Deadbats Review of the Season/Report

[deadbat]

Deadbats Review of the 2010/11 Season and School Report

As I have traditionally done at the end of the last few seasons; it is that time again when I write a review of the campaign with a school report for the different sections of the club. I will look at how they have fared and what are the prospects for next season for each respective department of the club.

I will begin with the review and a breakdown of the board and managers. Over the next few days I will add to this with breakdowns of the players/squad at the club and do the same. Feel free to add comments/disagree/debate.....after each post I make.

I have graded the board, the managers, players and the fans; in a traditional school report style of A+ to F- (every player who started at least one league game). However, I have had to grade players based on the games they did play so some players who played a lot more; may still get a lower grade despite disproportionate number of games in comparison. If I have missed anyone then please say!

Season review

To say this season has been a complete and utter disaster is not an exaggeration whatsoever. At the start of the season I felt like the worst we would achieve would be a middle of the league placing. We had been in the playoff final a season ago and finished the previous season on the verge of the playoffs despite losing some of our better players, having a number of injuries and having to rely on a plethora of loan players. We had kept messrs Morgan, Montgomery and Quinn (all who were rumoured to be leaving) and had added players who had excelled for Championship rivals such as Britton and Bogdanovic. Some fans felt we would contend for the top 6 but I reckoned the losses of further key men such as Kenny and Naysmith (granted they did not play much the previous year) and the lack of speed and creativity would mean we would fall short again. I did feel we would not be anywhere near the bottom with the experienced players we possessed such as Morgan, Henderson and Cresswell.

Of course I did not reckon on losing two of these for almost the entire season and the other basically clearly having lost his legs and not being up to it at this level any longer. The timing of the managerial changes were very poor and of course every single manager could have deemed to have failed. It just seemed one disastrous decision after another and things spiralled out of control with injuries, player departures, poor signings, reliance on loans (yet again after we said we would not go down this route) and then an appalling run of form post Xmas which basically condemned the Blades to League One football.

Kevin Blackwell had remained in charge despite many thinking we should have made a change at the end of the previous campaign. The feeling was the football was dire to watch and he could not take us any further. This coupled with his poor signings in the previous few seasons had many ready to jump onto his back at any kind of bad start for the side. However, even the grumblings over his style aside, most fans would concede that we generally won more than we lost under Blackwell and that mid table would be the absolute minimum.

The season began with a decent result at Cardiff when we had ten men for a lot of the game but got a draw against one of the favourites. However, a shocking showing at Hartlepool in the league cup was followed by disastrous defeat to Neil Warnock and QPR. With Paddy Kenny in the opposing goal; Rangers ran riot and Kevin McCabe made a quick decision to relieve Blackwell of his position. This was a shock to many with it being so soon in the season and many had felt like it was something that surely could/should have been done at the end of the previous campaign and that one result was surely not enough to make such a decision? Talk of prospective investors in the crowd, the Warnock/Kenny undercurrent all maybe accelerated the decision but whilst a lot have fans agreed with it; they probably did not agree with the timing. The feeling was either for doing it at the end of last season or leaving it for now.

Gary Speed was put in charge with many fans feeling positive about the appointment in that it would perhaps welcome a change of style, garner us more respect in the football world and also may lead to different kind of personnel coming into the club due to Speed’s reputation in the game. It did not begin will with an insipid performance against an equally poor Middlesbrough but a howler from Morgan saw Boyd strike a winner and United were bottom of the league. A week late Speed, and United, had their first win against Preston with maybe the goal of the season from Frenchman Calve on his debut. They then won on the road at Derby and things seemed to be looking up but the next run of games showed the inconsistencies of the side and maybe also of Speed. A good performance against Scunthorpe went unrewarded in a bizarre 4-0 reverse but they then beat Pompey in a less than convincing performance the following Saturday. The football was definitely improved and at times a slick passing style was witnessed despite the inconsistency in results. A narrow defeat at Leeds with another sending off, this time from Ward followed. Soon after the Blades drew at Forest but there was another howler from Simonsen, which was becoming a feature of the young season, saw United placed in 18th place at the end of September and any promotion hopes seemed a long way off.

Things got no better as a tame defeat at home to Watford and then an exciting draw with Burnley only came about due to a late goal from the resurgent Yeates. United won at Hull with Yeates on target again but they then put in an abject showing against local rivals Doncaster on live TV when they lost 2-0 but it would have been much more comprehensive as Rovers out passed and outplayed a meek United team. Two more defeats at home came against Coventry and Ipswich and the excellent home record of seasons past was a forgotten memory as the Blades were a soft touch at Bramall Lane with teams licking their chops at a visit to S2. Skipper Morgan was also now ruled out for the remainder of the season with severe ligament damage. The early promise in change of style has now all but disappeared and Speed was clearly struggling to get much out of this collection of players, many of which he had inherited, with Andy Reid the only notable incoming signing.

An unfortunate penalty at Leicester in the final minute robbed the Blades of a deserved win but they did win at Millwall, with loanee Reid now the focal point of the team, hitting a great individual goal. A strange game against fellow struggles Palace came the week after in front of the Sky cameras but United edged a 5 goal thriller with some of the most bizarre refereeing decisions you could wish to see befuddling both sides! A late penalty from Bogdanovic was the difference. United then were easily beaten at Bristol City as rumours of a potential approach for Gary Speed from the Welsh FA were now coming to the surface. A week later the Blades once again lost rather easily at Oakwell and it seemed clear that Speed would be allowed to go now the approach had been confirmed. Sure enough the following week, Speed moved on. He said all the right things about his move but you got the feeling he could not wait to get out with a poor squad and the team seemingly on a downward slide. For what it is worth most United fans were not particularly upset to see Speed move on and the fact that the board did not put up much of a fight seemed to suggest it maybe suited all parties. Maybe it was the right man at the wrong time but that remains to be seen whether Speed can go on and be a success in the game. His early promise at United quickly evaporated and soon United had become undisciplined, easy to beat and as predictable as they were under Blackwell with no pace and simply no one who could put the ball in the net as evidenced by their appalling goals for record.

For the next few games whilst rumours of the next new manager circled around the internet forums and clubs/pubs; the Blades had caretaker manager John Carver in charge. The Blades began well beating Swansea in a decent performance just before Christmas but two high scoring defeats to Hull and Norwich followed. The first came thanks to a last minute breakaway winner and then at Carrow Road, due to some controversial refereeing with another suspect penalty being conceded (another feature of United’s season). Carver’s reaction after this latest loss confirmed he knew he/the refs/his players had blown his chance. United were now 4th from bottom and clearly locked in a relegation battle.

It seemed the appointment was between Sean O’Driscoll and Micky Adams and despite rumours and counter rumours over O’Driscoll being now the frontrunner; a week passed and no appointment was made. The Doncaster manager then said he was staying at the Keepmoat which suggested that talks had taken place but for whatever reason the appointment was not made. Days later Adams was put in charge with a bizarre interview from CEO Trevor Birch suggesting things maybe had not gone quite as they had hoped in the appointment after his words only weeks earlier.

A defeat at Burnley opened the Adams tenure poorly and then a late Kozluk goal stole a point at home to Doncaster. The Blades then went out of the Cup days later to Premiership Aston Villa despite a brave effort. A point at Coventry promised a more resolute unit but more home defeats defeats to Norwich and Leicester soon followed. Adams was clearly already in trouble and seemed powerless to turn things around. Players such as Britton, Bartley and Ward departed with Doyle and Collins coming in to raised eyebrows. More loanees came in with Lowry, Bent, Mattock all arriving. It seemed to make little difference as despite two penalties won and converted by Bogdanovic to earn two draws versus Millwall and Reading; the first win for Adams would not come and they were stuck in the bottom three.

