Blades v Swindon

[mjw47]

I fully expected united to win this as Swindon went into the game in relatively poor form. The play off hoodoo continyooos:hihi:

 

Swindon's reserves went into the game in poor form.

 

They took the decision to rest a number of key players in the last few games.

 

Fair play to them, that decision could have gone either way, they could have lost their edge, rather than have been rested and up for it.

 

They got it right on tonight's performance, C'est la vie.

 

---------- Post added 07-05-2015 at 22:58 ----------

 

Both went into the game in poor form and I would anticipate that whoever gets through will lose the final.

 

I do however think that United will shade the 2nd leg and go through!

 

I would like a pint of what that man has been drinking!

[top4718]

Swindon's reserves went into the game in poor form.

 

They took the decision to rest a number of key players in the last few games.

 

Fair play to them, that decision could have gone either way, they could have lost their edge, rather than have been rested and up for it.

 

They got it right on tonight's performance, C'est la vie.

 

---------- Post added 07-05-2015 at 22:58 ----------

 

 

I would like a pint of what that man has been drinking!

 

Wasn't clough also stating that the reason he had tinkered with the team so much was so certain players were rested for the play offs???

 

Where have all the "In clough we trust" things gone??

[mjw47]

Wasn't clough also stating that the reason he had tinkered with the team so much was so certain players were rested for the play offs???

 

Where have all the "In clough we trust" things gone??

 

Well first of all I think you'll find I was not in the 'In Clough we trust' brigade.

 

Whilst I don't dislike the man I am neither against him, nor am I his most fervent supporter.

 

He said that one player who has been great for us and then started to struggle- Murphy - has been rested.

 

Other players have been injured, Done has a problem with his calf muscles, Kennedy's knees are cartilage free and appear to have ended his career.

 

Basham has an ongoing knee problem, and Flynn is struggling, whilst it is obvious that Scougall is probably finished for the season.

 

That's the way the cookie crumbles and we are used to it.

[CorkerSWFC]

Awful tactics, by the look of things clough doesn't know how to play any different, shocking result.

Swindon are 1/6 to qualify for the final...

[ukdobby]

Watched the 1st half and have to admit after 15 mins thought there was only one team going to win it,after the goal Swindon took over and should have scored the pen though S2 should have had one too,wasn't suprised Swindon won in the end,the little right winger caused you big problems.

Maybe they should have kept the team who played Chessie and not brought the 5 regulars back.

Still don't think its over they are capable of going to Swindon and winning by 2 goals.

[Runningman]

Who is this Owl.66, what kind of life does he lead ??

[ekke_287]

Abit negative aren't you, they could of had 3 if they'd of scored the pen. 1 goal advantage isn't much, you could go to theirs and get a 2 nil win, it certainly not over yet

 

I have a good reason to be negative, and have seen this coming since we decided the play-offs were the only achievable option.

 

I don't understand the thoughts of reasoning such as "We SHOULD have scored" / "We COULD win" / "IF this happened we would've won"/ "We were UNLUCKY".

 

The only thing that matters is the result, plain and simple.

 

The first 20 minutes of the game we played them off the field, they struggled to get any passing going and we were all over them. Then we scored and decided to sit on it until the 80th minute as usual.

 

NC seems to approach his games with 2 rules:

 

1) Attack and score a goal

2) Once 1) has been achieved, defend and pray.

 

With an added 3rd secret rule:

 

3) If we concede a goal, aim for 1) and 2)

 

Boring, negative football that everyone can see, bar the people who make the decisions.

 

I can predict the next leg for you now, Swindon will be up by a couple of goals at half time then will have everyone behind the ball.

 

Play-offs over, again.

 

My final note on the matter - Sheffield United can only realistically achieve promotion via automatics. Aiming for the play-offs is like aiming for mid-table. We all know it.

[ukdobby]

What you lot done last 6 games,have you won any.

 

---------- Post added 07-05-2015 at 18:34 ----------

 

 

You have won one,its the last 5 you havn't won,thats not a good run.

 

 

 

Make that not won in 6..............

[Grappler]

Well a decent crowd during bank holiday week, and a lively start but poor refereeing, one piece of bad luck, a gamble and a tactical error cost us (in my opinion)

 

We dominated the first half, without a doubt, until the closing moments, pushed hard, had crosses into the box, but couldn't find the finish, until Kieron Freeman scored.

 

The referees strange decisions started with the blatant hand ball in the box, as has already been said on here. Swindon getting a penalty by going down from a weak challenge in our box, then a stronger challenge on Murphy not been given in theirs, and that strange (and costly) decision to decide to not play advantage, when Done was through on goal, and bring the game back to the half way line. One of the blokes near me has done some reffing and can usually explain why something unpopular has been done, but even he was baffled.

 

So that was the lively start and the poor refereeing.

 

The gamble was leaving Matt Done on the bench. he has been suffering from a few ongoing injuries, mainly a groin strain, and had been having pain killing injections to get him through it. I assume the gamble here was to get through the home leg, use him sparingly if needed in the away leg, and then tell him to grit his teeth and get on with it if we made the final. The difference he made when he came on was immense. Pace, power, leaving his marker for dead and have a perfectly good goal disallowed. Needs to start next game no matter what.

 

The bad luck, was of course, the injury to John Brayford, having to leave the pitch at half time. He had played well up to that point.

 

The tactical error; not replacing Brayford with Alcock, like for like swap. Instead, moving the towering figure of Chris Basham into the back four, and bringing on the 4 foot seven inch tall, Scougall. This meant that Coutts was our only tall player in the centre of the park and Holt and Scougall as his two tiny team mates. Swindon ran straight through the middle of the park from that point on until Scougall went off injured, and Doyle came on.

 

Why Bob Harris was not sat on top of Nathan Byrne all night (their number 3) is a mystery, the fastest man on the pitch (until Matt Done came on) and given acres of space all night, crazy stuff.

 

The second goal (Byrne!) looked like a bad reaction from the keeper, but walking out, I ran into a mate who had been sat in the family stand and he said the ball took a deflection, leaving the keeper too much to do.

 

1-1 would have been a fair score, but the fact is that Swindon look beatable.

 

Davies won most things in the air, provided flick ons and out muscled Swindon when needed.

 

Start Matt Done and if he gets injured, so be it, start Steven Davies because we need the muscle and presence, keep Chris Basham in midfield, because we need the muscle and presence and the surging runs. Flynn and Murphy out wide, Coutts (or Doyle) alongside Basham. Patch up the back four with Alcock and maybe even Magahey or Collins.

 

Start at Swindon how we started at the Lane, get the early goal and it is game on. Bombard their box like the closing 15 minutes last night and anything can happen.

 

No matter the result, first thing on Clough's shopping list has to be two big, nasty central defenders.

 

UTB.

[Billy Casper]

Time yet lads, still 90 mins of footy to play! Heads up!

Anyway, if you've got nothing to do on Sat 16th May, come and see my band True Gold at the Genting Club. If you like fully live bands and the 80's pop along! http://www.truegoldmusic.com x