My take ...

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pommpey

THE FUTURE ... AS IT USED TO BE
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Pushing it a bit to expect a vintage performance with many players having 180 minutes of international games recently and a plethora of positions filled by oddly placed players, especially against a Brum side there to do a job on us. On balance they seemed the better team for long periods despite us putting together a fairly decent amount of minutes in possession if for nowt much end product. Mind you, us having possession and control and the front two hardly touching it is very much the recent history of Sheffield United. Lost count of the games where 'all the stats' show us well on top yet the hidden stats - how many shots on target we get off and goals we've scored - show a different story. Many teams have simply mopped us up and hit us on the counter or like today, capitalised on a moment of slack defending to nick crucial points off us. We'd best sharpen up for Tuesday because the QPR game will be possibly more pressured and they don't tend to sit as much as Birmingham today. We also need to capitalise on chances if they are in short supply. Two free headers and a one on one dealt with is poor form and if punished, put us at 4-1 today and feared.

Foderingham 7/10: Some good, reflex saves today and confident collections of high balls
Baldock 6/10: Drops a point for his poor distribution but certainly got stuck in a lot more
Basham 6.5/10: Deft on teh ball at times and managed to get forward but ... I dunno ... he seems leggy this season? Or is it just me?
Egan 5/10: Heart of a poor defence of a long punt which cost us the equaliser. He was also somewhat bullied a bit by Hogan
RND 7.5/10: Great game from a determined and committed player who has come on leaps and bounds.
Khadra 6/10: No idea really why we have an AM playing at LWB. He's got some good pace but really was a fish out of water today, despite trying some clever stuff first half
Doyle 8/10: Really impressed with this lad. Does all the spadework in midfield and came up with several innovative ideas whilst putting a shift in defending and breaking up opposition advances. No idea why he was subbed. Great free kick which clipped the bar
Norwood 7/10: Impressed me today. He is now passing effectively on the ground which gives us a couple of seconds less to turn the attack than it does pumped long. Tackled and blocked well also, and the obligatory daft yellow card
Berge 5/10: Typical hot/cold performance from Berge. There are times when the opposition doesn't even look like they know how to dispossess Berge then he vanishes for ten minutes. I don't get it
N'Daiye 4/10: Lacklustre but had no feed. First touch at times poor. Missed two sitters
McBurnie 7/10: Again, not fed much and as CaptainMorgan on here says, he needs to RefManage better. Cracking goal from him capitalising on a loose ball

Bogle 5/10: So-so return from him where he can only improve. Out of real position and at times left wanting, and they knew that and pressed him
Brewster 5/10: Didn't see much of him. Mind you, he didn't get much of a chance.
Sharp 5/10: Nice to see him back. Loses a point for missing the one on one
McAtee 4/10: Loses a point because his first touch was to bypass Baldock and give a throw away

pommpey
 



Pushing it a bit to expect a vintage performance with many players having 180 minutes of international games recently and a plethora of positions filled by oddly placed players, especially against a Brum side there to do a job on us. On balance they seemed the better team for long periods despite us putting together a fairly decent amount of minutes in possession if for nowt much end product. Mind you, us having possession and control and the front two hardly touching it is very much the recent history of Sheffield United. Lost count of the games where 'all the stats' show us well on top yet the hidden stats - how many shots on target we get off and goals we've scored - show a different story. Many teams have simply mopped us up and hit us on the counter or like today, capitalised on a moment of slack defending to nick crucial points off us. We'd best sharpen up for Tuesday because the QPR game will be possibly more pressured and they don't tend to sit as much as Birmingham today. We also need to capitalise on chances if they are in short supply. Two free headers and a one on one dealt with is poor form and if punished, put us at 4-1 today and feared.

