11 Months after it started, United's first campaign back in the big time ended. It didn't end with the relegation scrap that many (MANY) media outlets and armchair pundits believed would happen back in August. No, instead, United threw the script (hi BT Sport) that people had wrote before the season started and went on to challenge for Europe. After a month that wasn't the best form wise for the Blades, we started July with our first home league game since the restart. The challengers were Tottenham Hotspur, would United be able to restart their own project of European football? Let's find out.
A Brief(ish) Review Of The Month As I was saying, our first league match back at The Lane was against fellow European contenders Tottenham Hotspur. After the shenanigans of November, United were looking to get some points off of an outfit that were very fortunate to draw with us and it got off to the perfect start. intricate play down the right flank of the Bramall Lane End eventually saw Bash play a ball towards George Baldock. Sander Berge appeared to take the ball off of the foot of our wing back and the move looked dead. That was until Sander arrowed a bullet of a shot low and hard past Lloris into the bottom right hand corner and United were ahead! Surely nothing would go wrong from here? Nope. Tottenham went straight up the other end and Harry Kane has the ball in the back of our net. Well, that was nice whilst it lasted I guess, wait, why are they checking it on VAR? Handball? Where? Oh, when Moura was falling and Egan smashed the ball into his arm? Well... We'll take it I guess. Just for the record, I still think this decision stank and that the goal should have stood but the rules are the rules I suppose. Anyway, this scare seemed to wake up the Blades and we went back to looking more assured but didn't manage to create anything for the rest of the half and went in, perhaps fortunately, 1 up. Second half and once again United were knocking back on the Spurs door whilst managing to frustrate Kane and co. at the other end. It would be United who would secure breathing space on the 69th (nice) minute with good work from Osborn and Enda eventually seeing our wing back slide in a ball that Moose was there to tap home and give us a two goal cushion. Surely this couldn't get better? 15 Minutes later it got better, Sander drove into the box and sent Son Heung Min flying into the Kop with a brilliant feint, he drilled the ball towards Oli McBurnie who duly tucked home to top off another fabulous performance for the Scotsman. United were unable to keep the clean sheet however with Harry Kane eventually scoring his goal after having 3 disallowed in the game beforehand. It didn't lead to any additional pressure however and United got their first win of the restart with a statement victory over a team that were competing in the Champions League Final 12 months prior to this game. Not bad for a pub league team. After the high of the Tottenham win, United were back out on the road with a visit to Lancashire and Turf Moor, the home of Burnley. This was another stern test for United with Sean Dyche's side managing to shake off the early season blues that saw them flirting with the relegation zone at one point and were quietly putting together a charge towards Europe. Early doors however saw United continue the good play that saw us beat Spurs with various opportunities spurned to open the scoring. This would prove costly as on the cusp of half time Burnley scored from a set piece with James Tarkowski sliding home. This seemed to knock a bit of stuffing out of United who began the second half on the back foot with some poor defending nearly being punished by Burnley. But just like the first half, these chances gone begging would come back to haunt The Clarets with another set piece goal seeing United get an equaliser and what a goal it was, after a flick on from Billy Sharp after a cross from Ben Osborn, John Egan was at the back post to slam home a rasping volley that left Nick Pope clutching at thin air. It was a cracking finish for a player that hadn't scored for close to two years up to that point but it was timely and would rescue us a point as we continued our resurgence. Surely he wouldn't be able to get us another crucial goal, would he? Back to The Lane and another European contender for United in the run in with Wolves next up in the batters box. After tearing apart the Championship in 2017/18, Wolves have gone on to shock the system a little bit with some fast, fluid football making most of the Premier League sit up and take notice of Nuno Espirito Santo's charges with Europa League football in their first season, the men from Molineux were now looking hungrily at cracking the top 4. This clash between two teams looking to break the top six monopoly of your Chelsea's and your Tottenham's promised much beforehand but it was a pretty cagey match with neither team giving the other an inch. It wouldn't be until the 93rd minute of the game that we'd get a goal and that goal was for... Dem Blades! An Oli Norwood corner was met by the head of that man John Egan who headed home to give us a big win as we looked to catch up to those European places. July was shaping up to be a very good month for the Blades with a run of 2 wins and a draw putting us back in contention for a place in Europe. Next up on our quest was the visit of Frank Lampard's Chelsea (doesn't roll off the tongue as well as 'Frank Lampard's Derby County but oh well) to The Lane. Chelsea had managed to flourish under Lampard this season with Frank bringing few at least five or six of the 700 or so youngsters that Chelsea send out on loan every year. Despite being firmly ensconced in the top four for most of the year, United didn't look daunted by the task of taking on FLC and quickly went about opening the scoring with David McGoldrick, yes David McGoldrick scored a Premier League goal, reacting quickest to poor goalkeeping from Kepa to slam home from inside the six yard box. United didn't let up the pressure on The Blues and doubled our lead 25 minutes later with good work down the left hand side seeing Enda play in a lovely ball that was met by the head of McBurnie with our Scotsman powering home to put the Blades 2-0 up. Chelsea had some opportunities but United managed to hold out to the break with our two goal cushion in tact. You might have thought that Chelsea would come out an improved outfit in the second half but they didn't. United managed to soak up the pressure that Chelsea threw at us and eventually got a deserved third with more poor defending from Chelsea being pounced upon by that man McGoldrick with the Irishman slamming home again in front of an empty Kop to secure a big three points and another statement win in a month of statement wins seemingly. It could, and probably should, have been four had Moose manged to place his chip past Kepa a little bit better. But that didn't matter in the end. United had beat Chelsea and after the slump of June, July looked like it would be a much, much better month for United. Well, it looked better until our last three matches of the season with our performance against Leicester being nothing short of diabolical. United never really looked like making impact on the game and just before the 30 minute mark Leicester opened the scoring with Ayoze Perez placing home from just inside the penalty box to give The Foxes a deserved lead. The second half saw much of the same with United amazingly nearly getting an equaliser through a corner that bounced to John Egan with our no.12 seeing his effort scrambled away by Schmeichel. At the other end, Jamie Vardy hit the post but eventually turned provider as he laid on a ball for Demari Gray to slot home in the 79th minute that killed off any chance of United getting back in the