Sheffield United vs Nottingham Forest

V.
Championship Week 34 - Friday 4th February 2022 - 19:45 - Bramall Lane
Please keep all discussion related to the match within this thread.​

Matchday Stats/Player Ratings - Sheffield United vs Nottingham Forest

Officials:

Referee: Josh Smith
Assistant Referee: Sam Lewis
Assistant Referee: Matthew Jones
Fourth Official: Robert Madley

Coverage:

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[William Large]

A point was a fair result over the whole game but gutting to concede so late.

As much as Hecky deserves praise when he gets it right, he got it wrong for the first 65-70’mins tonight.
Really poor to throw an 18 y/o kid in for his first start against a good, well organised side and we just couldn’t keep hold of the ball.

Osborn impressed me for the first time this season when he came on.
MGW looked a different player when the subs were made but before that was utterly woeful.

Jebbo was very bright and lively but I think we paid for not giving him more game time because he fluffed his lines twice and we should have been home and dry.

Being over critical maybe because injuries are crippling us but we still should have made earlier changes.

On current form over the last 3 games we look a top 10 side but not enough going forward to dominate and kill off the better sides. Let’s be honest we rode our luck against Blackburn and for the majority of tonight’s game.

As for McBurnie - I don’t want to jump on the bandwagon but what exactly does he bring to the table? Surely we could have brought either Hourihane on to keep hold of the ball - or Ndiaye.

 

[SB_90]

ah football, 93rd for you 1 home game & 94th against the next. normally im annoyed, but that was the least forest deserved. they were great can see why they beat Arsenal & Leicester. & why wilder recommended cooper. it wasnt a bad performance like we have seen. it was more that Forest are a good team & you cant make it as easy as we did by constantly giving it back to them as quickly & easily as we did for most of that game. your asking for trouble

1 sided refereeing was bordering on the absurd. couldnt get a decision for love nor money & forest were getting everything. i did wonder by 30mins, if we have to have 1 ours stretched off before we get a decision from the ref

on Mcburnie because he is topic of conversation. as a striker i dont see what he offers but the best i can describe him is as if we stuck Basham up front. because he's great at defending corners, holding the ball up & when you need to hold a lead

 

[Nedski]

The only thing more predictable than a shocking referee in the championship is an overreaction on here. A few points:

We have out first choice LWB, LCB, RCB, RWB(x2) missing

We've had a fixture congestion resulting in the need to rotate players to try and keep them fresh and fit. It's frustrating as we need a settled team, but we also need a team full stop and injuries are already making things difficult, we literally cannot afford more

Seriki was raw, not ready for the Championship, but I don't think he did too badly and will have learnt a lot

Egan, Berge, MGW, Sharp, Norwood collectively had off days. When your core players have off days you're going to struggle

Jebbo's cameo was good. Yes, he fluffed a pass and possibly should have scored (I felt the defender got a touch which flicked it up which made it easier for the keeper) but his closing down was excellent. He clearly needs more game time to get up to speed

McBurnie didn't do a great deal wrong. He's clearly not the answer and will never score consistently (at all?) for us. Won a couple of headers, got about a bit, and was actually in the right regarding the free kick being in the wrong place. Harsh yellow, but the referee was fucking atrocious all night

Forest are a decent, pacy team and closed down our midfield quickly and effectively so obviously had done their homework. They battered us for 70 minutes and overall we can be happy with a point as losing would have been disastrous

 

[bakeblade]

To play every game

Midfield 3, Berge, Fleck, Norwood (sub) Hourihane

Front 2, Sharp, MGW (sub) Ndiaye/Jebbo

No resting just play them every game and we get in the play offs.

We rested Berge the last game after him being amazing, today he was poor, didn’t do anything, looked lost, honestly couldn’t tell if he was right midfield or right back, this was after the staff and the star saying they had unlocked his potential by playing him further forward, but had him further back tonight? I’m not just saying it I don’t know where he played first half, just seemed lost. He has not played Saturday/Tuesday so should be raring to go playing only once a week. Don’t give me his injury rubbish, the man is fit and raring to go but it’s one step forward two steps back with team selections. We are all allowed opinions and I appreciate yours but that is mine and nothing will ever change my mind so I won’t post again on this issue.

