Post by deadbat on May 25, 2024 17:44:33 GMT
Playing Squad
I will now go through each department – I will show the contract situations (some of these might not be correct so tell me)! I will then discuss the outlook for next year.
We will begin with the Goalkeepers….then the Defence and so on….posted over the next week ending with the Academy and final awards/conclusions.
Goalkeepers
Defence
Midfield
Attack
Academy
Final awards / Conclusions
2023/24 SUFC SEASON REVIEW / SCHOOL REPORT
Goalkeepers
Wes Foderingham I felt his promotion season was not quite as strong as the one before it and he did make some mistakes in games but was mostly solid again and for the Championship was fine. I think if we had funds, we would have upgraded in the summer but clearly we did not and he was probably seen as less of a priority. That worried me as I never have thought he was close to good enough for the top flight. I saw him as being very busy and his weaknesses (command of box/distribution and inability to save long range shots) being really evident at the higher level. We only had Davies and Amissah as back ups and they clearly were nowhere near the level. I was really surprised we did not at least bring in some decent competition but then as I have said, we were/are skint so did not have much choice but to go with what we had with so many other areas needing upgrade. Not helped by the fact we had or did sign about 5 left wing backs and none were good enough wasting key members of the squad.
He started the season and kept us in the games v Palace and City and not sure he could be really blamed for any of the goals that went in for the first few games. We saw his inability to come off his line in games but overall, he was just so busy, blaming him for things was looking in the wrong area really. The Newcastle game he let 8 in (a few he could have done better) and this really hit his confidence. I thought his form slowly started to dip and as we conceded so many goals, it was inevitable errors would creep in. His error v Brentford at home was the highest profile but thought he could have done better with a few shots and crosses were not being dealt with either. Questions were being asked about the manager, the defence and pretty much every area of the side and did not escape the examination. Calls for a replacement to be signed were growing as the backs ups were not seen as anywhere close to good enough for a top flight team. Eventually as we slumped to the bottom and had several more hammerings. Foderingham gave some off interviews and seemed to blame others when he was as bad as the rest of them over this period. He did not endear himself to fans with these words or some of his body language in games.
Wilder came in and made a signing not long after. Wes was clearly stalling on new terms of a contract and Wilder said he was not going to sign – so in came Ivor Grbic. I must admit we knew little about him but he was put straight in but this seemed as much about Wilder making a point to Foderingham. Odd as others also were out of contract and had been made offers but were not re-signing yet? The new keeper had a bit of a nightmare start and after an injury, Wes was back in for Palace and then Villa but conceded another shipload proving it was more than just who was in goal for us! He was in for the Luton game but then after more goals were conceded, Wilder went back to Grbic but the new lad looked far from convincing and he became a bit of a laughing stock – to the extent that Wilder went back to Wes – something we never thought would happen.
He played superbly at Man Utd and Newcastle but still conceded 9 goals (could have been a lot more) and looked the far better option. He had little chance with goals in the game at Forest and no real errors at Everton too and kept the scoreline at home to Spurs too.
Admittedly I felt it was the right thing to take him out but we managed to replace him with someone seemingly far worse! The fact there had been a falling out but he still got back in summed it up really. He did not exactly look pally with Wilder after games and it was confirmed prior to the end of the season that he would move on.
There is two sides to this. We do not know what kind of offer the club offered? Not sure what kind of deal or club Foderingham thinks he might get? He had been back up for quite a few years in Scotland before arriving at the Lane and was number three here for a while? He did ok for us for a few years but is a mid-table Championship keeper at best and any contract offers will surely reflect that? Also turns 34 next season.
However the counter argument is we know he is a steady pair of hands in the lower league and probably would have been fine but seems either he has burnt his bridges or the club has maybe not valued him? Whatever he has been a decent servant for us despite his difficulties this season. He made mistakes of course and like with Heckingbottom was probably at a level too high, but he was badly exposed and left with way too much to do – a theme that could be levelled at both of them! Be interesting where he turns up next season. I reckon someone like a Cardiff or a Birmingham is about the best he will get unless he goes back into the Premier League as a backup (3rd choice).
