After the slight resurgence of form that we experienced in January, United went into February knowing that there would be some crunch clashes coming up against teams around them that we had to win if we still wanted to stay in the Premier League come the end of the season. Would the month of love end in joy or heartbreak? I mean, you already know what happens, but I just thought I'd add a little bit of suspense, no? Okie dokie, let's review February.
A Brief(ish) Review Of The Month A big game straight out of the blocks for The Blades in February with the visit of West Brom to The Lane in a match that could have gone a long way in deciding who finished where come the final league games. Miraculously, United would actually be the ones to win this bottom of the table rumble in the suburban jungle with goals from Jayden Bogle and Billy Sharp (who else?) Cancelling out Matt Phillips first half effort to give United a positive start to the month and actually see us win our 3rd game out of the last 5. It was back to business as usual however in the next game with Chelsea edging us out at home with Mason Mount opening the scoring and despite United equalising via one of the best own goals I've ever seen from Antonio Rudiger, it was cancelled out literally two minutes later when Jorginho got the winner from the spot for Thomas Tuchel's men. Our FA Cup campaign resumed in the next game with another familiar team visiting our home in Bristol City. Despite being something of a bogey team for us over the past couple of years (Andreas Weimann still gives me nightmares everytime I see the colour purple) we manged to dispatch the Championship side pretty easily with the 1-0 score line being pretty kind to the visitors. It did take a while to score our winner however with the goal eventually coming from a sharp penalty after Alfie Mawson was sent off for deliberate handball after he punched a Lundstram effort off the line. The day after Valentine's saw us travel back to the capital and the London Stadium where a resurgent West Ham side duly cut us to pieces with a commanding 3-0 win with Declan Rice, Diop and Fredericks getting the goals for the Hammers. We stayed in London but went from the bright lights of the London Stadium to the homely surroundings of Craven Cottage the home of Fulham and in this bottom of the table crunch match it would be those Cottagers who would secure a vital three points and probably put the first nail in our relegation coffin. Ademola Lookman repeated what he did at Bramall Lane and got Fulham's goal that saw them get the win despite late United shouts for what looked like a nailed on penalty when Areola unceremoniously chopped down Bogle late on after a scramble from a corner. Another tough month for United ended with another tough result with the defending champions Liverpool coming and getting a 2-0 win despite Aaron Ramsdale's best efforts to keep them out. second half goals from Curtis Jones and Roberto Firmino curtailed a month that started brightly for United but ended so very poorly. Player Of The Month: Billy Sharp We began to see the Rammers provide some of his late season brilliance this month with his point blank save against West Brom and especially his first half performance against Liverpool almost getting him the award (we'll see him get some POTM awards soon) but this month I think the award has to go to the skipper thanks to his continued ability to pop up and get a crucial goal when you need it. Despite taking a much reduced role over the course of our time in the Premier League, Billy has still proven the banner that sits proudly on The Kop correct that he does infact, score goals. He produced 5 goals this season which is fairly impressive when you consider he only made 19 appearances over the course of the season. The reduced game time has not seen his influence diminish on the club however and especially after Wilder left, Billy is now more than ever the voice of the fans within the squad itself. He's been a fantastic servant to the club and it's good that in this final chapter of his career that he's finally scoring goals for his boyhood club. We'll probably not see a player like Billy at the club for a while once he's gone so let's cherish him whilst we have him and let's hope that there'll be more goals in him to come. Goal Of The Month: Jayden Bogle VS West Brom, 2nd February 2021 There was genuine temptation to put Antonio Rudiger's own goal here for GOTM because it was an absolutely sensational own goal. But, I feel like you've got to try and give it to a player who actually plays for the club and, on reflection, the Rudiger goal might not be as good as I remember but this goal from Jayden Bogle was really good. The ex Derby man worked his way into the penalty area and after holding off the attentions of a West Brom defender, managed to make some space, turn and smash home a rocket of a shot that I think even 5 Sam Johnstone's would have struggled to save.
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AuthorHi my name is John and i will be giving my thoughts on the blades matches and all blades related news in this section Archives
November 2022
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