Horatio Hornblower

Yes and had we still got any other game changing players left in our team ie Windass, Gassama etc then crowding Bannan would have left those players open, we’d have exploited that and won the game. United got lucky that we’ve only one real game changer left in Bannan. It made the tactics required very simple, which even Wilder was capable of despite his very little tactical nous.

Part of me wishes we’d escaped at half time through the bath!

They’ll never admit being ‘terrified’ but deep down they are. It stings because it’s United and never nice seeing them celebrate but they will milk this more than any victory they’ve ever had over us. Bitterness towards us is in their DNA. Aslong as they’re above us it doesn’t matter where they are and in whatever league. As owls the vast majority would take us top of the premier league and blades runners up, so that we are champions of England but it’s good for the city that United are up there too. As a kid I’d have focused on the defeat, been gutted for days, but as I’ve got older I’ve realised that maturity is taking this defeat on the chin and focussing on the bright future that we’ve got coming. The reality is that we are at our lowest ebb because of one man, we will get relegated because of one man, but we will come back stronger.

Them beating us today was like an adult celebrating winning a race against kids at a school sports day. Never nice to get beaten by United but it wasn’t an absolute cricket score, they were better than us but nowhere near a promotion winning side. As I’ve said, that bottom 3 Sheffield United team are the culmination of a few years of parachute payments, millions spent on players and a takeover. Not forgetting bringing back ‘one of their own Chris Wilder’. They were always going to try to claim in the run up to the game that it’d be a tight affair, just so they could try and milk the inevitable victory, because they know full well that we will get investment and rebuild, and they’re terrified that we’ll get the right new owners and leave them in our wake. To a Sheffield United fan that’s their worst nightmare, never mind their own success.

No chance. If that was at Bramall Lane today and situations were reversed there’d have been a mass exodus the minute we’d scored our second. People only started leaving noticeably with about 15 to go. Our support is immense and clear for all to see. 4-0 down against Peterborough yet turned up in droves. Selling out Wembley every time etc etc Don’t let the disappointment of losing today make you think irrationally. We’ve bottomed out as a club. United are a poor side. They’ve rolled their dice, and if they are the end product of what a few years of parachute payments, milllions spent on players, a takeover and the return of their ‘messiah’ brings, then they’re welcome to it.

You should beat us easily on Sunday. You’ve got a multi million pound squad, ours is patched together and threadbare. You should gain absolutely no sense of achievement by beating us. Should you fail to win, it will potentially be the most embarrassing Sheffield Derby result you’ve ever had. You’ve spent your millions. Your parachute payments are running out. You tried to blame your abject start to the season on Selles, brought Wilder in as a final roll of the dice hoping it would change things, but amusingly ‘the messiah’s’ return hasn’t had the desired effect. All we hear from the fans and Wilder is the ‘January transfer window can’t come quick enough’ again to try and place all the blame at Selles door due to poor recruitment. How you need ‘a number 9’ despite you having to watch Moore score for fun for Wrexham. Bet you wish you’d not made him the scapegoat for another bottle job and tactically lacking performance from the players and manager in the play off final. You’re only a place above us despite us being at our lowest ebb in our history. We can sense your fear. That joy of us almost going out of business has been replaced by fear that new owners are going to see the potential of this older, more successful club, come in, invest, and truly reawaken this sleeping giant. They will hopefully reap the rewards of that investment and take us forward. Potentially leaving you in our midst. That’s what’s worrying you. We know that, you know that. Should you beat us on Sunday-and at the other Steel City Derby later in the season-the gloating will be the most intense it’s ever been, because it’ll be fuelled by that fear. You’ll want one last dig before the tide potentially turns. Well you’re welcome to it, because even in administration there is genuinely no way I’d swap our position for yours. I’m sure we’ll get relegated this year but we will hopefully get that investment, rebuild and come back stronger and enjoy watching the tide of success turn once again in the city. We’ll see you on Sunday, try and behave yourselves, and remember the pressure is all on you. But should you beat us, the victory will be as hollow as your trophy room.

While we’re on the subject of Fruit Of The Loom, did you remember them having this logo?? I distinctly remember it having this logo with the cornucopia. Apparently it never existed….

The minute a takeover is announced the negativity towards DC will be like popping a balloon. The negativity is fuelled primarily by fear of the clubs demise. Once that fear is taken away, so with it will the strength of feeling towards DC. Everyone’s energy will be spent on improvements to the squad and infrastructure- and rightly so.

Wonder if he’ll teach us to be a dirty side?

United’s ‘bid’ will just be a cheap shot at trying to win fans back on side. If the bid had been accepted then they’d have got great value on the player but the ‘Bladesmen’ would be lapping it up. It’d be the nearest the board could get to dancing on tables singing songs about Wednesday.

