Sheff Utd Post-Match Thread

[JoeS]

Looked like 4-2-4 at the end of tonights game

[hackneyfox]

true, a lot pf people seem to be getting nervous about the loan situation in our back 4 - perhaps they are the best loans we can get, yet the defenders we will (inevitably) buy, might be even better...

Well that is going to cost a fortune in salaries and wages. On top of that he'll be looking for 1 goalie, 2 midfielders and 1 goal scorer.

They'll need to be a lot more than 10 million to achieve that, just on transfers.

[richardsfoxes]

The main problem is there is just no midfield creativity or a end ball, the midfield work hard but its just simple football and when sheffield put the numbers behind the ball and work hard its just impossible, even when Dyer came on he didnt offer that much support, defently need someone in the middle who can pick a good pass out. Also, wtf is Wellens doing, every game i watch, Hobbs and Davies run up into the box for a defensive freekick and wellens asks for the ball and doesnt deliver it into the box looks for a simple pass, so frustrating watching us at times.

[Guest]

Anyone else blush then when Sven said "it was tight"

Hmm, me and you might have to stary talking Amy! ;-)

[Thracian]

That was a rank bad performance all round but before Sven criticises his team he should start with himself cos I saw no evidence of leadership whatsoever.

For me we suffered from over expectation at home on the back of an excellent but exhausting win and the praise that went with it.

In all the build up the talk was about what we were going to do and how we'd turned the corner. Some even talked about us going the rest of the season without defeat.

Well, tonight showed us the real world. We were lucky to get a point. And part of the reason was the team looked lost when they took the lead. They didn't know whether the stick or twist and ended up doing neither.

Part of the psychology of team preparation is ensuring the team knows how to react tactically in various situations including if we take the lead.

We just looked as if we'd no idea. We didn't sit back as has previously been our habit but we didn't maintain our tempo and get forward with any conviction either. As I've said, the whole club lives in fear. Owners for their money, managers for their job and players for their place. And everyone is scared of dropping more points. It has to stop.

It looked like a schoolkids' game out there tonight. With so many players hiding I presumed they'd chosen "hide and seek". Gary Speed did nothing of genius. He simply closed us down quickly and made sure key players like King never had time or space. It's a fundamental ploy and we didn't show the wit to combat it.

Our passing was attrocious from back to front and that includes the normally reliable passers like King. We underhit them, overhit them, misdirected them and sent far too many of the accurate passes square for no constructive reason whatsoever.

Mind you some of those passes were more out

of desperation than desire because, after the first 20 minutes, hardly anyone was moving even for themselves let alone making the selfless runs necessary to create space in an organised defence.

Once again we started taking extra touches as well, meaning the recipient was even more tightly closed down than he otherwise would have been.

Individually Abe looked a lightweight in central midfield, apart from a couple of determined intercepting tackles. He was caught in possession, his passing was poor and he failed to recover from injury, escaping to the periphery when he should have gone off. It must have been a elief to him to be substituted. In his defence, I think he was probably still recovering from his efforts against Barnsley.

King made a few early runs which weren't seen or picked out with the ball - and then he largely disappeared and didn't have much impact even when he took on a more defensive role one Abe went off. So, our marvellous midfield of Saturday looked like spent fireworks after November 5. I was suprised Vassell even got selected after what Saturday would have taken out of him but, whatever, he had precious little impact and Waghorn was no better.

But the key weakness for me, apart from Abe was Hobbs. My life he was poor to the point of looking desperate at times. He just looked as if all his confidence had gone.

I don't know how m any shots we managed for the evening but it was shameful although we did regain a little life with Dyer's introduction. But there's so much to do before Saturday. Starting with a new attitude to home matches.

[Unit]

Amazing first 15/20 minutes. If we play like we did in the remaining 70 minutes on Saturday we're going to lose HEAVILY.

[MC Prussian]

Cold. Oh. So. Cold. Brr.

[jonthefox]

chuffin cold tonight , were it not?.

[B52]

That was a rank bad performance all round but before Sven criticises his team he should start with himself cos I saw no evidence of leadership whatsoever.

Ohhh, beware, the end is near.....

How many games has Sven with this team?

Seem kinda harsh too say anything of your loooooooong analysis without any reflection.

Wich players is up to it?

It takes a few games too see who is able to cope. The rest will leave. After that you can have relentless moanings of how bad everything is and that you want 442 as every conservative footballer want. Sven loved 442 in the seventies....... Wonder why he evolved?

