Sheff Utd Match Reaction

[davieG]

Maybury should never play right back again, not that he improved when he moved to the left

Yes, apologies for that I got my left and right mixed up but then I am a bit ambidextrious(sp?) , I think Maybury did as well

[davieG]

I agree with you.

It seems that those people who didn't go to the game are quick to express their anger at certain players.

I was at Bramall Lane and I thought we played some cracking stuff for most of the game - until their 2nd goal. I was on the opposite side of the ground so I didn't see the 'handball' clearly, although my mate was in the Sheff Utd Kop and he said it was a handball. Without the benefit of seeing a replay I can't comment, but we all felt it was extremely harsh considering the way the game was balanced.

Anyway, we created numerous chances and carved open their defence really well. There was a lot to be positive about and we looked very good going forward. Shame about the finishing, but I was very happy with most of what I saw.

Their second penalty deflated everyone, the fans included, and we just collapsed. I'm not going to blame anyone for their 3rd or 4th goals (although obviously the defence didn't defend well enough) because I think our whole team was devastated by the penalty. It is a natural reaction to lose your heads when a game that we dominated and played really well in goes against you.

Having said that, I thought Douglas should have done a lot better for the first goal. He should have been in command of his area and he should have been first to the ball well before Ifil. You cannot hesitate in situations like that - he had to be confident and aggressive but he was anything but.

As for De Vries, the first half he wans't great. However, he improved so much in the second half and I was impressed overall. He held the ball well, passed it nicely, and perhaps could have done better with a couple of chances but hey, he did cause their defence a lot of problems.

Joey was also excellent today, showed great commitment and battle. I have to disagree about Williams - he did play some fantastic passes but what the TV cameras wouldn't have showed you was his reluctance to dominate midfield. He did hide on a few occasions and was anonymous for periods without any influence.

151267[/snapback]

I disagree strongly with that statement. Nothing natuaral about it all, the history of football is littered with comebacks in the face of adversity and LCFC was a team renowned for many of them.

[Louise]

Yes, apologies for that I got my left and right mixed up but then I am a bit ambidextrious(sp?)    , I think Maybury did as well 

151317[/snapback]

I don't like Maybury out of position either, and the same goes for Hughes when he's played on the wing, such things should only happen when we've got an injury crisis in my opinion. I thought maybe Sheehan would have gotten a go today as he impressed me vs. Inter, however Levein probably thought he didn't have enough experience.

[Fox in a Box]

lighten up gang.......

wasnt the header by the ref top class............sign him on..

I bet he awarded the 2nd peno to sheff because he needed to make ammeds

[lush]

lighten up gang.......

wasnt the header by the ref top class............sign him on..

151323[/snapback]

Hes a better player than ref

[Stuliasz]

Hey everyone, sorry for the lateness but I have only just arrived back from Sheffield as my mum fell ill during the game and had to be taken to Northern General Hospital. We have been there ever since and my Dad and myself have only just arrived home with my mum having to stay overnight. I have uploaded the ratings page so feel free to start rating whenever you are ready. If you have already posted your ratings on here, please post them again through the site.

Thanks,

Sheff.

P.S. You can vote whether you listened, watched or went.

[freund7]

Well they shut me up. Although we got thrashed, I thought we were playing some really nice passing football.

I'm sure we could have won it if the ref hadn't given the stupid penalty decision.

[Libertine]

I agree with you.

It seems that those people who didn't go to the game are quick to express their anger at certain players.

I was at Bramall Lane and I thought we played some cracking stuff for most of the game - until their 2nd goal. I was on the opposite side of the ground so I didn't see the 'handball' clearly, although my mate was in the Sheff Utd Kop and he said it was a handball. Without the benefit of seeing a replay I can't comment, but we all felt it was extremely harsh considering the way the game was balanced.

Anyway, we created numerous chances and carved open their defence really well. There was a lot to be positive about and we looked very good going forward. Shame about the finishing, but I was very happy with most of what I saw.

Their second penalty deflated everyone, the fans included, and we just collapsed. I'm not going to blame anyone for their 3rd or 4th goals (although obviously the defence didn't defend well enough) because I think our whole team was devastated by the penalty. It is a natural reaction to lose your heads when a game that we dominated and played really well in goes against you.

Having said that, I thought Douglas should have done a lot better for the first goal. He should have been in command of his area and he should have been first to the ball well before Ifil. You cannot hesitate in situations like that - he had to be confident and aggressive but he was anything but.

As for De Vries, the first half he wans't great. However, he improved so much in the second half and I was impressed overall. He held the ball well, passed it nicely, and perhaps could have done better with a couple of chances but hey, he did cause their defence a lot of problems.

Joey was also excellent today, showed great commitment and battle. I have to disagree about Williams - he did play some fantastic passes but what the TV cameras wouldn't have showed you was his reluctance to dominate midfield. He did hide on a few occasions and was anonymous for periods without any influence.

