I bet Duffs is pissed off!

[derfblade.3]

So is he injured? If not he must be well fucked off. What has he done wrong to lose his place in the team? Player of the season for me , especially since the Coutts injury where he has taken most games by the scruff of the neck.

So with Villa getting on top in the second half, Chris decides to take Leonard off and brings on Lundstram instead of Duffy. That was mind boggling and was greeted by "What the fucks he doing" by everyone around me. That substitution was probably the worst of Wilders changes this season.

Wilder had the chance to resurrect the midfield engine room with Evans slotting in nicely for Couuts with Fleck and Duffy but instead went for Leonard who doesn't dictate play in the way that Duffy does.
Baffled by Wilders decision to leave arguably our best player out of the team.

 

[DronnieBlade]

Duffy has had plenty of pitch time, and will benefit from the rest.

UTB

 

[Wards]

Perhaps he just needs a rest like most players of his age do from time to time. Same with Clarke, he looks tired too but we don’t have the luxury of a plethora of forwards to choose from. Gone are the days of having a set XI, squad game and all that. Wouldn’t be surprised if both he and Holmes started Saturday with one up top.

 

[sheffielder]

I understood the sub of Lundstram for Leonard as a single entity. What I struggled with was then taking Evans off for Leonard.

I can only think that neither Evans or Leonard are up to the right level of fitness yet.

Add to this I don’t think Donaldson and Clarke should play together at home. Neither can pull players wide and if one of them does it’s Clarke. Sharp would have been a better option last night as his movement his vastly underrated by some

 

[Lmaobob]

The Lundstram substitution was absolutely bizarre. It's a bit like Italy trying to qualify for the World Cup against Sweden.

Something like 10 minutes to play and the score is 0-0 but Sweden winning 1-0 on Aggregate and their manager tries to bring on Daniele De Rossi who is a VERY defensive midfielder.

De Rossi ended up telling him to bring someone else on as they needed to score, not to defend

 

[Wards]

I understood the sub of Lundstram for Leonard as a single entity. What I struggled with was then taking Evans off for Leonard.

I can only think that neither Evans or Leonard are up to the right level of fitness yet.

Add to this I don’t think Donaldson and Clarke should play together at home. Neither can pull players wide and if one of them does it’s Clarke. Sharp would have been a better option last night as his movement his vastly underrated by some

I think Wilder wanted to get Holmes on the pitch for his debut, but also wanted Lunny on who’s a little more defensively minded than Evans - hence doing the Leonard for Lundstram swap first to ensure we stayed solid for ten mins. Reckon CW saw it as an opportunity to change our shape a bit and go for 3 points more than anything else

 

[sitwell]

Duffy must be so pissed off ,anyone would think hed signed a new contract.

 

[IdLiketoRogerMoore]

Just a personal view but I thought taking Wilson off instead of Clarke seemed very strange. As against the Pigs Leon looked flat and disinterested but was the one chosen to stay on....

On the whole I thought Steve Bruce had an excellent game as whatever adjustments he made at half time totally blunted us and it was a second half that could have gone on for another two hours and we wouldn't have scored.

 

[yorkshirecoast]

Duffy is vital to our team - particularly when Brooks is missing. His ability to run at defenders and beat them offers hope when we are struggling to create through constant sideways passes.

 

[DronnieBlade]

I can think of at least one other who can genuinely have a right to be much more pissed off than Duffy.

A player with a better goals per minutes ratio than all but 5 players in the entire division.

A player not getting a sniff in a team bereft of goals.

UTB

 

[mancunianblade]

Why? Needs a rest, bet I could count on 1 hand the games where he’s played the full 90.

We have been conceding too many so we have made the number 10 role redundant for a period to sure things up at the back

 

[Weasel]

Have to admit I thought last night was crying out for Duffs and Billy to come on after 60 mins.

 

[Track22]

Have to admit I thought last night was crying out for Duffs and Billy to come on after 60 mins.

Wilders subs lately are a bit puzzling. It was crying out for Duffy and sharp. Donaldson is a player who is good on the break but struggles with the ball to his feet. It’s beginning to cost us points

 

[Trafford]

Have to admit I thought last night was crying out for Duffs and Billy to come on after 60 mins.

I would agree with this if both were on form but unfortunately they’re not.

 

[stringer]

Just a personal view but I thought taking Wilson off instead of Clarke seemed very strange. As against the Pigs Leon looked flat and disinterested but was the one chosen to stay on....

On the whole I thought Steve Bruce had an excellent game as whatever adjustments he made at half time totally blunted us and it was a second half that could have gone on for another two hours and we wouldn't have scored.

Lost count of the amount of times Wilson miscontrolled the ball last night, and I suppose being the league’s joint top scorer gives you a bit of credit in the bank when it comes to a decision who to take off. I don’t disagree with you though

 

[boo radley]

Is it only him that is pissed off or are we all involved with Sheffield UNITED.

 

[FinchleyBlade]

I would agree with this if both were on form but unfortunately they’re not.

Duffy has had a few off games where he has been marked out the game.

He has still been our best player this season and its ridiculous he's on the bench.

 

[Ricky]

Remember how he faded in the second half of last season? It's only even more likely to happen this time, and that's what Wilder will be trying to avoid.

He should have come on after 60 minutes though, as I said before the game should we not be winning.

 

[snootyfenooty]

United weren't too bad actually yesterday and worth at least a point. However, they were running out of ideas as the second half progressed and Duffy was the only bloke on the bench who could have provided them. As Lmaobob has said, to bring Lundstram on instead was bizarre and was never going to give us that extra spark needed to convert one point into three. Instead we lost the one we deserved. I'm a bit concerned about Wilder's use of subs, it's not the first time it's cost us a result.