Faced with three crunch games in a week against relegation rivals; Adams had to get off the mark; but a defeat at Palace was followed by an awful evening in Lincolnshire as United somehow coughed up a two goal lead to lose to the lowly Iron. Days later the Blades produced another lacklustre performance as they lost to a poor Derby side. It seemed now that it was debatable whether Adams would see the season out as United seemed entrenched in the relegation places. United lost on the South Coast at Portsmouth but finally the long awaited victory came against promotion seeking Forest at the Lane with young Lowton heading a winner at the Kop end. It was back to the drawing board though for Adams the following Saturday as a dreadful first half at Watford saw United lose 2 goals and 2 players with the shocking indiscipline rearing its ugly head again regardless of how much the coaches and fans protested about unfortunate decisions.

United finally put in a complete performance when they saw off Leeds 2-0 and could have won the game 5 or 6. This maybe would signal the start of the late revival? It was another false sawn as they were beaten easily at leaders QPR and then after missing several chances contrived to lose at home again; this time to Middlesboro with a late goal being a hammer blow. They lost in more usual circumstances to Cardiff the following Tuesday and it seemed relegation now was inevitable. The following week relegation rivals Preston put them to the sword and United were now rock bottom and it was only a matter of time before their fate was confirmed.

An introduction of young players buoyed them to rare back to back wins against Bristol City and then unbelievably at Reading, after being two down. However the coup de grace was delivered by local neighbours Barnsley who scored a late goal to earn a draw and with it relegated the Blades to the third tier of English football for the first time since 1988. The season ended rather predictably with the final game seeing yet another poor performance and hammering coming at Swansea.

It was a season that saw 10 home league defeats, 5 draws and 7 victories. On the road United only won 4 games (with only one in the final 14 away games) drew 4 and lost 15. United scored 44 goals and conceded 79 goals. Quite simply we did not score enough (Evans leading scorer with 9) and conceded goals aplenty. Some of the goals we let in and the errors we made were laughable and the fact we went long spells without creating anything let along scoring made games almost impossible to win at times. Factor in really poor discipline (most red cards 11) and even some appalling bad luck and poor refereeing decisions (certainly not reasons we went down – we were not good enough) and seemed nothing would go right.

It was a season that began poorly and just got worse and worse with managerial chances seemingly every few months and more player departures only replaced by plug in’s/loan signings. We never seemed to have the same team, the defence had no understanding, certain players played no matter what and others were dropped after one bad game. We used a total of 40 players (which was the joint highest in the Championship) and it seemed a revolving door at the Lane but one that often saw the squad quality lessened as the season went on.

There was mismanagement of the squad from the board and management team in terms of the signings made and how they were used. Not many players could truly say they had a good season and most of the managers failed to get the best out of players they had no matter what could be said about the diminishing quality of the overall squad; save for brief late spells by Quinn and Lowton and maybe some patches from Yeates and Evans earlier in the season. Players who had performed creditably previously such as Simonsen, Nosworthy and Cresswell were simply awful and many other signings did not work.

The bad performances and results just snowballed and it seemed no one could do anything about it. You still thought United may still have enough to get out of it but the terrible run around the end of February to the bottom sides was a sign that they probably would not survive. It was hard to say many positive things about the season, besides the late development of the young players and the unswerving support of the majority if the fans. The future has so many question marks and no one is quite sure what the composition of the coaching and playing staff will be.

[deadbat]

Staff report

Board

Hard to say anything but negative things about our current biggest shareholder, cannot call him chairman anymore and the people he has employed around him. 5 years ago United had been promoted to the Premiership and with the ground, the fan base, the academy and the infrastructure of the club, the Blades seemed like they had made it. Kevin McCabe had to take a lot of credit for literally turning the club around. Fast forward to the following May and United had been relegated; some say cruelly with the aid of Mr Tevez allied to the lack of proper investment in the team and perhaps some negative tactics from the manager who had got us there. However, despite all this United had the squad and the manager to get us straight back up and there was no reason why we would not become a West Brom (going up and then down and up again) at the very worst such was the strides on and off the pitch that we had made.

For the next 4 years McCabe and his board have made bad decision after bad decision starting with the dreadful appointment of Bryan Robson. McCabe not only appointed Robson but then allowed him to financially burden the club with ludicrous signings on huge wages with his sidekick Terry Robinson also making some blundering gaffes. Signings he seemingly had not allowed Warnock to make when we were in the Premiership were now approved. Robson of course had failed twice as a manager and there was a reason he was unemployed. His management was a disaster and United were nearer the top than the bottom. Finally McCabe saw sense and removed the former England captain. However, the damage was done and high earners such as Beattie, Speed, Naysmith and Hendrie were stuck at the club on lucrative contracts. To be honest you could argue that the appointment of Blackwell was a good one in the short term as he steadied the ship and kept United up. However, you could also argue with a very talented and deep squad any one worth his salt could have done the same. Granted, Blackwell then then took United to the playoff final the next season as they narrowly missed out on promotion but the football was dire despite us possessing some real talent with the emergence of the most talented teenagers from the city in many, many years alongside an experienced squad that was led by an experienced defensive unit.

Surely McCabe should have acted at the end of the horror show put on by Blackwell’s side in the playoff final but he kept faith with him when he offered his resignation? He then oversaw the sales of Naughton and Walker and also gave Blackwell little of the money to restructure the squad. The signings Blackwell did make nearly all failed and the following season was poor with injuries and an over reliance on loan players. Once again McCabe kept the manager and gave him chance to bring more players in despite his poor record in this area. Then he remarkably sacked him after 2 league games! He gave Gary Speed his head but this did not work either and then he appointed Micky Adams; which so far has been another disastrous move. In short every single managerial appointment he has got wrong and the people he has allowed to make key decisions in the club have also failed, from the manager to the new chairman and chief executive.

His activities in trying to supposedly make United a global force has now basically failed. Foreign forays have not worked. It seemed McCabe felt like investment into such clubs and countries could have positive long term affects for him as a businessman and in terms of United’s development but it seems none of them have been cost effective nor productive on the football side. The talk of players being exchanged and United being able to benefit has simply not materialised.

The relationship with Chengdu Blades in China saw the club involved in various scandals related to match fixing and it seems our relationship with them now is only minimal and I believe we are looking to almost pull out; at least in financial terms of this arrangement with it being put back into Chinese ownership. McCabe saw an opportunity to plunge funds and develop property and stadia in Budapest taking over former Hungarian giants, Ferencvaros. However, despite former Blades playing and coaching over there and the club getting promoted, there were problems aplenty with former Terry Robinson leaving under a cloud and numerous crowd disturbances. It seems McCabe was no closer to getting ‘Fradi’ a new stadium and is now looking to move on and has put his shares up for sale. We also have some links with Australian side the Central Coast Mariners but I am unsure if this linkup was anything that official; at least in terms of McCabe’s companies investing a major stake into the club. A season ago we had pages in the programme and website updates about these clubs. The fact is that nothing is now reported confirms that United and McCabe are probably looking to completely move away from these relationships now.

