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Reply | Your thoughts on a fabulous game
at 23:50 5 Mar 2017
Totally agree about the moron who set off the fireworks in the stand. There's a thread on the S24SU messageboard about this. Some poor kid with autism was nearby when that went off and it really disturbed him. These folk should be banned for life imo.
I saw one "unsavoury" incident after the game. Going back to my car, we were crossing the road that leads to Ings Road where the away coaches were parked. Usual thing, loads of fans crossing the roads at the lights, when this dickhead in a little black hatchback comes tearing through the lights at speed, almost running people over. This Blades fan lashed out with his foot at the car and kicked his wing mirror off! The car braked and a guy jumped out the back, but decided not to pursue his complaint. Very wise!
We can't legislate for some morons unfortunately. But hopefully the memories are of a good game of football. |
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Reply | Your thoughts on a fabulous game
at 07:25 5 Mar 2017
Blades fan here: Thought I should come on and offer my two-penneth seeing as you "accepted me into your fold" on here a few days ago.
Well, that was one hell of an entertaining game of football with some great goals in it. We were strangely below our best today but that's not to take anything away from Rochdale, who, to be honest, I thought slightly edged it if anything, overall. However, I don't think anyone can complain too much about the draw. As I said at the end, "probably a fair result".
Our game is normally a fast passing game on the deck. Quick one two's and little chips forward into space. We started this game hoofing it long for Hanson to wrestle with defenders. Seemed odd. We've got 3 midfielders who usually are like clockwork in the middle of the park. Coutts, Fleck and Duffy. Yesterday Coutts and Fleck just weren't at the races. Fleck in particular has been outstanding for the last few games but I'd have took him off yesterday - he was totally non-descript. I thought Duffy played well for us and caused you a lot of problems down the flank - and I thought Basham did really well for us too. But, for the most part, I thought Rochdale were quicker to the ball and moved it around very well indeed.
The first two goals we scored were sublime. Whatever your defender was thinking of passing it back to his keeper from inside the box like that - he must have had a rush of blood to the head. You don't want to give Duffy a chance to shoot at goal from there as you found out when he buried it in the net. The second goal was even better though. First time with his left peg from ...how far out? I've read 25 yards but I'd add another 10 yards to that based on what I remember (not seen the video yet). The guy who scored it, Lafferty, is not known for such endeavour! So it was amazing in more ways than one.
And all of a sudden we find ourselves 2 goals up against the run of play!
I think Mendez-Laing had a storming game on the flank. As you may know, we tend to play Jack O'Connell on the left in a back three. I think Jack's a great player, but he's a centre half by trade and I reckon he must have gone off with dizziness at half-time because Mendez-Laing tore him a new one, time and time again.
Steve Davies looks well off the pace fitness-wise to me, but he put himself about very well and was a handful - and of course he got on the end of that cross to chest the ball home to reduce the arrears.
As for McGahey, I didn't realise it was him bombing down the flank and putting the balls across. He never did that for us - mind you - we did have that idiot Nigel Adkins managing us then so that's no surprise.
You had another midfielder that took the eye and had a really good game - can't remember now whether it was 24 or 27 on the shirt (probably couldn't read it!). But he was buzzing around all over the place and very difficult to get the ball off.
I must admit, I thought when Sharp hit that deflected shot to put us 3-2 up that we may just hang on to take all 3 points. But, we didn't deserve to. I thought we looked vulnerable every time you crossed the ball into our box. Moore made a very good save at the foot of the post to keep out what looked like a definite equaliser and moments later we were wide open again when Mendez-Laing got into the box, made a lovely dummy to his left and slotted the ball home. That was a great goal too.
I think our boss described it as us having "a collective off-day". Which by our recent high standards it was. But I always think it sounds bad saying that, even though it is true, if you don't give the other team credit for what they contributed towards us having a collective off-day. And I thought Rochdale contributed a lot actually.
Obviously you don't play like that every week or you'd be higher up the league table. And obviously we don't play like that every week or we wouldn't be top of it!
A good afternoon's entertainment to be had then. Some great goals, some cracking end to end football and hopefully no unsavoury incidents to mention? [Post edited 5 Mar 2017 7:27]
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Reply | Sheff United now all ticket
at 09:06 3 Mar 2017
Well, miracles do happen! I've managed to get myself a ticket for this game, despite our allocation being totally sold out. I put my name on the waiting list and got lucky! It shouldn't have been necessary as I've got trillions of loyalty points but I nearly missed out. I just hope the game is on now.
