sheffield_dave

Well, United’s problem is that there probably isn’t a position they couldn’t strengthen! Tough ask to do it all in one window. But the point being that Mbuemo is obviously a good player, with PL experience, and he clearly fits what they’re trying to do. And from the moment he signed, it was obvious he would be a day 1 improvement for them. I don’t think Liverpool have signed a single player who is such an obvious, unquestionable upgrade for them, which is pretty damning given the money. United still need to spend good money on a centre mid, although it helps that Casemiro has had a bit of a resurgence. Then again, maybe that’s not an accident. Maybe their midfield just happens to look a bit better when a functional front 3 means the ball doesn’t come straight back as soon as they get it forward..

By the way, losing by 3 to them hurts because it’s traditionally a very close rivalry. I believe this is the first time either side has won by a margin of 3 in my lifetime and I’m nearly 40. Spurs are currently 2-0 down at HT to Arsenal and look about as clueless as we did earlier. These results do happen in derby games. I bet ours is actually more unusual than most for how rarely a scoreline like today’s happens.

Here’s my prediction; We’re about 10-12 days away from not even hearing about losing 3-0 anymore, and back to them bleating about the EFL doing us a load of favours, how unfair it is that we’ve got a fan involved in the admin process etc etc etc. Back to the Blades for Fairness placards. Back to how Wednesday apparently always “get away with it”. See how quickly it turns back again.

He can get to f*ck.

This is their moment. Id rather they not have it, but they are. Most of the “moments” of the last 25 years have been theirs, and ultimately it’s got them to beating us 3-0 while being 22nd in the league. Ours are coming.

They’ll tell their grandkids about it. But that’s a reflection of their club. We have had better before, and we have to hope and pray that we’re about to embark on the sort of change that puts us back towards that again.

Effort costs nothing.

Agreed. Can anyone honestly see Ugbo waking up this morning and thinking “yeah I’m well up for this today”. Didn’t look like he knew what day it was nevermind the basics of playing his position on a football pitch. Absolutely pathetic.

That’s fine, but let’s start playing Cademarteri for 74 minutes and bring Ugbo on (or literally anyone else at the club?) on to give him a rest.

One of the most disgraceful performances I’ve ever seen in a derby or otherwise. I’ve said on here before that I’m drawing a line under criticising any players who stuck it out over the summer and the opening months of the season, but I’ve had enough.

I am not and never have been convinced those “plans” were all that. That video that always does the rounds is itself approaching two decades old. The ground is therefore two decades of decay and neglect removed from that, and frankly I don’t think those plans even go far enough in terms of the transformative impact people (particularly new owners) are thinking about. That video is and has never been anything more than a proof of concept, and I don’t think it has any value in the conversation about whether to redevelop or move anymore.

See also; Highbury, Upton Park, White Hart Lane, Goodison Park, Maine Road.. I mean they’re knocking the San Siro down.. Old Trafford will follow..

I would take Manchester United’s business over Liverpool’s any day of the week. 4 players who they targeted and got in early (apart from the keeper) and 4 signings who go straight into their first team as clear and obvious upgrades. Wirtz seems like a ridiculous vanity signing and I’m not sure what problem he was even brought in to solve. They’ve created their own problems with the centre forward position and neglected positions of actual need. I don’t actually mind the two fullbacks on paper.. although Frimpong can’t get on the field and Kerkez is badly struggling. Real shame, like..

They were built on all the scraps we didn’t want anymore and have held us back for their entire existence. We don’t need sh*t from them.

Windass still has a playing career to think about, but I suspect he’s going to be talking about football online and doing media work for the rest of most of our lives. I still put him as our best shot of getting the proper tell all about DC whenever he feels the time is right to do it.

For me the Waltons interest has always just been a substitute for “competent multi-billionaires who people have actually heard of and have a successful record”. There’s nothing about the Waltons that makes me specifically want them (other than hitting all of that criteria) - it’s just nice to have a name to hope for rather than a vague checklist. The Waltons might not be involved, but with “several” bids on the table that have got this far, the chances of a known name multi-billionaire with a proven business record still remains quite high IMO.

I just want to see us lay a glove on them, because they were there for the taking last year and we absolutely failed to step up to it.

Yeah I just don't get it. If you offered most fans a transfer next summer who gave the club; - 15 years of his career - Well over 400 appearences - Doing a job across multiple positions - Cost the club nothing but his relatively modest wages - Never involved in a single bit of controversy or negative press - Would score one of the most memorable goals in the clubs entire history I think most would probably take that and consider they'd probably be a good signing? Guys like this aren't easy to bring through and they're not easy to just find or sign.

I would rather hear the realistic view. The time for patchwork fixes and "ticking along" with the clubs foundations is over. The next owner has to arrive with some sort of vision for the future of the club, and the tens of millions (rising quickly beyond that depending on ambition) required to invest the stadium and training facilities is unavoidable. It is no longer optional. Anything else will see the club treading water at best. Having 11 parties interested enough to show proof of funds and access the next stages is great. We only need one of them to a.) fully understand the challenges of the club, b.) realistically accept the challenges of the club and c.) have pockets deep enough and a plan to do something about it.

He has his critics, but the vast number of his appearances have come at Championship level, and he's made a minimum of 19 appearances per season since 2013/14. Every one of the extensive number of managers we've had in that time has understood his importance to the team and squad. He's popped up with some absolutely vital goal contributions as well over the years. I think he's underrated and I don't think he's going to be easy to replace. He will earn whatever accolades he does at this club on merit.

I think it's impossible to overstate how beat down we had all been by the ownership of the last 10 years. And within that I include people who thought things were OK for 8 or 9 of those years, or took until the final moments to realise it was the end. Infact probably moreso them, because I think those people had forgot the most about what supporting a normal football club should feel like. It's been like Stockholm Syndrome. The administrators have removed the biggest problem and largely got out of the way to do their job, while giving the staff the room and flexibility to run the clubs most basis day-to-day operations as their experience in their roles best informs them to do. And it says everything that such a bog standard, low bar has resulted in such an outpouring of positivity and support.

In terms of average gates, we have been competitive with Leeds and Forest throughout the last 25 years - 3 big clubs who have been crap for ages and spent most of that time outside the top flight. Leeds and Forest have now made it back. Both have waiting lists for season tickets and both have announced expansion plans of their stadiums in direct response to the demand. Sheffield Wednesday being a modern Premier League club gives us a baseline of a 40k attendance, pretty much guaranteed. Potentially more than that. And there’s evidence from relegated clubs that once you have that audience, it carries down to The Championship for at least a couple of seasons. Anyone spending tens of millions to buy us, for the opportunity to spend tens/hundreds more once they have, isn’t just looking at what’s going on at this club. They’re looking less than an hour in both directions of the M1 and beyond to the rest of the country.

No idea. There just doesn’t seem to be any correlation between the stands that sell out first and the price to get in them. Maybe raises a question about why there’s a price discrepancy?

I agree it does make a difference. Think it needs to be kept in mind how much spending has been packed into such a short space of time. The fanbase has packed its usual spending on tickets, kits and merch, which usually happens over the course of months, into just a couple of weeks and just before Christmas. Individuals and family’s have put hundreds into the club in the last 3 weeks - not just in terms of “ordinary” spending but in going above and beyond with fundraisers as well. The administrators are doing all they can, but any one thing might just be a stretch too far for some.

It should be a flat price across the ground. People already prioritise where they sit based on preference and not price. The Kop is routinely the cheapest place in the ground but tends to lag behind the North and South in the pace of ticket sales.