To be fair when looking at the rest of the ‘top men’, it seems Chris Steer and Trevor Birch are pretty much McCabe’s fall guys. Steer was put in charge as chairman but he has little funds nor power to really impact change and seems to be more of a figurehead. They have to give the PR rubbish/excuses to the fans but seem powerless to do anything due to fact McCabe is very much still ‘numero uno’. Birch’s statement about wanting a progressive manager who would allow the club to change its emphasis in the same way as the Academy fell on deaf ears when a man renowned for the direct approach, Micky Adams was eventually appointed. Talks of investment continue but nothing happens. Birch was supposedly brought in to bring such new funds but nothing has happened here yet has continued to draw a large wage and it is unsure what he actually does other than oversee the systematic dismantling of the team/club and further cost cutting. However what is strange is that McCabe has been basically silent and has said nothing about the state of the club, what he is going to do or what his plans are. Ever since the failed World Cup bid and the preference for his neighbours he seems to have gone into hiding.

Maybe he does not have to apologise, maybe he does not have to put any more money in, maybe he does not care but surely he has to do something? (this was written before the Radio Sheffield interview/phone in on May 10th, 2011) We had the statement from the club after the relegation which at least was something and at least they took their share of the blame but missing completely was anything from McCabe with comments only coming from Birch, his son and Steer. Also there was a lot of hypocrisy in the statement with some slights at the signings we have made and the loan approach but surely managers in some ways have had no choice due to the same board selling our best players and thus forcing us down this road or not sanctioning long term signings of note? Apparently we have spent 6 million on fees for loan players over the last 2 seasons but sold players such as Walker/Naughton/Kilgallon/Beattie/Cotterill/Kenny etc, etc? In essence they have ripped the team apart and then asked the manager to replace them with inferior players either on short term contracts or loans. Going back to McCabe and for whatever reason he seems to have abstained from his role; which is surely to ensure the best for Sheffield United football club/public limited company.

I fail to see how we go from here as he clearly has so much money invested in the club that he will not allow it to change hands without being recompensed to a large degree. That investor would have to buy him out, lock, stock and barrel and the money we are talking with the debts we owe him and his company is going to scare everyone off. However I am unsure how he makes money out of the club without putting more money in or getting this extra investment? If anything things could get a lot worse before it gets better. If he was going to invest himself in the club, whether it be attracting a top manager or better players then surely he would have done it before now? Now it seems to be too late and the statement seems to prepare us for more sales/departures and more cost cutting. There was honesty in that statement but not really anything tangible in how we are going to get out of the mess other than the obvious reliance on young players we are now faced with. There are so many questions but he is either willing to give us the answers, he does not have the answers or probably to be fairer it is both of these.

[DoyleDo1]

No arguments from me, that is largely spot on my freind.

There is little reference to Kevin McCabe however, and the fact that he has tried to put a fall guy there - Chris Steer. There would be little refernce to McCabe seen as he has done sweet FA all season!

He wouldnt sign Andy Reid, clearly the only player with an ounce of skill at the club. It later transpired just 500k would have secured him from Sunderland as it has now cost us 4 million in lost TV revenue! Instead Collins and Doyle were brought in. A fine swap

I think clearly Adams is out of his depth. I like the man, I really do and the players have shown far ore effort wise since he took over. However, I dont believe, on paper that we have one of the wort squads in this division! I think worst case scnario we finish mid-table to 16th. For the run that has happened under him, 4 wins in 26 is horrific! 26 games is a long time. Its enough time to win atleast a third of the matches I know!

Im afraid we havent bottomed out yet. I think we will see some more players like Collins and Doyle arrive and we may be stuck down here for 2 or 3 years atleast. Can Micky turn us around? Id like to think so but for me, id have a root and branch clear out keeping the youth.

[deadbat]

Other parts of the club had seemed to move on tremendously but now much of the work in these areas seems to have either been wasted or stalled. The ticket operations previously allowed us to gain extra fans from young children, families and many other fans around the city with the crowd averaging around 25,000 pretty consistently. Still whilst regression on the pitch has perhaps been the major factor we now have a situation where United are not helping themselves. Recent developments see United now seemingly offering no offers whatsoever outside season ticket holders with no half season tickets, match offers or flexi tickets. Bizarre way of attracting fans me thinks and that is coming from a season ticket holder. The commercial side has also not really moved on with United still offering kits of a poor quality with a lesser known company whilst lesser clubs put out superior kits (maybe we do get more money from Macron?). United also are now changing their kit every season with minimal changes to the design or quality (they will argue they gave United a chance to vote for the kit but the designs offered were hardly inspiring).

Other developments saw the departure of commercial manager Andy Daykin who was supposedly pursuing other interests but then later emerged in the same position across the city. This did not seem to add up. A move to install a supporters communication manager, Richard Batho, has not really changed much with little in the way of open and honest communication aside from unpublicised meet ups and the dialogue he has with people who speak to him or e mail him directly. That is not a criticism at him but more at the club. Why has he not been on open forums like Radio Sheffield or even any of the internet forums/chats?

Let’s look at the positives. When we went down to this division back in the late 80’s, we were in a real mess with a dilapidated ground and we did not even own a training base renting pitches around the city.

The ground now does look fantastic and when the Kop does get eventually re-done then we will really have an excellent modern ground that still retains the old fashioned atmosphere and style that many of the new stadia does not possess. When you listen to most away fans that come here they rave about how it is a proper football ground and one they always enjoy visiting.

We have a first class Academy in Shirecliffe that is now finally reaping its rewards. The last youth side that got to the later stages of the Youth Cup featured 4 players now playing very good standard of league football in Naughton, Walker, Lowton, Mellis and now four years later the Blades possess another side that has actually got to the final of this competition with a number of players in and around the first team squad. Whether these players will also be sold off at the first opportunity remains to be seen, but it is clear that United are now producing players.

Grade F

Next season

Hard to really say what is going to happen? The current situation simply cannot go on as the lack of direction from above and the deterioration of the product on the pitch means the club will simply slide into oblivion if the good ship Sheffield United is kept on its current course. At the moment continuing this analogy, the ship seems to not even possess a captain and is completely rudderless.

Of course we would love on one hand McCabe to become interested again and invest but then his decisions have been so poor that maybe this would not be the best thing but his re-emergence as an influential player in our future is still preferable to the current status quo of nothing happening whatsoever. The fact our manager has such an appalling record but he is another backed, sacked or even spoke of says it all. He seems to be another failure who will still be allowed to just limp on until the situation reaches a point where it is beyond repair even further.

The other option most would want is fresh investment, maybe new ownership and a chance for the club to move forward. McCabe has been seen at recent games but his silence continues to be deafening. Difficult to see if the likes of Birch stay on due to his significant salary and his failure to procure investment. The other board members matters little as they lack the power nor money to make things happen. Anything else below this level whilst important from the aforementioned ticketing to merchandise to supporter liaison is all rendered as minimal in importance if the man who holds all the power is not able to wield some influence or get things moving in the right direction either himself or by passing the torch over to someone else who can impart change. We will wait and see but I cannot see anything hugely significant happening in the short term and feel we are in for a bumpy ride with things set to get worse before they get better.

[deadbat]

Managerial team/Coaches note - written before Micky Adams left the club

Kevin Blackwell was only in charge for 3 games this season and lost 2 and drew 1. I have discussed his failings and some successes of seasons past and am not prepared to go over old ground. I actually feel he was harshly treated in the sense that his dismissal came so early in the season but then I am one of those that also feel he was lucky to be given a chance to return for the last 2 seasons after his previous errors in signings, selections, tactics and approach. Overall his spell in charge considering the players he inherited and the talent he had at his disposal in the first few years coupled with the amount of players (if not fees) he could bring in, both permanent and loan; has to be considered disappointing. The fact no other club has employed him since tells a story and I feel like whilst he did a creditable job initially his reign was allowed to go on too long. For this season alone I cannot really say much positive despite a decent start, as an awful defeat at Hartlepool was followed by a shocking display to QPR.

