United 1 Rochdale 0 - report

[Deadbat]

It was not pretty but United won 1-0 for the second consecutive game at Bramall Lane with a late deflected Jamal Campbell Ryce effort seeing off a plucky Rochdale side that were unfortunate not to take something back across the pennines. The home side had been less than convincing throughout and Dale had been well in the game and been unlucky to hit the crossbar in the second half but if anyone looked like unlocking the deadlock then it was Campbell Ryce and so it proved. United have now won two home games without getting anywhere near top gear and whilst the three points are all important; United know they have to play much better and raise the tempo and performances both individually and collectively if they want to be anywhere near the top places at the end of the season.

United began the game with Alcock coming back into the side for Higdon and Davies moving wide right and Murphy the most advanced player with Baxter just behind. Rochdale had enjoyed two emphatic away wins this season and came into the fixture brimming with confidence.

United began the match in the ascendancy with Murphy having an appeal for a spot kick after some neat play led to him getting deep into Rochdale territory. Baxter then headed over before Campbell Ryce skipped away from his man but his cross was cleared. The first chance for the visitors came when McEveley hesitated but Henderson did not react in time.

The visitors slowly came back into the game with Bennett shooting wide and a corner than scrambled clear. It had been a relatively even game with Campbell Ryce the main threat for United with his trickery and strong running. Such play led to a booking for Rafferty who was really struggling to cope with him.

Murphy shot wide before Baxter was even close with an effort that saw Lillis scrambling across. However, Rochdale then had a good spell and Henderson’s deflected effort had Howard concerned at the other end. IT had been an even game so far and

United’s fans were getting frustrated at the slow tempo and the lack of an outlet up top with Murphy struggling to get into the game in a different position. Vincenti then had an effort that drifted across goal as the away side went off happy with their performance where most of United’s efforts had been from long range.

The second half saw United try and step up the pace and more good play from Campbell Ryce saw his cross just evade two United players before his cross then led to Basham heading straight at Logan.

Davies was withdrawn with McNulty coming on and going up top with Murphy going wide but it was not long before he had to be withdrawn also. Murphy had been struggling for the previous five minutes and he also had to go off with Flynn replacing him. Collins then met a Baxter corner but his header was straight at Logan.

Rochdale had been well in the game throughout and were unfortunate not to take the lead when a tremendous long range effort from Henderson beat Howard but smashed off the bar and away. It was an almighty scare for United’s, whose performance had lacked real penetration and cohesion.

The disappointing Basham came off to be replaced by Wallace who made his Bramall Lane debut before Baxter had a free kick opportunity after McNulty had been pulled back but his effort whilst powerful was again straight at the well placed Logan.

United were struggling to get the breakthrough and the crowd were starting to become frustrated but suddenly out of nothing the goal finally came.

CAMPBELL RYCE had been the most likely architect for the Blades all game and it was from his play that the goal eventually came. He jinked one way and then the other and came inside before hitting a dangerous cross which looped off defender Dawson’s boot, before nestling into the corner of the net away from the despairing dive of Lillis.

Rochdale now had to put men forward and in doing so left gaps and Flynn twice nearly took advantage with one shot wide and then a cross that was overhit. Rochdale made changes and had one final change as Vincenti’s header brought a save that looked good for the cameras as Howard acrobatically plucked it out of the high. Three final minutes came but United enjoyed much of this in the Rochdale final third as the keeper was booked for petulantly throwing it away as the Blades saw time out comfortably.


United – It was poor I am afraid. We look miles off the side that finished the side last season. Of course in terms of personnel it is quite different but the Clough up and at ‘em tempo where we were organised and disciplined but also pressed and played with a pace going forward when did have it is completely missing. I have not seen a performance where I can say we have played well yet this season and it was maybe even worse than against Crawley.

We never really got going all game and save for Campbell Ryce’s running and trickery and some creativity from Baxter, the rest of the side from an attacking point of view were really poor. It was a slow tempo with few crosses coming in and we had nothing up front with the disappointing Murphy the furthest man forward but totally ineffective. At the back the full backs were less than convincing and Rochdale had as many forays as we did. It was a game that neither side really deserved to win and the visitors could have won it with a shot that hit the bar before we got the late deflected winner. Both sides had a few efforts but neither side had many clear chances and United huffed and puffed much of the game without any controlled spells or real penetration. The build up play was slow and predictable and we never got many into areas to cause real problems save for Campbell Ryce’s direct running. The formation and approach with Murphy furthest forward did not work and we took too long to change it.

