“Sheffield United were a good team last season, have a decent manager and actually played some good football (mainly against us!). Hopefully they don’t suffer second season syndrome and Ethan can get some much needed minutes on the pitch. “
“Sheffield United played some good football last year, and Ampadu is going to get PL experience. Good loan.”
“Ampadu to Sheffield United is a great loan move for him. Chris Wilder is a very good manager and they way Sheffield use their CB’s to push forward, I think it’s honestly great for Ethan He deserves a loan move where he is playing week in week out.”.
“Perfect move for him imo. Will definitely get play time in a good team in the Premier League. If all things go well, he should be ready to play for Chelsea next season hopefully.”
“Good move. Now he has to force his way into the side… They were most impressive last season, it’s a good challenge for him.”
“If he gets a game that’ll be an excellent move, Wilder has been a breath of fresh air and seems quite a forward thinking coach”
“Really good move. Ampadu’s playing style suits Wilder’s system so so well. Just hope he can play every week.”
“Happy he went there Wilder is a stud and he will be much better for it. Hopefully there is a recall option considering Kante may miss due to Mbappe being corona positive”
“Good one but Ampadu has to come back home(Chelsea) fully next season. He will soon become one of our best defensive midfielders in future”
“Makes NO sense, their defence was far better than ours!”
“I think he’s good enough to play for us. Unfortunately for him, that’ll be it for him here.”
” he will be their best player by a mile”
“Wales didn’t concede a goal in the 2 games and he played both of them. I wouldn’t want him to go because at this point I think he deserves a chance over Christensen that has failed to perform for years and under multiple managers.”
“It’s tough because I’d love him in the squad but he just wouldn’t get enough game time this season with us. Agreed though, I can also see him doing brilliant in Sheffield.”
“his ability has never been a question the guy just needs regular consistent football to go up a level. No doubt he’s a future chelsea leader. Just need to play and improve his injury record.”
“Good move him, but for me I’d of sooner seen him and send Christensen out.”
“Ampadu is more deserving than Rudiger or AC, hopefully this is his final loan before he gets given the chance to play a lot in the first team”
“More potential then any of our CB’s “
” if he gets minutes as a CB in a SHU defense, it will do a world of good to him”
“If Wilde actually plays him and at CB this could be an excellent move.”
“Please Chris Wilder – give him loads of minutes!!”
“I back him to get himself into that Sheffield back 3. Hopefully it goes well and next season we shift out rudiger etc”
“We should not sell this guy as we did to Ake…. That guy Ampadu is a real dude”
“No no no!!!! keep him an forget about that idiot Rice”
“Lampard hasn’t treated Ampadu fairly. It is his one big error. There is nothing defensively in Jorgino and Kovacic and club will be forced to shell out for Rice who isn’t too much of an upgrade on Ampadu. Why not give him a chance like the boys he had at derby.”
“Great mentality and I truly believe he’ll end up being better than Rice. Don’t want to spend 70 odd million on Rice when we already have Ampadu in all honesty.”
“Ampadu for me is better than Rice who is hugely overated, bang average”
“While we are busy twerking for Declan Rice, Ampadu might just turn out to be an equal alternative.”
“Honestly don’t understand and I wunt still admit it why lampard would leave Ampadu and be chasing Rice up and down. Can someone Else relate with me?”
“Ampadu is very suspect defensively”
“He needs to take more responsibility when he has the ball. He has the talent to be very good but has to come out of his shell.”
“This is a very wrong and useless move for the player. He can’t break up their defence that has been together for over 4yrs now and I don’t think they will bench their record signing Berg to play a loan kid. Another year wasted. Thanks to Giggs for pushing him towards leaving”
“More like it will be very interesting to see if he plays. I dont know who the retard is that keeps on sending Ampadu on loans to fully established teams. What he needs now is game time and i would honestly have preferred him to go to a team fighting relegation but guaranteeing him 90 mins instead of him just adding squad depth to Sheffield utd. I see this as thensame as his leipzig loan . He will be a sub for Egan just like he was for Upamencano”
“I mean if he cant break into Sheffield United’s defence, then he isn’t ready for chelsea yet. I believe he’ll get invaluable premier league experience with Wilder. Ampadu is an exceptional defender for his age, im sure wilder won’t care that he’s on loan if he can improve their defence.i believe he offers Sheffield something that jagielka and Stevens can’t, thats his youthfulness, speed and passing range “
“Stevens is a LWB Ampadu is not. Jagielka is their 38yrs old reserve CB who only made 6 league appearances last season with about half of that as a sub. I suppose that’s not what you wish for Ampadu.”
“I think he won’t get alot of game time because Chris Wilder has a game plan with his set back 3 and I don’t see him replacing one of the CB’s in his back 3 unless someone gets injured. The better loan move for his career should’ve been to fulham”
“Very, very annoying. Lost for words, actually. Selling young players on the cheap. We never learn.”
“This is the most Derby thing to do ever. Whats the point bringing through players if we are just sell them?”
“If i was Lowe id want to go. Last year of contract, chance to play in the prem.”
“Gutted”
“Lowe is a genuinely excellent defender who will thrive in Sheffield United’s system. “
“I genuinely think he could be one of the best full backs in the league if given a regular starting berth.”
“I rate Lowe as the best LB in the division”
“A mid table club’s second choice left back is the best in the league. Mmmm interesting!”
“Lowe has the best anticipation of any defender in this league when the opponent has their back to goal. Lowe intentionally stands off his man, knows the pass is coming, anticipates not reacts, touches the ball before the opponent and we’ve just won possession. However he hasn’t quite got it right yet when the player is facing the goal. He likes to dive in, litterally and it’s usually 50/50 regarding him winning the ball. If he just stayed on his feet in these situations, he’d be one of the best LB’s in the league overall” “I do think Lowe has the better potential but isn’t as good as Bogle yet. I think if there’s any manager to get the best out of players it’s Wilder, so I actually expect them to do well there.”
“Bogle is better, but I have a feeling they will peak at different ages. Don’t know why, I just think in 5 years time Lowe will be the better player. “
“A perfect wing back”
“it is a shame he’s off. Has great potential and could be a top left back at this level. He hasn’t held down a first team spot though, is weak in the air and switches off. Not kicked in as hoped. Good player but not irreplaceable”
“Lowe leaving for 5m is disappointing, but understandable. Bogle leaving for 5m is an absolute insult.”
“Lowe is in the last year of his contract. £2m seems reasonable for a top half championship left back who can leave for free next summer.”
“If I was Max Lowe I would be practising kicking a football with my right foot, but that’s just me. I could apply that to most modern day footballers to be fair.”
“Exactly why you’d jump at the chance to go up a league.. Might not get the chance again”
“I have always rated Lowe, but it seems like Cocu doesn’t and Lampard clearly didn’t so perhaps no great loss?”
