Well... This was a lovely surprise wasn't it? It was a bit like finding a tenner hidden down the back of the settee except in this case out tenner was a 6ft 5in Norwegian from Genk who cost about £22 million. So.. Enough build up, let's review this transfer window (spoiler: it was a very, VERY, good window.)
Jack Rodwell Signed from: Unattached Previous clubs: Everton, Man City, Sunderland, Blackburn Rovers Career appearances/Goals: 189/12 Career Honours: FA Cup Runner up 2008/09, Premier League 2013/14, Victory Shield 2006, Euro Under-21 Championship 2009 Just while looking up Rodwell's appearances and goals, it turns out that myself and Jack share a birthday so that's rather nice. Anyway, Jack Rodwell! A player who much was expected of when he was coming through at Everton, it's all gone a bit haywire for the man from Southport with a big money move to Man City at the age of 21 not paying off and what followed was a frustrating career that has taken in Sunderland and Blackburn Rovers before coming to The Blades. It's not really Rodwell's lack of skill and technical ability that has let him down over the years but his problems with injuries. Over the course of his 13 year career, Rodwell has missed a combined 374 days of action thanks to various injuries. Despite this, Rodwell did have a pretty productive season for Blackburn last year and showed flashes of his early promise by playing in both midfield and the defence. It's a signing that is low risk and potentially high reward because despite his time away from the Premier League, Rodwell does have experience at this level and his versatility could prove crucial as we get into the business end of the season. Hopefully the short term contract that he has signed becomes a longer one but only time will tell. Jack Robinson Signed from: Nottingham Forest Previous clubs: Liverpool, Wolves, Blackpool, QPR, Huddersfield Town, Nottingham Forest Career appearances/Goals: 173/4 Career Honours: N/A A signing that we apparently nearly made a couple of years ago, Jack Robinson has finally joined The Blades ranks and comes in to provide cover for Enda. A graduate of the Liverpool academy, Robinson has gone on to have a steady career at Championship level. To be honest, there's not that much to say about Robinson. I'm sure he'll do a good job when called upon. So, let's get onto the real meat of the transfer window. Sander Berge Signed from: Genk Previous clubs: Asker, Valerenga, Genk Career appearances/Goals: 117/4 Career Honours: Belgian First Divison A 2018/19, Belgian Super Cup 2019 AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Sorry for the outburst but oh my goodness. Three years ago, we were waiting with baited breath as we unveiled Lee Evans and Ryan Leonard. Sander Berge is a player that is a tiny bit better than both of those guys, this is a player that at 21 already has 20 full caps for his country and was instrumental in getting Genk the League and Cup double last season and impressed both Jurgen Klopp and Virgil Van Dijk during Genk's Champions League games with Liverpool earlier on this season. Oh, did I forget to mention that this lad has played in the Champions League? Not only that, he's played in the Europa League as well. And it's not like when we signed Barry Robson, oh no, this lads not even in his prime and has been playing regularly against Europe's elite this year. Is this the most exciting signing in the history of Sheffield United? Quite possibly, and that's taking into account when we signed Lilian Nalis. This lad was being coveted by teams like Napoli and Manchester United and yet here he is. About to lace up his boots for Sheffield United. This is not a consolidate our position in the league signing, this is a signing that teams wanting to crack Europe make. Let's hope he's half decent, I have a feeling he'll meet that expectation and then some. Richario Zikovic Signed from: Changchun Yatai Previous clubs: FC Groningen, Ajax, Jong Ajax, Willem II, FC Utrecht, Oostende, Changchun Yatai Career appearances/Goals: 205/76 Career Honours: N/A Bursting onto the scene with Groningen during the 2013/14 season, Zikovic managed to score a very respectable 11 goals in 33 league games at the age of just 17. This season put him on the radar of Ajax but after making limited appearances in his first season (7 appearances, 