151267[/snapback]

I didn't go but I agree with all of those points there.

[Solihullfox]

Hey everyone, sorry for the lateness but I have only just arrived back from Sheffield as my mum fell ill during the game and had to be taken to Northern General Hospital. We have been there ever since and my Dad and myself have only just arrived home with my mum having to stay overnight. I have uploaded the ratings page so feel free to start rating whenever you are ready. If you have already posted your ratings on here, please post them again through the site.

Thanks,

Sheff.

P.S. You can vote whether you listened, watched or went.

151405[/snapback]

Hope your mum is ok Sheff.

[Libertine]

Hope your mum is ok Sheff.

151439[/snapback]

Same 'ere matey.

[dynamite foxes]

hope your mum is okey sheff.

But I didn't go to the game but after reading your comments and watching the goals I can say that-

Douglas was poo today.

McCarthy is inexperienced but that is why we have gerrbrand and nissa.

Nissa was poor but i rate him having watched him a few times last year.

Warnock is a bellend and to see him with a smile on his face after all he has said over the past few years made me sick.

Connolly took his goal well though and we have to remember that defending is not the most important thing in this league, scoring is!

Did we miss many chances.

Williams and Joey had good games which bodes well. We had injuries today as well so it was always gonna be difficult.

If you need cheering up tomorrow, watch the cricket.

Palace lost as well! not all bad, roll on tuesday!

[Libertine]

Exactly, we didn't have as much of a bad day as Palace did, at least we lost to a decent side

[cisono]

I watched the match on Sky at Cannons, among a bunch of Leicester City supporters. Behind us were some Sheffield U supporters, which (together with some kids running around and playing silly songs in the corner) hardly made for a great environment.

What annoyed me was that these Sheffield supporters were constantly cheering at the wrong times and about the wrong decisions (!).

No, jokes aside, among other things, one of them called Paddy "a donkey". It was difficult not to react to that, even though each of them was about double my size. Because of that (and similar remarks), I wanted Paddy to be impeccable today, just to show them!!!

Go Paddy go!

[Ultra]

I don't think FOXES should feel too despondent about yesterday's result.

But for a dodgy referee (which we tend to get on our trips to Bramall Lane), we would have had at least one point on the board, if not three.

Douglas did OK until the last 10 minutes, but CL made a couple of lapses in team selection. Gerrbrand and Dublin should have started ahead of McCarthy and DeVries.

I stayed in Sheffield for a couple of drinks after the game and a lot of the locals acknowledged we were the better side.

Let's hope Stoke feel the backlash on Tuesday.

And with Gerry suspended for them (again) that could well happen!

[Deathside]

Reaction?.....Blimey - Didn't see that one coming - but I ain't really bothered - Often told that I'm too laid back

Vodka numbs the senses - So maybe a different view in the morning? - What d'you mean 'it's morning already' - That'll be the redbull then

[BAFox]

Apart from Deep Freeze and Douglas I thought City played well and could have still got at least a draw. After the Dodgy second penalty the heads dropped, same old story.

Please can De-Vries shoot when in the box instead of trying to beat all 4 defenders and walk it into the net

Lets not forget this is day one and we are level on points with palace, and one behind Norwich and Southampton who are all favs to go up.

[Solihullfox]

Said to myself that I would not do this but......

MDV spent his time last season as an unfit and partially injured player who had not built up any match fitness and consequently struggled big time. As a result he found it difficult to convert chances, which I might add were few and far between, and as is usual in life his confidence took a really dent. He has probably been going through the worst period of his football life and instead of getting support and encouragement, the man has taken verbal, written and audioble stick from many prats who would be the first to complain if they were treated in the same way in there walk of life.

Having decided to come back to training early because of his lack of pre season preparation over the last two years, MDV has shown a marked improvement in his heading, hold up play and distribution in the games I have seen him play so far. The man is still VERY low on confidence hence the reluctance to shoot and possibly fail. The confidence comes back through encouragement, support and having people behind to convince him to not be afraid to try and fail. It does not help for people to get on his back and question the man's ability. MDV will come good and when he does the man will be a bl**dy nuisance in the Championship.

Please stop slagging the guy off, it will not help him, CL or Leicester City.

We as a club do not have the luxury of ditching MDV for a striking saviour, so get behind him and encourage him in his struggle to succeed.

MDV's performance yesterday, (and I was there to see it live not just from the limited perspective of TV coverage) along with the teams display, was infinately better that the vast majority of games under CL so far and bears no comparison to the crud we watched under MA. I don't think we are far away from being a good side and in time ,a very good side. Supporting OUR team and it's players can only help. So do something productive over the next few weeks and back CL's judgement and give MDV 100% vocal support and encouragement.

[Libertine]

Top post mate, exactly right.