“Cocu clearly rates Buchanan and based on what I’ve seen so far l think he has far more potential than Lowe. He put in the best crosses of the game today when he moved back to the left in the second half. Selling Lowe helps his development. “
“He’s not amazing but still ahead of Malone and Forsyth”
“Forsyth a much better defender than Lowe, in fact Lowe when played always made us weaker on the left, him and Bogle let to many crosses into our box, have we all forgotten this already.”
“People who think Forsyth is better than Lowe are clowns”
“Lowe wasn’t that good last season and struggles to defend crosses in to the box. “
“Lowe hasn’t exactly established himself.”
“lots of potential but nothing to prove he will make it just yet.”
“a bit lightweight – hope he proves me wrong and storms it.”
“He’s regressed”
“Lowe looks a very average Championship player to me. “
“Lowe nowhere near good enough for the Prem”
“why do you think all of our last 3 Managers didn’t play Lowe as our left back every game when fit and also how didn’t he get a regular game out on loan at Shrewsbury, couldn’t oust their first choice left back?”
“Lowe was shipped out on loan to Aberdeen not that long ago”
“had a successful loan spell at Aberdeen a year ago and has some of the best defensive numbers in the league (despite some people’s impressions). “
“I wanted to see Lowe make the left back position his but he hasn’t been able to hold it down. He has always been a bit lightweight and I’ll never forget that Leeds game at Elland Road where that winger Clarke ran rings around him. However he did well on loan at Aberdeen so may be a move away will be good for him.”
“The main reason Lowe didn’t make more appearances last season was simply that in some games we needed the extra height and strength of Forsyth against certain opposition. For all Lowe’s strengths (as backed up by the statistics) he’s susceptible in the air and not the best at tracking players running behind him (similar to Evans in that regard); with Bogle being our first choice for RB but them both having the same aerial weaknesses it could be a risk playing them together”
“My god how many times , he played more games at LB than ANY OTHER PLAYER THIS SEASON what is so hard to understand? If someone plays the most in that position then he is the first name on the team sheet? Come on now this is getting boring , take your forsyth personalised glasses off for crying out loud”
“I’d be surprised if bogle and Lowe are anything more than backup/ cover for Baldock and Stevens. Baldock and Stevens have been vital to the way Sheffield play over the past few years. “
“Never get a game there”
“I think Lowe is going as back up”
“Pretty sure they have Osborn as backup lwb, played there vs us as well so wouldnt shock me if he left”
“if we signed Bogle and Lowe for 10M I’d feel robbed”
“We conceded 64 goals in championship last season our highest in 6 seasons with them two as full backs, good luck in prem”
“If Matty Cash went for £15 million then £10 million for the pair someone has our pants down “
“Villa hugely overpaid for Cash if figures are true. “
“Mel if you sell Bogle and Lowe for a combined £10m then your off your nut minimum double for the pair”
“Curious Villa didn’t just come in for bogle and Lowe ,they are going dirt cheap and they are every bit the player cash is ? In fact they are the best in the division in they’re positions “
“Wish we valued our own players as much as we value our stadium.”
“If Bogle adapts straight away to the Premier then in one year he will be £25 million.”
“I think he’ll have a top career and even a big move after Sheffield, it’s a shame England have so many good young right backs. He will achieve more than Cash does in his career for sure!”
“Bogle is up there as the best RB in the league with plenty more potential.”
“He’s our most saleable asset”
“Tell you what, it’s an excellent move for Jayden”
“Bogle would thrive in Sheffield United fluid set up I think, where offensive skills in defenders are key, so a sell on clause is important”
“Bogle is clearly a very good player and will suit the wing back role very well. He was always going to make the step up at some point. “
“bogle is a clsss player at 20”
“Bogle is 20, got 17 assists and 3 goals in 2 seasons which aren’t bad for a winger, let alone a fullback. Let’s not forget he was injured for a portion of last season which certainly had an impact on his form.”
“At least as good as Cash”
“Really did enjoy watching Bogle on his day.”
“8 million for Bogle? Matty Cash probably is a better player but not by much and he’s 3 years older and he’s gone for 15, there’s no way a 20 year old English right back who’s as good as he is is worth 8 million”
“in today’s market Bogle is a 12 million all day long, Brentford, Southampton or even Forest would be getting 15 million for him all day long. 15 million is the absolute minimum they should be going for. “
“Twenty-three year-old Cash went for £14,000,000, rising to £16,000,000 after one good first season at right-back. Twenty year-old Jayden Bogle has 17 assists and three goals in two seasons as an attacking right-back. “
“An insult how little he has gone for”
“Not bothered about max Lowe going just Bogle”
“he had a fairly indifferent season last year so they’re paying for potential.”
“Bogle has potential. But he was slated so many times last season”
“This time last year Bogle was one of our best assets. In Lampard’s year he came from nowhere (well Swindon via the under 23s) to be our first choice right back. Lampard’s team and tactic played to his strengths. Breaking forward a lot, providing an outlet. Driving from right back into the box and providing crosses. He was excellant. He’s had a poor season. It feels like he’s been asked to defend more and his headers seem to be into the middle of the park to a waiting opponent (should someone tell him to head it back where it came from?). Managing that kind of thing can be taught. For me Bogle as still a class act. His brilliant debut season makes him a premier league quality full back and in the right forward thinking team mid table team (sheff u, wolves Leicester etc), he would be a great asset”
“Bogle good breakthrough season but inconsistent and frustrating of late”
“Bogle is a good player, with potential of course to improve greatly at his age – but he’s rather been Cyrus Christie Mk. II for me last season – often wasteful in advanced positions and loose defensively, suspect positionally too often.”
“No doubt about it, going forward, Bogle is an asset. Young lad, plenty of potential. However, as a defender, he’s a liability.”
“Bogle as a player is a tough call. Suspect defensively which is going to cost us at times, although he will probably cancel that out with goals or assists. He will improve. Maybe not a lot or immediately but I can see him having a higher peak value than the lower of those figures.”
“Bogle needs to learn how to defend.”
“Think Bogle’s naivety may be exploited by Premier League forwards”
“Bogle at this moment in time with his defensive frailties would be found out big time in the Prem”
“he’s nowhere near as bad at defending as people make out. He’s no worse than the average championship fullback in defence, and he’s a lot better going forward.”
“Bogle was questionable defensively on occasions, but yeah used in the right formation and given more freedom to go forward he could be worth a lot more in years to come, it’s a tough one you’d hope they’d put some sell on clauses in.”
“I think both Bogle and Lowe would be found out in the Prem. Good luck to them both though… “
“Bogle had one good season under Lampard and has been average since.”
“So Sheffield United are possibly buying Bogle and Lowe for around 10 million. Sheffield United who were a league one team in 2016 and we seem to have made absolutely no progress whatsoever. Yes we keep saying we are a work in progress. What progress? The plan was to build using our youngsters. So we train them up and sell them. Then we train the next lot up and sell them and so it goes on. As somebody who was lucky enough to be there in the glory days of BC I get a bit tired of people saying we don’t have a God given right to be in the top flight. That’s where we should aim to be. If Sheffield United can do it why can’t we?!”