1 goal) Zikovic was sent to Jong Ajax with the aim to develop him further and he managed to have three pretty good years in the Eerste Divisie, making 40 appearances and scoring 27 goals, despite this Zikovic was loaned out to Willem II and then FC Utrecht and was then sold on to Belgian Pro League team Oostende. Two years later and he was on the move again this time moving to China and Changchun Yatai. And after 15 goals in 25 games, Zikovic now finds himself at The Lane. This seems to be a player that could be one of Wilder's projects with this move seemingly being the one to try and get his career back on track. If there's one thing that Zikovic has, it's pace. He's absolutely rapid with one clip being shared around showing him bursting from within his own half and managing to beat out a defender that had a pretty healthy lead on him and slot home past an advancing keeper. He looks like he could be a Moose mark 2 and it could be very exciting to see a partnership between Moose and Ziko run hell for leather at Premier League defences. Panagiotis Retsos Signed from: Bayer Leverkusen Previous clubs: Olympiacos, Bayer Leverkusen Career appearances/Goals: 47/1 Career Honours: Super League 2016/17, Super League Greece Best Young Player of the Year 2016/17 Finishing off our January dealings it's another player with lots expected of him. Retsos was made captain of Olympiacos at just 18 years of age and lead his team to a league title whilst picking up the best young player of the year award for the Greek top division that year. This impressive season led to Leverkusen splashing the cash departing with a fee of around £15.75 million to secure the young Greek's signature. A promising start to his Leverkusen career was cut short after a blow to his quadriceps in pre season led to Retsos being diagnosed with Tendonitis. From this point on Retsos has found his chances at Leverkusen limited and just as he seemed to be getting back to fitness, another injury would affect him and he'd be back to square one. Despite the injuries, Retsos is still highly thought of in Germany and this signing was seen as a bit of a coup by many analysts. If he can stay injury free, we could have a cracking player on our hands and with the chance to sign him in the summer on the table, it's another low risk, high reward signing. I didn't think I'd be calling a player who was bought by one of the biggest clubs in Germany for over £15 million three years ago a low risk signing but I guess this is just the way Sheffield United roll now. And I'm loving it. So, was this a good window? After the relative shrug shoulders signing of Rodwell and Robinson, the build up and eventual signing of Berge was some of the most exciting times that I think I've had as a Blade that didn't include us playing any actual football. We now live in a world where one of the top prospects in European football see's Sheffield United as the next step upwards on their footballing journey. The Berge signing isn't only incredible because of the here and now but it also opens the possibility to talents like Berge joining and seeing United as a positive way to further their career and that is what's most exciting about this signing. We're not only playing in the big boy league, we're looking to make a name for ourselves in it. Until next time Blades, enjoy Saturday and as always, UTB.
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"Where were you when you were shit?" Was one of the maybe 4 chants that the Manchester City fans brought out during our match at The Lane on Tuesday. I don't know if Man City fans know a lot about us, but the majority of Blades fans were at Bramall Lane when United have been shit. thrashings at home to the likes of Southend United and Shrewsbury Town all happened within the last 5 years. Those were genuinely worrying times to be a blade with the club looking rudderless and without hope of escaping League One. So to come out of Bramall Lane feeling disappointed to lose 1-0 to the champions of England, who in those five years have won eight trophies including two Premier League titles and three League Cups, a team that a few weeks ago beat fellow promoted club Aston Villa 6-1 shows how far we really have come. It's been an incredible rise, let's hope it continues. Anyway, let's have a closer look at the match.
