United 1 Stoke 1 - report

[Deadbat]

The Blades had to settle for a point despite dominating much of the game against expensively assembled Stoke City. United had completely outplayed Stoke for most of the game and finally got the goal their domination merited when Leon Clarke bundled home after a superb Oliver Norwood free kick struck the post. However, a free kick at the other end from Joe Allen deceived Dean Henderson to give the visitors a point. It really was a disappointing finish for the home side who really should have been out of sight long before the late Stoke goal.


Wilder made one change to the starting eleven with Leon Clarke getting a start for Billy Sharp and last seasons leading scorer captained the side. Stoke had a starting eleven and bench that has cost an absolute fortune and many players with Premier League experience but came into the side nearer the bottom than the top.


United came out of the traps quicker than they did on Saturday and despite Stoke kicking off, the home side had the first chance within two minutes as Freeman fired over from an O’Connell cross. United dominated the ball early on with Norwood at the heart of the play and Duffy looking busy. Stevens and Freeman were constant threats on both sides of the attack. Fleck had an effort deflected over after good work in the build up saw the ball come across. The best chance came when Norwood played in Duffy who cleverly rolled the ball back but Stevens blazed wildly over with his left foot. He was in a position to the right of the penalty area showing again United’s attacking intent.


Clarke was looking hungry and wrestled off Williams before firing a shot that Butland did well to get down and save low. Stoke had not really threatened but Afobe had one header at Henderson that was comfortable. United were back on the attack and a deep cross from the left from Fleck saw McGoldrick’s header palmed away from close range from Butland.


Another neat move saw several players involved in lovely interchange but Clarke could not finish although he may have been offside if he had scored. McGoldrick then came inside and took a low shot that Butland had to push behind at his neat post just before the break.


United came out the better side and seemed to push Stoke back even more. McGoldrick miskicked when well placed. McClean had a headed effort over from a deep cross but it was all United at this stage. They won a number of corners and free kicks but the delivery did not quite come off. A free kick saw O’Connell try and flick the ball goalward and then a deep corner was cleared soon after a ricochet. Stoke were now hanging on and put Crouch on in an attempt to find an out ball. Clarke and McGoldrick continued to turn the defence around and Stoke were happy at this stage with a 0-0 but the clear chances evaded United until the 70th minute when Clarke was upended leading to a booking from Martins Indi. The free kick was around 25 yards out and fairly central.


Norwood took it and hit a curling effort that looked for all the world like it would nestle into the corner of the net but it struck the post and came out; Egan could not force the initial rebound in but CLARKE was onto it and bundled it home. It was his first goal of the season and a deserved one for his efforts tonight.


After this strangely United started to panic and a number of hacked clearances saw them back under pressure. Ince danced his way through but Henderson saved well. Stoke won a free kick but Ince hit the wall and United now were struggling to keep the ball and were now rather panicky in their play after completely controlling the game up to this point.


Washington and Stearman came on for Duffy and McGoldrick for United but a free kick when Crouch fell under a challenge from Stevens as the home side gave away another cheap free kick.


ALLEN took it and at first you felt he would knock it toward the back post but went for goal and bent it round the wall. It was accurate but seemed to lack power but Henderson could not get across and the ball sneaked into the net to the agony of most inside Bramall Lane. It seemed a keeping error and was really disappointing for United who had done more than enough to win the game. It seemed Stoke had got an unlikely point. Coutts came on for Freeman after the goal as the game entered the last few minutes.


After this both teams tried to create a final change to win it with the long ball up to Crouch seeing a few knocks downs eventually cleared and then Fleck got in and had a shot blocked at the other end with some appeals for hand ball; in the final four minutes of stoppage time with the final action Stevens being booked for bringing down McClean.


United – Frustrating. Really good performance for the most part and we should have won easily. We played really well for 70 minutes. We dominated Stoke and had all the ball. We had chances and should have had more than one goal. Not sure we created enough chances for a team that had so much of the ball but had 22 attempts to 10 and 56% possession but only had 6 shots on target to their 4. We needed to create clearer chances and for all the lovely stuff it was still frustrating that we did not make that final ball to lead to clearer chances.


First half Stevens missed a good chance and then McGoldrick had two efforts saved but ones you would expect the keeper to save. After the break the same man miskicked and we had a few other half chances. I am not sure that Butland made any stunning saves all night and at times we were really poor in our decision making with the final ball yet again. We play some lovely stuff right up to that last third but then seem to stutter or take too long to make decisions. I thought Clarke and McGoldrick gave the Stoke defence a torrid time all game and the midfield dominated though and we really for weight of possession and pressure, should have been well out of sight. It took us 70 minutes to get one goal but then after this we panicked. It was bizarre as they were never in it and never threatened us once.


We started hoofing it away, we sliced it and were really lacking composure. They started to come at us and Henderson made a save from Ince, they started to knock balls into Crouch and won a number of free kicks. We never had proper control of the game after we scored and for some reason it was complete panic mode.


