“The possession football in the 2nd half just crushed Sheffield.”
“Most enjoyable game for a long time.”
“A thorough dismantling. 6 shots on target was more the Sheffield U’s 4 shots total. That was just fun to watch.”
“Made them look very ordinary.”
“Utterly bossed what by reputation was a good team”.
“Created some good chances and made a good side look very average. “
“Martial took advantage of Sheffield missing Henderson, Egan and O’Connell.”
“Most important thing for me is that we’ve come out of the break with the same form we went into it with. As we saw from Sheffield United, not every team can say the same.”
” i don`t understand what has happened to Sheffield United? They look dreadful after the break”
“Sheff Utd look utterly shot away and missed some key defensive players.”
“We would have probably drawn this game before the lockdown, so obviously happy that we have had them at the right time.”
“Sheffield Utd looked beaten before a ball was kicked. Didn’t look arsed from the 1st minute.”
“I think we’ll win this quite comfortably. Looking forward to it.”
“2 days extra rest and they can’t play their keeper or Egan. Be a huge disappointment if we don’t win now.”
“Hendo is out so Moore will obviously turn into Buffon in this.”
“They were missing Henderson and Egan the last time as well, if I’m not wrong. I think they pulled off the draw because we couldn’t deal with balls in the box and had no midfield.”
“I think we’ll win. They were fortunate to get a very late equaliser after we turned the game in Sheffield. We had no Bruno or Pogba in that game, and they won’t have Phil Jones playing upfront for them next week.”
“I can’t see them getting anything without Phil Jones in creative midfield for them this time.”
“We owe this feckers and must beat them.
“We’ll smash them”
“Shows you how desperately shit everyone has been this season that this Sheffield United team which are painfully average, are in with a chance of finishing in the top 5. Jesus wept.”
“They’ll finish about 8th”
“20 years ago… Teams with about 9 or 10 wins out of 31 games at this stage of the season would be usually fighting a relegation battle, not competing for european places”
“Sheffield United are poor/average”
“Sheff Utd could already be run into the ground when we play them. The schdule is ridiculous”
“3 games in 6 days. The fixture list killed them.”
“The integrity of the season is definitely in question to be fair. The 5 sub rule has totally changed the landscape. The bigger clubs have far more strength in depth so it’s been harsh on likes of Sheff United.”
“This will be a difficult game if we make it hard for us. They will try to catch us on the counter and score a goal but we can definitely smash them – it’s Wolves that worry me!”
“they will offer very little attacking against us at OT and will rely on set pieces”
“They arent a set piece team. Chris Wilder is a great coach and the overlapping CBs is extremely innovative. Have a lot of time for their style of play.”
“Incredibly difficult to set-up against. Huge test. Three at the back seems obvious way of coping, but many will claim “too negative”. If 4231, wide players need to work socks off!”
“One team I still don’t understand how they play. Very difficult to play against”
“A difficult game as Sheffield United will be well organised and tough to break down. “
“They’ll be organized, but a draw doesn’t really help them. If they want to stay in the hunt for top 4, they need 3 points from this. Could be a really good and open game, especially if we score first.”
“They’re not looking good since the restart, but they’ve still caused lots of problems for good and shit teams alike this season, and even without Henderson they’ll be a threat”
“Without at all wanting to seem patronising, I’d love to see us send more young prospects on loan to them if it was something their management were interested in. The way Henderson has been allowed and helped to develop there has been exemplary. It just seems to be a well run and well coached club and a place I could see lads like Laird or Mejbri thriving in their development. Unfortunately for us, I think they have probably outgrown that now and will be looking to entice their own prospects and stars, rather than develop them for clubs they’ll rightly be targeting as rivals. Also, I’d love to see Wilder get a shot at the Ireland job in the future. Feel like he’d be a perfect fit for us.”
“Good result, decent performance when looking at other teams since the restart. Sheff U were really poor though.”
“SU where crap and lost the game.”
“They are shite”
“I thought they were very ordinary when we played them down there too.”
“second best defense in the league” pack of frauds. “
” I thoroughly enjoyed that, and also those boring frauds getting exposed for the jokers they are.”
