DavesaRam

Fozzy for me. I want to see Bird play with freedom and without the pressure of being the club or the on field captain. 

Not sure why that is an issue?
Personally think we make too much of a big deal over who the captain is. A leader is a leader regardless of an armband or not.

I too am looking forwards to seeing him running free. I have said all along that he was wasted at CDM. Circumstance nay be claimed as to why he was played there, but he wasn’t the only team member who could play that role. And we were short of someone to unlock opposition defences, seeing as the only other player seemingly with that gift was either left back or left out.
Go for it Max, as Carefully Ram suggests this is his season!!!0

I too am looking forwards to seeing him running free. I have said all along that he was wasted at CDM. Circumstance nay be claimed as to why he was played there, but he wasn’t the only team member who could play that role. And we were short of someone to unlock opposition defences, seeing as the only other player seemingly with that gift was either left back or left out.
Go for it Max, as Carefully Ram suggests this is his season!!!0

I too am looking forwards to seeing him running free. I have said all along that he was wasted at CDM. Circumstance nay be claimed as to why he was played there, but he wasn’t the only team member who could play that role. And we were short of someone to unlock opposition defences, seeing as the only other player seemingly with that gift was either left back or left out.
Go for it Max, as Carefully Ram suggests this is his season!!!0

I don't know why I bothered creating a new thread to talk about Max Bird the footballer when all some of you want to harp on about is the bloody transfer speculation. 🤷🏻‍♀️
There's a thread over in the TRANSFER forum and several threads on here for you to all wallow in your doom and gloom, without bringing it in here! 

We'll end up with a replacement bus driver

Or more likely couldn't sell a pay cut to Rhodes. Not a failure at all.

Deliberately.

Thought that was their average home attendance lol

If Bird isn’t playing I’d put Wilson in that 10 spot. Can play passes, go past players and shoot.

Indeed @angieram; very true. Hope fans will be patient over the first 10 games as the best team takes shape. 

Liam Thompson is underated imo

Will the South Stand stop singing that dreadful song about him if we sign him? It was repeated several times yesterday.
We do have a few fans who appear not to have a brain cell between them.

I remembered it ended badly, but I'd someone excised from my memory that it was *that* season ending in that awful match. Another moment for the club that has scarred many of us on here.
It's a reminder that automatics have to be the target - leave nothing to chance. And that should tell everyone how important this game is. Last season, Barnsley showed the best form in the division all the way to the end of the season from October, yet still finished only 4th. We cannot afford to start slowly and have anyone think the opening games don't matter so much as we play ourselves into the campaign. We need to be ruthless from the off. We need to hit the ground running and not look back until the season is over.

Well if that is Paul Warne hoofball, bring it on! It was a very enjoyable watch and we gave a good account of ourselves for 80 of the 90 minutes. All three goals against were from our sloppy play - it isn't as though Sheffield United ripped us apart. They did create a couple of good chances, but that was all.
We are certainly showing more aggression and bite in our tackles, and more threatening with crosses and corners, all a plus on recent seasons. To me though, Nelson had a few wobbles with the ball in defence, and Waghorn did his "trapping a bag of cement" impression on one occasion, although otherwise he actually looks like a footballer, so may well do well in this League.
I am taking a different view about Hourihane than most - yes he can be quite creative, but several times in his pre-season he has been guilty of just lumping the ball high and long, more in hope of it reaching one of our players than actually passing the ball. And he often misses the obvious defence splitter, opting to turn and go the opposite way, or backwards. So instead of the creative edge, he ends up breaking up our play, stifling the chance of surging forwards. Just my opinion, mind.
And regards Tommo, caymanram said it well with this: "To be fair he’s up against a quality of player he won’t meet in League 1. His attacking contributions looked good, and I hope he doesn't get a season of being played out of position, or kept on the bench, because pre-season has shown that he has plenty to offer. Your observation also leads us to why it was good to end our pre-season against such strong opposition. Regardless of the result, we won't come up against that quality of performance in League One, apart from maybe just one or two. I think we are looking good for a fun season! Whether we actually have enough to get the job done I have no idea, but I am looking forwards to being there to yell my head off for them!
COME ON YOU RAMS!