A collection of quotes taken from fans of The Republic Of Ireland on the performances of John Egan , Enda Stevens, David McGoldrick and Callum Robinson in the 1-0 defeat to Finland
“Enda Stevens has done very little in an Ireland shirt. The dearth of options means he will likely always start.”
“Stevens has been very disappointing alright. He seems to come to a standstill every time he receives the ball, very hesitant to drive forward for whatever reason His distribution today has been absolutely shocking. He is playing like a man who knows his place is under no threat whatsoever.”
“Stevens had a ‘mare”
“Stevens terrible for that goal.”
“Stevens at fault for the goal. He’s had such a poor game”
“Poor awareness for Finland’s opening goal”
“Poor awareness for Finland’s opening goal”
“Had a couple of opportunities to put in crosses, but couldn’t pick out a teammate. He was beaten at the far post for the goal but had been put in a very difficult position.”
“He’s had a worse game than Duffy and that’s saying something”.
“Stevens was sh*te today”
“He’s moved to number 1 on my list of most frustrating players to watch. Never seems to have his mind made up on what he wants to do with the ball. His first instinct is to either go backwards, or else stop the ball dead and stand still, making it difficult to play a forward pass.”
“He is always an outlet ball as, even when tightly marked, he never gives the ball away”
The home side kept going down his side but he was not always on the same page as Aaron Connolly.
“I would imagine that is because he is used to receiving it as a wing-back and are expected just to run with it, rather than as a full-back when you get the ball deeper and with fewer options.”
“Stevens doesn’t look comfortable at full-back”
“Stevens and Doherty need to be at wing back Every man and his dog can see that”
“The high line does not suit our defence), Egan and Duffy don’t have the pace for it.”
“I still think Egan naturally drifts too wide due to being used to playing in a three.”
“The pound land Harry Kane has ruined Duffy & Egan today”
“Egan swept up around Shane Duffy in the first half”
“Did the basics well and was on hand when called upon”
“He put in a lovely challenge to stop Teemu Pukki in the second half, but couldn’t quite have the influence on the ball that he managed in Bulgaria.”
“I will never understand why McGoldrick is rated as highly as he is. He has no threat whatsoever and his hold up play is largely functional.”
” McGoldrick was an improvement since he came on, his first touch and hold up play are a lot more secure than Idah’s which is important in the role we need them to play”
“I know he’s desperate for a goal but McGoldrick should’ve had the awareness to know where Connolly was and leave it to him. Very slow to react to the chance after as well.”
“Shane Long and McGoldrick aren’t going to offer a goal threat, although McGoldrick would hold up the ball well.”
“If only he could shoot”
“He was better equipped to hold the ball up than Idah, showing the type of nice touches we have become accustomed to seeing from him, forcing a good save from the Finland goalkeeper late on. It’s a pity we couldn’t see him from the start.”
“McGoldrick should have been given the nod this evening”
“Why aren’t McClean & McGoldrick starting?”
“David McGoldrick is such a tidy footballer. If only we had 10 more of him”
“Arguably the worst performance I’ve seen from an Irish team I’d still die for David McGoldrick”
“Robinson and McGoldrick seriously upped the tempo”
“Robinson up to his usual tricks 10 seconds after entering the fray Such an underwhelming substitution. He’s just not up to it.”
“Last cap for Robinson hopefully”
“First touch was terrible on a few occasions. May come good but was poor today.”
“Robinson, again, looked bright when he came on; shows a bit of industry and creativity. “
“Robinson looked good”
“Robinson injected some pace onto the right flank after his introduction, offering more of an outlet than O’Dowda had.”
A collection of views from Norwegian fans on the performance of Sander Berge against Austria
“Sander Berge played the whole 90 minutes, being IMO one of the best players for Norway(along with Haaland Ofc). ,he worries me a bit. Missing 2 big chances towards the end of the game, one of them being a 100% chance.”
“kept the calm in a really bad Norwegian midfield yesterday. Hope he becomes more clinical and gets some more goals this year.”
“I do like Sander Berge.”
“Haaland, Berge, Ajer, King and Ødegaard give the threat, but it is so thin in parts of 11rn otherwise.”
“Should have done better with his chances”
“missed from 3m”
“hes another youngster & its hard to ask a couple of exceptional youngsters to carry an entire 11.”
“Sander Berge must start playing at his best”
“I have full respect for Sander Berge, but what the hell is he doing today?”
“The 100 million man Sander Berge has probably not exactly shone …”
“Sander Berge a little praised? Type completely medium to everything.”
“”Sander Berge is slow.”
“Berge’s knee turned at the end of the half.”
“Sander Berge .. hi ?? What an incredibly praised player. Morten Thorsby .. too preoccupied with climate change, he can not fuck football. Haaland – I did not know, must have good team players around him and lots of golden hair in the ass”
“No quality on midfield. Norman, Berge bad. Sørloth and Håland had to create too much themselves”
“Gave away a terribly clumsy penalty”
“Sander Berge has to saw off the arm from the shoulder …
“Two games unbeaten against Premier League opposition.”
“Best performance I’ve seen since we went top at Charlton! Sheffield U couldn’t get near us, it was keep ball for long periods. And when we shifted through the gears we looked dangerous. I’d have that starting 11 for 1st league game, no issues. It was as if we’d remembered how to play football.”
“Brilliant performance that, great game to watch”
“I thought we were really good in the second half tbh. Really carved them open.”
“No more than North End deserved. Far more positives than negatives to take from that. Good run out.”
“Deserved not to lose that. Overall I thought we played all right and looked defensively sound aside from a sloppy goal.”
“Deserved that, we were impressive 2nd half.”
“We played well and looked good going forward. Sinclair was excellent.”
“Good result, played well.”
“Fair result, for me.”
“Overall a very good performance in an entertaining game. We didn’t learn too much new with the same strengths and weaknesses as normal (but that’s hardly a surprise). We looked confident though and upbeat in our approach.”
“Some of these Prem Players would give the Women in a Wimbledon Final a run for their money, with the Grunts and groans and shouts”
“Comeback Kid – Kasabian. Very strong pre-kick off song selection from Sheff Utd.”
A collection of quotes taken from fans of The Republic Of Ireland on the performances of John Egan and Enda Stevens in the 1-1 draw v Bulgaria
“Terrible positioning from Duffy and Egan for the goal. right bunch of pansies “
“The Bulgaria goal was Sunday league stuff, Duffy and Egan were 6s and 7s”
“Woeful defending from Egan and, particularly, Duffy”
“too far apart from his team-mate for Kraev’s goal.”
“Egan as much to blame as Duffy for the goal. “
“Both CBs have been poor tonight & not just for the goal & I’m a big John Egan fan.”
“Poor defending from Egan”
“Duffy saved Egan’s bacon tonight.”