“Pretty much stopped trying to score with 10 mins to go, which I suppose is fair enough with the result safe and the fixture congestion, but I wanted to see us push for more goals as there was a couple of chances we just didn’t bother pursuing”
“It was an enjoyable watch from more or less the first ten minutes, which was the only spell that they looked up to much. I can’t remember a game where kept the ball as well as that for a long time. Obviously helped by the red card but an encouraging start.”
“with 10 men they kept the ball a tad more than we did and their passing overall was better than ours”
“a big mistake by egan,he should have let joelinton go, as he would have missed.”
“Their goalkeeper was really poor”
“Clearly our fans constantly berating and moaning does hold us back”
” I have missed football a lot and was worried it wouldn’t work. This was fine. And I’m fine if everyone treats these like friendlies if we keep winning 3-0…..”
“When I’m in watching with the piped in crowd noise I can’t say I even notice there not being a crowd. And who misses grown morons in the crowd hurling abuse at players? They’re generally the only tossers you catch on camera.”
“I’m struggling to get into them. They feel like friendlies to me with a lack of competitive edge. There’s a lot more flow to games though as the refs aren’t giving anywhere near as many free kicks without the influence of the crowd.”
“maybe we’ve been having zoom conferences with Rafa behind SBs back”
‘we will lose. Sheff United will be up for this one after what happened at Villa.”
“Confident we will beat Sheffield United on Sunday”
“Sheffield United are an awful side to play against.. they’re are basically the Stoke City of today…Our counter attacking system worked a treat at their place, but I doubt Bruce has the brains to identify or remember that.I expect us to win regardless”
“don’t fear Sheffield United”Fancy us to do the double over them”
“We were fortunate to beat them earlier in the season”
“They showed no quality on Wednesday”
“ASM and Almiron will run wild for us on Sunday if Sheffield Utd play the way they did against Villa
Looking forward to ASM destroying Sheffield United on Sunday”
“I would say that based on this performance, there is nothing to suggest Sheffield Utd can’t be beaten on Sunday. However, given how bad we were at the best of times this season, I fully expect us to be substantially worse after this break”
“Sheff Yoo were robbed”
“It was basically match fixing”
“Took half an hour for the league to be a shambles again”
“The whole thing has been embarrassing.Hawkeye apologising, the canned singing, the fact David Luiz still has a professional contract. Can see the rest of the season being a sham”
“Last time I heard Chris Wilder whinge about VAR (when Shelvey scored against them), they got a huge VAR decision their way the following match. Sheff Utd’s next opponents.”
“Typically we’ve got Sheffield United Sunday, odds on the ref giving them a dodgy penalty to make up for the mistake in Wednesday… I can see it already!”
“they say when a big decision goes against you it normally evens itself out, typical we have Sheff Utd in their next game. I reckon a dodgy 1st half red card for us”
“We’re gonna face one pissed off Sheffield Utd side on Sunday. Brace yourselves lads.”
” Absolutely shambolic state of affairs that on Sunday. Newcastle will be playing Sheff Utd with neither club having fans there … but only one set of fans getting their money back.”
“Got an email in today from Man Utd saying that all season ticket holders will get free Sky Passes and Digital Programmes for Utd Home games in an effort to recreate the Match Day atmosphere.Newcastle have announced a similar scheme – they are sending a tramp with diarrhoea round to **** in your toilet.”
“They’ve cleared up the goal line issue. There was no error. Apparently due to Covid-19 restrictions no goal is awarded unless it’s at least 2 metres over the line.”
“I honestly feel ashamed about us stealing a point when Nyland and Davis clearly knew it was over the line. “
“Considering our bench were a bunch of whining little bitches and pressured their manager in to gifting us a goal for the spirit of the game, for us to then pretend this was all above board, I can see why (other teams are criticising us)”
” a 1 in 9000 chance has seen us earn a point. Remarkable..”
“I’m not going to feel too bad for them about it because it’s not like they “deserved” the goal in the first place, it was a fluke mistake on our part, not that it makes it ok just that if they had scored a genuinely good goal for it to have been cancelled would have a been an even worse situation all round.”