Foderingham 7/10: Some good, reflex saves today and confident collections of high balls
Baldock 6/10: Drops a point for his poor distribution but certainly got stuck in a lot more
Basham 6.5/10: Deft on teh ball at times and managed to get forward but ... I dunno ... he seems leggy this season? Or is it just me?
Egan 5/10: A poor defence which cost us the equaliser. He was also somewhat bullied a bit by Hogan
RND 7.5/10: Great game from a determined and committed player who has come on leaps and bounds.
Khadra 6/10: No idea really why we have an AM playing at LWB. He's got some good pace but really was a fish out of water today, despite trying some clever stuff first half
Doyle 8/10: Really impressed with this lad. Does all the spadework in midfield and came up with several innovative ideas whilst putting a shift in defending and breaking up opposition advances. No idea why he was subbed. Great free kick which clipped the bar
Norwood 7/10: Impressed me today. He is now passing effectively on the ground which gives us a couple of seconds less to turn the attack than it does pumped long. Tackled and blocked well also, and the obligatory daft yellow card
Berge 5/10: Typical hot/cold performance from Berge. There are times when the opposition doesn't even look like they know how to dispossess Berge then he vanishes for ten minutes. I don't get it
N'Daiye 4/10: Lacklustre but had no feed. First touch at times poor. Missed two sitters
McBurnie 7/10: Again, not fed much and as CaptainMorgan on here says, he needs to RefManage better. Cracking goal from him capitalising on a loose ball

Bogle 5/10: So-so return from him where he can only improve. Out of real position and at times left wanting, and they knew that and pressed him
Brewster 5/10: Didn't see much of him. Mind you, he didn't get much of a chance.
Sharp 5/10: Nice to see him back. Loses a point for missing the one on one
McAtee 4/10: Loses a point because his first touch was to bypass Baldock and give a throw away

pommpey
Top of the League

pommpey
 
Harsh on Egan who saved us a few times in the first half with some decent blocks, but where was he or others for that matter for deeneys goal? Did they think he was offside? Need to see a replay
 
I just thought it was a fair result today.

They were difficult to break down, came with 2 experienced forwards who were always going to get a sniff.

As half expected the international break was good because it gave injured players time to recuperate and I'm sure having Bogle back in the mix will be an excellent filip. The downside was always going to be the jet setting of the squad. As per usual most of the international teams took the piss and had two matches so in many cases it would have meant two lots of flights and a late return to Sheffield. Personally I hope they all fake injury next time!

I hope we aren't going to become those self-entitled fans who throw a fit when we draw.

You look at the league and we are well set with the jet-healed start we made. 24 points from 11 is very good. Yes Norwich are in there with a narrow win, but it's two who go up automatically.

If the rest are topped by Reading then we can retain some confidence. Burnley also dropped points today and despite them getting some early plaudits over a full season I am not convinced the goals are there for them. Watford will be a wildcard but they had a difficult start after catching us cold.

End of the day, in a difficult afternoon with tiredness and limited prep, we've added another point to the total. Pro-rated it would still be 100 points.

Some days it just doesn't come together and you take your point in those circumstances and move on. We lost this game last year so when the how are we doing vs last time thread is updated we'll be a further point to the good.

I wasn't against the subs. Despite Sunjihi mentioning the team, I think many telegraphed that. When you think they had Hogan and Deeney up front, it wasn't the game to throw Gordon in there. I always expected Bogle to get some more minutes in and fullback seemed obvious. Sharp coming on for McBurnie when the latter had been booked also made some sense. Slightly surprising Brewster for Doyle but he's also played international matches and maybe he wasn't fit, we don't know. If Brewster hammered that shot just inside the post it would have seemed inspired.

Billy, you get so used to seeing him bag, but the ball didn't quite run and he never got it really out of his feet. On the flip side Hogan should have scored if he connected with that deep flick on.

All in all, a fair result. We aren't going to win them all. Without wanting to sound like Clough, if you don't win then it is important to take a point, which we've done.

I'm sure with more time to prepare we'll move up a gear against QPR.
 
