Obviously disappointed and crushed by this loss and yes, it's effect is to bang more nails in our relegation coffin and stick Wilder's arse further out to be kicked. From back to front there were upticks in performance across the pitch (compared to West Brom, but to be honest, you can either stay shit or get better) but again, the weaknesses are all still there and still so evident when we play in such a critically negative formation.
We are easily placed on the back foot and true to for as has happened too many times this season, we start promisingly enough until the opposition is warmed up and lost the ball on ten minutes spending the next half hour just watching the opposition play triangles around us. Sometime between twenty and thirty minutes we lose concentration and sure as shit, today was no different with Leicester's first. It was Billy Smart's clown troupe defending - all that was missing was a small multicoloured car which has doors falling off, a hooter and a smoking exhaust. In fairness though there was a lot more about the response to that and I was delighted to see McBurnie grab his first of the season, albeit against a LCFC defence now renowned for conceding from set pieces. It capped a rather bloody excellent performance from a bloke so much under pressure to deliver. But elsewhere we were pretty pants again, the defence in the first half exposed down one flank, the four midfielders who played tonight all well below expected PL standards and the front two may as well have played at BDTBL next week whilst the team was away down here on the South Coast given the fact that the three midfielders seemed to be playing in a layered 8-0-2 formation and were so far away from them. Schmiecel didn't have much of a save to make and I can't recall LCFC defence being under any sustained real pressure that they couldn't (one again) shepherd into the now-benign areas between touchline and penalty area where it's only a matter of time before we simply give it up. Crossing and delivery into the box was typically shit (Basham gave our best cross) and for too long we were under the cosh. When we did break out, it was almost inevitable we'd make the wrong decision and end up shuttling back. We definitely had a chance to win this, but be honest, as Wilder brought Norwood on, did anyone really believe the score would end SUFC 2-1 LCFC, or that Jamie fucking pigfan Vardy would simply pop up and do what he always does, namely capitalise on a chance McBurnie was offered a fortnight a go and finish the job with a marksman's deadliness?
We're down now. Happy Christmas. Wilder has rolled his 5-3-2 dice one last time, his lack of astuteness in the transfer market has landed us with a defective, underskilled and underperforming team and the hopes, dreams and prayers of hundreds of thousands of Blades fans across the globe are now in tatters. Five games ago he had the chance to haul this round, but still we plod on with the predictable - and beatable - formulaic nonsense we saw out there today. Last season? Forget it. It's last season. It was a freak set of circumstances, highlighted a unique playing format and we were clearly (and I keep saying this) kept where we were by the cohesion between Basham, Egan and O'Connell and some frankly breath-taking stuff from Henderson. Even when we were beaten pre lockdown (like at Anfield) the feeling was that the margin of team cost and tactics had done it, rather than what this team failed to make up for in spirit. This season the spirit has gone and it seems most players know our club is doomed. Be interesting to see how they are playing at the end of February when we are on 8 points (or less) and the nearest few teams are scrapping it out twenty points ahead of us. By that time of course, BDTBL will be hopefully with fans, poor fuckers who last time they stood there we were looking at Europe.
What a tragedy for us all.
Ramsdale 7/10: A much better game but loses a point for some heart-stoppingly shit handling at times. Not sue what they coach him during the week about removing energy from the flight of the ball, but one key learning point in my level 2 coaching was indeed just that.
Baldock 6/10: Stroppy George did his level best to motor up the wing and motor back to defend, as soon as he, Basham and Berge completed their ten-piece passing move and given it to a blue shirt
Basham 6/10: Some decent defending and for much of the game handled Vardy pretty much okay. But he looks sick. Sick of this shit. Think where he was when he rammed that goal in against Leeds and that 'train' at Stoke. Look at where he is now.
Egan 6/10: Still for much of the game doing two Centre Back's jobs. Not quick enough or reading the move enough for Vardy's break away though I'd rather have him in the team for the next few games than lose him to a red card
Bryan 5/10: A much better game for him, but still plays at lower Championship level. Ball watching for a lot of the time hen he should be getting active. Noticed him up the wing though, so there's some hope, even for next season when Jack is transferred.
Lowe 3/10: Still a Derby player. Lucky to stay on and thankfully replaced. Even my wife said, 'he's off for that', for that crap second tackle
Lundstram 5/10: Adds some muscle to the midfield, but he's clumsy and gives the ball away to easily. Nick Montgomery with ginger hair, anyone?
Berge 5.5/10: He flatters to deceive. Picks up the ball, drops the shoulder, weaves into a nest of players, turns round, heads backwards, turns again, moves outward, turns backwards, turns again, passes it back to Ramsdale. There's just no playmaking, creativity or drive with Berge. Beat the man, lay it off, have a crack on goal. Seems t have problems with 'Away End' and 'Home End'
Fleck 4/10: He's still barely 40% of the midfield dynamo of 12 months ago but like Berge, when he actually gets the ball, there's no obvious outlets, players moving into space, available, moving forward. Loses a whole two points for shit concertation and control which led to our defeat. Unforgivable
Burke 5/10: Dug out but got nowt. Refreshing to see him harrying and actually trying to close down the opposition but to no real effect. He's never gonna score, this chap, is he? We've swapped a perfectly capable front man/winger with a cursed also ran who tries hard, but ends up on the losing side, now twenty odd times. I think a good Paddy Power tip is if he is starting, bet for us to lose. And you have to ask yourself - if that chance he had had fallen to Vardy, it would have been buried deep in our net.
McBurnie 8/10: Man of the Match for me. Fuck me, will you look at that. Thought in both penalty areas he made the difference although come sixty minutes it's quite obvious what the gameplan was for us - put some snow on it and find the lanky fucker in the nine shirt. This we did, but nine times out of ten, once it boinged off his ginger nut, it went to a blue shirt. The only time it didn't it nestled into their net.
Osborn 6.5/10: Typical grafting performance. Miles better than Lowe.
Norwood 2/10: Nice Championship - even lower - first touch for our gifted midfield talisman. Straight into Schmiecel's hands and over ten feet from the nearest player. His next cross - first man as well. Even Maddison was tributing him with his similarly shit crossing, the piss taking cunt. Aside from pointing a lot and neshing tackles (or just fouling) there's nowt much else, and substituing an average Lundstram for a frankly dogshit Norwood was testimony to Chris Wilder's bizarre strategy
Brewster 2/10: Ran around a lot. Decent chip. Poor kid.
Wilder 4/10: Every chance to get even one point, maybe three. Came away with nowt thanks to his insistence on 5-3-2 and his substitutions.
Ref: 7/10: Kept us at 11 men
pommpey
