same old, same old

[alcoblade]

Evans gets off the mark, great for his confidence. Unluckily down to 10 men we dig in for a well earned point agaist one of the best forward lines in the division. Simmo looked great. It has to be a good day. The only tinge of criticism would be that we were to eager too clear the ball rather than retain posession - Old habits or more of the same? Only Len would focus on this after todays's result.


UTB

 

[Guesty]

- The Lowton sending off was diabolical I dont care what way they want to twist it. It was a 50/50 ball and he had every right to go for it. A yellow card would have been appropriate.

He crashed studs up at speed into McNaughton's standing leg! And how the decision be "diabolical" while acknowledging that it should have been a yellow card. Surely that means it was just harsh?

 

[Flatulent_Bob]

I would have been screaming for a red if it happened to our player. Lowton was trying to make a full blooded 50/50, no problem if he got the ball. He was high and late and deserved his red card, we should have no complaints.

Isn't it only a one game ban?

The movement upfront from the 3 (we didn't start 4-5-1 it was a definite 4-3-3) was better than anything last season, it was just a shame we didn't see it for longer. Here's hoping Blackwell plays the same team for experience in the week for this top 3 to really bed in.

 

[norfolkblade]

I would have been screaming for a red if it happened to our player. Lowton was trying to make a full blooded 50/50, no problem if he got the ball. He was high and late and deserved his red card, we should have no complaints.

Isn't it only a one game ban?

Totally agree, but I believe a straight red is an instant 3 game ban isn't it? Watching 2nd half now on highlights as I missed that part owing to cricket, we defended like bloody troopers and should be delighted that we came away with a point today, 10 men for an hour against a side like Cardiff is a tough task, and I thought we gave it a good crack.

Hope that Blackie keeps faith with Lowton, I feel if it happened at BDTBL he would have only got a yellow, and he looked capable up to his sending off.

 

[Flatulent_Bob]

Totally agree, but I believe a straight red is an instant 3 game ban isn't it? Watching 2nd half now on highlights as I missed that part owing to cricket, we defended like bloody troopers and should be delighted that we came away with a point today, 10 men for an hour against a side like Cardiff is a tough task, and I thought we gave it a good crack.

Hope that Blackie keeps faith with Lowton, I feel if it happened at BDTBL he would have only got a yellow, and he looked capable up to his sending off.

I hope he proves me wrong but I think Blackwell will take it that a young player he gave a chance to let him down. I hope I'm wrong.

 

[Jim Chimmerney]

Amidst all the 'same old', there's been little mention of the fact Blackwell didn't go 4-5-1 which most, including me, we're predicting. It was 4-5-1 at times but as others have said, there was far more movement within the team than they've been given credit for.

We rode our luck on occasions but to come away with a point having had 10 men for an hour can hardly be construed as a sign that nothing's changed and we're in for a long hard season.

Saturday will tell us a lot more I suspect.

 

[Bramley]

Dont let it upset you. Most of us would have been expecting one of len's recycled posts shortly after the game and there we have it (in little over an hour). I have to say I'm surprised it took him that long. The guy will never be happy at anything United do and cant see the good in anything. Many have tried to make him look on the bright side but it is a lost cause so just leave it. If you want a more balanced and realistic view of the game here you go..........

The general story of events today in my view:-

- Cardiff had the better of the opening spell but United stood up to it fairly well.

- United scored a well crafted and well taken goal against the run of play which was deserved as we were denided a stone wall penalty.

- The Lowton sending off was diabolical I dont care what way they want to twist it. It was a 50/50 ball and he had every right to go for it. A yellow card would have been appropriate.

- United couldn't ever really get into their stride because as soon as we scored the goal the whole complexion of the game changed as did our shape - due to the sending off!

- Some old fashioned determination and dogged defending got us a deserved point.

In summary:- United got a good point from a very difficult fixture, which was made even more difficult by the officiating. To measure the merit of our side on that game would be unfair. Not just because it is the first game but because of the way it panned out. United had to alter their approach twice throughout the game which upset the balance of the side. We started passing the ball well once we had settled but that was quickly ruined by the sending off.