game. With results elsewhere going against us, United went into the last two games of the season probably needing to win those fixtures to see us have any chance of getting into Europe. The last home game of the season was up next and Everton were the visitors to Bramall Lane in a match that really was must win for United. United duly went on to put in another pretty bad performance as we never really looked like troubling Jordan Pickford in the Everton goal but we looked like we'd at least be able to get a point as Everton looked pretty poor up top. A minute into the second half and Richarlison, who had miraculously managed to recover from the heinous non challenge that Oli Norwood 'committed' at the end of the first half, powered home a brilliant header that flew past Henderson to give The Toffees an unlikely lead. It was a goal that ultimately settled the contest and also settled United's dreams of Europe. Last game of the season time with a visit to the South coast and the home of Southampton. United actually started off as the better team and Billy Sharp had various opportunities to give us the lead that he somehow squandered. It looked like these chances had gone begging but United managed to open the scoring just before the half hour mark with John Lundstram powering home from close range to give us a deserved lead. Going into the half time break it looked like United were fully in control of the game. Five minutes into the second half and Southampton were level with none other than Che Adams latching onto a Sander Berge block and beating Henderson at his near post. 11 Minutes later and Adams was at it again, this time reacting fastest to a Chris Basham block and slamming home to give The Saints the lead. Despite Leon Clarke coming onto the pitch for his final appearance in a Blades shirt, he would have no real impact on the game and a disputed penalty for Southampton was eventually slotted home by Danny Ings in the 84th minute to fully kill off any chance United had of getting back into the game. So after 38 games the season might have ended on a sour note but that doesn't really matter because it was an absolutely incredible season to be a Blades fan. Watching a team that was expected by many to struggle in the top tier prove all the doubters wrong and come within a game of European football was just brilliant. It was a long season but we're at it's end. So let's say goodbye to 2019/20, you were a brilliant season but strange season, I'm sure this will be a season revisited by many further down the line Player Of The Month: Chris Basham I think on a whole for the month of July our best performer was arguably our most consistent performer throughout the season and that is our longest serving player Chris Basham. Whether it be in our wins against Chelsea and Tottenham or our losses against Everton and Leicester, Bash was constantly out there proving to be either a livewire going forward or a defensive rock that nobody was ever getting past. All in all a good month for Bashambauer and a brilliant season overall. Goal Of The Month: John Egan VS Burnley Despite scoring 9 goals in July, none of them really had that 'wow' factor that you attribute to a GOTM contender. I think before the John Egan goal against Burnley, this award was going to go to Sander's bullet shot in the home win against Tottenham. Then Egan decided to shed the shell of the no nonsense defender who literally tries to tackle people with his head and morph into his final form of prime Rivaldo and smash home a cracking volley that arrowed straight into the top left hand corner of Nick Pope's goal that left the England international wondering what the hell just went past him. A cracking goal from a cracking player.
0 Comments
Well... That was a slight damp (ha) squib to our pre season programme of matches wasn't it? In case you didn't know, our opening game of our pre season campaign was cut to just 45 minutes after it was deemed that the playing surface at Tannadice Park was unplayable due to persistent rain that hammered down throughout the half. It wasn't a half that had nothing to talk about though and that is largely why I'm here to review it! The 45 minutes we did see saw United have various chances to score, a missed penalty, a goal and lots of the ball getting caught in the boggy pitch. All in all, it was a pretty entertaining 45 minutes and was a good way to spend my Tuesday afternoon. Enough build up, let's get to the game.
The kick off time wasn't the only strange thing about the game today, United lined up with a few eyebrow raises in the starting XI with Reagan Slater starting out at right wing back and Callum Robinson starting up top with Billy. Aaron Ramsdale made his re-debut for The Blades with fellow new signing Wes Foderingham making the bench. The bench itself was also a hodgepodge of youth and experience with Phil Jagielka sitting on the same bench as Antoine Hackford, a player that wasn't even born when Jags was starting to establish himself as a top player. Dundee United on the other hand came into this game having already started their Scottish Premiership season and made wholesale changes to their starting XI with players who started or came on for their previous game against Celtic only making the bench. United kicked off our pre season campaign looking a lot brighter than we did to end the previous Premier League season with Sander Berge, Bash and Slater all looking good early doors. It would be thanks to a Berge burst from midfield that saw United win a penalty just 4 minutes into the game after our Norwegian geezer was brought down as he darted to the by-line. Billy stepped up to take the penalty and... drilled it against the base of right hand post. This didn't really dissuade United from taking the game to our Scottish opponents however and chances came to both Sander and Callum Robinson with the Dundee keeper Deniz denying both with some decent saves. The boggy pitch was beginning to play a part in the match however and a lazy ball back to Ramsdale from Robinson almost saw Dundee in with Rammers out quickly to snuff out the danger. United would open the scoring on the cusp of half time however with another drive from Sander seeing his low drive from distance palmed back out into the six yard box with Billy Sharp on hand to tuck the ball home. It was the least the Blades deserved and as the half time whistle blew, the managers counselled with the referee and decided to call it a day. It was the right decision in the end with a possible continuation of the game perhaps seeing possible injuries to either side. But at the end of the day, United managed to get their pre season off and running with a win and a good performance which was all that was really needed. Unconventional? Most definitely, but although the conditions were less than ideal United managed to show some good signs in our first pre season outing. Good performances from Bash, the two Robinson's and especially Slater and Berge were all encouraging with everybody playing decently to comfortably outplay our admittedly weaker opposition. But you can only beat what's put out in front of you and we did just that. We've got a bit of a wait now for our next friendly against Derby so we'll have to see how we perform in that one and whether we'll have anymore new signings by then. Until next time, UTB. The new normal is a phrase that has become more and more common as the pandemic started to peak, in stark contrast, after a 3 month break the Premier League resumed in what could be described as a whole new season. United were due to play 11 games in 39 days which meant that it was going to be a hectic month that could go a long way in deciding where we would end up in the final standings. But before we get to the run in, United have a little bit of history to make.