“The goal decision was unfortunate for Sheff Utd, but we have had plenty of decision’s go against us so there is no sympathy from me.”
“Least we gained something from technology today after being shafted most of the season”
“Their goal wasnt even a chance”
“Probably a fair result, they obviously had their “goal”, we had the better chances in the game. All the talk will be about lucky Villa post-match, but we’ve deserved a bit of luck after some of the decisions that have gone against us this season.”
“we should have been a goal up before that event, maybe iven 2 up, very poor finishing by us”
“We were the better team, created more chances in a drab game where everyone lacked fitness. Incredibly, we should’ve lost, so I’ll take that.”
“Do people really not realise Sheff U were just happy to get a 90 minutes under their belt unscathed and weren’t actually trying to compete that much?”
“Decent point, but pretty scandalous. “
“Like we’ve never been away. Shef Utd were there for the taking. Luik our best player. The reality is we should have lost.”
“Scraped a point at home against Sheffield United who have spent a fraction of what we have.”
“they were shit.”
“Let’s also be honest in saying that’s probably on the better side of how we generally play and we still didn’t really look like taking three points against a very underperforming Sheffield United. “
“Shows how far our standards have fallen if we think a draw at home to Sheffield United is a good result when we needed three points to climb out of the relegation zone. Despite how well they’re doing this season today was one of the better chances we will have this season of taking three poinits and we faiild to capitalize”
“That was a very poor performance from Sheff Utd TH. If we can’t beat a poor Blades, what chance with some of the fixtures coming up?”
“Sheff Utd were nowhere near as good as their league position suggests. Could have easily been mistaken by anyone as being a team that are in the relegation zone as us.”
“Great point at home to the shite Sheffield United! “
“The break has done Sheff Utd no favours. They looked as bad if not worse than us. They were awful. If that game had have been played when it was supposed to have they would have beaten us with the run we were both on.”
“Told you Sheffield aren’t very good. If the goal had been allowed, it would have been a fluke; Davis barging into Nyland was one of these things. And there were the penalties we didn’t get. Probably a fair result. Sheffield aiming for Europe while we’re aiming to beat the drop? Laugh.”
“Can’t see how you can be disappointed by that. Sheff Utd looked like a League 2 side out there”
“Aren’t United one of the best away teams in the league? We should have won. It was a story of keepers. There’s is insane. Ours is insane too but completely for different reasons and he cannot play again. We could have easily won”
Apart from nylands mistake I think we were the better side and could have won one nil. Mcginn wasn’t up to speed and grealish was pushed out the game. It’s easy to see Sheffield United and forget what this side has done this season.”
“That was alright considering Sheffield are a better team than us and we had players out of position Got away with the goal obviously .Was always going to be a strange slow drab start, that’s a point in a game we will “definitley lose” ill take them”
“Decent result against a better team. Created chances. Didn’t bottle it. Progress. You know this behind-closed-doors thing might help our lot.”
“Given we had no other fit centre backs, Samatta not fully fit, or a match fit McGinn we still dominated Sheffield United in crucial areas of the pitch. Hause was poor and Grealish took time to show his many qualities. Nyland suspect as ever on crosses. I’m not going to entertain the stupidity of saying we should have let them score.”
“SO PROUD OF THE BOYS! Bossed that game. Should have won that. We were organized, energetic and a threat going forward, until Keinan went off. Play like that and we can beat Chelsea. I firmly believe that.”
“Thought it was a brilliant performance. Clinical and we would have won that 3-0”
“We completely nulled them out of the game. They created nothing. We should have won that. It’s ridiculous if you can’t be positive after that.”
“We might have been slightly better than a woeful team today but I dont see how that makes you PROUD OF THE BOYZ or think we’ll beat Chelsea”
“was like a pre season friendly no intensity”
“I don’t miss football one bit. If I have any restraint that’s my last game of the season. What a tedious 2 hours”
“Doesnt feel right wi no fans like a pre season freindly v some lower division mob from eastern europe,anyone else think theyre playing games untill lfc win the league then itl get called as it is,due to maybe a another wee spike in covid or a few players getting it,maybe im paranoid,so need to keep away from relegation zone.”
