“We don’t have a great record against the Blades and they’re in great form at the moment but you never know.
We’re lacking in the talent that the other teams have but we use a system that makes us hard to beat and even when we fall behind we stay in games and try and pinch something late on.
This games on Sky, if you’re going to watch it don’t expect a classic. It’ll probably be like a chess match with them probing ways to break us down and us trying to snatch something on the counter attack.”“It will not be a classic but we’ll give 100% as usual & the Blades will know they’ve been in a game.”
“I’ve a feeling we will not so much be deliberately parking the bus, more not been able to get out of our own half.
That’s been the case in a lot of our games this season, but we hang in there and often pinch it late on.”“We have a worse record against them than against the pigsters. I think we may lose but would take a point now.”
“Sheff U are a proper side at this level. No big time Charlies but solid players. Win more than they lose.”
“Picking up their defenders as they come into midfield and beyond is the key. If we can do that and keep our width we could get a good result.”
“The worst thing we can do is sit back. They play a similar style to us, but clearly have more quality.
I want to see us get straight at them and play with a bit of verve and aggression like we did against Derby and Stoke. It’s important not to lose, but a win would be magic.”“They play nothing like us shef u are a pressing team who focus on frontal players like billy sharpe and the supporting midfielders where we are a counter attack team who focus on midfield to boost our defence and offence. If anything shef u are more like Blackburn. ’m gonna go 1-0 to us purely because I think we will chip away at their fitness for 70 mins and brake them in last 20 mins”
“Tough fixture this but as we all know our team are very good at home and dont give in until the whistles gone.
I worry about he midfield they have and Sharpey reminds me of Robbo always in the right place at the right time.”“must admit though we’re going to need to play really well to compete.
Saw them on sky and they look a very good footballing team.”“Will it be the coldest match so far in the way of temperature? Could be quite tasty on the pitch though.
I was listening to someone saying that the three centre halves they play like to go up into midfield and beyond. This will either over run us in the middle or leave them open at the back.”“I fancy us against anybody at home”
“The Blades are a good side and unlike some others who have come to the NYS they won’t think they just have to turn up to win. That’s not how they play and it’s not how Wilder operates. They are strong favourites to win and rightly so. But we’ve lost one in eight and we’ve shown that we are quite capable of pulling off surprises. There is no pressure on us. It should be a belter of a game.”
“I watched the sheffield derby wow what a boring game. The piggies were awful and I would be happy to play them every week, and the blunts had no idea how to break down a defensive team and created very little in terms of clear chances.”
“I’m half tempted to throw Wood if only because the Blades ex Shrewsbury keeper Henderson would have nightmares if he saw Wood coming forward for corners!”
“Spare a thought for Sheff U keeper Dean Henderson, who will be spending all week having nightmares about facing big Woody and our aerial bombardment again. Still fresh in his memory from Wembers. Think Woody must play against the blunts and get the ball on his nut for set pieces. ”
“We owe the Blades one after that Wood/McGuire penalty incident at the Lane which gave them an undeserved and very fortunate victory. “
“I personally can’t remember a classic game between the two sides, nothing really stands out.
The league 1 encounter at NYS in 2013/2014 stands out for me because it was the first time I’d seen us beat them in a league match. It is also the game which set our current highest attendance at NYS. Due to segregation it will probably remain the highest for, well, forever. Unless we ever expand the stadium.
It was part of the ‘deedar double’ that season, after we beat Wednesday in the league cup earlier in the season.
Anyway, they came here, spent most of the first half passing the ball around in their own 18 yard box to show us how superior they were. At some point they went forward and scored a goal. Clumsy Claude Davis was also very lucky not to have conceded at least one penalty.
We went in at half time a goal down having barely had a touch of the ball.
Legend has it that manager Steve Evans actually apologised to his players for getting his tactics all wrong, and sent them back out with some fire in their bellies and sure enough we were a different team in the second half, putting in a proper Rotherham United display of gritty determination coupled with a touch of class here and there. Kieren Agard, almost anonymous up to this point, smashed in an equaliser from somewhere up on Sheffield Road. Clumsy Claude almost gave away a stonewaller (again) at the other end, before we were awarded what I remember being a really soft penalty, one even I wouldn’t have given us, which was converted by Daniel Nardiello. Recent world cup hero Harry Maguire was in the Blades lineup that day too.
We didn’t know it at the time but we’d go on to win promotion that season at the first attempt while it would take Sheffield United, perennial promotion favourites and already with three seasons behind them at that level, another three years to get out of that league.”“I remember with great fondnes our win in 81, also our win in 2013/4, i’d won a free ticket in a promo at work for the west stand, near the away fans, and getting abused roundly when coming out of the ground by the blades ‘fans’….got all the usual, toytown, sheffield postcode, small town in sheffield etc, i then asked what the score was and the response was epic!!! even had middle aged men wanting to climb the barriers!! quite funny i thought!!”
Author: Roy
International Updates
Our players didn’t get too many minutes over the international period but there was still a bit of interesting chat from fans of the Home Nations.
Northern Ireland Fans Views On Oliver Norwood
“apart from spraying s few tasty passes what way does Norwood contribute to the team? its not as if he has many assists, and zero goals”
“im not a big fan of Norwood , the way we sat up & dominated the game against The Republic why do we need him starting?”
“Im a big fan of Norwood but im not sure that there is room for him in there unless trying to play a really defensive set up.”
“Too many games in which Norwood just doesn’t have an impact. I’d like to see McNair ahead of him”
“McNair should be taking Norwood ‘s place for me”
“Did we really miss Norwood at all?”
“I thought we missed Norwood on Sunday. “
“I really don’t get the hate for Norwood . Well liked at club level wherever he goes on loan and at interntationl level plays a role that allows our captain and best player to do his work further up the pitch.”
“Do not drop Olly Norwood”
Scotland Fans Views On John Fleck
“Is John Fleck international level class? Of course he is. I’ve watched him a few times this season and he’s been on another level. He’s destined for the premier league. He’s a class above any midfielder in the championship, I’ve got a mate who’s a Sheffield fan and he would tell you just how good he is. Can’t believe it’s taking this long and he still hasn’t been called up but then again we are talking about useless mcleish here. Hope the reports are true and he is in the team for the Israel match would be a great decision. There really isn’t anyone more deserving off a call up right now than him, reminds me off the Callum McGregor situation when Strachan was in charge”
“I think you’re massively overstating Fleck’s influence there tbh. Every Sheffield United fan I’ve come across would tell you that Norwood is the difference in their midfield and is the key to their season so far. If you watched the Sheffield derby the other day, then you’d have seen it reflected pretty clearly there. Fleck quietly got on with the job and did ok. Everything impressive and incisive came from Norwood. So Fleck’s not even a class above the midfielders at his own club, let alone the rest of the league. Is he better than Grealish? no. Is he better than Hernandez? no. Leitner? no. Joe Allen? no. Jota? no. Is he playing better than 8 goal callum robinson? no. How about 8 goal Che Adams? nope. You can easily make the case for McGinn.. 2 goals, 4 assists to Flecks 1 and 1. I could go on, but i’m sure everyone’s already bored and gets the point. Fleck hasn’t had a call because center mid has generally been one of the stronger areas of the side for us. I doubt anyone would drop Armstrong, Cairney or McGregor for him. Probably not McGinn either. Most would agree that Christie deserves a call, having not done too bad in the few outings he’s had and his recent form is great both domestically and internationally. Then add in that we basically need to have 2 defensive mids in the squad, and that puts Fleck at best 7th in line for a call, probably 8th.. at best.!”