A Brief(ish) Review Of The Month On Wednesday the 17th of June 2020, after 3 months away from competitive football, the Premier League was back! United made the trip to Birmingham and Villa Park to take on our fellow promoted outfit Aston Villa in a game of football that will go down in history as the first competitive game of English football played after the lockdown thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic. It's a shame that the game itself was absolute garbage to watch. Both teams looked fairly sluggish and even though some chances were created, neither goalkeeper was really bothered by any clear cut chances. Well, apart from the bit in the game where an Oli Norwood free kick saw Villa keeper Orjan Nyland fall into the back of the net with ball in hand. Despite it being clearly obvious that the ball had crossed the line, the referee and linesman didn't have their goal line technology watches turned on so didn't give the goal even though they could probably see it had crossed the line. But who cares? It's not like it could have a part in the relegation battle between two clubs could it? Nah, it'll be fine. Anyway, United drew 0-0 and even though it was a disappointing result, it was just good to see United play a game of competitive football again. United continued their travels around the country with a visit to the North East up next with Newcastle United our next opposition and it's fair to say we didn't play very well. Another sub par performance saw United get eviscerated by goals from the very impressive Allan Saint-Maximin, Matt Ritchie and Joelinton (yes, even Joelinton scored against us) saw United fall to a 3-0 defeat that also saw John Egan sent off. It was a very bad game to watch but surely it would get better? Who're we playing next? Man United? Well, crap. A trip to the revitalised Manchester United was next and even in the best of times, not having two of your first choice centre backs and your first choice keeper going into a match where you'll be facing strikers like Martial, Greenwood and Rashford is a problem, so United lining up with a defensive triangle of Simon Moore, Jack Robinson, Phil Jagielka and Chris Basham probably meant we were in for a long afternoon. It was a long afternoon and United fell to another 3-0 defeat with Martial grabbing a very impressive hat trick. There could have been more goals but thankfully other Man U strikers forgot to bring their shooting boots so it stayed at three nil. This was a very depressing game and I don't want to talk anymore about it so I won't. Could home comforts bring about an upturn in performance, not even form, as we ended the month in FA Cup Quarter Final action with our old friends Arsenal. United actually started very well in this game and were actually the first team to have the ball in the back of the net thanks to John Lundstram in a move that was eerily similar to our opener against Arsenal earlier on in the season alas, it was ruled out for offside and it would be Arsenal who would open the scoring after Lacazette went down like he'd been shot by a sniper when Chris Basham brushed his calf. Nevertheless, the penalty was given and duly dispatched by Pepe to once again see United losing a game. The heads didn't drop this time however and United proved that, despite results, we were still a good football team and throughout the second half United had various opportunities to equalise and get back in the game. It looked like we'd done just that when thanks to a Jack Robinson long throw causing chaos in the Arsenal box, David McGoldrick stabbed home to pull the Blades level with very little time left on the clock. Could United go on to win this in added time? Just as we pondered this question, Arsenal went up the other end and Dani Ceballos slotted home to ensure Arsenal secured passage to the semi finals. It was a body blow to United because we really didn't deserve to lose that match. There were stand out performances by Oli McBurnie and Sander Berge and it provided a reminder that even though the results weren't going our way, we could still go out and perform when needed. Player Of The Month: Chris Basham With some pretty abject performances during the first month of the restart, I think the candidates for POTM for June came down to two people. Jack Robinson and Chris Basham. Whilst Robinson did do a very good job deputising for O'Connell whilst he was out injured with his long throw in giving us a weapon we haven't had available for a long time. But I think if you want a player who is always consistently giving a 7-8/10 performance week in, week out then Chris Basham is your man. It's been another stellar season for our stalwart in a league that many thought would be a step to far for the 32 year old, Bash has only gone on to prove all his doubters wrong and perhaps performed the greatest season of his career. His mazy runs from right centre back which can be best described as like watching a giraffe run on ice appear to befuddle even the most elite of talents. At points during June he was probably our biggest attacking threat. Bash has been here for six years now and the signing of his new contract in the off season will take him up to 8 years at the club. I know testimonials are usually reserved for 10 years of service but if anyone deserves something celebrating at this club it's Bash. He's been a tremendous servant to the club and it's been a real joy to see him have the season he's had this year. So congratulations Bash on not only a great month but a great six years at the club. Goal Of The Month: David McGoldrick VS Arsenal We only scored one goal in June and of course it was going to be scored by the man who sometimes seems allergic to the art of scoring. But Dave was actually having a pretty good run of form as we entered the culmination of the season. Dave managed to get 4 goals in his last 13 games of the season which was pretty good compared to his start of the season run. But what was really special for this goal was that it was great to see Dave grab a goal again at the Kop End for the first time since our game against Brentford at the end of the Championship season. It might have been our only goal of the month, but that doesn't mean it wasn't a special goal. There was supposed to be four matches scheduled for March of this year, including our quarter final against Arsenal in the FA Cup. Only two of those four matches actually went on to happen due to the outbreak of Coronavirus in the country. I don't think anyone truly thought that the last time we'd probably all be in The Lane for what could be a good deal of time was beating Norwich during the first week of the month. It wasn't until a day before our visit to Newcastle that our season was put on hold for what would be three months. But before the break, we actually played some games before the stoppage, let's review them.
A Brief(ish) Review Of The Month A very fruitful March saw United placed 8th in the League but only two points of of 5th place and five off of 4th. But before we could continue our frankly ludicrous charge towards European football, we started the month with a visit to the Madejski Stadium and a 5th round FA Cup clash against Reading. A mix of first teamers and fringe players made a brilliant start to the game with none other than David McGoldrick nodding home a lovely ball from Ben Osborn to give United a very early lead. United looked like they'd be able to put Reading away before half time but a contentious penalty call for the hosts saw them equalise on the cusp of half time which seemed to cause the Blades to go into their shell. The second half saw Reading look more likely to secure the win but United did manage to hold on and see the game through to added time. It would be United who eventually secured passage to the quarters of the cup when a Luke Freeman cross was headed home by Billy Sharp to give the Blades a slightly shaky 2-1 win but we were through to the quarters so that was a positive. What would be our final game of the season for three months was up next and it was none other than our fellow promoted outfit Norwich who we would be facing off against. United once again looked a little bit sluggish early doors and were almost made to pay for their complacency when Teemu Pukki smacked the ball against the post after a scramble from a corner. This did seem to wake United up and we would manage to open the scoring after a brilliant ball from John Lundstram found the head of a diving Billy Sharp who's bullet header slammed past Tim Krul to give The Blades an opening goal. United looked much the better side to end the half but once again started the second on the back foot and Norwich arguably should have equalised multiple times in the second half but the heroics of Dean Henderson kept us in the game. His first save came after a cross found Jamal Lewis all on his own in the box with the Northern Ireland youngster hammering towards goal, Henderson pulled off a brilliant stop that would be topped mere minutes later. A corner saw Norwich having multiple attempts to put the ball home from a median distance of about 3 yards. Somehow, someway, Henderson produced a triple save that brought Bramall Lane into more chants of 'England's No. 1'. United did manage to hold off Norwich and secure a league double over a team that were superior to last season. Player Of The Month: Billy Sharp It was a very good month for our captain with two goals in two games which both would prove to be winning goals. Billy might not have played much this season but his contributions to our outstanding first season back in the Premier League simply cannot be ignored. Despite some figures in the media believing him to be no better than a 'League One standard' centre forward, Sharp has gone on to score three goals that all went a long way in guaranteeing points for our cause. Despite the fact that his career in winding down now, this third act in Billy's Blades career must be incredibly satisfying for him to finally come good for his boyhood club. He's been an integral part of the club since his return 5 years ago and after some consternation over whether Billy coming back would be a good thing, I think nobody can say anything other than Billy coming back is probably our most important signing of, arguably, the decade. So thank you Billy, you've done us all proud. Goal Of The Month: Billy Sharp VS Norwich It was the choice between both of Billy Sharp's goals this month (sorry Dave) with both of his goals being headers (all the goals we scored this month were headers funnily enough, it was only three goals but still, what are the chances they'd all be headers?) The one against Norwich was not only good for the empathic finish but also the cross into the box. it was a lovely whipped ball from Lundstram that probably meant that Billy didn't need to dive to make contact but, come on, the dive made the goal look soooooo much better. It was a bullet header and it was as good a goal as any to see at The Lane for what could be the last time we go there in long time. Either way, good goal Billy, congrats on the GOTM award. After the excitement of signing Berge, Retsos and Zivkovic, United were back in League action a mere day after the closing of the transfer window in a month that saw a bizarre goal, a brilliant goal and three consecutive wins.
