Before we begin I'd just like to apologise for not getting out a brief(ish) preview on Saturday. I could say it was due to the fact that I was still fuming from the debacle that was Wednesday's performance against Man United but I'll be honest, I just lost track of time and woke up the next morning remembering that I should have done a preview so, apologies. But onto the match and, despite losing again this was a better Sheffield United performance. This was much, much more like the pre lockdown United and if we had been a bit more clinical in the second half especially we could have won this game. It wasn't a typical Blades performance but there was determination and sweet baby Jesus there was creativity! It's something that we've dearly missed since the restart and it was good to see us at least try to probe and pry at an opposition defence. This is probably the most positive I've been and probably ever will be after losing a game in the dying breath of a game. It was just great to see a Blades team try.
United were actually the first team to have the ball in the back of the net during the opening 10 minutes with an eerily similar setup to how we scored our goal against Arsenal back in October. Norwood whipped in a ball that was cushioned back across the six yard box by Egan and was met by the head of my boy Lundstram. Yes! A goal! Alas, it was disallowed by VAR and it was definitely offside but it was just nice to see the net bulge for a United goal for the first time since March. Apart from that, United had a steady opening third of the game and it looked like we'd enter the drinks break on level terms but looking the more likely team to score. Then there was the penalty. For those that have not seen the foul that Basham committed on Lacazette I'll do my best to describe it here. The ball was played to Lacazette, Basham and Lacazette come together, Bash dangles his leg and lightly catches Lacazette's heel, Lacazette goes down like he's been shot by a high powered sniper from about five yards away and, curiously, grabs the front of his shin? Anyway, ref points to the spot, and Pepe converts to give Arsenal the lead. There was contact and Bash really shouldn't have given a seasoned pro like Lacazette a reason to drop to the floor but, come on, that was as soft a penalty as any and perhaps under normal circumstances maybe wouldn't have been given. But the Blades were behind and we began to go into our shell a little bit and ended the half with Arsenal in the ascendency. Second half and United came out of the blocks the better looking of the two sides and once again had the ball in the back of the net. It was another set piece with a Norwood freeckick about 15 yards away from the left hand corner of the Kop End box whipped in along the floor that McGoldrick connected with and ended up going straight at the Arsenal goalkeeper who knocked it into the air and the ball was duly despatched by Egan. Yes again! Back on level terms! No? Disallowed again? Oh alright then. But the Blades weren't disheartened by this setback and Bash arguably had the best chance before our goal to get our equaliser. A lovely ball in from the left was lifted into the six yard box with the right hand side of the goal at Bash's mercy and Bash duly... Smashed it wide. Oh dear Bash. But United kept on knocking and we eventually got our goal with McGoldrick finishing in front of an empty Kop for his second goal of the season. It was a goal created by a set piece that I personally have long yearned for United to have. A long throw in! Jack Robinson launched the ball into the Arsenal box which Sead Kolasinac made mincemeat of and duly blasted a clearance against his defensive partner which bounced to Dave who duly tapped home. Unfortunately, the draw would not last long and Ceballos finished off a well worked Arsenal move to break United hearts and send the Gunners through to the semis. But that second half was brilliant and if we were just more clinical, it could have been lights out for Arsenal. Just before we wrap up, I'd just like to highlight how good Oli McBurnie and Sander Berge were during the game. McBurnie was at it from the get go and led the line incredibly well. Everything that was sent his way in the air he seemed to win and his physical presence really unsettled the Arsenal defence throughout. Sander Berge put on a performance that showed why we payed £22 million pounds for him. Coming on for the injured Lundstram, Berge went on to show why teams like Liverpool and Napoli were looking at him with a roving midfield performance with some bits of skill that were very easy on the eye. The highlight was probably when he turned the Arsenal defender on the half way line with a lovely touch and then burst forward whilst holding off the defender with the eventual lay off just running away from McGoldrick. A cracking performance from the lad and hopefully a taster of things to come. Although we lost, it was a better Blades performance. Not to our full potential, far from it but much better than our last 3. It's filled me with confidence going into Thursday's game against Tottenham and if we play like we did in the second half for the full 90 against Spurs then we could be getting that first post lockdown win. Until next time, UTB.