Grade D- (Last season B)
Ivo Grbic I had never heard of this guy when we signed him. He was the Atletico Madrid number two and the Croatian number two also but had not played many games of football in the last few years. Not sure how we managed to scout him unless we had people watching Spanish reserve team games? Wilder had not been here long so it seems he had been identified by our scouts/goalkeeping department. It was clear we needed some competition and an upgrade on Foderingham so most fans were positive when we signed him, citing a decent pedigree in terms of clubs he had represented and seemingly a good size. He was supposed to be good with his feet also.
He began at Hadjuk Split but moved onto Lokomotiva and after a few seasons here, Atletico Madrid saw something in Grbic and signed him at the age of 24 for £3.5 million. He never established himself here though and in four seasons only played 12 games and ended up on loan a few years ago at Lille. He had mixed reports on his form there and ended up back in the Spanish capital as number two again. He was always in and around the Croatia squad despite lack of games for his club side/s. United had clearly seen something and signed him for around £2-2.5 million and he went straight in the side.
He clearly gave us more size but he had a tricky debut against Brighton conceded 5 (only maybe one his fault?) and then got concussion in the game at Palace – after conceded two more. He probably thought what have I come into? He did argue with the physios to stay on but common sense was applied. He got back in a few games later but continued to concede a lot of goals. I would say not many were necessarily his fault as shot after shot came in but he did not save many either! His distribution initially seemed better than Foderingham but he also kicked a lot out even if he was more comfortable with his feet. What was concerning was that for a big lad, he seemed a bit of a line goalie on crosses and reluctant to come out. This continued as the defeats stacked up. He had a few ok games and seemed to be settling down but then mistakes crept in again and he had a difficult night at Anfield with an almighty howler gifting them the first goal. He then continued his poor form with a goal that went in right in the centre of the goal against Chelsea in another far from convincing performance. He then had a disastrous game at home to Burnley and Wilder had to take him out as the criticism ramped up. Foderingham came back and looked the far better keeper even if we were still getting hammered!
His general hesitancy and lack of taking the high ball coupled with the fact shots generally seem to beat him rather easily, meant it did not look like we had upgraded at all in this position. Another signing that has us scratching our head at what exactly is leading to our scouts to think, I know ‘this lad would be a good use of the limited funds we have!’
We will see most of the other keepers (if not all) at senior level move on and he is contracted to use for another three years which is worrying considering what we have seen so far. Maybe he will be better with less to do at Championship level but also will he want to stay at such a level if he wants to remain in the Croatia squad especially with the Euros this summer? To me will still need a keeper as if he is our number one, I am very concerned. We see a lot of high balls in the Championship and more direct teams so he will have to improve hugely in this area or will cost us more goals. I am yet to see what he is that good at so far. He does not make big saves, is slow down to shots and cannot take crosses. He just looks a really poor keeper and one that has cost us a fair bit. We could have got a domestic keeper for a similar price (Johannson at Rotherham has been mentioned a lot) and this guy is not even that young – 28 years of age. I think if we could , we would move him on this summer and just write it off as a mistake.
Grade F- (Last season NA)
Adam Davies He has been here a while now but has barely played – making 6 appearances in 3 seasons with the Blades. He appeared a few times when Foderingham got suspended in the Championship promotion season but this season he played just once – the League Cup penalty shoot out defeat to Lincoln where think he saved one but United missed so many; it did not matter! He kept a clean sheet at least. Other than that, we tended to have Amissah as the back up more than him and then when Grbic came, he sort of disappeared but was still being picked for Wales. Another who seemed to have quite a few injuries which is bizarre when he never even plays for the u21’s even although was in for a few games at the end of the season and then he was on the bench against Spurs which was strange. Out of contact and surely will depart as I am not even sure he is good enough to be a Championship level back up. Expect him to head to the lower leagues.