Grade F (for the 3 games)

Gary Speed has always seemed to be the manager in waiting and rumours of him taking over from Blackwell has been mentioned many times before even going back to the playoff final defeat. Speed had been brought in by Robson but Blackwell had embraced him as a coach and had increased his role and responsibility despite the fact that deep down he knew he could be grooming his successor. This eventually proved to be the case and his appointment after Blackwell left was not a surprise. Of course he had never managed before at any level but most Blades felt his personality, respect and his desire to play more of a passing game would allow him to be more successful than his predecessor.

The opening games were promising at least in terms of performances with a few home games seeing some bright and enterprising football even if chances and goals were at a premium. The results were mixed and it seemed United also had a problem with discipline with numerous penalties being conceded and a number of dismissals for players. The results did not improve and the performances tailed off with United’s sloppy defending allied to the inability to put the ball in the net seeing us slide towards the bottom of the table. Speed seemed helpless to arrest the slide and his comments in the media indicated he was becoming a little frustrated at not being able to bring players in. Most United fans now seemed to wonder if he was really the answer and his body language was becoming increasingly despondent.

The phrase ‘right man, wrong time/club’ was being brandished a lot but in reality it seemed Speed was essentially a rookie who perhaps should have began his managerial career in the lower leagues and maybe was not ready for such a challenge with a poor squad of course not helping. Speed simply could not get the best out of the players he had though and with performance and results poor it seemed he was actually under pressure. However, United and Speed in some ways had the ideal way to part amicably as Wales came in and took Speed as their next manager. It was a remarkable appointment as despite Speed being a former captain, very likeable and media friendly, his early days as a manager had not been promising. Will he ever be a good manager or a success? That remains to be seen but when he was at Sheffield United, it has to be said that overall, Gary Speed’s brief tenure as manager (18 games; 6 wins) was not a success and whilst he seemed a thoroughly decent guy, it is fair to say he has to take a fair share of blame for the predicament the team is now in.

Grade E-

John Carver was only in charge for a few games but there was actually some encouragement in the fact we finally showed some fight and some life and scored goals. We scored 5 in 3 games after being so poor in this area previously. We played well and deservedly beat Swansea at the Lane and then were a touch unfortunate in defeats against Hull and Norwich. However, they were defeats whatever the circumstances and more poor defending plagued us. Also, the ill discipline continued as we were involved in two full large confrontations against Hull and Norwich and had another sending off. The results in the games he oversaw ultimately confirmed he would not get the job he was always a long shot to obtain but he at least did show some passion in the games. His tactical naivety and lack of first team management experience at this level meant he was probably always going to be a caretaker and it was no surprise he left the club as soon as Adams was appointed. He is now back at Newcastle coaching; a job and location probably perfect for him.

Grade E- (for the 3 games)

Micky Adams had been a revelation in his early days as manager with success at Fulham, Brighton and also Leicester but in recent days his star has fallen and he had seen appointments at Coventry, and Brighton (again) not really work out. He had to go right back down the leagues to Port Vale but was seemingly showing his worth again taking a previously struggling side towards the top of League Two. He is someone that had always been linked with United due to his affinity for the club and local roots but for one reason or another it had never happened until now.

With Sean O’Driscoll seemingly dallying and others not convincing (Scott, Brown etc) ; United eventually plumped for Adams. The appointment once again had mixed reviews from fans with some claiming he would instil passion and commitment sadly lacking this season, allied to the fact he was a Blade and Sheffielder to boot. Sceptics suggested there was a reason why he managed so many clubs and now was back in the bottom of the football league pyramid. Whatever camp you were in; most would have thought a new manager would provide a fresh impetus but this sadly did not happen. We lost games routinely at the start of his tenure and whilst the initial performances were better and more committed initially many things did not change and in fact got worse. We still had rotten luck in terms of officials’ decisions or key moments going against us but these excuses were becoming tiresome. Granted in some games we actually were the better side (Norwich, Leicester) but simply could not win games; sorry ‘a’ game.

We could not stop conceding silly goals nor score them at the other end. Things seemed to spiral out of control and poor signings did not help Adams cause when he had a chance to inject some enthusiasm, pace and freshness into the side. The likes of Bent, Collins and Doyle actually made the squad worse whilst superior players such as Ward, Bartley and Britton, although not world beaters, were allowed to leave. We continued to have players sent off and continued to give away the most ridiculous of goals, whilst routinely losing at so called ‘fortress’ Bramall Lane, which these days was anything but. The small improvements in performances had now all but disappeared and Adams style of play (which seemed to move between direct football to hopeless attempts at possession football) was not gaining plaudits or results.

His team selections also were surprising to say the least at time as he persisted with players he signed such as Collins and Doyle but then said he had inherited the mess. It became a little bizarre as more loan players came and went but the by now it seemed as if the situation was lost. After we lost at Palace, Scunthorpe and then to Derby many felt Adams would either walk or be pushed but in the face of no real interest let alone concern from the board, he carried on. We actually finally got a few wins towards the end of the campaign but it was too little too late and the relegation that had looked possible when he took over became pretty much almost certain as early as March.

Adams has not got many things right in terms of his signings, team selections, tactics, playing style and most importantly results. Many other managers would have been dismissed (no matter how short the time he has been in charge – see Strachan; Boro, Barraclough; Scunthorpe, Burley; Palace) but he was allowed to carry on. At times his body language suggested he did not know what to do next and his interviews at times were strange as he went from praising the team one week to lambasting them the next. In short he had no answers. He will point to the late season fight and the introduction of youth but these things should have happened a lot sooner as he probably knows. His final interview after the Swansea game was bizarre as he said there were many people at the club he did not want to work with and spoke of ‘bad eggs.’ Maybe some of these bad eggs (Britton – in playoffs, Ward – helped keep Derby up, Bartley – playing for Scottish champions and even Yeates) would have done better than those he brought in? Just a thought. He then said he wanted to do his things from the first day of pre season but what has he been doing for the previous 6 months? His job is to manage the players he has (maybe he does not like all of them but they are a squad that should have done far better –Speed as guilty as him of course) and he has not done this. I know the problems are much higher and clearly all emanate at board room level but I still expect our manager/s to have done a far better job than they have done this year.

Adams seems to be a manager that is unsure of what style he wants to play or what kind of approach he wants to take and seems a bit of a dinosaur in how he manages and his comments to the media. He has openly admitted he does not always believe in or use video technology and allegedly does not really use things such as Prozone or statistical breakdowns/analysis. I am unsure if he has the ability, ingenuity or ‘out of the box’ ideas to propel whatever team he has to be successive. Adams’ has the worst record percentage wise of any permanent manager we have ever had (4 wins out of 24- 17%). Also question marks over his number two Alan Cork have to be asked as was supposedly one of the top attacking coaches around yet under him we have scored very few goals nor looked like scoring in many games; certainly until the end of season flurry when it mattered little.

Grade F

[deadbat]

Away from the first team, the Development Squad (what is that tag all about) or the Reserves as I call it has been coached by Mark Smith who also seems to be around the first team on match days. Odd he has been kept on as we have been through 4 managers and he has been retained? Not sure whether he will stay on next season. The reserves at least consist of mostly young players and some of these ‘development’ players actually look promising.