“Yes Norwood has been getting the prase this season but his consistency over the last 2 season has been key where as Norwood was hit and miss for fullham.. also I do believe he’s better than the likes off grealish and Robinson, Allen, Leitner, Hernandez. Adams shouldn’t really be up for discussion since he’s a completely different player but player wise, yes I confidently believe he’s better than him. Again he deserves his call up and is more quality available to us on the bench.”
“Fleck is a defensive Mid”
“Sorry, but that makes me think you’ve not watched Sheffield United this season. They don’t have a defensive mid. Their entire system is build around being dynamic and players swapping and moving. The midfield 3 of Duffy, Norwood and Fleck all go forward and back, wide and narrow. From what I’ve seen of them Fleck tends to stay in a fairly neutral area, looking to move the ball laterally. Norwood drops deeper to do defensive work, distribute with long balls, and Duffy makes runs ahead a lot of the time. But they’re a very fluid 3, who seems to have a good understanding. Go back 2 season to when Fleck was probably performing better than he is now, and he had Coutts in along side him who was the defensive midfielder. Fleck is somewhat akin to Bannan in that he sometimes plays deeper, but he’s not a defenisve mid, in no world would you want either of them to be the shield ahead of your back 4 and they’re not fighting for squad spots with the likes of McDonald, Shinnie or McTominay. “
“What happened to the guy who got 17 assists in that season 2 years ago? Stepped up to the championship and dropped to 8. Now he’s 1/3rd of the way thru the season and has 1. Is it just a change in system that means he’s passing to overloading players who are then getting the assists? Norwood and Duffy have a few more, so is Fleck the pass before the assist now? Trying to understand why he’s playing better but his numbers have disappeared. Why has no one come in for him? Certainly scouts have been at the lane a fair bit, hence Brooks move. But it seems like Fleck’s not really been on anyones radar as far as I can tell from press. If he’s as good as is being suggested, then why’s he still at the blades? I will give Fleck credit tho. He left Rangers, started at the bottom and worked his way up. Wasn’t always easy, I remember seeing him for Coventry against Leyton Orient a few years back and he was absolutely honking. Among the worst players on the pitch, nothing worked for him at all. But clearly he’s got his head right and worked hard and is not in a much better place playing to a much better standard. So well done to the man. “
Wales Fans Views On Ben Woodburn
“Woodburn is the player I’d drop from the squad”
“Woodburn has stolen a squad place over the last year. But harsh on him maybe, but you have Evans and Edwards playing really well amd theyve been ignored. Questions have to be asked why”
“Amazing to think that just over 12 months ago we thought Ben Woodburn was the second coming. 12 months on and he’s probably not in the top 5 exciting prospects.”
“Woodburn looked terrible.”
“Very poor”
“What was worse, the refs performance, jack collisons commentary or Ben woodburn?
“been dining out on that goal v Austria for too long. Complete myth.”
“The Sheff Utd manager giving him a run of games would help”
“To be fair when was his last first team football. Been sitting on the bench at Sheffield United ! I can’t believe he can’t get into their side!”
“don’t know what their side is like but they seem to be doing well without him! (at the moment)”
“All the more reason for Ben – if given the chance – to shine even brighter 😉 Don’t take me wrong, I was really impressed by James’ runs and ball control. But Ben has already shown that he can make a difference.”
“Ramsey deserves to be dropped and his place given to Woodburn”
Republic Of Ireland Fans Views On Enda Stevens
“Enda Stevens looks up to the level required and needs to start”
“Starting Stevens is a must”
“Stevens did alright when he came on”
“Made a couple of positive runs early on but forced back by the Peter Ankersen.”
“One of the very few successes of Ireland’s 2018, Stevens has given himself a chance of keeping the left wing-back role if the manager persists with it next year”
“Stevens did fine, and began the game brightly with a slaloming foray into the Danish penalty area in the opening couple of minutes. That reckless abandoned was soon subsumed by the poverty of his team’s approach”
“Good outlet on the left and arguably the best of the left-wing backs”
Republic Of Ireland Fans Views On John Egan
“Egan’s use of the ball was very poor, even his body shape when he’s getting it is completely wrong”
“I thought he did ok. “
“looked very comfortable on the left. Worth further looks in competitive action.”
“was forced to cut back inside onto his stronger right foot, which meant the ball often went to Duffy and then back to Randolph and was then hoofed away. Egan was defensively sound though.”
“looked a bit suspect but The best of a bad 3 last night”
“Good player. Don’t fancy him on the left of a three. On the right or in the middle and you’ll get a good performer.”
“Egan would probably be the best passing CB available to us, but he’s probably only the 3rd/4th/5th best defender.”
“Duffy and Kevin Long are our best centre backs, if we must play three at the back then Clark should be there third man. Egan should be fourth.”
Loan Updates
Ched Evans has been injured for the majority of the past month and only made his comeback last Saturday against Walsall so there are no views on him. Harvey Gilmour has too be absent from Tranmere’s line up for the past few games which is a surprise given his form in October. Caolan Lavery is still injured.
Oxford United Fans Views On Samir Carruthers
“According to the OWS, Carruthers had an op today and “it’s unlikely we will see him again for four or five weeks”. And then he has to start rehabilitation and training (presuming the op is a success). Five weeks will take until mid December”
“Unclear on loan rules but suspect if all in agreement we can get rid in Jan”
“I doubt Wilder would let us send him back to be honest. Not unless he and SU knew there was another team ready to take him on the same terms contribution wise. Not that I think KR would dream of returning him anyway. He thinks he’s one of the best midfielders at this level.”
