Norwich City vs Sheffield United

vs

EFL Championship Matchweek 3 - Saturday 24th August 2024 - 15:00 - Carrow Road
Please keep all discussion related to the match within this thread.

Player Ratings:
Matchday Stats/Player Ratings - https://www.s24su.com/forum/match-day/match/norwich-city-vs-sheffield-united.700/

Officials:

Referee: Josh Smith
Assistants: Sam Lewis, Jonathan Hunt
Fourth Official: David Rock

Coverage:

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Live TV Coverage:

TBC.

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​

 

[bakeblade]

3 points after 3 games - not good enough when there are options on the subs bench which aren't used early enough or at all.
If Moore is not firing , sub him
If OHare is knackered , sub him
We had JRS , Campbell & Brewster on the bench but we leave it too late
A point is worth risking to get 3.
Where has Wilder's front foot football gone ?

5 from 3 actually, 2 away games and unbeaten.
For effectively a new team and system that's more than acceptable.
Good job you aren't a Luton fan.

 

[JJBlade]

So how do you explain the second goal against Preston?

Were you hiding behind the sofa when Hamer lobbed the keeper?

Were you shitting it when we lashed in a second, third and fourth against Wrexham?

I was confident before the game even kicked off against Preston, the reason why is because I knew we'd go there to play. Don't know why I thought that, but I just felt it.

Very confident before the QPR game, and remained confident after we'd scored the second, but within a few minutes you could sense a change starting to happen, and the virtual silence at Bramall Lane suggested almost every one else felt it too.

 

[PeterNdlovu081]

I was confident before the game even kicked off against Preston, the reason why is because I knew we'd go there to play. Don't know why I thought that, but I just felt it.

Very confident before the QPR game, and remained confident after we'd scored the second, but within a few minutes you could sense a change starting to happen, and the virtual silence at Bramall Lane suggested almost every one else felt it too.

More often than not, teams that go two nil up or two goals ahead go on to win the match.

Sometimes a team will blow a two goal lead but it's uncommon.

It's nothing specific to Sheffield United.

 

[Working Class Hero]

That's a decent result, and the first half performance was good. It all just feels a bit worse than it is because of last weekends capitulation, which is still annoying me.

The fact is though, that we're unbeaten in four and should have won three of them, and currently have the 6th best record in the league with a team of strangers (it'd be 3rd if it wasn't for the aforementioned capitulation). It's fine.

 

[JJBlade]

More often than not, teams that go two nil up or two goals ahead go on to win the match.

Sometimes a team will blow a two goal lead but it's uncommon.

It's nothing specific to Sheffield United.

We could have got a third goal and still nobody in the stadium would have been confident, the nervous silence and tension would still have been there. It is bred into generation after generation of fans knowing if anybody can blow it United will.

Most teams going 2-0 up will win, that's true, and it's even true in United's case. But the stadium can't relax and enjoy it because everyone just knows with United that sloppiness and stupidity are never far away.

The club will never get noise in Bramall Lane ever again because all that is expected even if we were 3-0 up is stupidity, sloppiness and either the massive anti-climax of just about scraping over the line, or screwing it up big time.

 

[bonobo]

I thought Brooks was excellent again, in terms of all round performance he has been better than OHare and Hamer. But he is really is isolated on the right, I think if we can find a way to get someone overlapping him on the right, it would make a real difference. Not sure who or how, however...

 

[PeterNdlovu081]

We need to be patient.

Out of the eleven players that started today only one of them had ever started a Championship game for us before this season.

That was one solitary start for Arblaster against Cardiff in November 2022.

It's going to take time for these new lads to get going.

 

[Keen Blade]

5 from 3 actually, 2 away games and unbeaten.
For effectively a new team and system that's more than acceptable.
Good job you aren't a Luton fan.

It isn't 5 , it's 3 - those 2 points will not get added back at the end of the season.
I look at the potential if the appropriate changes are made by the manager in-game ... I'm saying "go for the win" , which Wilder doesn't seem to want to do

 

[Hackey Blade]

I thought Brooks was excellent again, in terms of all round performance he has been better than OHare and Hamer. But he is really is isolated on the right, I think if we can find a way to get someone overlapping him on the right, it would make a real difference. Not sure who or how, however...

My preference would be to drop o’hare and play Brooks on the left and Rak-Saki on the right with harmer in the middle, then when Brooks / Rak-Saki are knackered take them off and return to a back five & obviously when Hamer is knackered replace him with O’hare, to be honest though we need a more clinical striker as well someone way better than we have at present.