Pushing it a bit to expect a vintage performance with many players having 180 minutes of international games recently and a plethora of positions filled by oddly placed players, especially against a Brum side there to do a job on us. On balance they seemed the better team for long periods despite us putting together a fairly decent amount of minutes in possession if for nowt much end product. Mind you, us having possession and control and the front two hardly touching it is very much the recent history of Sheffield United. Lost count of the games where 'all the stats' show us well on top yet the hidden stats - how many shots on target we get off and goals we've scored - show a different story. Many teams have simply mopped us up and hit us on the counter or like today, capitalised on a moment of slack defending to nick crucial points off us. We'd best sharpen up for Tuesday because the QPR game will be possibly more pressured and they don't tend to sit as much as Birmingham today. We also need to capitalise on chances if they are in short supply. Two free headers and a one on one dealt with is poor form and if punished, put us at 4-1 today and feared.

Foderingham 7/10: Some good, reflex saves today and confident collections of high balls
Baldock 6/10: Drops a point for his poor distribution but certainly got stuck in a lot more
Basham 6.5/10: Deft on teh ball at times and managed to get forward but ... I dunno ... he seems leggy this season? Or is it just me?
Egan 5/10: Heart of a poor defence of a long punt which cost us the equaliser. He was also somewhat bullied a bit by Hogan
RND 7.5/10: Great game from a determined and committed player who has come on leaps and bounds.
Khadra 6/10: No idea really why we have an AM playing at LWB. He's got some good pace but really was a fish out of water today, despite trying some clever stuff first half
Doyle 8/10: Really impressed with this lad. Does all the spadework in midfield and came up with several innovative ideas whilst putting a shift in defending and breaking up opposition advances. No idea why he was subbed. Great free kick which clipped the bar
Norwood 7/10: Impressed me today. He is now passing effectively on the ground which gives us a couple of seconds less to turn the attack than it does pumped long. Tackled and blocked well also, and the obligatory daft yellow card
Berge 5/10: Typical hot/cold performance from Berge. There are times when the opposition doesn't even look like they know how to dispossess Berge then he vanishes for ten minutes. I don't get it
N'Daiye 4/10: Lacklustre but had no feed. First touch at times poor. Missed two sitters
McBurnie 7/10: Again, not fed much and as CaptainMorgan on here says, he needs to RefManage better. Cracking goal from him capitalising on a loose ball

Bogle 5/10: So-so return from him where he can only improve. Out of real position and at times left wanting, and they knew that and pressed him
Brewster 5/10: Didn't see much of him. Mind you, he didn't get much of a chance.
Sharp 5/10: Nice to see him back. Loses a point for missing the one on one
McAtee 4/10: Loses a point because his first touch was to bypass Baldock and give a throw away

pommpey
Generous scores from you pommpey I was expecting 5's & 6's throughout
 
Think the only marks I'd disagree with pomps are Norwood- 6 for me thought his crossing was shit an he was back to his old tricks giving the ball away needlessly again.
Mcburnie -6 was poor, great finish which we love to see but the rest of his game meh it would be a 5 if he'd not scored.
Khadra- 4 not his fault the low mark but totally ineffective at LWB let this put to bed the stupid thought that some blades had that he can fill in at LWB never ever can or should he.
 
Khadra at LWB was bizarre (albeit not a conventional wing back, we looked to push RND wide when we felt comfortable to do so). Just play 4 at the back or stick Gordon in.

Didn't get the Doyle substitution, albeit I don't know if he was carrying a knock or we want him to do 90 on Tuesday but the obvious one to pull was Berge who looked shattered from the first minute.

Sharp has to score that at the end.

Take a point and move on.
 
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Interesting thing for me is that was the best Birmingham had to offer, we were at about 50% and bar from a complete fucking howler, they never looked like scoring. Says a lot about just how good we are when we're at it.

Thought we set up wrong today, the subs were fucking gash and as average as we were, we gifted them a point. Doyle was good, got subbed, McBurnie is the only one who can win headers in both boxes, he got subbed when we knew they'd start hitting high balls at us. Then all of a sudden Billy's on and we knock a couple of crosses in that he's never going to win. As to his one on one, he needs to come on when we're two or three goals up as he's not the lad he once was. Sad to say but there's no room for sentimentality in football, him coming on today smacked of just that.
 