This is after a game we had in control. If we had carried on keeping the ball and playing as we had, we would have gone on and won but started to sit back; we lost the ball and stopped pressing. The subs once again did not help at all. Basham was in an odd position, Washington did not help us keep the ball and you sensed a chance would come. I thought we had seen it out but a daft foul (soft but can see why he gave it) and Henderson made a mistake with his wall and should have saved it. It was a poor mistake Like Saturday all this domination and stat domination in passing, big chances count for nothing if we do not put the ball in the net and keep it out the other end. We saw this last season when we dominated so many teams but when it mattered in the key areas; did not do enough. It us frustrating as some of the football and play is a delight to watch. Many say if we keep this performance up we will win more games than we lose but you worry as last season we did this in so many games (Bristol, Villa, Cardiff at home) and the pattern has continued again this season. I am not seeing that this will change sadly. Hope I am wrong but today was another casing point as we do not see teams off and put them away when they are wounded. I felt we put so much into the game that we looked leggy for the last stages of the game against a relatively old Stoke side too.


Still for all the disappointment, I have to say we were very good for long periods and considering the wage bills and the players they have; we showed we are a much more confident side and were the only team trying to win until the closing stages. It is just really annoying that we should have had at least 4 more points from the last two games in games where we played well for 45 mins Saturday and then 70 mins tonight but only have 1 point to show as we don’t do enough to see teams off. Still it is enjoyable to watch despite the late heartache and we have to keep a sense of perspective.


Stoke – Thought they were really poor until the last bit when with nothing to lose they chucked men forward and got long balls up to Crouch, Ince got on the ball and they won a few free kicks. They deserved nothing from the game at all and were second best most of the night but will say they kept in the game and only kept it to 1-0 and then scored a clever free kick. Another night they go home losing 3-0; so poor they were and dominated they were for much off the game. They never even tried to attack for the most part and for such an expensively assembled side that is packed full of quality; it was a startling approach. Maybe they lack confidence but good players were not even trying to go forward. They looked so lacking in possession and just seemed to be hanging on for a draw. The long punt up to Crouch was their best option. Such a shame when they have talent like Ince, Afobe, Maclean, Allen, Woods etc. On that approach and performance regardless of the point they somehow got, Rowett will not be staying there for very long as they surely need to try and win games?


Opponent man of the match – Crouch won a few free kicks and I felt Woods showed some neat bits and pieces but also gave it away a bit too and you wonder how much Norwood should be worth if he went for 6 million. Allen kept plugging away and showed some good skill at times and of course scored the vital leveller. They had a lot of poor players on display though who surely should do much better but Allen was maybe the stand out.


Weak link – A number of ineffective players. Afobe looked overweight and Berahino was awful. I felt Maclean ran around a lot but did not do much and Ince only came to life at 1-0. The two centre backs struggled all game and Williams especially looks a player that is about done. Completely lost his pace and Clarke and McGoldrick caused them all sorts of problems with running and hold up play.



Crowd – For a side right at the top, albeit on a midweek and games on the red button on Sky, 24,000 was still down a bit more than I would have hoped. I also thought it was fairly quiet too and not sure there was much noise until the 2nd half when United piled on the pressure and the noise levels went up from the Kop and eventually got the goal. After this the team panicked a bit and it spread to the terraces.

 

[Deadbat]

Henderson 5.5/10 – Bad mistake for the goal. He has not put enough men in the wall and then he was way too slow to get across. It was not even hit with huge power. Not sure how he did not get it and it was a big error that has cost us the three points. He also missed one cross tonight but outside of this he was untroubled. Made one good save from Ince but not much to do other than take a few crosses etc. His first big real error. Hope he can react and recover quickly. Seems a confident lad so not sure it will affect him.


Freeman 7/10 – Back to his best after a dip Saturday. Took so many difficult balls in his stride or on his chest and then got into good areas. He was a constant outlet and despite the difficulty of some of the crossfield balls showed his technique and ability. His final ball was not always the best and too often hit the first man or struggled to get it across. Thought he caused them lots of problems.


Stevens 7/10 – Thought he was really good tonight but loses marks for a bad miss when he skewed the ball over first half and then gave away a stupid free kick near the end which cost us. No need to dive in at all. Just let him win it and get the 2nd ball. Shame as other than his got up and down, showed real energy and was excellent. His crossing was better also tonight. He showed some good skill taking the ball on the run and was always in motion. They did start to overload down that side but not sure that was his fault.


Egan 7/10 – Solid game. He let Afobe get away from him once for skill first half but he headed/cleared and used it when he could. Not put under any real pressure until the final stages but then the whole team started to panic and meant the defence were under more pressure.


O’Connell 7/10 – Good again tonight. Used it well when he could and defended sensibly. Not put under that much pressure but he was able to come onto the ball and attack it. A few times him and Henderson got in a mix up but he at least took responsibility.


Basham 7/10 – Usual array of cavalier runs, nice bits of skill, control and positive attitude in everything he did. A few times things did not come off but he will keep plugging away. Showed no little skill a few times. Once again panicked a bit when in the last third and his final pass/ball never really caused Stoke many problems. This is something he needs to work at as his overall performances are very consistent outside of this.


