Brentford play Sheffield Utd in what could be an early promotion six pointer. Foxy from Sheffield fanzine s24su.com talks playoff losses (we feel your pain), new signings and Scottish managers.
United were favourites for promotion last season. We’re you disappointed with how things panned out – not reaching the playoff final? What was the reason for your underperformance?
It wasn’t a huge surprise that we were tipped to do well after the previous season in which we scored for fun, played some good exciting football and then (aided by the jailing of our star striker) choked our lead away to a great run by our closest rivals. No strangers to the spectacularly torturous loss on the big stage in the play-offs, we then lost on penalties at Wembley after a mammoth shootout.
After the disappointment at Wembley, we expected departures as the club had to look to get further within the constraints of the Salary Management Cost Protocol. Soon after the final defeat. Steve Simonson, James Beattie, Andy Taylor and Johnny Ertl departed, none of which were particularly surprising nor did they cause much in the way of a disappointed reaction.
We then went on to lose Matt Lowton to Aston Villa, Lee Williamson and just before the end of August due to the cost of his wages Stephen Quinn, who joined Hull. We ended up also having to offload Nick Montgomery to the Central Coast Mariners, the chairman’s links over there helping to facilitate the move.
In losing Lowton, Quinn, Williamson and obviously Ched Evans, many were concerned that we’d struggle to create and score goals and with a combination of youngsters coming through from the academy and the signings of Kitson, Blackman and Miller we were relying heavily on the new members of the squad settling quickly.
Expectations were mixed amongst the support, not really echoing the favourites tag we seemed to have picked up over the summer.
The key to our failure to take advantage of a season with few stand out teams was our form in the new year. We were top of the league at Christmas and well placed to push on and cement automatic promotion. First, we lost to bottom of the league Hartlepool to kick off an awful January. We struggled to pick up form and dropped off the pace, often failing to turn draws into wins, which became the story of the season.
With form faltering, Kevin McCabe decided to roll the dice and sack Danny Wilson in the hopes of kickstarting the Blades into grabbing a few vital wins in the run in. There was an instant response as caretaker manager Chris Morgan led an excellent performance against Swindon full of passion and attacking play. His second game was the bizarre draw with Brentford, which saw the referee dictating the game and a late equaliser which you know all about!
This was a hammer blow that we never really recovered from as the initial changes slipped back to a limp end to the season with trouble creating chances and scoring goals.
We did of course still have the play-offs, but as all Blades will tell you, they aren’t something we look forward to. A tight first leg with little in the way of quality gave us the edge with a slender lead over Yeovil. A second leg saw us again, meekly surrender without so much as a whimper, we simply never looked like scoring and having been the story of the season, it was fitting to end in that way.
We travelled home lamenting that it was for the best, as the consensus at that time was that Brentford would have battered us at Wembley.
You have your first 3 points on the table with a win against Notts County. How did you rate United?
We had a strong pre-season results wise, remaining unbeaten in a tour of Scotland and with a few fixtures against lower league opposition back in England. David Weir used the friendlies to get as much game time into the squad as possible and to try and pass on his new ideas on our style of play, It soon became clear we’d got new methods of preparation, a more scientific approach to fitness and a new way of playing. One striking difference was an increase of movement in the middle of the park and passing with more intent, rather than passing between the defenders for the sake of passing.
We met Weir and assistant Lee Carsley before a ‘meet the manager’ event put on by the club and they came across as forward thinking, detailed and eager to put into place a plan that hadn’t just sprung together since the Scotsman got the job.
A crowd of around 18,000 and a Sky Sports audience saw the Blades dominate against Notts County, helped perhaps by them playing most of the game with 10-men after Liddle was red carded for a high challenge on Kevin McDonald. We played an attractive game, patiently playing the ball around, keeping possession, but also probing whenever the opportunity arose.
We struggled to finish with a number of players spurning opportunities, but the fans were happy with the transformation and apart from switching off for Showumni’s goal we were in control of the game. We reacted well to the equaliser and continued playing our own game, rather than panicking and becoming nervous.