Pushing it a bit to expect a vintage performance with many players having 180 minutes of international games recently and a plethora of positions filled by oddly placed players, especially against a Brum side there to do a job on us. On balance they seemed the better team for long periods despite us putting together a fairly decent amount of minutes in possession if for nowt much end product. Mind you, us having possession and control and the front two hardly touching it is very much the recent history of Sheffield United. Lost count of the games where 'all the stats' show us well on top yet the hidden stats - how many shots on target we get off and goals we've scored - show a different story. Many teams have simply mopped us up and hit us on the counter or like today, capitalised on a moment of slack defending to nick crucial points off us. We'd best sharpen up for Tuesday because the QPR game will be possibly more pressured and they don't tend to sit as much as Birmingham today. We also need to capitalise on chances if they are in short supply. Two free headers and a one on one dealt with is poor form and if punished, put us at 4-1 today and feared.

Foderingham 7/10: Some good, reflex saves today and confident collections of high balls
Baldock 6/10: Drops a point for his poor distribution but certainly got stuck in a lot more
Basham 6.5/10: Deft on teh ball at times and managed to get forward but ... I dunno ... he seems leggy this season? Or is it just me?
Egan 5/10: Heart of a poor defence of a long punt which cost us the equaliser. He was also somewhat bullied a bit by Hogan
RND 7.5/10: Great game from a determined and committed player who has come on leaps and bounds.
Khadra 6/10: No idea really why we have an AM playing at LWB. He's got some good pace but really was a fish out of water today, despite trying some clever stuff first half
Doyle 8/10: Really impressed with this lad. Does all the spadework in midfield and came up with several innovative ideas whilst putting a shift in defending and breaking up opposition advances. No idea why he was subbed. Great free kick which clipped the bar
Norwood 7/10: Impressed me today. He is now passing effectively on the ground which gives us a couple of seconds less to turn the attack than it does pumped long. Tackled and blocked well also, and the obligatory daft yellow card
Berge 5/10: Typical hot/cold performance from Berge. There are times when the opposition doesn't even look like they know how to dispossess Berge then he vanishes for ten minutes. I don't get it
N'Daiye 4/10: Lacklustre but had no feed. First touch at times poor. Missed two sitters
McBurnie 7/10: Again, not fed much and as CaptainMorgan on here says, he needs to RefManage better. Cracking goal from him capitalising on a loose ball

Bogle 5/10: So-so return from him where he can only improve. Out of real position and at times left wanting, and they knew that and pressed him
Brewster 5/10: Didn't see much of him. Mind you, he didn't get much of a chance.
Sharp 5/10: Nice to see him back. Loses a point for missing the one on one
McAtee 4/10: Loses a point because his first touch was to bypass Baldock and give a throw away

pommpey
A big plus for me was to see Bogle getting match time. Not being a football tactics type person I’m not sure what the thinking was behind playing Khadra where he was today. A lad who can create and threaten defences like he can seemed wasted to me. Obviously the management team have been brilliant this season so what do I know. It’s a long season with matches thick and fast, and injuries piling up1664646458826.png
 
A big plus for me was to see Bogle getting match time. Not being a football tactics type person I’m not sure what the thinking was behind playing Khadra where he was today. A lad who can create and threaten defences like he can seemed wasted to me. Obviously the management team have been brilliant this season so what do I know. It’s a long season with matches thick and fast, and injuries piling upView attachment 144878
WTF ‘s that purple object ?
 