[rossporterlc]

i was gutted by the defeat, performances like that are where we should be picking up all 3 points but i think the penalty was a bit of a kick in the teeth, still no excuse for the defending in the last 10minutes, at least lose 2-1 with some pride.

[Little Nicky]

I can't believe we lost it but, was encouraged by the performances on the pitch (with the exception of Douglas and CL choosing to play Maybury at Lb).

On the goals, I thought the first was bad goalkeeping that gave away a clear peno! The second penalty was no way a peno, bounced up and caught johansson on the arm/shoulder after douglas had saved, we also should have had a penalty ourselves and didnt get one, their 3rd one was superb though, nothing we could have done, and then in my opinion their 4th was bad positioning from Douglas, but the ball was then put into the net by the fella's arm!

All in all, I thought Sylla looked excellent and was encouraged by Connolly after missing most of pre-season. Williams was ace! De Vries even looked like he could have something to offer, he's just got to remember that those things on the end of his legs are called feet and you use them to kick the ball into the net! Ifill was a right handful, that is something we won't have to suffer from every team, so I think with a little more practise and sorting out your positioning Rab, we could have a solid unit for a promotion push. I mean afterall we lost the third game 6-1 three seasons ago and still came out smelling like roses in a second place promotion season;

Craig Levein's Blue and White army!!!!!

[Mad Dog]

Good atmosphere from the lads who travelled North. Thought we sung pretty well.

[spirefox]

I live in Chesterfield and know loads of Blades fans,one of who rang me after the match to apologise for mugging us.Like me he couldn't understand why Stearman was subbed and thought Douglas looked dodgy.He also thinks Warnock is a willy puller!

[Thracian]

Said to myself that I would not do this but......

MDV spent his time last season as an unfit and partially injured player who had not built up any match fitness and consequently struggled big time. As a result he found it difficult to convert chances, which I might add were few and far between, and as is usual in life his confidence took a really dent. He has probably been going through the worst period of his football life and instead of getting support and encouragement, the man has taken verbal, written and audioble stick from many prats who would be the first to complain if they were treated in the same way in there walk of life.

Having decided to come back to training early because of his lack of pre season preparation over the last two years, MDV has shown a marked improvement in his heading, hold up play and distribution in the games I have seen him play so far. The man is still VERY low on confidence hence the reluctance to shoot and possibly fail. The confidence comes back through encouragement, support and having people behind to convince him to not be afraid to try and fail. It does not help for people to get on his back and question the man's ability. MDV will come good and when he does the man will be a bl**dy nuisance in the Championship.

Please stop slagging the guy off, it will not help him, CL or Leicester City.

We as a club do not have the luxury of ditching MDV for a striking saviour, so get behind him and encourage him in his struggle to succeed.

MDV's performance yesterday, (and I was there to see it live not just from the limited perspective of TV coverage) along with the teams display, was infinately better that the vast majority of games under CL so far and bears no comparison to the crud we watched under MA. I don't think we are far away from being a good side and in time ,a very good side. Supporting OUR team and it's players can only help. So do something productive over the next few weeks and back CL's judgement and give MDV 100% vocal support and encouragement.

151591[/snapback]

If he did shoot on sight when he gets in or near the box I imagine very few people would criticise him. But he doesn't.

If that's down to confidence, and I except that as a possibility, who gives players their belief...the manager. Does the manager tell him be selfish, shoot on sight and if you miss shoot again, and again?.

If not then he damned well should do.

Again, inspiring people is a part of the manager's job and I've already said elsewhere, if he's not good at doing it, get someone in to help.

If he needed a physio, or a dietician, or a weight-training specialist he'd get one. Why not a motivator?.

[Guest]

Hope your mum's ok Sheff.

I am disappointed with the game and the result. I had serious doubts about Douglas, and he did nothing to dispel those fears. We had people sitting around us slagging off the ref and calling him a cheat for the first peno, when it quite clearly was a penalty.

We have a half-fit striker, and a forward low on confidence who both did well to score one more than I expected after the first 45 minutes.

We had a midfield that battled well at times, but could quite easily disappear from the game with no warning.

Defensively we fluctuated from ok to shambolic, we lack any organisation. What I'd give for a Walsh, an Elliott or a Taggart.

As for the 2nd peno, which I thought was more than a little unfair, how many times in recent years have we conceded a dodgy penalty, or free-kick, and seen the lads crumble? It's as if they give up; "well if the ref isn't going to help us, why should we bother?" Where's the fight gone? We're bottlers these days.

[Katy]

Having had a couple of days to think about this, I thought we actually looked pretty good, in the first half anyway but we were a 45 minute side last season and thats what lost us games. Wilcox should never play for us again, what was all that about?

The first penalty was just that but the second was totally wrong but what about the other 3? we are now bottom of the Championship!

Lets learn from this and not dwell, we have Stoke tomorrow so lets get behind them. We will have plenty of games like this throughout the season we just have to let off steam on here and move on.