0 Comments
When I finished my piece on the Newcastle game on Monday night the last part in that article about the possibility of writing another post mortem on Thursday, that was partly done with my tongue in my cheek. I thought that there was no way that United would put in another meek performance where very little was created and that we would be steamrolled again, albeit by a team that arguably has more talent on paper than Newcastle did (sorry Newcastle), because Chris Wilder wouldn't allow that to happen. We may have a weakened squad but surely these lads on the field would leave it all out there on the Old Trafford turf? I think the result wouldn't have mattered that much if there was a performance that actually showed that these lads gave a crap. But that didn't happen. For (arguably) the third time since the restart, United players just didn't look that interested. We started well yes and maybe the result would have been different had we manged to hold on a little bit longer than 6 minutes before Manchester opened the scoring but even with a game to chase we looked god awful. There were some overlapping runs and at least Oli Norwood manged to pull off I think 2 passes but then we got burnt on the counter and it could have been 4-0 before half time if Marcus Rashford had brought his shooting boots. We were pretty lucky to go in only 2 down and the second half didn't get any better. Man United didn't need to get out of second gear to scythe through our defence. Paul Pogba made a mockery of at least three of our defenders before Martial snatched the opportunity for him to score away from him before Pogba could pull the trigger. Martial did get his hat trick and it has to be one of the easiest hat tricks a player has ever scored with a average shot distance of probably about 6-7 yards. We did have a shot on goal! Woo! Shame it had about as much power on it as a supermarket hand fan. So the match ended and 3-0 was a result that flattered United, both of them.
So where do we go from here? The bluster from various players and coaching staff about being raring to go from the off has so far been false. Yes, Jack O'Connell has been injured and yes, John Fleck was also injured but you'd like to think that the replacements for these players would actually be looking to impress the boss rather than make him question why the hell he trusted them as back up in the first place. The real worry is that no one looks particularly bothered about playing other than Bash. It must be so disheartening to make a break from the back and try to make an attack then look around for options and see no one there to support you. I think there needs to be a long hard inquisition into what has been happening behind the scenes by the management staff as to why these players have come back looking so lethargic when we'd been told that everyone was raring to go. It'd be a real shame if this season petered out after all the hard work that these same players have done so far this season to get us in the position we're in. But if this lethargy continues I'll be honest, where does our next goal let alone point come from? We're back in Cup action this weekend and we're also back at The Lane for the first time since the 9th of March. The thing is, I'm not even particularly bothered about whether we win or lose this weekend, I'd just be happy to see a flicker, just a flicker of the Sheffield United that have been defying the odds this season. If we can do that, I'll be happy. I'll see you Saturday for the Arsenal preview until then, UTB. Well... here we are again and for the third time in a week United are once again on their travels. After trips to The Midlands and The North-East we're heading North-West this time to visit the colossal stadium that is Old Trafford and its inhabitants in Manchester United. After two results that were less than ideal (please don't mention Newcastle to me again for about 3 months ta) the push for European football doesn't get easier for The Blades although, despite recent results and performances, if United can get a win against The Red Devils we'd overtake them in 5th and all of a sudden, everything starts to look a little better. But before we get ahead of ourselves, let's have a little run down of the opposition.