Grade E- (Last season C)
Jordan Amissah Had a loan spells a few years ago at Guiseley and then Spennymoor Town and then after his United bow when he came on at Luton and did ok, he went out on loan to Burton for the rest of the season. Made a mistake on debut and did not really play after this only making one final appearance right at the end of the season. Came back and was not really involved with United, nor did he get another loan. He played the odd game for the u21’s but looked less than convincing. A really tall keeper who you can see why he stood out as a youth but has not really progressed. He is almost 23 and out of contract and the fact a number of managers have had him and not given a chance, especially with our keeping issues at times, suggests he is not quite the level we need. Will be surprised if he does not move on and might struggle to stay in the professional game unless he accepts being a back up (like Eastwood has become at Grimsby).
Dylan Wharton was signed from Chesterfield’s development side two years ago. He had a few injuries which curtailed his progress the first year and then this season was allowed to go right down to the Northern Premier League and Gainsborough. He has been a regular there but the level is a long way, even from league football. He was back on the bench for the u21’s right at the end of the season. He is another keeper that is out of contract this summer. He is 21 and was another punt that United took on a player that has not really come off and he will probably leave and go down to an even lower level than where United signed him from.
Next season
I fully expect Davies to move on, along with the younger ones Amissah and Wharton. With Foderingham already confirmed as going, it means we have young Luke Faxon who is building a decent reputation at u21 level and has been linked with bigger clubs but has at least been tied down to a longer contact. We will need at least one, probably two keepers. Ideally we somehow move Grbic on quickly and start again in this area as it is important we improve hugely here. If Grbic remains we need some decent competition at least, ideally someone better which on the surface should not be hard. We have been linked with Johansson at Rotherham (but he signed for Stoke) and also Patterson at Sunderland and it will be interesting who does come in and if Wilder just moves Grbic on and takes the hit. It is certainly an area we have to get right in terms of recruitment.
Returning players;
Player / Position Years remaining (contract expires) Red this year – Orange next year - Green longer contract –
Goalkeepers
Ivo Grbic 3 years (2027)
Wes Foderingham Out of contract (2024) – CONFIRMED AS LEAVING
Adam Davies Out of contract (2024)
Jordan Amissah Out of contract (2024)
Youngsters involved in 1st team last season or loans out (contracts unknown if not stated)
Dylan Wharton Out of contact (2024)
I will now go through each department – I will show the contract situations (some of these might not be correct so tell me)! I will then discuss the outlook for next year.
We will begin with the Goalkeepers….then the Defence and so on….posted over the next week ending with the Academy and final awards/conclusions.
Goalkeepers
Defence
Midfield
Attack
Academy
Final awards / Conclusions
2023/24 SUFC SEASON REVIEW / SCHOOL REPORT
Goalkeepers
Wes Foderingham I felt his promotion season was not quite as strong as the one before it and he did make some mistakes in games but was mostly solid again and for the Championship was fine. I think if we had funds, we would have upgraded in the summer but clearly we did not and he was probably seen as less of a priority. That worried me as I never have thought he was close to good enough for the top flight. I saw him as being very busy and his weaknesses (command of box/distribution and inability to save long range shots) being really evident at the higher level. We only had Davies and Amissah as back ups and they clearly were nowhere near the level. I was really surprised we did not at least bring in some decent competition but then as I have said, we were/are skint so did not have much choice but to go with what we had with so many other areas needing upgrade. Not helped by the fact we had or did sign about 5 left wing backs and none were good enough wasting key members of the squad.
He started the season and kept us in the games v Palace and City and not sure he could be really blamed for any of the goals that went in for the first few games. We saw his inability to come off his line in games but overall, he was just so busy, blaming him for things was looking in the wrong area really. The Newcastle game he let 8 in (a few he could have done better) and this really hit his confidence. I thought his form slowly started to dip and as we conceded so many goals, it was inevitable errors would creep in. His error v Brentford at home was the highest profile but thought he could have done better with a few shots and crosses were not being dealt with either. Questions were being asked about the manager, the defence and pretty much every area of the side and did not escape the examination. Calls for a replacement to be signed were growing as the backs ups were not seen as anywhere close to good enough for a top flight team. Eventually as we slumped to the bottom and had several more hammerings. Foderingham gave some off interviews and seemed to blame others when he was as bad as the rest of them over this period. He did not endear himself to fans with these words or some of his body language in games.