Ohh, my lord, i'm not worthy. You have to spank me before I can do anythong worth praising.

[Blue fox David]

Lucky to get a point. Super Steve to the rescue!

But Utd pretty much packed out their midfield and stopped us playing football, they closed us down quickly and didn't give us any time or space. The passing was very poor, either going out of play or straight back to the opposition and the defense was also awful- Davies looked shaky and Hobbs is lacking in confidence, the two full backs tried hard but were quite limited.

I don't think either side looked really likely to score from open play, although we looked a lot more dangerous when Howard and Dyer came on.

All in all, a disappointing, poor game, but hopefully we'll be a hell of a lot better when Derby come to town on Saturday!

Also, it was bloody freezing!

[kylestyle06]

did mark yeates swear at our fans after his second goal?!

Yes he gave us the v's right infront of my face. ****.

[Miquel The Work Geordie]

I doubt there's many that don't want Jack Hobbs to shake off this form, everybody knows what he's capable of, and, from what I've heard, he seems a genuinely down to Earth chap.

Fingers crossed he's back to his best soon.

[ajthefox]

From what I can gather it seems like people are over-reacting. We were very good on saturday and supposedly pretty bad for about an hour tonight.

Obviously we do have issues, but maybe the biggest one is fitness. Saturday probably took it out of the lads and given it was no change but for the injured Vitor, so surely the fitness that Sousa oh so badly neglected was the main reason why we didn't do well. Physical fatigue - mental fatigue - loss of concentration - poor football. Doesn't take a genius to see how one leads to another.

This would also explain why we picked up when Howard and Dyer came on, higher energy levels of a couple can be enough to boost those around and then we get our heads in the game.

I'm not suggesting if we were a little fitter we would've tonked them, but our players have not gone to shit since saturday, nor have Pearsons since June. Everyone is still adjusting. We will get better.

[Donut]

Noticable lack of flags in the ground today

Happy we rescued a point, but a bit diasppointed considering the way we started the game. I hope Jack can shake off the funk hes going through right now. When Vassells fully fit hell be a handful but just lacking some fitness right now.

Also MIFFED that i nearly won a tidy little profit from the game as it was all going so well (to an extent) as id backed sheffield united half time and leicester full time.............18/1. When we went in 2-1 down, considering the first 20 mins, i was SURE wed come out all guns blazing, but it wasnt really the case.

[CKB]

We were bad minus 30 mins and still end up with a point? well dunno about you lot but hell i'll take that..

[Dan]

Absolute fluke draw, very, very poor performance in my eyes.

[bettso]

Up until the equaliser we were superb and perhaps this result will do us a favour. After Gallagher's goal, the one touch football and fancy flicks going on were the signs of a team with perhaps too much confidence. The crowd around me were certainly of the opinion that the game was already won and in football you just cant take that for granted. Sheffield Utd to give them credit are a team in trouble and the team responded by working hard and battling for every ball. They got in our faces and we got bullied out of the game.

In fairness, after Abe put those two tackles in a row in early on, he took a knock and never really seemed to recover which didnt help and also the fact that Jack Hobbs's confidence is at an all time low caused him to perhaps try a little too hard to impress hence him placing that poor header leading to their equaliser. Chris Weale needs to sort out his positioning on free kicks. Everyone around me when Yeates was shaping that free kick commented on where it was going and how Weale was giving himself no chance of getting there and sure enough it sailed in.

Having said all that, we must remember that had we drawn at Barnsley and beat Sheffield Utd, we would have been quite happy and would have had the same amount of points. Football is a game where on some occasions league positions mean nothing and last night was an example of that. They were clearly up for a scrap and looked determined to get something from the game. Also the old cliche of when you're at the bottom everything goes against you came to the fore in injury time with the penalty, but for us, another game unbeaten and another point on the board is a positive as is the fact that unlike some other performances this year, we've played with desperation and heart right till the end to try and get the win but ultimately didn't have the quality to get those goals.

Derby will be a different kettle of fish altogether as they will come and play football which will suit us more than an all out battle. I just hope that the players realise that confidence is fine but you still have to work hard for the results.

[gibwarrior1988]

I doubt there's many that don't want Jack Hobbs to shake off this form, everybody knows what he's capable of, and, from what I've heard, he seems a genuinely down to Earth chap.

Fingers crossed he's back to his best soon.

Second to that!

