My take ...

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I don't bet, but if I did I've have a tenner on us being 3rd at 5.00 next Saturday. It was abject and hopeless, and did remind me of that day against Scunny, but at least it was warm and sunny then!
Berge should have played his last game for us, he really doesn't give a toss, but he wasn't on his own.
We do have good players but today Messi would have been screwed in this team. I genuinely felt sorry for McBurnie and Ndiaye, who without any support did at least have a go. Sort of. Ish.
I've already decided that I'm not going to the playoff final, but I think the team have made that decision for themselves too!!

Great report Pommps, but overmarked!!
 
The writing has been on the wall a long time. McBurnie and Ndiaye marooned up front, and a pedestrian midfield.
I’ve lost patience with Berge, seems like he can’t wait to get shot of the ball.
Think it might be time to go 4-4-2, push Bogle and Ahmedhodzic into Midfield, bring in George at Full Back, and drop Fleck and Berge.
 
What a f##kin SUFC mess we once again manage to get ourselves into. Proper conundrum which I aint got any idea or thought how to solve.
We haven't put in a really good performance since Burnley but we've managed ( until recently) to scrape by whilst holding on to a 1 goal lead or scoring a last minute equaliser. We haven't beaten any of the top 8 clubs this year & now we are getting beat regularly.
Middlesborough have momentum which is massive in any sport.
Do we continue playing the same side & tactics & hope to stumble over the line or do we change things at exactly the wrong time of the season. I have no idea.
Personally I think I've seen this one play out before!! Semi final & play off final defeat . Followed by 10 years of wilderness.
 
Stretch said:
Fucking furious with that 'performance' today.

And I don't normally say this pommpey but I think your scores are generous.

Felt for Ndiaye. He can't do it all on his own and noone is on his level at the moment.
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Agree 100

Ndiaye must look around him and bar JLT think wtf, if I was him I’d be priming my agent to find me a better team, same as Kane at spurs

Weakness personified from manager downward today, and I feel for the lad
 
I honestly thought when my daughter was born on the 29th December i'd massively miss attending BDTBL for the remainder of the 2022/2023 season.

I've managed to see a few of the games live on sky or on streams including todays and christ almighty how we've deteriorated over the season.

I think regretably all the injuries are catching up with us and players like Norwood and Egan (the spine of the team) are basically mentally and physically ******. In particular with Norwood when he plays well, the team plays well but hes been very poor the last half dozen or so games. I'll not comment on the likes of Lowe, Fleck, Berge and Bogle.

I don't have words for how bad today was apart from to say the 27000 poor sods in attendance have my deepest sympathies.

I'll Be back at the lane in August for the start of the 2023/2024 championship season
 
It’s not very often I’m this scathing but put your fkg tin hat on Hecky because that was fkg awful !!
I can’t believe he picked the same old boys club midfield that let us us down so badly last weekend … when I saw the team sheet I said have these 3 twats in midfield gambling debts to you ???
Sorry Mr Safe you can’t make the big calls when it comes to picking your first 11 ., how in fucks name can you only introduce Doyle & McAtee with 20 mins to go , fkg Doyle ran the midfield against Spurs .. his reward two 20 mins sub appearances ?? We never got behind there back line in the previous 70 mins ?? Shall I change at half time because we’re getting nowhere … no .. my substitute stop watch says no .. it’s on the fkg hour like every game .. hour comes around & he brings on a fkg forward .. because we’re creating loads and not putting them in the onion bag ??? ..err no we’ve created absolutely fuck all for the front men .. queue 70 mins brings the City 2 on and we look better .., too loyal to past it brigade & no bottle to take off Berge… we deserved fuck all and the goals & creativity are drying up quicker than a nuns chuff . there keeper hasn’t had a shot save .not that they were dangerous ., but we’ve lost to fit, hard working bang average side similar to most we’ve faced & unconvincingly beaten & now getting found out , on that count we don’t deserve a top two position . Jesus when you compare us to the side & calibre of sides we played to get promoted 3 years ago there’s no fkg comparison
Play the 2 city lads or we’re going fkg nowhere , grow a pair Hecky FFS or it’s game over ⚔️
 
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varkanoid said:
I think SUTV summed it up "how can a 5ft 6" player beat Berge to a header" that was basically the midfield. Embarrassing. Felt sorry for Norwood having a ghost one side and a League one Henry the other.
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Norwood didn't play well today and this selection and tactic hasn't worked well for him or the other midfielders for many weeks. Mebbes the manager might need to change it?!
 