 

[goatherder]

I thought Brooks was excellent again, in terms of all round performance he has been better than OHare and Hamer. But he is really is isolated on the right, I think if we can find a way to get someone overlapping him on the right, it would make a real difference. Not sure who or how, however...

Seriki

 

[Hackey Blade]

Seriki

Seriki would be my option when changing it late on to a back five.

 

[bonobo]

Seriki

Yep, I don't know how good Seriki is, but that makes a difference. Anel went to right back for 10 mins against QPR and got two crosses in, so I think it's a really productive avenue. But I was wondering if there was smg we could exploit within the starting XI, I don't if if Arblaster or Ohare could get outside Brooks at times

 

[Kev Gee]

Good point. Take it and move on.

 

[JPBrods]

Really can’t tell you how much I enjoyed seeing Arblaster score and celebrate in front of us all today. It is absolutely remarkable that we keep getting to see young players who are “our own” get on the pitch and succeed like he is doing. It’s honestly one of the best things about supporting this club because there really aren’t many other teams out there that can say as much. It’s a privilege.

 

[jt64]

Was neither there nor watching illegally today, but get the sense that come the end of the season that'll be a better point than how it seems now

 

[UddersBlade]

Was neither there nor watching illegally today, but get the sense that come the end of the season that'll be a better point than how it seems now

Agreed - decent point today. A lot of new players still fresh together. Disappointment was the QPR game. But ok today.

 

[The Crab]

The frustration for me was more last week when three points turned into one.

If that had happened, a point at Norwich doesn’t seem so bad.

Still unbeaten so a platform to build on

 

[dexter101]

Only saw second half but I'm not quite sure still what the plan is...

They are still learning as a group and feels a bit like we haven't yet got any patterns of play.

Burrows tries to get forward,but gilchrist (who was excellent) doesn't.

Brooks (who was excellent before tiring) pulls wide and cuts in, hamer wanders around left of centre.

Moore is a proven striker but I am not sure how we are using him. He becomes very isolated, isn't really in the play and when he is he seems a bit static.

Souttar was excellent, calm, solid, reliable and capable of a good pass or two.

Trusty looks a semi reliable cover. Not sure I want him every game but was good to see him try and assert himself a bit. I don't like him taking goal kicks though...

Coopers distribution from hand looks really good, got a bit flustered a few times ball at feet but again don't think we have settled into patterns for getting the ball out of danger.

Rak sayki looked good when he came on but not sure he had much support so had to just try and do everything himself when he got the ball.

Souza had got a yellow card first half so second half when I saw him it was just him being a bit cautious.

I think what I am trying to say is today I don't think anyone wasn't good enough. But our play and structure keeps needing to be worked on.

End of August unbeaten, arblaster has scored 2 for the season, good start to the season for me!

 

[loveWalrusDaveTheBlade]

It isn't 5 , it's 3 - those 2 points will not get added back at the end of the season.
I look at the potential if the appropriate changes are made by the manager in-game ... I'm saying "go for the win" , which Wilder doesn't seem to want to do

You can’t have it both ways. If you are seeking to judge the performance of the team on the pitch, and of the manager in making in-game changes ( and you purport to be doing both), then the facts are that they’ve won one and drawn two on the pitch. That’s 5 points won on the pitch. The fact that we started on minus two points can’t be used to detract from the on pitch performances.

 

[Keen Blade]

You can’t have it both ways. If you are seeking to judge the performance of the team on the pitch, and of the manager in making in-game changes ( and you purport to be doing both), then the facts are that they’ve won one and drawn two on the pitch. That’s 5 points won on the pitch. The fact that we started on minus two points can’t be used to detract from the on pitch performances.

Yeh , I've got frustrated + muddled myself up.
My main point is that of our two draws , last week definitely should have been a win and today's could have been.
Imo the reason we've dropped 4 points is the manager's inability to recognise what's happening in-game and make appropriate & timely changes.
This is concerning because whatever improvements can be made by players as they start to gel , Wilder's probably unable to improve this aspect.
There were things he could have done in the second half if he really wanted a win but sending on Slimane when you've got Brewster & Campbell ?

 

[Sky Blues]

Hamer is the best CM in the Championship. Anywhere else he is just average. O'Hare is a very good AM. A liability elsewhere though.