Fleck 6.5/10 – Might get criticised for this mark but whilst I felt he did some good stuff and some decent runs and passes; he also gave it away a lot and lost his runner a few times. Still he contributed to our ball possession and domination for long spells but he had a number of wild shots nowhere near and then when we led he was guilty of punting it to nowhere in particular. He was the most guilty at the end of panicking instead of just keeping it.


Norwood 8/10 – Thought he was very good and along with our front two our best player. He pinged it about all game and showed his sublime range of passing. He really is a superbly intelligent footballer. He can play passes with inside/outside of foot with no back lift and can switch play so well. His excellent free kick deserved a goal before we put it in. Tried clever things and whilst everything does not come off; he is our main player for me at the moment and vital to our continued chances of staying at the top. Felt he needed to get on the ball a bit more in the final stages.


Duffy 6.5/10 – He flattered to deceive for me tonight despite some good bits and pieces. He put one superb ball in for Stevens who should have scored but too often things did not come off for me. He took too many touches at times and needed to move it quicker and too many passes were telegraphed. Of course, he gets into good areas and is a real threat but not sure that many came off. He kept working hard and saw more graft than Saturday and was one of our main links in our play but he does tire a lot and I felt after we scored we needed a few like him to step up and help us keep it.


Clarke 8/10 – Much more like it and back to his play of last season. Put a lot of effort in all game and was a constant nuisance. He chased defenders down, showed strength, strong running and never stopped. Deserved his goal and was in the right place. He linked well with McGoldrick and they never had a moments peace in defence.


McGoldrick 7.5/10 – As above really; he showed clever hold up and was able to bring others into play. He came into midfield, showed some delightful touches and was also able to get into little channels. Had a few decent efforts first half but then badly miskicked one second half. I would have left him on actually as he does keep the ball even if he is tired. It was a poor change for me and helped give them further initiative.


Subs –

Washington – Not sure he even touched the ball again. Worrying that he is the main option. Would Billy have done any worse in the final stages. We needed to hold the ball at that stage and not just have a runner/chaser.


Stearman – Brought on due to concerns they were going to go even longer but not sure he won a header as they were winning the balls via Crouch and getting more of the ball at the top end of the pitch.


Coutts – Odd change right at the end. Not sure what he was going to do to influence things with 4 minutes to play?




Wilder 7.5/10 – The performance was very good. We were at our best for most of the game but did not put the game away and were made to pay. Still we dominated them individually and collectively. Henderson makes the save and we win 1-0 and everyone goes home happy and praising an excellent performance and win. His changes once again did not work and seemed to give them even more initiative. We were not seeing much of the ball but I actually think Coutts may have helped tonight to see us keep it. We ended up with Bash in midfield (he had no idea where he was playing) and Washington up front but it all became a bit disorganised. We needed to get hold of the ball more and taking off Duffy and McGoldrick, two players who can help us at least try and hold it; was not the best move even if they were tired. At this stage we needed to manage things better and not invite pressure on. I felt the changes did not help at all. His subs recently have hindered rather than helped us I feel.


Referee – Fine really. Seen a lot criticising him but not sure much he got wrong. I have watched the free kick on Crouch and is soft but he jumps and Stevens put his arm into him. It was daft and gave him chance to go down. The minute he jumps and the defender lowers his arm/body into him he will fall down and get the foul. Not sure the penalty at the end was one. He was only a few yards from the ball when it hit him. His hands were up but close to his body. They had a similar shout for one early so not sure how he could have given that one right at the end. If that had been given against us (the one at the end) I would have been livid.


He should have penalised Butland for timewasting and seemed to just keep waving him on. Book him early. Refs do not do this though. I felt he let them get away with slow timing all night and then ironically was hurrying us up. He booked Martins Indi for a cynical foul and then Stevens for a chop down on McClean at the end as Stoke broke. He did try and play on when he could but I also thought he was not great at getting free kicks taken from the right place or pushing the men/walls back 10 yards – for both sides. Not sure there were many big decisions he got wrong but at times he should have just got the game going a bit quicker and it became a bit stop start to Stoke’s advantage.

 

[Ginger Gnome]

The Fleck mark is fair enough, nothing really came off for him and after he took a knock he was a bit all over the place, should have had Coutts on for him really.

Kind of typical that the one game where Duffy really looked like he was knackered and needed to come off, he stayed on til nearly the end.

However bad Woodburn is, he must be a better option off the bench than Washington, who was hiding rather than making himself available for the ball at the end. If we just wanted someone to run around a bit in attack, Johnson would have been a better option.

 

[sitwell]

Really cannot see how you give a higher mark to Clarke and Norwood over McGoldrick. You highlight Stevens miss ,Clarkes was even worse in the first half. McGoldrick easily our best player tonight.

 

[coaxingstar71]

Fleck clearly took a whack just after we scored and we couldn't understand why he wasn't replaced with Coutts straight away as he was a passenger for the next 15 minutes. He could barely move let alone kick the ball during that period.