Wilder came in and made a signing not long after. Wes was clearly stalling on new terms of a contract and Wilder said he was not going to sign – so in came Ivor Grbic. I must admit we knew little about him but he was put straight in but this seemed as much about Wilder making a point to Foderingham. Odd as others also were out of contract and had been made offers but were not re-signing yet? The new keeper had a bit of a nightmare start and after an injury, Wes was back in for Palace and then Villa but conceded another shipload proving it was more than just who was in goal for us! He was in for the Luton game but then after more goals were conceded, Wilder went back to Grbic but the new lad looked far from convincing and he became a bit of a laughing stock – to the extent that Wilder went back to Wes – something we never thought would happen.
He played superbly at Man Utd and Newcastle but still conceded 9 goals (could have been a lot more) and looked the far better option. He had little chance with goals in the game at Forest and no real errors at Everton too and kept the scoreline at home to Spurs too.
Admittedly I felt it was the right thing to take him out but we managed to replace him with someone seemingly far worse! The fact there had been a falling out but he still got back in summed it up really. He did not exactly look pally with Wilder after games and it was confirmed prior to the end of the season that he would move on.
There is two sides to this. We do not know what kind of offer the club offered? Not sure what kind of deal or club Foderingham thinks he might get? He had been back up for quite a few years in Scotland before arriving at the Lane and was number three here for a while? He did ok for us for a few years but is a mid-table Championship keeper at best and any contract offers will surely reflect that? Also turns 34 next season.
However the counter argument is we know he is a steady pair of hands in the lower league and probably would have been fine but seems either he has burnt his bridges or the club has maybe not valued him? Whatever he has been a decent servant for us despite his difficulties this season. He made mistakes of course and like with Heckingbottom was probably at a level too high, but he was badly exposed and left with way too much to do – a theme that could be levelled at both of them! Be interesting where he turns up next season. I reckon someone like a Cardiff or a Birmingham is about the best he will get unless he goes back into the Premier League as a backup (3rd choice).
Grade D- (Last season B)
Ivo Grbic I had never heard of this guy when we signed him. He was the Atletico Madrid number two and the Croatian number two also but had not played many games of football in the last few years. Not sure how we managed to scout him unless we had people watching Spanish reserve team games? Wilder had not been here long so it seems he had been identified by our scouts/goalkeeping department. It was clear we needed some competition and an upgrade on Foderingham so most fans were positive when we signed him, citing a decent pedigree in terms of clubs he had represented and seemingly a good size. He was supposed to be good with his feet also.
He began at Hadjuk Split but moved onto Lokomotiva and after a few seasons here, Atletico Madrid saw something in Grbic and signed him at the age of 24 for £3.5 million. He never established himself here though and in four seasons only played 12 games and ended up on loan a few years ago at Lille. He had mixed reports on his form there and ended up back in the Spanish capital as number two again. He was always in and around the Croatia squad despite lack of games for his club side/s. United had clearly seen something and signed him for around £2-2.5 million and he went straight in the side.
He clearly gave us more size but he had a tricky debut against Brighton conceded 5 (only maybe one his fault?) and then got concussion in the game at Palace – after conceded two more. He probably thought what have I come into? He did argue with the physios to stay on but common sense was applied. He got back in a few games later but continued to concede a lot of goals. I would say not many were necessarily his fault as shot after shot came in but he did not save many either! His distribution initially seemed better than Foderingham but he also kicked a lot out even if he was more comfortable with his feet. What was concerning was that for a big lad, he seemed a bit of a line goalie on crosses and reluctant to come out. This continued as the defeats stacked up. He had a few ok games and seemed to be settling down but then mistakes crept in again and he had a difficult night at Anfield with an almighty howler gifting them the first goal. He then continued his poor form with a goal that went in right in the centre of the goal against Chelsea in another far from convincing performance. He then had a disastrous game at home to Burnley and Wilder had to take him out as the criticism ramped up. Foderingham came back and looked the far better keeper even if we were still getting hammered!
