That's shut the negative ladies front bottom up for a bit! Well done!
We did play well. I've said it before now on other posts, I think the football we are playing is THE BEST passing football I've ever seen from a Sheffield United side and I've been watching since 1969/70. I think it's fantastic, I really do. The way that Wilder has turned us from a bit a set of dishevelled, overpaid, under-worked, odds and sods, to a team that all pulls in the same direction and where you can almost feel the team spirit and camaraderie between them oozing from the pitch, it's just great, it really is. Someone in the media referred to us as "The Arsenal of the Championship". I think that's high praise indeed, because whatever you may think about Arsenal, they have been one of the best passing sides this country has ever produced. That's not in doubt. As with Arsenal though, it shows you that playing precision passing football doesn't always get you what you need.
I think I possibly have a slightly different view to some other posters about what's needed to put the finishing touches to this great side. Many speak of "adding a striker", I think it's more than just that personally. I described the way United play as "mechanical" on a post the other day. I meant it as a complement, some read that as being negative. I suppose it could be interpreted both ways, i.e. "mechanical" as in like a set of robots, but I meant it as "mechanical" like the fine precision movements of a Swiss watch. Every moving part knows what its job is and does it well and the whole thing just ticks away at the same pace, relentlessly. That's how I see it. And it's a complement of the highest order, because I've never seen us playing like this before, ever! We had good footballing spells under Harris, Porterfield, Kendall, Spackman, Bassett and Warnock, but nothing that's ever been as slick and professional as this.
However...
(and I'm sorry there has to be a "however", but there always is...no team is ever "perfect")
For all our wonderful, slick, professional, precision-passing football in neat triangles with the crusts cut off, we don't make or take enough chances. That's my honest opinion. I don't think the Stoke goalkeeper Butland hardly broke sweat, apart from a couple of saves in the first half. I think this is a weakness of this side. And like any weakness, its usually a strength overdone.
So, our strength is, we play a certain way, it involves high pressing and possession football. It involves defenders taking up attacking positions to create "overload" in areas of vulnerability. It involves a rather slow and methodical build up and then pausing around the 18 yard box to look for the killer pass. That's great when the killer pass comes,but when it doesn't, it's hellishly frustrating. I'm not suggesting we should abandon these principles at all, but we should be prepared to do something different when it's not working. The word is "disruption". We need to change the rules of engagement from time to time when things aren't working. Try a different tack.
And that involves a different type of player, one with pace and individual flair, and a different tactical approach from the manager. I don't think we have either tbh.