I didn't realise that you've got one of our ex players, Steve Davies, in your squad? I liked him tbh. Cloughy brought him in and I thought he was a class player and would have liked us to have signed him - although he has always been a bit injury prone. I'm sure he'll be a threat to us if he plays.
In fact, you've got a couple of other ex-Blades players, Mendez-Laing and McGahey. Mendez-Laing played for us on loan under Danny Wilson. He was rather hit and miss. Good pace and a threat at times but a bit woeful at other times. We bought McGahey from Blackpool and understood from them that he was one of their best prospects. To be fair, he wasn't terribly convincing for us although it's true to say he didn't have a lot of opportunities. Big lad, good in the air but, I don't know, he seem to get caught out at times, but there's plenty of years ahead of him to improve and I think he will benefit from more regular first team football.
I thought Andrew and Henderson were good players for you when you came to the lane earlier on this season. You gave us a hard game back then - but it was also quite a scrappy game and a draw was probably a fair result. We've moved up several gears since then - it was an unconvincing start to the season for us to say the least - but we've played consistently well ever since. So, I think this one will be a lot tougher for you than when we last met.
Having said that, anything can happen over 90 minutes and you're obviously one of the better teams in this division. You might just slip into the play-offs with a few good results over the coming weeks.
Anyhow - enjoy the game! Good luck for the rest of the season, not including tomorrow, and appreciate the friendly banter on here. |
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Reply | Sheff United now all ticket
at 05:46 2 Mar 2017
Full of shite? Maybe I overdid the rhetoric a bit, but the basic thing I was saying there is very true of Sheffield and Sheffielders - and especially of Sheff United fans expectations from players.
I don't know if you've ever been to Sheffield, but if you do happen to venture into the city centre (a pointless exercise unless you happen to be visiting SUFC or possibly the oldest most decrepit John Lewis store in the country) then you may be struck by one thing (and I don't mean a Blade's fan with a dagger in his hand). There is a noticeable lack of commercial investment in the city. Unlike Manchester, or Leeds, there are no top end stores, such as Harvey Nicholls or Selfridges, there isn't a single 5 star hotel, there are few if any, big multi-national companies and there is no airport. The city centre is mostly boarded up or under demolition right now. Some of us are hoping that we might get a city centre that rivals what Manchester or Leeds can offer - but frankly it's not going to happen.
And why?
Because we don't like "owt fancy". That's why. We've had a few good high end restaurants open over the years and they've all gone bust. I was speaking with the owner of one of them a while ago. He'd got the same restaurant in 3 other cities, same style, same food. He was doing really well elsewhere, but the Sheffield one was disaster - because folks won't pay the prices here. It's more of a "make do and mend" society. Which actually, goes back to the engineering roots of the city.
The stuff about working in the Steelworks is pretty accurate actually. Maybe I exaggerated a bit on the temperatures that they used to work in - but there are generations of people here who could testify to the hard manual work and dangerous conditions. And you only need to drive down the East End of Sheffield, where all the steelworks used to be, to see that there was indeed a pub on every street corner at one time - and yes, these did use to open at 6am for when the night shift left work.
Dave Bassett, one of our most successful managers of recent years, said a few months ago when Wilder was made manager, more or less, the same thing as I said on here about what Sheffield folk demand and expect. And it's graft. That's a value that is held in very high regard here.
That team we had last season, under Adkins, was appalling. And he is the worst manager I've ever known in almost 50 years of watching the Blades. He filled the team with some right "end of career" crap, on big wages. They couldn't give a flying ferk about putting the effort in and he was as clueless as clueless can be. He couldn't decide on his best 11 all season - and he did weird stuff like playing Matty Done at left back when he'd been doing well for us a striker!
But Adkins committed one other MAJOR sin by Sheffield folks standards. He spoke absolute BULLSHIT every time he opened his mouth. It was one continuous barrage of management speak, jargon, cliche's, platitudes and over-hyped bullshit - thick and pure as it comes.
So, I'm sorry mate, no offence taken, but I just had to try and clear my name here when your post suggested that I was slipping into Adkins mode!
Enjoy the game! [Post edited 2 Mar 2017 5:48]
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Thread | Matty Done - your opinion?
at 22:04 28 Feb 2017
I'm expecting nothing but glowing praise for him, because he had done so well for you, before my club, Sheff Utd, signed him a few years ago (2 years ago? I can't remember, it's all a blur).
I looked back at his career when we signed him. Sure - he was on a purple patch with you at the time, having scored 14 goals already or summat that season? But the most he'd ever scored in his entire career, in one season, before that was....6.