“A Villa – Sheff Utd game will never in history have more viewers. “
“Dreading this. Could go either way in regards to fitness, confidence, mentality etc.”
“I have a feeling they’ll be fitter than us. I don’t know why, I could be wrong, I just do. I think we’ll lose unfortunately. We desperately need to win this one.”
“Just looking at the table and we have conceded 31 more goals than them so far! We spent lots on our defence and they spent nothing so full credit to Wilder and their players. They will be bang up for it as a win would take them within 2 points of a Champions League spot even if Man City win their appeal.”
“Well Sheffield utd have, no matter what the result, outplayed us every time we’ve played them since they got promoted to the championship. I’m not really expecting a worldwide pandemic to change anything really.”
“Well we all know wilder will have had them hard ar it during the lay off unlike our lot who probably bar one exception were following the rules and lounging around and jogging around the living room . Just for once can we come out and muscle with them from the off”
“With the odd exception I didnt see any fight all season and I dont see us outbattling or competing with a Sheffield side who will be up for it from the off. Fully expecting a typical Villa roll over and die. “
“I think there is a bigger chance in beating Arsenal.”
“Every time i’ve watched them this season they’ve been working their a** off. The effort levels they put in is remarkable. A real team unit and togetherness Wilder has created. A point would be an incredible achievement”
“I think Sheffield will know we are very weak phsyically in midfield and go straight in for the kill. Hope I am wrong, but taking into account they are still in with a great chance of European football next season they wont do us any favours”
“Worrying contrast between articles from Oli Norwood and El Ghazi. Sheffield sound rating to go, some of Villa squad worrying about CV19. Doesn’t sound ideal preparation for such a crucial match”
“OK, so Oli Norwood is thick. Does that mean he’s a better player?”
“They may be honest fears ligitamately expressed but it is almost tantermount too flying the white flag before we have even kicked a ball.”
“Sheff Utd are good. I envy their success so far this season. But this will feel like the start of a new season almost for these teams.”
“Sheffield United were promoted alongside us last season. They have gained 18 more points than we have to date. Our target is and always was safety. Their target has now become European football. They have enjoyed a season that has already exceeded their most ambitious expectations. However, they aren’t Manchester City and they aren’t Liverpool, and on our day, we can win this one! After all, we gave them a 3-goal start at Villa Park last season and still got a point. Their fans have been suffering from a bad case of over confidence”
“I’ve been looking at S24SU. They really don’t like us and do really expect to beat us easily. I hope they will get a rude awakening, it’s shocking how one and three quarters worth of good seasons, has made them feel that they are now Barcelona.”
“They are a strange bunch. We were never as dismissing of the opposition like that when we were actually good and finishing in the top 6 regularly and we had much better players than they have who were being coveted by the top 4 teams. At the start of the season they would have just been happy to not finish 20th so it shows what success can do to clubs’ fans. Then again, most opposition fans don’t seem to like us – not sure why as we haven’t been much good for a long while now.”
“While Sheffield have got Europe to play for to a certain extent, I would like to think our players and team, should/would be pretty much more motivated that any other by being so close to the drop and so close to getting out of it.”
“I think last season they got a long way on a sort of collective confidence bred from hard work and organisation. The break won’t change the organisation or the attitude, but it will have affected their confidence – when you’re on a roll and playing at an unexpectedly high level, a break of a few months can be very dangerous. I think they’ll be a little nervous and wondering if they’re still going to have the momentum that’s got them to where they are”
“Sheffield utd have big lumps at the back and just get it forward quickly. 2 fast forwards will give them more problems than 1 up top who will just get taken out.”
“We could stand to benefit as much of their game is about hard work which could be undermined by the loss of fitness due to the break. On the other hand their focus on the physical aspect of the game could make them far more prepared for the restart than us. In other words I have no idea what to expect.”
“Of all teams, I think Sheffield and Leicester are the two who can cruise to an easy win against us. However … times have changed. Sheffield are well drilled but individually they aren’t great. They will probably be confident, over confident, and chinks in their armour will appear. Once we score, those chinks will become great big gashes. Class will tell. A clear win for us.”