A Brief(ish) Review Of The Month United began February with another visit to the capital but this time in less modern surroundings. Selhurst Park, the home of Crystal Palace, was our only away stop of the month and would be a very happy trip for The Blades. Less than 48 hours after signing, Sander Berge was thrust into the starting XI and played a pretty solid hour of football before being replaced by Lundstram. It would be our midfield metronome who would take part in the biggest moment of the match however. Neither team really looked like they were going to score as we headed towards the break but Oli Norwood managed to play a big part in opening the scoring thanks to a whipped corner that led to Palace no.1 Vicente Guaita somehow dropping the ball over his goal line when it looked like he'd have the ball under control. It was a strange way to open the scoring but United and our fans weren't complaining. Apart from Palace having a man sent off then having that call rescinded thanks to one of the first times a referee used the side line monitor, the game finished 1-0 and United celebrated another three points by serenading our new record signing with his new song at full time in a moment that really goes to show how close the squad and fans are as we continue our journey under Wilder. Back to the Lane and a first chance for the home crowd to see our record signing as Berge once again started as Bournemouth visited The Lane. It wasn't the best of starts to a home debut for our new Norwegian with an errant pass from within his own box leading to Callum Wilson eventually powering home to give the relegation threatened Cherries a lead. Berge made up for it for our equaliser however with his block in the right box this time allowing the ball to be reworked into the six yard box with none other than Billy Sharp at hand to bobble the ball home to give us an equaliser as the ref blew for halftime. United went in search of a second goal and were nearly undone by our raids forward as Ryan Fraser found room in the box to unleash a powerful half volley at goal that Deano majestically palmed away to keep us on level terms. It would be Dem Blades who would find the winner however with substitutes Lys Mousset and John Lundstram linking up for Lunny to score a brilliant goal with the Scouser controlling the ball with his left foot and finishing with his right in lightening quick motion which led to him slotting under former Blades Aaron Ramsdale to secure the three points. Another international break saw the last game of the month played at home once again with South coast oppostion in Brighton. The battle between the big Championship signings was once again started and it would in fact be Neal Maupay who would get his goal in this one which cancelled out a goal that was frankly, one of the best goals I've ever had the pleasure of seeing live. After the ball was in the air after a United corner, it found it's way to Enda in acres of space but with very little of the goal to aim at. That never seemed to enter the mind of our Irish dynamo however with a laser guided striker that arrowed with venom into the top left hand corner of the Bramall Lane End net. It was that powerful it looked like it would tear straight through the net and carry on travelling. Mat Ryan wanted nothing to do with it as he watched it whip past his head and crash into his net. If you've somehow not seen this goal I beg of you, go out of your way to watch it, in fact, I'll link it here (https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=enda+stevens+goal+vs+brighton&docid=608033344686591058&mid=3BA14F325A6E58340B9C3BA14F325A6E58340B9C&view=detail&FORM=VIRE) go and remind yourself how good this goal is. Anyway, the game ended 1-1 and United ended February unbeaten. It was a pretty good month to be honest. Player Of The Month: Enda Stevens This is largely down to that goal that he scored at the end of the month because it was bloody incredible but that's not the only thing that Enda is good at. Despite playing in League 2 just shy of three years ago Enda has gone on to become one of the most dependable members of the team during his stint at left back. He had a little bit of a dip in form towards the end of our first season back in the Championship and towards the end of this season but in both instances the whole of the team went off of the boil at bit so it's nothing to be worried about. But during this season and last, I think apart from Andy Robertson there might not have been another wing back that has been in as good form as Enda. His ability to contribute on both the offensive and defensive side of play is something that is almost irreplaceable. He's just a bloody good player and I'm glad that he's playing for us and nobody else. Goal Of The Month: Enda Stevens VS Brighton To be fair to Lunny, in any other month, his goal against Bournemouth could easily have won goal of the month because it was a brilliant bit of technical play. But, come on, this goal was incredible and if you still haven't seen it, then click that link. I don't think I really need to say anything about the goal because word can't really do it justice as to how good it was. Seriously, click that link. New year. New decade. And a new era at Sheffield United. After starting the last decade on the precipice of relegation to the third tier of English football, United started this decade challenging for European football. It's fair to say it's been a decade full of ups and downs but there we were. Not only that, but we would once again break our transfer record this January and it was a BIG statement of intent. Gone were the days of signing Mark Yeates, we went out and bought one of the most sought after prospects in European football. But before we get to that, we've got some games to look at.