His general hesitancy and lack of taking the high ball coupled with the fact shots generally seem to beat him rather easily, meant it did not look like we had upgraded at all in this position. Another signing that has us scratching our head at what exactly is leading to our scouts to think, I know ‘this lad would be a good use of the limited funds we have!’
We will see most of the other keepers (if not all) at senior level move on and he is contracted to use for another three years which is worrying considering what we have seen so far. Maybe he will be better with less to do at Championship level but also will he want to stay at such a level if he wants to remain in the Croatia squad especially with the Euros this summer? To me will still need a keeper as if he is our number one, I am very concerned. We see a lot of high balls in the Championship and more direct teams so he will have to improve hugely in this area or will cost us more goals. I am yet to see what he is that good at so far. He does not make big saves, is slow down to shots and cannot take crosses. He just looks a really poor keeper and one that has cost us a fair bit. We could have got a domestic keeper for a similar price (Johannson at Rotherham has been mentioned a lot) and this guy is not even that young – 28 years of age. I think if we could , we would move him on this summer and just write it off as a mistake.
Grade F- (Last season NA)
Adam Davies He has been here a while now but has barely played – making 6 appearances in 3 seasons with the Blades. He appeared a few times when Foderingham got suspended in the Championship promotion season but this season he played just once – the League Cup penalty shoot out defeat to Lincoln where think he saved one but United missed so many; it did not matter! He kept a clean sheet at least. Other than that, we tended to have Amissah as the back up more than him and then when Grbic came, he sort of disappeared but was still being picked for Wales. Another who seemed to have quite a few injuries which is bizarre when he never even plays for the u21’s even although was in for a few games at the end of the season and then he was on the bench against Spurs which was strange. Out of contact and surely will depart as I am not even sure he is good enough to be a Championship level back up. Expect him to head to the lower leagues.
Grade E- (Last season C)
Jordan Amissah Had a loan spells a few years ago at Guiseley and then Spennymoor Town and then after his United bow when he came on at Luton and did ok, he went out on loan to Burton for the rest of the season. Made a mistake on debut and did not really play after this only making one final appearance right at the end of the season. Came back and was not really involved with United, nor did he get another loan. He played the odd game for the u21’s but looked less than convincing. A really tall keeper who you can see why he stood out as a youth but has not really progressed. He is almost 23 and out of contract and the fact a number of managers have had him and not given a chance, especially with our keeping issues at times, suggests he is not quite the level we need. Will be surprised if he does not move on and might struggle to stay in the professional game unless he accepts being a back up (like Eastwood has become at Grimsby).
Dylan Wharton was signed from Chesterfield’s development side two years ago. He had a few injuries which curtailed his progress the first year and then this season was allowed to go right down to the Northern Premier League and Gainsborough. He has been a regular there but the level is a long way, even from league football. He was back on the bench for the u21’s right at the end of the season. He is another keeper that is out of contract this summer. He is 21 and was another punt that United took on a player that has not really come off and he will probably leave and go down to an even lower level than where United signed him from.
Next season
I fully expect Davies to move on, along with the younger ones Amissah and Wharton. With Foderingham already confirmed as going, it means we have young Luke Faxon who is building a decent reputation at u21 level and has been linked with bigger clubs but has at least been tied down to a longer contact. We will need at least one, probably two keepers. Ideally we somehow move Grbic on quickly and start again in this area as it is important we improve hugely here. If Grbic remains we need some decent competition at least, ideally someone better which on the surface should not be hard. We have been linked with Johansson at Rotherham (but he signed for Stoke) and also Patterson at Sunderland and it will be interesting who does come in and if Wilder just moves Grbic on and takes the hit. It is certainly an area we have to get right in terms of recruitment.
Returning players;
Player / Position Years remaining (contract expires) Red this year – Orange next year - Green longer contract –
Goalkeepers
Ivo Grbic 3 years (2027)
Wes Foderingham Out of contract (2024) – CONFIRMED AS LEAVING
Adam Davies Out of contract (2024)
Jordan Amissah Out of contract (2024)
Youngsters involved in 1st team last season or loans out (contracts unknown if not stated)
Dylan Wharton Out of contact (2024)