Hecky had to move him inside to help out Fleck and Norwood, who were both being outrun and outclassed. Tonight proved again that they need replacing for next season.

 

[Champagneblade]

I maybe being harsh but that goal all stemmed from mcburnie playing silly twat in their corner. Hes a fucking liability.

I don't like that tactic. You're far better just passing it about the field. It seldom wastes any significant time because it usually ends in a foul being given.

Poor game management that by senior players that should know better.

 

[Champagneblade]

Criminal that osborne has been playing for so long. Disappointing performance and result but forrest were the better team today

What do you mean? If you mean that it is criminal he hasn't been playing, he's been injured.

 

[Nedski]

Hecky had to move him inside to help out Fleck and Norwood, who were both being outrun and outclassed.

Except when we were putting all the pressure on their defence by attacking non stop after the goal, we looked far far more dangerous. Berge was playing a lot deeper tonight and he had very little impact til we scored and he moved to his better position.

 

[metalblade]

That's twice now we have let the scab bastards off the hook. Sick of us giving late goal away this season. Didn't deserve a thing from the game tonight but to be fortunate and go in front when you are playing shite you have to see the game out

 

[Champagneblade]

It's all about brains
Footballing brains to be more precise

Sheffield United dont do footballing brains which is why things like tonight happen

2 on 1 with 2 minutes left, all it needs is a square ball and it's probably 2-0

Jebbo bangs it out for a goalkick

Probably due to it being hammered into him for the last 10 years to fucking wallop it somewhere

He shanked it unintentionally when it got caught up in his feet. Give the kid a break.

 

[Keen Blade]

Struggling big time Norrington-Davies up against the youngster

Rnd commits blatant fouls all the time

 

[SUFCinks]

What do you mean? If you mean that it is criminal he hasn't been playing, he's been injured.

Well that answers that

 

[Champagneblade]

Patched up team that just made too many mistakes tonight. Draw was the most we deserved in fairness.

Robbo motm and Osborn excellent when he came on. The rest were fairly average.

At last. A bit of context.

Decent point from a team missing 8 first team players, preventing a potential rivsl from leapfrogging us.

We'll be 7th by end of tomorrow after Luton play Boro and we'll go again next week hopefully with Baldock available once more.

 

[Barney]

Fine with a draw on that performance.

 

[ShockingBadBuy]

Always desperately disappointing to concede a lead in added time. And there wasn’t much quality in the game, certainly not from us. We were so, so wasteful with the ball.

But I really enjoyed it. High octane, high tempo, competitive, physical, loud, not many prisoners taken by either side.

Until the 94th min I thought we defended pretty well, and limited their opportunities. But I thought they looked one of the best sides we’ve seen at the Lane this season, and that we were second best pretty much throughout.

Gutting though it was, happy with a point in the end.

(What a completely shite pen ).

 

[metalblade]

We'll be in 9th next week. Could you image going back to the dressing room after that performance with Dave Basset or Warnock waiting for you ? They'd be getting a right fucking and rightly so, can't fucking defend a corner in the last minute really piss poor tonight. that's the difference between a team that will go up and a team of also rans. No doubt the sound bites from Hecky will be we have to learn from it but these tossers never do we been gifting goals most of the season and it is creeping back into the side again.

 

[Houston_Blade]

At last. A bit of context.

Decent point from a team missing 8 first team players, preventing a potential rivsl from leapfrogging us.

We'll be 7th by end of tomorrow after Luton play Boro and we'll go again next week hopefully with Baldock available once more.

Definitely. If someone had offered me 1-1 when I saw the team sheet I’d have snatched their hand off. If I’d have been offered 1-1 after watching the first half I’d have snatched both hands off.

Forest’s first XI (minus Lowe) were better than our patched up team.

Add Bogle, Baldock, Basham, Didz etc. to our squad and we’d compete with them.