A Brief(ish) Review Of The Month After the visit to The Etihad to end 2019, United started the new decade at Anfield, the home of Liverpool. Still unbeaten since the last time we met them back in September, it was looking more and more likely that this would finally be the season that Liverpool laid hands on a Premier League title. But after our exploits at The Etihad, there was a sense of optimism that we could perhaps get something out of this game. Yeah sure they were unbeaten since the beginning of the season but every team has to lose at some point, right? Well our hope of getting something out of the game evaporated within the first five minutes of the game. Baldock misread a high ball forward and it was elementary for Robertson to set up Salah who stroked the ball home. It didn't get much better for United after that with Dean Henderson in fine form to keep the score down as we crept towards half time. Surely the Wilder rocket at half time would make the boys give a better showing in the second half? No, it didn't. Again, Liverpool peppered Hendo with our no.1 pulling off some great saves to keep the score low. Henderson did eventually let one in with Sadio Mane preying on a defensive error to slot home for 2-0. It was probably the first time this season that we didn't look like we would get something from a game and it was slightly disappointing to see us not really go out and have a go at Liverpool but the month would only get a little bit easier from here, so that's a positive at least! A return to FA Cup action was up next and in a bit of deja vu from last year, United were playing a non league side at The Lane with only three sides of the ground open. The last time this happened we got knocked out by Barnet on a day when I was ill but I did manage to get a job that day so there were some positives. Anyway, back to the game, United settled nerves early on with Callum Robinson managing to make room for himself in the Bramall Lane end box with the £7 million man turning a shooting to place the ball into the bottom right hand corner. United doubled their lead on the hour mark with Leon Clarke slotting home in front of an empty Kop to score what would be his final goal in a Blades shirt. Fylde did manage to get a goal back that set up a nervy finish to the game but United held on and managed to banish the demons of the previous year and secured safe passage to Round 4 of the Cup. Returning to League action The Blades were back on home territory once again with a Friday night game under the light the opposition? West Ham. The media hubbub was once again out in force as this 'grudge' match got underway. It would be United who would get the better of The Hammers in this game with Oli McBurnie just barely managing to squeeze his shot under the falling David Martin after the keeper played a lazy ball that John Fleck intercepted and the Scots linked up to score what would be the winner. It nearly wasn't however, after managing to hold off the attentions of John Egan, Declan Rice played in a ball to who else but Robert Snodgrass (who'd also nearly levelled earlier on with a cracking freekick that was saved by Henderson) Snodders slotted past Henderson and the away end went wild with what they thought was a late equaliser. But wait! VAR is checking for handball... Surely not... There was nothing wrong in the build up surely? It turns out there was, Declan Rice was adjudged to have handled the ball during his tussle with Egan and United finally had a VAR call go our way. Just to be clear, I don't think that it was a handball and if that was given against United I would be absolutely fuming. But unfortunately those are the rules, and at the end of the day, you have to play by the rules don't you? Another trip to London was on the cards next with a visit to the Emirates Stadium, the not really that new anymore home of Arsenal. The Blades struggled to get out of the blocks in this one but looked like they'd manage to keep Arsenal quiet until half time. But just as time was running down, Gabriel Martinelli was played in with the goal at his mercy and the young Brazilian swept home to give The Arsenal the lead and probably led to a few adjustments in the half time team talk from Wilder. United did manage to come out of the half a lot brighter this time but it didn't look like we'd be able to break down an uncharacteristically stubborn Arsenal backline. With time winding down on the game United did eventually manage to grab an equaliser with John Fleck coolly bouncing the ball into the turf and into the Arsenal net to ensure that United came away from The Emirates with a well earned point. Just 23 days after we played them in Manchester, we welcomed the defending champions to The Lane in another match that a few fans thought we might be able to get something from. Henderson was once again on top form to pull off some incredible save with two point blank saves from Otamendi and Jesus resulting in a chorus of 'England's number 1' from all four corners of the ground. Henderson would once again go on to provided more heroics when Jesus stepped up to take a penalty given against Chris Basham. Hendo guessed the right direction and sent The Lane into raptures. Maybe we would get something from this game! We held City until halftime and actually were inches away from getting an opener when a low cross across the six yard box was almost met by McBurnie. The miss would prove costly with City almost instantly going up the other end with De Bruyne playing a pass that should be made illegal it was so good into the path of an onrushing Aguero who slammed home to give City the lead and the win. We might have lost, but we had given another brilliant account of ourselves against a team who many were tipping as one of the best in the world. Not bad from a bunch of League 1 journeymen. To round off the month game wise we were back in cup action with a visit to the familiar surroundings of The New Den, the home of Millwall. A mixture of fringe players and first teamers put in a very professional performance that saw United run out 2-0 winners which could have been more had we been a little bit more prolific. the two goals we did score were absolute corkers however with Mo Besic opening his Blades account with a lovely curled effort from about 25 yards out to put the Blades one up. Not to be outdone, midfield partner Oli Norwood doubled our advantage and practically guranteed safe passage to Round 5 with a long range laser beam that nestled into the bottom left hand corner of the Millwall net. Round five confirmed, could it get any better? It got so, so much better on transfer deadline day. After tentative links in the summer, it looked like Sander Berge would be on his way to The Lane. Cue a madcap few hours that saw examinations of a meeting in the Copthorne between Wilder and Berge that led to many believing leaked pictures to be fake because Wilder didn't quite look right matched up to the 6ft 5in Berge. At one point there were rumours he was at Manchester United's Carrington training ground only for that to be disproved when the player in the car in question turned out to be a 16 year old Man United back up keeper. After all this, Sander Berge was presented as a United player for a reported £22 million fee. Not only had we secured the services of a player that many of Europe's top teams (Liverpool and Napoli were allegedly interested in the Norwegian) but we had payed £22 million pounds for him. I think that was the real shock, we were willing to spend money on a sought after talent that improved the squad whilst managing to not sell anyone to ensure the deal happened. It was mental. Not only that, we signed Richairo Zivkovic from China and another highly rated youngster in Panos Retsos from Bayer Leverkusen. It was an incredible day to follow and is one that we might see again in the near future. All in all, January was a pretty good month from a United persepctive Player Of The Month: Dean Henderson I'm going to give the player of the month award this time to Deano. He made some cracking saves in the games against City and Liverpool proving that he is more than ready to perform on the biggest stage whenever he is called upon. It's been a real treat to see a player of Henderson's calibre grow as a player during his two years at United, after coming in to not a lot of fanfare, Deano has enamoured himself to the club like not many loan players do. It'd be fair enough if all he did was beat the badge every so often but he's also an absolutely brilliant keeper to boot. He's pulled off some cracking saves over the past two years that have kept us in games that we looked out of at times. The fact that he hasn't been even considered as a regular in the England squad, not even as the regular keeper a squad place would suffice, is incredible. He's probably the best keeper have had since Paddy Kenny at least. if the game against Southampton was in fact the last time we'll ever see Hendo in a Blades jersey then it's been great watching you Deano, you've been crucial in getting us where we are today and you'll always be welcomed back fondly whenever you enter The Lane next. Goal Of The Month: Oli Norwood VS Millwall Another tough choice for GOTM this time around with John Fleck and Mo Besic running Norwood's effort very close. But I think the fact that it was a long distance from goal just edges it ahead of Fleck's equaliser. This was a very good goal and makes you wonder why Norwood doesn't shoot more from distance. He also seems to have a knack of hitting long rangers first time (also see, goal against Brentford) for pure ability and aesthetic Norwood takes the GOTM for January. They say that Christmas time is the busiest time of the year. There's the mad dash for Christmas shopping, visits to Father Christmas and the dreaded visits to family that you only see at this particular time of the year who always seem to ask awkward questions like, 'why haven't you moved out yet?' ' When are you getting a proper job?' 'When are you going to get a partner?' Stuff like that. Christmas was also a busy time for The Blades with a mammoth 7 games in 31 days. There was a real mix of results this month but it did see us end the year 8th in the League. Let's start the review.
