Plenty of frustration on display - including from people who did not go to yesterday's match but make various assumptions based on yesterday's performance.
I was there, sitting quietly in the East Stand, along with my wife and many other similarly well behaved Blades who went along simply to watch their team play football.
The game I saw had the Blades generally in control and coping comfortably with Chesterfield prior to Higdon being sent-off. A decent Chesterfield team never looked like getting behind the Blades defence prior to their goal, which was a well struck 25 yarder. Even at 1-0 down I was confident we would not lose the game. McCarthy, who had won every header and looked comfortable on the ball, then inexplicably passed the ball to Roberts who had a straight passage to goal and slotted in their second.
Cloughie's dismay at the ref's decision not send the Chezzie defender off when Murphy was through on goal was justified.
The 10 v 10 second half was disappointing. Morsy, who looks a very good player, ran the show in the middle of the park, aided by Wallace departing after 51 minutes and Doyle' worst game of the season. At 2-0 down we were forced to chase the game and always risked getting caught on the break, which is precisely what happened for Chezzie's third.
I'm as disappointed as the next supporter at being mid-table after 10 games. However, based on what I've seen so far, I see a top 6 finish at worst, with the squad we've currently got, and automatic promotion as a distinct possibility. Of course we'd rather be 8 points clear at the top, but Cloughie has been in the job for less than 12 months, during which he has transformed a basket case of a team looking nailed on for relegation into a good League One outfit. In doing so he has taken us to an FA Cup Semi-Final and won 54% of his matches (more than Bristol's Cotterill and Swindon's Cooper who have been in charge for a similar period and have won 45%).
He faced a massive challenge in maintaining momentum having lost Maguire, Brayford and Coady (the only one of these he realistically could and should have kept). Some of his pre-season signings have yet to prove their worth but it's too early to write any of them off (Higdon, incidentally, played well and looked sharper prior to his sending off yesterday).
The charge of mismanagement against the board since relegation from the Premier League is a no-brainer - we would clearly not be in Div 3 having spent tens of millions getting there if this were not the case. But it's surely unfair to lambast the current owners and execs, based on what we've experienced to date! I can't help but feel sympathy for Jim Phipps who has communicated more openly than any Blades Director in my lifetime and for his efforts gets written off as a "spin-doctor."
Money has been invested in the team by the new owners - according to Phipps, up to the limit of FFP rules last season and likely to be very close to the limit again this time round (that limit presumably being higher this season given transfer and cup income). So the only inference that can be drawn from those who say more should be spent, is the club should ignore FFP rules and/or Phipps is telling lies. Where there is evidence of Phipps, or anyone else on the club's payroll for that matter, lying to supporters, I will be on their case as strongly as anyone, but choosing to constantly assume the worst and then pillorying people based on those assumptions is not constructive and does not move us forward.
Having said all of the above, I am an unashamed optimist where the mighty Blades are concerned and this outlook has provided emotional sanctuary down the years.
UTB
Do we still have Taylor, Brandy, Hill and Miller? Am I allowed to have replaced these if they left?