We are lacking so much from our game and with quite a few players struggling as the season has started with little real structure or identity to the way we are playing we look a very average side that is full mostly of slow journeyman players.Some of the players they have signed look really poor and it is hard to see what Clough has seen in them.

Of course we have ground out some points and since the defeat at Coventry have gone on a nice unbeaten run but it has not been convincing. We badly lack real quality and need 2 or 3 players in quite quickly for me if we are serious about being a promotion side. With sides like Bristol City, Peterboro, MK etc going so well, we cannot afford to wait around as sadly the current side is not good enough as Clough has said before to be a promotion contender.

Still it was a win and that is the most important thing at this stage but the performance and lack of cohesion is a real concern as if we carry on like this we will lose as many as we win. The whole side needs to step up 20% at least in terms of desire, tempo and the way they attack if we are to start causing quite ordinary (as Rochdale and Crawley are) more problems. At the moment the best we will do is scrappy games like this. We do not look like scoring more than 1 or 2 goals all game.

Rochdale – They did well. For an away side and with a side with such inferior resources in terms of squad and wages to
United’s they were in the match all afternoon. They had a few chances, hit the bar and other than a few efforts the keeper saved were never put under any real sustained pressure all game and were desperately unlucky not to get anything from the game. They worked hard and pressed all afternoon. They tried to break and attack when they could and gave a really good account of themselves.

I like Keith Hill. He always speaks honestly and with quite a refreshing sense of humour and I always felt he came across well when he spoke when he was at Barnsley. He got them back up after a few yo yo years and they have started the season with some impressive performances. Today they showed attacking intent and even though they did timewaste on occasions they also attacked when they could too. They had a go and did not simply sit back. They defended well and restricted us mostly to long range shooting and even the keeper Lillis made mostly routine saves. Even the powerful ones were straight at him. A few of their players had decent games with Vincenti (the number 7) dangerous throughout and the midfield full of energy all match.

They worked incredibly hard and gave us little time on the ball. The right back Rafferty had a nightmare and was close to getting sent off before he was taken off and the lad that replaced him, Kennedy, struggled with Campbell Ryce just as much. He was the main threat for United and they never handled him all game. Even after the goal they had a go and threw bodies forward but it was a hammer blow and it was too late for them to recover.

 

[Deadbat]

Howard 7/10 - Had little to do really even though Rochdale were well in the game. He made a few regulation saves and watched as the one crashed off the bar but other than that he was untroubled really.

McEveley 6/10 – Thought he had a poor first half and was slow at times. His indecision nearly led to a chance for them as he waited for Howard to gather and then dithered on another occasion. He got much better after the break and was sharper and more determined and won tackles. He also carried the ball forward well.

Collins 7/10 – Steady throughout really. Even though United were poor I am not sure the two centre backs did much wrong much of the game.Collins started the game a little off the pace but got stronger and came onto the ball more and was generally more alive than many today. He tried to bring it forward and then had one decent header that was saved in the centre half.

McGahey 7/10 – Quietly one of our more effective performers. He did nothing spectacular but like his colleague he was steady and did little wrong all game. He got to the ball first, cleared it when he could and moved it on without any real fuss. Looks one of the better recruits of the signings we have made on current evidence.

Alcock 5.5/10 – His poorest game in a United shirt. He was indecisive, sloppy in possession and also I felt he was too far off his man for much of the game. He had played well so far this season but today he was off the pace today I felt.Did keep plugging away but not a game where he was at his best.

Basham 4/10 – Sorry to say but I thought he was dreadful again today. From an attacking point of view he actually gets into some decent positions but then usually miss controls or does not connect. On the ball he was sloppy and gave it away on numerous occasions. One ball along the floor straight to their man in the second half summed up his complete lack of technical ability. Off the ball he marks space and often has no idea what is going on around him. I genuinely have seen no real attribute to his play and I feel Wallace has to be given a run as he cannot be any worse surely?

Davies 5.5/10 – Not sure it was one of his better performances today. He put a few dangerous crosses in but in general play he did not influence things that much. He is an odd enigma in that it is hard to know where to play him as despite his quality from set plays, he rarely seems to put many crosses in from open play or get involved in open play. He came off which was not a surprise today.