Pushing it a bit to expect a vintage performance with many players having 180 minutes of international games recently and a plethora of positions filled by oddly placed players, especially against a Brum side there to do a job on us. On balance they seemed the better team for long periods despite us putting together a fairly decent amount of minutes in possession if for nowt much end product. Mind you, us having possession and control and the front two hardly touching it is very much the recent history of Sheffield United. Lost count of the games where 'all the stats' show us well on top yet the hidden stats - how many shots on target we get off and goals we've scored - show a different story. Many teams have simply mopped us up and hit us on the counter or like today, capitalised on a moment of slack defending to nick crucial points off us. We'd best sharpen up for Tuesday because the QPR game will be possibly more pressured and they don't tend to sit as much as Birmingham today. We also need to capitalise on chances if they are in short supply. Two free headers and a one on one dealt with is poor form and if punished, put us at 4-1 today and feared.

Foderingham 7/10: Some good, reflex saves today and confident collections of high balls
Baldock 6/10: Drops a point for his poor distribution but certainly got stuck in a lot more
Basham 6.5/10: Deft on teh ball at times and managed to get forward but ... I dunno ... he seems leggy this season? Or is it just me?
Egan 5/10: Heart of a poor defence of a long punt which cost us the equaliser. He was also somewhat bullied a bit by Hogan
RND 7.5/10: Great game from a determined and committed player who has come on leaps and bounds.
Khadra 6/10: No idea really why we have an AM playing at LWB. He's got some good pace but really was a fish out of water today, despite trying some clever stuff first half
Doyle 8/10: Really impressed with this lad. Does all the spadework in midfield and came up with several innovative ideas whilst putting a shift in defending and breaking up opposition advances. No idea why he was subbed. Great free kick which clipped the bar
Norwood 7/10: Impressed me today. He is now passing effectively on the ground which gives us a couple of seconds less to turn the attack than it does pumped long. Tackled and blocked well also, and the obligatory daft yellow card
Berge 5/10: Typical hot/cold performance from Berge. There are times when the opposition doesn't even look like they know how to dispossess Berge then he vanishes for ten minutes. I don't get it
N'Daiye 4/10: Lacklustre but had no feed. First touch at times poor. Missed two sitters
McBurnie 7/10: Again, not fed much and as CaptainMorgan on here says, he needs to RefManage better. Cracking goal from him capitalising on a loose ball

Bogle 5/10: So-so return from him where he can only improve. Out of real position and at times left wanting, and they knew that and pressed him
Brewster 5/10: Didn't see much of him. Mind you, he didn't get much of a chance.
Sharp 5/10: Nice to see him back. Loses a point for missing the one on one
McAtee 4/10: Loses a point because his first touch was to bypass Baldock and give a throw away

pommpey
Thanks mate been on a plane all day and your reports always make them better 👍
 
Pushing it a bit to expect a vintage performance with many players having 180 minutes of international games recently and a plethora of positions filled by oddly placed players, especially against a Brum side there to do a job on us. On balance they seemed the better team for long periods despite us putting together a fairly decent amount of minutes in possession if for nowt much end product. Mind you, us having possession and control and the front two hardly touching it is very much the recent history of Sheffield United. Lost count of the games where 'all the stats' show us well on top yet the hidden stats - how many shots on target we get off and goals we've scored - show a different story. Many teams have simply mopped us up and hit us on the counter or like today, capitalised on a moment of slack defending to nick crucial points off us. We'd best sharpen up for Tuesday because the QPR game will be possibly more pressured and they don't tend to sit as much as Birmingham today. We also need to capitalise on chances if they are in short supply. Two free headers and a one on one dealt with is poor form and if punished, put us at 4-1 today and feared.