 

[RammyBlade]

Totally disagree about the foul given against Crouch - he just went down for no reason and if you watch again on TV its clear it wasnt a foul.
Also the handball was a clear penalty - stop trying to be so impartial Deadbat as these crucial decisions cost us and it was a very weak refereeing performance as is so often in this league

 

[dc_blade]

Stevens 7/10 – Thought he was really good tonight but loses marks for a bad miss when he skewed the ball over first half and then gave away a stupid free kick near the end which cost us. No need to dive in at all. Just let him win it and get the 2nd ball. Shame as other than his got up and down, showed real energy and was excellent. His crossing was better also tonight. He showed some good skill taking the ball on the run and was always in motion. They did start to overload down that side but not sure that was his fault.

Fleck 6.5/10 – Might get criticised for this mark but whilst I felt he did some good stuff and some decent runs and passes; he also gave it away a lot and lost his runner a few times. Still he contributed to our ball possession and domination for long spells but he had a number of wild shots nowhere near and then when we led he was guilty of punting it to nowhere in particular. He was the most guilty at the end of panicking instead of just keeping it.

McGoldrick 7.5/10 – As above really; he showed clever hold up and was able to bring others into play. He came into midfield, showed some delightful touches and was also able to get into little channels. Had a few decent efforts first half but then badly miskicked one second half. I would have left him on actually as he does keep the ball even if he is tired. It was a poor change for me and helped give them further initiative.

Excellent report and agree with all your marks barring three slight quibbles with these ones.

Stevens I thought had one of his very best games for us. Looks so much more confident going forward than he did last season and made at least two brilliant tackles in dangerous situations. Two big mistakes from him, yes, but I think he was one of our better performers overall.

You're right that Fleck gave it away a few times but in general he looked back to his old self after being a bit quiet for two or three games. He wanted the ball and tried things. Not everything came off for him but hopefully a sign of things to come.

McGoldrick was really excellent and maybe MotM for me. He's such a classy player, finds time and space where no one else can, and we look so dangerous when he's on the ball. If he was slightly more clinical in front of goal I think he'd one of the best five forwards in the division.

 

[Deadbat]

Really cannot see how you give a higher mark to Clarke and Norwood over McGoldrick. You highlight Stevens miss ,Clarkes was even worse in the first half. McGoldrick easily our best player tonight.

Clarke was on the stretch...he would have been offside anyway if he scored. McGoldrick played well but I felt it was Clarke's running and aggressiveness that caused them the most problems.

 

[Dkc]

I agree that Billy may have been a better option off the bench, he must wonder what he's done wrong seeing Washington come on ahead of him. Lots of positives last night though. The nature of football means that we aren't going to win every match that we dominate. If Stoke had scored first and we'd equalised at the end we would have been far happier with a point.

Not sure if Stoke changed formation after we scored but we definitely lost control and you could see their goal coming. Subs ineffective again, though you could see why Stearman was brought on. Overall a disappointing night but it will soon be forgotten if we win on Saturday. Continue playing like that and we have a great chance of finishing in the top six.

 

[DronnieBlade]

Ref Clarke.

“Put a lot of effort in all game and was a constant nuisance. He chased defenders down, showed strength, strong running and never stopped”

All admirable stuff. This appears to be the sum total of your description of his performance that has attained a (joint) mom score.

Wouldn’t it be nice, given the way in which this Sheffield United side goes about its business, if we had a CF that, on top of the admirable qualities you state above, could also be capable of a deft touch, silky skill, lethal in front of goal, linking play up with ease, demonstrating real awareness of those around him, anticipating play, creating chances, great first touch, etc etc.

We ARE, beyond a shadow of a doubt, clearly still very much in love with the old school battering ram of a CF above ANYTHING that I have mentioned above.

UTB

 

[shrubbery]

Can't disagree with any of that really.

I am usually full of praise for Duffy but he frustrated the shit out of me yesterday. The number of times he completely overplayed when in excellent passing / crossing positions on the edge of their box was ridiculous. You thought the cross must be coming and then he does another drag back and heads in the opposite direction away from goal!

Thought Fleck gave the ball away far too many times in midfield too and still isn't hitting the heady heights of last year following a slow start to the season.

Another set of baffling substitutions from Chris and it is starting to look like a chink in his armour.

As you said, I also thought both wing backs played well even if they also chose to cut back rather than cross when they seemed in perfect crossing positions on several occasions. In the second half they both seemed to get the ball in much quicker and created a few chances by doing this. Our reluctance to cross combined with an inability to produce consistently accurate crosses needs work.

Incredibly frustrating couple of games as dominated for the most part and dropped 5 points.

 

[HeCanDoMagic]

I woke up this morning still mentally positioning that bastard wall for that free-kick last night.

 

[LSF]

Pretty much spot on FB.
Other than Dean Henderson, whose two mistakes for their goal cost us two points, everyone else was pretty much on their A game.
Hendo, like you say, is a confident lad (a little too so imo), and will take it on the chin and work to eliminate from his repotoire.
He needed an extra man in the wall as Bash was indicating to him as the wall was being organised, and he maybe should have got down quicker with a strong hand on it. He'll emerge stronger from it hopefully.
Disappointing of course, it felt like a defeat on the walk back to the car, but the warm glow of the performance helped soothe that disappointment.
An observation..... After the Hull game where we stuttered and dithered generally but took 3 points from a penalty award, I floated back to car basking in that satisfied feeling
Fast forward to a rolls royce performance and a gifted opposition equaliser...
Results over performance every day??