For me, it’s about freedom for people to do what people want-within the law- without being vilified for doing it. This thread reminds me of Covid with the ‘pro-vaxxers’ vs the ‘anti-vaxxers’. It was a personal choice. The anger and name calling coming from the Pro-vaxxers. ‘How stupid are they? How selfish, absolute idiots…etc etc’ ‘just get a jab and it’ll sort the problem out, then we can all go back to normal’. Those who chose for their own, varied reasons, not to get vaxxed made that decision. Some say that all the effort to publicly attack the ‘anti vaxxers’ meant that those at the top weren’t under as much pressure as they perhaps could/should have been? there’s a definite similarity. Playing devils advocate, where are the fans who went last night on here being vocal criticising those who didn’t go? Why aren’t they shouting the odds and saying ‘surely winning football matches is what’s important?’ Where were you when your team needed you? We showed support for the lads which helped them win a game of football against huge odds while you lot stayed at home? I thought that if you picked and chose which games to attend then you’re a ‘part timer’? ‘Never missed a game’ used to be a base of honour worn proudly by football fans? But it turns out that because some fans think that by defunding DC that will get him out of the club, then all of the previous ways to judge a football fan is now out of the window and the new rules are that by being a Truefan you stay away? Ironic. For clarity, I didn’t go to the game tonight, I don’t believe that funding DC helps matters. I want new owners desperately. I’m deeply concerned about the future of *our* football club. But remember it is *our* football club. And that means a fan base with different backgrounds, different cultures, different religions different political stances, different mindsets and thought processes. We won’t ever agree on everything, even down to whether to go to matches or not, but we are all supporters in our own right. Some will be die-hard, some will go to simply watch a game of football, some will go without food to buy a ticket for the play offs, some will think that’s worth it and shows commitment, some will think that by going hungry in exchange for a ticket to a football match is lunacy. It’s all personal choice. But it’s that personal choice that needs to be respected. Some will say that without that respect for personal choice, by resorting to belittling people’s intelligence, calling people stupid or idiotic or ‘scabs’ because they don’t share the same opinion on a subject, that we are no better as a fanbase than the tyrannical regime that some suggest we oppose?

We’re short on defensive midfielders, would make a good Anchor Man

What people need to realise is that there’s so many different personalities, levels of interest and other factors across the fan base that makes it impossible for everyone to feel exactly the same and act in unison. Some fans have grown up in families where the mentality is that ‘if something gets bought it gets used’. So those fans who have bought season tickets will use them no matter what they think of DC. Some fans will think that it’s not the players fault and will want to support them from the stands to try and encourage the team no matter what. Some fans despise what DC is doing and will want to not attend games or put money into the club and will join organised protests. Some fans won’t like what DC is doing and be worried about the club but might not think protesting will work. Some fans won’t want to tell their young children that they aren’t going to the matches for a while due to DC. They’ll have seen their kids getting enjoyment and seeing that interest in SWFC beginning to grow and won’t want to miss out on those special times with their children, bonding over Wednesday, no matter what the state of the club on and off the pitch. The above list is obviously not exhaustive but definitely reflects some of the personality types and thought processes amongst fans. It’s an awful time for us supporters and no matter what our individual reasons for/against attending games, we all want the best for the club now and going forward. It’s essential that fans (with the same mindset as the OP) try and be open minded enough to accept the different mindsets and not turn it into a us vs them, a protestor vs a non protester, a ‘buy stuff in the ground’ vs a ‘not spend a penny until DC is gone’. What will strengthen DC’s position would be infighting amongst supporters as it can be interpreted that the squabbling is because DC still has supporters. Organise the protests etc by all means and give people the option of joining in, but resist the temptation to use it as a stick to beat other fans with who have a different mindset. Personally I think protests are a positive aslong as done in the right way, but we need to ensure that we don’t turn fan against fan anymore than we already have.

Yes mate, just needs to work on his kicking, but has stepped up well, great handling today too, made difficult to deal with balls look easy. Didn’t look phased at all. Hopefully he continues to progress as got a lot of potential.

People seem to have got so sucked in to the typical social media polar mindset of ‘hate it’ or ‘love it’ that there’s not been any mention of the change in approach. DC changed the Owl as soon as he bought the club, every decision goes through him, so he must have signed off on using the old owl for this design? But why? Is it because there’s potential new owners having an input into the design? or is it because DC has realised the home and away shirt sales are so low that he’s decided to do anything-even swallowing his pride by reverting to the old owl- to try and make the fans buy shirts? To make DC swallow his pride has to be something major and I’m not so sure that a few thousand shirt sales will make that much difference financially? Genuinely interested in people’s thoughts on this?