Well if that is Paul Warne hoofball, bring it on! It was a very enjoyable watch and we gave a good account of ourselves for 80 of the 90 minutes. All three goals against were from our sloppy play - it isn't as though Sheffield United ripped us apart. They did create a couple of good chances, but that was all.
We are certainly showing more aggression and bite in our tackles, and more threatening with crosses and corners, all a plus on recent seasons. To me though, Nelson had a few wobbles with the ball in defence, and Waghorn did his "trapping a bag of cement" impression on one occasion, although otherwise he actually looks like a footballer, so may well do well in this League.
I am taking a different view about Hourihane than most - yes he can be quite creative, but several times in his pre-season he has been guilty of just lumping the ball high and long, more in hope of it reaching one of our players than actually passing the ball. And he often misses the obvious defence splitter, opting to turn and go the opposite way, or backwards. So instead of the creative edge, he ends up breaking up our play, stifling the chance of surging forwards. Just my opinion, mind.
And regards Tommo, caymanram said it well with this: "To be fair he’s up against a quality of player he won’t meet in League 1. His attacking contributions looked good, and I hope he doesn't get a season of being played out of position, or kept on the bench, because pre-season has shown that he has plenty to offer. Your observation also leads us to why it was good to end our pre-season against such strong opposition. Regardless of the result, we won't come up against that quality of performance in League One, apart from maybe just one or two. I think we are looking good for a fun season! Whether we actually have enough to get the job done I have no idea, but I am looking forwards to being there to yell my head off for them!
COME ON YOU RAMS!

Analysing the game as objectively as possible:
Negatives -
Two of their three goals came from our back/sideways passes - regardless of the opposition that’s something that seriously needs to be addressed. Both Nelson and Smith can only have had what is known as a brain fart and switched off, not truly focused and made a pass that led to an opposition goal. In a preseason friendly, perhaps the intensity isn’t there and that’s the sort of thing that happens? We were guilty of similar things last season though, hopefully this was needed in order for it to become a focus. 
The opposition were very good today, really hard working and played some fantastic football at times. Berge and Ndiaye are absolutely top quality footballers and were both humming today, they do have a lot of footballers that are Championship standard but they do work really hard off the ball. No surprise they were promoted given the makeup of their team. It won’t be enough for the Premier League, but if they can add a couple more players of that standard then who knows. A lack of speed and an outlet to unbalance them was evident, Collins was isolated at times. NML played really well, perhaps a lack of legs in midfield. When Smith, Bird and Hourihane are all starting - the lack of depth on the bench is evident. I do feel like we could probably do with another centre midfielder, despite us only being in the market for two more. Difficult with our budget. 
Subbing Thompson, honestly he was struggling but I felt like with it being a friendly that he could’ve been given the last 45 minutes as a learning period. If he’s likely to start Saturday in that position then it would’ve been worth it. We don’t have to defend the same way in League One, so really it would’ve been a good test to see if he could’ve grown into the game and essentially survived it. No better time to throw him into the deep end IMO. 
Positives - 
In friendlies, you typically try and look at indicators for the ceiling of the team going forward. I feel the system is starting to feel a little more natural, the back three for the most part looked balanced and there was less getting in each others way. Cashin and Nelson getting crosses in the box wasn’t to be expected but good to see, albeit they may have to work on them going forward. The football at times was great, very slick and we did create decent chances - ironically the 10 minutes before their two late goals were our best period of the game.
Bringing me on to my next point, Waghorn can definitely still play. I thought he was like a man possessed, pressed really well and created a couple of chances - if he had scored it would’ve been a no brainer. You can see that his level of fitness and technical ability will definitely make him an asset in League One, anyway. Really did well. I felt Washington also looked sharp when he got on. I don’t think there is any player, bar Thompson, that actually played too badly at all. Mistakes, sure, but most had a positive game in the grand scheme of things. 

