Thread by @DarrenSmithTWIF

With Hecky talking about plans for next season and the retained list announced I thought I would jot a few thoughts down on how I see the summer going for the #twitterblades

PA made it clear last autumn on the @SheffUnitedWay that this summer would be dictated by how the...

...club finished this season. If the board thought this squad of players had passed its sell by date then a major overhaul would be the plan with young players blooded, old guard sold and a new 2/3 year plan put in place whereas if the team clearly still had the legs and only...

...just missed out he expected the current squad to give it another go. I think we can now safely assume, manager and board are on the same page that the 2nd scenario is the order of the day. The core of the squad needs to be maintained, nod to the reduced income but if we can...

...largely go again the possible upside of standing a season of losses but with a realistic prospect of promotion can actually make more economic sense than balancing the books now at a cost of 3-4 years building a new team in the championship. For that reason I don't expect to..

...see many changes, a thinner squad (a process started in Jan anyway) on the hope that a proper pre season, no covid fixture congestion and new training pitches will mean no repeat of the injuries but still a very expensively assembled first X1. That said the possible...

...departures of top players that would be unpopular with the fans and manager alike can't be ruled out. No championship club can say with certainty its best players will be around after every window as the income gap to the PL is so vast that certain offers can be too difficult.

...to turn down, particularly if the player himself wants the move. The obvious candidates for us are Egan (turns 30, could we stand in his way if PL club comes knocking with a decent bid), Berge (showed we won't sell him for under value but with a strong finish to the season...

...will the offers come this summer that didn't last?) and N'Diaye (how can he not attract interest? Such a talent). If those 3 can be retained I suspect we all breath a huge sigh of relief and go into the season with optimism. If they can't you would hope at least some of the...

...funds raised could be reinvested. If they don't go then others around the fringes of the squad may have to be sacrificed as the drop in income from a 2nd season can't be ignored. Maybe the likes of Lowe (we have 2 left wing backs and another promising one) and Baldock (does..

...he get in ahead of Bogle and can we afford that luxury if he doesn't?) would go if reasonable offers are received? I haven't considered assets such as Bogle and Brewster on the assumption injuries keep them away from admiring glances, that said would Cooper have a strong...

...hand to play if Brewster came back firing and Forest were in the PL? He is a known admirer.
What is reassuring is that if there might be financial pressure to sell there isn't really any major wheeler dealing needed to address obvious shortcomings in the squad. The goalie...

...position looks in safe hands with Wes and, if Davies decides to move for a No 1 spot, there are a number of decent available keepers at back up, as noted earlier we are strong at wing backs, the 3 in defence are automatic first choices, Gordon did enough to deserve a back...

...up position and we can probably get cover via free agents or loans, we have a decent mix of strikers, experienced and young which is usually the most expensive area of the pitch to fill and N'Diaye has that season of experience now. The area that probably does need most...

...attention is midfield, there were definite games particularly away from home when we were crying out for more athleticism in the centre of the park and MGW is a gaping sized hole to fill. I still think Fleck and Norwood can do the business most weeks but they need keeping on..

...their toes or an extra body in there which we didn't have this season. You can certainly see why Rothwell is such a key target for Hecky of the free agents out there. In the end though it may well be the loan market that is the best source of cover. I doubt you will get near..

...the quality of an MGW on a free. It may still be the case that the club, on the quiet, actually would like a chunky bid for Berge. An undoubted talent but as we saw with his injuries it is all eggs in one basket when a £20m+ sale could balance the books and give Hecky a bit..

...more leeway in the market to improve an ageing midfield beyond a one season sticking plaster. In the end though I can't help but think that next season's fate could still hinge on one man, Brewster, ever since we broke our record fee for him it feels like our fate is in his..

...hands. If he can play week in, week out like he started to just before he got injured and stays fit we have a major asset on our hands, both in firing us to promotion and/or filling that financial hole. Him and N'Diaye with Bogle bombing down the right is a mouth watering...

...prospect, all fabulous talents, young and incredible upside in potential (on the field and in the transfer market). You want to be patient with them but you do feel next season is now or never with them (for us, rather than them) as if we keep the side together but we fail...

...again it really feels like the following summer will hit us like a steam train as financial reality will have to kick in then, no ifs, no buts.
I am going on a summer recess for #twitterblades now, focus on Girona FC for the next couple of weeks, then break from any footy...

...talk until we are back again, enjoying that Portuguese sun (well most of us, maybe not Flecky, he can do his pre season in the Highlands 😁).

Enjoy the summer Blades