I have however seen enough today to suggest we have something about us and that we have something different in our locker in comparison to last season. In other words there is something to work with but we need to push on from here and get better. All in all, we did well but there is still work to do.

UTB :thumbup:

Len used to be on here within minutes of a defeat. Now he's on here whinging immediately after a draw, with 10 men, against one of the top sides in the division.

 

[davidpinder]

Amidst all the 'same old', there's been little mention of the fact Blackwell didn't go 4-5-1 which most, including me, we're predicting. It was 4-5-1 at times but as others have said, there was far more movement within the team than they've been given credit for.

We rode our luck on occasions but to come away with a point having had 10 men for an hour can hardly be construed as a sign that nothing's changed and we're in for a long hard season.

Saturday will tell us a lot more I suspect.

100% agree with that, i was surprised to see it wasn't 4-5-1 in a negative fashion that side was made up of a mixture of formations and i thought worked well until the sending off. I never expected us to dominate the game from start to finish because we were away at Cardiff, the sending off spoilt the game which ever way you look at it whether you blame lowton or the ref for that. I hope he keeps faith with that formation and style for the Middlesborough game i can see us getting a lot more success than last season away from home.

 

[LouTheBlade]

He crashed studs up at speed into McNaughton's standing leg! And how the decision be "diabolical" while acknowledging that it should have been a yellow card. Surely that means it was just harsh?

There is a big difference between a yellow card offence and a straight red. There is also a big difference between momentum carrying you over the ball and malicious intent.

If you've played the game you should know that. Sadly referees seldom have a clue.

 

[boo radley]

There is a big difference between a yellow card offence and a straight red. There is also a big difference between momentum carrying you over the ball and malicious intent.

If you've played the game you should know that. Sadly referees seldom have a clue.

You see its all down to the way the game is changing, (probably because of fear of players more likely to take eachother to court). As i am lead to beleive referees are now told to watch out for 'playing in a manor likely to endanger an opponent'. this means that there will be a period of adaption to the new interpretation. for example it always used to be if you got the ball then no one could question your intent. NOW if the referee rules that your tackle/challenge was carried out in a way that had potential to endanger an opponent then a sanction can be awarded (even if you win the ball).

 

[Fiery Blade]

The tackle smacked of inexperience but it was indeed a sending off tackle - if it had happened the other way some on here would be calling for hanging to be brought back!
Positives yesterday Simonson, Ertl, Morgan, Ward (in parts)
Negatives: Cresswell (poor game)
Jury Out: Britton, Yeates (can't even make the starting line up), Boggy, Evans
Not Good Enough: Lowton, Taylor, Monty, Quinn, Kozluk
Lowton may improve but he certainly isn't championship standard yet!

 

[TonyAgana]

There is a big difference between a yellow card offence and a straight red. There is also a big difference between momentum carrying you over the ball and malicious intent.

If you've played the game you should know that. Sadly referees seldom have a clue.

How can anyone consider a challenge played out at that pace to be "late"?

 

[Micalijo]

There is a big difference between a yellow card offence and a straight red. There is also a big difference between momentum carrying you over the ball and malicious intent.

If you've played the game you should know that. Sadly referees seldom have a clue.

Very annoying for me that Walton seemed to give the impression that he thought Lowton had launched a malicious 2 footer. The way he said 'get off' with a look of disgust on his face riled me as well. I can just about understand that it was reckless but it's another case for me of a referee having preconceptions about SUFC.

 

[j j]

T
Not Good Enough: Lowton
Lowton may improve but he certainly isn't championship standard yet!

Nice to see you giving him a fair crack. How were you as a teenager in the first couple of hours doing your first job?

 

[Fiery Blade]

Nice to see you giving him a fair crack. How were you as a teenager in the first couple of hours doing your first job?

I learnt from my mistakes and hopefully put in a better performance when asked to do it again!
As I said Not good enough at present for the Championshiphopefully will improve given games at rteserve level or loaned out to Div 1 or 2 teams.

To be succesful at this level you cannot carry too many passengers we already have Monty and Quinn!

 

[Flatulent_Bob]

I think this is a little harsh on Quinn. While I have my own issues with him if we are going to play this 4-3-3 it suits him a lot better to be on the left of a central 3.