But Hamer pinging in a 30 yard pass to O'Hare running into space is what you will see frequently if both played in the right positions. They have a great understanding with each other but it's wasted when they play close together.

 

[BladeInIreland]

Hamer is the best CM in the Championship. Anywhere else he is just average. O'Hare is a very good AM. A liability elsewhere though.

But Hamer pinging in a 30 yard pass to O'Hare running into space is what you will see frequently if both played in the right positions. They have a great understanding with each other but it's wasted when they play close together.

Does Hamer need to play alongside someone more defensive in midfield? I think it's clear to all we are not getting the most out of Hamer but he would be taking the place of Souza or Arblaster, who are both playing well. Souza is the more defensive of the two and I doubt anybody would be on board with dropping out hot prospect blades fan captain on midfield who is playing really well. I could see people getting on board with dropping/selling Souza but would it really work?

 

[BrisBlade]

I can see us developing an 'elbow' back four. Gilchrist is more defensive so having Rak Sakyi / Brooks in front of him gives us the attack down that flank. Burrows is more attacking, so we don't necessarily need an out and left winger and we have the personnel to shift to a back three when we're attacking. That frees up Gus to play a free role. Getting that to work may take some time but could be where we are heading.

 

[cooperblade]

Nothing quite clicked for us in an attacking sense yesterday. I thought we put a bit more thought / effort into our shape when we didn't have the ball than we have done (Brooks and Hamer seemed to drop in more making it a 4-3-3 or a 4-4-2 at times) and that maybe hindered us from an attacking point of view - understandable as we work out this formation. The main thing though was that Moore, O'Hare and Hamer all had poor games.

The game was frenetic for the first 40 minutes and didn't really slow down until the injury break. Not sure that type of game is going to suit us when, most weeks, we'll have the better players on the pitch - think it makes it all a bit more random when it's so end to end and high tempo. As with QPR, we didn't finish the game well and it was mainly Norwich in the last 20 minutes.

Arblaster was class as we've come to expect - think it would be easy to take for granted just how good he is at receiving under pressure, moving away from opponents and finding a teammate. Two goals already is very encouraging as well.

Brooks and Gilchrist also played really well. Think Gilchrist is occasionally out of position (seems to get caught by players behind him) but he does a great job of covering his centre-backs, helped out by a nice turn of pace, and I thought yesterday was his best game so far. I've wondered a few times if Brooks is going to be good enough but yesterday he was more than good enough. Ran at players, got defenders retreating into the box and was our best attacking player by a mile.

Like others have said, I feel like the make up of our squad isn't quite right at the moment.

At the back, we look in good shape (unless Anel leaves) - 4 centre-backs ranging from very good to solid at this level and we have attacking and defensive options at full-back (albeit with no-one who is good at both).

It's in front of that that we're a bit unbalanced. We've got 3 excellent options to play just in the 2 in front of the defence in Souza, Arblaster and Hamer but that either means we leave someone on the bench or have a player out of position. Souza gives us a physicality that no-one else does (a few Norwich players literally bounced off him yesterday), Arblaster can't be left out and so we end up with Hamer being out of position (and, so far, out of sorts despite his goals).

We've then got players who probably have to play either as a 10 or as an out and out winger (O'Hare and Rak-Sakyi for example) which means certain formations just aren't going to work without accepting there isn't a role for some key players (e.g. we can't play 3-5-2 and put Rak-Sakyi in and I don't think 4-4-2 works for O'Hare and again, you struggle to get Souza, Arblaster and Hamer in).

Up front, we need to see how Campbell does (and I think he might be used wide anyway) but, at the moment, I'm not sure we have an option to replace Moore with someone else who is comfortable playing up front on their own.

I think we'll stick with 4-2-3-1 and I'm sure that injuries and suspensions are going to mean we don't always need to play people out of position.

My main concerns at the moment are how do we get the best out of Hamer, how do we avoid getting physically dominated if Souza leaves, how can we switch things up formation-wise when necessary and what happens if Moore gets injured or has a poor run.

 

[Flumps]

Not much I can say that hasn't already been posted. It's not the worst result and plenty of teams in that league would be more than happy but it just feels to me like it's 2 points dropped not 1 point gained.

It's early and the lads are finding feet, practically a new squad I think we're just a little frustrated knowing what they are capable and also very keen to get back to winning ways.

I'm confident it'll come I'm just impatient