pommpey
THE FUTURE ... AS IT USED TO BE
- Banned
- #1
It's getting comfortably predictable now that we'll field eleven against oppositions and give them three easy points for fuck all. Today was no different. As much as opposition managers and studio pundits can be charitable and kind saying 'we should never take this game for granted', if you don't take it for granted, you're fucking stupid. I don't really care what people say now - we are easily beatable. We don't play with any challenge as such. The last time we could say we 'dominated' any part of a game (let alone a whole game) was versus West Brom. All other games have been pushovers, with at least seven out of eleven of our side showing Division One capability. We fail to defend at PL standard, our midfield is an incompetent mess and our attack might as well not be there. And now, it's time to admit it is mostly Chris Wilder's fault. He has the call on who to play, what system and what our tactics are ... regardless of who is out there. I tire now of lambasting him from this dark, quiet corner of the internet for fielding 5-3-2, because in a nutshell if you do what you have always done, you'll get what you always got. And we got beat, again. Quite what the fuck he is doing putting the likes of Oliver Norwood, Enda Stevens, John Fleck and Ethan Ampadu in any starting lineup is beyond me but if he does and if he has, I don't think it's a fucking clever idea to have them play in a formation where we have serially been served our fucking arses - fifteen times this season and three at the end of last. We have been iffy since the lifting of lockdown and frankly shit since the beginning of this season. And yet he still populates the team with flagging players, in a system which is so fucking easy to shit all over. Palace today did what every team has done so far this season and simply corralled our advances into a manageable, predictable package high in their half, deny us any outlets, dispossess us and fuck off back up the pitch because they knew, and everyone knows, getting the ball back off them or asking our midfield to do the spadework is an impossible endeavour. Watching Eze skip round Norwood, slowly accelerate away from him, sell Ampadu into the basement and plant a fucking peach into the bottom corner says everything about our side. Firstly, why haven't we got a player like him (ha, where to start?) secondly, how fucking easy did his run up the centre of the pitch and execution look, and finally, why the ... okay ... I'll not use biblical references, because some are sensitive ... fucking fuckbastarding fuck can't we do that? Who, actually is our ball carrier? Who is our Michael Brown? Who is our Eze?
The first goal was as predictable as it was actually avoidable, if rendered unfortunate that the skim off the sole of Egan's boot away from Ramsdale. But the second one was pure fucking uselessness and indicative of many we've all seen at BDTBL over the years which comes out of either nowhere or that gnawing feeling that results in you leaning over to your mate and saying, 'bet they fuckin' score nar!' Ball breaks, our supporters fear the worst and suddenly their players are wheeling away celebrating whilst the Bramall Lane lower is bouncing and everyone is either thinking 'we deserved that' or 'remind me why I support these cunts, once again'. Eze must have started on his journey thinking 'oh, this is easy' and suddenly found himself on the edge of the box with the far corner opening up like Katie Price's vast fanny and that in-form shotstopper Aran Ramsdale covering all angles. To be honest, as soon as he knew he had Norwood running with him (see Haller's goal for WHU against us at BDTBL, and Norwood escorting Siggurdsson into our box v Everton for comparison) I knew he'd score.
We did have a short spell of looking like we'd string some passes together, and even a shot on target, but the ball never reaches the feet of either McGoldrick or Mousset. Didsy had to go and do the heavy lifting our midfield couldn't and Mousset was just someone their back four could beat to a hopeful punt or beat for pace or dispossess. It was a desperate, pathetic performance across the park to be honest and if anything, worse than the abject whupping by Southampton.
Not exactly sure what formation we went from, to and back again. Thought at one point we were at 4-3-1-2, then it was 3-4-3, then 5-3-2.
But anyway - for 3-5-2 (for what it's fucking worth):
Ramsdale 4/10: Some catches you'd expect him to make, one dropped catch and flat footed for the Eze goal. When Egan is presenting Exe with the outside face, that is where Egan's tackle would come from. It's therefore good to think that if Eze is not taking Egan on and shaping to shoot, he'll us his instep to far corner it. Ramsdale didn't even get a hand to it. It was just like Walker's long range effort v Citeh.
Stevens 2/10: It's distressing how shit Enda Stevens has become. Today I think he was LCB at times but found himself up on the wing a lot, and other times sent some gobsmackingly crap passes straight to blue and red shirts
Egan 6.5/10: Did his best with a difficult front line coming at him from all sides and put in some crucial blocks and tackles
Ampadu 1/10: He doesn't want to play for us. End his nightmare and cut your losses Wilder. Send the fucker back. Piss weak, useless and effectively working his ticket.