“Sheff Utd rank the lowest for shots this season, with only 286, which is just over 10 per game on average. They seem to have one nilled many of their wins. If we can keep a clean sheet, then I think we stand a chance of points.”
“We have no less talent than the likes of Sheffield, Newcastle, Burnley, Southampton, any of the five down with us. Mings, McGinn and Grealish are enough to keep us in this league, if they stay fit and in form and the rest of the team pull together and play like professionals.”
“On Paper our team is better than Sheffield united. Sadly Paper don’t win football games.”
“No chance. They’re favourites here as they have better players and a better manager. McGinn, Grealish and Samatta get into their team, no one else. No, not Mings”
“The only players who are genuinely better than our current position (i.e. relegation battle) is Grealish, possibly Mings, possibly Mcginn (who’s been out injured too long to judge), possibly Samatta (who hasn’t been here long enough to judge) – all others are currently low-end PL or worse.”
“One of those games we could win or lose, or draw, in my opinion.”
Following on from a recent episode of Bladespod where the discussion centered on the 2016/17 season, I was inundated with requests (I got 5 requests) asking me to do a View From Blades Fans from 20th August ,2016. This was the date when Millwall beat The Blades to send them bottom of League One and leaving new manager Chris Wilder still without a win.
With comments taken from the popular United forum www.s24su.com, here is snapshot of how Blades fans were feeling on that dark August evening. You may laugh at the quotes but just remember, you were likely thinking the same…..
“So we lost again, but in fact a last min defeat to a pen and we scored from midfield mean I feel more optimistic about our relegation battle tonight. How far we have fallen……..”
“Every season that goes by in this division we lose a bit more quality, on the pitch and off it. We are where we belong. We are a well established 3rd division team now and we are behaving like it. We have become what wehave strived to escape. We deserve to be here and we are now accepting our fate by fillingthe team with 3rd division “Average Joe” type players, having tacky logo’s on our shirts fromtuppence Ha’penny local rag-tag sponsors and replacing quality with cheap tack on thefield and throughout the club. Pains me to admit it, but at our peak in 1971, when Alan Ball (then of Arsenal), described Sheffield United as “a glorified 3rd divisionclub), he was right. Premiership potential – 3rd division mentality”
“Liquidate the club. The club is a pile of ‘outside a nightclub pile of sick ‘ Does anyone actually look forward to match days anymore,,,? Start afresh and get the shithouse away from Sheffield utd. Can’t see any light at the minute.”
“It doesn’t feel like Sheffield United and hasn’t for a while.”
“At the moment it looks like we will go down. It’s not just the results it’s that we don’t even look like getting close to winning games, and the tactics seem all over the place. We honestly looked a better side under both Adams and Weir than we do now.”
“We are just about South Yorkshire’s equivalent of Notts County not long to go now just need another relegation”
“If we go down this time there no way back in my lifetime”
“Solihull Moors and Dover Athletic could be getting promoted to the football league next season. Two new away days for me!”
“My senses aren’t being filled up; they’re being numbed.”
“I hope that our attendances drop as it might give the board something to think about. I would want paying to go and sit through this dross…seen more talent in sunday league, honestly”.
“this club is shambles from top to bottom. Ran like a non-league outfit with no clear planning, vision or direction from the boardroom. We don’t even have a fully functioning or updated website, can’t even get the small things right.”
“Think Liverpool………in the mid-eighties after a few years of being abandoned by the government”
“we are in for a torrid time in September. Gillingham are likely to beat us at their place, Wimbledon are down in the shit with us so will be looking to get off the mark. Peterborough and Scunthorpe have shown that they are capable of scoring for fun whilst we huff and puff to achieve nothing. This could be painful.”
” I said when we sacked Adkins that Billy’s worth to us would drop massively as a result. He was Adkins’ talisman. He’s got the best out of him at lots of clubs. He’s struggled under a few other managers and that was always a danger here.”
“Sharp strikes me as being single minded and selfish. Which is a good thing for a proven goal scorer. His mind set as much as his talent has contributed to what has been a broadly successful career. But a team captain ? Not for me.”
“He dropped a clanger giving Billy the armband and that decision needs rectifying.”