It really has been a season of two halves for the red half of Manchester. After a spluttering first half of the season and being on the outside looking in during the battle for a top 4 finish, the other United needed a spark plug to galvanise a team and a fanbase that had grown predictable and stale. After initial flirtations in the summer, The Red Devils got that spark in January with the £47 million capture of Portuguese playmaker Bruno Fernandes from Sporting Lisbon. It didn't take long for Fernandes to make an impact in the English top tier and at the time of writing this article has managed to bag 3 goals in 6 League appearances for the other United including a penalty in his last game against Tottenham. Alongside his 3 league goals, Fernandes has bagged 3 assists and his ability to split defences open has been a key weapon in his arsenal. to cap off his impressive start to Premier League life, Fernandes was awarded the Premier League Player Of The Month award for February. It's not just Fernandes who Manchester can call upon on Wednesday to provide firepower, Anthony Martial, Daniel James and Paul Pogba could all be available to face United along with man of the moment Marcus Rashford who, along with being an absolutely smashing person and his work in getting the government to reverse their decision in regards to providing free school meals for children during the summer is to be highly commended, he's also a cracking footballer. With John Egan definitely being out and Dean Henderson unavailable due to the inability to play against his parent club, it could be a very makeshift United backline that will line up tomorrow at 6PM. Jack O'Connell's status is still up in the air as well and the availability of Phil Jagielka is also in question. After Panos Retsos was sent back to Leverkusen, United could be going into this game with three fit first team centre backs with the very real possibility of a back three including Chris Basham (yay), Jack Rodwell (Oh dear) and Jack Robinson (could go either way). It will be incredibly interesting to see what backline Wilder goes for in this match and we could also see changes in the midfield and frontline. I guess the real thing that will be on the mind of many Blades fans is the quality of the performance. If the performances of the last two games comes out again, we could be in for a very, VERY, long night but if we manage to get our act together a little bit and at least try and bloody the big boys nose then anything could happen. It could all depend on what that team sheet looks like at 5PM. Here's hoping for a much better performance, I'll see you Thursday for the debrief until then, UTB. Post-Mortem Owner
John Slingsby Meeting Scheduled For: 22/06/2020 21:51 PM Call Recording: I guess it was recorded on Sky Sports if you want to watch it again. Overview: Despite some confidence from many Blades that United would perform better than they did against Aston Villa on Wednesday the 17th of June, United did the opposite of that and proceeded to shoot themselves in the foot in a 40 minute spell that began on the 50th minute with the sending off of John Egan. United proceeded to capitulate and lost the game 3-0. What Happened: After a promising 10 minute period in the first half, United proceeded to mimic their performance against Aston Villa for the next 80 minutes and looked very, very poor. Oli Norwood decided he wanted to play for Newcastle and couldn't help himself but find every black and white shirt he could, whenever he could. The rest of the team was also very poor with the possible exception of Chris Basham who attempted the novelty idea of attacking opposition space whilst his team mates sluggishly attempted to keep up with Bash. The capitulation didn't fully start until the 50th minute of the second half when John Egan gained his second yellow card after obstructing Joelinton from a clear goalscoring opportunity. 5 Minutes later, a routine looking cross was made mincemeat of by Enda Stevens with the Irishman whiffing on the cross and allowing Allan Saint - Maximin to open the scoring. 13 Minutes later, Matt Ritchie blasted home to double Newcastle's lead after wafer thin defending from United. 9 Minutes later the drubbing was complete when Joelinton prodded home to get his second goal of the season and his first since August. Very worrying performance with many players vastly underperforming. Root Causes: A lack of discipline from many, instead of trying to rally when Egan was sent off it appeared heads dropped and United looked very fragile whenever Newcastle attacked which could have led to the capitulation. Individual performances from the likes of Enda Stevens and Oli Norwood in particular were probably crucial in the outcome with both men looking DOA throughout the match although various others also looked and acted in a similar fashion. A distinct lack of creativity and positive thought seems to be clouding many players along with an allergic reaction to playing anything down the left hand side of the pitch, this could be a case of O'Connellitus but that is yet to be confirmed. Resolution: Hopefully a much better performance against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Wednesday. Appearances of players like David McGoldrick could lift the spirits and may combat the lack of creativity in the previous two matches. Although there could be much nervousness if Jack Rodwell is drafted in to replace the suspended John Egan. If there's one thing that you definitely shouldn't do with this United squad is write them off. It may be a tough looking match ahead but if anyone can turn the tide, it's Chris Wilder. Possible follow up report? We'll have to see. As everyone's favourite late 90's punk rock (maybe?) band Smash Mouth proclaimed in their 1999 hit single 'All Star' (as heard in on of the greatest films of all time, Shrek) 'the years start coming and they don't stop coming' except in our case it isn't years that are coming and don't stop coming, it's games of football. After the debacle ridden farce that was Wednesday's season reopener against Aston Villa, Chris Wilder's red and white wizards are travelling to the north east to face off against a familiar foe in Steve Bruce as we take on his 11th team that he has managed and his boyhood club in Newcastle United. So how has Bruce faired on his homecoming?