Everybody is saying 'I don't know where his form has gone' - 'Try keeping your confidence when you go from player of the year last year and captain for the last few games; to a different playing partner every game, to a bench warmer. The lad needs a chance to get his confidence back!

And it is true, he doesn't like playing at left centre back. And to that idiot who said it doesnt make a difference, it does!

I thought Dyer looked such a threat and possibly should have started.

The subs that Sven bought on played well.

[gibwarrior1988]

Up until the equaliser we were superb and perhaps this result will do us a favour. After Gallagher's goal, the one touch football and fancy flicks going on were the signs of a team with perhaps too much confidence. The crowd around me were certainly of the opinion that the game was already won and in football you just cant take that for granted. Sheffield Utd to give them credit are a team in trouble and the team responded by working hard and battling for every ball. They got in our faces and we got bullied out of the game.

In fairness, after Abe put those two tackles in a row in early on, he took a knock and never really seemed to recover which didnt help and also the fact that Jack Hobbs's confidence is at an all time low caused him to perhaps try a little too hard to impress hence him placing that poor header leading to their equaliser. Chris Weale needs to sort out his positioning on free kicks. Everyone around me when Yeates was shaping that free kick commented on where it was going and how Weale was giving himself no chance of getting there and sure enough it sailed in.

Having said all that, we must remember that had we drawn at Barnsley and beat Sheffield Utd, we would have been quite happy and would have had the same amount of points. Football is a game where on some occasions league positions mean nothing and last night was an example of that. They were clearly up for a scrap and looked determined to get something from the game. Also the old cliche of when you're at the bottom everything goes against you came to the fore in injury time with the penalty, but for us, another game unbeaten and another point on the board is a positive as is the fact that unlike some other performances this year, we've played with desperation and heart right till the end to try and get the win but ultimately didn't have the quality to get those goals.

Derby will be a different kettle of fish altogether as they will come and play football which will suit us more than an all out battle. I just hope that the players realise that confidence is fine but you still have to work hard for the results.

'Placing that poor header for their equaliser? From where I was sitting in the stands, the defence were clearing every single ball, and there was noone in midfield to collect it! Then Wellens has the cheek to have a go at the defence for the goal!

We can't have players moaning at each other during a match, whatever the performance.

[Ajax Treesdown]

That was a rank bad performance all round but before Sven criticises his team he should start with himself cos I saw no evidence of leadership whatsoever.

For me we suffered from over expectation at home on the back of an excellent but exhausting win and the praise that went with it.

In all the build up the talk was about what we were going to do and how we'd turned the corner. Some even talked about us going the rest of the season without defeat.

Well, tonight showed us the real world. We were lucky to get a point. And part of the reason was the team looked lost when they took the lead. They didn't know whether the stick or twist and ended up doing neither.

Part of the psychology of team preparation is ensuring the team knows how to react tactically in various situations including if we take the lead.

We just looked as if we'd no idea. We didn't sit back as has previously been our habit but we didn't maintain our tempo and get forward with any conviction either. As I've said, the whole club lives in fear. Owners for their money, managers for their job and players for their place. And everyone is scared of dropping more points. It has to stop.

It looked like a schoolkids' game out there tonight. With so many players hiding I presumed they'd chosen "hide and seek". Gary Speed did nothing of genius. He simply closed us down quickly and made sure key players like King never had time or space. It's a fundamental ploy and we didn't show the wit to combat it.

Our passing was attrocious from back to front and that includes the normally reliable passers like King. We underhit them, overhit them, misdirected them and sent far too many of the accurate passes square for no constructive reason whatsoever.

Mind you some of those passes were more our of desperation han desire because, after the first 20 minutes, hardly anyone was moving even for themselves let alone making the selfless runs necessary to create space in an organised defence.

Once again we started taking extra touches as well, meaning the recipient was even more tightly closed down than he otherwise would have been.

Individually Ade looked a lightweight in central midfield, apart from a couple of determined intercepting tackles. He was caught in possession, his passing was poor and he failed to recover from injury, escaping to the periphery when he should have gone off. It must have been a elief to him to be substituted. In his defence, I think he was probably still recovering from his efforts against Barnsley.

King made a few early runs which weren't seen or picked out with the ball - and then he largely disappeared and didn't have much impact even when he took on a more defensive role one Ade went off. So, our marvellous midfield of Saturday looked like spent fireworks after November 5. I was suprised Vassell even got selected after what Saturday would have taken out of him but, whatever, he had precious little impact and Waghorn was no better.

