No desire

[Akinbiyi]

It was fucking awful by and large.

Played zero football, particularly nothing from the back - a total unwillingness to play short and through the lines resulted in us twatting it fifty yards to Sharp on many an occasion.

Norwood, Ravel, K.Freeman might have been better staying in bed. Quite how Ravel got MoM is beyond me!

Only players to really do anything IMO were Moore, Mousset and L.Freeman, and Besic got around fairly well but hardly helped us set any tempo.

All in all a thoroughly boring performance that was somehow good enough to get us through.

Right so I liked this but totally disagree RE Ravel.

Best player on the park when he got involved. Flashes of brilliance, got stuck in, set up the second goal and all in very testing circumstances. Thought he was great all things considered and the way we chose to play.

 

[knowsnowt]

Biggest positive for me was seeing the moose had his thinking hat on. You can see he knows where he should be even though hes still a half yard off it fitness wise. It'll come and I think it'll really boost us when he's fully on it.

"We go again".

 

[Iceybabey]

If you put 11 blokes who haven’t played competitive football on a pitch they won’t click and play well straight away. If you put one or two of those blokes in the first 11 surrounded by players that have been playing week in week out then they will play better. That’s it really.

Totally agree. I play Sunday league and we've just started a new team, with a lot of new lads, who don't know each other and we're all over the place at times during our preseason games. Simple to understand that it's going to to take time to gel, or maybe some of the lads lack desire

 

[raimond]

He hates his dad, and has nothing to do with him. Hence why he has ‘Ravel’ and has done for a long long time.

As for him being MOTM, it was clear as day? Best player on the pitch by a way.

Didn't know the bit about his Dad, fair play. Clear as day...I wouldn't say so. I'd say there's plenty wanting him to be class. Be interesting if his performance tonight was from someone else, whether you'd be saying the same.

 

[Akinbiyi]

Didn't know the bit about his Dad, fair play. Clear as day...I wouldn't say so. I'd say there's plenty wanting him to be class. Be interesting if his performance tonight was from someone else, whether you'd be saying the same.

Considering they set up the second goal with a touch of class in an otherwise unremarkable game yes quite probably

 

[sitwell]

Drama Queens alert

Loads of em

 

[Weasel]

Tonight was purely an exercise in getting some minutes on the pitch in a competitive game for the lads who haven't really been involved so far.

It was a very useful evening and a lot of our squad players will be all the better for it.

The win was a nice bonus. Job done, and some game time in the bank for a lot of the lads.

Some people don't half overreact.

 

[Scarebus]

He hates his dad, and has nothing to do with him. Hence why he has ‘Ravel’ and has done for a long long time.

As for him being MOTM, it was clear as day? Best player on the pitch by a way.

Rav was a bit toss until wilder got in his ear at about 60 mins while one of the Blackburn lads was getting treatment. Dunno what he said to him but something switched on in his head.

 

[Sheepstone]

Hmmm. To be expected really. A team of players chucked together for the first time so can't expect much else really.

That 11 never played together ever.

Hope they've been playing in practice and some of the closed door friendlies then. Otherwise what we been paying them for the last 3 months or more for.

 

[Davalon]

Dont see the need to panic but if you're judging tbe game in isolation we were far from comfortable and I thought some of the performances were really disappointing.

 

[ThatJa]

First time the back 5 had played together in a competetive match

First start for 2 of the 3 midfielders

Strikeforce apart that was a pretty much slung together team to get some fitness. Yes we could have lost and it could have backfired like it did v Barnet last year, but we still got a result, playing bad but getting a win isn't anything to shun.

 

[Torrix1889]

I didn't go last night, but obviously from the comments it wasn't great.....there's also been a few grumbles following the Leicester game that something is not quite right/clicking at the moment....

Let's not forget we have started slowly every season under CW....last season we lost the first 2 games and went out of the League Cup to Hull on pens...the season before we lost 2 of the first 3 league games and went out of the League Cup in the second round after scraping past League 1 Walsall 3-2 in the first round......and we all know we were bottom with only a point after 4 games in the L1 promotion season.