Osborn 4/10: Puts in a shift, but basically can't compete. I am struggling why we wasted cash on him and not Joe Lolly, to be honest.
Fleck 2/10: His usual inept, underconfident, not-sure-what-to-fucking-do outing smattered with errors, misplaced passes, flagging the pace and yellow-could-be-red fouls
Norwood 2/10: Somewhere in the first half, he started with a few 'pings' which found Bogle over on the far flank but as much as they look ace for Norwood, because people know EXACTLY how this ends, they just box the recipient in and it goes back or ends up in a frantic 'hot-potato-ball' game where it either goes out of play or is given up. Then there's the easiness he is bypassed and can't tackle or defend and continues to boot the ball to the far wing, 'because he can' and it just gets mopped up. He did take two decent corners this time and avoided the near post, but they were five metres short of where our tall players were and still found an opposition head.
Basham (watch this!) 4/10: His poorest performance in a Blades shirt for ages, and ages. I just hope all this failure by the team isn't getting to him
McGoldrick 6/10: He tries. He really does.
Mousset. 1/10: Partially not his fault, but in the second half it was thirteen minutes until he touched the ball, and even then, he gave possession away. He really is crap, and Bournemough have had eleven million pounds off us for a player who still ... 18 months on ... hasn't completed 90 minutes for us.
Brewster 3/10: Poor kid
Hackford 2/10: Poor kid
Wilder 1/10: Not sure if Wilder is giving a message out, but defeat after defeat is hardly subliminal. His interviews are arse-covering, incoherent rambles which sound like masked excuses for the collapse in capability and the heartache and embarrassment his players cause him under his lineups and tactics. He has to get a grip on this because the effect on all the playing staff's self belief of all this disaster might not just limit itself to this season - none of them want Championship football next season but regardless of any clauses in contracts, given the dismally shit showing every week, I don't think there will be many PL managers - even those in teams going up - who are going to want to employ this shower of fuck ups and failure we have in red, white, pink and green at the moment. The way it stands, the only corn they'll earn next season will be away from the world stage and the cameras next August and that is gonna put a real dent in anyone's ambitions, especially if HRH has a rush of shit to the brain and pays underperformers like Norwood, Fleck and Stevens off and we look elsewhere. They won't ever play above D1 then and that won't half hurt. Wilder himself is showing stupid stubbornness and intransigence playing the same lineup every week. It is baffling and annoying in equal parts, especially as he has what we thought was the master tactician and technical guru Alan Knill beside him. On 80 minutes today Wilder looked up at the stadium clock and seemed to curse the amount of time left. Frankly, Playstation Manager as I am I'd have gone shit or bust and thrown the fucking kitchen sink at Palace, even if to get one goal and unsettle them like we did Arsenal. But the last minute we are passing it from Basham to Egan and to Norwood, who again is looking for the long ball to the flanks. What the fuck are you telling them, Wilder?
Bristol Rovers will be smelling blood, believe me. If we get beat by the gasheads, Wilder does need to pack his fucking bags. As much as I like him, we have shipps a lot of humiliation this season. Exiting the FA Cup in the third round to a lower league club will mean the writing is on the wall.
pommpey
The first goal was as predictable as it was actually avoidable, if rendered unfortunate that the skim off the sole of Egan's boot away from Ramsdale. But the second one was pure fucking uselessness and indicative of many we've all seen at BDTBL over the years which comes out of either nowhere or that gnawing feeling that results in you leaning over to your mate and saying, 'bet they fuckin' score nar!' Ball breaks, our supporters fear the worst and suddenly their players are wheeling away celebrating whilst the Bramall Lane lower is bouncing and everyone is either thinking 'we deserved that' or 'remind me why I support these cunts, once again'. Eze must have started on his journey thinking 'oh, this is easy' and suddenly found himself on the edge of the box with the far corner opening up like Katie Price's vast fanny and that in-form shotstopper Aran Ramsdale covering all angles. To be honest, as soon as he knew he had Norwood running with him (see Haller's goal for WHU against us at BDTBL, and Norwood escorting Siggurdsson into our box v Everton for comparison) I knew he'd score.
