[Baggies]

If this Norwich team that's just gone up (congrats to them btw)doesn't invest heavily they will be straight back down for me.

Oh, 100% and however well run they are (and i’m a fan), I do have some doubts about their scattergun recruitment.

[gazberg]

Oh, 100% and however well run they are (and i’m a fan), I do have some doubts about their scattergun recruitment.

Puts ours to shame. We are now rebuilding the rebuild in less than 2 years.

Sheff Utd are in a worse place than us. No Wilder and very much a Wilder squad.

[Baggies]

Puts ours to shame. We are now rebuilding the rebuild in less than 2 years.

Sheff Utd are in a worse place than us. No Wilder and very much a Wilder squad.

Norwich’s overall philosophy is way ahead of ours (and I agree about the perfectly put “rebuild of the rebuild”), but Norwich’s recruitment can be a bit funky at times. Really poor last summer and they have quite a few misses this season too.

As for Sheff Utd, we will have to see in the summer where they go with the new manager and who they buy and sell, but their strike force as I said earlier today looks like a goldmine of championship goals. Combine that with 3 very good defenders as well as players like Sander Berge and on paper they are only a few creative midfielders away from being a very good side at that level.

[gazberg]

Berge is out of contract isn't he? I can't see him staying myself but never say never.

[Baggies]

Berge only signed 18 months ago. I think he has another 3 years on the deal.

[gazberg]

Berge only signed 18 months ago. I think he has another 3 years on the deal.

That makes perfect sense..what I said doesn't 

Who the hell am I thinking of unless I'm getting confused and he has a relegation clause.

[Standaman]

Whatever his contract status Berge like Pereira is very unlikely to playing Championship football next season but that is probably the only major sale that Sheffield United will need to make.

Norwich will do better than on their last promotion their young players will be more experienced. Despite shipping out two of their promising defenders in Godfrey and Lewis they are have performed better defensively than the squad that went up.

Whether they stay up or not they have a good platform and long term they are a better prospect than many clubs who have had much more time in the Premier League in recent years unfortunately including ourselves.

[alex1]

As for Sheff Utd, we will have to see in the summer where they go with the new manager and who they buy and sell, but their strike force as I said earlier today looks like a goldmine of championship goals. Combine that with 3 very good defenders as well as players like Sander Berge and on paper they are only a few creative midfielders away from being a very good side at that level.

Didn't they pay £23 million for Brewster from Liverpool and he didn't manage to score even once? (I think there were quite a few on here who suggested we go after Brewster).

[Baggies]

Brewster has struggled at top flight level so far (which surprised me) but one of Sheff Utd's biggest issues is their lack of creativity at this level. In the championship he is already a proven goalscorer and as long as he hasn't had his confidence hit too hard, he could easily turn out done a Mitrovic or a Gayle.




As for Sander Berge, I'd be surprised to see him sold really, mainly due to his price tag. Sheff Utd are rumoured to have spent £22m on him and they won't sell him at a loss. Will anyone give them that?

[zippyandbungle]

Didn't they pay £23 million for Brewster from Liverpool and he didn't manage to score even once? (I think there were quite a few on here who suggested we go after Brewster).

Well thank god for our recruitment team not being knee jerk then.

[SmethDan]

That makes perfect sense..what I said doesn't 

Who the hell am I thinking of unless I'm getting confused and he has a relegation clause.

John Lundstram.

[Standaman]

Berge has been linked with a move to Man City in recent weeks and was also linked with a string of top clubs before he landed at Sheffield United if that level of interest is renewed they will recover their fee. This might be a busy agent talking up his client's prospects but it was always clear that the player regarded his move to the Blades as a stepping stone and has no intention of it being turned into a millstone.

If you look at any of the relegated teams their squads have issues which need to be resolved and let's face it they have been relegated so nothing looks particularly good at the moment. Yet they all have the core of a competitive squad at Championship level and money to address the issues those squads have. On the other hand look at your typical Championship club's squad and there is generally less quality and no money to significantly improve them.

[gazberg]

John Lundstram.