Not great to be perfectly honest. Newcastle went into the lockdown 14th in the Premier League but do find themselves 7 points clear of 18th placed Bournemouth. After spending a fair amount of money on players in the summer, although mixed in with that there are still hallmarks of Mike Ashley signings i.e. Andy Carroll on a free, with the big headline purchase being a £40 million blow out on Joelinton. Despite coming in on the back of a decent season in Germany with Hoffenheim where he managed to get 11 goals in 33 games, Joelinton has not yet settled fully on Tyneside scoring just once in the league and getting 3 goals overall in all competitions. Despite Joelinton failing to live up to expectations there has been one shining light from the summer window and that has been the mercurial Allan Saint-Maximin. Joining from Nice, Saint-Maximin has been adding an attacking impetuous in a team that has scored the joint least goals in the league so far this season. His ability to create chances out of nothing and take people on has led to him becoming a cult hero as St James. United are already very familiar with the dangers of Saint-Maximin after he opened the scoring in Newcastle's 2-0 win at The Lane earlier in the season. So despite perhaps underperforming, Newcastle still have various players that if left unchecked, could cause us some real issues. The result in this game could largely depend on the availability of Jack O'Connell and John Fleck. Fleck looks like he could be a goer to get into the starting XI with O'Connell perhaps being more of a longshot. However having Fleck back would inject some much needed creativity from the off in the midfield with the trio who started in midweek not really being able to create anything of note in the match until Luke Freeman and David McGoldrick entered the fray 75 minutes into the game. The encouraging performance of Jack Robinson at LCB should mean that O'Connell might not be missed as much as it was initially thought it would be however it would be good to have those overloads from overlapping centre backs back on the cards again. How do I see this panning out? Hopefully there'll be a positive reaction to the performance on Wednesday and we'll be able to be more creative from the off than what we were during the week. If we start brighter than we did during the week, I could see us getting a win but if the blandness of our performance is still there it could be a long 90 minutes. I'll see you back here for the post match debrief, until then, UTB. EXT. VILLA PARK - EARLY EVENING
The return of the Premier League is about 41 minutes old, the opening match between Aston Villa and Sheffield United has so far been a dull game. No team has really been able to assert themselves on the game but Villa have had the better opportunities. DEAN HENDERSON has had to make one save but apart from that has largely been protected fairly well with JACK ROBINSON impressing on his league debut. United win a foul on the right hand side of the Villa penalty box, OLIVER NORWOOD shapes up to deliver the ball, he whips the ball in over the head of everyone in the box. John Well, that wasn't a great freekick it's missed everyone, hold on... NORWOOD'S freekick is collected by Villa's keeper NYLAND who somehow manages to spill the cross into his own goal and whilst trying to collect it ends up nearly decking it and is only saved when he is embraced by the loving embrace of his side netting, the thing is, the ball also crossed the line. John YEEEEEESSSSS GET IN! However, whilst United players celebrate what is surely a certain goal, there is no movement from match official MICHAEL OLIVER who indicates that he hasn't received a buzz on his watch that would indicate a goal has been scored. INT. VAR BOOTH SOMEWHERE AT STOCKLEY PARK - EARLY EVENING BUT CAN YOU REALLY TELL? THEY'RE INDOORS. PAUL TIERNEY and his assistant VAR official CONSTANTINE HATZIDAKIS are discussing what they should have to eat whilst they officiate the game. Paul (Glancing at his phone) What do you fancy Constantine? I'm all in for a Pizza but if you'd like something else, let me know Constantine Yeah I can go for a pizza Paul, that sounds great (he glances at the match screen) ooooooooooo looks like Mike's got a problem at Villa, shouldn't we be getting involved? It looks like it's over a goal. Paul (Glances up at the screen from his phone) Nah, it's not worth it, goal line technology is completely infallible, it's never failed before, why would it fail now? We referee The Premier League(tm) Constantine! It's the greatest league in the world(tm)! I'm sure Mike can handle it himself, now, back to what really matters. What pizza do you fancy? Constantine I guess your right Paul, I'll have a meat feast please I'll give you the money for it later. Paul (Smirking) Of course I'm right Constantine! And don't worry about the money it's on me! EXT. VILLA PARK - EARLY EVENING MICHAEL OLIVER continues to wait for the signal to indicate a goal has been scored it never comes and play continues despite the protestations of United players, the half ends much to the chagrin of United fans around the country who are apoplectic at what they've just seen. INT. VILLA PARK REFEREE ROOM - EARLY EVENING Michael (Looking sheepish) now tell me lads, did that look like it was in to you? Because you've got to think that there'd be