Match Thread Sheffield United v. Stoke City - 14th January 2023

All advertisments are hidden for logged in members, why not log in/register?



Plus, everybody else won and we have probably 3 more injuries

It's a bloody good job we won
 
Another win, which was perhaps a bit harder than it should have been. We started well and scored a good first goal. Lucky on the second. We let them back into it and our non-existent midfield gave them far too much of the ball. Sloppy goal. Sloppy second half where Berge should have killed it off before Bogle got his second. Hard work in the end but another win and the gap increases. Let's hope Ndiaye's injury isn't as bad as it seemed.

Wes - 6 - Didn't have much to do. Got a whack on the head which he seemed to recover from and held a couple of awkward ones. Lost one at the end but generally ok. His kicking was a bit meh today.
Lowe - 7.5 - Impressive. I worry about him defensively but he did pretty well in that department. Involved heavily with our attacks and another assist.
Robinson - 5.5 - I thought he struggled at times. Got done really badly for pace but kept going.
Egan - 6.5 - Had a tough job on his hands and did pretty well. Made a couple of sloppy passes and needs to calm it down a bit.
Anel - 7.5 - Was going to be our MoM until the end when he completely lost Brown and lucky to get away with it. Otherwise he was our best defender.
Bogle - 8 - Gets the MoM for his goals. Such a tricky and direct handful. Lucky on both goals but you make your own luck. Defended ok but they were targeting him in the air.
McAtee - 5 - Poor. Did a few things going forward but looked so weak against a big opposition. Defensively poor.
Norwood - 6 - Lucky to get a 6 really. He was again on his own in midfield for much of the game though. Poor set pieces and wasteful with the ball.
Berge -3 - Terrible first half. Looked like that kid who is picked last at junior school and who is frightened of the ball. Put about as much effort in as me. In fairness, he was a bit better second half and at least tried to look like he was doing the right things, He never busts a gut though and still twice as quick in one direction than the other. Once again, so slow on the ball. He waits for it to reach him and then decides what to do with it. That's basic bad football. Needs to wake up.
Ndiaye - 7.5 - Lively again and took his goal really well. His workrate is incredible. There was an occasion first half when he ran back all the way to block a shot. The injury is worrying, to say the least. You worry we have enough creativity without him.
Sharp - 6 - Put another shift in. Still very clever and does a heck of a lot of work for the team.

Subs:

Doyle - 5.5 - Came on for McAtee but wasn't noticeably better. We sorely miss a strong physical player in midfield.
Jebbison - 6 - Thought he was a bit headless and not as much closing down today. Lovely backheel for Berge but lost the battles largely with experienced lugs at the back.
Osborn - 5 - Added some energy but a breath away from an error on a few occasions.

Hecky - A couple more injuries to deal with and they're beginning to pile up again. Thought we set up and it was easy at 2:0 until our sloppiness and lack of concentration let them back in. Earlier subs than normal which did slightly firm things up without really making a huge difference.

Stoke - They are a big side and they have some creative player sin midfield but they look like a team lacking confidence. Jags was all over the pitch for them. Not bad for a 40-year old!
 
Sheffield United and the art of playing badly whilst still winning. Stars of the game Ndiaye who worked his socks off and Bogle who worked everyone else's socks off.

Little concerning we spent most of the game defending at home to an average side but a win is a bloody gret win!
 
brilliant 1st half performance 2 great goals & very comfortable afternoon. but then stoke get that goal from shot/cross. we fell apart.

we continue to be sloppy in possession & thank God for that 3rd goal. as we badly needed it considering how dire we were large parts of the 2nd half. i dont know how we held on for so long. as you have say before "i love Billy sharp but" we have no forward presence on the pitch, the ball just kept coming back at us. made worse in that how is Billy suppose to hold the ball up & win headers. when his being marked by a CB a foot taller than him

we just got to take the positives from that game of being 11pts clear. & being clinical in front goal
 
For anyone who didn't attend the match, it was very similar to some of our away matches, like Wigan and Blackpool.

We started well, played some decent football for the 1st 30 minutes then once we're 2-0 up, it was almost too easy and you could see the players starting to coast and get sloppy. Relegation threatened Stoke lost all their nerves and had no choice but to be positive.

Thought if we go in 2-0 at half -time then it could turn into an easy afternoon but we conceded a daft goal on the stroke of half time. Their player crossed in in from distance, their player tried to head it but failed to make any contact then the ball bounced and just crept inside the far corner.

Then 2nd half Stoke played quite well, they had more attacks that us and at times, pinned us back,
making us look like the away team BUT when we set our stall out our defence is really good and Stoke didn't create that much.

I was saying 5 minutes from time that Stoke fans could argue they probably deserve an equaliser.
Overall it was a pretty even game, then right on the stroke of full time we score an undeserved 3rd.

We won, 3 points is all that counts but Hecky knows we can play much better than that.

The Wilder team were better drilled than this one and played better as a team
but the beauty with this team is we can be having off days but we have higher quality players who can score from nothing.
 
2-0 up and cruising. They get one and we're suddenly on the back foot for the rest of the game. Seen this so often in recent games but we seem to be getting away with it . You could say our game management is either poor or excellent, dependant on how you look at it!
I actually thought Jack Robinson was our best defender, particular in second half when we were under pressure. Norwood was really good in first half, but faded dramatically later. Berge only seemed to come into the game in the last ten minutes, I really wish he could impose himself more. Sorry to say this, but Billy can no longer lead the line. If we do get a new owner, a new centre forward is the first position that needs to be addressed.
Bogle man of the match.
Onwards and upwards. UTB.
 
sheff_blade90 said:
brilliant 1st half performance 2 great goals & very comfortable afternoon. but then stoke get that goal from shot/cross. we fell apart.

we continue to be sloppy in possession & thank God for that 3rd goal. as we badly needed it considering how dire we were large parts of the 2nd half. i dont know how we held on for so long. as you have say before "i love Billy sharp but" we have no forward presence on the pitch, the ball just kept coming back at us. made worse in that how is Billy suppose to hold the ball up & win headers. when his being marked by a CB a foot taller than him

we just got to take the positives from that game of being 11pts clear. & being clinical in front goal
Click to expand...
and thats why we have to try and bring another striker in all those saying we had enough up front are wrong nidaye getting injured today and mcburnie and brewster injured just highlights how short we are
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Foxy
Match Thread Swansea City v. Sheffield United - 16th August 2025
8 9 10
Replies
283
Views
25K
Silas
S
Foxy
Match Thread Birmingham City v Sheffield United - 13th August 2025
17 18 19
Replies
558
Views
39K
Birdwell Blade
Birdwell Blade
Foxy
Match Thread Sheffield United v. Bristol City - 6th August 2025
13 14 15
Replies
434
Views
41K
ITALIANO BLADE
ITALIANO BLADE
Foxy
Match Thread Sheffield United v. Millwall - 23rd August 2025
9 10 11
Replies
328
Views
28K
blade too long
blade too long
Foxy
Match Thread Sheffield United v. Sunderland - 24th May 2025
13 14 15
Replies
436
Views
66K
ATL Recs
A

All advertisments are hidden for logged in members, why not log in/register?

All advertisments are hidden for logged in members, why not log in/register?

Back
Top Bottom