Cheers Dan but it wasn't him either. I've got completely mixed up here somewhere

[Baggies]

I’d imagine that clubs will be interested in Berge, but in the current climate do you see a top club offering enough for Sheff Utd to bite? You would expect they will want to make a profit in him, unless their finances are poor.

If he does leave, I’d expect it to be on loan like Anguissa did after Fulham’s relegation and like Valero did here.

[NJS]

...
Personally I would favour a deeper reset with a longer term view and leaning more heavily on our own young players and a recruitment policy also aimed at the development end of the age range. Yet even here year one target should be play-offs minimum.
...

If we don't restructure and continue to rely on wheeler-dealing in the loan and transfer market for worn out veterans who are intent on building up their pension fund and not getting injured we may go up but there's every possibility that we will be down again very quickly. 

[Standaman]

Since my earlier post I have read a fairly detailed article on Sheffield United and there were a couple of points. Firstly the owner has already said they will be looking to raise £40m through player sales and there are a couple of players with release clauses. They can't get to £40m without selling Berge and it seems likely Berge will have a release clause.

If we don't restructure and continue to rely on wheeler-dealing in the loan and transfer market for worn out veterans who are intent on building up their pension fund and not getting injured we may go up but there's every possibility that we will be down again very quickly. 

This my long term fear if your recruitment focusses on mid-level established pro's in their late twenties overtime the squad ages has no resale value and is overpaid for where they are now in their careers. This happened to us already under Pulis and given Allardyce has similar recruitment tendencies then I can see the same thing happening again. We might get promotion but we will need to rebuild the rebuild almost straight away.

The money is simply not there for this level of churn and as much as fans whine about it there is very little prospect of this situation changing even under new ownership.

[TAFKATMNo1Fan]

Watching Fulham
Why has tosin adebayo suddenly become just tosin

[TheJacko2000]

Watching Fulham
Why has tosin adebayo suddenly become just tosin

Possibly because, like you, people can't get their head around his actual surname? 

[Albionic]

Possibly because, like you, people can't get their head around his actual surname? 

Thats funny !!

[Baggies]

It feels fairly predictable that a Wayne Rooney managed team is currently in free fall towards League 1. Rooney has never shown any signs of being much of a footballing thinker and crucially had no relevant experience. He got the Derby job based on his name alone, which shows just how poorly run they are.

If Rotherham could get a win from one of their two games in hand, or even a draw, it would make things very interesting. They have a better goal difference as well. Sheff Wed also have to play Derby, they have an average Forest team up next.

Would be a big relegation if that happens.

[TAFKATMNo1Fan]

It feels fairly predictable that a Wayne Rooney managed team is currently in free fall towards League 1. Rooney has never shown any signs of being much of a footballing thinker and crucially had no relevant experience. He got the Derby job based on his name alone, which shows just how poorly run they are.

If Rotherham could get a win from one of their two games in hand, or even a draw, it would make things very interesting. They have a better goal difference as well. Sheff Wed also have to play Derby, they have an average Forest team up next.

Would be a big relegation if that happens.

Agreed. Can't remember derby playing lower than the second tier in my lifetime. Have they ever played at that level?

[gazberg]

Agreed. Can't remember derby playing lower than the second tier in my lifetime. Have they ever played at that level?

I believe when we got sent to the deep murky 3rd division depths in the 90s there was only Leeds, Arsenal and Everton that had not been down that far.

Happy to be corrected as i'm happily in from the pub.

Edit -Derby had been 3rd division way before us

[Baggies]

They were last in the third tier in the mid 80’s.

[TheJacko2000]

Unusually aside from the Derby Rotherham Sheffield Wednesday triangle the Championship is done and dusted with 2 games to go 

[SC_Baggie]

Unusually aside from the Derby Rotherham Sheffield Wednesday triangle the Championship is done and dusted with 2 games to go 

Yep. I said this on was one of the least dramatic championship seasons in recent memory on twitter and people jumped all over me, but it’s true. It’s certainly a far cry from last year when automatics, playoffs and relegation all went down to the final few minutes, with GD even coming into play.