Maybe for once our scouts may have been able to uncover some gems in the likes of McAllister, Tonne and Harriott who have been brought into the club at a relatively young age from elsewhere. It has certainly been a major weakness in years past and hopefully we can now sign players from lower league/non league clubs that also can be utilised rather than rely on players no better than what we have (Collins, Doyle), ageing players (Cresswell), Premiership reserves on loan (too many to mention) or players that seemingly are just looking for their last contract (Bent). At least a review of the scouting system has been mentioned as a priority as whoever the manager/coaches have been out signings on the whole have been awful over the last 3 or 4 years.

Dave Bassett came in as a football consultant but it seemed to make little difference to results or performances and it did not seem as if he was massively involved. He sat in the stand for a few games but did not seem to be involved in the actual coaching nor have a direct first team match day role. We had a few sound bites over what his old Blades side did to stay up and then what they had to do when they went down but I am unsure how we can afford to retain a ‘consultant’ at League One. Personally speaking I would have brought him as a manager till the end of the season (ok he’s a dinosaur now but may have galvanised us to stay up) or not at all. If he was going to be brought in he needed to be more hands on and that did not seem to be case at least from afar.

Whatever does happen it seems that the safest man in the club on the coaching side is John Pemberton who has done a splendid job in his first season in charge of the academy. The appointment of Pemberton has continued the work that the likes of Ron Reid and Kevin Fogg did before him and Pemberton has his teams not only winning but playing the right way with a discipline and commitment to their profession. There is talk Pemberton may even be offered the first team job if an opportunity came about such is how much he has impressed in such a short space of time. For what it is worth I would leave Pemberton where he is for now as he is doing such a good job; if he moves into the first team hot seat where does that leave the Academy and if it does not work for him as manager can we really move him back there; no; he would be sacked and we would have not first team manager (again) and have lost the person responsible for instilling such changes in the Academy. He has done a lot in a year. I do wonder what he could do in 2 or 3 years?

Next season

It seems Adams (and Cork) future is in limbo. They may remain for the reasons that we perhaps cannot afford to change another manager; unless those rumours of Pemberton taking over come to fruition. It seems it is only the complete disinterest of the board that has seen him retain his job. Strangely some fans still seem to think he is the man to take us forward but I am unsure what they are basing this on as the results, performances, signings, team selections and tactics have been poor to say the least (yes we will have a clear out but that will be determined by relegation and our inability to keep the high earners rather than Adams’ choice and also we will play youth but that again has been forced on Adams).

His results record and performances obviously are the biggest concern moving forward but his cries of it not being his team and also blaming the previous managers do not wash as he had half a season in charge of them and his signings almost every one (maybe Riise and possibly Lowry/Vokes accepted) were really poor. It may seem like from my criticism I do not want him to succeed but I do. He seems a really genuine, decent guy and a Blade and I would love nothing more for him to get us back up and eventually back in contention for the Premiership but sadly from everything I have seen so far I am not sure he is up to it.

The only reason for him perhaps staying is he knows what a mess we are in and probably knows the problems more than a new manager who would come in and have to look at things from fresh and take them longer to see the problems. Sadly from what he has done so far I don’t think he has addressed the problems in the team/squad at all so perhaps having knowledge of the situation and being here is overrated though. Many of the players at the club have not exactly upped their game since he has come with only maybe Lowton and Quinn improving.

Many seem to have thrown in the towel some time ago. Do not get me wrong I think it will be a tough task for whoever it is and I am not one for this constant change of manager which has clearly not helped us (although I would say to the media who keep levelling this at the club as the main reason for relegation they have all failed so do you just persist with managers who are losing games?). However, if and it is a big if, he does remain I think Adams has got to start the next season very well and he will have little margin for error. I am fearful though that if he does stay; that come September/October after a poor start we may be changing things again and wasting another 6 months than if we had acted at the end of this season. I do know that the problems at this club go a lot higher than the manager and whoever the present incumbent is but now with things at the helm as they are, the manager is crucially important as he is maybe the only man who can inject some positivity into the club and its fans at the moment. 23 years ago we had Dave Bassett and after a number of inspire signings for relatively cheap fees we started to bounce back. I hope Bassett can sprinkle some magic onto Adams to do likewise but in today’s market with the scarcity of gems like Deane, Agana, Bryson for affordable prices; it will be much tougher. I repeat what I said earlier and I do hope that Adams’ can turn things around but he will know if he does remain he does not have long to convince the board and the fans; no matter what circumstances surround him.

[fred emney]

grand effort DB, not pretty reading but then this season`s been about as ugly as a Sam Ellis look-a-like competition.


Everyone connected with the first team, the board, managers & players have been total & utter shit except for the following who did at least show something during this 46 game long slide toward the drains of football.

Lowton did fine
Reid did very well
Maguire, Slew, Vokes & McAllister showed promise
quinny had a good last 2 months of vein bursting effort.
Evans scored 9 goals but was also invisible for a fair while too.


the rest including the mighty captains monty, cressy & hendo can get stuffed.

Can`t wait for your player ratings DB :-)

[deadbat]

Playing Squad

Goalkeepers

Steve Simonsen had been excellent on loan in the closing stages of the previous season and when Paddy Kenny surprisingly moved on most thought (including myself) we would not suffer too much in this department. How wrong they/we all were. Simonsen had an awful season for the most part. He had one or two decent games (Coventry away, Reading away then I am struggling – I am sure there have been more) but mostly he was poor and it seemed like there would not be a few games go by without a mistake.

Indeed I would go as far to say around 20 goals should have been kept out by him (I am not going through them all but you can go right from opening day versus Cardiff when he was culpable to the final major gaffe against Bristol City; throw in major errors against Forest, Norwich (x2) and many other crosses he failed to take and the evidence does mount up against him).

He can be a decent shot stopper and sometimes showed this (a stunning save v Boro from recent memory) but overall too many shots also went past him. More than this it was his total lack of command of his area and from crosses/high balls that was the major weakness in his game. He seemed unable to take most crosses/corners no matter how deep they were played towards him and his inability to punch/catch was a fixture in goals we conceded. When he did finally come for crosses he was not strong at all and for a fairly big keeper seemed to shrink as he often got lost in bodies of players.

Simonsen has conceded 71 goals this season out of total United have conceded of 79 goals in comparison to 55 and 39 in the previous years. This tells a story. Of course the defence in front of Simonsen has been wretched with various combinations simply not working. Experienced players did not perform (Nosworthy, Collins) or were injured (Morgan) and it cannot have been easy knowing we were unlikely to score at the other end, thus magnifying every mistake he made. However, the defence starts with the goalkeeper and he has not commanded his box, nor led the defence at all.

For an experienced keeper he seems petrified and almost like a young keeper who has not played many games, thus pouring scorn on those who saw we could not have played a young keeper like Aksalu or Long. Whatever reasons for it, it seems Simonsen completely lost his confidence and really should have been replaced but as Wright came in and also struggled and then got injured; the managers kept changing and Simonsen kept getting picked as we simply had no one else as much of the below were either inexperienced or untested. It needed a brave manager to make a goalkeeping signing one of the first things on their agenda but for whatever reason it never happened.

Grade F+

Richard Wright came into provide competition to the stuttering Simonsen just before Gary Speed’s reign came to an end. He impressed initially in the reserve game against Wednesday and then he was given a start as Simonsen’s form did not improve. He played a half at Barnsley and a half at Burnley but was not particularly convincing and seemingly could not finish games as he limped off injured in both. It seemed odd that a goalkeeper could not finish games due to an injury and he then disappeared from the scene for the same reason. He was due to come back into first team contention but rightly his wage was jettisoned early from the payroll before the end of the season. He would not have been brought back anyway. Another poor signings that further squandered funds.