 

[crucialkneeligaman]

The Fleck mark is fair enough, nothing really came off for him and after he took a knock he was a bit all over the place, should have had Coutts on for him really.

Kind of typical that the one game where Duffy really looked like he was knackered and needed to come off, he stayed on til nearly the end.

However bad Woodburn is, he must be a better option off the bench than Washington, who was hiding rather than making himself available for the ball at the end. If we just wanted someone to run around a bit in attack, Johnson would have been a better option.

I'll take some flack over this but Fleck seems a bit jaded at the moment and could do with benching for a game or two ( always seems to bring the best out of Billy), especially now we have Coutts back.

 

[blackydog]

Totally disagree about the foul given against Crouch - he just went down for no reason and if you watch again on TV its clear it wasnt a foul.
Also the handball was a clear penalty - stop trying to be so impartial Deadbat as these crucial decisions cost us and it was a very weak refereeing performance as is so often in this league

We were level with play. Stevens pushed him with 1 hand. He got away with a worse push earlier that was an obvious foul. Don't know what Stevens was thinking of?

 

[west_yorks_blade]

Good summary as ever.

This United side is a real enigma to me. Capable of sublime football one minute and looking like a ragtag defensively frail and nervous side the next. Fortunately the former usually outweighs the latter.

By why does a team that is top of the league and at home, sit so deep and look so panicked as soon as we go in front?

Where is the belief and confidence to carry on doing what we are doing well and kill the game off?

Drives me mad. I’m still so disappointed about the result last night. We should have been out of sight by half time. Do Wilder and Knill show them what they do when we take the lead (or get back into a game like at derby)? This is a real Achilles Heel for us at the moment.

 

[Baaaaaaa Blades]

Great report as always

The panic mode was certainly our undoing IMO, bizarre to go from complete control of a game, then get a very deserved lead to then start panicking and loosing the ball and invite them to push on ( pretty sure Fleck and Possibly Norwood seemed to tackle each other at one point when Fleck got a knock due to daft play)
they are a team short on confidence near the bottom and we had just taken the lead ! go for them again ..


believe and got for it and smash the buggers 3/4-0 !

As above felt Clarke and Goldie were excellent , I was questioning the choice to drop Sharp but felt the front 2 were a constant threat

 

[Sheffsteel]

believe and got for it and smash the buggers 3/4-0 !

Easier said than done...if we go guns ho...then you’re vulnerable at the back.
We conceded loads of late goals last season by playing really positive towards the end versus Villa, Bristol C and Cardiff. Many of our fans criticised these naive tactics at the time and said we could have easily settled for a draw against Villa and Bristol instead of gambling on a win and ending up with no points.

Maybe Wilder has learnt from last season and decided to take what you have towards the end instead of going for it.
Our defensive attitude, sitting back worked at home to Preston and Hull worked as we held on for wins.
I’d expect managing out games is something Wilder will be analysing and working on.

 

[Baaaaaaa Blades]

Easier said than done...if we go guns ho...then you’re vulnerable at the back.
We conceded loads of late goals last season by playing really positive towards the end versus Villa, Bristol C and Cardiff. Many of our fans criticised these naive tactics at the time and said we could have easily settled for a draw against Villa and Bristol instead of gambling on a win and ending up with no points.

Maybe Wilder has learnt from last season and decided to take what you have towards the end instead of going for it.
Our defensive attitude, sitting back worked at home to Preston and Hull.
I’d expect managing out games is something Wilder will be analysing and working on.

completely appreciate where you are coming from and agree about the late goals from last season but i would argue that against Preston it nearly backfired again as they clawed it back and we only started attacking again when went 2-2
Hull are just dreadful!!

The thing is if you sit back against good players ( and Stoke do have some very talented players ) you give them more time and confidence to build on something and give thee team a big lift
i realistically don't think we would go on and win 3/4-0 but certainly could have got another last night esp the way the top 2 were playing

 

[Addison]

Agree we overplay the ball on the edge of the 18 yard box. There were a number of opportunities to get a shot away when we opted to pass even in the penalty area. Very good first half when we should have been in front with the chances we created. Second half our only real shot in anger was Norwoods free kick that struck the post. Cue defensive mode in the mind of the players when we go 1-0 up yet Stoke weren't causing us too much trouble until the soft free kick. It was one but why was Stevens marking Crouch.

Clarke had a good game last night and is off the mark but Sharp has to start on Saturday, we need to take the few chances we create for all our possession. Subs as usual strange. Why not keep McGoldrick on for Duffy and bring a goalscorer on in Sharp for the last 5 mins. Why not give Johnson a run with his strength and pace. Why Washington? Frustrating end to the game and all too similar to a number of games last season. We need to kill games off and keep on the front foot. Effective substitutions will do that and at the moment that is our achilles heel.

 

[Darlington82]

Thanks for the report.

Why do some of our best players, Fleck and Norwood last night, amongst others panic after we score and hoof the ball up the pitch to no one, when under no real pressure. This is starting to become our standard reaction and is giving possession away unnecessarily. When in the same positions they would have not before we scored.

Otherwise we need to convert those excellent chances in the first half. I did not think Leon was offside in real time last night and was in line with him. It may be different on playback.

Our standards are so high I feel guilty of not picking on a very good overall performance.

 

[Toronto Blade fan]

Brilliant report as per usual. I thought Clarke put himself out well. I was disappointed with Norwood, felt he gave the ball away too many times.

 

[super_pig]

Henderson 5.5/10 – Bad mistake for the goal. He has not put enough men in the wall and then he was way too slow to get across. It was not even hit with huge power. Not sure how he did not get it and it was a big error that has cost us the three points. He also missed one cross tonight but outside of this he was untroubled. Made one good save from Ince but not much to do other than take a few crosses etc. His first big real error. Hope he can react and recover quickly. Seems a confident lad so not sure it will affect him.


Freeman 7/10 – Back to his best after a dip Saturday. Took so many difficult balls in his stride or on his chest and then got into good areas. He was a constant outlet and despite the difficulty of some of the crossfield balls showed his technique and ability. His final ball was not always the best and too often hit the first man or struggled to get it across. Thought he caused them lots of problems.


Stevens 7/10 – Thought he was really good tonight but loses marks for a bad miss when he skewed the ball over first half and then gave away a stupid free kick near the end which cost us. No need to dive in at all. Just let him win it and get the 2nd ball. Shame as other than his got up and down, showed real energy and was excellent. His crossing was better also tonight. He showed some good skill taking the ball on the run and was always in motion. They did start to overload down that side but not sure that was his fault.


Egan 7/10 – Solid game. He let Afobe get away from him once for skill first half but he headed/cleared and used it when he could. Not put under any real pressure until the final stages but then the whole team started to panic and meant the defence were under more pressure.


O’Connell 7/10 – Good again tonight. Used it well when he could and defended sensibly. Not put under that much pressure but he was able to come onto the ball and attack it. A few times him and Henderson got in a mix up but he at least took responsibility.


Basham 7/10 – Usual array of cavalier runs, nice bits of skill, control and positive attitude in everything he did. A few times things did not come off but he will keep plugging away. Showed no little skill a few times. Once again panicked a bit when in the last third and his final pass/ball never really caused Stoke many problems. This is something he needs to work at as his overall performances are very consistent outside of this.


Fleck 6.5/10 – Might get criticised for this mark but whilst I felt he did some good stuff and some decent runs and passes; he also gave it away a lot and lost his runner a few times. Still he contributed to our ball possession and domination for long spells but he had a number of wild shots nowhere near and then when we led he was guilty of punting it to nowhere in particular. He was the most guilty at the end of panicking instead of just keeping it.


Norwood 8/10 – Thought he was very good and along with our front two our best player. He pinged it about all game and showed his sublime range of passing. He really is a superbly intelligent footballer. He can play passes with inside/outside of foot with no back lift and can switch play so well. His excellent free kick deserved a goal before we put it in. Tried clever things and whilst everything does not come off; he is our main player for me at the moment and vital to our continued chances of staying at the top. Felt he needed to get on the ball a bit more in the final stages.


Duffy 6.5/10 – He flattered to deceive for me tonight despite some good bits and pieces. He put one superb ball in for Stevens who should have scored but too often things did not come off for me. He took too many touches at times and needed to move it quicker and too many passes were telegraphed. Of course, he gets into good areas and is a real threat but not sure that many came off. He kept working hard and saw more graft than Saturday and was one of our main links in our play but he does tire a lot and I felt after we scored we needed a few like him to step up and help us keep it.


Clarke 8/10 – Much more like it and back to his play of last season. Put a lot of effort in all game and was a constant nuisance. He chased defenders down, showed strength, strong running and never stopped. Deserved his goal and was in the right place. He linked well with McGoldrick and they never had a moments peace in defence.


McGoldrick 7.5/10 – As above really; he showed clever hold up and was able to bring others into play. He came into midfield, showed some delightful touches and was also able to get into little channels. Had a few decent efforts first half but then badly miskicked one second half. I would have left him on actually as he does keep the ball even if he is tired. It was a poor change for me and helped give them further initiative.


Subs –

Washington – Not sure he even touched the ball again. Worrying that he is the main option. Would Billy have done any worse in the final stages. We needed to hold the ball at that stage and not just have a runner/chaser.


Stearman – Brought on due to concerns they were going to go even longer but not sure he won a header as they were winning the balls via Crouch and getting more of the ball at the top end of the pitch.


Coutts – Odd change right at the end. Not sure what he was going to do to influence things with 4 minutes to play?