a reason why United players were so certain. Before either STUART BURT or SIMON BENNETT could answer, OLIVER gets a buzz from his watch... Michael (Looking down at the watch) Well... It looks like we've made a massive cock up here boys END SCENE That's just a slight imagining of what could have happened during the time when the most obvious 'goal' in recent memory was somehow wiped out. What happened during the rest of the match didn't really matter (to be fair, not much else really did happen in the second half, it was a pretty poor game but I digress...) what does matter is that Sheffield United were once again shafted by technology that was supposed to make the game easier to referee for officials not make it harder. The worrying thing is that Oliver didn't feel the need as the person who was in charge of officiating the match didn't check to see on a pitch side monitor if he had made the wrong decision he just blindly followed what the tech told him. This could set a very dangerous precedent in top flight English football where the official on the pitch is no longer the decision maker of what happens in a match. Why does he need to be when a man in the middle of London down the other end of the country can make the tough calls for him? He doesn't need to see if the ball crossed the line, Hawkeye is NEVER wrong so why should he question it despite protestations. There really needs to be a clear line drawn in the sand on who is actually the lead official in a game of football, is it the man in the middle of the park? Or is it the eye in the sky? Overall, this wasn't a great showing from United with very little attacking impetus shown. This could be down to the loss of O'Connell and Fleck but until Luke Freeman and McGoldrick got on late in the second half, we never really challenged Villa's goal. On the plus side, it's another clean sheet for Dean Henderson that takes him level in the league alongside Nick Pope. Henderson reminded us how good a goalkeeper he is with a cracking save from Keinan Davis at his near post keeping the game all square and he was called into action again not long after, stretching out to deny a curling John McGinn effort. Another positive in a defensive sense was Jack Robinson. I'll admit, I was a little bit apprehensive when I saw Robinson would be replacing O'Connell and, despite not overlapping as much as our Liverpudlian, Robinson put in a cracking defensive display with some impressive stops that denied Villa getting any meaningful shots on our goal. Apart from that, it wasn't a dazzling Blades performance but a point is a point and we're up to 6th before our visit to Newcastle. So the Blades are back! And so are dodgy VAR decisions. Despite things changing, others stay the same, it's just a shame that the thing that's stayed is our rubbish relationship with VAR. Anyway, until next time, UTB. Well... It's been a while since I've done one of these. After over 100 days since the last time United kicked a ball in competitive action but that all finishes tomorrow at 6pm when our Premier League campaign will get back underway with our game in hand visit that was originally scheduled to take place sometime in early April. Our opponents are familiar, the venue is familiar but what won't be familiar is that Villa Park will be empty with no fans in attendance. The world's eyes could be on the corner of Birmingham where Villa reside. So, let's have a look at what those boys have been up to since we last met them.
Aston Villa were largely expected to do better than they have done this season. After spending upwards of £140 million pounds on players in the summer with notable arrivals including Douglas Luiz (from Man City, £15 million) and Wesley (from Club Brugge, £22 million) it was expected The Villains would be nowhere near the relegation zone and would be establishing themselves back in a division they haven't been in since 2016. However, that hasn't been the case and, despite not struggling anywhere near as much as they did last time in the division, they find themselves 19th in the table with 25 points to their name. They might only be two points from safety but the fact that they find themselves back in a relegation dogfight proves that it perhaps isn't the best idea to have a money splurge on players and that it might be a better idea to let the players who got you in the division in the first place the chance to prove themselves. Despite their low standing in the table, Villa do have some incredibly talented players that wouldn't look out of place in starting XI's in the top half of the table. Players like John McGinn have shown that they are more than capable of duking it out in the top flight and if Villa do get relegated, it wouldn't be a surprise to see players like McGinn moving on in the summer. But there is one man who has probably impressed more than most in the Villa squad. Calls for England call ups are plentiful for this homegrown lad and he's definitely proven that he fits in the top flight. Hold onto your isolation party hats, we're going to talk about Jack Grealish. Jack Grealish. A very, very talented man who perhaps needs to remember that he could just have a drink in his own house without the need to travel to a mates and have a party. Despite his less than agreeable way of dealing with lockdown Grealish is a brilliant footballer and has probably been the biggest reason as to why Villa are still in with a fighting chance of staying in the Premier League for more than one season. 