United made two changes coming into this match with the less shocking change of Mo Besic for John Lundstram and the more shocking change of Billy Sharp for Lys Mousset. I think Sheffield United are one of the only clubs in the country where it is a genuine shock when the club captain starts a match. City took a lot of the early exchanges (to be honest, they took a LOT of the possession 67.3% of it to be exact) but United were resolute and kept City at bay. It looked like all that hard work would be undone when Basham made a rare error which really should have seen Riyad Mahrez put City one up. Dean Henderson had other ideas. Our number 1 made an astounding save that saw Henderson push the ball one handed around the post. Henderson would be called into action once again, making another cracking save from a Nicolas Otamendi scissor kick. The heroics would further continue for Hendo after Basham gave away a soft penalty. Jesus stepped up, and Henderson saved it! It wasn't a great penalty from the Brazilian but that doesn't matter, Henderson clawed it away from goal and scurried after the ball to gather the rebound. Incredibly, out of the last 10 penalties that Henderson has faced, 7 have been missed. It's a brilliant statistic and it further backs up why Henderson should be in with a shout of being number 1 at the Euro's. The half ended with City on top, but United's rear guard action was holding firm. United came out fast in the second half and started pressing City back a little bit more but City were still creating chances. Around the hour mark Sharp came off and Mousset came on. It would be Mousset who would register United's first shot on target, after a bit of confusion caused by a United cross, Mousset tried to squirm away from the City defence and managed to get away a cheeky backheel that left everyone in the ground holding there breath... Unfortunately, it was a tame backheel and Ederson claimed the ball relatively easily. United would come again however and nearly got the opener with good work from United nearly seeing Oli McBurnie slotting home, if only he had bigger feet... And shortly after this, City broke United down with De Bruyne putting in a simply incredible ball that was put into an empty net by a waiting Sergio Aguero. It was a body blow but the United fans rallied behind the team but it wasn't to be. Despite some late pressure, it just wasn't to be and City came away from Sheffield with a win that keeps their very faint title chances alive. United come away from this match without the win, but can feel proud in the performance they put in. Not many teams have suppressed City like United have and if Oli McBurnie had bigger feet, who knows? Maybe we go on to win the match? These are the questions we can ask, but will never know the answer to. But hold your heads high United, you did us proud. Anyway, it's a break from the league this weekend and we visit fackin Millwall. It'll be nice to focus on something other than the league, here's hoping we get through! Until next time, UTB. London has become a bit of a prolific hunting ground in recent time for United hasn't it? As of the time of writing this article, it has only been a mere 685 days since Sheffield United since lost a match in the nations capital. It's a very impressive statistic and the streak was added to on Saturday with United taking a point back to Sheffield from The Emirates. United came into the game on the back of a narrow 1-0 over West Ham on Friday whilst Arsenal had only managed a draw at London rivals Crystal Palace, not only that but influential forward Pierre Emerick Aubameyang was suspended after a nasty tackle that saw an initial yellow card upgraded to red thanks to VAR. United made one change to the team that started against The Hammers with Lys Mousset coming in to replace the injured David McGoldrick. United started pretty brightly and had Mousset managed to keep his headers on target, could have had a couple of goals early on. Arsenal soon showed their potential threat though and Gabriel Martinelli somehow managed to spurn a very good opportunity laid onto him by Arsenal's record signing Nicolas Pepe. It looked like United would get into the half time break unscathed by an improving Arsenal but Martinelli didn't waste his opportunity this time and finished off a well worked move that saw a deflected cross fall into his path which Martinelli duly buried. 1-0 with United not getting the chance to even think about a reply as the half time whistle blew shortly after.
Second half and it looked like Arsenal were now posing more and more questions of the United defence, cue VAR. So Nicolas Pepe was charging into the box, Jack O'Connell attempted to make a tackle and Pepe set his feet and flung himself into the leg of O'Connell. Mike Dean said no penalty and, surprisingly (that's three positive VAR decisions now... Yay?), so did VAR. Arsenal were furious but it wasn't a penalty. Pepe was looking for contact and when it didn't come, he tried to initiate it himself. This seemed to buoy United and after some tactical changes The Blades went hunting for an equaliser with two Oli McBurnie headers first getting cleared off of the line and then held by the keeper when he really should have done better. Then United finally got their goal. Besic dropped his shoulder and slid the ball to Robinson who played a lovely ball to the back post which was knocked down by Sharp to a waiting John Fleck who knocked the ball into the turf and watched as his volley hit the back of the net. It was a wonderful goal scored by a wonderful player who has made the transition from Championship to Premier League look easy. It's hard to believe that we got Fleck on a free from Coventry and it's even harder to believe that Fleck isn't yet a regular starter for Scotland. Hopefully his 5 goals and 2 assists so far this season will make the Scottish FA sit up and take notice. United nearly won the game late on with McBurnie failing to connect properly with a golden opportunity just outside the six yard box. Eventually the final whistle blew and it was another point on the board for United and a total 4 points from a possible 6 taken from Arsenal, not only that but United have managed to secure 16 away points, more than we have amassed in our previous Premier League campaigns. It's another positive result and sets us up nicely for the visit of the current champions. Speaking of them... It's been an indifferent season for the blue side of Manchester with a season