Wilder 7.5/10 – The performance was very good. We were at our best for most of the game but did not put the game away and were made to pay. Still we dominated them individually and collectively. Henderson makes the save and we win 1-0 and everyone goes home happy and praising an excellent performance and win. His changes once again did not work and seemed to give them even more initiative. We were not seeing much of the ball but I actually think Coutts may have helped tonight to see us keep it. We ended up with Bash in midfield (he had no idea where he was playing) and Washington up front but it all became a bit disorganised. We needed to get hold of the ball more and taking off Duffy and McGoldrick, two players who can help us at least try and hold it; was not the best move even if they were tired. At this stage we needed to manage things better and not invite pressure on. I felt the changes did not help at all. His subs recently have hindered rather than helped us I feel.


Referee – Fine really. Seen a lot criticising him but not sure much he got wrong. I have watched the free kick on Crouch and is soft but he jumps and Stevens put his arm into him. It was daft and gave him chance to go down. The minute he jumps and the defender lowers his arm/body into him he will fall down and get the foul. Not sure the penalty at the end was one. He was only a few yards from the ball when it hit him. His hands were up but close to his body. They had a similar shout for one early so not sure how he could have given that one right at the end. If that had been given against us (the one at the end) I would have been livid.


He should have penalised Butland for timewasting and seemed to just keep waving him on. Book him early. Refs do not do this though. I felt he let them get away with slow timing all night and then ironically was hurrying us up. He booked Martins Indi for a cynical foul and then Stevens for a chop down on McClean at the end as Stoke broke. He did try and play on when he could but I also thought he was not great at getting free kicks taken from the right place or pushing the men/walls back 10 yards – for both sides. Not sure there were many big decisions he got wrong but at times he should have just got the game going a bit quicker and it became a bit stop start to Stoke’s advantage.

fleck seemed injured
perhaps that’s why he was losing runners and kicking the ball anywhere?

 

[metalblade]

I think the subs could have been used earlier Fleck had taken a whack and Duffy seemed to be struggling with a groin strain too I'll be surprised if either start on Saturday. I wouldn't be laying all the blame on Henderson for Stokes goal we had a three man wall I think it was O'Connel who was facing Hendo who was telling them to move left all of a sudden Jack drags Fleck into the wall and run to where Crouch is Hendo is still waving the wall to move left but no one is taking any notice. You can't change the wall before the keeper has done lining it up but that's what happened. BTW I think Crouch conned the ref for the free kick I know I'm a way from the action sat on the kop but to me it looked like he ran into Stevens and fell down I wouldn't say Stevens made a challenge to be fair.
Washington more like wash out, he looks really poor god help us if that's all we have as back up may as well have kept Lavery and Ched Evans. All the players are guilty of being ponderous around the penalty box there were quite a few occasions when players should have took a shot first time or put in an early cross but decided to have that extra touch or pass. Silly mistakes and fine margins that will keep us away from the top over the season.

 

[sitwell]

Clarke was on the stretch...he would have been offside anyway if he scored. McGoldrick played well but I felt it was Clarke's running and aggressiveness that caused them the most problems.

No Stretch ,no flag ,bad miss by a striker.
Stevens ,left back off balance went with wrong foot ,also a bad miss but not as bad.

 

[sitwell]

I think the subs could have been used earlier Fleck had taken a whack and Duffy seemed to be struggling with a groin strain too I'll be surprised if either start on Saturday. I wouldn't be laying all the blame on Henderson for Stokes goal we had a three man wall I think it was O'Connel who was facing Hendo who was telling them to move left all of a sudden Jack drags Fleck into the wall and run to where Crouch is Hendo is still waving the wall to move left but no one is taking any notice. You can't change the wall before the keeper has done lining it up but that's what happened. BTW I think Crouch conned the ref for the free kick I know I'm a way from the action sat on the kop but to me it looked like he ran into Stevens and fell down I wouldn't say Stevens made a challenge to be fair.
Washington more like wash out, he looks really poor god help us if that's all we have as back up may as well have kept Lavery and Ched Evans. All the players are guilty of being ponderous around the penalty box there were quite a few occasions when players should have took a shot first time or put in an early cross but decided to have that extra touch or pass. Silly mistakes and fine margins that will keep us away from the top over the season.

It was Basham in the wall ,he and Henderson had a 'discussion' after the goal and then almost a set to after the game when Egan pulled them apart. They both stormed off gobbing at each other did notice they shook hands on the way off.
Hardly Washingtons fault he cant get into a game ,he tends to be brought on very late when the pattern of the game is all to cock with 4 or 5 subs made ,the days of David Fairclough are long gone.

 

[HodgysBrokenThumb]

Ref Clarke.

“Put a lot of effort in all game and was a constant nuisance. He chased defenders down, showed strength, strong running and never stopped”

All admirable stuff. This appears to be the sum total of your description of his performance that has attained a (joint) mom score.

Wouldn’t it be nice, given the way in which this Sheffield United side goes about its business, if we had a CF that, on top of the admirable qualities you state above, could also be capable of a deft touch, silky skill, lethal in front of goal, linking play up with ease, demonstrating real awareness of those around him, anticipating play, creating chances, great first touch, etc etc.

We ARE, beyond a shadow of a doubt, clearly still very much in love with the old school battering ram of a CF above ANYTHING that I have mentioned above.