 

[AWetFlannel]

Why would Wilder, when playing against an international quality midfield of five, start Leonard (tall defensive midfielder) instead of Duffy (small attacking midfielder)?
Jump to the second half and Villa are having more possession and playing better with the score 0-0. How can we comprehend Wilder choosing to bring on Lundstram (tall defensive midfielder), it makes no sense!
To disagree is fine, but if you are baffled by this it says more about you than Wilder.

 

[bartman]

I can think of at least one other who can genuinely have a right to be much more pissed off than Duffy.

A player with a better goals per minutes ratio than all but 5 players in the entire division.

A player not getting a sniff in a team bereft of goals.

UTB

Can you imagine the reaction on here by some forum members if Sharp had played as Clarke has for the last few games

I would play Clarke at Wolves ( previous club, point to prove ?) but it he doesn't perform well again I think it might be time to drop him.

As for Donaldson....that was an even more bizarre substitution than the Lundstram one. . We needed to get behind their defence and not play in front of them.

 

[bartman]

Why would Wilder, when playing against an international quality midfield of five, start Leonard (tall defensive midfielder) instead of Duffy (small attacking midfielder)?
Jump to the second half and Villa are having more possession and playing better with the score 0-0. How can we comprehend Wilder choosing to bring on Lundstram (tall defensive midfielder), it makes no sense!
To disagree is fine, but if you are baffled by this it says more about you than Wilder.

Villa adapted in the 2nd half . We didn't. We needed something different because Villa were overpowering us in midfield in the 2nd half. Villa's number 20 was picking up everything in midfield and Wilder just changed like for like.

I would have understood if he took Wilson off and brought Duffy on to play behind Clarke and stop the number 20 playing but for some reason CW didn't think this was correct.

We have been struggling to score goals at home for a while now and maybe CW needs to have a re-think about how he can change things tactically during games.I could

 

[itsinyerblood]

One moment I read that Duffy is playing poorly and should be dropped, the next I read that without him in the starting lineup we lose all creativity.

There's a certain bi-polar approach to Duffy on here that is strange and perverse. From all accounts Evans is the nearest thing we've had to the sorely missed Coutts, so presumably a 3-sum of Evans, Fleck, and Duffy would be a sensible starting 3? Or is that just a little too obvious?

 

[AWetFlannel]

Villa adapted in the 2nd half . We didn't. We needed something different because Villa were overpowering us in midfield in the 2nd half. Villa's number 20 was picking up everything in midfield and Wilder just changed like for like.

I would have understood if he took Wilson off and brought Duffy on to play behind Clarke and stop the number 20 playing but for some reason CW didn't think this was correct.

We have been struggling to score goals at home for a while now and maybe CW needs to have a re-think about how he can change things tactically during games.I could

Villa didn't change shape or style, they are just a quality team and played better 2nd half. We competed well and looked likely to win throughout the game and conceded in the last minute, so I wouldn't worry too much about our tactics.

 

[DronnieBlade]

Can you imagine the reaction on here by some forum members if Sharp had played as Clarke has for the last few games

I would play Clarke at Wolves ( previous club, point to prove ?) but it he doesn't perform well again I think it might be time to drop him.

As for Donaldson....that was an even more bizarre substitution than the Lundstram one. . We needed to get behind their defence and not play in front of them.

In fairness, Clarke had his best 45 mins in ages last night.

Billy is the fall guy on the basis Wilder has finally accepted he and Clarke are not an “optimal” pairing, and he has a genuine blind spot as regards Clarke !

UTB

 

[sheffielder]

I think Wilder wanted to get Holmes on the pitch for his debut, but also wanted Lunny on who’s a little more defensively minded than Evans - hence doing the Leonard for Lundstram swap first to ensure we stayed solid for ten mins. Reckon CW saw it as an opportunity to change our shape a bit and go for 3 points more than anything else

Sometimes you just have to tip your hat. Fair comment

 

[sheffielder]

One moment I read that Duffy is playing poorly and should be dropped, the next I read that without him in the starting lineup we lose all creativity.

There's a certain bi-polar approach to Duffy on here that is strange and perverse. From all accounts Evans is the nearest thing we've had to the sorely missed Coutts, so presumably a 3-sum of Evans, Fleck, and Duffy would be a sensible starting 3? Or is that just a little too obvious?

Duffy is critical for getting our wing backs and centre backs overlapping by giving an option inside.

 

[Yellarbellyblade]

I think there was an argument to bring Duffy and Holmes on and play one up top with those two behind as something different. Defenders like someone to mark and having two floating about might have taken them out of their comfort zone. CW likes his two striker set up so that wasn’t likely I guess

 

[itsinyerblood]

Duffy is critical for getting our wing backs and centre backs overlapping by giving an option inside.

I agree, but I haven't failed to notice more than a few negative comments about Duffy. Like every player, he's prone to having moments, possibly even games, where his form drops, but overall Duffy's contribution to the Blades has been proven to be crucial to how we play. As an alternative, we now have Holmes, but so far all he's had are brief cameos, so maybe starting a game is what Holmes needs to show us what he's capable of.

 

[Maidenhead]

Just a personal view but I thought taking Wilson off instead of Clarke seemed very strange. As against the Pigs Leon looked flat and disinterested but was the one chosen to stay on....

On the whole I thought Steve Bruce had an excellent game as whatever adjustments he made at half time totally blunted us and it was a second half that could have gone on for another two hours and we wouldn't have scored.

Wilson had been booked and had committed 2 further fouls that had the referee talking to him.

On that basis he had to come off before he was sent off!