“Egan needs to be more comfortable on the ball”
“Did much of the passing out from the back as Kenny asked him to take on the task and was up to it for the most part. But the 56th minute goal will annoy him. Either Egan or Duffy ought to have been touch tight on Bulgaria’s striker.”
“continued to look comfortable throughout with the exception of the goal, although he wasn’t helped by his defensive partner. Showed plenty of promise on the ball, something that will please his manager.”
“The likes of Egan, Stevens & others showed we can apply serious pressure. Great platform to build on. “
“Egan emerging as a leader”
“Enda Stevens’ first touch. Even when he has space, his first instinct is to touch it backwards. I know it mightn’t be easy when you’ve no winger in front of you but he needs to start playing forward”
“Death, taxes, and Enda Stevens’ first touch going backwards”
“. Stevens is another player who was so so poor although you could see the brightness in the link up with Connolly.”
” established as the first choice left-back. Very harshly booke. Combined with Connolly at times, over-lapping. Almost set up O’Dowda right on half-time with a fine cut-back.”
“Steady as ever from the Sheffield United man who is one of Ireland’s most reliable players now. He tried to get forward every time there was the slightest chance of being creative”
“Doherty and Stevens good going forward but leave CB very exposed at times.”
“Stevens lookeda bit exposed on the left”
“didn’t get on as much possession as he would have liked.”
“Enda Stevens image of postman pat baiting up and down that line surprised there’s not a cat following him”
“Well, I’m not one for hyperbole, but after the last two pre-season matches I can only see relegation on the cards this season.”
“Boring, dreadful, could play until next season in that formation and not score.Jesus I hope we don’t go with 5 AG the back. Players looked lost – Never had more than two players attacking and had the excitement of a 400M tortoise race.On the positives Marriott looks fit.”
“Seriously.. Its early days, long season, players to come back etc.. But it does feel like we are accepting a slow start almost. 3 or 6 points dropped at the start of the season count just as much as they do at the end, and usually will be the difference between play offs or not.Partnerships take time. Would prefer us to concentrate on preferred system /players and hit the ground at least jogging. So many players out injured /not available already, it would have been nice to feel some system is emerging rather than lots of tinkering. No panic, no abuse…just my feelings as a Cocu supporter. Long way to go..highlighted desperate need for Lawrence and ANother to give us some impact up top.”
“We look terrified when teams press us, we don’t know how to play round / through a high pressing team”
“We didn’t play well. No idea how to attack. Easy loss of possession at the slightest pressure. Poor.”
“we’re missing a huge amount of senior players and we’re against a good solid premier league side and trying a new formation. We’ll be fine. “
“Yes SU are a very good team and pressed us very well but I don’t think it’s too critical to say there are somethings to be concerned about. There have been opportunities to move the ball far quicker than we have, the creativity in our attacking play needs to improve and we generally look ok but nothing to get very excited about.”
“Sheff Utd press very well! “
“This is Sheffield United ‘s B team we are playing, would get our ass handed to us on a plate if we played their actual team. Good job it’s Barrow first game.”
“Have to say Norwood is some player. Great feet and vision.”
“How’s pla ibrahim looking??”
“Like everyone else. Looking at Sheffield United playing football.”
“great play by Sheffield for the 2nd and what a ball. “
“Sheff Utd have been excellent today, they’ve put in some really good crosses and maintained a good shape and a good press. Been a good test for Derby. “
“Quite painful viewing. Huge gulf in quality between the teams after the changes. Derby can’t get out. Sheffield United so well drilled “
“Sheff Utd very well drilled, as you’d expect “
“Sheffield United’s quality of crossing really is a cut above. An area the Rams could learn from “
“Sheffield were comfortable in every aspect”
“Nah I don’t agree at all. We’ve been in a number of good positions on the break and matched them for large portions. They have been a bit better at key moments but other than that it’s been a good test. “
“Footballing lesson….and by the way, what a great kit the blades have there too!”
“Sheff United’s away kit isn’t very ‘Yarkshire’ is it? They look like a right bunch of pansies “
“This is getting depressing. Predictable but depressing.”
“There’s plenty of sellable players but to be losing one of the gems already is a blow. Not a great price either for me. “
“he has to think that this may be his time to challenge for the England keepers Jersey. Add to that Southgate doesn’t like picking tinpot AFCB players in the Premier league let alone the Championship. “
“I wouldn’t sell Rambo even if there was £40m on the table. His personality and his positive affect on morale alone is worth more than any bid. He’s a popular figure around the squad and his loss will damage us in more ways than we might expect.”
“There are players I’m happy to see leave for the right price. Aaron Ramsdale is not one of them. “
“Future England No 1 for sure!”
“if Pickford worth £30m then Rambo worth more IMO”
“Accepting even 25M for Ramsdale from Sheff Utd, unless he’s asked to go, just screams “fire sale””
“Ramsdale was outstanding for Bournemouth in 19-20 and no real surprise he’s had Premier League interest. Big personality too, loved by fans and will be greatly missed”
“Ramsdale has been a massive positive in an otherwise poor season”
“he is a solid goalkeeper with recent EPL experience. He continues to learn and grow, and seems to be ambitious.”
“pure class all season”
“I still see him after the (chalked-off) goal by Surridge to draw level v Southampton. Running around like a maniac, following a couple of his great saves to keep us alive. A great look, and in there beats the heart of a leader …. still has stuff to learn, but you can’t teach that kind of intensity …….. you have it or you don’t. It sure looks like he does”
“Rambo has done incredibly well this year – think it will be hard to ‘keep him down’ in the championship, his ability & character has shown that he’s more than ready for top flight.”
“There’s a few players we had to keep to have any chance of success next year and Ramsdale was one of them”
“Sky have just referred to Ramsdale as the ‘former’ under 21 England international. He’s the CURRENT number one choice!”
“A bit gutted but also pleased for Rambo who deserves to play in the top flight. “
“Good business, no thanks! Rather all our players didn’t get sold, especially the likes of Ramsdale. “
“he’s a legend and I actually don’t think he would be looking to leave, seems very passionate about us”
“he’s not a legend, lets get that straight!”
“I like Ramsdale, but as with all our players at the moment, wouldn’t be gutted in selling them if we get good value for them.”
“Want him to stay and think he’s vital but we’d be silly to turn that down”
“Good business by the recruitment team at afcb, but so sad that he’s going, loved Rambo!!”
“He’s had a decent season….but everyone has his price……that’s the training ground paid for”
“There’s good money for us there. There’s a good player there for Sheff Utd, although not one without risk.”
“Whilst Ramsdale was clearly our player of the year, he’s had one season in the premier league and got relegated. He’s going to be a very good keeper but if we can get 15 million or more you just have to take it. “
“Rambo is not quite the finished article yet. His passion and commitment are A1. At times his positioning is not quite right allowing goals that he might have saved. I think a season in the Championship will polish him up and he’ll become a world beater. A solid defence in front of him would help but that didn’t happen last season.”
“Rambo did well last season, not perfect though especially after lockdown.”
“Good player, but he wasn’t exactly faultless.”