I don’t think anyone played terribly, however we just kept passing them the ball, Egan in the 1st minute and then it just carried on all game from pretty much everyone. I’m not gonna go in on anyone but we can’t afford to have that many underperforming players in a game, it’s always been the same.

Credit to Forest for putting us under the cosh but I don’t think they forced mistakes, I just think we made poor decisions with the ball and not just a few times, we were relentlessly shit in possession.

Wes kept us in the game with the early save and the pen save.

I’m just gutted to see us concede at home.

Please beat FC Wilder of Boro and send him back up the road with his todger up his ring piece.

 

[Bobby b]

leeds v blades match on sky now showing, thisll cheer me ul

 

[Keen Blade]

Definitely. If someone had offered me 1-1 when I saw the team sheet I’d have snatched their hand off. If I’d have been offered 1-1 after watching the first half I’d have snatched both hands off.

Forest’s first XI (minus Lowe) were better than our patched up team.

Add Bogle, Baldock, Basham, Didz etc. to our squad and we’d compete with them.

I don’t think anyone played terribly, however we just kept passing them the ball, Egan in the 1st minute and then it just carried on all game from pretty much everyone. I’m not gonna go in on anyone but we can’t afford to have that many underperforming players in a game, it’s always been the same.

Credit to Forest for putting us under the cosh but I don’t think they forced mistakes, I just think we made poor decisions with the ball and not just a few times, we were relentlessly shit in possession.

Wes kept us in the game with the early save and the pen save.

I’m just gutted to see us concede at home.

Please beat FC Wilder of Boro and send him back up the road with his todger up his ring piece.

I'd love to grant your wish but Boro just beat Spurs and if we pass to them like we did tonight there is no way Boro will let us off the hook like Forest did.
We are gonna need to show some bollocks on Tuesday but the trouble is that apart from Wes , we haven't got any on tonight's showing.

 

[JJBlade]

He shanked it unintentionally when it got caught up in his feet. Give the kid a break.

Yes he did
But it was the simplest thing to do because it didn't need any sort of precision whatsoever

Putting the ball inside with an allowance for error of about 30 yards should not be beyond a pub player who was pissed

But it is beyond a Sheffield United players ability

 

[Caseh]

People complaining about our defence: In the last 15 games, we have the 2nd best defensive record in the league. And the last 2/3 games we're shoehorning players in due to injuries piling up. Get a grip.

 

[Bell4]

ah football, 93rd for you 1 home game & 94th against the next. normally im annoyed, but that was the least forest deserved. they were great can see why they beat Arsenal & Leicester. & why wilder recommended cooper. it wasnt a bad performance like we have seen. it was more that Forest are a good team & you cant make it as easy as we did by constantly giving it back to them as quickly & easily as we did for most of that game. your asking for trouble

1 sided refereeing was bordering on the absurd. couldnt get a decision for love nor money & forest were getting everything. i did wonder by 30mins, if we have to have 1 ours stretched off before we get a decision from the ref

on Mcburnie because he is topic of conversation. as a striker i dont see what he offers but the best i can describe him is as if we stuck Basham up front. because he's great at defending corners, holding the ball up & when you need to hold a lead

Enjoyed this - bang on

 

[Houston_Blade]

It's all about brains
Footballing brains to be more precise

Sheffield United dont do footballing brains which is why things like tonight happen

2 on 1 with 2 minutes left, all it needs is a square ball and it's probably 2-0

Jebbo bangs it out for a goalkick

Probably due to it being hammered into him for the last 10 years to fucking wallop it somewhere

Our academy is really well coached and certainly don’t get taught to “fucking wallop” anything. It’s quite the opposite.

Don’t let agendas against the club influence your opinion on something you obviously don’t know much about.

 

[JJBlade]

People complaining about our defence: In the last 15 games, we have the 2nd best defensive record in the league. And the last 2/3 games we're shoehorning players in due to injuries piling up. Get a grip.

Yes
A team relegated from the Premier League that has a couple of injuries and only has academy players as replacements
Brilliant planning innit?