“I can’t see Sheffiekd United taking him back”
“I’m struggling to think of a constellation where Sheff Utd would take Carruthers back”
“Carruthers no fault of his own has been plagued by injury, and whilst injury free he can be a superb player. Sadly we have not seen it since he arrived”
“I think we’ll cut ties with Carruthers”
“Carruthers was an irresponsible gamble. I think that KR had good memories of how he worked with him in the MK Dons days and thought he could do a job for us, ignoring his increasing injury problems in the subsequent years.”
Oxford United Fans Views On Ricky Holmes
“Ricky Holmes frightens defences”
“Holmes is a player that puts defences on the back foot and has been one of our better players “ “we used to get pissed off under wilders watch that players weren’t given medicals,now they are,we find out the players we go for are all injured, we couldn’t wait to get Holmes in the building then find out he can’t play 3 games in a row. Player recruitment this season has been crap”
“He has a known back problem”
“Holmes is clearly not 100%”
“Holmes at 80% is better than others at 100%”
“I don’t think their is a club in this league who wouldn’t have Ricky Holmes. Even with his back problems. On his day (which is most games) he terrifies defenders.”
“He is far and away our best player”
“so committed for a loan player. Let’s hope he signs permanently at Christmas”
“He is one of our only shining lights”
“he was poor yesterday and rightly taken off. He was clearly struggling with his back, he continued to try to do things on his own which resulted in either losing the ball or falling over it.”“his off days tend to be better than most of our other players.”
Barrow Fans Views On Tyler Smith
“Smith worked hard as always”
“Feel sorry for young Smith up front, isolated again all night tonight.”
“Smith is skilful, fast and agile”
“Smith seems to be lost – constantly offside and on the wrong side of his man”
“Smith never gets left out and I don’t mean to criticise him because we have seen enough to see that he is a good finisher but he seems a pointless choice in a system that isn’t serving him” “too lightweight”
“Smith did nowt bar a couple of offsides to remind us he was on the pitch”
“Smith is a great player, but he’s isolated for 90% of the game. He’s small and most of balls to him 20+ yards from goal and are in air against 2x 7ft defenders”
“Had to feed off scraps to his credit the lad keeps going it must be soul destroying”
Barrow Fans Views On Rhys-Norrington Davies
“Was really impressed with Norrington-Davies today”
“He is a good crosser”
“Excellent work from him”
“This lad is good”
“Needs to book his ideas up”
“Made a really poor header for their goal”
Queen Of The South Fans Views On Callum Semple
“Semple has been our most consistent defender this season yet is not starting. A rest usually lasts a couple of games but 4??”
“He should start”
“didn’t really merit getting dropped”
“Semple must be brought back into the team, – he should never have been dropped to the bench.”
“Callum Semple is a must in the middle of the defence”
“Semple is the best defensive header of the ball we have as well as giving us balance with being a left footer.”
“semple is a touch of defensive class ,prob our managers best bit of business to date ,be great to keep this type of player .i like how he doesnt panic and plays his way out of trouble good passer”
“Would like to think we can hold on to him for the rest of the season. Beneficial to Queens and the Blades, where he would go back to, having had a decent amount of first team experience under his belt.”
“My worry is someone down South sees him and wants him in January.
Worst still a Motherwell, St Johnstone, Accies, Dundee who fancy a strong centre half for 6 months in the SPL
At 19 he really has got a bright future.”“For GN to highlight only Semples foul that lead to the first goal as the turning point and not mention any other players poor defending or his own poor management is piss poor and bang out of order to young Semple, who has been an excellent signing and is still a kid learning the game.”
“The manager only highlighting Semple needless foul at 3 0 is piss poor. There was so much else that went wrong from the manager and other players. Semple and Fordyce both played very well. They get no cover from holding Midfielders, our keepers or full back.”
Carlisle United Fans Views On Regan Slater
“Did well”
“showed some good qualities”
“busy and won ball well”
“Impressive”
“Slater was excellent, MOTM performance.”
“It was good to see Regan Slater have a more effective game and I thought going foward he looked good.”
“Great game on Saturday but I haven’t seen much from him prior to that. We might be able to do better in January”
“Slater is here for the Season regardless. Hopefully the goals on Sat will help him kick on. Seems a popular member of the Squad from the Players Twitters too…”
“having seen that performance you can see that there’s a real player in there. Such great quality about both goals.”
“What a day for the lad. He has a confidence about him that seems to be justified. He’s busy, strong and happy to run forward, also has the awareness to be in the right areas.”
“Slater was def MoM”
Blackpool Fans Views On Ben Heneghan
“Terrific display allowing the defence to remain tight. Made plenty of clearances from set pieces in the last minutes of the game.”
“Lost his marker for both of Rochdale’s goals”
“Lost too many aerial duels which put Pool under pressure”
“Dominant in the air”
“Produced a couple of important last-ditch blocks but at fault alongside Jay Spearing for the first goal.”
“Pool’s first goal began with his pinpoint diagonal to the left flank. Did well against Exeter’s dangerous front two.”
“Won all of his headers and cleared away from danger time and time again, but could show more calmess on the ball.”
Oldham Fans Views On Sam Graham
“Sam Graham at the back for the next 30 games doesn’t bear thinking about…”
“he’s not good enough”
“Send him back”
“He’s definitely not a full back”
“Graham is totally out of his depth in that position.”
“Sam Graham playing professional football is the craziest thing I’ve ever seen in a stadium”
“Struggled last Saturday but he’s still learning.”
“Stop having a pop at Graham he is in poor form, kid hasn’t played in his position yet”
Notts County Fans Views On Nathan Thomas
“Crap”
“a bad day at the office”
“Not enough quality to be playing at his parent club. Can’t change a game.”
“how he stayed on for 90 mins is the biggest mystery in Notts County history, offered zilch to the game and his touch is dreadful”
Neutrals View On The Sheffield Derby
“The intensity of Sheffield United is great. Watching this you have to wonder how on earth we beat them!” (Middlesbrough Fan)
“Best team ive seen in the league so far” (Aston Villa Fan)
“Watched that Sheffield derby. Christ, Wednesday got battered, no idea how they managed a draw” (Blackburn Fan)
“One team trying to win and the other hanging on,very similar to the game I watched on the 23rd Oct there” (Stoke Fan)
“It was such a one sided man vs boys match. The only thing it was missing was a goal” (Barnsley Fan)
“Very dull game which left me with my mind wandering for much of the match…I’ve no fear of either of them now” (Rotherham Fan) “Wednesday defended brilliantly. Credit to them” (Brighton Fan)
“Dull one that.
Second-half was basically attack vs defence” (Bristol City Fan)“Great defensive display from Wednesday. United huffed and puffed against a good defence, but they couldn’t find that handball that is required in these type of games.” (Forest Fan)
“Sheffield United overpassed it at times for me. In those types of games they just have to pull the trigger a bit more and hope for the best.