Doyle 7/10 – Thought he was ok. He did nothing remarkable; either poor or bad. He got it and moved it on and won a few tackles or broke up play but played very far back trying to allow others to create in front of him but this did not really work (not Doyle’s fault). He made some crucial interceptions and blocks when Rochdale tried to break in the first half. He gets a lot of criticism but not sure he did much wrong today and was one of our steady players.

Murphy 4.5/10 – One of our poorest players today and I am not sure he has really got going all season. He had a few runs forward but got brushed off the ball too easily and looked very weak at times. He was played as an out and out striker but he saw little of the ball and when he had it, it did not stick. He looks more like the disappointing Murphy we first signed than the one that finished the season. Looks lacking in confidence but moving him around position wide is probably not helping.

Baxter 7.5/10 – Looked a threat and had a few efforts on goal and some nice runs and side steps that almost led to chances/genuine efforts on goal. He played more withdrawn today and often was too deep to make a difference but he did at least look one of few players who could make something happen with ability on the ball. One shot just wide and then another free kick saved were two of the few genuine efforts we had all game.

Campbell Ryce 8.5/10 – United’s best player comfortably. He was excellent today. I was one who knocked his signing but he looked full of hunger, fitness and skill. He caused all manner of problems leading to one player being subbed and others struggling to cope with him. Ran at defenders, used skill, pace and strength. Put in some good crosses and linked well with others. His game did not flag either and he carried on remaining a threat all game. It was fitting he scored (albeit it with a deflection) and I have to eat humble pie after criticising his signing as today he was excellent.

Subs-

McNulty – Brought on to give us something different up front but he did not really do too much. Got tripped once but then kept running into defenders when he
did have the ball. Think if he gets a run in the side he needs a genuine partner really who he can play off. Not sure he will get more than bits and pieces of playing time at the moment.

Flynn – Came on and did get involved. Had one shot just wide and then one break saw him fire a cross miles away from anyone as we broke with men over. Another who had not got going although the way Campbell Ryce played he is more likely to get in ahead of others at the moment if he does get a start.

Wallace – Showed some glimpses. He tried to get on the ball and looked lively but it was such a scrappy game that it was hard for him to get on the ball. Looks quite compact and I hope to see more of him in future weeks.

Manager rating:

Clough 6/10 – It was a win. That is all you can really say as the performance left a lot to be desired. We lacked pace, tempo and genuine creativity and without
Campbell Ryce and bits from Baxter not sure if we would have created much all game. At the moment it is not really happening at home in terms of performances and we need to really improve if we want o look more convincing. We do not look like really blowing teams away and the best we can hope for is 1-0’s. That may have been enough the last two home games but over the course of the season against better sides than the last two we have to do more and play much better. I am not sure he knows his best team yet and not sure his experiments with various front men have worked. I think he knows he needs more players or should I say better players but at the moment we look a very laboured side that is scraping by teams that we really should be winning convincingly.

Officials – The officials were very good today. The referee, Gary Sutton, had no choice with the bookings he made as a few cynical trips from Rochdale (most on Campbell Ryce) saw easy decisions with the yellow cards (Campbell Ryce booked for taking his shirt off on the goal – silly rule but then why do players do this?). As for the rest of the game I felt he did really well. He let play go when he could and tried to play advantage both ways and he just reffed it really sensibly. Only gripe was some blatant foul throws (on the South Stand side) from Rochdale and some quite obvious timewasting at times (not sure why they did as they looked as likely as us when they did attack).

Crowd/Officials – Another really decent crowd with over 19,000 there. This is remarkable really considering we made no further impact in terms of the transfer deadline and have been quite ordinary in most games this season in an average start (results). The crowd tried their best and came to life when players like Baxter and Campbell Ryce ran at opponents but they too got frustrated with some misplaced passes or lack of adventure. I thought the crowd were quite patient considering it was quite poor much of the game.

Rochdale brought a decent following actually with maybe over a 1,000 inside the Lane and supported their team well and will have been gutted to have lost it so late.

 

[s4-blade]

Wallace – I hope to see more of him in future weeks.

Apparently he pulled his hammy in the last few minutes.

 

[moDtheGod]

I haven't been, but I listened to a commentary and Alcock seemed to be winning absolutely everything in the air. The commentator noted this a few times. Was he really 5.5/10 bad?

 

[sitwell]

Why do you not mention the times Baxter gave the ball away or didn't follow his man and put us in danger ? You always mention bad errors by other players ,apart from that he was good ,he is talented but he is also a huge liability. McEveleys mark is bonkers ,he had a great game ,also harsh on Howard and Basham in my view.

