Sheffield United vs Birmingham City

V.
Championship Week 1 - Saturday 6th August 2021 - 20:00 - Bramall Lane

Please keep all discussion related to the match within this thread.
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Matchday Stats/Player Ratings - https://www.s24su.com/forum/match-day/match/sheffield-united-vs-birmingham-city.552/

Officials:

Referee: Tim Robinson
Assistant Referee: George Byrne
Assistant Referee: Nik Barnard
Fourth Official: Andy Woolmer

Coverage:

Follow via S24SU Twitter: https://twitter.com/s24su

Live TV Coverage:


SUTV Live - https://live.sufc.co.uk/

 

[Alex Cheeseright]

Once again, midfield non existent and can we play someone else instead of Fleck and Norwood. Both lacked comitement and attacking ability. Maybe a knee jersey reaction, but, ffs.

 

[Headshrinker]

Yeah, it is astonishing. Exactly like last season. Play okay, key decisions against and lose by a goal.

Also, fuck football. Minimum of 6 minutes added time. Their player is down with a terrible head injury for 1,5 minutes (before getting back on to the pitch right away). Ref blows for full time at 97 minutes.

 

[Alan Roberts' Jinking Run]

Yeah, it is astonishing. Exactly like last season. Play okay, key decisions against and lose by a goal.

Also, fuck football. Minimum of 6 minutes added time. Their player is down with a terrible head injury for 1,5 minutes (before getting back on to the pitch right away). Ref blows for full time at 97 minutes.

Blows just as berge got fouled by a bloke already on a yellow, ref bottled it.

 

[Millhousesblade1889]

We’ve had nearly a year to sort the O’Connell issue yet Robinson is our only choice. Paul Mitchell has watched and recommended players surely since JOC’s injury. We’ve decided not to sort in January because we were going down I get that but it should have been the first thing we sorted in June. Shite complete and utter shite

 

[bromtom]

Lumpy performance.

Don't think our own players knew where they were playing tbh.

Left side of our defence is dogshit I'm afraid, Robinson ain't going to cut it, Osborn isn't a fullback. Anytime they went down that side or crossed onto that side we looked like we were going to concede. Knock on being Egan overstretched trying to keep an eye on Robinson and midfielders wary of getting forward because they can't trust the defence.

Unless we get a CB in and RND is up to it, I think we've got to go 5 and get Bash back in for a bit of drive.

Berge great when he gets forward and can show his ridiculous quality for this level but far too deep, most of his work first half was 10 yard passes in his own half.

Burke was our best forward so everyone else needs to have a look at themselves.

Need to get it out of our feet quicker, need to be braver with our attacking play - the friendlies hinted at us playing it through the middle more but we soon ended up crowded out down the wings again.

Subs weren't up to much from Slav for me either, think Bash needed to come on and give the players the familiarity, they really looked a bit all over the place, didn't look fluid, looked confusing to me.

Work to do.

 

[Pittsburg Blade]

Very disappointing!
Just same as last season.
After four years of momentum we are definitely on a bit of a downward spiral.

Not enough creativity and a shocking lack of confidence in front of goal.
Some new blood is needed to arrest this slide.
Some hard work to be done Slav.

Congrats to Brum though.
They came with a game plan and stuck to it. They’re a bit agricultural but that’s what this league is all about.
Could have had more goals and weren’t afraid to buy a few yellow cards when needed.

 

[gordoncharles]

Yeah, it is astonishing. Exactly like last season. Play okay, key decisions against and lose by a goal.

Also, fuck football. Minimum of 6 minutes added time. Their player is down with a terrible head injury for 1,5 minutes (before getting back on to the pitch right away). Ref blows for full time at 97 minutes.

You're going to blame their "game management".

We were lucky not to lose by a bigger margin

 

[The Vicar]

I can see what slav wants to do with his way to play ,but as said I can see why he needs 5 in some of these players are not up to it (and no I don't think they are bad players ) I for one will back his ideas you can see where we are headed but come on give him time

Could please explain what it is he is trying to do, because I am lost!

 

[Millhousesblade1889]

You're going to blame their "game management".

We were lucky not to lose by a bigger margin

I’m surprised they didn’t score from every cross put in. Osborn looked completely lost, I think he’d of been more effective than fleck was in midfield though

 

[Iceybabey]

Fleck and Burke need selling. Fleck, where is he? Burke doesn't know his arse from his elbow.

Robbo and Osborn should be cover.

Took Sander an hour to get his head out of his arse but showed he could tear this league a new un.

Baldock, no end product.

Mousset, sick note but looked up for it and thought he did OK.

Norwood was OK but same old same old, weak and unathletic. Poor set pieces.

Corners? Fook me!

These players aren't good enough to play the style the manager wants. They aren't clever enough, arrogant enough, confident enough or athletic enough. We lost header after header after header.

Fuck some of em off and sign some fuckers. Or make use of the young uns, Jebbo pisses on Burke.

 

[robbiez666]

Well, rough is an understatement.

On the plus side we put a lot more through balls than usual. Got down the sides a lot more. Put more crosses in from the byline.

At the same time it looked a mess. Even when Burke or Mouseet were charging through it all seemed a little disorganised. More hope than belief

Our dead balls play was shit. Mainly Norwood.

Sure, you could say we could have had a couple of penalties, and it's a fair argument, but this is life without VAR. While we could have finished better and hit the post they also could easily have scored more.

Indeed, out defence was poor. Osborn fairly terrible in defence and both CBs dealt poorly with high balls. Our lack of height will cost us dearly.

I really don't get the point of having 2 sitting midfielders when Berge was far an away our most dangerous player going forward. Why not get Fleck to sit and push Berge on?

Ramsdale - 6 - Not much to do really. His distribution was much better than last season though
Osborn - 4 - Poor on the goal but he was left exposed (as was Robsinson). Defensive frailties exposed. Poor positioning and weak. Did ok going forward
Robinson - 5 - Struggled in the air all night Got away with one and generally looked like he was second best
Egan - 5.5 - Made some good blocks but struggled in the air and was dominated all night. Lucky to get away with an error. I don't think he's a top Championship defender in a two but not helped by having Robinson next to him.
Baldock - 6 - Defensively did pretty well but not great going forward.
Norwood - 4 - Thought he was pretty bad. Did his usual drop and pick up and let someone else take responsibility. Weak as a defensive shield and his set-pieces were dreadful
Berge - 6.5 - Great going forward although he ran down a couple of blind alleys. Got to the byline several rimes and could have had a pen. I'm not convinced of his defensive qualities though. Got caught on the ball a couple of time.
Fleck - 5 - Not sure where he was meant to be playing. Didn't really make a mark and looked like the game passed him by.
McGoldrick - 6 - Looked a threat on the ball and had a couple of decent shots. seems to get into space a lot and always wanted the ball. I'm really not sure where he fits into this formation though.
Burke 5.5 - Hit the post with a great run and shot and his movement was much, much better the first 30 minutes. His end product was yet again poor though and he seemed to fade before half time
Moussett 6 - Much better movement and made some great runs but looked to struggling with the pace a bit before he had to come off. Better than he's played for a season but still looks unfit and overweight to me. Unlucky with the injury but we can't keep relying on someone who can't stay fit.

Subs

Brewster - 5 - had a couple of shots and a good run but he's still not convincing
McBurnie - 5 - Got involved and dropped back to pick up the ball but never really threatening in the middle
Sharp - 5.5 - Made runs and looked to make something happen but nothing really came off

Slav - 5 - Gets a 5 because of the shit pre-season which won't be his fault. I was confused about what formation we were playing and what some of the players were meant to be doing. We did look more dangerous going forward and there was more coming from midfield but at the same time we looked worse at the back.

 

[Alfred Hood]

It's only the first match but, from an outsiders perspective, Wilder did brilliantly with you building a team with a real traditional British core. Lads in it together, hunting in packs, out on the piss round Sheff every Sat after a win together. Lockdown and other decisions have clearly impacted that, but I do ask myself if Jokanovic is the right type of manager for the squad which you have?

I know very little about him, but he doesn't strike me as someone who's gonna get the best out of players like Sharp, Osborn, Burke, McGoldrick etc. like Wilder did

 

[Millhousesblade1889]

Well, rough is an understatement.

On the plus side we put a lot more through balls than usual. Got down the sides a lot more. Put more crosses in from the byline.

At the same time it looked a mess. Even when Burke or Mouseet were charging through it all seemed a little disorganised. More hope than belief

Our dead balls play was shit. Mainly Norwood.

Sure, you could say we could have had a couple of penalties, and it's a fair argument, but this is life without VAR. While we could have finished better and hit the post they also could easily have scored more.

Indeed, out defence was poor. Osborn fairly terrible in defence and both CBs dealt poorly with high balls. Our lack of height will cost us dearly.

I really don't get the point of having 2 sitting midfielders when Berge was far an away our most dangerous player going forward. Why not get Fleck to sit and push Berge on?

Ramsdale - 6 - Not much to do really. His distribution was much better than last season though
Osborn - 4 - Poor on the goal but he was left exposed (as was Robsinson). Defensive frailties exposed. Poor positioning and weak. Did ok going forward
Robinson - 5 - Struggled in the air all night Got away with one and generally looked like he was second best
Egan - 5.5 - Made some good blocks but struggled in the air and was dominated all night. Lucky to get away with an error. I don't think he's a top Championship defender in a two but not helped by having Robinson next to him.
Baldock - 6 - Defensively did pretty well but not great going forward.
Norwood - 4 - Thought he was pretty bad. Did his usual drop and pick up and let someone else take responsibility. Weak as a defensive shield and his set-pieces were dreadful
Berge - 6.5 - Great going forward although he ran down a couple of blind alleys. Got to the byline several rimes and could have had a pen. I'm not convinced of his defensive qualities though. Got caught on the ball a couple of time.
Fleck - 5 - Not sure where he was meant to be playing. Didn't really make a mark and looked like the game passed him by.
McGoldrick - 6 - Looked a threat on the ball and had a couple of decent shots. seems to get into space a lot and always wanted the ball. I'm really not sure where he fits into this formation though.
Burke 5.5 - Hit the post with a great run and shot and his movement was much, much better the first 30 minutes. His end product was yet again poor though and he seemed to fade before half time
Moussett 6 - Much better movement and made some great runs but looked to struggling with the pace a bit before he had to come off. Better than he's played for a season but still looks unfit and overweight to me. Unlucky with the injury but we can't keep relying on someone who can't stay fit.

Subs

Brewster - 5 - had a couple of shots and a good run but he's still not convincing
McBurnie - 5 - Got involved and dropped back to pick up the ball but never really threatening in the middle
Sharp - 5.5 - Made runs and looked to make something happen but nothing really came off

Slav - 5 - Gets a 5 because of the shit pre-season which won't be his fault. I was confused about what formation we were playing and what some of the players were meant to be doing. We did look more dangerous going forward and there was more coming from midfield but at the same time we looked worse at the back.

Worrying thing is moose will be out for 4-6 weeks with the hamstring injury and return unfit fat moose again

 

[Alex Cheeseright]

So by reading all this "positivity" I surmise we need a LB, a midfield, a striker partnership that plays off each other, commitment to a tackle or header, a play maker, a better dead ball delivery and partridge in a pear tree. Good luck Slav.

 

[bromtom]

It's only the first match but, from an outsiders perspective, Wilder did brilliantly with you building a team with a real traditional British core. Lads in it together, hunting in packs, out on the piss round Sheff every Sat after a win together. Lockdown and other decisions have clearly impacted that, but I do ask myself if Jokanovic is the right type of manager for the squad which you have?

I know very little about him, but he doesn't strike me as someone who's gonna get the best out of players like Sharp, Osborn, Burke, McGoldrick etc. like Wilder did

He's the manager we need because he's not Diet Wilder, and he's got something about him. We could have got a jovial English coach I'm sure, would have got on famously with the lads, but we need a clean break from that style so we can move on from Wilder.

We also need to move on from that recruitment style as a club, because we've been ripped off bigstyle because we favour British and Irish players.

Whether he'll be a success is still unknown obviously but 100% the correct appointment for me.

 

[Millhousesblade1889]

He's the manager we need because he's not Diet Wilder, and he's got something about him. We could have got a jovial English coach I'm sure, would have got on famously with the lads, but we need a clean break from that style so we can move on from Wilder.

We also need to move on from that recruitment style as a club, because we've been ripped off bigstyle because we favour British and Irish players.

Whether he'll be a success is still unknown obviously but 100% the correct appointment for me.

I agree, you can’t question anything yet. Tactically it was very poor tonight though, I agree with the fact that Slav clearly wants to change the style of play but we simply don’t have the players for it, hence why we just kept going long ball.

We need wingers and a striker that can play up top on his own to suit his style, I’m not sure any of our strikers can do that and we don’t have any wingers in the squad.

 

[We're back!]

Different league, same problems. Disappointing start

 

[Arcott]

First changes need making are RND in Osborn out. Freeman for Fleck equally unathletic but imo more creativity. And now Moose is out put Brewster through the middle

 

[gordoncharles]

I do ask myself if Jokanovic is the right type of manager for the squad which you have?

Nobody is the right manager for the squad which we have.

It is hopelessly unbalanced with pretty much nobody in midfield, no wing back cover (when we were playihg 3-5-2), no centre back cover, too many goalkeepers (though I remain convinced that Wes Foderingham is actually a hologram and not an actual person), but a large collection of forwards who for the past year have been practicing their art in farmyards with banjos.

You're correct in saying that the previous incumbent did brilliantly to build a team. You missed out the bit where he ended up leaving it in a sorry state.

 

[1066blade]

Lumpy performance.

Don't think our own players knew where they were playing tbh.

Left side of our defence is dogshit I'm afraid, Robinson ain't going to cut it, Osborn isn't a fullback. Anytime they went down that side or crossed onto that side we looked like we were going to concede. Knock on being Egan overstretched trying to keep an eye on Robinson and midfielders wary of getting forward because they can't trust the defence.

Unless we get a CB in and RND is up to it, I think we've got to go 5 and get Bash back in for a bit of drive.

Berge great when he gets forward and can show his ridiculous quality for this level but far too deep, most of his work first half was 10 yard passes in his own half.

Burke was our best forward so everyone else needs to have a look at themselves.

Need to get it out of our feet quicker, need to be braver with our attacking play - the friendlies hinted at us playing it through the middle more but we soon ended up crowded out down the wings again.

Subs weren't up to much from Slav for me either, think Bash needed to come on and give the players the familiarity, they really looked a bit all over the place, didn't look fluid, looked confusing to me.

Work to do.

Osborn isn't a fullback? No shit Sherlock, he isn't even a good footballer, should never start a game again, unless we're in deep shit injury wise. The bloke was embarrassing tonight.

 

[SB_90]

that was a frustrating night. i think we can agree that slav got his tactics wrong. Bowyer deserves credit. did well tactically & took advantage of our shocking marking at the back post. everytime osborn left people unmarked

but we can forgive jokakavic for some of this. as with covid issues we only just had 1 proper preseason game. im sure we could all see the 2 forwards & heavily reliant on pure pace, trying to get in behind wasnt working after 25 mins, especially when we were completely bypassing mcgoldrick. we needed mousset or burke

we much got better towards the end of 2nd when we played into feet. creating things instead of hoofing it to Birmingham centre backs. but many had inches either way. but there still enough the to know we can be in the mix.

yes we should had a pen. but VAR wouldn't have solved anything. as PL have proven last 2 years its useless & how many times did they completely miss incidents like this because they were more interested if toenails are offside

 

[Kev Gee]

Time for calm heads. Although I said that our squad needed freshening up in pre season. The problem is no one will want to take the majority of our players (except the quality ones we have) so we are pretty stuck atm.

EDIT -I can see a couple of incomings this week hopefully to give us some legs in midfield and at the back.

 

[Edgar Allan Poo]

First off, the fans made a cauldron of noise to begin with until they realised that although we had gone to the feast we were actually being served Ryvita and with no toppings.

Patient passing mostly on the deck and not an overlapping centre back in sight but ultimately it just wasn't effective. In reality we never really worried them.

Game one though, we go again against the mighty Carlisle.

 

[bakeblade]

Nobody is the right manager for the squad which we have.

It is hopelessly unbalanced with pretty much nobody in midfield, no wing back cover (when we were playihg 3-5-2), no centre back cover, too many goalkeepers (though I remain convinced that Wes Foderingham is actually a hologram and not an actual person), but a large collection of forwards who for the past year have been practicing their art in farmyards with banjos.

You're correct in saying that the previous incumbent did brilliantly to build a team. You missed out the bit where he ended up leaving it in a sorry state.

Too true, Wilder has left us in such a mess it's going to take time and money to sort it out. I just hope Slavs the man to sort it out, we just need to lower our expectations for this season.

 

[VwBlade]

Think you are clever big gob? News flash, you are not.

Yes I am

 

[blade.i.am]

Can understand why folks are pissed off. After all, our last manager had a barn-storming start in League 1 didn’t he?

 

[CarlMcBlade]

I think we need a bigger boat....

 

[St Albans Blade]

Just in case he’s needed by Christmas, Alexander Blessin can be contacted at KV Oostende on
+32 059 70 36 10.

 

[robbiez666]

Worrying thing is moose will be out for 4-6 weeks with the hamstring injury and return unfit fat moose again

Let's be honest, he wouldn't be on a 6 if he played 90 minutes
He was sweating like he'd run a marathon after 30!

 

[Begley]

Back in the '16 PL season, my team (Villa) were relegated along with Newcastle. Newcastle lost their opening 2 games and their fans were wetting their knickers and saying it was a disaster. Newcastle went on to romp the Championship that season and went straight back up. There is hope