Brief Synopsis

[WoodsyGreen]

For the second game in a row Cooper chose to double-punch a cross away rather than try to catch it - he did it once at Sunderland and twice today.

I wonder if he's been told to take that approach rather than try to catch crosses and risk dropping them?

He was impressive today and it was no surprise to read more than one Sheff Utd fan say they'd rather have Cooper than Ramsdale.

 

[freddie2greens]

a lot of positives can be taken from the game imo.

Apart from the first 20 minutes we were very competitive and although a little bit outclassed our boys fought on to the end.

Our second half performance continued to improve.

Cooper performance was excellent

Heads didn't drop after the first goal.

Making a top level team resort to time wasting.

Reeves cameo.

We played really well imo, and with our 2 new additions I can see no reason why we can't easily survive in the first division this season and flourish next. Cooper was my motm, closely followed by Edwards and Opoku. Jephers, Hardie and Mayor not so much.

 

[Martyn]

What is with this constant criticism of Fornah.

Does a lot of work, for the team, that goes unnoticed. Breaks many attacks, but not as forward thinking as Camara. But a vital cog in the team as defensive midfielder.

I think he is a good team player for us, to be given scores of anywhere between 1 and 5, is a disgrace.

 

[IJN]

I must admit it mystifies me as well.

He's a fair player in my book and always gives his all.

 

[Lesley Somerville]

Disappointed, quite honestly.
I thought we lacked the passion, grit and determination you often see from the underdog.
Saying that though, we did alright I guess, but I felt the Blades were comfortable for most of the game and deserved the win.
I too thought we opted to pass backwards too often.

But there were positives: Cooper did well and I'm sure his distribution will have been noticed.
I've liked Opoku from the start and he continues to develop in his role.
Reeves did well when he came on.
Grant has become Mr Reliable.
Got away with an appalling VAR decision!

Negatives? Yes, I'm afraid: Not sure what the Pasoti love in with Camara is all about. Don't rate him personally... yet. Missed a sitter and his sloppy pass in a good position led to one of their goals.
We need to get Mayor on the ball more. I don't know if he is played in the right position and I realise he gets man-marked more than the others, but we need to find a way to get him more involved.
Hardie? Quite frankly a waste of space at the moment. Where is his commitment?
Fornah is NOT protection for the defenders.
I'd like to see Ryan Lowe show more passion on the touchline. His lack of animation must rub off on the players.

Cooper 7
Edwards 6
Aimson 6
Opoku 8
Watts 6
Grant 8
Fornah 4
Camarà 5
Mayor 6
Jephcott 5
Hardie 3
Reeves 7
Moore 6
Telford 5
Nouble N/A

MOTM Grant

I note you live in Italy. I think that must be where your love of 'passion' comes from. Yes, let's see Ryan Lowe running around with his hands in the air, crying when we lose, throwing his coat on the ground, that sort of thing.... :roll:

 

[GreenThing]

I must admit it mystifies me as well.

He's a fair player in my book and always gives his all.

Stevie Adams syndrome. Does a good job that no one notices.

 

[ghost of hughie reed]

Its a bit like we have improved since Canavan departed. How strange.

 

[Biggs]

Cheltenham are making be a bit less positive about our performance :lol:

Seriously though, was really happy after that. After being clearly nervous in the first 20 mins, we grew into the game and was great to see us dominating a Premier League side for periods in the second half. I was pretty confident in us playing out from the back too, and that’s where our best move and chance came from (bar the goal).

I think Cooper really showed that he’s possibly more suited to a higher level, where there’s more emphasis on positioning and distribution than dealing with long balls and crosses. Though he seemed to do OK in that regard too.

 

[GreenThing]

Cheltenham are making be a bit less positive about our performance :lol:

After spending over an hour thinking that it was Swindon playing on the telly, I’m now feeling a bit better about our chances in Tuesday I was worried about that long throw.

 

[Nobby]

I must admit it mystifies me as well.

He's a fair player in my book and always gives his all.

Stevie Adams syndrome. Does a good job that no one notices.

Tidy on the ball but completely lacks any awareness of his surroundings. It's costing us and putting pressure on the Defence.

I think we can proud of our performance today. We stuck to our philosophy and troubled a Premier League team. The first 20 minutes we seemed very nervous and could barely string a pass together, but once we settled down it was a good performance given the opposition.

Ratings - a real mixed bag for me.

Cooper - 8 - If you asked a neutral today which goalkeeper cost £18.5m, you certainly wouldn't have picked Ramsdale.
Edwards - 5 - One of his poorer games, but I don't think Camara was offering much protection.
Watts - 7 - Defended well but got sucked in for the first goal leaving Basham free to head home.
Opoku - 8 - Absolutely superb. Made two fantastic tackles in the first half to block shots.
Aimson - 6 - Struggled against the press.
Grant - 7 - Very comfortable on the ball and our best attacks came down his side.
Fornah - 4 - Loose in possession initially, but sharpened up. Lacks defensive awareness. Rightly hooked.
Camara - 7 - All action, as per usual. Horrible miss in the first half, but made up for it in the second. When he sharpens up his end product, he can really go places.
Mayor - 6 - When we did get him on the ball, he really did not look out of place against PL opposition. Unfortunately, we didn't get him on the ball often enough.
Jephcott - 5 - Worked hard, but rarely involved.
Hardie - 5 - Same as Jephcott.

