“From the back end of August to the end of November, the Blades had a 15-game unbeaten run of League One fixtures….then they lost at home to us. Since then they’ve played 6 League One games and won them all, and no doubt there will be an element of wanting to set the record straight when they come to the Banks’s on Saturday (it should also be remembered that we beat them 1-2 at Bramall Lane in October in the tin pot trophy). Their recent form has resulted in occupation of the top-of-the-table spot, 4 points clear of Scunthorpe United. According to the form book we don’t have a chance of even a point out of this one, but that’s also what the form book said about the two previous encounters. Not only are the Blades top of the table, they’re also very nearly top scorers in League One with an impressive 50 goals so far (compare that to our 26), and their defence has been boosted by on-loan Dingle Ethan Ebanks-Landell staying at Bramall lane until May – he also scored last week against Southend so is evidently one to watch. Unsurprisingly the Blades’ equivalent of UTS (S24SU) in their regular poll of game predictions overwhelmingly forecast an away win, although 8% of contributors actually reckoned we would score 2 goals!! No matter what JW tweaks for this one I can’t honestly see us getting 3 points out of it – I’ll be quite happy with a draw thank you very much. Whitney has been talking Simeon Jackson up this week (“the goals will come”) but for me a key decision will be whether he sees sense and plays Oztumer from the start. The extension of Jason McCarthy’s loan until the end of the season was good news, and presumably the week’s break for the squad will mean that any minor niggling injuries will have been cleared up. Matt Preston will be pushing for a start, and at the time of writing the situation regarding Scott Laird is still unclear”
“..they will certainly be “up” for this. A draw would be a good result. I also agree Ozzy should play and lets hope he can rediscover his early season form.”
“I’ve got a feeling in my waters (no Trump jokes here please ) that we are going to beat the Blades.
Rendition of the “greasy chip butty” song to be cut short by a bit of magic by the Turkish Messi and Makris to get off the mark in the 87th minute.
References of “papering over the cracks” to outnumber the positive comments come final whistle. UTS.”“If you think we have any chance of beating Sheff Utd. for the third time in this awful season
you must either be crazy or more optimistic than Opitimistic”
“Fearing the worst, but we’ve got a great record against the Blades, though they finally appear to have their act in order under Wilder.
Their form is awesome. Clean sheets at home, and out-scoring the opposition away. What a team to watch this year.
Would accept being beaten by a better team, but want to see Morris and the two Ozzys in ours. Let’s at least give them stuff to worry about.
Expect a light, rather than heavy, pummelling.”
“Looking forward to this one. Never liked These lot and beating them again would be ace.
The depressing thing about the story of our last twelve months is that this will be our second consecutive league game at home where the game plan will be about stifling the opposition and hoping we nick one and can shut up shop. A league that this time last year we were in with a genuine shout of winning by dominating the ball.
I’d love Jon to confound both me and possibly the opposition by going for it. Oztumer and Morris to start so that front and back can join up with a goal threat being carried by the front four rather than just the full-backs.
I’d heartily applaud Jon and the team off if it is a ding-dong game that we come off just a bit worse in (a 2-3 type affair). Unfortunately, I think it might be a similar plan, similar line-up and similar outcome to the Rochdale game in front of 6,900 with some suspiciously Yorkshire sounding accents dotted around the home stands.”“Anyone brave enough to put even the smallest wager on us getting anything less than a drubbing, have my sympathies.
Two lucky ‘get away with robbery’ wins don’t automatically make it a three in a row certainty. This is now a team in full flow, scoring for fun and preparing for life in the Championship and eventually the Premiershite (where ALL their fans think they belong…………..because they are a big club!)”“We are starting the new year with at least as good a squad as we ended the last with a couple of weeks left in the transfer window. I am personally of the opinion that we have a stronger squad than we have had for years, which is proven by the fact that many complain that we have quality players on the bench and not playing, but in fact we put a strong team out anyway in terms of our squad. This is better squad selection than people are giving credit for because if we get injuries and bans there are no emergency loans available now to strengthen mid season. They are a new squad and one would therefore expect them to play better together as the season progresses.”
“Tomorrow’s back four is a mystery at time of writing. I think it will be one loanee, two raw youngsters who are in the side because one other loanee was rubbish and the other one has gone back, plus James O’Connor.Meanwhile a £250,000 centre-forward and folk with the credentials of Moussa, Oztumer and Flo/Morris will be on the bench.
The paucity of resource at the back versus the embarrassment of riches up top can only mean that we need the game to be an open, attacking affair as we play to our strengths? Of course it won’t. Our stated game-plan/strategy is to be hard to beat and play directionless balls to “beat the press”. Awful to watch and then wrenching to hear a post-match interview that will say “the game plan was going great until they scored”. Well of course it was!! If the game plan is to stop them scoring then it will always be going well…….until they score!
In other words, it’s a shambles that unless January yields some shrewd market moves, is becomming ever more shambolic.”“this team is not bad its being mis managed.a couple of good signings could make a huge difference this month.”
