Uncanny Knack

[Digs blade]

Firstly a win is a win so well done Blades.

Now I don’t know if it is because I’m watching our games more intensely than any other match so is it me who thinks we have an uncanny knack of playing large periods of games as though we are pissed.

We could/should have taken that game away from them in the first half but we always seem to make hard work of it.

I’m not sure what to make of Berge in that 2nd half but I’m expecting a knock off tne neighbours, I was shouting at tne tele that much.

 

[Blade58]

Yeah too many players looked a bit Fkd
I don’t think Berge is fully match fit yet
McAtee tired second half
We seemed to slow right down at closing them down the longer the game went on
Made heavy weather of it. Should’ve been comfortable

 

[Shakespeare blade]

As you said great to put 3 points in the bag, we made such hard work of it, & hecky’s substitutions are always so late, is he Southgate in disguise, he does we are allowed 5 right?
Anyway onwards 3 point, 5 point gap just got to keep going, I would have taken 2nd at the halfway stage

 

[Stevo]

Yeah too many players looked a bit Fkd
I don’t think Berge is fully match fit yet
McAtee tired second half
We seemed to slow right down at closing them down the longer the game went on
Made heavy weather of it. Should’ve been comfortable

Berge ,.mcatee and sharp should have come off at around 60

 

[HighfieldBlade]

3 points in the bag. GTFI.

 

[Champagneblade]

Yeah too many players looked a bit Fkd
I don’t think Berge is fully match fit yet
McAtee tired second half
We seemed to slow right down at closing them down the longer the game went on
Made heavy weather of it. Should’ve been comfortable

With Doyle fit, I'd much rather him and Norwood. Not enough happened when we didn't have the ball with Berge and McAtee in there.

Still, points, another 90 minutes, another game to ease back McBurnie.

 

[Russ]

You could argue they made their subs at the right time. We didn’t. But a win’s a win.
Merry Christmas to Blades fans everywhere!

 

[Gimli]

Yeah FT couldn’t come quick enough there, that’s not to say I thought Wigan were particularly threatening but we looked like at times we were trying to gift them a chance.

Two mediocre performances (IMO) but 6 points, always take the points over the performances!

 

[wizadry]

Berge ,.mcatee and sharp should have come off at around 60

Swap Sharp for Stevens and I agree, Billy was still fitter than anybody on the pitch and did better defensive work than Stevens in Stevens actual position, some don’t see what Sharp brings to the team. Ndiaye, Mcatee, Berge and Stevens were either towing caravans or blowing out of their arses from some way out.

 

[blade too long]

I've said it before ...any team going up wins. more. games 1-0 or 2-1 especially in this division.
we. could. have been 3. up by ht. but Norwich could have been v Blackburn and lost 0-2
3 points is. the aim...first second and third

 

[bakeblade]

Berge ,.mcatee and sharp should have come off at around 60

Definitely, Hecky got away with it tonight.
Unless Osborne was injured or ill, he should have been on the bench and come on with McBurnie and Doyle

 

[Proper Blade]

Can only assume that Hecky was risking putting a few through 90 minutes tonight so they can sit out Boxing Day.

This way, more chance for the likes of Doyle and McBurnie to get fit without risking them too much.

 

[Jon Bon II]

I've said it before ...any team going up wins. more. games 1-0 or 2-1 especially in this division.
we. could. have been 3. up by ht. but Norwich could have been v Blackburn and lost 0-2
3 points is. the aim...first second and third

Don't know if all those full stops were in there on purpose but I read that like Max Headroom on cheap batteries.

 

[Northyorksblade]

Definitely, Hecky got away with it tonight.
Unless Osborne was injured or ill, he should have been on the bench and come on with McBurnie and Doyle

Ozzie's injured

 

[Bladesman]

Can only assume that Hecky was risking putting a few through 90 minutes tonight so they can sit out Boxing Day.

This way, more chance for the likes of Doyle and McBurnie to get fit without risking them too much.

It does seem like he is balancing fitness as I don't think McBurnie, Lowe or Bogle are ready yet for a full game.

In an ideal world Doyle, McBurnie and Lowe come on at 60 minutes.

 

[JJBlade]

Playing a dangerous game, and one that will come back to bite us against better teams.