But the key weakness for me, apart from Ade was Hobbs. My life he was poor to the point of looking desperate at times. He just looked as if all his confidence had gone.

I don't know how m any shots we managed for the evening but it was shameful although we did regain a little life with Dyer's introduction. But there's so much to do before Saturday. Starting with a new attitude to home matches.

ABE!!!

[reynard]

I thoguht Sven's summary after the game was spot on and a very honest assesment without slating his players.

For the first 20 minutes we were excellent yet couldn't turn our possession into that crucial second goal.

I simply do not agree with Thracian that after we scored we didn't know how to play.

For about forty minutes we were outplayed both physically (which is concerning) but also mentally. We allowed Reid the freedom of the pitch and a player of his quality is going to take that with open arms.

Eventually though they tired and reid went off and suddenly with the introduction of Howard and Dyer we took control and deserved a draw in the end but no more than that. Ourfitness has improved, a few weeks ago we would have lost and our shape is better. We desperately need a quality striker though as we just don't look threatening enough in the opposition penalty area.

Credit to untied though, they looked awful for 20 mins but for much of the game passed the ball well, closed us down quickly and out muscled us all over the pitch. They made our so-called qualit back four look like muppets at times.

The last minute penalty though could be crucial, a desperate evening will feel something akin to a win for the players who face a very difficult game on Saturday. If we play like the first 20 for nearer to 80 minutes we have a chance if we play like we did in the middle of the game then Derby will waltz right through us and come away with something like a 3-0 win.

We need to be more clinical in front of goal and we need to be more physical in every position.

[Mack]

Few thoughts on tonight.

I agree with everyone that we looked bright early and had we carried on in that vain we would have run out comfortable winners.

Sheffield United look poor and will be a bottom half team unless new management/investment is introduced, it was 2 points dropped.

Some credit to Speed for doing his homework and setting his side up fairly effectively to spoil our system.

Vassell will never be a success stuck out on the wide right of a three. Lloyd Dyer has been our best player this season and when he came on he showed the attacking flair we had been missing. Vassell should not play in front of Dyer in my opinion, and if you are going to play Vassell it must be in a central attacking role.

Waghorn was ineffective tonight and there maybe an argument for swapping him for Vassell at the weekend whilst selecting Dyer wide.

Jack Hobbs is a liability and most probably needs a spell out on loan to regain some confidence. Morrison is no better in the middle so with a loan pairing of Vitor and Davies as first choice something must be done in January to ensure we dont revert back to players who will cost us soppy goals.

King was far too eager to go rushing off and join Waghorn in attack before the development of the attack had been formulated. He must not forget he is the attacking creative driving force in the middle, his job primarily is to create not just to finish things off.

I still dont get Yuki Abe, and why people were giving his abject performance a standing ovation was beyond me. The first time he stuck in a decent couple of tackles he looked fooked. I'm not saying he will never be of any use but right now humoring him for me is a waste.

Wellens was superb once again, and as I equally dont get Abe I also equally dont get how people fail to see that this fella is the engine of our team. Thank fook he does his job so well, if I was him last night I would have been less than impressed with King's constant wanderings leaving him often isolated and exposed to doing two players job alone.

Cunningham is nothing special and I would much prefer to see Berner at left back. I'm not really sure what Bruno did wrong? Much more accomplished player in my opinion.

All in all we looked a little too much like a Sousa team last night apart from the first 20 or so minutes. Sven will need to ensure they play much better for the entire game on Saturday or it could be a little embarrassing.

[skinnydipper]

Sheff Utd were a pretty ugly but effective side. They pressed the ball, shut off the options and gave us no time to play the football we wanted to play. There are plenty of teams like this in the Championship and we've got to learn to deal with them if we are going to be credible promotion candidates. I just feel that we're a bit too nice and lacking in snarl and bite when it's needed. In a game that required a battling approach I don't think we picked up a single booking. I bet Savage can't wait to get in the faces of our nice boys on Saturday

[bettso]

'Placing that poor header for their equaliser? From where I was sitting in the stands, the defence were clearing every single ball, and there was noone in midfield to collect it! Then Wellens has the cheek to have a go at the defence for the goal!

We can't have players moaning at each other during a match, whatever the performance.

From where I was it was a poor header.

Different vantage point, different perspective.

Sometimes an on pitch disagreement isnt a bad thing but I agree that last night, nobody really had the right to critisise anyone else.

[davieG]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDnUKWfZzGU