What a fucking atrocious, appalling game. No way of sweetening the pill, we have the capability to come to Bramall Lane on a bank holiday in front of a decent crowd, with an expectation to win and stay up with the running pack and put in such a watery, negative performance that a struggling club like Reading can come and take three points off us. Compared with other defeats at the Lane where at least we could debate and reflect that maybe we were robbed or we deserved at least a point, none of those chimps in red and white deserved anything today. It was that bad. It wasn't as if we were dicked. Had we been outplayed and outperformed I could take it.
Reading - yeah okay ... they have Paul Ince and all that but they weren't Forest or Fulham or anything of the teams which could cause us problems. But that's just it, isn't it? They fucking well did cause us problems. I have no real idea what the fucking gameplan is these days. Back a couple of seasons you could see what we were all about. Marauding wingbacks and overlapping centrebacks, Norwood spraying balls wide, cleaver one twos up the flanks and someone, anyone, who could fucking cross and it was Leon or Billy (or Fleck or Duffy) who was johnny on the spot. Then that formation started to collapse, we lost key players, lost the marauding, people forgot which way was forward and oppositions just shepherded us into the kill zone out wide and the forwards were starved of opportunities. Wilder insisted on still playing that shit though because firstly the players knew nothing else and also because he himself had no fucking plan b. Slav tried to change it, the players rebelled and now we have Hecky allowing his players to go back to that shit when the components are nowhere near what they were back then.
It's the fault of certain legacy players and yes, today I am going back to Norwood but we played right into his lap today by endlessly faffing about passing the ball across the back three where he was lurking with intent as an extra centre back. I suppose now he's actually scored a fucking goal and had a few passable games he thinks it's time to revert back to type and launch daft balls across the pitch to people who can't just take it down and move forward into danger areas. Again he's pumping these passes to George and Enda who have real fucking difficulty getting them down and facing their goal. It does get taken down yeah, but it then - AGAIN - goes fucking backwards. It's almost as if all the players have been briefed that the only player allowed to make the ball go forward is actually Norwood. And when he does, there is zero-point-zero net worth in the pass, because it ends up at Norwood's feet again (or in the opposition's possession)
But let's face it - the midfield today was paltry, first division horseshit. Hourihane and Osborn were ineffective and when Hecky tweaked it in the second half and brought our saviour on it just looked like shit in a breadcake rather than batter. The midfield is the engine room of the football team. They are the creatives, the stoppers, the linkmen and the ones who dig the tunnel to goals. Our first half three today looked completely devoid of any ideas or capability to link either with themselves, or with wingbacks and front men. Their only route was backwards and Reading ran fucking riot.
Behind them we are looking shockingly poor without Basham. I cannot believe he sat the second half out today with George occupying his billet. Baldock is not a centreback. In fact recently I'm not sure what he is but a truculent, arsey, middling footballer.
And up front we look completely dead without Billy Sharp. Oliver McBurnie is not a Sheffield United player any more for me. We can't bring him into the game or play to any strengths we imagine he has and he looks like a Conference clogger. I actually texted my mate who couldn't watch the game and said 'If McBurnie scores, I will eat my pubes'. So confident was I, I actually wagered chowing down on the hair around my unmentionables against that poppo scoring. What the fuck were fans doing applauding him as he walked round the pitch having been subbed early in the second? He hasn't scored for fucking years! Injuries-sminjuries. Billy has been injured. So have other players. But they've fucking scored. His and other attempts at injecting some spark into the attack were so damned misplaced also. Is anyone THAT confident we will make the playoffs, let alone get through and win at Wembley?
Anyway:
Foderingham 5/10: Had some shots at him. Not much to save. Mebbe he could have done better with their winner. Who fucking cares?
Baldock 4/10: Usual overly-aggressive shithousery and was left wanting too many times. Maybe his love affair with SUFC is at the bendy-lob-on-stage now
Uremovic 4/10: Underperformed and laid their goal on with a telegraphed pass. Not sure what the fuck Hecky was doing him replacing him with Baldock
Egan 5/10: Barely that. Now looking more like he is on his beam ends with being at BDTBL and the constant shitness. Strange how our goal came from Norwood feeding him in from the middle of the park.
Davies 3/10: Really substandard and not as good as C3PO. Imagine saying that back in October? Missed yet another free header on the six yard line.
Stevens 5/10: Pretty anonymous really. And still shite at crossing
Norwood 4/10: Back to Hollywood. Fuck me this bloke can't cross at all and on minute one, the ball ends up in the BLUT. Shit passing too.
Hourihane 3.10: One word - underwhelming. And he wants an extension of his loan or a permanent transfer next season folks. Anyone who says it should happen shouts at traffic and lives in a skip
Osborn 4.5/10: Dismal. Simply 'running about' doesn't win football games.
MGW 4/10: Piss poor today. Greedy and clumsy.
McBurnie 2/10: Really, really dreadful. In May, he should be allowed to go and find himself again at Matlock Town or summat.
Berge 4/10: Another one who can gladly leave for me. Thinks he has more time on the ball than he actually does. Putting in one decent performance in five matches doesn't make you a Lane hero
Jebbison 2/10: We were all eager to have him back but we were wrong. He's still raw and not at Championship level. Today he was shite with pumpgas croutons
Ndaiye 3/10: Can't think he did anything but kick the ball in the net to give us fleeting hope this shower of bellends gave a fuck. A minute later we knew the truth.
HJ&SM: Hang your heads in shame, chaps. Your staring lineup was set up to fuck up and your team didn't deserve to win. You'd best fucking sort this out, get Basham back in and get this team refocussed otherwise the resurgence of hope you brought with be just a piss in the bath.
Crowd - them 'is there a fire drill'? I think we deserved that.
pommpey