Grade F

George Long had been on the bench for the first team a few times and then started in the final game at Swansea as he conceded four goals but also made quite a few saves as he was plunged into a difficult scenario. He looks a real prospect at only 17. I have seen him a few times for the Academy and he commands his box well, takes cross and seems to handle the ball well. He also has a good kick on him. I cannot see him being seen as the first team keeper for a season or two year as it is but hopefully he will come though and really push whoever the number one is next season.

Grade C

Mikel Aksalu came in a few years ago but despite a good reputation in his homeland of Estonia, has not really pushed on and indeed even loan spells have not really worked out. He is not young either, 27 this year so the idea that he can progress and develop with us, is a little baffling. Surely if he was that good and was going to make it he would have by now and especially the last 2 years when we have not such goalkeeping problems.

Lawrence Thomas came in on a short term deal but unsure quite where the Australian fits when we have the above 3 contracted for next season unless a few of them move on in the summer. It seemed another bizarre signing. Surely we would have been better signing an experienced stopper when Simonsen was struggling.

Next season

Returning players

Player / Position Years remaining (contract expires)

Goalkeepers

Steve Simonsen 1 year (2012)
Mikhel Aksalu 1 year (2012)
George Long (contract unknown)

We are probably stuck with Simonsen as he is under contract and no one will take him after this season. He will also be on fairly decent wages. The best for all parties would probably be if he was bought out and allowed to move on but that probably will not happen. I think we have to look at signing a new keeper as a priority in the summer. I cannot see how Simonsen can start next season as the number one after his wretched season but am unsure what we will do with him as of course Long is pushing and an ideal world he would be the backup not Simonsen. I know we have been linked with Stuart Tomlinson at Adams’ former club Port Vale but whether it is him or someone else I do think we will have to bring in another keeper to be the number one. As for the others; well I cannot see Thomas coming back as we won’t have the money to carry 3 or 4 keepers. Aksalu is under contract too but he may have to move on like Justin Haber before him. It is good that we have two young keepers in and around the England set ups in Long and also George Willis (England under 16’s). It has been a while since United produced a home grown goalkeeper so this is encouraging.

[pommpey]

Keep going deadbat. Good reading, is this.

pommpey

[muttley]

Dont stop there, can't wait for Collins and Nosworthy's ratings!

[Bladenz]

Many thanks Deadbat, for all the work and effort you have put into these reports. Gosh, they make awful reading (not from you, but from the poor performance of almost everybody at the club). What a shower of shite we have been in all departments. I hope that next season your reports will have something good to say. Almost all of the points you make in these reports are eminently sensible. If only the people who make decisions would read them and act!

[fred emney]

I thought we were playing 'rush' goalie' all season, watching some bloke plodding around his area not quite knowing whether he can grab it with his hands or not and more often than not just flapping at the bloody thing.

Blimey did we miss our Paddy!.

[deadbat]

Defenders

Chris Morgan was to be the bedrock which United built their season on yet again but he actually was a little out of sorts to start the season and with the remainder of the defence never being the same week in, week out; he seemed to struggle somewhat and actually made quite a few mistakes as both he and the Unite defence looked shaky. He actually was dropped for a few games late August/early September before coming back in and getting injured. He only returned for the Burnley home game but his form was still up and down. Still as a leader and captain he was surely to be a key man in our attempts to move up the league until he suffered an injury at the end of October. The severity of the injury meant he would be out for the entire season with cruciate knee ligament damage. His absence would be one of many nails in the coffin for United. After he went out United struggled even more and used so many different permutation in the centre of defence with none really having any real success. Morgan tried to beat the drum about United’s survival and was even briefly involved in the coaching when Carver was the caretaker manager; but he was helpless to prevent our slide. Many did feel Morgan was coming towards the last few years at this level and this injury could arguably speed up this thought but if Morgan come back even 60-70% the leader/player he was; he will still be an asset at league one. The fact is if he was fit we may not have gone down and even if we did; then surely like some of the other more experienced players he would have departed. Now recovering from injury he will be one of the few to stay around and fingers crossed he may be back to lead us out come August.

Grade D

Andy Taylor had been criticised for his performances the previous season after he came in from the lower leagues and looked out of his depth. It was hard to see what Blackwell and his scouts had seen in him to justify spending cash on him and giving him a three year contract. He began the season back at left back with Gary Naysmith opting to take Huddersfield’s contract offer although Stephen Jordan came in to provide competition for Taylor. He did ok in the opening game at Cardiff but then was poor (along with the rest) against QPR and was dropped, when Gary Speed took over, in favour of Jordan. His replacement did not fare much better but Jordan and others; such as De Laet played in that position for the next few months and Taylor was mostly a substitute at best. He played once against Coventry but did not return until the Xmas period for a run of 3 games. He had a decent game against Swansea before sustaining a serious injury against Hull on Boxing Day in a block challenge as he went to shoot. He came off with serious knee injury affecting his anterior cruciate ligament and we never saw him again. Overall he ended up only starting 7 league games and we only won one of those games. It was a write off season really with poor performances overall in the games he played and then an injury keeping him out for the second half of the season. With only a season left on his contract and the fact that due to the injury he actually is unlikely to return until the later part of the year his future is very uncertain. Some have said he is harshly criticised but to be honest I am not sure he is good enough as he gives his winger too much room, gets in bad positions, seems to have little football brain/awareness and makes too many mistakes. Going forward at times he has been neat and tidy and occasionally put in some good crosses but first and foremost he is a defender and he struggles to master the basics needed for a solid full back. The only positive for him is I currently do not see another left back on the books.

Grade E

Matthew Lowton has been one of the few bright spots of this season. He has been asked to play in all sorts of positions and for much of the season was in and out for various reasons with some mangers liking him and others unsure. By the end of the season he finished as probably our strongest performer in the last 2 or 3 months. His season began well in that he was picked after impressed in pre season to start at Cardiff but was then sent off; a little harshly, in the first half and was a substitute for most of the games when his suspension elapsed. He came on in midfield and scored in a comeback draw against Burnley and then eventually got back in at right back for a series of games around November. Speed took him out of the team just before he took the Wales job and then after a poor performance where he was run ragged by Chris Eagles at Burnley in Adams’ first game; he was once again out of the team. He did not return until Palace but since then he has been pretty much ever present and although he has been moved from right back to left back to centre half and even spells in midfield, he has got better and better. Decent on the ball, good going forward and a decent finisher he has shown he deserves to be in the first team. He is excellent in the air for his size and always wants to be positive when he gets on the ball. Be good if he can command a regular position (probably right back) and for a youngster he has been messed about quite a bit this season. Hopefully now so long as nobody comes in for him (and has proven he is a competent Championship performer) then hopefully he can be one of the building blocks for the future.

Grade C+

Johannes Ertl.Ertl came in from Palace where he had been a steady utility man if nothing spectacular. His signing seemed odd as we already had players already like him in the squad but he was reckoned to be a cover player for defence and midfield. He began at Cardiff playing really well at centre half but then at right back against QPR he was awful and his lack of pace and mobility clear to see. He then operated in midfield for many of the games after this but was always picked despite some up and down performances and I believe he was an ever present up to the Ipswich game in early November when he dropped to the bench. He did a steady job but he did not get forward much and was not able to offer much more than others were already offering such as Montgomery. Also with Britton seemingly better playing just in front of the back four; meant we had many players that were much of a muchness and who preferred to operate in the same role. He was out of the side for a while being mainly a substitute and then he only came back into the team at centre back due to injuries around the new year time. He had a few steady-ish games in this position but also showed again his lack of pace and quicker, more mobile players caused him problems. Once again he was in and out of the team before he suffered an injury in the reserves around mid March and was ruled out for the rest of the season. Overall, he was not awful when he played but to be frank he was quite ordinary and was another player that was moved round different positions. He seemed better at centre back than midfield but then with the lack of pace around the rest of the team this weakness was exposed even more. He has a year left on his contract and I suppose is a useful player to have around who can play a number of positions but sadly he is not really reliable enough to play consistently well in one position for a number of games going by the evidence we have seen. He was symbolic of many of Blackwell’s signings that were steady enough but usually lacked pace, technique, flair and ability to change/save games.

