Sussed or respected?

[Davalon]

A lot of comments about our perceived failings, team selections, tactics etc as is understandable as fans obviously.

However what I'm not seeing too much of is an acknowledgement of how many teams are now setting up to nullify us, rather than just focussing on their own strengths.

I think this has been reflected in more lower scoring games too over the last month or two.

I can't imagine Villa would have set up like that last night if they'd played at the Lane in September or October.

Adomah worked his bollocks off closing down Bash from the back, and then getting back to shut down the space on the edge of their own box.

We're not seeing as much overlapping from Bash or JOC as a result.

Unfortunately in tight games we may come undone by a bit of quality, especially against the more expensively assembled better sides. I'll forgive Stevens for showing Snodgrass inside as it was late in the game and he had an overlapper.

Overall we're doing well to match teams much more expensive with players who've played higher, and results like last night we have to take on the chin.

Only concern is that more and more teams will play similar, especially at the Lane, and we certainly look more threatening against teams who play more open no matter how much quality they have in terms of this league.

Never believed for one minute top two was remotely realistic but we're still play off chasers and it's thoroughly enjoyable stuff. Let's hope Chris and his team can find the answers to this conundrum to pick up our average points tally, and we'll not be far off.

 

[sheffielder]

respected, but the main difference is we aren't taking our chances.

 

[Lil red rooster]

definitely respected ,teams with serious money are not playing their own way against us they'r setting up to combat us on our terms .

its difficult for us to change when its not working without players like brooks.

 

[bertieblade]

We are not creating the chances that we did earlier in the season when we had an overload in the wide positions enabling us to create and get in behind.
Coutts, bash and either Freeman or Baldock with Stevens, fleck and JOC.

Obviously no coutts and whoever has come in to replace him is not getting forward to support and Stevens is just not at it from an offensive point of view.
In addition Clark has gone off the boil.

We were also the fittest team in the division at the start of the season and relied on that to compensate for the technical shortcomings of our inferior players, ( players from the first division are in the main technically inferior to those of the championship) as the season has progressed we have become knackered. The new players coming in are not as fit and hey presto we are where we are.

No matter what v proud of the guys, still possible to get top six but realistically I expect us to finish tenth before buying two quality front players and pushing on next seaso.
UTB

 

[Liverpool blade]

Respected is my view. Teams are setting up differently against us and trying to hit us on the break!!. They're struggling to match us fitness wise!!. We do need to start taking our chances though as this has been our big problem over the last few weeks!. Wilder will find an answer!. We need to keep the faith. Utb

 

[madeinsheffield]

Respected, this time last season there were two divisions between us and Villa, after the game we're disapppointed we narrowly missed out on a draw, the Villa team had quality running throughout it, Internationals, a European Cup Winner etc etc and I felt we matched them all over the park, they certainly were not better than us.

I agree Stevens should have gone to the ball rather than trying to watch 2 players and get caught in the middle of nowhere. Hopefully he'll learn and it won't happen again, that is the test for him.

Call me a clapper if you like but we looked good last night first half, 2nd we chased it for quite a while but we grew back into the game. We're a good side and on the up!

 

[Grappler]

We had chances last night and took them, they just didn't come off.

Baldock's half volley when he was steaming in from the right, facing the away end, he almost collided with Leon, as they both chased the same chance, maybe if Leon had got to it first, he would have had a bit more of a strikers touch to put it in the net?

 

[Jan Age]

The difference is that extra bit of quality... Wilder mentioned this last night several times in his post match... we play well box to box but we don't have that 'magic' player/s to play the killer pass or take the goal scoring opportunity.

Our all round general play is that of a top 6 team but our execution is that of a mid-table side.

Not a criticism and shows how far we have come.

I believe what we have seen in terms of transfers and contracts this season is setting us up nicely for next (without writing this season off)

The summer transfer window should see us looking for 2 quality players with a higher price tag rather than recruiting several players where are short and without the worry of losing key out of contract players.

 

[Bladezz]

We got for the win every time and it’s starting to cost us much more than we are gaining.

 

[Chali 2na]

A lot of comments about our perceived failings, team selections, tactics etc as is understandable as fans obviously.

However what I'm not seeing too much of is an acknowledgement of how many teams are now setting up to nullify us, rather than just focussing on their own strengths.

I think this has been reflected in more lower scoring games too over the last month or two.

I can't imagine Villa would have set up like that last night if they'd played at the Lane in September or October.

Adomah worked his bollocks off closing down Bash from the back, and then getting back to shut down the space on the edge of their own box.

We're not seeing as much overlapping from Bash or JOC as a result.

Unfortunately in tight games we may come undone by a bit of quality, especially against the more expensively assembled better sides. I'll forgive Stevens for showing Snodgrass inside as it was late in the game and he had an overlapper.

Overall we're doing well to match teams much more expensive with players who've played higher, and results like last night we have to take on the chin.

Only concern is that more and more teams will play similar, especially at the Lane, and we certainly look more threatening against teams who play more open no matter how much quality they have in terms of this league.

Never believed for one minute top two was remotely realistic but we're still play off chasers and it's thoroughly enjoyable stuff. Let's hope Chris and his team can find the answers to this conundrum to pick up our average points tally, and we'll not be far off.

Naturually, it's a bit of both.

Our performances since the season started have rightly earnt us a lot more respect, as evidenced by Villa's tactics (which you alluded to)

We will also have been "sussed" to a certain degree: as we play more championship games, other teams get more opportunity to find what we're really about, identify our weaknesses, then exploit them.

It is slightly flattering that teams, like Villa, pay us so much respect, though it's not much of a consolation when we loose.

Respected, this time last season there were two divisions between us and Villa,

Sorry to be pedantic, but that's not true.

 

[snootyfenooty]

I'd say sussed in that the main source of our dynamic attacking play, i.e. our attacking wing backs and overlapping centre backs, have been nullified. Some say it's due to a drop in form of Stevens and O'Connell, I say they're being tactically marked from doing what they were doing previously.

 

[Benny and the Blades]

We played a team on a roll of four Win's on the trot whose goalkeeper for me was their MO.M and with four new additions lost to a last minute goal,
I don't think that was bad play, and by no means was it due to a lack of effort, it just wasn't our night....

 

[BushBlade]

We had chances last night and took them, they just didn't come off.

Baldock's half volley when he was steaming in from the right, facing the away end, he almost collided with Leon, as they both chased the same chance, maybe if Leon had got to it first, he would have had a bit more of a strikers touch to put it in the net?

Terry's touch took it away from Leon so it was probably right that Baldock took it on but if I'm being hyper-critical he took two shots and tried to beat the keeper near post instead of going across him.

 

[Iceybabey]

respected, but the main difference is we aren't taking our chances.

This

 

[blade too long]

It was an accident waiting to happen , I sat there watching it and knew as soon as O'Connells header hit the underside of the bar another frutrating close but no cigar performance was on the cards
All of our home defeats have ben by the odd goal and all we have had the greater number of chances, and succumbed late on in most of them
As soon as he cut inside I was thinking oh no not again and lo there it was

plenty of effort and bravado counting for nought again

where are all these wonder strikes against us coming from
its never a tap in or an error, its a goal of the year contender