The new players need time to bed into our system, some of them will never have played anything like it before which is probably why CW has largely stuck with the players that took us up to start with rather than chuck our multi-million pound signings in from day 1. Ravel looked like a spare part when he came on against Leicester and I felt for him, despite that he showed a few flashes of what he is capable of and it sounds as though he was the best of a bad bunch last night. Robbo has looked lost at times and had a poor game against Leicester....Freeman has slotted in well but to be honest the role he has been asked to play is very similar to that he was doing at QPR.

CW has already said about Ravel & Moose that he wants them to get up to speed but that they will both be big players for us this season. Osborn is obviously a squad player as is Jags and Besic will push Norwood all the way....for me, his place is probably one of the most vulnerable at the moment, he was poor against Leicester and it sounded as though he was poor again last night, despite his goal. My other biggest concern is defensive cover, especially now Bryan has picked up another injury, we look very weak in that department.

Give it time, I know we can't afford to start losing a lot of games in the Prem but 3 games in we are better off than the last 3 seasons under CW and at a much higher level.

 

[AlienWoodward]

People saying the players didn't turn up, well neither did the fans!
I enjoyed it, it was good to see players we've not seen much of and the game was exactly as expected.
Blackburn tried to make a game of it but we managed to keep them at bay. Which tells me we've stepped up a notch as this united team was far better than the first team we were watching a few seasons ago.
Of the new players Besic, Moussett and Ravel showed to me they can be trusted this season.
Thankfully (hopefully) this team won't be needed on whole this season.

 

[BladeTillIDie]

Colchester won away at palace on pens.
Crawley beat norwich at home.

 

[Ricky]

People saying the players didn't turn up, well neither did the fans!

............☝

 

[Blade for Sale]

Time to replenish the deserts again with the tons of sand falling out of vaginas.

• It's a cup we don't care about
• We swapped almost our entire first XI for players who are a). inferior and b). getting to know each other
• Likely instructions to the players: don't get injured, try a few new things/combinations, get your fitness up. A win's a bonus
• Blackburn are a decent side, made fewer changes than us, would have been more up for it than us and had decent players out
• The atmosphere was akin to a pre-season friendly

All of these factors combine almost to guarantee a lacklustre performance.

BUT WE STILL FUCKING WON.

 

[Torrix1889]

............☝

To be fair I didn't finish work until 6pm and have a 250 mile round trip....

 

[Ricky]

To be fair I didn't finish work until 6pm and have a 250 mile round trip....

Drive faster.

 

[WORKSOPBLADE]

Moose... excited by his cameo and will definitely give us a presence up front when fit. Hope he can finish.

Ravel ... jury out for me. Struggling to see where he’ll fit in our system. Freeman already can play duel roles in our midfield.

Besic ... got better as game went on but heart in mouth every time he went into a tackle.

Osborne... saw a really strong performance at Barnsley pre season from him so overall a good squad player that can cover on left.

Moore ... excellent last night but definitely a no. 2

Jags... really worried he’s not prem standard now. 2/3 excellent cross field passes but very late to some tackles. As said before cover for Eagan ok but RCB would really concern me as feel he’d be exposed by pace.

K Freeman... shot. Looked unfit,again, and disinterested unfortunately. Understand completely why he doesn’t even make the bench.

The two Oli’s.... both struggled although a lovely finish for our second Oli N ! Hope they were told they were starting at Chelsea before last night and being careful.

 

[Lmaobob]

It was fucking awful by and large.

Played zero football, particularly nothing from the back - a total unwillingness to play short and through the lines resulted in us twatting it fifty yards to Sharp on many an occasion.

Norwood, Ravel, K.Freeman might have been better staying in bed. Quite how Ravel got MoM is beyond me!

Only players to really do anything IMO were Moore, Mousset and L.Freeman, and Besic got around fairly well but hardly helped us set any tempo.

All in all a thoroughly boring performance that was somehow good enough to get us through.