Foderingham 7/10: Some good, reflex saves today and confident collections of high balls
Baldock 6/10: Drops a point for his poor distribution but certainly got stuck in a lot more
Basham 6.5/10: Deft on teh ball at times and managed to get forward but ... I dunno ... he seems leggy this season? Or is it just me?
Egan 5/10: Heart of a poor defence of a long punt which cost us the equaliser. He was also somewhat bullied a bit by Hogan
RND 7.5/10: Great game from a determined and committed player who has come on leaps and bounds.
Khadra 6/10: No idea really why we have an AM playing at LWB. He's got some good pace but really was a fish out of water today, despite trying some clever stuff first half
Doyle 8/10: Really impressed with this lad. Does all the spadework in midfield and came up with several innovative ideas whilst putting a shift in defending and breaking up opposition advances. No idea why he was subbed. Great free kick which clipped the bar
Norwood 7/10: Impressed me today. He is now passing effectively on the ground which gives us a couple of seconds less to turn the attack than it does pumped long. Tackled and blocked well also, and the obligatory daft yellow card
Berge 5/10: Typical hot/cold performance from Berge. There are times when the opposition doesn't even look like they know how to dispossess Berge then he vanishes for ten minutes. I don't get it
N'Daiye 4/10: Lacklustre but had no feed. First touch at times poor. Missed two sitters
McBurnie 7/10: Again, not fed much and as CaptainMorgan on here says, he needs to RefManage better. Cracking goal from him capitalising on a loose ball

Bogle 5/10: So-so return from him where he can only improve. Out of real position and at times left wanting, and they knew that and pressed him
Brewster 5/10: Didn't see much of him. Mind you, he didn't get much of a chance.
Sharp 5/10: Nice to see him back. Loses a point for missing the one on one
McAtee 4/10: Loses a point because his first touch was to bypass Baldock and give a throw away

pommpey
I think we saw this one differently to be honest.

1st half they let us have all the ball and played really deep. They had one chance on the break blocked by Egan. Going forward it was really tough and we just didn't show that bit of quality that we've been able to show recently.

2nd half was a totally different game as I think their manager must have realised that another 45 minutes of camping on the penalty area would probably mean a 1-0 defeat. They played 20 yards further up the pitch and that certainly didn't suit Khadra, amongst others, and they probalby edged it. I agree that Doyle being subbed was an odd one as he looks a real footballer. Let's hope it's not a fucking injury.

I don't recall Wes making any saves in the game at all. The stats say that they had 2 on target, one the goal and I can't remember the other. I'm not sure what you mean by "Heart of a poor defence of a long punt which cost us the equaliser", but the goal is a reight fuck up from an average ball. Bash goes walkabout and Sander's flick on is a shit defensive contribution. That one is on Bash I'm afraid.

As you say we had 3 other good chances and could have won, but today with Ndayie and Berge both having an off day and now selecting attacking midfielders at left back, a draw felt about right at the end.
 
Foderingham 6
Baldock 6
Basham 8
Egan 6
Norrington-Davies 7
Khadra 5
Berge 6
Norwood 8
Doyle 8
Ndiaye 5
McBurnie 5
 
Thanks for the report. A point is a point and Top O The League to ya.

Egan is getting a bit of a ribbing for being in no mans land, onside etc etc for their goal but WTF was Berge doing heading it on cos he touched it. He is another tall player who cant head the ball when he needs to.
 
I just thought it was a fair result today.

They were difficult to break down, came with 2 experienced forwards who were always going to get a sniff.

As half expected the international break was good because it gave injured players time to recuperate and I'm sure having Bogle back in the mix will be an excellent filip. The downside was always going to be the jet setting of the squad. As per usual most of the international teams took the piss and had two matches so in many cases it would have meant two lots of flights and a late return to Sheffield. Personally I hope they all fake injury next time!

I hope we aren't going to become those self-entitled fans who throw a fit when we draw.

You look at the league and we are well set with the jet-healed start we made. 24 points from 11 is very good. Yes Norwich are in there with a narrow win, but it's two who go up automatically.

If the rest are topped by Reading then we can retain some confidence. Burnley also dropped points today and despite them getting some early plaudits over a full season I am not convinced the goals are there for them. Watford will be a wildcard but they had a difficult start after catching us cold.

End of the day, in a difficult afternoon with tiredness and limited prep, we've added another point to the total. Pro-rated it would still be 100 points.

Some days it just doesn't come together and you take your point in those circumstances and move on. We lost this game last year so when the how are we doing vs last time thread is updated we'll be a further point to the good.