“He’s certainly not the finished product”
“I seem to be one of the few who wouldn’t be gutted to see Ramsdale go! I certainly don’t see him as some sort of hero or a legend. Yes he has made some good reaction saves for us but for me his weak areas are cross shots and free kicks and we have conceeded far too many of these type of goals for my liking! IIRC we conceeded a goal for around 15 consecutive games with him in goal in the Prem and IMO you can only go so far in blaming the rest of our defence for this! IMO cross shots are a weak area for Ramsdale. Also, if the opposition get a free lkick around 25 yards out, where the hell do you reckon the ball will end up in? ”
“How deep are Sheff Utd’s pockets? They consider themselves a big club yet sh!t the bed paying anything more than £12m on a player, tinpot if you ask me. Not being the biggest club in your own city must be embarrassing aswell. “
“almost as embarrassing as the hundreds/thousands who live in our area and support Southampton.”
Ah, Norwich. So excited and confident when they kicked off the season, The Canaries from Carrow Road ended up being relegated with the 6th lowest points tally in the history of The Premier League. They didn’t start too bad though and the day after they recorded a 3-1 home win against Newcastle in their 2nd game of the season, they turned their attention to The Blades first win of the season as United beat Palace 1-0 in a game shown live on Sky Sports:
“to me they look like a championship team playing in the prem”
“I think Sheff had no problem picking up points against frankly rubbish bottom half Champo teams but raising their level against prem teams every week will be too much.”
“if you look at the summer signings Sheffield does have the look of a club building for a play-off spot next season.”
“Sheff U are going to be hard to beat but are a pretty horrible side – over the top challenges all the time, not overly great to watch. I’d much prefer our ‘style’ over theirs but good luck to them I suppose!”
“Still think Sheff U will struggle. This is as good as they can play I reckon & they struggled. They certainly wanted it more than CP but I feel their, er, robust style may cause them problems in the end.”
“Sheff Utd fans are completely delusional if they think their attacking play is as good as ours – there is no contest whatsoever! They’re pretty robust in defence, I’ll give them that, but that was a very poor Palace side so even that isn’t much of a compliment.
Both looked Championship to me. I’ve got no worries watching that, not exaggerating when I say that I think that’s quite possibly the worst game I’ve ever seen in the Premier League quality wise.”
“There is no Pukki, Buendia, Vrancic, Hernandez, Cantwell, Drmic etc at Sheff Utd as far as I can see, or am I missing something? Time will tell of course, but I’m confident that our focus on attack, and a quality one at that, rather than defence will prove to be more successful in our attempts to staying up this season – sure, we’ll take some beatings along the way, but I don’t think they have enough quality up top to surprise too many teams like we possibly can. “
By October United had been making steady progress whilst Norwich were already in the bottom 3. A 1-0 victory for The Blades at home to Arsenal did little to dent the confidence of the Norwich faithful though:
“They really aren’t very good though. They are exceptionally well drilled and good at defending but Arsenal were pathetic in the last third (had their final ball not been a joke they would have won that) and I will still be disappointed if we finish below Shef U.”
“They’re only 6 or 7 injuries away from being in the shoite.”
“Hate the feckers”
By the time the first meeting of the season between the two came around, The Blades were sitting in mid table with Norwich still in the bottom 3. The confidence of the Canaries fans had been knocked but some felt the tide was about to turn:
“think we stand a fairly good chance. This season the table still hasn’t settled after 15 games with 8 points between us in 19th and Sheffield United in 9th. We still don’t really know who our relegation rivals are going to be although you’d have to assume Watford. To give Sheffield their credit, whilst only winning 1 in the last 6 they’ve drawn 4 so defensive solidarity should be enough. Bournemouth have won 1, lost 4. We’ve won 1, drawn 1, lost 3. Still so much to play for and all the teams are struggling for consistency. “
“.Who is to say we can’t beat Sheff Utd on Sunday and so have got eight points out of twelve in the last four matches, which would be good premier league form”
“Win Sunday and you’re 5pts behind Sheffield United who already have enough points to stay up, apparently”
“They are media hype. They’ve done good, but it’s nothing new or remarkable”
“Our style of play was always going to be more difficult in the prem.”
“First half we showed how shit Sheff United actually are! They turned the heat up second half and we didn’t have a clue what to do. They played 8 at the back with 2 strikers and somehow scored 2….. moral of the story, were shit and we’re going down? Need to invest”
“What makes it even more annoying is that Sheffield United are not particularly good. They don;t have better players than us they are just better drilled, dare I say it better coached and seem to have a hunger that our team has lost this season”
“Sheffield United weren’t even good and they’ve beaten us comfortably”
“Sheffield Utd, not great (but better than us)”
“Sheffield United and Southampton were nothing special but we are making it far too easy for teams to score against us”
“We should be beating teams like Sheffield United, Watford, Brighton, Southampton etc. It’s not good enough.”
“Sheff utd are dirty fuckers”
““They’re not even the biggest club in their own city. Certainly doing very well at the moment though.”
By the time of the return fixture The Blades were pushing for Europe and Norwich sat rock bottom. There was still hope though:
“We have had 5 separate goal scorers over the last two games. Beaten 2 ‘top 5’ teams and kept a clean sheet. Our Keeper has just delivered a stunning performance in goal on global TV, saving penalties. The force of momentum is built on these aspects, and I can see us getting a result come Saturday against a team that schooled us a few months ago. We have just gone two games unbeaten, and the team are champing at the bit with superb support behind them. Are the footballing gods slowly turning towards us? Momentum! Are we at last putting something positive together?”
“A few bumps on the road, but we’ve been playing better for a while now. The dice has started to fall in our favor. It just “had” to happen at some point. There is a real psychological benefit to winning a couple, and even more so if you defend well. Just be a little more confident and it’ll be a bit easier to concentrate, be more resilient to setbacks, a bit more intimidating to the opponent. Sheffield will now face a team that has recently beaten Leicester and Tottenham. I wouldn’t want to play against a team that has recently beaten Leicester and Tottenham”
In fairness to The Canaries, The Pre View From before that particular game was extremely respectful. Unfortunately normal service resumed after our 1-0 win:
“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?”
“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”.
Even after their relegation was confirmed, a few Norwich fans still couldn’t resist a dig at The Blades:
“Sheffield United, Excellent season and fair play to them, but it’s going to go wrong, probably sooner rather than later.”
“Be interesting if they struggle next season, which is incredibly possible.”
“We could be waving at them as we return next summer and they go the other way.”
No away day europa leuage trip to Barcelona for them it seems, unlike what thier fans have been saying the last few months.
I did call that I fully believed they would get found out at some point, and other than the high of beating Chelsea it does seem to be slowly going that way.
“Anyone else feel second season syndrome might hit them hard? Full credit to Wilder for getting them were they are, very impressive even more so quite a few of thier players have been with them since their league one days and all, but I still think they are a somewhat ugly Burnley/Stoke style”****house team.”