Overall, the fans went home happy and excited with the new look United.
What players have you bought in? How are they looking?
Weir has made his mark on the squad, doing business fairly early pre-season and bringing in players with attributes that we’ve been missing for some time.
We’ve released the likes of Barry Robson and Dave Kitson, which will help the wage bill and Weir’s plan is to keep a tight squad with everyone feeling involved and ready to step in if need be.
Febian Brandy joined from Walsall which offers us much needed pace and creativity, he had a mixed pre-season, but impressed with exciting performances against Atromitos and Notts County at Bramall Lane over the last two Friday nights.
Stephen McGinn was the other new signing to make his home league debut against Notts County. Previously a regular at Watford, McGinn spent a while out injured and struggled to make his way back into the side before being released. The Blades picked him up as a free agent and gave him a two year contract, with an option of a third. McGinn looks to be always available for a pass, tries to continually find space and has been tidy on the ball. His presence led to one of the better midfield displays we’ve seen for some time on Friday. From early signs, he’ll quietly get on with his job, keeping things simple and allowing others to play to their strengths.
Lyle Taylor came south from Falkirk having had a successful season in front of goal, in contrast to his time at Bournemouth. He managed to get a tap-in against Alfreton town as a young XI beat them pre-season, but has yet to start for the first team with Chris Porter chosen ahead of him. He looks lively and has the selfishness of a confident striker, having had a few direct runs towards goal and shots from distance. Weir will be hoping that he can re-create last seasons form.
Sean McGinty had the dubious distinction of being the last player to have his contract terminated by Alex Ferguson for a breach of discipline after failing to turn up for training. Sean showed promise pre-season and is quick for his height, part of the youth side that won the FA Youth Cup in 2010/11 he has quality, but will be looking to impress in training in order to force his way into the eleven.
Whilst keen to stay away from loans in order to ensure the academy lads aren’t blocked from progress, Weir took Conor Coady on loan from Liverpool. Coady has decent pedigree having captained England at youth level, has a good touch and an eye for a pass. At the moment, he looks to be backup for Doyle/McGinn, but Weir gave him a start in the cup loss to Burton Albion this week.
Jasper Johns has also joined the club from Everton. Young JJ looks to be one for the development squad rather than initially involved in and around the first team, though he did get a couple of appearances in pre-season and made an instant impact scoring against Bury. Weir will know him well from his time at Everton and it’ll be interesting to see how he progresses with the academy.
It remains to be seen if we’ll have enough strength in depth and we’ll be hoping the likes of McDonald and Brandy remain injury free, as we don’t necessarily have ready made replacements.
Who will be the key players for United this season?
Being played in a different position and given a little more freedom, Kevin McDonald had a strong pre-season and looks happy and re-energised. When he arrived, Weir expressed his surprise at the lack of goals and assists we’d managed to get through such a quality player last year and made a point of expressing his desire to get more out of the team as a whole, rather than relying purely on the strikers.
McDonald has been playing further forward, just off the strikers with a licence to roam a little more, with less in the way of defensive duties. Weir’s attempts to get him amongst the goals took an early boost with the Scot scoring the opening goal of the season last Friday night. Arriving late into the box, he calmly side footed Westlake’s cross past the helpless keeper to cap a Man of the Match performance according to the Blades who used our Player Ratings System.
On his day, McDonald is too good for League One, but he’s one of those who hasn’t yet made the most of his talents with consistent stand out performances. We’re hoping that the new system, increased movement throughout the side and his advanced position will help him to do this and he could be key to unlocking the most resolute teams in the division.
Febian Brandy could also be one to watch, he’s already shown glimpses of what he has to offer, giving us a different dimension with his pace and trickery. He’s confident and is one of those players you turn up wondering what he’s going to do next. He gives us someone else for the opposition to worry about, which will hopefully see a reduction in the doubling up on the likes of McDonald that we saw last year. In Brandy, we hopefully have someone who can make something out of nothing and give us a spark when we’re struggling. If nothing else, I think we’ll be awarded a record number of free-kick’s this year, his quick feet see him often the victim of well intended, but late challenges.