 

[Edgar Allan Poo]

A draw is more use to us than them because they are chasing us.

They were quick witted and well drilled and pressurised us into making mistakes early on.

Cracking goal from Billy and I would swap number nines with them in a heartbeat.

 

[St Albans Blade]

Another point of humble pie for us Hecky & Co doubters.

UTB

 

[Greasy Chap Butty]

We'd have taken a draw at half time. In fairness probably best team to come to the Lane this season. Good game, they came to play and no shithousing. Obviously kick in the balls conceding last minute. But tonight is what most of us turn up for.
COYRAWW.

 

[Blades Glory Owls Down]

Well. Getting up at 03.30 to watch the game and seeing the team sheets, I was a little anxious. These injuries are seriously damaging our chances of top 6.
However I was interested to see how young Seriki coped having been thrown in.

I thought that Forest were one of the best teams I have seen this season in terms of organisation and the way they pressed us for the majority of the game. They didn't allow us (with the exception of 10-15 minutes after Billy scored) time to play and forced us into turning the ball over far too much. This allowed them to come at us with pace but on the whole they didn't create too many clear cut chances, instead looking to win corners/free kicks in attacking positions.
I thought that Davies and Robinson in the back 3 looked composed and confident and if there was any weak link tonight, it was probably Egan who looked shaky at times.
The midfield took an hour to get into the game with Norwood not able to influence the pace of the game he became a spectator for long spells, Fleck didn't have the drive and impetus going forward and gave the ball away too much and Berge having to keep things simple but showing the odd glimpse of his ability and strength when carrying the ball.
For the most part, their defence marshalled Billy and MGW quite well with MGW having little to no impact on the game for the first hour or so but improving considerably after this point and creating space and chances finally.
Now to the wingbacks. I thought RND had a poor game. His positioning was terrible and he was caught out a number of times. They attacked well and got in behind him quite a few times although I thought he was harshly adjudged to have fouled Spence for the penalty. Spence knew what he was doing as he knocked the ball too far and then stepped across RND and dragged his toes into the turf before falling over. Not a penalty in my opinion but was given. Personally I thought it was justice when the ball was passed back to Foderingham from the spot. RND was not able to offer anything going forward and is always prone to give away free kicks in dangerous places due to his positioning. The return to fitness of Osborn is a welcome sight and will put pressure on RND to perform.
Seriki didn't do a great deal wrong but looked a bit overawed by the occasion. At times he seemed really hesitant and nervous however did some of the basics well. He will get better with age and experience.
The subs had a mixed influence on the game.
Osborn came on and looked good. He was composed on the ball and got some good challenges in whilst offering support going forward.
Jebbison looked lively and closed down well but showed his lack of experience with the 2v1 situation when he seemed to rush everything, getting the ball stuck in his feet before playing a poor ball out of play. He was unfortunate with his effort at goal and another one who will improve with age/experience.
McBurnie pressed and chased but had little impact on the game.

Now onto the referee...…Lets be honest, he was terrible. How can one person get so many decisions wrong. He blew for a foul pretty much every time they went down but missed obvious fouls and seemed oblivious to any fouls against us. It was no surprise that he gave the penalty.

All in all, we would have been fortunate to have taken all three points as they dictated the play for long spells. We did however create arguably the better chances on the night in open play with them seeming to be more dangerous from set plays than in open play. We switched off and left their man open to equalise.

Hopefully we can pick ourselves up and get players fit ready for Boro midweek. They will be similar to Forest in how they set up and will look to press us from the off.
We need a win to get things back on track.

 

[Caseh]

Yes
A team relegated from the Premier League that has a couple of injuries and only has academy players as replacements
Brilliant planning innit?

Baldock, Bogle, Basham, O’Connell, Stevens, Goode suspended. Not a single club in this league copes with that many injuries just in defence.

If we did have the squad depth to cover that, it would be you complaining that we’re wasting money on wages on too many squad players. So I ask - Is there any possible situation the club can do the right thing and you won’t complain?