“Still one of my favourites to go down next season”
“Sheffield United are the latest ‘That Championship club’ that routinely surprises the Premier League with a unique tactical take on things for a year or two, are the media darlings and everyone thinks it’s brilliant they’re challenging for Europe. There then comes a time where inevitably they will try and evolve as the league works them out and they can’t keep it going.See Stoke and Swansea for the previous incumbents of this role.”
“Next season will be very interesting for them to see if they avoid that second season syndrome that most clubs suffer.”
“If they don’t keep Henderson they will struggle bug time. It will be very hard for them to find a keeper of similar quality within their budget..”
Some may say it’s easy to be magnanimous in victory but Liverpool fans really did their club proud with their comments about United across the season. Even as earlier as our first win against Palace The Reds were full of praise for The Blades:
“fantastic atmosphere at Bramall Lane”
“Been impressed with Sheff UTD, with the analysis from experts like Danny Mills I thought they were a hoof ball team, couldn’t be more wrong, they play some nice stuff and break fast and in numbers including the centre backs.I reckon these could stay up as they will provide the other smaller teams massive problems, they may take the odd thrashing but along with Norwich I have been impressed.”
“We are due a shock defeat. We are also due to thump a team at Anfield. Could this be one of those?”
“this could be a tricky game ..s united are playing well .. and we would be a big scalp for them”
“tricky game”
“Will be a tough game, they are a decent outfit and played really well at Chelsea a few weeks ago.”
“They have had a good start to the season and would love to try to show what they can do. We have become a bit of a target as teams want to measure themselves against us. I expect this to be harder than we might imagine, and we will have to battle before the quality differential becomes apparent.”
“I’ve seen bits and bobs of them, they defend well as a unit and not afraid to attack aggressively when the opportunity presents itself. No star players really jumping out, but their GK (Henderson, on loan from united) is v good.”
““The 3-5-2 is an interesting wrinkle, most of the ‘defend to survive’ promoted clubs are more likely to play a 4-5-1 trying to clog their entire defensive area with as many bodies as possible, and make every game tedious. Sheffield United choose a space to give up (midfield width) in order to have a little more sting.”
“Great performance from Sheffield United. I didn’t expect that” “Even as a Liverpool fan I can say harsh result for Sheffield United. If they keep up that style they will gave A LOT of the “top 6” some scary days.”
“Not many are gonna win at Bramall Lane”
“They have a bit of Yorkshire grit in that side and will be tough to beat for any visiting side especially the top 6 because they will play like this today”
“to be honest that’s probably a harder game than some aways against other top 6 sides.”
“We won’t be the only team at the top to go there and struggle this season. They’re much like Wolves of last season, but without the goal threat of Jiminez.”
“They were superb and with a very loud crowd behind them.”
“Felt like the biggest test ever and we overcame it”
“Sheffield deserved something from that, we are VERY lucky.”
“There is no way in hell we deserved 3 points”
“We were very lucky here. Shef United fair play! Big fan of Chris Wilder.”
“Hats off to Sheffield they’re not pretty but one tough nut to crack.”
“Full credit to Sheffield United, that’s the hardest game we’ve played in a while. They were so well organised and hard working.”
After our win against Arsenal , Liverpool fans were again lauding United:
“Shows how brilliant we are that we came away from Bramall Lane with the win, very tough place to go now but we found a way to win, Arsenal get beat, says it all.Fair play to Sheffield United, they are giving it a right go.”
“If they keep this up, a lot of teams will struggle there. Really tough to beat.”
“Arsenal are dog muck, but tonight shows just how hard earned our win at Bramall Lane was.”
“A Yorkshire football crowd is pretty vocal, difficult places to go, these southerners look shellshocked.”
“The atmosphere is deafening, Id hate to be an away side going there in the middle of February when it’s freezing”
“Sheffield United are mentality monsters themselves, they’re a band of absolute warriors. For a promoted side to show so much mental fortitude is unbelievable, God knows what Chris Wilder tells them. Game of the season, for me.”
“He probably tells them they were brilliant when they were brilliant and tells them they were shit when they were shit. Doesn’t hide behind press officer or try to con the fans. It’s how it used to be.”
“No lies!!! They’ve been our toughest opponent this season and were really unlucky to lose to us. Chris Wilder deserve massive credit.”
“Chris Wilder is one of the best managers ever, fam he got my hometown promoted with some dead wood players”
“John Fleck was arguably the best player on the pitch against Manchester United, he’s been the most underrated midfielder in the Premier League this season”
“Mousset is good aswell”
After all the praise Liverpool fans had given us, it was no surprise that they were tentative when they came to face us at Anfield iat the start of the New Year:
“another toughie. only a bad goalkeeping error allowed us to beat them earlier in the season.”
“I assume a lot of cryo therapy will be needed to recover for this one. Sheffield will be another tough opponent.”
“another tough game against a very impressive sheffield united, caught us all out. 3 points please by hook or by var, i don’/t care.”
“This will be a tough game. Sheffield Utd are well drilled and honest. Just get the job done and move on.”
“A tough team to beat (i like them) but a new year, new decade and new dawn of LFC dominance so we should get the win”
“Tough one this, important to get an early goal in this one I feel.”
“Another big, tough game but again thankfully at home. I think it will be another win for us, and most likely another nervy finish. I expect Milner, Origi and Keita in for this.”
Even after a comfortable 2-0 win, The Reds were still very respectful of United and, in particular, Chris Wilder:
“That was about 1000% more comfortable than I was expecting, which shows the quality of our team rather than showing up Sheff Utd, who we know are a good side. We utterly dominated them, probably the most commanding performance from us I’ve seen this season, and at no point was I worried it wouldn’t be our night.”
“Good team, good manager Sheffield”
“even when you watch us totally outplay them, you know why they are so high in the table. The last game when a side was battered by us and somehow still in the game was Leicester. “
“That was one of the easiest games of the season. I like Sheffield Utd and their manager but they didn’t want any part of us tonight. “
“Anyone see Wilder sit down at one point with his head in his hands?I laughed seeing it, then I felt totally sorry for him. “
“They are a great side for a promoted side and he seems a good bloke but we just sucked the life out of them”
“Wilder is the most classy manager in the league after Klopp. Respects quality when he sees it.”
“Deserves manager of the season if he gets top 8”
“Chris Wilder is a football genius. But to go with it he has humility and respect for a great football side when he sees one.”
“I have never praised an opposition manager but I have a lot of respect for Wilder and his achievements with very limited resources I like him as much as I dislike moaningho the real idiot”
“Huge respect to him and Sheffield, all the best for the rest of the season”
“New found respect to him and Sheffield. Hope they do well and finish in Europe.”
“Absolutely impressed by Sheffield United and what Chris Wilder got from his players. He gets them to play with the passion and pain at losing that he showed towards the end there. We don’t need to hear words of praise from him about our performance which may come anyway, because it was all about their defensive work and spirit. This guy is a worker of minor miracles.”