Weasel said:
To have got to half time still drawing with that starting 11 was a gift. He could change it, kicked the players up the arse at HT and we could have gone on to win the game still.

The useless prick still couldn't see what was in front of his own eyes and refused to change it until we had gone behind. Even then the subs were like picking a name out of hat. How the fuck did Baldock not get a game today? Jebbo? Doyle not starting after being MoM against Spurs? What the fuck is wrong with the man?
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Concur 100% with what you say
I listened to it, audio only on line, and it was obvious to me, Doyle and McAtee should have come on at half time.
More importantly I listened to Heckingbottom's post match interview on radio Sheffield P&G at around 1730.
The man sounded shell shocked,
Stated, Blades must play more on the front foot and not in such a negative way.
Sounded like a confession for how he has had the team play recently.
 
pommpey said:
A quite simply abject and pathetic performance today at BDTBL. We've gone from being worthy contenders to vulnerable victims in six drawn out months. As people say, this is on Heckingbottom and him, and his team, need to sort this shit out. If anyone has any confidence about this formation with these players after today then I'd be grateful for your working out because across the park it is a progressive regression to standards aligned with the failures in our relegation season under Wilder. We look afraid to take the fucking game by the throat and choke the living shit out of it. In short, we look like fucking imposters in the autos, and teams like Luton look far more worthy. Wednesday looms ... both as a team and a day in the calendar and for both to not make us even more tragic we need to get our heads out of our arses, admit the standard format is piss poor and start playing the football that is needed to get us promoted. If we don't, we all know what the consequences are and they are heartbreaking and humiliating in equal measures. Just extrapolate our start of next season with this lot - or possibly those still clinging onto a contract - and minus our only real hope Illiman Ndaiye. Those we haven't sold for a song to survive will still be here - Fleck, Stevens, Basham, Egan, Norwood, Sharp (possibly) ... all them who we came up from Div One with practically. That and millions owing and some shady bloke owning the club with no real plan for regeneration and no one signed in the TW. That is the spectre that haunts us. Today was one of the biggest shit or bust moments we had and we blew it. It's not all down to us now. It's all on Middlesbrough and they look very confident and capable.

As usual we started the first five being mopped up and dealt with knowing that this was just us going through the Bramall Lane motions. The rest of the half was spent benignly trying to tin-opener a way in with absolutely no real threat brought to bear on the Luton goal. Everything is as ever left to certain players to craft and when you can't even get the ball to them, Luton were happy to take the initiative. Our midfield in both halfs looks ragged and messy. We couldn't work the ball in and around their players and ended up going backwards as we tried to move forwards, pondering too long in areas we should be capitalising on. As we came out for the second half still with an underperforming Fleck and a business-as-usual Berge still on it was clear all Luton had to do was nick a goal because that is what they were set up to do. And they did it. They didn't just nick the goal too, they made us look incapable of coming back at them, until Hecky decided to make a change and bafflingly pulled off Fleck for Sharp when the game screamed to get Berge and Fleck off for McAtee and Doyle and leave Norwood on, himself being subbed later on dragging our best fucking defender off. What gives Hecky? Fuck's sake. At least with Doyle on we had more bite, and some sort of capability with McAtee but with others like Lowe and Bogle playing like dogshit, the mere spectacle of a goal was fanciful even if for a draw. Even with two minutes left in my deluded mind was the headline 'Blades win with two late, late goals!' but it was never gonna happen was it, no matter how much we huffed and puffed like a big bad gerbil.