7 Goals and 6 assists in the League this season prove that this man is more than able to hang in and around the big boys. Despite his penchant for a dive Grealish is capable of producing big time plays in big time situations and has been a joy to watch at times this season. Rumours of a move to teams like Manchester United have not gone away and you'd have to think that Villa will probably face a uphill struggle in keeping their talisman even if they do stay up. So despite his flaws, Grealish is probably one of the most dangerous players in the League when he's on form so United will need to be on their toes to keep him quiet. Luckily, we've got the one thing that been the antidote to the Grealish issue. John Lundstram likes to play against Grealish, I hope Grealish has brought his extra long short shinpads if Lunny is playing. So how do I see this going? After all the talk of teams not wanting the League to come back, United have been one of the only teams who seem to be raring to go and are very much up for the challenge of pursuing a European spot. Keeping Grealish quiet I think is definitely the key to quelling Villa. If we can do that then we should have more than enough to win. I'm going to go for a 2-1 Blades win with Lunny and Moose getting our goals. Enjoy the game Blades and I'll see you for the review in a couple of days. Until then, UTB. A Brief(ish) Review Of The Month
After ending the month of August with a very positive result away at Chelsea United were perhaps unfairly beaten at home in our next game against fellow red and white enthusiasts Southampton. After Oli McBurnie had a goal disallowed thanks to VAR (it wouldn't be the first time we'd fall on the wrong side of this incredible system that totally works well) Southampton got their winner after Moussa Djenepo danced through our defence and settled the game in the 66th minute. To further add to the frustrations, Billy Sharp was sent off late on to ensure that United started the month with a loss. A visit to Premier League stalwarts in Everton was up next and, despite only having one shot on target all game, United came away with a 2-0 victory. Own goal opened the scoring for United with Yerry Mina nodding home a Blades corner to ensure we went in at the break 1 up despite not really showing much in the attacking sense. The second half saw us clinging onto the lead somewhat but in the 79th minute John Lundstram played a cracking ball that split the Everton backline in two and ensured that Lys Mousset grabbed his first non contentious goal for United as he coolly slotted home past Pickford to give the Blades a smash and grab first away win of the season. Four days later United were back in cup action with the visit of third tier Sunderland to Bramall Lane. Despite a lively opening 10 minutes for the Blades, Sunderland would grab the winner in the 9th minute of the game thanks to a thunderous effort from the appropriately named Max Power who smashed home his effort into the very top right hand corner of Simon Moore's net. United were out of the Carabao Cup but we had bigger fish to fry three days later with the visit of the defending European champions in Liverpool. Despite a very impressive performance that saw United shut up shop and silence The Reds for much of the match, United's stand was cruelly broken after an unforced error from Dean Henderson who spilled a Gini Wijnaldum shot when it looked easier to save it. So despite only 1 win from the month, it looked like United were beginning to adjust well to the Premier League. Player Of The Month: John Fleck After only making two appearances in the opening month of the season due to injury, Fleck came back with a bang in September and began to show why he belonged in the top tier of English football. His performance against Liverpool is what swung the player of the month vote into his favour after he ran the show against players that had represented their countries multiple times and had won the Champions League only a few months prior to this game. If only he'd got his shot off before Van Dijk snuffed out the shot... Goal Of The Month: Lys Mousset VS Everton United only scored one goal that was attributed to us this month so it's a good thing it was a good one. The finish itself was brilliant and full credit to Lys Mousset for not only breaking free of the Everton defence so late into the game but to finish as coolly as he did against England's No.1? That takes real skill. But the pass by John Lundstram was absolutely terrific. It took two defenders out of play and guaranteed Mousset the best possible chance in his one on one versus Pickford. After 102 days of waiting to get our Premier League campaign back underway, on June 17th we'll be doing just that. Aston Villa will be the opposition as we look to continue our unlikely assault on the Champions League/Europa League places. But before we look to the future, I think now is the time to look back and reflect on how we got to where we are today. Over the course of the next week or so, I'll be taking a little trip down memory lane at the season so far with it all leading up to the eventual pre match preview for the curtain raiser against Villa. Let's get on with it then!