Trying to pick the bones out of anyone's performance yesterday is unfair. Once we went down to 10 men everything goes out of the window given we've obviously been working on this formation and it goes to pot.

Personally I wasn't overly impressed with our performance but you can't expect flowing football when you have 10 men against one of the better teams in the division. You also have to say they probably had the best attacking lineup in the league last season so to hold out to them for 60 mins with 10 men is commendable.

 

[Muttley]

I would have settled for the draw before the start. I was dissappointed in the 2nd half performance, even with 10 men. They played the last 15 of the first half and upto their goal quite admirably but then looked panicked and devoid of any ideas after that. Only Simonsen saved us from being battered. Cardiff aren't very good these days and I think we could've put up a bit more of a fight in the 2nd half and at least looked like they wanted to win it.
Lowton's sending off was harsh in my opinion and I have seen worse go unpunished. The speed of the tackle made it impossible for him to pull out of it. Shame, but he now has to learn from this.

 

[Worksop II]

How can anyone consider a challenge played out at that pace to be "late"?

I think he was early which is why his foot ended up, up the side of McNaughton Leg.

Reckless rather than nasty, nice to see McNaughton carry on, he did have a lot of injuries last season.

Lesson learnt I hope, see you in a couple of Weeks Matt

 

[Micalijo]

I think this is a little harsh on Quinn. While I have my own issues with him if we are going to play this 4-3-3 it suits him a lot better to be on the left of a central 3.

Trying to pick the bones out of anyone's performance yesterday is unfair. Once we went down to 10 men everything goes out of the window given we've obviously been working on this formation and it goes to pot.

Personally I wasn't overly impressed with our performance but you can't expect flowing football when you have 10 men against one of the better teams in the division. You also have to say they probably had the best attacking lineup in the league last season so to hold out to them for 60 mins with 10 men is commendable.

Why does everything go out of the window? Had Blackwell constructed a proper squad with pace, athleticism and ability on the ball it is still possible to launch counter-attacks against sides when down to ten men.

I'm not convinced it would have been different if we had kept 11 on the pitch but we'll never know.

It's a great point and we looked conmfortable at the back, don't get me wrong on that, but I didn't see anything to suggest we are in for anyhting other than a season of low quality performances where we are fighting against opponents who all have superior movement and ability on the ball.

 

[Bladesway]

Thought sending off was a joke. Looking at it he made some contact with the ball and only momentum took him into the player. Fact is there was absolutely no intent. If you look at Lowton he was protesting that it was even a foul, let alone a sending off. Tells you everything you need to know. But as usual ref has to take centre stage.

Thought we battled well without creating much before and after the sending off, but playing an hour with only 10 on the field means your game plan is out of the window. We know we can battle, but can we play football? Yesterday told us nothing about that so we should move on to the next game and see what happens.

All in all, a 1-1 draw at Cardiff is better than I expected. I'll take that.

 

[CopenhagenBlade]

Can't really believe that people are complaining about the red card. It was a 100% yellow and the only thing that is on Lowton's side is that there wasn't intent but when you go in studs first and catch a player jsut below the knee the referee has very little choice. To say he is trying to take centre stage is a bit harsh, he has rules that he has to apply and this is what he did.
If there is anything that we have to complain about is how he didn't give a penalty just before Evans scored. We can just be thankful that he did score.

 

[moDtheGod]

My real time reaction was that a red was harsh, but when you watch basically every replay, you can see he's knee high and nowhere near the ball. It doesn't really matter whether he meant it or not, a red is fair enough.

 

[Kentblade]

Dont let it upset you. Most of us would have been expecting one of len's recycled posts shortly after the game and there we have it (in little over an hour). I have to say I'm surprised it took him that long. The guy will never be happy at anything United do and cant see the good in anything. Many have tried to make him look on the bright side but it is a lost cause so just leave it. If you want a more balanced and realistic view of the game here you go..........

The general story of events today in my view:-

- Cardiff had the better of the opening spell but United stood up to it fairly well.

- United scored a well crafted and well taken goal against the run of play which was deserved as we were denided a stone wall penalty.