The cynic within me sees this time added on for time wasting being a fine way of ensuring that the “right team” wins. A sort of “Fergie Time” on steroids.

Well if that is Paul Warne hoofball, bring it on! It was a very enjoyable watch and we gave a good account of ourselves for 80 of the 90 minutes. All three goals against were from our sloppy play - it isn't as though Sheffield United ripped us apart. They did create a couple of good chances, but that was all.
We are certainly showing more aggression and bite in our tackles, and more threatening with crosses and corners, all a plus on recent seasons. To me though, Nelson had a few wobbles with the ball in defence, and Waghorn did his "trapping a bag of cement" impression on one occasion, although otherwise he actually looks like a footballer, so may well do well in this League.
I am taking a different view about Hourihane than most - yes he can be quite creative, but several times in his pre-season he has been guilty of just lumping the ball high and long, more in hope of it reaching one of our players than actually passing the ball. And he often misses the obvious defence splitter, opting to turn and go the opposite way, or backwards. So instead of the creative edge, he ends up breaking up our play, stifling the chance of surging forwards. Just my opinion, mind.
And regards Tommo, caymanram said it well with this: "To be fair he’s up against a quality of player he won’t meet in League 1. His attacking contributions looked good, and I hope he doesn't get a season of being played out of position, or kept on the bench, because pre-season has shown that he has plenty to offer. Your observation also leads us to why it was good to end our pre-season against such strong opposition. Regardless of the result, we won't come up against that quality of performance in League One, apart from maybe just one or two. I think we are looking good for a fun season! Whether we actually have enough to get the job done I have no idea, but I am looking forwards to being there to yell my head off for them!
COME ON YOU RAMS!

Well if that is Paul Warne hoofball, bring it on! It was a very enjoyable watch and we gave a good account of ourselves for 80 of the 90 minutes. All three goals against were from our sloppy play - it isn't as though Sheffield United ripped us apart. They did create a couple of good chances, but that was all.
We are certainly showing more aggression and bite in our tackles, and more threatening with crosses and corners, all a plus on recent seasons. To me though, Nelson had a few wobbles with the ball in defence, and Waghorn did his "trapping a bag of cement" impression on one occasion, although otherwise he actually looks like a footballer, so may well do well in this League.
I am taking a different view about Hourihane than most - yes he can be quite creative, but several times in his pre-season he has been guilty of just lumping the ball high and long, more in hope of it reaching one of our players than actually passing the ball. And he often misses the obvious defence splitter, opting to turn and go the opposite way, or backwards. So instead of the creative edge, he ends up breaking up our play, stifling the chance of surging forwards. Just my opinion, mind.
And regards Tommo, caymanram said it well with this: "To be fair he’s up against a quality of player he won’t meet in League 1. His attacking contributions looked good, and I hope he doesn't get a season of being played out of position, or kept on the bench, because pre-season has shown that he has plenty to offer. Your observation also leads us to why it was good to end our pre-season against such strong opposition. Regardless of the result, we won't come up against that quality of performance in League One, apart from maybe just one or two. I think we are looking good for a fun season! Whether we actually have enough to get the job done I have no idea, but I am looking forwards to being there to yell my head off for them!
COME ON YOU RAMS!

