After Watching city tonight

[WORKSOPBLADE]

Blades: I hate it when people say we play hoofball
Also Blades: Let's play hoofball against Man City

Given that we've not played the long ball, direct, route-one style of football for a good few seasons, what makes people think we'd find any success in it? We'd still get beaten by City, and would look shit as we did so.

Think Burnley at home.

 

[Sheffsteel]

Our best chance might be to "park the bus", put everyone in defence and hold out of a 0-0.
To be fair.....when we put our mind to it....we're excellent defensively.
The defences only weakness is pace but if we constantly have numbers back then the lack of pace isn't an issue.

If we score in the last 5 or 10 minutes then we have a chance of a 1-0.

We need to think back to how Luton Town played against us, they build a defensive wall and we struggled to create a single chance.
It would be a horrible game to watch for the neutral but think that is our only chance of winning, keep it 0-0 for as long as possible.

 

[Gimli]

Man City will need to have the mother of off days, but they have lost to Southampton this season in the Carabao cup, and they are really bad, so who knows!

 

[Stretch]

I just hope we win our next 2 home games so we can go into the game with less to worry about.

This ^^^^^

When you look at the fixtures Man City have either side of the semi final, getting promotion almost wrapped up could be our only real advantage. The fact that they play Arsenal in a 6 pointer a few days later helps us out, maybe.

Chances are they still go almost full strength but will they be busting a gut with that game in mind?

At the end of the day though, we just need to enjoy it. Everyone expects us to get pounded deep and hard, so any punches we can land on them is a job well done. As it happens, I have a funny feeling that this will be closer than most think.

 

[Tom Bott]

Forget 5 - 2 - 3, we need to play 9 - 0 - 1. Stand them all on the line and hope for a Jebbo counter attack...

Then after 0-0 at 90 minutes, celebrate like we have won Wendy style.

Forget about extra time.

 

[BalticBlade]

You might be on to something here , just hoof it , every time we get it HOOF , don’t hang onto the Ball at all , no midfield, HOOF , we can do this !!

The Blades way

 

[brownblade]

Just a mystery how they can afford them all...

 

[ATL Recs]

Well let's get these physical monsters running back towards their own goal. Let's give them neck ache looking up over their shoulders. We can't out play them, probably can't out fight them so let's give them something they arn't used to playing against. In their face hoof ball pinging around in their area. Draw them into deep waters with shitehousing extraordinaire Athleti style.

Watford tried that at Wembley

 

[Sheffsteel]

Chances are they still go almost full strength but will they be busting a gut with that game in mind?

Pep has a history of respecting the opposition, always putting out strong teams even against much weaker teams.
So agree....they'll put out a pretty strong side but they'll be expecting an easy win and might start slowly.
The longer it's 0-0, then the more their players will become frustrated.

 

[Nicesheffielder]

Only because Bayern kept pressing the self destruct button. City were chasing the ball for most of that game.

Self destruction that's what we're best at I refer you to the Burnley game as exhibit 1A mi lord

 

[ekke287]

JLT / Baldock to thunder tackle someone early on might make them play more cautiously, but would likely get them sent off also.

My point is the earlier we can show them that we’re not messing about the better.

 

[jt64]

 

[ChipButtyBlade]

 

[Kozzy_is_my_Dad]

I can't wait for all four sides (or whatever) of the ground to be singing in unison:

THERE'S ONLY ONE JACKIE RODWELL!

Club legend for both.

 

[Kozzy_is_my_Dad]

Remember how in the World Cup, Southgate put Walker on MBappe to try and nullify his pace and threat?

Yeah, that. But with Billy.

 

[Alan Birchenall's hair]

Hoof the ball and hope for the best. Yeah, that'll work. It's a wonder the managers of much better teams than us haven't thought about that approach......

 

[Davalon]

I can't wait for all four sides (or whatever) of the ground to be singing in unison:

THERE'S ONLY ONE JACKIE RODWELL!

Club legend for both.

I'm hoping for Jamie Hoyland but fear it will be Michael Brown or Richard Edghill.

 

[JohnDenver]

Just kick the living fuck out of them. If Pep complains, kick the fuck out of him too. Annex Norway. Sabotage the oil wells. Burn your Oasis CDs.

#WhateverItTakes

 

[Kozzy_is_my_Dad]

Just kick the living fuck out of them. If Pep complains, kick the fuck out of him too. Annex Norway. Sabotage the oil wells. Burn your Oasis CDs.

#WhateverItTakes

Every time the ball runs loose, boot it. Try to create NOTHING just SPOIL.

Man mark to fuck. Literally, like that annoying younger sibling that won't leave your side as a kid, every. single. step. Touch tight. Mirror their every move. Fuck the ball, don't need it. I want Baldock on Grealish, Anel on Haaland, I want to see Mahrez so fucked off that Bash won't stop following him, that he just walks off, just leaves.

 

[Greasy Chap Butty]

I'm telling you now, we're going to shock the world next week.

We'll keep it under 3

3 dozen?

 

[Sheff de party]

Self destruction that's what we're best at I refer you to the Burnley game as exhibit 1A mi lord

Indeed haha. I’m not saying that match filled me with any confidence.

I am however saying that Bayern are a better team than City. It’s far from over for them with a home game to come.

I think we will lose to City. I think we would get hammered by Bayern.

 

[Sheff de party]

I'd be tempted to play 5:2:3 actually. Park Norwood and Berge in front of the defence and play 3 up top (McBurnie, Ndiaye and Osula/Jebbo) try and catch them with direct balls. I don't see much benefit in trying to play through midfield.

Yeah we won’t be able to play through midfield. I wouldn’t put Berge in front of the defence though - he simply cannot tackle. We need him on the ball somewhere so we can keep it better, as the longer we do that the less time they have to score.

 

[Northyorksblade]

Bunch of fannies. We'll fucking muller citeh. And you can bump this post when we've done em so i can claim my trophy of smugness.

Think it's more likely that this will appear on pigs forum when weve been stuffed 10 nil, all having a laugh at your expense.
Whereas we know you are kidding.............aren't you?

 

[knowsnowt]

Think it's more likely that this will appear on pigs forum when weve been stuffed 10 nil, all having a laugh at your expense.
Whereas we know you are kidding.............aren't you?

I never joke on here. All my posts on here are serious.

 

[Stretch]

FFS .

 

[mattbianco1]

We can do em

Wes > Ederson
Baldock > Walker
Anel > Dias
Egan > Stones
Robbo > Akanji

Their midfield is the weak link

Norwood > Gundogan
Berge > De Bruyne
Ndiaye > Mahrez

TBH, probably only Haaland and Foden that get in our starting 11

 

[Grappler]

There is absolutely definitely no evidence of the use of PEDs in football. None. Especially in the case of Operacion Puerto which only uncovered evidence of doping in cycling and definitely not in Spanish football.

And there are very good, if a bit unclear , reasons that the judge in the Operacion Puerto case ordered the destruction of evidence.

Many elite level sports suffer from abuse of PEDs, thankfully football is definitely not one of them.

Reminds me of a story from years ago, when the Italian FA introduced random drug testing before games, and found that a very high number of players tested positive for "speed", so had to quickly (and quietly) drop the testing program, because there would have been more players banned, than available to play footy.

 

[ChipButtyBlade]

 

[ChrisBlade]

Unwanted memories of Oli Burke come rushing back… The style Meister general.

 

[Cappy]

If city go 2-0 up and Haaland isn’t playing, I want them to bring him on. Fuck it, let’s watch the best striker in the world