- The Lowton sending off was diabolical I dont care what way they want to twist it. It was a 50/50 ball and he had every right to go for it. A yellow card would have been appropriate.

- United couldn't ever really get into their stride because as soon as we scored the goal the whole complexion of the game changed as did our shape - due to the sending off!

- Some old fashioned determination and dogged defending got us a deserved point.

In summary:- United got a good point from a very difficult fixture, which was made even more difficult by the officiating. To measure the merit of our side on that game would be unfair. Not just because it is the first game but because of the way it panned out. United had to alter their approach twice throughout the game which upset the balance of the side. We started passing the ball well once we had settled but that was quickly ruined by the sending off.

I have however seen enough today to suggest we have something about us and that we have something different in our locker in comparison to last season. In other words there is something to work with but we need to push on from here and get better. All in all, we did well but there is still work to do.

UTB :thumbup:

At last a sensible and balanced comment by Loutheblade.
If one relied on this board to follow the Blades, I would have given up years ago.
UTB

 

[beechblade]

From my memory the challenge was way below the knee more centre of the shin than anything, and his studs weren't up the actual harsh part of the contact was the body weight following through, you also see Mcnaugthon go to stand up before he lays back down and rolls around. It was silly and naive and a certain yellow, and a stern telling off would have been warranted, and a warning to both captains that tackles like this will not be accepted for the rest of the game, the ref had a poor game though in general making poor decisions on both sides of the field.

But I haven't over analyised the tackle and as I said earlier I've seen alot worse given alot let less.

 

[Eskimo]

It was a good result yesterday but Len has a point too. There were many times in the 2nd half when we conceded posession too easily and invited pressure by aiming longer balls at forwards who could/did not take advantage.

 

[Flatulent_Bob]

Why does everything go out of the window? Had Blackwell constructed a proper squad with pace, athleticism and ability on the ball it is still possible to launch counter-attacks against sides when down to ten men.

It is possible, it is just extremely likely the team with the best attacking talent last season will score against you.

 

[HoodedClaw]

Overall a good result IMO :thumbup:

Fair red card IMO, Id have been wanting a red for their player if he'd have done that challenge against us, so cant argue against the sending off. Wasnt in control of the tackle and dived in a bit, cant complain.

Shame we didnt have a bit more about us to try and keep possession more after the sending off, to eager at times to get it forward, also too much time wasting rubbish rather than having some belief that we can keep the ball.

Looking forward to Nossie getting fit so we can move Ertl into midfield, got a feeling he may link well with Britton (Crosses Fingers)

Hope Ched's goal is the star of something good for him and us.

Far too early to have a view on how we'll do this season though, another 8 or 9 games should do it for me.

 

[Flatulent_Bob]

As with all leagues trying to gauge a season before 10 games is madness. Given the amount of games in this league I'm not going to form an opinion on us until 12 games have been played. I didn't see the point of some of the sunday newspapers printing tables after 1 match, wtf is that all about?

 

[Bergen Blade]

It is possible, it is just extremely likely the team with the best attacking talent last season will score against you.

I think Blackwell realised the need for some pace going forward when he pushed Ward into midfield again, which meant we had someone who could run at them, force them to track back and thus take a bit of pressure off our defenders. I hope that's a lesson learned, but with Ward our only player with pace we are so vulnerable.

Red card was correct, and if referees don't punish reckless and dangerous tackles like that we'll see a lot of broken legs.

 

[Micalijo]

I think Blackwell realised the need for some pace going forward when he pushed Ward into midfield again, which meant we had someone who could run at them, force them to track back and thus take a bit of pressure off our defenders. I hope that's a lesson learned, but with Ward our only player with pace we are so vulnerable.

Red card was correct, and if referees don't punish reckless and dangerous tackles like that we'll see a lot of broken legs.

I was interested in Blackwell's post match comment that we had been trying to get Lowton toughen up. Fair enough, I know what Blackwell means, but it says it all about the problems in English football that to be effective and popular there is a belief that a player has to get stuck in and show em who's boss etc etc. It's difficuly because we don't want Lowton to just let him take the ball in that situation and run up the pitch but there's just no need for the ferocity of the challenge in the first place. If he's committed himself then he needs to stay on feet and pull him back and take the yellow.