to be tested at a higher level. Regardless of which division we are in i am very concerned about a lot of our established players. Pukki is still pretty decent but age and confidence have caught him up a bit and he is nowhere near the player of the last championship season and first half of the PL season, we need to plan for a replacement. Steipermann looks finished and ineffective and Vrancic has also seen better days and is not the player of 2 seasons ago. Tetty is finished but at his age that is no surprise. Zimmermann has never really recovered from his injury and neither has his performances, can he bounce back only time will tell. Hernandez to a lesser extent falls into the same category for me, yes he needs to regain fitness and have game time, but when he has played he has looked way off what he was. Platecha has speed and potential but at the moment he is a disappointment, he needs to up his game and output considerably to be even a starter at championship level. Through a whole series of different reasons including injury the youngsters that i had hoped would kick on this season have not yet done so ie Idah, Martin and Mumba. If we go up i do not think they will be in next seasons plans, though loan moves may well be the way forward, if we stay in the championship they will all need to kick on  next season if they have a future. Dowell for me has made little impact though injury has eaten into his season

  So in summary very pleased to be where we are with what we have, i think it is between the top 3 for the 2 automatics and in the short term the other 2 look like better bets though that can change. If it comes to the play offs we all know it is a lottery but we will be difficult to beat and have as good a chance as anyone.  Regardless of the Division a significant squad rebuild will be needed as in addition to the players detailed above Cantwell, Buendia and Aaronns will be looking for moves for certain if we do not go up and some even if we do

[Thirsty Lizard 3,164]

Agree with every word of this Yorkshire. 

[ron obvious 1,502]

Excellent. Sane & balanced. The only think I might add is that we shouldn't underestimate how much of a surprise package we were 2 seasons ago & now every team sets up to negate us before doing anything else. I suspect that's a large part of SheffU's problem.

I think there's little alternative but to battle on & trust the sharpness & confidence will return. Still a long way to go yet & I think (well hope anyway) that will be the case & as a consequence results will improve. Onward & upward!