I wasn't against the subs. Despite Sunjihi mentioning the team, I think many telegraphed that. When you think they had Hogan and Deeney up front, it wasn't the game to throw Gordon in there. I always expected Bogle to get some more minutes in and fullback seemed obvious. Sharp coming on for McBurnie when the latter had been booked also made some sense. Slightly surprising Brewster for Doyle but he's also played international matches and maybe he wasn't fit, we don't know. If Brewster hammered that shot just inside the post it would have seemed inspired.

Billy, you get so used to seeing him bag, but the ball didn't quite run and he never got it really out of his feet. On the flip side Hogan should have scored if he connected with that deep flick on.

All in all, a fair result. We aren't going to win them all. Without wanting to sound like Clough, if you don't win then it is important to take a point, which we've done.

I'm sure with more time to prepare we'll move up a gear against QPR.
Yup

This
 
Pushing it a bit to expect a vintage performance with many players having 180 minutes of international games recently and a plethora of positions filled by oddly placed players, especially against a Brum side there to do a job on us. On balance they seemed the better team for long periods despite us putting together a fairly decent amount of minutes in possession if for nowt much end product. Mind you, us having possession and control and the front two hardly touching it is very much the recent history of Sheffield United. Lost count of the games where 'all the stats' show us well on top yet the hidden stats - how many shots on target we get off and goals we've scored - show a different story. Many teams have simply mopped us up and hit us on the counter or like today, capitalised on a moment of slack defending to nick crucial points off us. We'd best sharpen up for Tuesday because the QPR game will be possibly more pressured and they don't tend to sit as much as Birmingham today. We also need to capitalise on chances if they are in short supply. Two free headers and a one on one dealt with is poor form and if punished, put us at 4-1 today and feared.

Foderingham 7/10: Some good, reflex saves today and confident collections of high balls
Baldock 6/10: Drops a point for his poor distribution but certainly got stuck in a lot more
Basham 6.5/10: Deft on teh ball at times and managed to get forward but ... I dunno ... he seems leggy this season? Or is it just me?
Egan 5/10: Heart of a poor defence of a long punt which cost us the equaliser. He was also somewhat bullied a bit by Hogan
RND 7.5/10: Great game from a determined and committed player who has come on leaps and bounds.
Khadra 6/10: No idea really why we have an AM playing at LWB. He's got some good pace but really was a fish out of water today, despite trying some clever stuff first half
Doyle 8/10: Really impressed with this lad. Does all the spadework in midfield and came up with several innovative ideas whilst putting a shift in defending and breaking up opposition advances. No idea why he was subbed. Great free kick which clipped the bar
Norwood 7/10: Impressed me today. He is now passing effectively on the ground which gives us a couple of seconds less to turn the attack than it does pumped long. Tackled and blocked well also, and the obligatory daft yellow card
Berge 5/10: Typical hot/cold performance from Berge. There are times when the opposition doesn't even look like they know how to dispossess Berge then he vanishes for ten minutes. I don't get it
N'Daiye 4/10: Lacklustre but had no feed. First touch at times poor. Missed two sitters
McBurnie 7/10: Again, not fed much and as CaptainMorgan on here says, he needs to RefManage better. Cracking goal from him capitalising on a loose ball

Bogle 5/10: So-so return from him where he can only improve. Out of real position and at times left wanting, and they knew that and pressed him
Brewster 5/10: Didn't see much of him. Mind you, he didn't get much of a chance.
Sharp 5/10: Nice to see him back. Loses a point for missing the one on one
McAtee 4/10: Loses a point because his first touch was to bypass Baldock and give a throw away

pommpey
Agree with most of that, but McAtee’s pass to Baldock was perfect had Baldock not started to go and then stopped because he thought M was going inside. Different footballing brains ?
 