A Brief(ish) Preview Of The Month United began our first Premier League campaign since 2007 with a visit to familiar foes in AFC Bournemouth. 5 years after facing each other in the doldrums of League 1, this is now a fixture in the elite tier of English football which wouldn't have even been a thought in either fans eyes when players like Tony McMahon and Brett Pitman were taking part in the fixture. It looked like despite putting up a very creditable display United would be coming away from the South West coast with no points after Chris Mepham got the opener just after the hour mark however, just 5 minutes after entering the field of play, Billy Sharp manged to poke home from close range to send the away end into delirium and ensure the Blades came away with a point to get our Premier League points tally up and running. Our first home match came the week after our visit to Bournemouth with Crystal Palace coming to The Lane and the season would continue to get better for The Blades with a goal from the former scapegoat (not from this particular writer) John Lundstram who managed to sweep home a Luke Freeman cross cum shot to send 28,000 Blades into ecstasy and to give us our first win in the top flight since our 3-0 success over West Ham at the tail end of the 2006/07 season. The good times would end in the next match however with a narrow loss to Leicester City reminding us that this league is a tough one to get points in. A Jamie Vardy opener was cancelled out after the hour mark with Oli McBurnie powering home a cross to put the Blades on equal terms. It wasn't to last however and 8 minutes later Leicester got their winner thanks to a cracking goal from Harvey Barnes. Three days later United were in League Cup action against Blackburn Rovers and managed to progress in the competition with a penalty save from Simon Moore eventually allowing United to get the lead thanks to a Richard Stearman header followed shortly by a great goal from Oli Norwood on the cusp of halftime that made it look like the game had been put to bed. Blackburn did get a consolation in the second half via former United transfer target Sam Gallagher but the Blades held on to ensure their names were in the hat for round 3. United ended the month with a visit to London and a first encounter with one of the anointed 'big four' in Chelsea. It looked like it would be a hard day at the office at halftime with Chelsea racing into a two goal lead thanks to Tammy Abraham. Despite looking dead in the water, United managed to pull a goal back within minutes of the restart thanks to Callum Robinson. Continued pressure in the second half from United made it look like the Blades would get an equaliser and in the 89th minute United got it thanks to an own goal from Kurt Zouma (or was it Lys Mousset?) So despite being 2-0 down at halftime, United had managed to claw their way back into the game and ended the month with 5 points from a possible 12 available. Player Of The Month: John Lundstram Before you all scream fix at me which is scaring the cat, please stop. Let me state my case with one question. Did anyone genuinely think that John Lundstram would play a vital role in our start to the season in July? I don't think many people would have said yes to that question but, perhaps against all odds, Lunny managed to prove all his doubters wrong early doors and proved to be a vital cog within our slightly adapted 3-5-2 system. His ability to provide energy on the right hand side of our flat three in the middle and manged to provide an attacking threat that made the loss of Mark Duffy that bit more bearable to stomach. Goal Of The Month: Billy Sharp VS AFC Bournemouth Despite Oli Norwood's goal against Blackburn perhaps being our most aesthetically pleasing goal of the month, I don't think anything can truly usurp the pure feeling of joy that was emitted by every Blades fan when Billy Sharp managed to squeeze home the equaliser in our first game back in the Premier League to ensure we got a point. It was the typical Billy Sharp goal with the marksman being in the right place at the right time to ensure that he could tuck home a goal that ensured that his Blades were up and running in the Premier League. So it wasn't the best looking goal but by god was it important. League table at the end of August 1. Liverpool 12pts 2. Man City 10pts 3. Leicester City 8pts 4. Crystal Palace 7pts 5. Arsenal 7pts 6. Everton 7pts 7. West Ham 7pts 8. Man United 5pts 9. Tottenham 5pts 10. SHEFFIELD UNITED 5pts 11. Chelsea 5pts 12. Burnley 4pts 13. Southampton 4pts 14. Newcastle 4pts 15. Bournemouth 4pts 16. Brighton 4pts 17. Wolves 3pts 18. Aston Villa 3pts 19. Norwich 3pts 20. Watford 1pt Top Appearance Makers/Goals Oli McBurnie 5/1 Oliver Norwood 5/1 Luke Freeman 5/0 Enda Stevens 5/0 John Lundstram 4/1 Callum Robinson 4/1 Dean Henderson 4/0 George Baldock 4/0 Chris Basham 4/0 John Egan 4/0 Jack O'Connell 4/0 David McGoldrick 4/0 Billy Sharp 3/1 John Fleck 2/0 Ravel Morrison 2/0 Phil Jagielka 2/0 Ben Osborn 2/0 Lys Mousset 2/0 Richard Stearman 1/1 Simon Moore 1/0 Kieron Freeman 1/0 Kean Bryan 1/0 Mo Besic 1/0 |
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
Categories |