“Massive respect to them. Any other team today and the score line would have been humiliating. Defensively very very solid. Hopefully they can take points of our title rivals.”
“Chris Wilder is a breath of fresh air. I think he realised we’re the only side this season his team could not out-work. They’ve won a lot of points on grafting alone.”
” Dean Henderson is future star. Pitty, he is owned by the manure”
“Their fans were reasonably funny at times, our champion of Europe, champions of the world etc. was meet with, champions of league 1 , you’ll never sing that. Robbo walking past them when he was subbed they started chanting, England, England, England. Even Robbo laughed. Probably the easiest game we have had effort wise I guess, just totally dominated them. They had a couple of chances late on but it was a stroll really. “
“The definition of hardwork, organisation & preparation. You dont need to have the most expensive players to compete in this league, you just need players that know their jobs & give 100% each game. Full credit due to all players & staff at the only decent “United” in the league!”
“Exceptional job, really like Sheff U and Chris Wilder. Seems great team spirit and a load of neat and tidy players. More power to them “
“Met a couple in Turkey last summer and they both thought SUFC would do ok but most likely get relegated. For them alone I’m over the moon for this side. And by the way, so much more than just a well organised defensive team!”
“Would love to see Messi turn up for a Champions League game at Bramall Lane.”
“Wilder has done it with a largely Championship level squad, and a few good additions. Meanwhile, the likes of Hodgson are whinging about no signings and battling relegation, when they’ve got more than good enough resources to be comfortable.”
“Buzzing for us getting battered by Sheffield United”
“Team:
Not Eriksen Not Eriksen – Not Eriksen, Not Eriksen – Not Eriksen Not Eriksen – Not Eriksen Not Eriksen – Not Eriksen – Not Eriksen Not Eriksen”
“heard from an Arsenal fan that you you cant beat sheffield this time of year”
“The one thing I feel most comfortable predicting is that I won’t enjoy watching the game and afterwards will wish I had done almost anything else.”
“I honestly can’t go to games this season unless I’m absolutely battered, the only way the stress doesn’t make me cave one of the jobsworth stewards heads in”
“Good news if you have an umbrella under 1 metre , you can take it to the game at the weekend”
“Every one has beaten this Sheff Utd team since the restart… yet we submit like a cheap whore on a good tip”.
“Mourinho and Levy are useless as varicose veins to a wooden leg!”
“Not felt like this since I saw the exit poll last December.”
“It’s not all doom and gloom we are only 8 or 9 quality signings off challenging for the league next season!”
“Typical fudging Tottenham. Seen it a million times over the years. Show up to a tough away ground in our nice pale blue kit. Look nice and tidy on the ball and get turned over because we have fudge all backbone.”
“The referee is a wanker. Looks like he pisses sitting down.”
Shout out in this category to Bayer Leverkusen simply due to my awful attempts at trying to decipher German using google translate after the signing of Retsos:
“Someone in the club has to whisper in Peter’s ear that Retsos was already a regular here at 19. In his eyes he is probably just some talent that has been hurt forever and is of no interest.” Utterly fudging shameful to lose like this because in a million years, they aren’t 3 goals better than us and on the night they haven’t been 3 goals better than us”.
“The boy is good, wide awake. Will prevail.”
“He is a trained IV and is primarily used in the AV positions.”
“His passing us strong, he is duel strong.”
“He played his part um … solidly. It’s ok .. with the many racing pigs in the league that need to be raged, he has to sort his legs first.”
“He is 19 and just out of the A-junior age; still has eggshells behind his ears and understands hardly a word of German here”
““He can do something with the ball. Presented a very neat re-launch of the Greek.”
It’s not often that you can call a team mardy after they have beaten you but Manchester City really did not like the way we played against their superstars. Maybe we should have seen it coming. After our first home win I was greeted with this on the City board:
“In the premier league and can’t even fill their stadium. What an absolute pub team”
In fairness to City, pre-match in both games against them this season didn’t suggest that there would be any issues as they delivered some respectful and even wary views. Even after the first game, a 2-0 defeat for The Blades, there were only a few murmurings from the blue side of Manchester of what was to come:
“In contrast to the Blades manager, Espirito for Wolves is pure class. Handles some tough questions with aplomb.”
“Annoying commentary on my stream constantly trying to big up Sheffield despite their lack of shots on target they were very unlucky etc.”
“Loads of coins thrown by their fans, I don’t know what they were so worked up by.”
Really though there was nothing to make us think that Manchester City had a problem with us. Then came the game on the 21st January. A 1-0 win for City did nothing to alleviate the sense of injustice felt by their fans:
“Hard fought win against a load of clogging wankers.Remember why I prefer wednesday now”
“Remind me of Stoke when they first got into the prem. hugely physical and aggressive and not what the majority of the leagues players are used to.. They will however get used to and prepare for their style. Will struggle in a season or two imo”
“Not much quality otherwise against an team intent on kicking us as much as possible.”
“Bunch of cloggers. Hard faught win. “
“workman like performance, lucky not to pick up injuries”
“sums up the state of this league when Sheff Utd were 7th coming into today, absolute shite”
“scumbag sheffield ****s.”
“Sheff Utd play shit 80s football”
“like watching Wimbledon circa 80’s”
“Utd were dismal, what a poor style of football they play.”
“I despise Sheffield Utd fans I despise Sheffield Utd players”
“Another set of no nothing nobhead fans in the Premier league. See Stoke, Burnley or Wolves”
“Hate them vile team and fans and press keep saying how great they done against us they had 2 shots on target over the the two games give over.”
“Don’t know who was more shite. Jesus, Sterling or the entire Sheff Utd team.”
“Sheffield United attempt to kick us off the park was embarrassing, Wilder is another dinosaur.”
“They really are a team in Colin Wanker’s mould.”
“Great result against a set of thugs sent out to rough us up, fucking Neanderthal tactics,Wilder has taken the mantel of Warnock for me”
“A carbon copy of Sean Dyche”
“Wilder talking shite about pushing us, saying he thinks our fans agree. I agree they pushed us alright, they pushed our nerves to the limit with neanderthal tackling meant to maim!”
“They are down next year. Wilder is Mark 3 of Bassett and Warnock. Norwich play to entertain and win and they will ultimately prevail when Sheffield are back in the lower leagues.”
“Wouldn’t mind if sheff united fall apart tbh, bunch of cloggers with backwards fans. Also, wilder has a very punchable face.”
“Lost all respect for them tonight.”
“Pathetic set of fans as well – loveed in when our players bassed the ball and ept it for so long that their fans had to give up shouting handball at every touch – as i said – pathetic”
“awful team,beats the shit out of me how they have so many points on the board…”
“One of the dirtiest teams I’ve ever seen and I would imagine they will get relegated next season when the novelty factor wears off.”
“Hope they dont win another game and get relagated”
“It’s the first time I’ve really paid any attention to them, the home game I expected us to win and to be honest it was a bit of a piss up. the new Burnley I guess.”