Reeves - 7 - Thought he was really bright when he came on.
Telford - 5 - Got stuck in, lacked quality.
Moore - 7 - I like Moore as a forward option. His movement is intelligent.
Nouble - 6 - Put himself about but not on long.

 

[Metal Green Mickey]

If you want to hit long balls and have Fornah at CDM then maybe that would be fine. However, that’s not how we play.

I mean though does he really screen the back 3 that well? After Camara had that chance in the first half they had a great chance straight after. Cross comes in, ball breaks to the edge of the box in the middle. If Fornah, isn’t there for that type of situation what’s the point of having a CDM.

Anyhow, we are playing it from the back. We need someone who can defend but has the awareness to pass and go. Our method is to play out from the back. You need better players on the ball if your going to move forward as a team in league one.

 

[gru mpy]

Interesting comments from a Blades fan on one of their forums. Why can't Lowe see you can't play tippy-tappy football at the back with players who are not good enough and who continually give away possession. Sideways, sideways, backwards -sideways, sideways backwards then give it back to the opposition. Call me old fashioned but if the ball ain't nowhere near your own area then the opposition ain't gonna score many!


Plymouth looked vastly out of their depth for 30 minutes. Kamikaze defending trying to play Potterball with L1 players. They kept repeatedly giving the ball away to us and we missed a couple of sitters but contrived to make what should have been a comfortable lead just the 1.0 from a good deep cross and header. Every time Plymouth went forward they just wandered through our non-existent midfield. Nothing in the centre. Just back off to our own area. They should have scored. We could easily have gone in level. We're making unnecessarily heavy-weather of this against a team who look like they have 3 bombscares at the back. I don't personally agree with it, but should have had a penalty as well.
LikeHaha Reactions:shrubbery, CWA14, varkanoid and 1

 

[doozer]

I love the way this team is brave enough to try and play football from the back regardless of who we’re playing... it won’t always work , but when it does it is a joy to watch ... That was a strong sheff u side that looked desperate to win , and apart from the first 15 minutes, we held our own .....I’ve not been convinced of Cooper so far this season but he was excellent tonight, particularly his distribution....opoku s been immense the last 2 games, looks like the centre of the three is his position...I get the fanfare over camara, he drives with ball so well.. once he improves his passing he will be some player.....with Ennis and Lewis to come back into the squad I think we’re looking in good shape ..... I think Lowe and the coaching staff deserve credit for sticking to their philosophy and getting us out of that awful run we were on ... feeling excited about the future

 

[up the line]

Interesting comments from a Blades fan on one of their forums. Why can't Lowe see you can't play tippy-tappy football at the back with players who are not good enough and who continually give away possession. Sideways, sideways, backwards -sideways, sideways backwards then give it back to the opposition. Call me old fashioned but if the ball ain't nowhere near your own area then the opposition ain't gonna score many!


Plymouth looked vastly out of their depth for 30 minutes. Kamikaze defending trying to play Potterball with L1 players. They kept repeatedly giving the ball away to us and we missed a couple of sitters but contrived to make what should have been a comfortable lead just the 1.0 from a good deep cross and header. Every time Plymouth went forward they just wandered through our non-existent midfield. Nothing in the centre. Just back off to our own area. They should have scored. We could easily have gone in level. We're making unnecessarily heavy-weather of this against a team who look like they have 3 bombscares at the back. I don't personally agree with it, but should have had a penalty as well.
LikeHaha Reactions:shrubbery, CWA14, varkanoid and 1

Well frankly it's rubbish isn't it though. Because our first goal at Sunderland came from a move involving almost the entire team, and our best chance in the first half today came not from punting it like the archetyple lower division cloggers, but from being confident in our ability as a team to play around the opposition.
Thankfully for the players they have a manager who projects confidence in them rather than says 'look Kelland, Jerome, Will: you're all third division players so whenever you get it, for god's sake just punt it'
Give me players trying to play football, goals like Lewis at Sunderland, and a manager who improves them any day rather than hoofball which I can see in the park

 

[ngs]

If you want to hit long balls and have Fornah at CDM then maybe that would be fine. However, that’s not how we play.

I mean though does he really screen the back 3 that well? After Camara had that chance in the first half they had a great chance straight after. Cross comes in, ball breaks to the edge of the box in the middle. If Fornah, isn’t there for that type of situation what’s the point of having a CDM.

Anyhow, we are playing it from the back. We need someone who can defend but has the awareness to pass and go. Our method is to play out from the back. You need better players on the ball if your going to move forward as a team in league one.

No he doesn't screen very well, the 2nd goal today shows that. If he is screening he either goes to close down and the pass isnt made or he fills the space and the player has to make a different pass. Someone needs to work with him on how he receives the ball aswell, he always takes a touch to face his own goal and move backwards, he did it in the 1st half when a 10 yard pass forwards was on and we ended up with a throw in in our half instead.