He was great in his first season for us. (His first "half-season" that was). Some of the goals he scored were just sublime. But since then he's been poor tbh - very poor.
Us Blades appreciate effort and graft. It's where we are from. Blokes sweating blood in the steel mills of Sheffield. Working all night long and risking life-threatening injuries, pouring white hot metal. Working in temperatures of 40c plus all night. For hours on end. Then, knocking off at 6am in the morning and going to the nearest pub (of which there were plenty) and slaking a raging thirst with several pints before going back home to bed for the rest of the day - then starting over again at 10pm.
We love EFFORT.
We put it ahead of SKILL.
Which is just as well.
And Matty gives effort - no doubt. He's been likened to a dog chasing a crisp packet in a windy car park. He will run after every single thing. Pointlessly mostly. But he cannot anticipate being in the right place at the right time.
His career record is testament to that.
I think he's finished at Sheff Utd. Not even good enough for the 3rd division.
So would you want him back? |
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Reply | Sheff United now all ticket
at 12:55 28 Feb 2017
I can't be certain, but I bet I was at that game. I remember one game in Lancashire, and it was either Oldham or Rochdale, in the 1980's when some of our fans went crackers about some dodgy refereeing decisions, as they saw it, and started causing trouble. Disgraceful tbh. But all clubs have them and being a club with a big fan base we've got our fair share of them I suppose. No more so than any other similar sized club but even one is too many.
We're not all of that ilk though. In fact, it's a tiny minority, but I can understand why people are quick to generalise. I hope you didn't experience any bother when you came to the Lane?
TBH - my view on Rochdale fans is that they are a decent set of folk. I used to live in Blackburn some years ago and worked all around Lancashire. Never had any issues with any Lancashire folks and always found them very welcoming, self-effacing and friendly. When we played you at yours a few seasons ago and we won by some margin (can't remember the score now, but I think we scored 4 or 5 - we had a good team then with Kevin McDonald, Lee Williamson, Ched Evans) your fans were superb in that standing area behind the goal. I can't remember the chant now but it was something very humorous, taking the mick out of themselves. All the Blades fans around me were laughing and applauding - it was a great moment.
It's how football should be imo. Why the hell we can't all be on the same terrace and enjoy a bit of banter with each other I don't know. I think it all started to go wrong in the 70's tbh. It's not nearly so bad these days, but you can't legislate for some of the morons who go to the game.
One of our fans got attacked after the match v Bolton last saturday. Some middle aged bloke with his young son got attacked by a Bolton fan with a bottle. Left him lying in a pool of blood on the pavement, not far from the ground, with his poor son looking on. Thankfully, the scrote was caught and arrested, so I'm led to believe. I'm sure he's not representative of the Bolton fans any more than some of our scrotes are representative of the majority of us.
Anyhow - enjoy the game. I think we'll see a good game of football. United are playing some lovely stuff this season - best I've seen in years tbh. Quick, passing, attacking football. I think even the opposition fans are appreciating that (apart from them Bolton mardy bums! who've done nothing but complain about the beating we gave them last saturday!) |
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Reply | Sheff United now all ticket
at 07:22 28 Feb 2017
"Yorkshire type" here - in peace. Actually, I'm from Derbyshire. But I'm a Blades supporter and even though I've got trillions of loyalty points I missed out on getting myself a ticket for the Rochdale game on saturday. I just left it too late. My own stupid fault.
I went online and bought a ticket from the Rochdale site. I was planning to sit in the home end on Wilbutts Lane - but about an hour after the transaction had gone through, the Spotlands Internet Security Division were on my case. They'd noticed my Sheffield address and phoned me up to say they were blocking the ticket. They refunded my card with the price of the ticket, but not the admin fee. So, I lost a quid. Not that I'm so bothered about that - but I would have liked to have gone to the game.
Just for the record...I'm a 60 year old bloke. I was going to the game on my own. I'm not interested in boozing and feighting. I just wanted to watch my team, that's all. I don't wear scarves and badges and shell-suits. I don't stand up and scream abuse at players or go crackers when we score. I just wanted to sit and enjoy watching one of the best Sheffield United teams I've seen for many a few years actually. And by all accounts, a good Rochdale team too, who I hope might sneak themselves into a play off spot.
Anyhow - it seems like it's not to be. Which is a shame. I'd have been willing to pay a bit more than face value for a ticket. But I guess I'll get dragged around the shops by my wife now instead. |
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