Must only be me then ....

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Ollessendro said:
....... (and PeterNdlovu081 ) ....…… that left the stadium feeling absolutely crap. I did not leave ‘immensely proud’, but was shell shocked. I did not sing and chant and be merry, cos I was in a daze. I felt just as shit as all the other times I had left Wembley, knowing that we had fooked in up agein.

I tried to reason with myself and say ‘we did well go get this far’, but being so close and blowing our chance just tipped me over. More to it, our school boy defending made me furious. All this bollocks about Premiership class is just that …. we just defended terribly. A few United fans tried to cheer me up by saying ‘at least we gave it a go’. Fuck that, we conceded 5 bastard goals. We took the lead in a semi final and then gave it away in a sloppy fashion. It was oh so easy for Hull.

In all the papers I read about Steve Bruce’s game changing substitution. Ner mind that, clear the fooking ball. Fryatt should have never had the chance. Soft defending at a corner. We had ample chance to clear and should have dealt with it before the substitute put it in. Huddlestone (someone we knew was a danger man) was then allowed to waltz through our defence unopposed. He could have stopped for tea and biscuits, our defence was so pedestrian. Doyle not tracking his man and Collins put in a powder puff challenge.

I dared to dream when we went in at half time 2-1 up. Still, I knew the first 10-15 mins of the 2nd half would be key. Keep it tight and Hull would start to get nervous. Instead we gave away a soft goal after 4 minutes. Then we neshed it again for the 3rd, which was comical defending.

All of their goals were poor defending. The first Coady lost his man and Sagbo was left unopposed. Harry should not have lost his man and Brayford should be been covering regardless. Harry and Brayford were at fault for the 4th as well. Maguire stupidly tried to player their fella offside (he was not) and did not track the run. Brayford had left Quinn get goal side of him and he was unmarked when the cross came in.

I was also cursing the footballing gods. We did not help ourself with shoddy defending, but Hull scored with every bleeding attack. Some might say they were clinical, but it's not very often that a team scores every time they have an effort. Hull Kingston Rovers did (..... pisspot Humberside, rugby town).

I realise that many Sheffielders have this ‘it’ll be reit’ attitude and lots of Blades just accept mediocrity, but I don’t like losing. I left that shithole feeling gutted. It’s bad enough that we had to play at that plastic, soulless shithole in the middle of nowhere and I was not happy just ‘because we showed up’. The game was there for the taking and once again SUFC let us down.
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It's always you. Look at the bigger picture.
 
Rollerball said:
Christ on a bike olle, I'm sure you could find fault in a 5-0 win at the bernabau.


Ps are you Brian the blade from radio sheffield?
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Naw, Olle didn't have a grey hair on his head when I encountered him a few weeks ago :)

Brian's like Papa Smurf!
 
HeCanDoMagic said:
You know what, any one who has a bad word to say about our team on Sunday can just fuck off.

I'd defend that performance to the hilt and with my dying breath.

I was, and will remain, proud of those players.
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I left the ground with a familiar sense of disappointment in the result which lingered into the evening. But that's not mutually exclusive from being proud of, and at times, thrilled by, the performance. We played properly at Wembley for the first time, both in terms of style and sheer bottle.

After previous trips I've been miserable for a week afterwards. Not this time.
 
gavtheblade said:
I dont think some people will be happy until we are toe to toe with liverpool or chelsea week in week out ffs.
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That's right gav, the odd thing is, all teams make mistakes, yet to scathingly dismiss the efforts that Clough and the squad have made this season reeks of that most immature of personality traits, entitlement. It's as if some on here think there's some kind of conspiracy to continually upset the supporters. Probably best to let them stew in their own juices while the rest of us appreciate what's happening with this great club. We're not entitled to anything, but we will learn from this, isn't that how it's meant to work?
 
Highbury_Blade said:
I would have swapped a promotion next year for the chance of getting to the Europa cup group stages, and possibly hearing the GCB reverberating around the San Siro.

I'd have loved the chance to sing "have you ever seen a pig fan in Milan" to our porcine chums. :)
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I would have loved to see us representing England in Europe as the winners of the cup.

But as some sort of sloppy seconds simply because arsenal qualified for the CL? No thanks. Not next year.
 
The only thing that annoys me is that yet another smallish club gets added to the list of clubs that have achieved something in my lifetime whilst we still haven't.

Our short time in the Premier League gave us the chance to "do a Hull" but we tossed it away against 4th Division Swansea in preference for trying to survive.

No problems about Sunday at all, we came, we took over everything and we gave it a good shot.
 
Can see OPs point, but don't support it. The defending was as good as it will be for a div one side, certainly one that twenty odd games ago was shipping goals aplenty. Maguire is good, but nowhere near as good as PL standard. Collins might not be with us next season in truth, as he is a bit of a carthorse. Brayford hasn't had much to bond and get ingrained into the side. We have come a long way in a very short time, the real turning point being Flynn's goal at Villa Park. I don't think we could have expected any more from the team that really has changed it's shape and method completely from a stuttering, direrectionless mess under Weir to a passing, attacking team under Cluff. No one will deny that the goals were avoidable. All goals are. That's the name of the game. Hull prevented us from scoring a number of times. Stevenage wouldn't. That's why Hull are where they are. I can only find positives from our winning run and our appearance in the penultimate FA Cup tie. Compared to former FA Cup ties in the latter stages it was a fucking treat to watch, and the mere fact that we didn't get dicked with no reply spells out so much for us when you consider the last ten years has seen such misery.