Good 0-0 win for Wednesday by the looks of things at the end” (Bristol City Fan)“Most one sided game I’ve watched in a while” (Birmingham Fan)
“Good result for us, but Sheff Utd play in a way that worries me for when we play them. Wednesday defended really well, hope we can do the same ! I know, hopefully we will be taking the game to them which to be honest Wednesday didnt get the chance to do even if they were capable. The two teams that currently would be my tips to finish 1st and 2nd, would be Derby and Sheff Utd, and hopefully us putting in a great challenge” (Leeds Fan)
“Sheffield united look a decent outfit here! Very lively! Can someone lend Wednesday a ball to have a kick with” (Leeds Fan)
“Utd are made Wednesday look shit..as a Reading fan they will make us look like a pile of wank we play them” (Reading Fan)
“It’s the full backs that make Sheffield United look good those 2 bombing down gives them so many options going forward it’s hard to defend against, Wednesday defended well but over the last 2/3 years the money they’ve spent you’d be pretty annoyed having to go defend like that against your local rivals.” (Derby Fan)
“I really dont see the hype around Shef Utd. A very average Sheff Wed team have been able to cope with them. Local Derby or not it’s a game they should be creating chances and winning.” (Derby Fan)
“I’m amazed that the fawning commentators didn’t give the MoM award to Billy Sharp (who was tripe).” (Derby Fan)
“Christ, Wednesday got battered, no idea how they managed a draw. Cracking save from the penalty, though!” (Blackburn Fan)
“Said from the start of the season though that Wednesday would be in big, big trouble… they are awful… and we should end the weekend two points behind the “flying” Blades!” (Blackburn Fan)
“Wednesday had no backbone” (Palace Fan)
“What a terrible Sheffield Derby that was, Wednesday never left their own half and United have no quality in final third. Shows how bad the Championship is this season!” (Arsenal Fan)
“One sided derby. I wonder if Wednesday know that it isn’t a crime to attack” (Chelsea Fan)
View From Wednesday
“They were expecting to hammer us, Sky were expecting them to hammer us, the bookies were expecting them to hammer us and a vocal crowd on here have been expecting the same. The main basis for the theory was our inability to keep a clean sheet and the lack of fight and togetherness in contrast to their pashun. We went there to do a job and we delivered and again, like last time, could have nicked it. The celebration after Dawson saved the penalty showed everyone all you need to know re. how together the players being picked are in contrast to snidey threads started by our own so called supporters just minutes before kick off. Wilder’s face following that of Billy’s showed you who the winners were tonight and for all their possesion they had a dodgy penalty and not much else to show in terms of clearcut chances. It could be argued that Fox had and missed a better opportunity and Matias wasn’t far from giving us the perfect evening. We are powerful – Chris said so but he wasn’t delighted and they dominated at arms length whilst we defended and got stuck in all night like fuckingwarriors.”
“Dem bottling Blayads strike again.”
“Bitter Blunt Billy Hahahahahahahahaha”
“Chuffed to see Wilder really annoyed they didn’t win but pretending it was all about the performance and he wouldn’t want to be in our dressing room and his players aren’t on 40 grand a week and he really was very, very happy which we all know he wasn’t. That was good to see. “
“Jos out thought Wilder. The players worked hard.”
“When it comes to the crunch, they are, they always will be, and will never stop being w@nk”
“Sheff U define themselves by derbies. We define ourselves by trophies”
“People laughing at the blades cos hey couldnt beat us. calling them bottlers. Look at yourselves. Everyone who watched that game knows our biggest rivals, and an absolutely nothing club, are miles and miles ahead of us “ “I cannot believe that performance. Its not their fault. They’re not very good. What are we as a club. Did we even have 20% possession. Couldn’t even make a sub and try and win the game. Celebrating that draw on the pitch after that performance. Against Sheffield United? They’re a nothing team, a nothing club, they’e absolutely nothing. We looked like we couldn’t even set up properly at professional level. It was like watching bullying out there, almost like abuse, it was difficult to watch. They have no right to be footballers them lot. I’ve never been so embarrassed. Shameful. Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic. “
“At kick off I’d have taken a 0-0 for sure as I thought we’d get smashed. But it on full time fans around me were punching the air and hugging. Hang on. We’re not Rotherham. We’re not Chesterfield. We’re not Doncaster. We’re not Sheffield United. We’re the oldest, best supported and most successful team in Sheffield and we played for a nil-nil and then celebrated when we got one. We didn’t try to attack and we only brought on one sub who could make a difference. Should we accept this? Shoukd we celebrate this?”
“They are Significantly better than us.”
“Is it really out thinking an opponent to pick 8/11 naturally defensive minded players and camping on your six years box all match. Anyone can do that and have a chance of a clean sheet. We’re Sheffield Wednesday!”
“Think this was a wake up call for some of our deluded fans. To see how the mighty have fallen.”
“Last year he looked like his world had ended. His ego will again be bruised, the legend in his own living room once again failed to overcome a team out of sorts and short on resources. They played Ok, but that was it.”
“ At least Warnock was funny. It’s class, because despite how good they are, they still won’t go up”
“They played really well… but he should be ashamed that he couldn’t even get his team to score against our lot”
“Wish I was more articulate so I could explain my emotions right now. But I’m embarrassed. At kick off I’d have taken a 0-0 for sure as I thought we’d get smashed. But it on full time fans around me were punching the air and hugging. Hang on. We’re not Rotherham. We’re not Chesterfield. We’re not Doncaster. We’re not Sheffield United. We’re the oldest, best supported and most successful team in Sheffield and we played for a nil-nil and then celebrated when we got one. We didn’t try to attack and we only brought on one sub who could make a difference. Should we accept this? Shoukd we celebrate this? “
“we are in an absolute state, kids low on confidence, and we’ve gone away to Real United and kept a clean sheet. Don’t be deluded they are a far better side than us currently, this is a great point.”
“Shows how far the bar has fallen. Ok, a draw away in a derby is a decent result, but to be fair we’ve been hammered in all but result, while accepting results obviously important wasn’t great. I’ve watched my team play 9 in defence, spending most of the game in our own 18 yard box, hardly venturing into the opposition half, never mind carrying a genuine goal threat”
“We’ve taken a point at Rammel Lane, when we’re down to the bare bones of options. This’ll be a massive confidence boost for the squad. Matias and FF coming back in will fuel the momentum. Embarrassing for the Blunts more than anything.”
“This Season United are in the ascendancy while we are waiting out FFP. In that context, we should be happy with the defensive performance a least, when we are away from home. “
“Apart from the penalty blunts did very little in last 3rd. Jos out thought Wilder. The players worked hard.”