We did have a short spell of looking like we'd string some passes together, and even a shot on target, but the ball never reaches the feet of either McGoldrick or Mousset. Didsy had to go and do the heavy lifting our midfield couldn't and Mousset was just someone their back four could beat to a hopeful punt or beat for pace or dispossess. It was a desperate, pathetic performance across the park to be honest and if anything, worse than the abject whupping by Southampton.
Not exactly sure what formation we went from, to and back again. Thought at one point we were at 4-3-1-2, then it was 3-4-3, then 5-3-2.
But anyway - for 3-5-2 (for what it's fucking worth):
Ramsdale 4/10: Some catches you'd expect him to make, one dropped catch and flat footed for the Eze goal. When Egan is presenting Exe with the outside face, that is where Egan's tackle would come from. It's therefore good to think that if Eze is not taking Egan on and shaping to shoot, he'll us his instep to far corner it. Ramsdale didn't even get a hand to it. It was just like Walker's long range effort v Citeh.
Stevens 2/10: It's distressing how shit Enda Stevens has become. Today I think he was LCB at times but found himself up on the wing a lot, and other times sent some gobsmackingly crap passes straight to blue and red shirts
Egan 6.5/10: Did his best with a difficult front line coming at him from all sides and put in some crucial blocks and tackles
Ampadu 1/10: He doesn't want to play for us. End his nightmare and cut your losses Wilder. Send the fucker back. Piss weak, useless and effectively working his ticket.
Osborn 4/10: Puts in a shift, but basically can't compete. I am struggling why we wasted cash on him and not Joe Lolly, to be honest.
Fleck 2/10: His usual inept, underconfident, not-sure-what-to-fucking-do outing smattered with errors, misplaced passes, flagging the pace and yellow-could-be-red fouls
Norwood 2/10: Somewhere in the first half, he started with a few 'pings' which found Bogle over on the far flank but as much as they look ace for Norwood, because people know EXACTLY how this ends, they just box the recipient in and it goes back or ends up in a frantic 'hot-potato-ball' game where it either goes out of play or is given up. Then there's the easiness he is bypassed and can't tackle or defend and continues to boot the ball to the far wing, 'because he can' and it just gets mopped up. He did take two decent corners this time and avoided the near post, but they were five metres short of where our tall players were and still found an opposition head.
Basham (watch this!) 4/10: His poorest performance in a Blades shirt for ages, and ages. I just hope all this failure by the team isn't getting to him
McGoldrick 6/10: He tries. He really does.
Mousset. 1/10: Partially not his fault, but in the second half it was thirteen minutes until he touched the ball, and even then, he gave possession away. He really is crap, and Bournemough have had eleven million pounds off us for a player who still ... 18 months on ... hasn't completed 90 minutes for us.
Brewster 3/10: Poor kid
Hackford 2/10: Poor kid
Wilder 1/10: Not sure if Wilder is giving a message out, but defeat after defeat is hardly subliminal. His interviews are arse-covering, incoherent rambles which sound like masked excuses for the collapse in capability and the heartache and embarrassment his players cause him under his lineups and tactics. He has to get a grip on this because the effect on all the playing staff's self belief of all this disaster might not just limit itself to this season - none of them want Championship football next season but regardless of any clauses in contracts, given the dismally shit showing every week, I don't think there will be many PL managers - even those in teams going up - who are going to want to employ this shower of fuck ups and failure we have in red, white, pink and green at the moment. The way it stands, the only corn they'll earn next season will be away from the world stage and the cameras next August and that is gonna put a real dent in anyone's ambitions, especially if HRH has a rush of shit to the brain and pays underperformers like Norwood, Fleck and Stevens off and we look elsewhere. They won't ever play above D1 then and that won't half hurt. Wilder himself is showing stupid stubbornness and intransigence playing the same lineup every week. It is baffling and annoying in equal parts, especially as he has what we thought was the master tactician and technical guru Alan Knill beside him. On 80 minutes today Wilder looked up at the stadium clock and seemed to curse the amount of time left. Frankly, Playstation Manager as I am I'd have gone shit or bust and thrown the fucking kitchen sink at Palace, even if to get one goal and unsettle them like we did Arsenal. But the last minute we are passing it from Basham to Egan and to Norwood, who again is looking for the long ball to the flanks. What the fuck are you telling them, Wilder?
Bristol Rovers will be smelling blood, believe me. If we get beat by the gasheads, Wilder does need to pack his fucking bags. As much as I like him, we have shipps a lot of humiliation this season. Exiting the FA Cup in the third round to a lower league club will mean the writing is on the wall.
pommpey