From early indications, Stephen McGinn will be key to us keeping possession, he always makes himself available and is tidy on the ball meaning that in stark contrast to last season, we always seem to have an outlet.
Having struggled to get the goals to turn draws into wins last year, it will be interesting to see how new striker Lyle Taylor does, having had a good return north of the border last year. So far, Weir has preferred Chris Porter, but Taylor has had time from the bench and looks eager to make his mark.
You have a new rookie manager in David Weir from Everton? Were fans disappointed expecting a more high profile appointment? It’s a lot of pressure on him. Can he deliver?
I think one of the difficulties is, there are never many managers realistically available that would please the fans as a whole or that aren’t tainted by struggling with another club.
We were linked with a number of individuals during a lengthy interview process, which is a contrast with our previous few appointments.
A number of the names linked worried supporters, with those with previous links to the club and lower league experience amongst the forerunners with the bookies.
The appointment of Weir was a good one for me, it’s a risk, but any managerial appointment is. It came as a bit of a surprise to most, with the press concentrating on reports the Stuart McCall and Graham Arnold turned us down. The outspoken Aussie had a dig at the club in the papers and this sparked concern that we were making the same mistakes we have in the past.
The club maintain that they got their man and that Weir came in to his interview with an almost identical blueprint on not only the first team but the club as a whole to what they were looking for.
The rookie tag is one that was always going to hang over him having only just retired as a player, but it’s one that may be misleading. He’s had a career working under some good managers, has been a regular captain and whilst extending his playing career has always had one eye on coaching.
In a chat with Lee Carsley I alluded to earlier, he assured us that their plan isn’t something that has just come around, they’ve known for some time what they intended to do and working together at Everton, they began learning and researching long before they knocked playing on the head.
With the likes of David Moyes and Walter Smith in his phonebook, Weir won’t be alone when looking for advice on the intricacies of management, which can only be a positive.
I’m quietly confident that they can deliver if given enough time, it may take some time, but their apparent attention to detail and dedication to making decisions for the long term benefit of the club are exactly what we need in our current position.
The difference between this appointment and the initial reaction to Danny Wilson is that the fans once again seem united and genuinely excited to see what the new man will achieve.
Predict the Brentford v Sheffield Utd score
It’s always a difficult visit to Griffin Park and looking in from the outside I think you’ve made moves to have another good go at it this year and have a strong squad.
It certainly looks on paper to be our biggest test of the opening month of the season, many Blades tempering the euphoria of a strong opening day proclaiming that we’d see just how good our new look side is on Saturday.
With no disrespect to Notts County (and to be fair, they played the majority of the game with 10 men), the Bees are a different kettle of fish and will be a test for us all over the park.
I do worry slightly about Brenford’s ability to attack our full backs, who both appear to have gained their place based upon their inclination to get forward rather than being solid at the back.
I think it’ll be a tight game with perhaps a goal in it either way. I’d like to think the Blades will shade it 2-1, in an open game with decent chances for both sides. If nothing else it’ll be a good day out on the beer with the cracking atmosphere a day on the terrace usually creates.
How will division 1 end up this season? Where will blades be? Who else will be in the mixer? Any dark horses in the mix (like Yeovil last season)?
We’re in transition again, with a clean sweep of the management team and a new system that the players are reportedly buying into. Whilst we made plenty of chances in the opening league game, we didn’t convert as many as we should have. If the squad gel, settle into the new style and we can improve on our finishing we should have a strong season.
The likes of Wolves and Peterborough would be expected to have decent seasons, but as we’ve seen in the last few years relegation to League One and the changes you have to make as a result can be a more difficult proposition than some would believe. I still think they’ll both likely be amongst the top clubs, with Brentford, Bristol City and possibly ourselves.
It’s hard to tell until the season gets properly under way, but I could see an outside chance for the likes of Gillingham or Rotherham, who will be on a high following promotion.
Foxy
@s24su
Foxy is the editor of s24su – the Sheffield Utd fanzine. Follow them on twitter @s24su