that not many will forget being followed up by one that many may want to forget. Already 16 points off table topping Liverpool, City have been pretty inconsistent with City losing 5 games already this season and coming into this game against United on the back of a rather disappointing draw against their bogey team in Crystal Palace. Despite their current struggles, City are still a team full to the brim with world class footballers with players like Gabriel Jesus and Riyad Mahrez sometimes being consigned to the bench. It's hard to pick just one player to choose when talking about danger men but I think the biggest one is the man they call Kun. Sergio Aguero is a modern day Man City legend and deservedly so. Signing for a fee of around £35 million in 2011, Aguero has gone on to score just shy of 180 goals in 256 games for City. The fact that there was talk of this man being dropped seems almost inconceivable now. He's a genuine gamechanger and United will have to be on their very best form to keep this man quiet. How do I see this one going? To be honest, it could go one of two ways. One way could be we do what we did against Liverpool and get blown away by a team that want to prove a point or we could do what we usually do and don't pay attention to reputations and just go out there and try to bloody the nose of a team that no one outside of United fans think they could beat. I'm hoping for a draw but if we play to our full potential, then anything could happen. Until the review, UTB. I wonder what goes through the mind of someone who brings either a Carlos Tevez or an Argentina flag all the way from London to Sheffield. First of all, where do you get a Carlos Tevez mask from? Do you have to put a special order in at a mask shop? Can you imagine that conversation? "Hello it's Mark's mask's, what can I do for you today?" "Ello Mark, it's Gary, how much would it cost to get about 750 masks of Carlos Tevez's face?" "It'll be a fair chunk mate, do you mind me asking what these masks are for?" "Well you see, we're all heading down to Sheffield and we want to wide up those Blades fans and remind them of a thing that happened 13 years ago, it'll be pwoper nawty." "Right... Ok." That's how I'd imagine that conversation would go, anyway, United won! Not only that, but we got a VAR decision in our favour! We're only 7-2 down now, we'll claw it back soon. Enough build up, let's get into the match.
United made one change to the team that played Liverpool with Oli McBurnie coming in for Lys Mousset. The atmosphere was crackling as the match kicked off, West Ham sung about Tevez and waved some Argentina flags which was nice for them I suppose. United looked a little bit shaky early on and seemed to be struggling a little bit with the physicality of Haller who managed to have the first real chance of the game when he floored Bash and then cannoned a shot well wide of Henderson's goal. United fired back shortly with a Norwood corner being met by John Egan that flashed narrowly over. West Ham would be the next to get in on goal after an errant header from Egan gave Anderson the freedom of the Kop End, it looked an easier chance to score than miss but Anderson did but it wide. It was the last chance of note for the first half and United looked a little flat and would need to be better in the second half. The second half kicked off and United did come out firing with John Fleck having an attempt on goal blocked then flashed the rebound narrowly wide. United looked lively and the early persistence soon payed off, David Martin played a ball out to Balbuena who didn't seem to realise he was playing pro football and instead of trapping the ball and playing on let the ball roll to an onrushing John Fleck who danced past the backtracking Balbuena and played a ball to the waiting McBurnie who slotted home under Martin. It was a deserved goal and United arguably had a second shortly after when Mousset was played in but wasn't able to beat Martin. West Ham did have opportunities to level and had Lanzini not been selfish. Robert Snodgrass came on and played a blinder as is per usual against us and did score the goal that pulled West Ham level. Except it didn't. Chris Kavanagh made up for his Fleck interception against City and ruled that Declan Rice had handballed early on in the build up to the goal. Was it a handball? Yes. Would I have been fuming if that had been disallowed for us? Absolutely. Unfortunately for West Ham, those are the rules now, sorry. United managed to see out the game and the final whistle blew with United back into the Premier League's top 5. It wasn't a vintage performance, far from it, but the sign of a good team is the ability to win when your not at your best and United definitely did that on Friday. Cracking that 30 point barrier is a big milestone passed, especially at this point in the season. VAR may take the headlines in this game and West Ham fans may feel aggrieved at the decision against them but if they want to take that up with the FA/Premier League, maybe they can write a letter to them on the back of all those Tevez masks. Anyway, onto Saturday and a visit to The Emirates. Until next time, UTB. Who doesn't love a Friday night game at Bramall Lane? The last one that immediately springs to mind for me is a match we had against Notts County about 4 or 5 years ago. We drew and I remember County wore a kit that looked like slime mixed with volatile vomit. Ah those League One days... It doesn't quite compare to the Premier League though does it? And we've got a match that a lot of people think is a bit of a grudge match. You see, in 2007 both our opposition and ourselves were in the Premier League and we were both locked in a relegation dog fight. United would eventually lose that battle to the Championship however, that wasn't the end of the drama. West Ham had been naughty, naughty widdle boys and had signed two players (Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano to be exact) illegally. There was a big uproar and many expected West Ham to be deducted points. That didn't happen. Instead United stayed relegated and West Ham payed us £20 million in damages. It was a very lenient punishment in the eyes of many and is seen by some as the catalyst for United's fall from grace over the next 10 years. But now here we are, 13 years on and we're both back in the Prem. The grudge match thing is a little overstated but it should still be a relatively feisty affair. Let's take a look at the opposition.