Ollie - please try not to see the need to criticise. United have done well and deserve praise. We have seen good come from bad this season and we need to accept that the world has suddenly acknowledged that our team is on it's uppers.

pommpey
 
Personally I think this type of debate is more appropriate on Deadbat's Match Report thread, which is always quality, more so than any newspaper I read.

On Deadbat's semi-final report thread I made my criticism of Nigel rather than the players. We had choices at half-time, then when they equalised and then when we went one behind, and yet we made our first changes of personnel on 80 minutes. Even then we didn't change the formation. Bruce had a Plan B, Nigel didn't.

As I said the other day, I love Nigel to bits and we are so lucky to have him, but he missed a trick or two last Sunday. I would not blame the players who were unnecessarily exposed. Mourinho draws 10 men behind the ball for as long as necessary, even against lesser teams; Nigel didn't do that. On the other hand Bruce got it totally wrong first half. Trouble is it's usually the second half that matters if the opposition don't hold on to what they earned first half.
 
pommpey said:
We have seen good come from bad this season
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As the sign in the tunnel says…

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(thank you to Ms Webster for improving the shot)
 

Olle, we can criticize our defense, although I believe it is a team sport. Defense starts at the front anf goes right through the squad. However, go back, take a look at our goals, how was the Premier league defense? Especially in the second and third of our goals.

We played with confidence, pride and togetherness after such a crappy half season. Looks good for the next season to me!
 
I'm a bit fed up of hearing how we shouldn't be too upset at conceding 5 goals against Hull because of they're highly superior Premier League players.

I'd just like to remind people that we only conceded 2 goals against Aston Villa and Fulham in 300+ minutes.

In the Premier League this season Fulham have scored the same amount of goals as Hull and Villa have scored more.
 
Woodwardfan said:
Bruce had a Plan B, Nigel didn't.
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Trouble is with with our squad and lack of options we have not got a Plan B or C yet. If plan A doesnt work at the min we are screwed. I'm hoping next year when Clough as had time to build his own squad them options will emerge.
 
I was as disappointed with the outcome as anyone, but I also recognise a good performance when I see one. And that was a good performance deserving of praise rather than negative criticism.
 
Lee Staniland said:
Trouble is with with our squad and lack of options we have not got a Plan B or C yet. If plan A doesnt work at the min we are screwed. I'm hoping next year when Clough as had time to build his own squad them options will emerge.
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I know exactly what you mean but there is nothing to stop any manager putting 10 men behind the ball, deep if necessary, until the teeth are drawn from the opposition. Chelsea won the European Cup doing nothing but that.
 
PeterNdlovu081 said:
I'm a bit fed up of hearing how we shouldn't be too upset at conceding 5 goals against Hull because of they're highly superior Premier League players.

I'd just like to remind people that we only conceded 2 goals against Aston Villa and Fulham in 300+ minutes.

In the Premier League this season Fulham have scored the same amount of goals as Hull and Villa have scored more.
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Granted nuddy but I think it's not been mentioned we appeared to be using different tactics against hull, we didn't sit back as much to defend and seemed far more on the front foot, maybe he should have switched back to the normal fast counter attack from a 9 man defence and instead of 5-3 it might have been 1-0 war of attrition, I for one enjoyed the game though the result was wack, but what it did show is we may just have a plan B in the making if we can just find a fast striker.
UTB
 
PeterNdlovu081 said:
I'm a bit fed up of hearing how we shouldn't be too upset at conceding 5 goals against Hull because of they're highly superior Premier League players.

I'd just like to remind people that we only conceded 2 goals against Aston Villa and Fulham in 300+ minutes.

In the Premier League this season Fulham have scored the same amount of goals as Hull and Villa have scored more.
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So what. Different games, at different venues and at different times of the season in different circumstances.

Three of the Hull goals came in a 15 minute period where we failed to get to grips with their changed team, and the 5th was a break away at the very end of the game when we were pushing forward in an attempt to get an equaliser (which we weren't a million miles away from getting).

We played well and for there to be no recognition of that in the OP, just negative criticism, is in my view somewhat mind boggling.
 
I remember the Huddersfield game just under two years ago where we turned up playing for penalties, were 1 up after 3 penalties each and went on to lose. At first I was gutted but in the end just angry we didn't have the bottle to finish it. Or even attack them in the 90 minutes; but then we'd done our usual which means going into a big match with no outlet, striking options or real hope amongst the fans.

Sunday was more different than that than is possibly imaginable, albeit with a similar outcome in that we lost. But we went out to win the game and on another day Brayford would have cushioned that cross into Howard's arms and we'd have kept it tight for the first 10 minutes of the second half. Hull would have got desperate and thrown everything forward and then Chris Porter, brought on to run down the clock, would have put us 3-1 up.