 

[sitwell]

I haven't been, but I listened to a commentary and Alcock seemed to be winning absolutely everything in the air. The commentator noted this a few times. Was he really 5.5/10 bad?

He was marking a player who had at least 6 inch advantage on him and they targeted this he needed a bit more help from Davies or Campbell Ryce with the second ball.

 

[SUFC Handsworth]

Wasn't one of Alcock's better games, their wide left player won a lot of headers against him in the second half. McGahey after a dreadful start to the season is starting to look better, although I thought him and Collins were at times a little shaky, both 6/10s for me. McEveley motm for me before JCR's late show, thought Doyle had a good game too. As for Cloughy is he trying to win promotion with his hands tied behind his back. Before Wallace came on he had Baxter too deep in midfield and Basham as the furthest forward in midfield, it didn't work. Not a Basham fan but he'd have done better if him and Baxter would have swapped round. As it was when Wallace came on he looked the part and with Baxter more in the hole we started opening them up.

Far from a vintage performance but glad we got over the line for the 3 points, these are the type of wins that will keeps us in with a good shout.

 

[Wards]

Mceveley was excellent, I don't know how you came to a 6 out of 10 conclusion.

 

[LSF]

I salute you taking the time and trouble to write these reports DB, the expats and non attendees must appreciate greatly.
However, another view might be.... A good win today against a team who may well surprise many this season.
It was can ebb and flow game with many moments of good play from both teams. I thought we deserved the win on the whole.
Poor today were Murphy, back to his Weir days of no apparent desire or appetite. He has issues with confidence and again looks unhappy with his lot.
Basham, tries like fuck, works hard, looks out of sorts most of the time. Hope he can get his mojo working as his attitude is good.
Mceveley was excellent in contrast to your assessment DB.
JCR gave the best individual performance I've seen from a Blades player in years.
The rest were good or OK ( though Alcock had his shakiest spell so far 1st half, but was much better 2nd).
I'm happy with progress and better to come.

 

[Latters]

Mceveley was excellent, I don't know how you came to a 6 out of 10 conclusion.

I also gave McEverley 6 in the match ratings. I thought he got better as the game went on, but he made some bad mistakes in the first half and was very inconsistent throughout. I was disappointed because I'd said to the bloke next to me how decent he'd looked in his other games so far.

 

[Silent Blade]

I salute you taking the time and trouble to write these reports DB, the expats and non attendees must appreciate greatly.
However, another view might be.... A good win today against a team who may well surprise many this season.
It was can ebb and flow game with many moments of good play from both teams. I thought we deserved the win on the whole.
Poor today were Murphy, back to his Weir days of no apparent desire or appetite. He has issues with confidence and again looks unhappy with his lot.
Basham, tries like fuck, works hard, looks out of sorts most of the time. Hope he can get his mojo working as his attitude is good.
Mceveley was excellent in contrast to your assessment DB.
JCR gave the best individual performance I've seen from a Blades player in years.
The rest were good or OK ( though Alcock had his shakiest spell so far 1st half, but was much better 2nd).
I'm happy with progress and better to come.

This is the best summary of today's game

 

[Reedy1889]

I salute you taking the time and trouble to write these reports DB, the expats and non attendees must appreciate greatly.
However, another view might be.... A good win today against a team who may well surprise many this season.
It was can ebb and flow game with many moments of good play from both teams. I thought we deserved the win on the whole.
Poor today were Murphy, back to his Weir days of no apparent desire or appetite. He has issues with confidence and again looks unhappy with his lot.
Basham, tries like fuck, works hard, looks out of sorts most of the time. Hope he can get his mojo working as his attitude is good.
Mceveley was excellent in contrast to your assessment DB.
JCR gave the best individual performance I've seen from a Blades player in years.
The rest were good or OK ( though Alcock had his shakiest spell so far 1st half, but was much better 2nd).
I'm happy with progress and better to come.

This report is more accurate IMO of today's game than the opening post(s).

On a side note: Whomever sarcastically cheered when Basham was subbed, hang your heads in shame.

 

[DazBlade88]

I think Rochdale deserve a lot of credit for today. We're capable of playing better but I think they executed their game plan well and made it extremely difficult for us.