UTB

Your ideal striker would be very welcome, but would cost around 50 million? Berahino and Afobe each cost more than 10 million, and we're not a patch on our 2 strikers, or Billy. There is no way in the foreseeable future that United could acquire (or keep, if it was an Academy lad) the striker you describe.

 

[DronnieBlade]

Your ideal striker would be very welcome, but would cost around 50 million? Berahino and Afobe each cost more than 10 million, and we're not a patch on our 2 strikers, or Billy. There is no way in the foreseeable future that United could acquire (or keep, if it was an Academy lad) the striker you describe.

Point taken.

But a bit of balance, would also be most welcome.

Leon has attributes. Clearly. I’m not disputing this.

But equally, I would hate the idea of Wilder elevating his status in the squad to unsubbable / undropable as has been the case for long periods in the past.

His skill set simply does not warrant it !!

UTB

 

[Snowman]

Fleck clearly took a whack just after we scored and we couldn't understand why he wasn't replaced with Coutts straight away as he was a passenger for the next 15 minutes. He could barely move let alone kick the ball during that period.

Too right. He was hobbling and the days of "run it off lad" are long gone when you need fit players twice a week. CW had a similar problem with Duffy, see below.

I agree that Billy may have been a better option off the bench, he must wonder what he's done wrong seeing Washington come on ahead of him. Lots of positives last night though. The nature of football means that we aren't going to win every match that we dominate. If Stoke had scored first and we'd equalised at the end we would have been far happier with a point.

Not sure if Stoke changed formation after we scored but we definitely lost control and you could see their goal coming. Subs ineffective again, though you could see why Stearman was brought on. Overall a disappointing night but it will soon be forgotten if we win on Saturday. Continue playing like that and we have a great chance of finishing in the top six.

Subs, as you say ineffective, but not actually needed apart from Duffy who was motioning (in very strong terms) to CW that he wanted off about 10 minutes before he went off. What has he got against the kid?

Can't disagree with any of that really.

I am usually full of praise for Duffy but he frustrated the shit out of me yesterday. The number of times he completely overplayed when in excellent passing / crossing positions on the edge of their box was ridiculous. You thought the cross must be coming and then he does another drag back and heads in the opposite direction away from goal!

Thought Fleck gave the ball away far too many times in midfield too and still isn't hitting the heady heights of last year following a slow start to the season.

Another set of baffling substitutions from Chris and it is starting to look like a chink in his armour.

As you said, I also thought both wing backs played well even if they also chose to cut back rather than cross when they seemed in perfect crossing positions on several occasions. In the second half they both seemed to get the ball in much quicker and created a few chances by doing this. Our reluctance to cross combined with an inability to produce consistently accurate crosses needs work.

Incredibly frustrating couple of games as dominated for the most part and dropped 5 points.

Yet another mystifying substitution by our leader. It's getting to be a bit of a theme. At least Billy can "buy a penalty". Can't see Washington buy his own socks.

I don't think it's up to Duffy to be doing the crossing, he's the prober and unlocker in and around the area. It's his desire to bloody pass when he could shoot that frustrates me. They all overplay it. Quite often a simple early whipped in cross will work better causing the defender to be facing his own goal. But No! back and forward repeat. Just get it in the danger area from the wingback. If it gets cleared there's the three midfielders ready to mop up on the edge of the area.

As for the domination how many times do we say this? It is again and again and again and again.Surely he's had enough time to sort it out by now.

We were level with play. Stevens pushed him with 1 hand. He got away with a worse push earlier that was an obvious foul. Don't know what Stevens was thinking of?

He shouldn't have been there. I thought someone said that Stearman had been brought on to deal with the "aerial threat". What was the point of Stearman coming on?

Agree we overplay the ball on the edge of the 18 yard box. There were a number of opportunities to get a shot away when we opted to pass even in the penalty area. Very good first half when we should have been in front with the chances we created. Second half our only real shot in anger was Norwoods free kick that struck the post. Cue defensive mode in the mind of the players when we go 1-0 up yet Stoke weren't causing us too much trouble until the soft free kick. It was one but why was Stevens marking Crouch.

Clarke had a good game last night and is off the mark but Sharp has to start on Saturday, we need to take the few chances we create for all our possession. Subs as usual strange. Why not keep McGoldrick on for Duffy and bring a goalscorer on in Sharp for the last 5 mins. Why not give Johnson a run with his strength and pace. Why Washington? Frustrating end to the game and all too similar to a number of games last season. We need to kill games off and keep on the front foot. Effective substitutions will do that and at the moment that is our achilles heel.

ABSOLUTELY BLOODY THIS ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

[metalblade]

It was Basham in the wall ,he and Henderson had a 'discussion' after the goal and then almost a set to after the game when Egan pulled them apart. They both stormed off gobbing at each other did notice they shook hands on the way off.
Hardly Washingtons fault he cant get into a game ,he tends to be brought on very late when the pattern of the game is all to cock with 4 or 5 subs made ,the days of David Fairclough are long gone.

My bad, I know someone was taking instructions from Hendo then the next minute running into the pack to be replaced by Fleck none of the three in the wall then looked at Hendo to see if the wall was in the correct place, it all seemed a bit panic stations.