“We’re awful, so a point is better than I expected. Resilience is the only praise I have for our team tonight. “
“We achieved what we set out to do tonight. It wasn’t pretty, it wasn’t ambitious, it wasn’t positive but it did get us a clean sheet and a point away from home against the second placed team in the division. The fact that it was The Blunts and they’ve dropped points is also welcome.”
“Hinchciffe said United were the best Championship team he’s seen this season especially in the first half and they way they play is better to watch than half the Premier League. United did look good at times but I thought he was a bit over the top. “
“Hinchcliffe: The Blunts play better football than most of the teams in the premier league.WHO HURT YOU ANDY? Embarrassing yourself every single week struggling to carry that biiiiiiig, big chip “
“Can’t deny I feel relieved that we avoided a beating and stopped the rot, but that was the performance of a side looking to get a replay in a cup tie.”
“What do you expect him to say? The regression we’ve shown the past 18 months cannot be spoken of positively.”
“Never (even as a neutral) have I seen such a one sided game. I don’t we’ve even passed it between ourselves for longer than 10 seconds. This is Sheffield United, not bleeding Barcelona, it reminds me of when we went to Man City in the cup few years back and I don’t think we saw any of the ball Its disgraceful. Two teams in the same league. Is this how far we’ve sunk, that we can’t even give thr pigs any sort of a game?”
“ I can’t abide by any Wednesday fan who thinks this is tolerable. Will still be embarrassed if we happened to win”
“Agree we are bobaar it’s soul destroying united team is flipping Scottish second division apart from a couple of players the difference is the managers”
“ This is the championship where all teams are of similar quality. Do you think any other team in the league would set up like this, of course they wouldn’t, and even with fletcher bannan reach”
“Over a 3rd of the way into the season. We shouldn’t have to be playing like this.
“Jos doesn’t set teams up to attack for 90 minutes – we already knew this. Missing our main flair players from the off in Matias and FF. Other teams (with more quality than us) have gone to the Lane this season and been taken apart for trying to play attacking football. They aren’t 3rd in the league because they are cack mate, regardless of what you may want to try and make yourself believe. Take it for what it is – a decent point at at a difficult ground and team to play against.”
“its the pigs ffs not Man City edna Stevens mark duffy.ffs we are not playing to our potential “
“Think that performance was about as good as we could have expected. Got away with it tonight if we are honest”
“Great that we kept our first clean sheet but that was a terrible performance. It isn’t just tonight the majority of the season has been negative. Jos needs to go ASAP”
“Over the past twenty years we’ve probably had a season and a half’s worth of playing attractive attacking football. That, and the fact an ultra defensive, often desperate, no score draw against the pigs is seen as a good result truly saddens me.”
“if That’s as much as we can get motivated to play in the game against Our Local derby God help us against any other team we sat back for the full 90 minutes that was the plan. the manager sat in the dugout rocking Fearing for his job.we cannot paper over the cracks with that performance if fellow Owls are satisfy With this You are too easily pleased sack him Dc before its to late”
“ Probably the most excruciating match I’ve watched. “
“We’ve respected United so much tonight that a 1-0 win for them would’ve felt like 4 or 5. We’ve literally waved the white flag tonight and they took pity on us, it was pathetic.”
“It was awful, painful to watch at times, but come on that’s a good result. Credit to the back5 and keeper. Have to try and be positive from here on in. First clean sheet,couple of attacking players back.”
“0-0 away from home against a team flying I is a good RESULT but there was nothing encouraging about the fact we we were completelt dominated, could have played all night and not scored, and couldn’t string 3 passes together in the other half of the pitch. “
“On the face of it 0-0 written on a piece of paper does look like a great result when you consider the form guide. But, it wasn’t a 0-0 where the clean sheet is a building block. It was a 0-0 brought about by pure negativity with zero flow. There’s nothing I’ve seen tonight that we can transfer into the next game. It was a night of complete one offs.”
“Some people may be happy with what they have seen tonight, but i may have watched a different game to the commentators or some fans,but i have NEVER in nearly 40 years of watching Sheffield derby’s seen us so dominated by THEM.”
“We were rubbish. Anyone suggesting otherwise is wearing blue and white tinted specs but…. I’d have taken a draw beforehand and I’ll take it as a result now. Well in young Cam Dawson, clean sheet and excellent peno save.”
“Some fans are happy with a clean sheet and being battered for 90 minutes….. Is this what SWFC has come too? A team performance but please…..celebrating clean sheets is a joke. “
“Keeping them under 4 at our place is year on year improvement. “
Pre-Match View From Wednesday
“No one can expect us to get anything from this game, we can have hope for sure but let’s face it they are a far better team that score goals and we are a poor team that can’t keep a clean sheet. So based on that we need to score 2 before it even starts”
“I fear this could be the biggest derby defeat in our history”
“If Billy Sharp can manage a hat trick against Wigan, imagine how many he’ll get on Friday. I don’t think I’ve ever dreaded a derby this much”
“We are going to get mullered on Friday unfortunately! Wilder has something neither of our last two managers have had an eye for a bargain and real passion” “If the pigs don’t beat us by four or more then it’s a bonus. Anything less than 4 will be like a lottery win. Poor blades they’re in an awkward position lol”
“All the pressure is on United. expected to lose by 3 or 4 goals on friday “
“They’ve never had a better opportunity to give us a good thrashing. It’s why they’ve been flooding onto this site and radio phone-ins over the last couple of weeks. If they don’t win by at 5 clear goals they’ll be bitterly disappointed. It’s a shame for them that November the 9th doesn’t fit as good into a song like Boxing Day does. Now there’s a thought. Maybe we should nick their own shitbutty song off them? The thing is to show them they’re not getting to you before, during and after the match. Showing them you’re not bothered will upset them a lot more than if you give a reaction to their prompt ”
“Expected to lose and nothing to lose, all the pressure is on the pigs”
“Although dont want to lose to United, if its a narrow defeat and a battling performance then fair enough no shame in that. But really, really fear it going to be a humiliation that we will never live down.”
“I just hope it’s not too painful for us”
“Would take a similar game and result to last season, which sadly shows where both clubs are currently at.
Don’t expect to get it though, defence is a shambles no clean sheet all season, midfield easily overrun and an overrated forward line. (We’re great in every other department though!)
Hoping for the best but expecting the worst.”“The only way we will get a result is if they think they have won it before KO”
“That seemed to be the case last year at theirs. Can’t see them taking us as lightly this time and if anything we look worse now than we did going into that game.”
“Perhaps Wilder and that lot will get so amped up that they fall flat… Probably wishful thinking tbh. We are so poor at the moment that I can’t see anything but a very long night…which is bizarre considering how we were 6th literally weeks ago.”