We lacked cohesion going forward but that's always going to happen when two of your main four attacking players have poor games. Murphy needs to be one of the three behind a main striker in this system because he can't play up front on his own. The only time he looked dangerous all day was when he dropped deeper or came wide for the ball. Davies just had one of them days where nothing went for him. Forget about that and move on to the next one as far as he's concerned because he's looked good in every other game so far.

 

[Darren]

I haven't been, but I listened to a commentary and Alcock seemed to be winning absolutely everything in the air. The commentator noted this a few times. Was he really 5.5/10 bad?

How strange. I was at the game and Alcock had a mare against their no.7 who was about 10 inches taller than him. The 7 won virtually every header against him and the Dale goalie deliberately targeted his clearances down their left wing to take advantage of this obvious weakness on our part. McGahey came across a couple of times to win the headers and I was thinking he and Alcock should have swapped positions.

 

[Wards]

Alcock didn't look with it today from the off. Not sure if he was still carrying a bit of the injury he had but he didn't look sharp.

 

[JohnDenver]

Doyle 7/10 – Thought he was ok. He did nothing remarkable; either poor or bad. He got it and moved it on and won a few tackles or broke up play but played very far back trying to allow others to create in front of him but this did not really work (not Doyle’s fault). He made some crucial interceptions and blocks when Rochdale tried to break in the first half. He gets a lot of criticism but not sure he did much wrong today and was one of our steady players.

When I look at that mark and then read that text, I can only presume that LSF 's and sitwell 's lobbying campaign has finally started to reap rewards.

 

[Pinchy]

Note:

Writing reports, however much it might (rightly) be appreciated, does not make the author the fount of all wisdom.

I disagree with much of what Deadbat says. Doyle and McEveley, for example, were both excellent today. Rochdale were in no way 'unfortunate'.

I could go on, but luckily my views are not conditioned by what someone else says, however many reports they might write.

 

[ChrisBlade]

I make a policy of checking my own recollections against Deadbat's reports whenever I go and watch us. This helps me to assess games I haven't been to where his reports are then one of my sources of information (much appreciated as well).

Deadbat, without being in any shape or form blinkered or unfair, always sees things at the very bottom end of how I would view them. His views to me always hold water and are justifiable, but I have never seen a single match where I would have viewed us a critically or as poorly as he does. In particular, I often enjoy fairly non-eventful games we end up winning, feeling all match that things will work out - as they eventually do. During the match, I feel little fear or threat of losing. To me, regardless of division we are in, that modus operandi would not warrant harsh criticism.

Deadbat often sees these types of games much more critically, highlighting both a lack of cohesion, pressure or tempo on our side, and a few token hairy moments where things could have gone wrong. In his assessment, you feel it was a game that we easily might have lost and did not do enough to win.

Today was a prime example of such a game. I did not feel we were going to lose today and was entertained. I also felt, cumulatively, we did enough to win. When we scored I felt more like "yeah, finally we've done it. About time, as well, well done!" As opposed to "great, we streaked it and got out of jail."

The moral to this story? We are never ever worse than Deadbat makes us sound, but as a reference line, his reports are a fairly cold and very reliable guideline to how someone with no red-and-white glasses might see us.

 

[Greenwich Blade]

I make a policy of checking my own recollections against Deadbat's reports whenever I go and watch us. This helps me to assess games I haven't been to where his reports are then one of my sources of information (much appreciated as well).

Deadbat, without being in any shape or form blinkered or unfair, always sees things at the very bottom end of how I would view them. His views to me always hold water and are justifiable, but I have never seen a single match where I would have viewed us a critically or as poorly as he does. In particular, I often enjoy fairly non-eventful games we end up winning, feeling all match that things will work out - as they eventually do. During the match, I feel little fear or threat of losing. To me, regardless of division we are in, that modus operandi would not warrant harsh criticism.

Deadbat often sees these types of games much more critically, highlighting both a lack of cohesion, pressure or tempo on our side, and a few token hairy moments where things could have gone wrong. In his assessment, you feel it was a game that we easily might have lost and did not do enough to win.

Today was a prime example of such a game. I did not feel we were going to lose today and was entertained. I also felt, cumulatively, we did enough to win. When we scored I felt more like "yeah, finally we've done it. About time, as well, well done!" As opposed to "great, we streaked it and got out of jail."

The moral to this story? We are never ever worse than Deadbat makes us sound, but as a reference line, his reports are a fairly cold and very reliable guideline to how someone with no red-and-white glasses might see us.

My feelings almost word for word - spooky!