A Brief(ish) Review Of The Month After the excitement of the Manchester United game, United visited familiar surroundings in Molineux with a match against the highly impressive Wolves. After returning to the Premier League after an astounding promotion season, Wolves had a cracking debut season in the top flight under Nuno Espirito Santo with European football secured the the Midlands outfit for the first time in years. Despite being outplayed by the home team the last time we met at Molineux, United came racing out of the blocks and scored within 5 minutes of the starting whistle. It was that man Moose at it again with a cool as you like finish to grab his 4th goal in his last 6 games. Wolves would however manage to grab an equaliser with Matt Docherty levelling just after the hour mark. The match ended 1-1 and our long unbeaten away record continued. After good results, United were brought crashing down to earth 4 days later with a controversial loss to Steve Bruce's Newcastle. United never really looked like troubling Newcastle in the early exchanges and Newcastle would open the scoring via the very impressive Allan Saint-Maximin. United did press for an equaliser but were largely nullified by a defensive block that United never looked like penetrating. Newcastle did eventually put the game to bed in the 70th minute but there was yet more controversy involving our old friend VAR. Despite Jonjo Shelvey being played through on goal after an Andy Carroll flick on, the linseman on the John Steet side had put up his flag and everybody on the pitch stopped playing. It appeared Shelvey had just put the ball past Henderson as a way to waste time. But then the VAR checking offside image flicked onto the big screen. It was judged that Shelvey was indeed onside and that the Linesman had got the call wrong. Despite being told that they should keep their flag down on minimal VAR calls, this lino didn't and once again United were used as Guinea Pigs for the fledging system (thank you BladesPod for the analogy). After this, there wasn't a roar of encouragement for United, there was just a dismayed silence. The game finished 2-0 and once again United could perhaps blame some of the loss on poor officiating. 3 Days later, United were once again back in action with a visit to our fellow promoted outfit and our newest 'rivals' Norwich City. Despite being tipped by many to take the League by storm with their exciting brand of attacking football, Norwich had in fact spluttered after a shock win against Man City in September and found themselves 19th in the League with just 11 points to their name and had only scored 15 goals with talisman Teemu Pukki scoring 7 of those. To see United flourishing and Norwich struggling was a shock to many but some still expected us to drop off and Norwich to eventually pull it back and it would be Norwich who would open the scoring in the game with Alexander Tettey slamming home a brilliant effort that left Henderson with no chance of saving it. Going into the half time break 1 goal down and struggling it looked like United were running out of steam. But then we equalised with 4 minutes of the restart thanks to an Enda header and we looked much, much better after this equaliser and proceeded to grab a second three minutes later with a fantastic goal from George Baldock. A late save from Todd Cantwell from Deano was the last chance of the game and United managed to come from behind and grab our second away win of the season and put us 8th in the table and just 2 points off of a European place. Our last home game before Christmas saw us face off against the other team that came up with us in Aston Villa. Villa were another team that were expected to do well this season but after a close season where they spent upwards of £150 million on players the Villains had also struggled on the pitch this season, despite the exploits of Jack Grealish, and found themselves tied with 18th placed Southampton for points going into this fixture. Building on our win against Norwich, United once again got the win with a second half brace from John Fleck. Much like the Burnley game, this was a very assured performance from United with both goals showing the collective quality of the players that we have within the squad. Couple that with the joy of watching Grealish smack a penalty against the bar and you had a lot of Blades fans coming away from this game very jolly and for the first time this season we had back to back wins. The last game before Christmas saw us travel to the south coast with a visit to Brighton. This game saw the first clash between the two big money signings from the Championship in Brighton's Neal Maupay and our very own Oli McBurnie. It would be McBurnie who would take bragging rights for the Blades in this fixture after a cracking goal that showed all of the qualities that earned him his move to United in the first place. United actually had the ball in the back of the net another 2 times in this fixture but, once again, VAR intervened with one goal rightly knocked off for offside (O'Connell) but one that was a little bit more up to interpretation (Egan's). This match also saw the long goal drought for David McGoldrick continue but arguably saw him miss his best chance to get his Premier League opener. After stealing a march on the Brighton backline, McGoldrick rounded the onrushing Mat Ryan and had the goal gaping at his mercy with 3,000 Blades fans in the away end just waiting for the net to bulge. Dave did hit the net but it was the side netting. It was a ehad in hands moment but that didn't stop the Blades fans chant his name after his miss. United held onto the win and found themselves 5th, yes 5th, in the League going into Christmas. Boxing Day brought around the visit of a struggling Watford side that seemed like they were struggling with the hangover from their FA Cup final demolition job at the hands of Man City back in May and found themselves rock bottom of the league with just 12 points to their name and already 6 points from safety. It looked like this would be as good an opportunity as any to record a fourth straight victory that could propel the Blades into the mix for Champions League contention. However, nothing is ever that simple for United and we went behind after leaving Gerard Deulofeu with the freedom of the Kop End with the ex Barca man slotting home to give the Hornets an unexpected lead. United would manage to equalise with what would be our only penalty of the season after Baldock was tripped in the box. Norwood stepped up and slammed home past Ben Foster despite the keeper going the right way and almost getting his hand to it. Ben Foster would be the bane of United's existence throughout this game pulling out some cracking saves to deny United from getting a possible winner. The best of these was a point blank save from a John Fleck effort from within the six yard box that hand many in the stadium already celebrating. United continued to push for a winner but it didn't come with missed opportunities proving costly. A long month of football and the last game of the decade saw us visit the home of the current Premier League champions in Manchester City. It was a nice change of scene to the likes of Oldham and Port Vale and it once again hammered home how far we had come in such a short space of time. Despite being massive underdogs going into this fixture United more than held their own against Guardiola's men and actually had the ball in the back of the net thanks to a lovely ball from John Fleck that put Lys Mousset 1 on 1 with Claudio Bravo with our mercurial Frenchman slotting home. VAR got involved (of course it did) and deemed that Mousset's knee was offside and thus the goal was wiped off. United still pressed for an opener and Mousset had another opportunity that he just couldn't slot home to give us a lead but going into half time we could be more than happy with how we played in the first half. Unfortunately, we would once again be the victim of a very poor refereeing error after Chris Kavanaugh walked in front of John Fleck just as he was about to receive the ball. Because of this, the ball went to Aguero who duly slotted home to put City 1 up. The