“So, with the transfer deadline a week today, we are 4 games into a season having not won a game. We’ve got rid of the two better players we had in Adams and Brayford (yes he didn’t perform first 3 games) and there’s absoluteley no sign of any new QUALITY coming in”
“Our players are now not good enough to compete at this level. They are possibly now League Two, possibly lower. Our manager is one of a long line of fall-guys lured into the role and he’s just starting to know why his predecessors failed so badly.”
“I am a bit concerned at some of CW’s judgements on players so far – not just the signings but the fact he opted to retain Brayford and Long and then 2 weeks into the season he is looking to shift both on.”
“I can say in all honesty that I have never seen anything like this club in my life. CW seems to have a right old chuckle when he signs a player we have never heard of. Wilson, O’Connell, Chapman, Hussey, Moore, Wright. I am not laughing though. Any match day joy has gone, any pleasure has gone. All I am left with is a feeling of fear.”
“The players brought in so far by Wilder have shown to be very poor and i would not trust him to bring in anyone who would improve things after the abysmal showing so far. Sometimes you get the feeling that “This aint going to work” and Wilder should be binned before anymore damage is done. Is he out of his depth? Sadly i think he is. “
“Should have kept Jay McEveley as a squad member for cover on the left and centre half and also kept either Flynn or JCR, we are now short on the wings.”
“Wilder is the latest ‘drowning not waving’ candidate who changes his mind on a game-to-game basis. Freeman and Coutts? One week, ‘not good enough’. Now he sees these two as the way forward. It really isn’t rocket science. We’re now at the stage where we’ve got used to this level of football and you’d have to be blind not to see who stands out for the opposition, but we dither until these players suddenly move to rivals or become financially unavailable to us. I’m thinking Clucas and Morsey. Rob Jones when he was a rock at the Lane for Donnie. Have we nobody at the club capable of spotting talent when they see it?”
“I’m not sure if the pressure of the job has got to Wilder after just 4 games!?! Rumours circulating about him wanting shut of Sharp too, I think he’s losing the plot a bit.”
“Wilder is only here because he was a cheaper option and he will work on a lower budget no questions asked. The only way out of this division is by going down. Sad but true”
“Can someone at the club stop allowing Wilder to do interviews as he’s coming over as he’s clueless”
“Just heard the interview on radio Sheffield. He sounds like a broken man already. Feel for him cause he is clearly in shock at just how bad it’s going. I think his tactics have been poor and we aren’t getting the best out of the players available but the fact remains we’ve a back 4 that simply can’t defend. I don’t know how you legislate for that as a manager”
“he looks dreadful, ill almost. Now seriously concerned that those who said this job was too big for him may have been correct”
“He comes over less and less confident week by week, its clear that this club and job is not what he thought it would be, as for straight talking said a lot and not lived up to everything he as said”
“I will say this….we can moan about his signings….how much was spent….but we should have stuck with Clough.”
” I’m sorry but Wilder isn’t showing anything in either thought or deed that shows him as an improvement over Adkins. At the current time Adkins did a better job than Wilder, Clough was a quantum leap ahead of both.”
“being realistic as of now we’ve still got a long season ahead imo, I know its only been 3 games but words can’t describe how dire the performances have been so far therefore there is a hell of a lot of hard work the players and CW have ahead of them if we are to drastically improve, because that’s what its going to take.”
“#BringBackNige”
“Well that was the shortest season on record for me. I can’t be arsed with the relegation scrap so I’ll look forward to starting again next season, whatever league we’re in. Thanks Wilder”
“This break will throw up all sorts of surprise results for the run in”
“I’ve only had a glance at some of the Bundesliga and it confirmed what I already knew, football without us is crap. This isn’t gonna change suddenly with the Premier League for me personally, hope we can stay up but won’t be too fussed if we don’t.”
“We need get off to a good start and climb out of that bottom three as soon as possible, don’t want to still be down there if the nosaes is postponed again. Also if we return and just start losing again it will be hard to bounce back from that mentally as there will be a feeling that we’re just continuing from where we left off and any hope that the break will have done us good will have evaporated.”