Well if that is Paul Warne hoofball, bring it on! It was a very enjoyable watch and we gave a good account of ourselves for 80 of the 90 minutes. All three goals against were from our sloppy play - it isn't as though Sheffield United ripped us apart. They did create a couple of good chances, but that was all.
We are certainly showing more aggression and bite in our tackles, and more threatening with crosses and corners, all a plus on recent seasons. To me though, Nelson had a few wobbles with the ball in defence, and Waghorn did his "trapping a bag of cement" impression on one occasion, although otherwise he actually looks like a footballer, so may well do well in this League.
I am taking a different view about Hourihane than most - yes he can be quite creative, but several times in his pre-season he has been guilty of just lumping the ball high and long, more in hope of it reaching one of our players than actually passing the ball. And he often misses the obvious defence splitter, opting to turn and go the opposite way, or backwards. So instead of the creative edge, he ends up breaking up our play, stifling the chance of surging forwards. Just my opinion, mind.
And regards Tommo, caymanram said it well with this: "To be fair he’s up against a quality of player he won’t meet in League 1. His attacking contributions looked good, and I hope he doesn't get a season of being played out of position, or kept on the bench, because pre-season has shown that he has plenty to offer. Your observation also leads us to why it was good to end our pre-season against such strong opposition. Regardless of the result, we won't come up against that quality of performance in League One, apart from maybe just one or two. I think we are looking good for a fun season! Whether we actually have enough to get the job done I have no idea, but I am looking forwards to being there to yell my head off for them!
COME ON YOU RAMS!

Well if that is Paul Warne hoofball, bring it on! It was a very enjoyable watch and we gave a good account of ourselves for 80 of the 90 minutes. All three goals against were from our sloppy play - it isn't as though Sheffield United ripped us apart. They did create a couple of good chances, but that was all.
We are certainly showing more aggression and bite in our tackles, and more threatening with crosses and corners, all a plus on recent seasons. To me though, Nelson had a few wobbles with the ball in defence, and Waghorn did his "trapping a bag of cement" impression on one occasion, although otherwise he actually looks like a footballer, so may well do well in this League.
I am taking a different view about Hourihane than most - yes he can be quite creative, but several times in his pre-season he has been guilty of just lumping the ball high and long, more in hope of it reaching one of our players than actually passing the ball. And he often misses the obvious defence splitter, opting to turn and go the opposite way, or backwards. So instead of the creative edge, he ends up breaking up our play, stifling the chance of surging forwards. Just my opinion, mind.
And regards Tommo, caymanram said it well with this: "To be fair he’s up against a quality of player he won’t meet in League 1. His attacking contributions looked good, and I hope he doesn't get a season of being played out of position, or kept on the bench, because pre-season has shown that he has plenty to offer. Your observation also leads us to why it was good to end our pre-season against such strong opposition. Regardless of the result, we won't come up against that quality of performance in League One, apart from maybe just one or two. I think we are looking good for a fun season! Whether we actually have enough to get the job done I have no idea, but I am looking forwards to being there to yell my head off for them!
COME ON YOU RAMS!

Well if that is Paul Warne hoofball, bring it on! It was a very enjoyable watch and we gave a good account of ourselves for 80 of the 90 minutes. All three goals against were from our sloppy play - it isn't as though Sheffield United ripped us apart. They did create a couple of good chances, but that was all.
We are certainly showing more aggression and bite in our tackles, and more threatening with crosses and corners, all a plus on recent seasons. To me though, Nelson had a few wobbles with the ball in defence, and Waghorn did his "trapping a bag of cement" impression on one occasion, although otherwise he actually looks like a footballer, so may well do well in this League.
I am taking a different view about Hourihane than most - yes he can be quite creative, but several times in his pre-season he has been guilty of just lumping the ball high and long, more in hope of it reaching one of our players than actually passing the ball. And he often misses the obvious defence splitter, opting to turn and go the opposite way, or backwards. So instead of the creative edge, he ends up breaking up our play, stifling the chance of surging forwards. Just my opinion, mind.
And regards Tommo, caymanram said it well with this: "To be fair he’s up against a quality of player he won’t meet in League 1. His attacking contributions looked good, and I hope he doesn't get a season of being played out of position, or kept on the bench, because pre-season has shown that he has plenty to offer. Your observation also leads us to why it was good to end our pre-season against such strong opposition. Regardless of the result, we won't come up against that quality of performance in League One, apart from maybe just one or two. I think we are looking good for a fun season! Whether we actually have enough to get the job done I have no idea, but I am looking forwards to being there to yell my head off for them!
COME ON YOU RAMS!