Grade D

Kyle Bartley was brought back after a fairly successful loan spell the previous season where he had shown some promise and although he was raw he had some natural ability and his physique suggested he could be a success. He was injured at the start of the season but came in at Middlesboro and then played a run of games at centre back. His performances were mixed as he carried on from the previous season; showing his ability with the ball at times but maybe also being guilty of switching off in key defensive moments with poor concentration. He went out of the team with an injury briefly before coming back in to stay in the team from the Coventry home game right up to the Norwich away defeat. When Adams came in he was suspended but played four successive games before the end of January. At the end of this month with the transfer window closing he was recalled or deepening who you believe allowed to move to Rangers on loan from his parent club, Arsenal. It seemed an odd one as he had been one of our better defenders I felt and was an ever present when fit. He made mistakes and at times was too lackadaisical. He also maybe was not consistent enough but overall despite this I still felt he was one of our better defenders and it was not helped by the fact we constantly were changing things around at the back. Chris Morgan’s injury also did not help his development. Adams said at the time: "We wanted to bring in another centre-half and Kyle felt it would maybe hinder his selection and wanted to leave. If people want to leave the club, I'm not going to stand in their way." This disappointed me even before I knew it was Neil Collins bring brought in as it sounds as if Adams preferred another centre back and did not fancy Bartley or at least convince him he would be part of his plans. If Adams had brought in a better player than fair enough but that was not the case. He was not brilliant but was still as good if not better than the hotch potch line ups we kept fielding at the back from after he left. In the circumstances I would have liked us to have tried harder to have kept him personally. Despite this I am unsure if he will ever go on and be a top quality Premiership defender or even play at that level and his performances at Rangers were mixed before he picked up a ligament injury which curtailed the loan.

Grade D

Nyron Nosworthy, like Steve Simonsen, has been decent for the most part in his loan at the end of the 09/10 season and most United fans were glad he was brought back judging by many fan’s reactions on message boards etc. Sure he was prone to errors and at times overplayed but he had put in more good performances than bad ones and showed his experience. On his return he was reckoned to compete alongside Kyle Bartley to play centre back alongside Chris Morgan and of course could occasionally play right back; which was not really his best position. He was injured when we started the season but played in Gary Speed’s first game and began his campaign at right back. He then played centre back when Morgan was out of the team before partnering him again before the skipper got his season ending injury. After this he mainly played at centre back for the next few months under Speed with a number of really poor performances and defensive howlers. Two mistakes at home to Hull that led directly to goals were an example of his poor form and he made countless other errors or tried to over play. In Adams’ opening game he was poor again and then decided to give a two fingered salute to fans when he left at half time before being substituted due to injury. He did apologise to the fans after the game but the damage had been done for many as much for his performances as the gesture. He came back into the team at Palace but he is form remained patchy to say the least as he mainly now operated at right back. He did have one or two decent games showing smatterings of the form we had seen the previous season but after another run of defeats his loan was terminated allowing us to play younger players in the run in. We did improve after he left and clearly for all his experience his performances for the most part this season were not good enough. He can defend well at times and has athleticism, decent speed over a distance and can read the game really well. He made some horrific decisions on the ball and often took too many touches when a simple clearance would have sufficed. He also somehow managed to head the ball at impossible angles when it looked impossible to put it where he did! Difficult to know where is future lies as he has another season at Sunderland under contract but actually proved he was not good/consistent enough for the Championship this season. He provided plenty of entertainment this season but sadly not much of it was of a positive note.

Grade E-

Stephen Jordan was brought in after he had looked set to sign for Portsmouth in pre season after leaving Burnley. He had shown promise in his early days at Man City but now his career seemed to have stalled. United offered him a one year deal seeing they needed some competition at left back. He came in against Preston and did fairly well and was in the team for the next month or so but his performances were mixed and he, like Taylor, before him was poor positionally and did not seem to get tight enough to his man or be alert to danger. He then was dropped before picking up an injury when he returned. This seemed to be the pattern for much of the rest of the season as he would play a few games, then maybe get injured or be taken out due to poor performances and then return and the same would happen. Remember one wretched mistake at Leeds which led to the winning goal. He only actually played 14 games in total and from December onwards only started 2 games before being released in early April. Another signing that was a total failure and when he did play he did not really look up to it often being part of a defence (with others) that threw away goal after goal. He had a decent left foot but again like many others we signed seemed to think he was better than he actually was when all we wanted was someone to do the basics. Unsure what his future holds now he has been released by two Championship teams in successive seasons and will probably have to start again down the leagues but he is now 29.

Grade E-

Ritchie De Laet was brought in from Manchester United and played 4 games on loan. He actually did not look too bad in general play and was decent on the ball, getting up and down the flank well. However whilst he showed some undoubted ability he actually made some poor mistakes in the games he played. At Leeds he was partly to blame (mainly Jordan in the build up) for their man being allowed to cross, against Burnley he gave away a poor penalty and then was also culpable in a goal at Doncaster. Another who has ability like others I have mentioned but poor concentration and basic defending cost him badly. Went to Preston on loan after he left us and then has been at Portsmouth for the final few months of the season. Another loan that did not really come off.

Grade E-

Jean Calve’s spell at the Lane was really quite mixed but he did not live up to the promise he initially showed. He was a trialist (from Nancy) under Kevin Blackwell but was not signed going to Blackpool on trial soon after before Gary Speed came in and opted to sign him. Had a sensational start with a wonder goal and good performance to win the game versus Preston and then assisted on a goal at Derby the following week. He remained in the team at right back for the next few months but his attacking abilities (good shot and always tried to get crosses in) were not backed up by his defending. He was physically weak and also another who switched off at key times. I felt teams would often target him down that side and begin to realise he could be got at. He was taken out of the team and then was in and out for the final weeks of Speed’s spell in charge. He started against Burnley but clearly did not impress Adams and did not play another game for United with only a few substitute appearances as he picked up a few injuries to boot. He basically did not feature after the New Year and his loan was terminated before the end of the season. Seemed promising when he came in but was not strong/physical enough for English football and unfortunately despite the flashes in his opening games his ability on the ball was not that good that it would counteract the weaknesses and he was one that I think Adams got right in not playing.

Grade E+

Rob Kozluk was a bizarre signing when he was brought back to the club on a 1 year deal after a trial period. He was always a ‘character’ around the dressing room and did a decent job for a long time when he was here the first time but was released because his best days were behind him. So to bring him back when a club lower in the league than us released him was baffling really and seemed another waste of funds/resources. Could our scouts not find any young players better than this or did they not feel some of our young players could be a better option? He was mostly a substitute when involved and indeed for much of Speed’s tenure was not even on the bench. When Adams came in with United having a lot of injuries and suspensions he actually started his only league game of the season; I think at left back and amazingly scored deep into stoppage time to salvage a point with a great finish. He played against Villa in the cup but was poor and then did not start again returning to the bench for the remainder of the season coming on for a few brief cameos. He last left the club when we got relegated from the top flight and now he leaves again when we go into league one. He has been a great servant and I can’t blame him for coming back (it was others who signed him!) for one last hurray. I am sure there is a place for somewhere in league two for a final contract even at 34.