West Ham United are a team that have lost their identity and I don't think many West Ham fans would disagree with that statement. The move from Upton Park to the Olympic Stadium was heralded as a way for West Ham to join the big boys. It's safe to say that this joining of the big boys has yet to happen, instead, The Hammers have floundered a little bit since moving to their new ground and have never looked like they'd be competing regularly for a European place. Mid table mediocrity and even relegation dog fights have been the order of the day with Manuel Pellegrini recently being sacked after failing to deliver on the aspirations of the fans and the board. In his place come David Moyes, a man who comes back to West Ham once again tasked with pulling them away from the bottom three. Moyes did manage to start his second spell as Hammers boss with a resounding 4-0 win against relegation rivals Bournemouth last weekend and will be looking to improve an away record that hasn't seen them win away since December 14th. For a team that are struggling, there is talent at West Ham, players like Felipe Anderson and Declan Rice have been courted by many top teams and could really being playing at a higher level if they wanted to. So although they're struggling, The Hammers can cause problems and if United aren't on it from the off, West Ham's quality could see them get a result. So how do I see this going? It's a tough one to call, I think United definitely have enough quality to beat West Ham but it'll be interesting to see how the boys react to the back to back defeats against Liverpool and City. An early goal for us should settle the nerves but if West Ham score first, questions may be asked. I'm going to go for my usual prediction of a 2-1 win for The Blades with Mousse and Lunny getting the goals. I'll see you on Saturday for the review, enjoy the game and as ever, UTB. It might not have been pretty, it might not have been free flowing, we probably weren't at our best but we got through to the fourth round of the FA Cup. Yay. I say we weren't really at our best, but at no point did it really look like United would lose this match. It was one of those games where the quality of the individuals on one team was just too much for the team who were playing their heart out. It could possibly have been a bigger score line than 2-1 but that doesn't really matter, we won and that's all that matters in the end. Let's have a little deep dive into the game.