Press hard, crisp passing, winning tackles, first to every ball, get in front deservedly, but it seems that taking the lead is the catalyst for the team to start tossing it off, standing off, slowing it down, deciding to hoof it desperately into the sky, mis-timing most of the hoofs and making everything as ugly as they possibly can. I'm sure the bastards do it on purpose to make sure they give us practically fuck all to enjoy even when we win.

 

[BushBlade]

It does seem like he is balancing fitness as I don't think McBurnie, Lowe or Bogle are ready yet for a full game.

In an ideal world Doyle, McBurnie and Lowe come on at 60 minutes.

As you say, it’s a balance. McBurnie was clearly not quite fit and I think he came on partly to get him fitter and partly to stop Billy from getting a late injury as we need him right now. I’d guess it was similar with Doyle; he’s not quite ready and more than 15-20 minutes would be a risk.
I can see why he didn’t want to risk Lowe, he’s not the best defensively and would have had to do quite a few sprints, Stevens is a bit more solid and managed to ‘old man’ his way through to the end.
The only option for Berge was Basham. Not the worst idea to me but there was an obvious risk that he’d give the ball away in dangerous areas. I think if Os had been fit, he’d have come on.

So I don’t think the options Hecky wanted were really there at 60 minutes. It’s a frustrating watch and we could have really done with capitalising more in the first half. That said, Wigan are fighting a relegation battle, with a new manager, off the back of an away result, they weren’t going to just lie down. I’ve always thought that consistency of results is what gets a team promoted, the ability to get three points when you’re not quite at your best. I also accept that it’s difficult to get top two by nicking wins, at some point we have to start playing well on the ball as well as off it.

 

[e17blade]

Playing a high press is exhausting and it told. It seems odd when you have 5 subs to not put some new energy on the pitch after an hour.

 

[Sheffsteel]

Playing a high press is exhausting and it told. It seems odd when you have 5 subs to not put some new energy on the pitch after an hour.

Excellent observation.....agree, our high press caused them all kinds of problems 1st half.
Probably Hecky deserves credit for expecting Toure to demand his team try playing it out from the back. The tactic worked well as we were in command

but as you say it's tiring to keep closing down as a unit.
When fit we have, just about the strongest bench in the division
and with the 5 subs rule we should be using them more often, maybe the subs weren't fully fit.

 

[Westran]

Winning games when you're not playing well is how you get promoted. We've got through the injury crisis, players are obviously not fully up to match fitness but that will get better with every game.

I think we're in a really good place now, almost up to full strength, or as close as we'll get this season. If we can win every game between now and the new year and see a few teams drop off, I'll be really optimistic for autos

 

[Boxer Blade]

Last night's performance reminded me of our last game against Huddersfield, really good in the first half and unrecognisable in the second, I can't see us to continue winning IF we continue in the second half as the last two games .

 

[A Storm of Blades]

The press worked perfectly, credit to Wigan they adapted and caused us more problems. The only criticism for the management was leaving subs too late. We were tiring in the second half, and needed fresh legs

 

[Badger Blade]

Very much reminiscent of the Huddersfield game where we should have been out of sight by half time but allowed them back into the game, knowing full well that they're going to give it more of a go in the second half but did nothing about it. We've done it so many times against so many poor teams I've lost count, when we should be giving them a bloody good hiding but then that's the difference between the haves at the very top table and have nots (86 other teams in the football league!)

The second goal should have killed it off but it spurred Wigan on who had more than a few moments in our end of the field and looked a much more threatening side than Huddersfield did (who are certs for relegation for me). As usual, we retreated into our shells and didn't punish them, particularly considering how many times they gave the ball away cheaply in their own half.

I don't think Wigan are too far away from getting some results, I just think they need to play the game slightly more simply. Go a bit more direct then pass the ball around in the opposition half where they looked good rather than buggering around in your own box with defenders and a goalkeeper who aren't capable of playing that type of game. Reminiscent of Martinez's Wigan team where they passed the ball around nicely but scored no goals and were relegated.

Ref had a poor game and totally bottled the Tilt sending off. If he'd have gone, then it might have been 4 or 5 with them having substitutes playing at the back who I can't imagine are any great shakes and being a man short further up the field.