“if united don’t win by at least 5 it’ll be a miracle. We’ll be lucky to get nil and I’d snap your hands off for a 2 nil defeat as it stands. They could turn up in slippers and smoking jackets, brandy in one hand and still beat us. For some reason not one blade I’ve spoken to agrees and they are as nervous as me it seems. Weird bunch, after all, they’ve spent the last season and a bit telling us daily that they’re better than us. Wish they’d make their minds up.”
“We’re so bad that we have to resort to court cases that happened years ago, years in the league below that were over 18months ago and the fact were a bit older than them which so clearly proves our underlying superiority. I bet all this will hit em hard despite walking over us on Friday.Oh and one more point. I’d rather have mcsue and the Poundland Prince running our club properly instead of the million dollar baby we have in charge of ours running it into the depths of oblivion “
“Even the pigs keeper is confident enough to stick his neck out on social media. Hope it comes back to bite him but I can’t see it”
“If we win – treat it like the world cup final and rub it in every pigs face like it’s the only thing that matters.If we lose – act completely indifferent as if it is the most irrelevant thing to happen since the announcement of the royal’s tour of Australia.“
“Win – win for us. They should win handsomely. Anything less would be a dissapointment for them. If we get hammerred then what with the last 4 results Jos would have to go. ?And then ofcourse, we might just bounce back after the Norwich debacle.”
“They don’t seem very confident. Pretty much all of them I have spoken to have said that anything can happen in a Derby. One thing I do agree with them though…. If Utd take an early lead our helps will drop and that could be bad news.”
“Most I speak to prefer being the underdog in this game, and being the favourite doesn’t suit them and might not suit the team either. Putting that aside CW will have them pumped up for it, something which I can’t see Jos doing unfortunately and that might see them through. CW clearly wants to win this, possibly more than any other, evidenced by changing stuff like the walk out music last year. Dreading it, these games are never fun”
“They were particularly impressed with the world cup final celebrations with the draw in January .They have the FEAR, and yet in paper the odds are MASSIVELY in their favour. “
“Imagine if we win by any scoreline. There team of all conquering super men being beaten by our shower of s**t. Derby matches are funny games and anything can happen. Do i think they will win? Yes! but anything can happen. They are Sheffield United not 1970s Ajax. If our team cant turn up for derby day they never will. The pressure is all on them and just like last season at there place it galvanised us and we got a point in difficult circumstances.”
“They’ll fall away like last year – they still don’t have the quality in depth to do it all season, not a chance. Plus they still have an aging donkey couple of centre forwards – it’ll all come crashing down after Nov/Dec again when they’ve been sussed”
“Yes we’ll probably lose. But the mood amongst Wednesdayites on here is reyt embarrassing. Let’s get behind the lads and show some positivity for two days at least. We can go back to moaning on Saturday. But come on, we’re older, bigger and BETTER than them. We’re running scared of Sheffield United ffs.”
“Horrid weather for Fri night. Wind, heavy rain. Makes it a lottery. Will favour their more agricultural style over our sophisticated Holland-1974 football. Say it quickly; keep a straight face”
“If we turn these c**ts over it will be better than the Tudguy double IMO. Those DRAWB bastards are starting to think they’re fucking Barca.”
“us pipping them to promotion when they were however many points clear in 2012 was marvellous. And then for them to lose in the play-offs, outstanding times. They can bang on about beating us 4-2 and the ‘bouncing day massacre’ (so cringe), but that season will go down in Sheffield history.”
“We always seem to win the significant games between us. Boxing day 79, fa cup semi final and in our promotion season in 2012. Whatever happens in this game it doesn’t shape the future of either club although it will not doubt go on their honours board.”
“More worried that after this season Utd will have had 13 from last 19 seasons. Our city dominance of the 80s and 90s and lengthy spells throughout time has been surrendered. Thanks to all the pretenders in charge that have aided in this.”
“The hatred on their forum is embarrassing compared to the stuff posted on owlstalk.”
“Imagine if we win Friday night and Jermaine Jackson & Garrido become Wednesday fans again”
View From Forest
“Tbf a draw wouldnt of been unfair to either side, it was one of those games where 1 goal was going to win it and it did. Neither team really bothered each others keeper. It was a good solid performance, not one youl remember but a great 3 points, we dealt with them well.”
“They are a good side and tbh, the last twenty was pretty comfortable.”
“Solid enough against a huff and puff kind of team..Good result.. Looking at Sheff Utd squad though if that was our squad we’d go down this season… Pretty impressive stuff really.”
“Said it would be a tight victory but we’ve bossed today.”
“The ref missed everything they did. It was almost like it was two different games – non contact for us and wrestling for them. Always makes the win sweeter against scummy teams like them and Cardiff.”
“because they saw Leeds nick a point thanks to some blatant cheating, they thought a point was fair too given their scrotty little weasel John Fleck was diving and feigning contact about five times.Get fucked Blunts. Bye.”
“Billy Sharp is still a wanker. I can’t believe referees still get conned by his falling over. Oh well, he can get on the bus and head home with a big zero points today.”
“Sheff Utd don’t offer one thing today. Not one”
“they didn’t get away with their usual bullying antics today”
“Always good to beat that shower.”
“An old chap sat near me said it shows how poor this league is if Sheffield United are top of it. Based on their performance today I’m inclined to agree.”
“Top of the league? You’re having a laugh.”
“Just read their forum and left totally fucking bewildered. Somehow they think they deservd a draw. They were worse than Wednesday in my opinion.”
“Bit like the Sheff Weds game for me, we defended well, midfield were solid and we played the game we wanted to. Was a harder game than Sheff Weds but that’s because Sheff Utd are a better team.”
“Thought it was a decent game today, good atmosphere and a fantastic 3 points. Sheff Utd weren’t a patch on last season imo… their fans were fairly quiet too. I think they enjoyed our ‘Sheffield Wednesday… they’re bigger than you’ ditty however.”
“Sheffield United are just a smaller version of Wednesday tbh”
“United were awful as were Wednesday against us. Wednesday fans slightly better though”
“Did they even sing a song? Even Wigan sang a song?
“They sang ‘were top of the league’ about ten times before the hour mark and nothing else apart from one scab chant on the half hour. Feel sorry for them in their next game cos they’ve got nothing to sing at all.”
“Sheffield United amongst the worst fans we’ve had at the City Ground this season 100% cheers for the 3 points from all the scabs x”
Pre-Match View From Forest
“Utd somehow lost their last away match at Funtime Frankie’s Comedy Elect. That’s their only loss in the last 8 games. They haven’t failed to score in their last 7 matches. Utd haven’t scored more than 1 goal in a league match at Forest in their last 12 visits.