United made the expected 11 changes with the most exciting aspects of the starting 11 being the debuts of Michael Verrips and Jack Rodwell. Fylde started with the Danny Philliskirk corner of their ex Blades trifecta with Mark Yeates on the bench and Andy Taylor not in the matchday 18. United started off quite brightly and showed some good passing moves that got us in behind The Coasters defence. The early pressure payed off and after Luke Freeman found Callum Robinson in the box, the ex Preston man cushioned the ball and managed to turn and shoot past the Fylde goalkeeper. So far, so good. Then everyone just sat back. It was reminiscent of the two League Cup games earlier on in the season and Fylde nearly benefitted. A ball over the top saw a Fylde man clean through on goal but then outta nowhere (just like Randy Orton) Mo Besic came in and snatched the ball off of the strikers toes just before he was about to shoot. It was an early warning that was somewhat heeded as United tried to get on the front foot again. It looked like United would see out the half relatively comfortably, then Michael Verrips got injured. It was an unnecessary challenge from Kean Bryan that saw us potentially without a back up keeper for Friday. Anyway, half time came and so far, so good. It wasn't vintage United, but it was getting the job done. Second half and United once again started on the front foot with similar slick passing moves that saw us pull Fylde out of position. But then we became complacent again and Fylde smelt blood in the water and started knocking on the door which culminated in a free header from a corner that the Fylde man must have been disappointed to see flash wide of the Bramall Lane end goal. United did have the ball in the back of the net shortly after however, but Ravel Morrison's first goal for The Blades was ruled out for offside. But a minute later United doubled their lead, Ravel played in Freeman who's low drive hit the base of the right hand post and bounced out to an onrushing Leon Clarke (yes, you did read that correctly) who slotted home into an empty Kop net. It was nice to see Leon score again in a match that could potentially be his last for Sheffield United so it was fitting he scored in front of the stand that witnessed him go on a tear in our first season in the Championship. 2-0 Up and everything was looking good but then Fylde got in behind our backline and scored a delightful chip that made United sweat a little. It was a deserved goal for The Coasters but it wasn't enough to start a comeback and United's win was rewarded with a fourth round trip to... FACKIN MILWALL AT THE FACKIN DEN. Please excuse my inner cockney getting out there but yes, Millwall away is next up. So all in all, a win's a win and it puts us in good stead going into Friday and the visit of West Ham. Just before I sign off, full credit to Fylde and their fans. Both players and fans gave their all during the game and were a credit to their club. Best of luck for the rest of the season boys! Anyway, until next time, UTB. It's FA Cup weekend and what better way to celebrate one of the oldest cup competitions in the world than by only opening John Street and South Stand. That minus aside, even though it is not taken as seriously as it once was the third round of the FA Cup still holds a special place in many fans hearts. The titans of the game can go up against the minnows and, every so often, the underdog does have it's day and causes a massive upset. The Blades were the victims of a giant killing last year with defeat to non league Barnet putting United to the sword. When it happened, it felt very disappointing and many questioned whether United's season would be affected by the Cup exit. It didn't. So now we turn to this year's tie and another non league team are coming to The Lane. AFC Fylde are the opponents, let's see what makes them tick.
Currently plying their trade in The National League. AFC Fylde are seen as one of the big spenders in the lower leagues and almost made it to the Football League last season. After finishing 5th, The Coasters put away Harrogate Town and Solihull Moors to set up a play off final date with fellow non league big spenders Salford City. It would be the Salford boys who would secure the golden ticket to League 2 and ever since then, Fylde have been in a bit of a slump. Placed 21st in the National League, Fylde need a distraction and it comes in the form of the FA Cup. Reaching the third round for the first time in their history, this is a big chance for The Coasters to give their fans something to cheer about. So who are the dangermen for Fylde? Danny Rowe has been a very reliable source of goals since joining in 2014 scoring a mind boggling 165 goals in the five years he's spent at the club. This included the 16/17 season that saw him score 48 goals in all competitions. There is also a trio of ex United players who could potentially look to upset their former employers. Danny Philliskirk, Andy Taylor and Mark Yeates had pretty forgettable stints at The Lane but will be looking to impress against their former employers. How do I see this panning out then? To be honest, it depends whether our second string squad can be bothered to turn up and play. If they can be bothered, United should have enough to put away a Fylde team that is struggling at the foot of the National League. On the other hand, if they can't be bothered, we could be on course for another early exit in the cup. I'm going to be optimistic and go for a 3-0 United win with Sharp bagging a brace and Ravel getting his first goal. Until next time, UTB. For once, I think one of these brief(ish) reviews will actually be pretty brief because there really isn't much to say about this match. Despite the score line only reading 2-0 to Liverpool, it really could have been a lot worse had it not been for a brilliant performance from Dean Henderson and good shifts from Basham, Egan and O'Connell. It didn't really help that whatever game plan United might have had was blown up after 3 minutes thanks to a Baldock slip which allowed Robertson to put a ball on a platter for an onrushing Salah to slip past Henderson. Not much happened from an offensive perspective for United all night but defensively we were pretty solid. It was just wave upon wave of Liverpool attacks that were repelled and then repelled again. United got into the half one down but it didn't get much better in the second half.
