Originally Posted by
Deadbat_DB
Donaldson 7/10 – Thought he looked quite lively a times and was by far the better of the two. Had out best chance and effort with the header and also ran the channels well and induced Loovens into two yellow cards. He has been decent recently and still has some pace over short distances. I am not sure him and Clarke always works as a pair though and can see why Wilson has been brought in to add extra options up top with a smaller player who can link more and maybe be more of a box player.
Clarke 4/10 – Thought he was really poor last night. Looked like the Clarke we saw to start last season and the one I remember from the various other clubs he has played for. Looked a bit disinterested which is odd. You know with him what kind of game he is going to have and when he failed to hold the ball up twice early on and kind of ambled about (his work rate has been tremendous) you sensed it might be an ‘Old Clarke’ night. He did not really have any chances other than the header he badly missed and did not link that well with Donaldson. As Wilder said as a pair they were a long way off from standards at Derby. He was not hooked off but you can see why as leading scorer in the division and always still a threat.
Subs:
Wilson – Thought he was quiet when he came on and not sure I would have gone for him over Sharp. He would have been desperate to make an impact as a Blade. Wilson had one low shot and tried to link a few times. Bit taller than I thought and looked quite sprightly. Be good to see more of him.
Manager: Wilder 6/10 – The team were pumped up and started the game well and moved it about but did not create too much. I felt their shape matching us up meant we struggled to find gaps and that we did not change it too much. As with Bolton we kept doing the same things with the same lack of output at the end. I am not sure he should have changed the formation but I would have looked at a few more subs and I also would have looked at maybe changing how we played more. Even going a bit more direct or simply just knocking a few more balls behind the centre backs and getting them turned. Everything was in front of them and made it easy. As the game carried on we never really looked like opening them up too many times.
Officials – David Coote. Reffed us v Bristol City and had sent Fleck off deservedly. The overall game he was fine really. He tried to let things flow and only stopped in when he had to. The yellow cards were all deserved and Wednesday did make a few cynical fouls. The red card was an odd one. I felt that the first definitely was but that the second was a bit harsh. It was more clumsy than anything else and I think if a United player had got a second yellow for that I would have been disappointed but the referee under current rules may have got marked down for it so I can see why he gave it in a way.
The main other controversy was the Wallace one. An awful tackle just like the Fleck one he was sent off for. Before this he had fouled a man in the first half, then moaned at the ref and kicked it away and did not get a yellow. He then committed two more fouls even before the over the top challenge. He should have been sent off even before the bad tackle he did near the end – then he tried to con the ref into a foul by diving. I counted 5 yellow cards for him and 1 red card!
My biggest gripe other than the miss of the Wallace red card; was them unwilling to see players stealing yards on throws and free kicks. It may seem a minor thing but a few times full backs were getting 10-15 yards extra on throw.
Crowd – Nice to see the Lane full. Started off really loud and loved the Ian Brown song ‘F.E.A.R.’ as the teams came out (not that big a fan of the Kasabian one) and this ramped up the tension but some have said it maybe went on a bit too long and a bit too loud – leave it to the natural crowd reaction – apparently was Wilder’s choice though!
The noise was good as the players huddled and the GCB song was as loud as it has been for a long, long time. We began well and the crowd were behind them but then the game became scrappy and crowd became a bit frustrated. After this there were pockets of noise but it was not the sort of game were either side’s fans were vocal throughout and went in phases. Wednesday’s fans got behind the team and appreciated the efforts and at the end celebrated it like a win with many fans replicating the players pumping their fists as the players threw their shirts into the crowd. It seemed a bit over the top when nearly every single one of the Wednesday players earn more than their counterparts at the Lane regardless of their place in the pecking order in terms of team selection.
Did not see too much trouble. It was busy near the Nelson with a few flares being lit and masses of fans but most of town was of course Blades fans. When I got to the Lane walked down Bramall Lane and was told we could not get that way by a line of police – they simply allowed us then to walk round them and down Bramall Lane anyway. It was all a bit odd. I know they sealed it off after the game. Just after we did walk off we heard a lot of shouting and then heard some bangs (fireworks/flares) and it seemed there had been some clashes but apparently not anything that significant. Disappointing to see that idiot chuck a bottle on the pitch when their lad trooped off after being red carded.
We have some more big games at home in Leeds and Villa and hope we can see some more positive results and more excitement than we saw last night as for all the anticipation and build up it did not match the game in September (regardless of the result and even if either side had nicked it- was still a poorish game).
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