goal was allowed to stand and now United were pushing for an equaliser but City went out and got a second with De Bruyne getting a second and effectively killing the game. Billy Sharp almost got a goal back but his effort hit the post then agonisingly rolled across the goal line and was cleared away to safety. So United ended the year with a loss but could say that they gave a very good account of themselves at the home of the defending champions. Player Of The Month: John Fleck Flecky ended the month with a lovely double against Villa and an astounding performance away to Man City that ultimately is what got him the Player Of The Month award from this blog for December. Performances like the one against City just make it even more baffling as to how this man A) cost us nothing and B) is not a regular starter for Scotland because he ran the show against a midfield who had won almost everything there is to win in domestic and international football. It's such a shame that it has taken until his late 20's for Flecky to play in the Premier League and I think a lot of teams will be kicking themselves that they didn't pick him up earlier in his career. Despite interest from Arsenal in January, it looks like the signing of a three year contract will see Flecky enjoy the end of his prime years with United and possibly his career. That is a very good prospect to see and to have Fleck as he begins to enter the peak of his career and beyond is good business all around. Goal Of The Month: John Fleck VS Aston Villa Another 7 goal haul this month saw another tough decision in regards to GOTM. George Baldock's goal against Norwich and Moose's against Wolves were the other contenders but I think Fleck's second against Villa has to win out for the involvement of the team. After Norwood span a ball out on the volley to Fleck, Fleck passed the ball to Baldock who went on a mazy run eventually laying the ball off to McGoldrick. Dave gave the ball back to Baldock who chipped the ball back to McGoldrick who flicked the ball into the box with an exquisite pass that found the path of onrushing John Fleck who hadn't stopped moving throughout this build up. Fleck placed the ball home and gave United an unassailable lead and proved that we might not have any big sexy names but we can definitely play some very sexy football. It was another short month for United with three games, largely due to another international break that at one point seemed to be happening every other week. But just because it was a short month didn't mean that it wasn't a month full of talking points. Far from it. We had everything from arguably one of the worst VAR decisions ever made by the system alongside complete domination of an established Premier League outfit and, for seventy minutes at least, outplaying arguably the biggest brand in all of modern football. Let's get on with the month then.
A Brief(ish) Review Of The Month Returning to Bramall Lane on the back of a steady month of results, United started the month with a game against unlikely Premier League stalwarts Burnley. Since the beginning of the decade, Burnley have spent half of those ten years in the top flight with their current stint in the Premier League seeing them play in the Europa League. Ever since the appointment of Sean Dyche Burnley have been a side that knows how to get positive results and it's full credit to Dyche and his squad for the work they have done to make the Clarets a side that regularly competes in and around the top 10 of the Prem. This savvy to get results wouldn't work against the Blades however with United obliterating the men in claret and blue in a 23 minute spell that saw United race into a 3-0 lead with a brace from Lunny and a laser guided John Fleck effort putting out the statement that the Blades weren't merely in the top tier to just enjoy their stay, we were here to compete. It could easily have been more than 3 with efforts from Lundstram and Sharp in the second half either going inches wide of the post or in Sharp's case, hitting it. It was a big victory for the Blades and put us in very good stead for our next visit to the capital. Yes London was calling United once again with a visit to Tottenham Hotspur and a first visit to the all singing, all dancing Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (very original with the naming their guys, how long did it take you to come up with that one?) United didn't look overawed by the prospect of playing in this modern day coliseum (some might call it a toilet bowl) and took the game to Spurs with Lundstram and Mousset going close to opening the scoring. Had half time not come, you would probably have fancied United to go and opening the scoring, however, the second half would see defensive naivety from United exploited by Spurs with Son Heung Min slotting home to put the home team one up. This didn't deter Dem Blades though and we almost had an instant response when David McGoldrick looked like he'd finally opened his Premier League account after stroking home a wonderful ball from Enda. What could possibly go wrong? Well, like a well timed RKO, VAR came in outta no where and saw something wrong in the build up to the goal. About 30 seconds before the goal was scored, maybe even longer, John Lundstram received the ball on the right hand flank of the Spurs box, despite it being in a different phase of play to the goal and despite it not being a clear and obvious error (it took Jonathan Moss and Simon Long nearly 5 minutes to find the 'infringement') offside was given and the goal United deserved was wiped off despite the usage of VAR going against what had been stated at during implementation at the beginning of the season. United heads could easily have dropped after this decision but they didn't. We continued to push for the equaliser and we finally got it after a wonderful passing move saw George Baldock play in a cross-cum-shot that found it's way into Gazzaniga's net. Despite the goal looking pretty infallible to disallow, VAR was at it again and yet more time was dedicated this time to see if Basham had brushed the ball as it made it's way into the net. The goal was rightly given, I think George might have been the first player to get the red card for breaking into Stockley Park if it wasn't given he looked like he was going to nut someone if it wasn't given so for the safety of match officials it was a good thing it was given. After all this, there were various opportunity's to perhaps go and get a winner but nothing came of it and United came away with a much deserved point and were probably very unlucky to not get all three. After the drama at Tottenham, nothing could surely top that game for mad moments could it? Well, in the very next game, The visit of Man United no less, the excitement continued in a pulsating game that had everything from goals to comebacks and even a late VAR decision for good measure. United looked the brighter side in the early going and it didn't take long for the Blades to capitalise on their early dominance. In a moment that has been a little bit underrated in a season full of brilliance, Lys Mousset challenged Phil Jones for a loose ball out to the left hand side of the Kop box. In a moment that will forever be etched into my mind at least, Moose proceeded to body Phil Jones into the Kop end and squared the ball to John Lundstram who's effort was squandered the ball onto the shin of John Fleck with the ball bouncing just inside the right hand post to give United a deserved lead. There would be no more goals in the first half but to a neutral viewer I think it would be hard to tell the difference between a team that had spent six years of the previous decade in League 1 and the other that had won a Premier League title in that same time span. The second half started much like the first with United pushing back Manchester and this pressure eventually lead to our second goal of the game and it would come once again from that man Moose. Lovely work from Fleck and some brilliant movement from McGoldrick saw Mousset have an unobstructed dash towards De Gea. Instead of driving into the box, Moose took aim from about 25 yards out and placed the ball masterfully past