“We were in freefall before the season ended and we most likely would have gone down at least this shakes things up and may well help us to stay up, if we go down now then so be it.”
“good the game in hand is being sorted first.”
“I don’t agree with the season restarting yet, but hey ho. I have a feeling that they are getting the games in hand out of the way in case things go wrong. I hope the team realise Sheff Utd could be our cup final.”
“This fixture is huge, and if we cant get right up and in their faces for this one then forget it.”
“Get the games in hand out of the way early then abandon it with no unresolved issues. We had better beat Sheffield.”
“Without question this is what they are planning. An absolute cup final of cup finals is the Sheff United game”
“same for them though, a win will see them up to 5th…..”
“Well surely we will be bang up for it where Sheffield have nothing to lose either way”
“What a big game this will be. Should be a cracking atmosphere”
“Beat Sheffield Utd, loads of players test positive the next day, league cancelled before weekend fixtures are played, league decided on PPG. We stay up on PPG. Simples. “
“Our fate is in our own hands, we have to win its that simple. I think we will,. Grealish has rested which he needed and McGinn should be back. Be interesting to see clubs change their attitudes toward ppg should we climb out of relegation.”
“Just rewatched highlights of the first game against Shef United , they battered us ..recall last season in the 3-3 they did the same but somehow fell apart to let us draw.Very well coached and they are brilliant at over laps with the Wing backs “
“Shame Sheff Utd are our first game, yes I know why, but if there is one team that will be fit and motivated, its them. Hope DS is really ready for this.”
“I bet Sheff Utd are one of the fittest out the lot and have total focus on this once in a lifetime opportunity they currently find themselves in. Read somewhere Wilder had them doing fitness work throughout this break to keep in peak condition. Whereas Matt Targett openly came out and said we need 6 weeks or so to even get to an acceptable level of fitness whilst scoffing down a stuffed crust meatfest in his interview. “
” I’m pretty surprised this looks like resuming again and I am not totally convinced it will conclude with a full completion of (38) fixtures. As others have alluded to, it will probably only last long enough to award Liverpool the title and a PPG system for relegation! Other than Man City and Liverpool (for obvious reasons), I would say Sheffield United are probably the next team I wouldn’t want to face going on our recent results/performances against them. It’s going to be a very tough start and I already fear for us (mentally) as we know with Wilder’s team they will be right up and at it from the off and I think this fixture was definitely one where the “12th man” would’ve spurred us on. “
“I don’t agree that the intention is not to finish it. As long there is no great spike in footballers tested positive then it will continue. As yet that hasn’t happened in Germany.”
“We should be better prepped for the restart than most with our midfield socially isolating our CBs and our lone striker being socially isolated from absolutely everyone. Don’t forget to keep 2m away from your man at corners as well lads!”
“Mings should tell all opposition he has corona, nobody will go near our box. Maybe cough on a few opposition players”
“I think today of all days describes the scumbag Premier League. A Premier League managers father has died from corona virus complications. Instead of respect, they announce the league return date. Scumbags”
After recently clearing out the cupboards at Roy HQ, I came across a scrapbook of Blades related newspaper and magazine clippings that that I compiled as child from 1990-1993. I thought some United fans may be interested in seeing some of the pictures I collected and joining me in a trip down memory lane….
“Wolves at home, Sheffield United away, repeat at your leisure. Norwich can’t continue to ‘play well’ and lose games. That isn’t sustainable. That doesn’t keep you in the division. What constitutes a positive performance? Passages of decent possession without penetration?”
“Very poor today, how have a bland club like Sheff Utd surpass us on every level!”
“Rich owners. They aren’t planning with Prudence.”
“Sheff Utd and Villa have very rich owners, more £ than Delia. Fact is we are self funded until there is concrete offer to buy the club, of which there hasn’t been.”
“They just know how to grind out results. Not sure I’d like to watch that each week but you have to admire what they’ve done this season. We’re just a bit soft in the middle like a decent soufflé!!!”