How anyone can say they aren't proud of that performance is beyond me.
 
Can't believe some of the posts it am reading. Has everyone forgot 8 weeks ago we were 2nd bottom of league 1? We can not hide from the fact we are now a mid table league 1 side. Tactically on Sunday we got it spot on from the start, keep the ball as much as possible, keep Hull guessing on how we will approach the game, get everyone on the ball as soon as possible then bang hit them with a surprise. They equalise but nothing changes keep the ball then surprise them again. They made 2 changes at HT and we couldn't handle it but that is why they play in the premier league and are currently mid table.

We haven't got that amount of top players to allow us to change a game like that and we can not expect us to have. Not only do we not have the funds but we also have not got the wage allowance in this league to do that. We played our best 11 and if they hadn't got that strength in depth we would have won. They won a game of 2 halves because they had better players and scored more goals, yes our defending was poor but so was there's, there fifth was a breakaway goal because we were pushing forward and had we not the game would have finished 4-3. I truly believe we would have beaten any side outside the prem on Sunday playing like we did and that shows you how far we have come.

Rant over, but one last thing I hope when NC said he wants to come back to wembley soon I really hope he isn't thinking of next seasons playoffs :D.
 
I thought that the defending at times in the second half was poor and for a period, hull looked like they were going to score every time they got the ball forward. Maybe it was because they changed it, maybe because they were better players, maybe because we played in a more open attacking manner. Maybe partly all of this. Who knows, if clough decided to shut up shop in the second half and put 10 men behind the ball, things might have been different. I do feel a little irked that we had a real chance to make it through to the fa cup final for probably the last time in my life, but overall that didn't detract from how proud I was and how much I enjoyed the performance. I left the ground feeling not at all deflated despite the 'what could have been' thoughts.
 
The reality was the players did their best and gave their all.

I am often seen as quite critical in my reports but cannot really have a go at any of them. Sure a few may point to certain moments or lapses but it was a collective responsibility and many of the goals saw players beat in different areas for speed of thought, movement or clever quick play. It was not just about the centre backs but the whole team.

Sure the defending on a few of the goals was not great but it was not about mistakes but just quicker, sharper players that were better than ours. The 2nd annoyed me though as was a set play we should have seen out. Maguire got outmuscled (not a foul - Harry has done same this season for goals we have scored).

Many of the others could have been prevented if our players were better (eg Hull's standard) but they were not. For 15 minutes Hull were like what you thought you may see from Fulham or Villa but never did.

Every players gave their damnest to win that game and I will respect that. Versus Huddersfield and Palace and Burnley and Wolves ; repeat etc, we had sides/players as good if not better than the opposition and comparable wage bills. Sunday we did not. Yes, Hull are not as a big a club/have as many supporters/even as rich a history (not that ours is great) but they are where they are and are considerably better than us on and off the pitch and are sadly at least 5-6 years ahead of us (as are Southampton, Swansea, Stoke etc). To criticise the performance considering where we are and where they are is extremely harsh. I am gutted we did not win and get to the cup final. Yes, we can all say it was there and the second half start was a gutting but I don't think there was that much we could have done. You cant suddenly make players run faster, think quicker and basically be better in speed of thought and technical ability.

I said I wanted a goal and I said I wanted a performance. I got more than that in many ways. I came out feeling proud despite the loss.
 
PeterNdlovu081 said:
I'm a bit fed up of hearing how we shouldn't be too upset at conceding 5 goals against Hull because of they're highly superior Premier League players.

I'd just like to remind people that we only conceded 2 goals against Aston Villa and Fulham in 300+ minutes.

In the Premier League this season Fulham have scored the same amount of goals as Hull and Villa have scored more.
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Let's face it, if fulham or villa had played to their ability then we would have been stuffed.
 
I think Hull's tactical changes at half time and conceding an early set piece goal was such a shock for us that we lost focus, calmness and composure for a while. It's pretty easy to analyse our defensive mistakes, and for the vital third Hull goal we had at least three players making poor decisions/being sloppy. Each were pretty basic.

But let's remember that this wasn't a team that had been gradually built and developed for the past two or three years. It wasn't one that over time had gained such an understanding that it was perfectly prepared to - eventually - achieve the highlight of their Blades career on Sunday.

It was a team that went downhill under Wilson and continued to slide under Weir. Clough slowly stopped the rot and in months was somehow able to put out a team that against Premiership opposition clearly looked the better side for 45 minutes.

Then circumstances changed and our game plan needed tweaking, but as soon as the second half kicked off there was little chance for our management to reorganise. It was pretty much up to the team, one that's been built for just a few months, to deal with a situation they weren't completely prepared for.

I think we'll get better at handling such scenarios when the team has had more time together.
 

Deadbat said:
I said I wanted a goal and I said I wanted a performance. I got more than that in many ways. I came out feeling proud despite the loss.
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Completely agree. Frankly I'd have been equally proud of that game had we been a lower table Championship club too.
 
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