the arms of De Gea and nestled the ball into the bottom left hand corner of the Bramall Lane end goal. With United 2-0 up with about 20 minutes of the game left, Man United looked dead and buried but, all of a sudden, they pulled a goa back thanks to Brandon Williams. That's a shame, no clean sheet but surely we'll be able to see this through? Mason Greenwood's got a second for Man U and it's all square? Surely we're not going to throw this away? Marcus Rashford has the ball in the back of the net and in the space of 10 minutes United have gone from being 2-0 up to losing 3-2. It was unbelievable. After dominating the game for so long it looked like we'd thrown all our good work away and would be coming away from this game with nothing when we should have probably had a win. United didn't let their heads drop though and once again we got ourselves back into the game thanks to record signing Oli McBurnie. A bit of pinball in the box eventually saw Callum Robinson flick the ball towards McBurnie with the forward flicking the ball onto his shoulder and bury the ball home via a deflection from De Gea. Bramall Lane went into raptures but wait! VAR is back and it's looking for a handball against McBurnie. The check went on, it kept on going on. Surely they're not going to disallow it? Or are they? They didn't! Bramall Lane was in hysterics and United had gone from winning a game to losing it to getting a point. It's fair to say it was a very dramatic end to a very dramatic month but United had once again got 5 points from a possible 9 and were now unbeaten in two months. This Premier League malarkey wasn't looking so scary after all. Player Of The Month: John Fleck It's fair to say there could have been a few people up for player of the month for November but I think Flecky just about edges it. Coming up against three well established Premier League clubs including two who regularly challenge for elite European football and not looking out of place against Midfields that consist of players that cost ungodly amounts of money just shows how good Fleck is. After initially being heralded as Scotland's answer to Wayne Rooney I think it's fair to say that Flecky has at least lived up to some of those original expectations put on his shoulders. Goal Of The Month: Lys Mousset VS Manchester United For the second month running Moose takes home the goal of the month award but for once we actually scored more than two goals to make this a difficult choice to make. United grabbed 7 goals in 3 games during the month of November with all of them being potential winners (even the Fleck deflection VS Man U could have won it due to Moose bodying Phil Jones in the build up.) But I think Moose's goal that put us 2-0 up against Manchester United just about wins it. It had everything, brilliant off the ball work from Dave allowed Moose the freedom of the Bramall Lane end to get a shot off. It looked like he'd get a bit closer than 25 yards out before he took a shot but Moose stroked home the ball effortlessly past a goalkeeper that many considered the best in the world at some point in the last 5 years. It was a cracking finish and showed how much confidence Moose had in himself at that time. A brilliant goal. The season's over so in the mean time let's revive this feature that was originally due to finish just before the first game of the restart against Villa. We last left the review of the back in September with United ending the month towards the middle of the table in a very respectable 10th. October saw us only play at The Lane once with the game against Arsenal sandwiched between visits to bottom club Watford and old foes West Ham. Let's start the review with that game against Watford.
A Brief(ish) Review Of The Month After back to back losses to end September, a visit to bottom of the league Watford was as good a team as any to play to try and get some points onto the table as we continued our quest to 40 points. The game itself was a pretty boring and drab affair and despite dominating possession for the first time in the league this season, United never really looked like breaking down a stubborn Watford backline. It was actually Watford who had the best chances to get maximum points from the game with dat guy Welbz being put clean through with only Deano to beat. Our no.1 stood tall and produced a great save to deny Welbeck. A few minutes later Henderson was called upon again to deny a Craig Cathcart header from close range which ensured we came away from Vicarage Road with a point. Up next it's our only home game of the month and a game against one of the original 'big six' of the division in Arsenal. Despite failing to win the Premier League title since 2004, Arsenal are arguably still one of the biggest teams in the country and the fact that they are still able to lure players like Lacazette and Aubameyang to The Emirates despite the lack of Champions League football proves that they are still a big draw for top class talent. However, it wasn't to be for Unai Emery's men as it all went a bit deja vu. The last time we played Arsenal in the league we won 1-0 with a Frenchman scoring the winning goal at the Bramall Lane end. Fast forward 13 years and once again United beat Arsenal 1-0 with a Frenchman bagging the winner at, you guessed it, the Bramall Lane end. Except this time the Frenchman was one we played £10 million for and Neil Warnock wasn't our manager. Lys Mousset scored his first goal at Bramall Lane after managing to get on the end of a Jack O'Connell knock down to place home and send the lane into raptures with chants of moose reportedly sending nearby Moose herds stampeding towards The Lane in the hope of finding more of their species. They might have been left disappointed but United definitely weren't disappointed as we secured the 3 points in what was a very memorable night at The Lane. The month ended with a first league clash with West Ham since 2007 with many media outlets building this up as a clash between age old foes due to the Tevez saga that ensued when we were both left in the Premier League. What happened instead was a fairly mild mannered game between two teams with, Jagielka aside, no ties to the last time we faced each other in the league. West Ham would take the league in this game with our real age old foe Robert Snodgrass bagging once again against United to give The Hammers a lead on the cusp of half time. United did manage to pull a goal back and it was that man Moose at it again with his second goal in two games with a lovely finish that was placed into the bottom left hand corner of the West Ham goal. The away end was in raptures again and United ended the month with another point and a very respectable 5 points from a possible 9. Player Of The Month: Lys Mousset After 2 goals in 3 games with both goals proving crucial in getting points on the board the player of the month for October has to go to our man Moose. After some initial scepticism over the fact that we payed £10 million for a Bournemouth reserve striker who had only scored 5 goals in his previous 71 games, Moose went on to prove his doubters wrong with some blistering displays early doors. His pace and ability to finish made him a breath of fresh air to United and is probably the first player in a long time that offers us that outlet of pace and power. A good month for the Moose and it would only get better from here. Goal Of The Month: Lys Mousset VS West Ham We only scored two goals in October and both were scored by Moose so it was between importance and aesthetic for this month's GOTM but I think this one blends both of those very well. Trailing 1-0 to West Ham with about 30 minutes left of the game, Lys Mousset was sent on in an effort to make an impact and change the course of the game which he did in style. A long looping ball was played in which eventually found it's way to Moose who took the ball first time on the volley but instead of power, it was a very well placed shot with the ball going straight into the bottom left hand corner of the net which left the West Ham keeper grasping at thin air as Moose went off to celebrate his second goal in two games. |
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 |