Foderingham 5/10: Not much to do at all which spells out what kind of game it was and how Luton were set up. Beaten at the near post - again.
Bogle 3/10: An uninspiring, mistake-ridden game which left me feeling he's kinda not fucking bothered any more. Baldock in next game please. Try him in midfield.
Anel 5/10: and only just. Left Morris for the goal and looks decidedly doddy footed these days. A long way from earlier this season where he looked PL capable
Egan 5/10: Standard game from him. Still donkey bobbar as an auxiliary striker
JLT 6.5/10: Our best defender with the throws and the challenges and the ground he covers in his own way. Fuck knows why he was subbed. If you are going to four at the back get shut of Lowe and put him out wide
Lowe 4/10: Timit and ineffective. His yellow at the end kinda summed him up
Berge 3/10: A continuation of the shitness we have consistently seen this season. Him being able to hang onto the ball and run forward and having a shot cannon off one of theirs for a corner doesn't give me a £20m boner. Its taken us three long, fucking years to get everyone (bar Brownieblade and Edinblade) that this bloke is a fucking imposter.
Norwood 6/10: Thought he had a better game than many make out. But he can't fill three sets of football boots and today was pressed and harried a lot more than he should have been whilst Berge and Fleck did their traffic cone impersonations
Fleck 2/10: Last game for us now. The joke is over Hecky. He's been here since fucking years ago and has footballed his last at Bramall Lane. Let him go back to Scotland to play for Haggis Athletic and have fucking done with it. We cannot afford to allow him any more game time.
NDaiye 6/10: Does what he can and is so deft but can't hold this team up on his own. We were shitting ourselves the last injury was serious and it doesn't take much understanding that there is no player on our books who can do what he does, but we have to support him and help him. He worked his arse off today with McB for fucking nothing. It's what Sheffield United do
McB 6/10: Another one who worked himself into the ground but failed to capitalise on half chances

Sharp 5/10: Loads of hustle and bustle. Failed at taking half chances
McAtee 6/10: At least injected some forward motion but found himself isolated and alone or surrounded with players who didn't know how to move and exploit space
Doyle 6.5/10: Impressed with him tonight. Came on and made his point and gave us some bite although it would have been far better to leave Norwood on in the 'at home' role and allow Doyle to shift up the pitch

HJ&SMcC 1/10: Bad game for them and it all to do for Wednesday. They have to find out what worked so well against Spurs and stop doing favours for the likes of Berge and Fleck. Sunderland won't fuck about with us. They know how fragile we are and will gladly play round us and mop up our currently weak forays forward. And its a cold weekday game in a big old stadium a fair few miles away from home. They need radical change now because a loss to Sunderland and a win for Boro means we are effectively in the playoffs and we all know what happens next ...

pommpey
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Generous on management for me!! I think Berge gets away with murder every week but people will once again say he was tidy etc. play Doyle, McAtee and anyone else please !
 
John Street West Terrace said:
It’s not very often I’m this scathing but put your fkg tin hat on Hecky because that was fkg awful !!
I can’t believe he picked the same old boys club midfield that let us us down so badly last weekend … when I saw the team sheet I said have these 3 twats in midfield gambling debts to you ???
Sorry Mr Safe you can’t make the big calls when it comes to picking your first 11 ., how in fucks name can you only introduce Doyle & McAtee with 20 mins to go , fkg Doyle ran the midfield against Spurs .. his reward two 20 mins sub appearances ?? We never got behind there back line in the previous 70 mins ?? Shall I change at half time because we’re getting nowhere … no .. my substitute stop watch says no .. it’s on the fkg hour like every game .. hour comes around & he brings on a fkg forward .. because we’re creating loads and not putting them in the onion bag ??? ..err no we’ve created absolutely fuck all for the front men .. queue 70 mins brings the City 2 on and we look better .., too loyal to past it brigade & no bottle to take off Berge… we deserved fuck all and the goals & creativity are drying up quicker than a nuns chuff . there keeper hasn’t had a shot save .not that they were dangerous ., but we’ve lost to fit, hard working bang average side similar to most we’ve faced & unconvincingly beaten & now getting found out , on that count we don’t deserve a top two position . Jesus when you compare us to the side & calibre of sides we played to get promoted 3 years ago there’s no fkg comparison
Play the 2 city lads or we’re going fkg nowhere , grow a pair Hecky FFS or it’s game over ⚔️
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the worrying thing about to todays abysmal performance is as you say luton are a bang average side burnley and boro would have put 4 or 5 past them and they wont finish top 6 hecky and mcall better get their acts together quick because its going to get very ugly down at the lane if we see any more performances like today and throw this season away
 
We are so predictable I can plan the attacks for them. And when, like today, we have no pace in midfield, we become even more pedestrian in our attacks. Very hard to score when you've given your opponents that much time to get back and regroup.