The ball somehow stayed out after a Liverpool set piece early doors in the first half, the ball bounced off of the post and looked to be going in had it not been from a timely intervention from Henderson. Liverpool got a second shortly after with a lightning fast counter attack that saw Mane finish at the second time of asking after another good save from Henderson. As time wound down United actually had their best spell of the match and almost scored. Oli McBurnie got on the end of an O'Connell cross with the chance looking harder to miss than score. McBurnie missed. To be honest, I'm not too worried about us losing two on the trot, we've been to the home grounds of two of the best teams in Europe and haven't done half as badly as some teams have done in those grounds. We're still 8th and we're still a fair way off the relegation places. Special mention to Liverpool, they were simply outstanding and, unless there's a major slip up, should be winning that league title in May. Anyway, it's FA Cup action this weekend, it's only non league opposition, what could possibly go wrong there? Until next time, UTB. 'What's this? A preview about an AWAY GAME!? John, are you going to Liverpool to watch Dem Blades take on Klopp's men?' I hear you, dear reader as you shout this question at me through your computer screen. Firstly, could you be a bit more quiet next time? The cat's woke up and now it's more angry than Jose Baxter in a pub in Ireland. Secondly, I'm not going to Liverpool no. unfortunately. Instead, I will be watching this match completely legally (I swear) via British Telecom's sporting channel. I don't know if away match preview/reviews will become more common in the second half of the season but I'm doing one now. So... City away, that was a bit of a mad one wasn't it?
After 11 months and 18 matches, Sheffield United lost an away match. I suppose if your going to lose a long unbeaten streak, the home of champions of England is not a bad place to see it go. But it's never that simple with United and, if things had gone our way *cough* Mousset's early goal *cough* we maybe, just maybe, could have come away with three points. Couple of changes for The Blades in this one, Robinson came in for McGoldrick and Besic came in for big lad Lunny. United took it to the champions early doors and Mousset was causing the City backline problems early doors and nearly scored from a header close to goal. Shortly after, United did have the ball in the back of the net! But VAR got involved and despite very little being in the call, it was ruled off because of course it was. No matter, United kept on going and managed to get to half time level. So far, so good. Let's see how the momentum carries on into the second half. Referee's aren't supposed to get involved with a game of football, or at least that's the idea. Chris Kavanaugh obviously has different ideas to everyone else about how a referee gets involved in a game. So let's set the scene, Oli Norwood tries to play a simple ball to John Fleck. Kavanaugh decides that instead of staying out of the way of Fleck, he'll just walk straight in front of him and block him off. Fleck couldn't receive the ball and poked the ball into the path of Sergio Aguero and Aguero does what he does best and slotted the ball home. But surely the ref will recognise his error right? VAR will surely help us out on this one right? No. No it didn't. City's goal stood and United were undeservedly 1-0 down. I'll be honest, the rest of the match I didn't really care about. To have something like that happen to your team and nothing being done to rectify it was just soul destroying. The fact that the ref was GOING TO BLOW FOR THE DROP BALL THEN CHNAGE HIS MIND just made it even worse. City scored again, I didn't care. It was a cruel way to lose and I hope the higher ups do something about it. I know they won't, they're too stubborn to realise that the system they are implementing is hopefully woeful. But hey, at least they can put some adverts on them, at least there's money to be made. Who cares about teams and supporters being left in the dark about what the hell is going on in the ground. So we lost, but we really didn't deserve to. Enough about the English champions, let's talk about the European champions. Liverpool have been on an absolute tear in the League this season, winning 19 of the 20 games they've played. They drew the other one. Could they become the new invincibles? Quiet possibly. The danger men are rich in this Liverpool side, Robertson and Alexander-Arnold are two of the best full backs in the country with Alexander-Arnold's set piece taking being particularly deadly. Just in front of them players like Fabinho and Jordan Henderson (yes, really) pull the strings in the engine room, then there is the front three. Salah. Firmino. Mane. Three footballers who are all elite talents and are all incredibly good at what they do. Not much more needs to be said other than our backline will have it's hands full. And on that note, my prediction for the match is I hope we don't lose. I'm not going to do a score, just not a loss. I know our boys will give everything in Liverpool and you never know, Liverpool might have an off day. Everyone has had one, why not them? As ever, until next time, UTB. |
AuthorHi my name is John and i will be giving my thoughts on the blades matches and all blades related news in this section Archives
November 2022
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