This league fixture was first played in 1893
Utd are nicknamed The Blades after their founder, safety razor legend King C. Gillette We put out a second string against Burton for a reason. Winning these matches are top of AK’s list. We are due a performance at home, the big crowds deserve one ”“Should be a good game they proper go for it, can see it being a very open game”
“I think everyone is aware this will be a tough one.
Sheff Utd have a style that I think is unmatched in this league. Leeds perhaps try and play a similar way albeit in a different formation.
They play 3-5-2 but their CB’s often overlap and join in with attacks. So you can find yourself hemmed in under a lot of pressure.
Key is when you get the ball, you get it in behind quickly. When they have the ball, the DM’s need to be very efficient at blocking and picking pockets.
They do concede goals however, and if we can be resilient, we can do them. They are not unbeatable. It’s just vital that when they have their spells, we stay strong because we can punish them.”“Can only see a blades win.”
“We’re gonna get another lesson in how not to play winning football.”
“Sheff Utd are in really good form at the moment and I feel that they will have too much for us”
“A point would still be a good return.”
“I never fancy us to beat these and looking at the last 11 encounters is there any wonder.
Still not sure how we beat them at home last season.
If we play well, retain some possession and don’t sit back, we could easily win. Can’t see it though.”“Pressure will be on on Saturday, love to see a positive attacking game of football from Forest but sadly i fear most of the pressing and attacking will probably come from Sheffield. Hope I’m wrong”
“Really can’t see us beating shef u. They will tear us a new one I’m afraid”
“I expect us to be punished by the blunts if we carry on losing possession so easily.
Think we need to go back to basics as we’re struggling to string more than a couple of passes together.”“Sheff Utd have a lot of mobility in their team.”
“Pantilimons confidence looks very low and with the blades 12th man (the WFCG crowd) on his back it does not bode well. A couple of clearances straight to touch or to an opposition player and they will be on him like a shot.”
“Can’t wait to play long ball, constantly foul them, get at least 3 yellows, and time waste for 60 minutes. Fuck off karanka, your football is shite”
“Interesting to see how Karanka deals with their back 3. It normally causes teams no end of problems. Also, Norwood’s possibly been the stand out midfielder in the league so far this season, he’ll run the game if we let him.”
“Gonna get smashed coz he will set up to stop them like against leeds even tho were home team.”
“Already on the back foot after Burton. They’ll dread playing at the CG again.”
“If we don’t take 3 points from this, what was the point of playing a shit XI on Tuesday?”
“People asking for Karanka to be sacked because we’ve lost a cup game. You ‘ll all be licking his arse again when we beat Sheffield united”
“if we beat those scumbags from Sheffield on Saturday then Burton will soon be forgotten as disappointing as it is”
“Play our first eleven and we’ll win, but we’re at home so the negative crowd will transpire to a loss, so that probably means a draw, which will mean we’re about 10th, which is promotion this season but last season was relegation.”
“A big performance here could really push us on tho. This may be the moment when we go from being Champ chancers to real Prem contenders. Sheff U are doing great, but they have only drawn 2 all season and are perfectly beatable.”
“Piece of p*** this one. Easier than you might think. They aren’t scared of us so will come to play, which will allow us to play as well.
Forest to bring Sheffield’s run to a dramatic and sudden halt with a convincing 2-0 victory that has us all purring and wondering what all the fuss was about.”“Got to be beating teams like this at home”
“”Teams like this”? They’re top of the league!”
“They’re crap, they have Billy Sharp up front FFS”
“I see Billy Sharp has been chelping about how confident they are going into this game.
Hope we fucking smash them.
A bit of a grudge match for me this is, I really want to see 100% from the players. Any bollocks on Saturday and it won’t just be Barry throwing rotten tomatoes.”“Sheff Utd fans wanted rid of Sharp at the start of the season.
Reality is, we’re all fucking idiots aren’t we”“I liked him when he was here.gave his all in a difficult time in his life.. “
“This year round I’d like to see some more intelligent “scab” jibes from their fans
Like, oh I dunno – “Forest pay their players by SCAB Transfer””“Smash the piggy bastards, do it for Desmond Sinclair Walker!”
Loan Updates
Fleetwood Town Fans Views On Ched Evans
“6 league goals now for Ched Evans. Impressive start to life in a Cod Army shirt “
“He has already been great for FTFC, we miss him when he is not playing. Ched and Paddy playing well together”
“Hope they look at the option to buy him”
“Gave us a bit more direction when he came on, could it have been a different story had he started?”
“No goal but that does not mean he did not play a vital role in this win. A key figure in our attacking play.”
Oxford Fans Views On Ricky Holmes
“Ricky Holmes has been our most lethal attacking outlet and having his injury managed game by game.”
“Undoubtedly a talented player, now approaching the latter part of his career. Requires regular times out, injections and is quit obviously getting very frustrated with what is going on around him.”
“Holmes might stay due to his seemingly undying man crush on Robinson. But I can’t see him lasting beyond a couple more defeats”
“Holmes is injury prone or an injury waiting to happen”
“Holmes has to have back injections and periodic ‘rests’”
“The chances of getting Ricky Holmes to sign a permanent deal with us are getting thinner by the week.”
“nothing to say apart from superb”
“another great performance”
“Holmes excellent today.”
“For me, Holmes is just superb to watch. Work rate. Skill. Shithousery. I really hope that we somehow manage to keep him till the end of the season”
Oxford Fans Views On Samir Carruthers
“I was really disappointed with what I saw from Carruthers, I know he’s probably rusty and needs time but I expected more from him”
“Carruthers was indeed dreadful”
“Carruthers was dreadful. Those little chips he tried to play into the box for Mackie were awful”
“Carruthers not fit and that allowed them to win the midfield battle”
“Carruthers terribly off the pace and got targeted”
“Carruthers is an injury waiting to happen.”
“we have other players in that role and he’s only on loan, so not much use to us longer term.”
“Gave the ball away time and time again but i think he will get up to speed and find some form soon enough.”
“admittedly it was only very brief, but he looked our only useful player in the 15 minutes he played v Barnsley before the injury “
Barrow Fans Views On Tyler Smith
“Smith was a constant threat”
“Smitthys run and through ball was fantastic”
“An excellent goal by Smith”
“I really hope we can keep Smith”
“Tyler Smith was magnificent – kicked to bits”
“only Tyler Smith can hold his head up”
Barrow Fans Views On Rhys Norrington Davies
“Plays with a maturity beyond his years and settled into the squad very quickly. Have been really impressed with what I’ve seen so far and clearly he has a future above VN level. Very early to tell, but if he continues to progress I would not rule out seeing him in the Sheff Utd first team squad by the end of next season. Hope he stays injury free. Shows how these longer term development loans can work for both sides if they get it right.