Think the only marks I'd disagree with pomps are Norwood- 6 for me thought his crossing was shit an he was back to his old tricks giving the ball away needlessly again.
Mcburnie -6 was poor, great finish which we love to see but the rest of his game meh it would be a 5 if he'd not scored.
Khadra- 4 not his fault the low mark but totally ineffective at LWB let this put to bed the stupid thought that some blades had that he can fill in at LWB never ever can or should he.
So who would you play at lwb given the injuries and Bogle not being yet ready ?
 
after the dust has settled lets have a think about the game
first half 2 banks of 5 defend for lumps up top,them not us
second half their manager realising it was only a matter of time, before we scored , switched it to press further up the pitch
gave us a bit more room Ollie Mac does what hes actualy paid to do
unfortunately Egan was left in no man's land , and a man { Bashams } scored an easy goal
Birmingham then resorted to a Hull at home last season game
we're going to get {poor } teams come to Lane and play like this,
it is the reason we play the system we do after our Turd division last season
the better teams will come and try to play football , that's when our better team, and squad will come into its own , and destroy teams ,
Reading /Blackburn while maybe not being the better teams showed what can happen when it clicks
QPR will be a different game completely they will come to play football,that's when our players should be able to show why we're top of the league
thought Berge - Illy - Bash had sub par games
Kadra out of position affected that whole side of the team at times,which wasnt his fault just what our injury ravaged squad had to deal with
Ollie Mac was being targeted by their players so in my view right decision to take him off
win 20 of the games left , win promotion
As I predicted both last & and this season
 
Brum came to Bramall Lane with dark tactics, wasting time falling in a heap so the trainer comes on nowt wrong.I am sure most fans will know where I,m comin from.Both linesmen if in doubt give the throw-in to Brum. the referee was rubbish the Brum center backs fouling and having digs at Mcbernie. trying to get a reaction. so he would be sent off. The Blades were under par. Berge. Khadra was poor. we dint lose so onward to the next game QPR on Tuesday at Bramall Lane.
 
So who would you play at lwb given the injuries and Bogle not being yet ready ?
Not an attack midfielder that's for certain. Maybe be brave an change shape but I'm not the manager so I can't say who should could or shouldn't play LWB all I know is that Khadra can't or should again play LWB so with the options we had i'dve put Gordon in the back 3 and RND lwb which is natural for both players.
 
Brum came to Bramall Lane with dark tactics, wasting time falling in a heap so the trainer comes on nowt wrong.I am sure most fans will know where I,m comin from.Both linesmen if in doubt give the throw-in to Brum. the referee was rubbish the Brum center backs fouling and having digs at Mcbernie. trying to get a reaction. so he would be sent off. The Blades were under par. Berge. Khadra was poor. we dint lose so onward to the next game QPR on Tuesday at Bramall Lane.
I thought the ref was decent, let the game flow, with no help from the 2 muppets with flags. 2 awful subs by Heckingbottom, just cant get my head round Doyle and McBurnie getting hooked. Should have been Berge and Ndaiye.
 



Khadra at LWB was bizarre (albeit not a conventional wing back, we looked to push RND wide when we felt comfortable to do so). Just play 4 at the back or stick Gordon in.

I don't think it was that bizarre. Loads predicted that team before it was announced. I think PH justified it pretty well. Khadra plays wide left ordinarily. We expected to have more of the ball and he wanted Khadra to play advanced when we had possession. It didn't work perfectly but I also don't think it was as disastrous as some have made out.

Interesting thing for me is that was the best Birmingham had to offer, we were at about 50% and bar from a complete fucking howler, they never looked like scoring. Says a lot about just how good we are when we're at it.

I don't know how much you buy into XG stats, I know they're not for everyone, but Birmingham very marginally outperformed us, 0.96-1.00.

RND (not Egan) blocked a very good chance they had in the first half and later on the ball very almost fell to one of theirs right in the middle of the six yard box.

I thought it was a really solid away team performance. They stifled our front three and limited them (and us) to very little, whilst also posing a threat on the counter attack.
They fully deserved their point and we will need to be better than that on Tuesday or we'll get nothing. QPR have a much better attack than BC.
 

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