Well... the FA Cup didn't go to well did it? An embarrassing performance led to United being one of the big giant killings of the third round. Full credit to Barnet though, they fully deserved their victory and could have potentially had more goals. They came to play and a team that had players who've spent the majority of their combined careers in the top three divisions of English football looked lost and disjointed. It speaks volumes that the only players who have continued to feature in the regular matchday 18 are Kieran Dowell, Paul Coutts and Leon Clarke although Clarke could consider himself lucky that he's still in and around the matchday 18 after a particularly awful performance.
After the disappointment of the cup defeat, United were back in league action against a QPR side who after a poor start to the season, have gone on a blistering run and came into this match on the back of four straight league wins. A match between two of the inform and entertaining teams in the league turned into a cagey game of chess with both teams producing few chances, however this wasn't helped by QPR deciding to play the timewasting game from about the 15th minute OF THE FIRST HALF. Anyway that soon changed after David McGoldrick netted a bullet header after patient build up which led to an Oli Norwood cross onto the head of the onrushing McGoldrick. This was McGoldrick's 10th league goal of the season and after initial scepticism over his signing at the start of the season, Big Dave has become a crucial part of our fight for promotion and, if he was younger, could possibly be plying his trade at a mid table Premier League club. Credit most lie solely at Wilder's door with him again taking on a player who isn't wanted by another club and turning them into a key player. The fact that he's also recently signed a new two and a half year deal is welcome news and although he is the wrong side of 30, that hasn't stopped a certain fat lad from Sheffield being affected and with McGoldrick being adaptable, he could perform at a high level (injury permitting) for a fair few years yet. Onto the last game before our clash with Norwich, we went to Swansea City looking for our fifth straight win and a return to the top two in the table. After a fairly impressive first half with Sharp and McGoldrick missing two gilt edged chances to score, United came out in the second half looking tired and Swansea took the initiative and scored a rather soft goal on our part with ex Blade Nathan Dyer putting a ball into the six yard box which Oli McBurnie latched onto and slotted home. After this, Wilder put on Gary Madine for his Blades debut and he looked decent with him being able to either knock on or knock down balls. However, nothing really came of these balls and Swansea saw out the game comfortably. The introduction of the subs at the time that they came is was pretty confusing. I think if a change was made at around the 50 - 55th minute period we could have regrouped and kicked on but Wilder decided to put on Dowell and Madine on closer to the 75th minute which was too late to make an impact in a game like this one. It seems to be a weakness of Wilder as to when and who he puts on the pitch but hopefully he learns from this in time for this important clash against 2nd placed Norwich. Onto our opponents, Norwich have had a stellar campaign under manager Daniel Farke which is quite incredible when you think about the key players they've lost in the past few years with the latest being James Maddison. Norwich have made a habit of scoring late goals this season and this ability to grasp wins and draws from the jaws of defeat has seen them gain plaudits from pundits and journalists alike. Players like free transfer Teemu Pukki (16 goals so far this season) have added to a team that had started to flounder a little in the Championship. However, form has been a little bit inconsistent as of late with two wins in their last seven games perhaps showing their luck is running out. However, a team with a knack to score late goals should never be taken likely and with the quality of players Norwich possess, this should be an intriguing battle between two promotion contenders. So, how do I think we'll do? If we can stop them from getting into the game late on and making a quick start ourselves, we could be in for a pretty important statement win. However I think if no goals are scored within the first 60 minutes of the game, then the game will swing in Norwich's favour. I'm going to say we'll win 2-1 with goals from Sharp and Norwood seeing us through and a solid defensive display closing Norwich out. As ever Blades, stay safe if your going to the game and try to enjoy it! UTB.
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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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