Very happy we have him for the rest of the season.”“Keep forgetting he’s only 19 and Barrow is his first shot at first team football. Plays like he has a lot more experience”
“Bonus for us that he is staying for the season”
“Nice to see him called up for Wales U21’s”
“Great signing!”
“Brilliant”
Queen Of The South Fans Views On Callum Semple
“only Dobbie, Doyle and Semple got pass marks from me.”
“I thought Callum Semple was super. Really impressive for a 20 year old central defender and had the better of the bigger, stronger and more experienced Jordan White” “Very surprised to see Semple dropped to the bench”
“Very disappointed that Semple was rested yesterday. Pity Martin has not performed to any decent level so far this season to prevent the young lad from being rested.”
“very disappointed Semple was rested again”
“I was surprised he was dropped”
“Sure he will feature again soon.”
Notts County Fans Views On Nathan Thomas
“We have got to remember he is a loan player and there is no rumour of an option to buy. So with that in mind do we really want to develop players for others gain when we have talent on the bench and under contract. But having said that I do believe Thomas is a brilliant footballer and will succeed at this level.”
“i would have him starting personally”
“I think right now it’s right that he’s a rotational player. He does well starting but he’s not very consistent”
“I would describe him as a good squad player, he might not be consistent enough to be a starting regular but hes still a very important squad addition. He can start or can impact at as a sub, either way he does try and works hard. I think he might be more of a player to bring on off the bench, he seems more motivated and it gets the best out of him. But there has been times he’s done well having started”
“He’s doing a cracking job as a sub you can he wants the ball etc when he comes on .. hopefully he will get another start and continue to impress ..”
“I think he’s usually better coming on from off the bench, he seems more “got to give recognition to Thomas. What a fantastic free kick.”
“So the on loan winger from Sheffield’s starts may have been reduced but I’ve got to say he’s turned to Notts impact substitute..! Since the arrival of Harry, Notts have changed the first team players etc. But one player who hasn’t started many games but has become our impact player Nathan Thomas about the 60th minute up he comes on and for me makes an impact. Whether be winning the ball or setting up a set pieces or being the assist with a goal or chasing dead balls he just gets on with it and doesn what an impact substitute should do.”
”fired up and can go missing quite easily when he starts. I don’t know, it’s not down to a lack of effort but more that he doesn’t get enough of the ball to lift himself. When he comes on as a sub he usually does get the ball as the other players are tiring”
“He looks to be a squad player more than anything”
Tranmere Rovers Fans Views On Harvey Gilmour
“On his 45 minutes last night he can stay – turned the game on it’s head from lacking belief to tearing into them! They didn’t know what the hell had happened!”
“Very much a game of two halves, with Gilmour proving to be the catalyst for success for Rovers!” “
Great cameo”
“Inject Harvey Gilmour into my veins”
“Get him extended till end of season”
“Gilmour MOTM. Looks a proper baller”
“Harvey Gilmour, what a performance”
“huge performance” “Sheff Utd can get fucked if they want him back”
“It’s the Harvey Gilmour show… again!”
“He’s on fire”
“Goalmour”
“What a month he has had”
Carlisle United Fans Views On Regan Slater
“He doesn’t effect the game enough and is too neat and tidy, good player to use to keep things ticking over but no use when behind at home.”
“Tidy enough in front of the back four, but doesn’t seem like he’ll offer anything but that.”
“Struggles physically but wants the ball”
“A pointless pair of legs in central midfield, did nothing and certainly didn’t improve us.”
“Thought he was excellent on Tuesday”
“Regan Slater will be a class player”
“He’s playing so well”
“there is potentially a very good player in Slater.”
“special mention to Slater in the middle as well, who I thought had a magnificent game.”
“some tidy play”
“worked really hard, and had a bit of steel about him, quick feet, is good in a tight spot”
Oldham Fans Views On Sam Graham
“Looked useless when he came on.”
“just don’t rate the guy so far, I feel Hamer is better. I’m all for loan players, but i’d rather see us develop our own players”
“I’ve not been impressed withgraham one bit since he’s come in, I’d bin him and bring in a player with a bit more experience.”
“Graham over Hamer is a completely baffling one. It’s almost like, if we don’t use Graham in a certain amount of games, then we have to pay Sheffield United more money…”
“He’s a centre back who’s hardly been played as a centre back.”
“If Sheridan knows better he’d of dragged Graham off after ten minutes and at worst halftime when he was quite clearly struggling to play in the position he’d been asked, yet again we are stuck with a shite defender making his mistakes at the teams expense”
“he’s a kid and had a bad one today”
“Indecisive, slow and clumsy… send him back. Hamer is a far better player.”
“should never play again, he’s had chance after chance and is frankly shite, makes some dreadful errors and the concentration level is piss poor.”
View From Wigan
“Didn’t expect anything from today’s fixture so no surprises here!”
“Didn’t really expect anything given Sheff U are one of best sides in league – but it’s a major concern how inept we are at defending away from home.”
“Sheffield looked just a bit better than us today”
“Sheff U finishing int top 4 for me”
“Sheff Utd are a good side so no disgrace to lose to them.”
“Always going to be a difficult game today but we didn’t test them much.”
“Did ok in spells but defensively we a shambles.When we did get forward it quickly fizzled out.”
“First 20 and last 20 we were very good, in between awful!!”
“another poor performance”
“First half was the best we’ve played away since Stoke second half. Apart from the shambolic defending for both goals.”
“Second half we were the better side. Nothing in it first half. They just took all their chances”
“Think it’s a more encouraging performance against the arguably the best team in the league.”
“Without three of our front four and one of our regular defensive midfielders out we didn’t fair to badly. Just a shame we have not got the strength in depth.
It’s going to be a long season.”“Considering we were playing against the best team I the league away from home with about half the squad missing, it could have been a lot worse.”
“Thought performance was as good as could be expected …but ousting Powell again 70 mins and always going to leave us with a creative hole.Sharp is a good striker at this level and always been a workhorse so credit to him..They top of league…..but we’re they far superior to us ?..Not for me …just have quality going forward.”
“I felt we were actually ok today performance wise, i felt the scoreline flattered Sheffield but you can see why the are towards the top of the league – one of the best sides we’ve played.Biggest difference was Billy Sharpe was alive to everything and absolutely clinical when he got half a chance. While too often our final ball was poor and when chances did come we couldn’t convert.”
“Dan Burn and Dunkley got totally battered”
“Burn was always going to struggle against sharp and so it turned out”
“Problem there is if we had rested Dunkley then we would have had an untried centre partnership playing against one of the best forwards in the league in Sharp”
“Burn was disgraceful.”
“Sheff U fouled Powell on every high ball but ref let it go.”