 

[moDtheGod]

How strange. I was at the game and Alcock had a mare against their no.7 who was about 10 inches taller than him. The 7 won virtually every header against him and the Dale goalie deliberately targeted his clearances down their left wing to take advantage of this obvious weakness on our part. McGahey came across a couple of times to win the headers and I was thinking he and Alcock should have swapped positions.

Well as I say, I haven't been so I don't know. I was just passing on what the commentator said, really. He definitely remarked a couple of times about how he's good in the air for his size (which I agree with, from the three matches I've seen him play in this season) - perhaps he was remarking on attacking set pieces rather than the defensive side, I can't actually remember the specifics.

ChrisBlade's comments are fair and I think that Deadbat will probably agree with them himself.

 

[sheffielder]

This report is more accurate IMO of today's game than the opening post(s).

On a side note: Whomever sarcastically cheered when Basham was subbed, hang your heads in shame.

I doubt there was anything sarcastic about their cheers

 

[sheffielder]

I salute you taking the time and trouble to write these reports DB, the expats and non attendees must appreciate greatly.
However, another view might be.... A good win today against a team who may well surprise many this season.
It was can ebb and flow game with many moments of good play from both teams. I thought we deserved the win on the whole.
Poor today were Murphy, back to his Weir days of no apparent desire or appetite. He has issues with confidence and again looks unhappy with his lot.
Basham, tries like fuck, works hard, looks out of sorts most of the time. Hope he can get his mojo working as his attitude is good.
Mceveley was excellent in contrast to your assessment DB.
JCR gave the best individual performance I've seen from a Blades player in years.
The rest were good or OK ( though Alcock had his shakiest spell so far 1st half, but was much better 2nd).
I'm happy with progress and better to come.

I am trying to understand why we are trialling Basham as an attacking / box to box midfielder. To my knowledge, he has never played this position and at the moment he is always in the right place at the wrong time and Clough is not doing him any favours. Maybe he will come good, however at this moment we need Wallace fit because he did more in the time he was on than Basham has all season. I am not blaming Basham as I think we are asking him to play a position he needs to learn first. You had a good game today Michael.

 

[sheffielder]

He was marking a player who had at least 6 inch advantage on him and they targeted this he needed a bit more help from Davies or Campbell Ryce with the second ball.

Couldn't agree more and it could have cost us. The best bit was when that big lad Andrews came on as sub and Morgan then informed Alcock he was marking him!

 

[sitwell]

Well as I say, I haven't been so I don't know. I was just passing on what the commentator said, really. He definitely remarked a couple of times about how he's good in the air for his size (which I agree with, from the three matches I've seen him play in this season) - perhaps he was remarking on attacking set pieces rather than the defensive side, I can't actually remember the specifics.

ChrisBlade's comments are fair and I think that Deadbat will probably agree with them himself.

In the first half ,Alcock was sent up for corners and Collins kept back ,so he must be rated in the air by the coaching staff.

 

[Tynemouth Blade]

Here's my take on the team/performance yesterday:

Howard; pulled off a couple of saves which kept us in it and continues to look a class keeper, apart from one 'moment' early in the half.

McGahey; looks much better than Harry did at the same age and looks to have so much potential. A few 'ricks', but to be expected without experience - he will improve!

Collins; steady, calming influence.

Alcock; nothing spectacular, struggled at times.

Davies; Hmmm, shite corners and crosses!

JCR; MoM ran them ragged today and worth his goal, albeit his 'shirt off' celebration gained a yellow! Should drive into the box more.

Murphy; not a No 9 and not impressed today.

Basham; not impressed. Poor.

Doyle; Hmmmm.......

McEveley; steady.

Baxter; and enigma. I want him to be Andy Reid and some of his through balls today were top class, unfortunately he's playing with 2nd class team mates who aren't smart enough or quick enough to read him!

McNulty; offered more than Murphy when he came on for Davies.

Flynn; No, no, no.....

Wallace; exactly what we are missing in the middle. Did more in 10 mins than what Basham and Doyle did all game!


I thought the Ref did OK, Dale came to spoil and did a few bad tackles so the card count could have been much higher. (only 3 yellow for Dale including 1 for the keeper near the end when he had a strop!) Had we driven into the box more I think we would have be given a penalty based on some of their tackling. That said, when we did get a free kick in a dangerous position it was wasted by poor delivery!

We lacked an overall threat and are still missing that striker!