But what frustrates me most is the continual subbing on of Sharp - he just doesn't look like scoring...and yet you know he's going to come on.
 
Well, thank you as always for your take, you didn't see or take heed of my advice on match thread to just mark 0/10 for this abject, disjointed and pathetic performance. Save us the trouble in responding.
I think you were too generous tonight. The team selection was appalling, the player commitment non-existent, the plan, what plan? The disconnect between the forwards and the rest of team is so evident. The substitutions incredible. Luton were weak, we were weaker. Ageing Adabayu showed McB how a centre forward should play. I can't praise a single player who started today. JLT maybe showed the most effort. The game cried out for Furious George, the Man City duo, any of our progressive young strikers, a change of formation. RND is sadly missed. Hecky has lost it, many games ago. Meltdown beckons, team moral looks shot. Even I can't think of an optimistic point on this, the most appalling performance this season. Where do we go from here? Only downwards in my opinion. Constantly depressed now.
 
We've played the same same shite for months now. Pass it around lazily in midfield, try to spot a 'runner' (although we haven't overloaded properly in a long long time), pass it back, try the other side, aimless ball into the the box then lose possession. Rinse & repeat.

He has to start Baldock, McAtee and Doyle on Wednesday. Baldock would have sent a fucking rocket up that lot today had he been on the pitch he's our only leader.
 
We,ve overachieved so far,Main tips at seasonstart was 6th.
 
PaulHalfway said:
Today was just a dire performance against an organised and dogged Luton
Norwood and Fleck look finished, no legs, no creativity aimless forward balls
Both full backs had horror matches, a really depressing day all round
We are at home, get on the front foot, put teams under pressure, get the crowd going
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Norwood has had a very good season but struggled a little lately. But you simply can't pair him with Fleck anymore. He has no ability to be the box to box player he once was. It's like watching someone run in quicksand.

What was needed was Doyle from the start. We all know Norwood makes us tick. But Doyle can do Norwood things to take the pressure off Norwood.

The worrying thing is the manager seems to be totally blind to warning signs. Yes, Bogle got a 'pre-assist' against Reading and that will be in his stats. But he was terrible there, as he has been in prior games. Whilst I'm not party to all the injury concerns, I would have expected Baldock, Doyle and McAtee to be starters. As we Pommpey, one shimmy down the wing to gain a corner isn't enough to justify Berge's continued selection.

Good photo by the BBC. Shows just how bad Wes was at protecting his near post. What's that he's let in there now? Four or five where he's not guarded his near post properly?
 

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haich1889 said:
What a f##kin SUFC mess we once again manage to get ourselves into. Proper conundrum which I aint got any idea or thought how to solve.
We haven't put in a really good performance since Burnley but we've managed ( until recently) to scrape by whilst holding on to a 1 goal lead or scoring a last minute equaliser. We haven't beaten any of the top 8 clubs this year & now we are getting beat regularly.
Middlesborough have momentum which is massive in any sport.
Do we continue playing the same side & tactics & hope to stumble over the line or do we change things at exactly the wrong time of the season. I have no idea.
Personally I think I've seen this one play out before!! Semi final & play off final defeat . Followed by 10 years of wilderness.
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As a suggestion, the City boys are both destined for better things. Go with them and their motivation to better themselves rather than Fleck who will be released in the summer or Berge who, even if we went up, I wouldn't want to keep on recent showings. Let them flank Norwood, who has been 90% of the time out best midfielder this season but needs help.

You only need to see the way Baldock stuck manfully to his task against Spurs to see he's the one for the battle rather than Bogle who seems more suited to non-competitive games which finish about 10-7, where he can show a few skills but if he loses the ball and the others score nobody gives a toss because another goal will go in soon. His attitude to defensively is pretty disgraceful.

Is that enough to get us where we want to be? I'd consider moving Robinson over to left wing back in the absence of Norrington-Davies and bringing in Clarke. It needs characters now. It doesn't need those that just turn up when it's going well.
 
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