“game was just as expected, playing Burnley version 2, long ball and at times overly physical.”
“If that lot are 7th the Premier League must be shite. Utter garbage. Mason is a cheat”.
“Good win against a well organised, very physical team playing with 12.”
“Mason couldn’t give it to them, but he tried his best. “
“Usual disgusting cheating officiating by Mason. Club needs a new dossier on him to have him removed from our games as he is the same in every game we have him”
“Mason was shit,equal bookings i think,they set out to cripple eric and whoever else they could,vile club”
“They booed the ref, doesn’t get much more blinkered than that. Except for Liverpool fans of course. “
“The actually think they’re hard done to lol”
“We wasn’t great, but a good battling performance against a bunch of dirty bastards. We’d see red for them tackles. Commentary was atrocious, I bet you could watch that on SUFC own channel and it wouldn’t be as biased as that.”
“tin pot club…..nobhead fans…..Wednesday shit all over them”
Manchester United fans ran Liverpool close in the most respectful category but they win this award simply as they were the most well informed fans of what The Blades were about this season. More so than most pundits in fact. Here are list of quotes from various points of the season that show they are worthy winners of this award:
“Have to say I really enjoy watching Sheffield United play. It’s not passing around for passing around sake (unlike their opposition tonight who wanted to get their possession stats up in last 20 minutes). They can knock it long when they want to but they are also capable of playing good quick touch football when that is required and they don’t get enough credit for that. It won them several corners tonight and eventually they scored from one. Reason 3-5-2 is effective is they actually make it work overloading in corners of the pitch and play quick 1-2s that give their wide players space. A very nice team to watch and think I’ve said consistantly this season they’ll stay up as to me they have more grit than Norwich who are too easy to score against.”
“Very good performance last night. They restricted Arsenal to bits and bobs and always looked more likely to score even though they didn’t have that much possession. So much to be said for both defending and attacking in numbers, and mixing it up. Stevens is a real threat down the left and the two centre halves wide of the middle man get involved in the attack too. “
“They are a good side and aren’t bad to watch at all. The “pundits” who keep lazily calling them basic and long ball clearly aren’t doing their jobs. “
“It’s the first time in a really long time that a newly promoted team have come up and introduced a tactical innovation to the league.”
“One of the best managers in the league, no doubt about it in my mind. ”
“Got a very British team who put the work in but also have a bit of quality here and there. Wilder has done an absolutely fantastic job thus far, and even if they finish 17th he deserves the manager of the year award.”
“Sheff Utd are so good tactically. Wilder should be in the convo next time any English club mgmt job is mentioned. I’m convinced no job is too big for him”
“At times it’s like they have 12 or 13 players on the pitch!”
“Souness referring to Sheff United as a throwback seems a bit lazy and disrespectful. Think they might be the most tactically innovative team in the league and playing good stuff.”
“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.”
“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”
Despise being on a poor run of form, Leicester city were third when they played us with just 3 games to go. The attitude of their fans however would have made you think they were in a relegation battle to stay out of the The National League. Luckily for them The Blades cheered them no end by losing 2-0 at The King Power.
“I will be utterly amazed if we win this. Toothless bottle jobs vs. possibly the grittiest, most determined side in the division. After the Manchester clubs I couldn’t think of a worse team for us to face next. “
“You can see confidence is completely shot .Will be genuinely lucky to get a draw from this”
“As far as I’m concerned its a nailed on Sheffield United win, we don’t have it in us to react, and we don’t have it in us to pick ourselves up. We’ve not done it so far this season since the shit hit the fan, so why now? How many “wake up calls” do we need to kick start our form? Three absolute horror shows to finish on and we will lose all three, and we will lose badly too”
“Based on this weekend’s performances, this could get ugly. However, when is football ever predictable.”
“We are not going to have an easy game against the blades. They are a formidable opponent on their day!”
“These are too good for us, their players are fighting hard for a good finish”
“Not a chance we beat these lot. Come on, they’ve got everything we don’t.”
“This one could be embarrassing, which will teach me for giving my Sheff Utd supporting Mrs so much shit about how we are better than them. “
“I see them winning this by half time. This side can’t take pressure. Sheff United will be all over us. We will crumble. It’s happened every time this season. “
The “We Didnt Know You Cared So Much” Award: SCOTLAND
We all know that the Rangers and Celtic divide runs deep but the genuine hatred of Oli Mcburnie from half of Scotland took me by surprise at least. Dont worry Oli, we love you:
“Boos for McBurnie as his name was read out. Good, the rat.”
“hate Oli McBurnie, and scoring for Scotland won’t ever change that.”
“The only thing in the world as ridiculous as Oli McBurnie’s beard is Oli McBurnie playing up front for Scotland.”
“Dear Oli McBurnie, Please stop strutting about like you own the joint – you’ve not earned it. Ps. Pull your socks up. Love, The whole of Scotland”
“Oliver McBurnie is the type of guy who shows up to play 5’s in a pair of 400 quid boots, wearing aftershave and refuses to take his turn in goals.”
“Think there’s nobody in the world I hate more than McBurnie. Hope some big Russian breaks every bone in his body”
“£20m doesn’t get you much in football these days”
“A poor mans Steven Fletcher”
“Mcburnie getting the full 90 mins tonight is ridiculous, if he is the striker that we rely on over the next few years then we are well and truly screwed”
“Awful footballer”
“Andy Robertson in possesion looking for Salah coming short or Mane over the top. Gets Oli McBurnie”
“Oli mcburnie is one of the worst players iv ever seen”
“Mcburnie is honestly the worst player in that Scotland squad. Has zero outstanding qualities. Total pile of shite !! Leigh Griff 50% fit is twice the player !!”
“The guy can barely control the ball. His passing is shambolic & his ability of the ball is just as bad.”
“Mcburnie is the worst starting striker Scotland have had in my lifetime. His price tag doesn’t change that.”
“Oli McBurnie being an international striker pretty much gives me hope that I can still be whatever I want to be in life. Just can’t decide between rock star, great novelist or pro golfer. I reckon I’d be about as much use in any of those roles as he is playing for Scotland.”
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“McBurnie is absolutely horrific. Never want to see him play for the team again.”
“McBurnie being worth £20 million tells you a sad story about where modern football is as a sport…mercy wept”
“20 million for your man McBurnie Sheffield United got mugged off”
“Sheffield Utd fans need to ask questions of just why their club would spend that much on someone so poor. Brown bags and motorway service stations is all I can think of.”
“Sheffield Umited actually paid 20 million for mcburnie hahahahahahahahahah”
“£20m for McBurnie?? I’d be asking for £19.5m of that back!”
“Who ever sanctioned 20million for mcburnie needs to have a look at themselves waste of space”
“Going by the English football market, Sam Cosgrove must be worth £40million. He is twice the player of Ollie Mcburnie. Whoever sanctioned £20million for him needs locked up and never let out in civilisation again. He will probably score the winner now.”