Bang on

 

[Lmaobob]

Simon Moore literally couldn't have had a better game but people still classing him as a certain "no 2" and not rating him as MOTM or anything like that.

Not sure if most people on here went to the match. He had a blinder.

 

[madeinsheffield]

I know the team was always going to be a changed one but I was disappointed with the turn out, on paper the '2nd 11' looked good and there was always going to be a high chance of seeing Ravel & Mussett, amongst others, prices were cheap and kids are off school.

 

[Torrix1889]

Drive faster.

A physical impossibility on the M1 at that time!

 

[Roygbiv]

The exact same concerns were posted after the Barnet game.

Stearman wasn't good enough to come in (played brilliant in every game after that)

Freeman was unfit and finished (wasn't on the losing side in any games he played after that)

Lundstram should be sold (played excellent in our first 2 premiership games)

Dowell was weak and wouldn't be able to hack it (played a big

Marvin Johnson was terrible (ok, that was true)

 

[Grappler]

Mousset looks a real handful for 23 years old, he has some pace for a big lad.

Ravel did a couple of neat tricks, and you can see why as a youth player, he would have excited people, but sometimes the simple stuff is the stuff that works, and best not to over complicate. Neat trick where he chipped the ball over a Blackburn players head, ran around him, ball landed on his head, and he ran forward, heading the ball to himself (if that makes sense) for a few steps, then back on the deck.

I actually thought Osborn had a decent game.

 

[diplomat]

I know the team was always going to be a changed one but I was disappointed with the turn out, on paper the '2nd 11' looked good and there was always going to be a high chance of seeing Ravel & Mussett, amongst others, prices were cheap and kids are off school.

I’m away at the moment but had I been in Sheffield I doubt if I had gone. Times change, kids, cups (well this cup certainly) not being as important to me, contribute to me ‘concentrating on the league’. Years ago I was eager to go to Zenith Data Systems cup games, any game really, but had more spare time and my following of United was more fervent.

 

[Pinchy]

first half poor and very lucky to be 2 up off 2 chance, credit moore for Pen save. 2nd half we look more competative, Luke made a big difference, organised the midfield and besic did not have to throw himself about like in the first half, 3 sliding tackles in 5 mins would get him a red in the prem. Moose did look quality, but 30 mins at end is too early to judge. Still only Luke who has nailed his place in the team of the new guys. Mcburnie will be a starter with Robinson I guess at Chelsea. If Fleck is fit, does Lunny make way?

In what way were we “lucky”? Both goals were perfectly valid and well taken. Moore saved Blackburn’s only first-half attempt very well. How was luck involved? It wasn’t.

Why should Lunny or anyone else make way for Fleck? Lunny, Ollie, Freeman is the obvious selection. Fleck will have to win his place back, like anyone else. That’s football.

 

[Pinchy]

Tonight was purely an exercise in getting some minutes on the pitch in a competitive game for the lads who haven't really been involved so far.

It was a very useful evening and a lot of our squad players will be all the better for it.

The win was a nice bonus. Job done, and some game time in the bank for a lot of the lads.

Some people don't half overreact.

Oh, dem jerkin’ knees. They never fail. Hilarious or ridiculous? Take your pick.

 

[Scarebus]

Watching Mousset warm up, looked like he wanted to be back in his suite in the copthorne playing FIFA, but came on in the second half and looked good.

Dithered a bit in a one on one with the keeper, and was away at goal before the lines man made one of his many shite decisions of the night. Decent showing from him I thought.

 

[Sheffsteel]

Simon Moore literally couldn't have had a better game but people still classing him as a certain "no 2" and not rating him as MOTM or anything like that.

Not sure if most people on here went to the match. He had a blinder.

Agree.....when they did the man of the match competition They put up the contenders to vote for as Morrison, Moore or Stearman.

Laughed my head off when it came up as Morrison voted as man of the match....the real winner was Simon Moore....he made some brilliant saves.
However Moore has always been an excellent shot stopper.....his weakness is dominating his area where he struggles on corners and crosses.