Sheff U report

[MadAmster]

When Nuge came on he made a 2 fingered signal. I hoped that indicated a move to 1-4-4-2. It seemed to be that way too but it was way too late and made little to no effect.

The ref was poor and his 2 honchos were no better. 2 first half offside decisions were bad from the one lino. The 2nd half "back pass" foul that wasn't was another. The goalmouth melee following our equaliser was also was another. Not so much in that Keogh was wrongly booked cos he wasn't, more in that their keeper and one defender whose name escaped me at the time should also have gone in the book. I could go on but you get the gist.

Over the 90 minutes they could have scored even more than three and THAT is the worrying aspect.

I won't go into naming names but at least half the side were guilty of way too many terrible attempted passes. Early doors I said to my lad that the defence was set up wrongly. Both full backs got tied up like a kipper and it wasn't there fault. SU would attack down a flank and, once they had tracked back outside, whichever full back it was, was faced with 2 opponents and the nearest assistance was either 15 yards in or 25 yards forward of where the action was. That made it oh so simple to isolate the full back and get a cross in to the diminutive Sharp who put one away off his chest and could have had 3 or 4 more. 2nd half they appeared to target one of our centre halves and lumped the ball in his general direction...... the tactic worked and we were in trouble way too often. We outsmarted them at PP. They returned the favour yesterday. Stopping Derby players jumping was one tactic they used. The ref should have put a stop to it early doors but failed. I sincerely hope we have learned from this or we are in for more heartache against Norwich and Boro and I dread what will happen at Bellend Road early January 2019.

Lots of decent moves all broke down. Poor last ball, not given fouls etc etc etc. All the things that worked so well in October simply failed. I commented months ago that we had brought in a lot of skilful midgets (or words to that effect). It is my considered opinion that I was right. The front 5 is way too lightweight, especially in this League. Changes in tactics are needed, drastically and we need to add weight and strength. We can't rely on the odd Wilson/Mount free kick. From even possession, they had almost twice as many shots (16-9) as us and had twice as many (6-3) on target.

IMO, we have been found out, again. Slightly earlier than normal this season. Frank, time to dig in to Plans B, C, D etc

Carson 6 Adequate but his distribution has slipped up
Bogle 5 Way too many wayward passes for a start and he was turned over all afternoon defensively. I was close to a 4 for him but much of his embarrasment was caused by him being constantly double teamed by SU
Keogh 5 How often did he give the ball away? Some good foraging runs but frequently the wrong side of his man. Hopefully he was the right side of his zone or we really would be in trouble
Tomori 5 See Keogh above. Targeted 2nd half by SU with high and long balls and it was a good tactic.
Wisdom 6 In on the wrong side due to Malone's injury. As with Bogle, often double teamed but provided more going forward and less poor passes
Bryson 6 Adequate. No more than that. Hufed and puffed without really affecting play that much
Huddlestone 5 A bad display by his standards. More wayward balls today than in the rest of the season combined.
Mount 6 First half a 7 display but 2nd half looked lost. As lost as his teammates
Jozefzoon 3 and he is lucky to get that many. He was obviously on the team sheet but did he make it to the pitch? I can't remember seeing much of him at all. Typical of his day was a 2nd half challenge in which he was knocked over, legitimateley too, and he just sat there, arms pleading to the heavens. Get on with the game lad.
Marriott 6 Ran his little socks off but was isolated much of the game. What might have been ahd he not been wrongly called offside twice in the first half? He knew he had been called back, at least one (the first) of them and possibly both would have ended up in the back of the net had he been allowed to play on.
Wilson 6 Great little free kick but he needs to show more, in both directions. Can't complain about his yellow and he should have had a 2nd, 2nd half..... lucky to be on the park at the end.

[mistaram]

MA good summing up where do we victim here When in trouble always make yourself hard to beat and hope something drops for you Carry on playing the way we are and we will drop down the league Lets face it SU didn't have to do much for their goals I would use two holding midfielders probably Evans and Ledley/ Johnson may not look pretty but we carry on with a midfield from Mount Hudds Wilson Bryson throw Lawrence in the mix not a ball winner among them Little wonder we always look like conceding

[MadAmster]

A change of tactics would be welcome. 3 at the back, 2 DMs, 3 AMs and 2 up top? MF 4 and 2 up top? Anything to confuse the oppo who seem to think they have worked us out.