Grade E-

Ellian Parrino was signed from Estudiantes at the end of September on a season long loan after he played against us in a friendly game at the Lane in the pre season. He was on the bench once in Speed’s spell as manager but then came on at Burnley when we had injuries in Adams’ first game. He then started against Doncaster at right back and stayed in the side for 8 consecutive games at this position. He showed some ability on the ball and was able to get forward again and also attacked the ball better than say Calve, a player who had played there previously. He actually had one or two good efforts on goal too when he did get forward. However, he was another who physically perhaps was not strong enough and also gave his man too much time and space. He still seemed to have some promise considering he is only 22 but the team were struggling and he was dropped before he suffered an injury which I think has kept him out for the rest of the season. I do not think we will sign him due to the obvious cut backs after we had previously seemed interested but on reflection he maybe did not quite do enough despite some decent promise at times.

Grade D-

Shane Lowry was one of Adams’ loan signings and was brought in from Villa and remained with us from the draw at Coventry right until the end of the season. He was one of the better loan players (not too difficult!) and his no nonsense approach endeared him to many fans as he actually put his foot and head in at times to protect the defence. He was a bit ale house but in a strange way I liked that as he showed some commitment we had not seen before in this area and where we had routinely given away soft goals. Technically not the best and at times he would revert to the punt forward. He also was another guilty of ill discipline with some bad fouls, yellow cards and also a silly red card at Scunthorpe and another at Swansea. Still, I felt he did ok overall and despite some mistakes (maybe he tailed off towards the end of the season) he was one of the better defenders we had. However, this was not difficult when you run through some of the players I have detailed so far! Will we sign him? Probably not. With Morgan hopefully coming back and Maguire coming through they probably simply cannot afford to sign someone who will be on decent wages as he has another year left at Villa.

Grade D

Joe Mattock was another loan signing Adams made in an attempt to shore up the defence. He was out of the reckoning completely at West Brom after they signed him for decent money from Leicester but at 20 is still thought to have a big future. He did not really convince in his spell at the Lane and was another left back that was probably better going forward than defending. For fear of repeating myself (sorry) he was another that gave his winger too much time and seemed to simply; disappear from his position at key times! Completely one footed to the point where he would never use his right foot. He has a decent left foot and got a few crosses in that caused problems in his spell but he routinely made daft mistakes throughout his loan and I cannot really recall one game where I can say he played well in.

Grade E

Neil Collins was a signing that was an odd one as he was completely out of the picture at Leeds. He was a defender that had not really impressed me when I had seen him previously (even going back to his loan at the Lane 5 years previously) and had suddenly become a bit of a journeyman (not usually a good sign when you are only 27) moving around quite a few clubs. Adams opted to let Bartley move on and plugged Lowry and Collins into the back four. He made his debut at Ipswich as we got battered 3-0 and was involved in the side that went 8 games without a win from this point onwards often looking clumsy, ponderous, immobile and also strangely weak for someone so big. He made some poor mistakes in games that led directly to goals and looked a really poor and strange signing. It may seem I am picking on him but going through the games I can recall goals at Palace away; did not close the ball, Scunthorpe away; at fault for at least 2 goals including the key penalty that brought them back into it, Forest home; Adebola turned him easily; Watford; possibly at fault for all 3 goals at least 2; Middlesboro; poor defensive header. Maybe I am exaggerating but it got to the point where if we did concede often he was involved in it through not picking up or a poor mistake. Evidently he had s strong second half at Reading when we won but most games he played in he was 5/10 at best I think. It is astonishing that we signed him on a 2 and a half year deal and despite us not having the funds to make many signings; this was a real misuse of funds and now we are stuck with him for the foreseeable future.

Grade F

Harry Maguire first came to my prominence when I saw him a few years ago in a pre season youth tournament televised in Ireland and I recall his size/command for one so young. I resolved to keep an eye out for him but only saw him in person for the first time in the Academy this year when he impressed in the few games I saw. He clearly had an unbelievable physique for someone of his age (only just 18) and was impressive in the youth cup run to the final of the competition. He maybe lacked a bit in pace what I had seen but I liked the way he always tried to pass the ball and brought it out from the defence. He was given a taste of the first team as an unused substitute against Leeds and then came on at half time against Cardiff and impressed with his no nonsense attitude against internationals Bellamy and Bothroyd. He then played at Preston and did well continuing to attack the ball at every opportunity before continuing to impress against Bristol City until an unfortunate sending off after a poor ball from Montgomery. Maguire then was unfortunate again when a slip against Barnsley led to a goal. However, despite this he has shown real promise in the games he has played and will definitely be one we can build around (assuming we don’t receive any offers for him) for the future.

Grade C

The rest

Danny Batth came in from Wolves on loan but only came on for a few minutes strangely as a striker when we beat Swansea! He was recalled not long after he came in and then ended up going to Wednesday for a spell later in the season.

Phil Roe was an unused substitute for the league cup game and then at Reading at the end of the season.

Connor Brown was reckoned to be a promising right back but got a bad injury and only returned at the end of the season to reserve team football.

Terry Kennedy has partnered Maguire in the centre of the defence at the Academy and also looks promising and made his debut coming on at Swansea for the final half hour.

Marc Warren came in from Australian football and Seamus Connelly arrived from the League of Ireland at the same time as teammate David McAllister but whilst both have been regulars in the reserves they have yet to make their league bow with Warren being an unused sub a Swansea.

Next season

Player / Position Years remaining (contract expires)

Defenders

Chris Morgan 2 years (2013)
Neil Collins 2 years (2013)
Johannes Ertl 1 year (2012)
Matthew Lowton 1 year (2012)
Andy Taylor 1 year (2012)
Harry Maguire (contract unknown)
Seamus Connelly 1 year (2012)
Marc Warren 1.5 years (Jan - 2013)
Phil Roe (contract unknown)
Connor Brown (contract unknown)
Terry Kennedy (contract unknown)

Hopefully Morgan can return from injury and solidify the defence but it is a major injury and I am unsure even if we will be fit for the start of the season. Young players Lowton and Maguire will definitely be involved and probably start the season I would reckon. Taylor is out injured and Ertl is another coming back from a bad injury but neither are players that I would want as regular starters even at league two and both have fitness concerns anyway. Sadly it may be a case of needs must. The rest here are young players who may not be ready yet but then again they may have to be used. I would love to say we need this player and that player but with the financial demands I am unsure who/how many we can bring in. In an ideal world we definitely need a left back and maybe another centre back with some pace but unsure whether that will happen. If we could start the season with Morgan, Maguire, Lowton and A N other and sign one or two back ups that would be creditable to say the least at League One level.

[fred emney]

Apart from Lowton & Maguire, what a heap of snot that lot were, biggest hanky in world couldn`t wipe the mess that lot spread about The Blades.

spot on again DB.

[Bladenz]

Deadbat, you never cease to amaze me - you must keep voluminous notes and statistics all through the season to help with your reports. well done! I take my hat off to you. I agree with Fred's somewhat colourful metaphor above - what a shower! (He phrased it so much better than I could, however.) Well, as I said before, here's to next year and some brighter reports from you. I can't wait for your obituaries - no, sorry, reports - on the midfield and forwards! Thanks again.