So lucky to win with a deflected shot/cross and for Dale to hit the bar, but hey, 3 points!

 

[Woodwardfan]

I regard Deadbat's reports as one of the highlights of my footballing week. I never cease to be amazed by the quality of the reports and Deadbat's incisive assessments which are almost as good as my own! I reckon I agree with over 90% of what he writes and if I should mention that I hardly ever agree with more than 25% in any newspaper match reports, then that is a relative comparison.

In my opinion it is true to say that Deadbat is a hard marker and is not easily pleased, but just take that as his standard and his personality. We should all be appreciative of his time and effort and his reports substantially add to the quality and image of this site.

United and Clough have issues at present and things are not going to plan. This week's report reflects precisely those areas which need sorting. Thankfully we have gathered a points tally which probably flatters us but it keeps us in touch with the leaders until some of the summer recruits start to show up better or get replaced by new loan signings. Indeed Murphy and Flynn need to come back to the party too.

The squad needs to get its belief back.

 

[super_pig]

first game of the season. don't know more than half the players
howard looks reborn
right back off the pace
collins.. collins ..still making mistakes
basham looks out of position but tries really hard (too hard?)
JCR best stand out performance in a united shirt in years
wallace.. looked injured when he came 'on'
murphy not a CF
flynn . nesh (contrast with JCR)
doyle.. still doyle

crowd.. strangely subdued. they don't believe. we know that we need a CF

 

[grafikhaus]

Opinions, opinions! Of course we're not going to agree with all DBs points, but his reports, I feel, reflect reality instead of what we'd all like to have happened. Howard, for example, did more than 'made a few regulation saves and watched as the one crashed off the bar but other than that he was untroubled really.' Unless my eyes deceived me, he made a cracking save high to his left near the death.

Alcock was undoubtedly 'targetted' for his height. He did OK but it doesn't bode well for when we play teams with more technical nous than Rochdale.

However, this was - for me - the most relevant bit.

United – It was poor I am afraid. We look miles off the side that finished the side last season. Of course in terms of personnel it is quite different but the Clough up and at ‘em tempo where we were organised and disciplined but also pressed and played with a pace going forward when did have it is completely missing. I have not seen a performance where I can say we have played well yet this season and it was maybe even worse than against Crawley.

Towards the end of last season, we played with a style that didn't require the 'big target man' up front. We had Flynn, Murphy, Scougall, Baxter etc. switching angles of attack and constantly unbalancing the opposition. Similarly, our defence operated on a 'this far and no further' principle (i.e. retreat in a controlled manner and then snuff them out by sheer numbers/aggression).

I really can't see that the loss of Coady, Maguire and Brayford has affected this paradigm shift in our approach. Scougall injured? Well J C-R fits seamlessly into our previous style.

With the signing of Higdon etc., it seems to me that we've thrown the baby out with the bathwater and abandoned the principles that served us so well in the second half of last season.

 

[Lightsoot]

I agree with Deadbat. United were desperately poor yesterday. I think people's judgements are being clouded somewhat because we won with a very fortunate deflection from the admittedly excellent JCR.

The fact that some are singling out McEveley for praise is disconcerting. Allcock and McEveley, whilst steady away, offer little going forward and with Flynn and Murphy also not on top form we are really struggling from the flanks. Ben Davies also had his poorest game of the season after a number of decent performances. With Basham missing, Doyle being Doyle, and neither Higdon or McNulty doing enough to convince Clough that they deserve to start, goals seem so hard to come by.

Apart from Collins' header did we even test the Rochdale keeper in the second half?

Given Rochdale's impressive form, particularly away, this victory might look better in a few months time. It's hard not to associate Dale as League One minnows who are always likely to go back down to League Two. On recent evidence though they appear to be a tidy side.

 

[yorkshirecoast]

I think Deadbat's report is fair. JCR was outstandiing but apart from that I thought we were poor for most of the game - with only rare flashes of quality.

Once again we saw how much we are crying out for a pacey, powerful, direct striker. It really is astonishing that NC has not addressed this. We also saw that many of NC's signings have yet to prove themselves.

Dale were ok but some on here are building them up into something they are not. They are bottom half and have won 2 games.

As for the crowd, 19k is a fantastic effort. Contrast that with the 11k that unbeaten and top of the table Bristol City managed.

The result is always the most important thing for me - and I'd always take a win over a good performance. But I do have concerns that our lack of ambition in the transfer market means our stay in Div 3 is going to continue.

UTB