“Four minutes stoppage time after a player has spent three minutes rubbing his head for no reason and both teams have made three subs? This game is ridiculous. Sheffield United completely outmuscled, outniggled and outhustled us today. ”
“The replay clearly showed there was no contact on McBurnie – it was pure cheating to add to the thuggery the ref completely ignored. If you want to watch a team like them you’re welcome to Robbie, but I never would. The ball was 80% over the line but just wouldn’t go in. Have we had any luck go our way this season?”
“The blades team is full of thugs. Two double-footed, off the floor tackles from Fleck unpunished. What the f?”
“Anyone else fed up with the opposition goalkeepers having worldies against us?? Incredible how often its happened this season!!”
“Poor premier league match from both teams today. Their keeper MOTM sums it up. How did we not score? Quiet stadium”
“Sheff U had a 10 minute spell in which they scored and had chances but we dominated the 2nd half. 3 Shots inside the 6 yard box without scoring. Just our luck.”
“May have been the same result but Sheff Utd had 24 hours extra to recover from their FA Cup game and didn’t then have to travel at the weekend – both likely factors in a poor 1st half. Unlucky not to get a point at the end”
“yes. They did have a gruelling midweek fixture to contend with. So did Sheffield United, by the way. They didn’t get back until the early hours, I suspect the Blades didn’t either. They upped it for 15 minutes and won the fixture. That’s levels. Not fitness.”
“They had 24 hours extra recovery. That’s a massive advantage to go along with being at home”
“Wednesday to Saturday turnaround proved too much in the end. They were the last team I’d want to play when not 100% physically”
“Sheffield United did not need to be good to beat us today. Impotent”
“Breaking down an organised Sheff U 1-0 down was always going to be a big ask after the Spurs effort midweek.”
“Not as free flowing today and found it hard to penetrate through thirds regularly. Sheffield made it hard , they pressed well and broke the play up.”
“Any small hope I had left is now gone. Sheff U didn’t even need to be that good, one cross and Hanley/Godfrey dont mark their men and they score an easy goal. Offered absolutely nothing going forward other than Krul and Hanley lumping it long as if we’re a League One team”
“Sheff Utd defended well; as I’m sure we expected them to.”
“Sheff Utd just so bloody efficient. Knew exactly how to play us. Bastards.”
“A few second half positives to cling to but overall City we’re out-fought by a superbly disciplined and determined Blades team full of confidence. Bramall Lane was rocking.”
“Sheff Utd also know where our difficulties lie – we can’t defend crosses into the box, whether that be from deep crosses or set pieces. They’ve capitalised on that to good effect”
“Frustrating to lose all games against fellow promoted sides this season – though impressed with Sheff Utd’s intensity today.”
“First time Sheffield United have done the double over us in decades. Well deserved, worrying lack of variation in our play when chasing”
“Was men against boys”
“Thought they looked tired but they tried their best, battled, but struggled to break down a very good, very organised Sheffield United Good luck to the Blades – hope they get into Europe. They deserve it.”
“Sheffield controlled the game. We were outplayed and out-thought. We’ve now played them 5 times since “Busgate” and the record is 4 Sheffield wins and one match drawn.”
“No Sheffield United controlled two periods of about twenty minutes in each half where they had us locked defending. They made one of those dominant periods count and unlocked us. We failed to make our dominant periods count.”
“I have an irrational hatred of them. I accept there is no real reason – just can’t stand them.”
“Two football players I can’t stand… Billy Sharp and Dean Henderson… so arrogant with no class. Of course they would be the two to rub our noses in it today.”
“A lot of their fans have never ever gotten over that game a few years ago. A real chip on their shoulder.”
“Norwich snd Sheff Utd have a lot in common, both got promoted and trying to stay up by doing things the right way (one more successfully..) yet their fans have this really weird hatred of us because we beat them once 3 years ago and wasted some time. Really odd”
“One of my least favourite grounds after the three of us were offered a fight outside the stadium after we beat them a couple of seasons ago. Yes I’m sure a couple in their ‘50s with their autistic son would be up for some mindless violence… Bizarre!”
“Horrible place, horrible fans who seem to revel in their neanderthal image. Charmless all round”.
“Hate Sheffield United, but think it’s more out of jealousy. Good investment has given them such a good season. Norwich were poor and never got going. All hope lost of survival, relying on some cup magic”
