“SU are a very functional 442 team, big, work hard, close down all day but surprisingly very little punch up top. They were happy to sit deep and let us come at them and I could see a goal coming for us as we started to knock it around a bit better. A few good crosses, a few half chances but it was all soooooooo slooooooow at times.  Their first goal was a  corner flicked in the near post for an OG by CM. The replay showed a clear foul on NM right behind Mepham as he was dragged to the ground and it should have been disallowed but I think we have let too many in from set pieces to grasp at that straw too long.  Their  second goal was a wicked deflection, their third a quick throw, Barbet is not looking, a pull back from the byline and there is the big number 9 in acres of space on the penalty spot to pick his spot, not one Bees midfielder within 25 yards of it again. This was possibly SU’s only chance of that half until Barbet gave it away on the edge of their area and left us 2v1 and JM took one for the team and probably should have walked .Sheff U midfield ran all night and chased everything. I am not trying to make out we were anything other than disjointed and broken men all over the pitch but we gifted them three goals tonight, created more opportunities than them and possibly could have seen their first goal chalked off and had a penalty ourselves and bought a win that could have lifted us, but we didn’t.”

“I’d disagree that we created more. Once again we created very little In the box whereas in the first half alone they hit the bar and forced a point blank save from Bentley. Think about how many chances we created once we went 3-2 down…nothing Their second wasn’t deflected either it was a peach of a strike.”

“3-2 flattered us tonight. I was bored watching us. No urgency. No ideas. No tempo. No pressing. Everything we have been about over the last 3-4 seasons has vanished. Players were hiding tonight and for me the dressing room has been lost. The body language of the players said it all.”

“2-3 certainly flattered us.”

“We were awful, had we got a 3rd goal then they’d have got a 4th. There ends my thoughts.”

“Sheffield united weren’t that great we were just ***** in defence”

“Sheffield Utd are on a poor run but are a good side. They looked a lot better than us. Tonight could have been a hiding if they had really gone at us. Some of the chances we conceded right in front of our goal were criminal. ”

“We were dreadful except for a 10 minute spell in the second half but other than that Sheff Utd were by far the better team.”

“No shame in losing to a really good looking Sheff Utd side but this run of defeats is getting concerning”

“Sheffield played how we used to, every thing we did was pedestrian, every ball was to feet sideways or backwards at walking pace – it looked like a training game of 5 a side.”

“Sure we had some good passages of play and two goals with numerous other chances could and should have won the game for us but they looked like scoring every time they counter attacked.”

“A lot is made of Sheff Us attacking from the back but it also serves another purpose of them being very strong defensively if they need to be. They played a very effective counter attacking game against us. We simply didn’t cope when they attacked because we have too many attack mind players who don’t have discipline to get into good defensive shapes.”

“Sheff Utd looked like scoring every time they attacked. Within a minute of each of our goals, we almost conceded – hitting post first time and missing a good chance after our 2nd. It’s how we defend as a team, not just the back 4 or 5. If we’re like that Monday I can see WBA getting 5 or 6.”

“That was poor. They showed how you must be – organised, disciplined with a clear plan . We lookef likea bunch of good players trying to make a team.”

“Confidence shot to pieces and every team we play seem to want it more than us”

“Some of the best teams in the Championship play attractive football, and others don’t, but the bottom line is that the most effective teams at this level get in front and stay in front”

“We play the same game against everyone. Good teams know exactly what to do against us. Allow us possession in the middle but defend in numbers and press hard on the wings: force us to play side to side, and then once the inevitable mistake occurs counter attack rapidly and abuse the massive gap between our midfield and back line. We are too easily found out and have no coherent plan B. I’d like to see us try something a little different as a plan B when faced with teams like boro and sheff utd where we are struggling to break them down and lapsing into horizontal play”

“While not suited to our style of play and rubbish on the ball, we could do with a John Egan or Harlee Dean who would put their head on crosses. ”

“We have been worked out, we need to go back to the drawing board tactically.Is there a player in this division who is missed by a team as much as we miss Ryan Woods? He was our pacemaker last 2 seasons, sets the tempo, quickens the pace, made the midfield more mobile. It feels like our whole tactics were based around him at the fulcrum and we have neither replaced him or adapted our style.”

“Sheffield’s number 3 had so much space NASA have just put a rover on him”

 

By Roy

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