BFTG Sheffield Utd

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I wonder if there is a bit of mischief going on with the attendance figure.

I suspect that normally all ticket sales are counted as attendance (including season tickets). I just wonder if last night it was decided that they would just count the number of people who actually attended the game as the attendance figure. Possibly there are one or two people who want Stam out in the club ?

[Norfolk Royal]

Wasted 45 minutes of my life there. Left at ht. Chucked my st away somewhere in a bush. I do not see myself ever going back. I will get a Crawley st next year when I move.

Please do.

I'd support Reading even if they were in the Bostik League.

You're sticking with it then?

[Woodcote Royal]

I wonder if there is a bit of mischief going on with the attendance figure.

I suspect that normally all ticket sales are counted as attendance (including season tickets). I just wonder if last night it was decided that they would just count the number of people who actually attended the game as the attendance figure. Possibly there are one or two people who want Stam out in the club ?

We need to hope and pray this is the case

[MoorgateRoyal]

I'm not reading through the whole thread so please forgive me if I miss other points of discussion or make a point which has already been made.

The first goal felt inevitable after a really shaky opening few minutes and we got what we deserved, really. We didn't respond like we did against Derby and it looked like it'd be tough from there. The second was a great strike, take nothing away from it, but we were poor in getting out and pressuring the ball and with so many men back, we were so passive we were inviting it. Good smash from Richards for our goal, and we looked like we might be finding some character to get back into it. The pen was telegraphed but looked a good save anyway. Watching it back may be different, however.

The third goal was a complete shambles. It is up to the ref to stop the game for an injury in the first place, but I still do think it's sporting to give it back when the other team kicks it out. But when the player doesn't event want the physio you have to expect the other team to take advantage, which Sheff U deservedly did.

My player ratings are below, for anyone who gives a shit.

Mannone - 5. Unlucky with the goals, from memory, and needs to continue kicking it long from goal kicks as standard. We can play it short when it's on quick, and we're going to move up the pitch, which we were able to do in the second half late on, when there was more space.
Gunter - 4. Utter gimp for their third goal and offers nothing going forwards. Defensively he wasn't solid tonight and I can't really see any leadership from him, other than shouting at the ref and lino.
Richards - 6. Tried to get up and down and took his goal well. He's acquitting himself fairly well, being dropped into a team low on confidence battling it out at the bottom of the league.
Moore - 5. Trying his best but we are so disjointed at the back and he often looks like the only one holding it together. Needs to match players like Clarke and Donaldson's aggression in the air a bit more.
Ilori - 4. Shaky start and dwells on the ball too much in games where we can't afford to do it. I thought he actually improved as the game went on and got the ball moving forwards a lot quicker, which everyone needs to do. There's a good player in there, he just needs a confidence boost and to be a bit more canny.
JvdB - 4. Spent far too much time trying to have a go at Sharp who must have been laughing at him throughout. He slows us down so much and is positionally woeful, as well as just fouling people all over the shop.
Kelly - 5. Tried to get us going and did well to win the penalty. Good set piece delivery as well. Needs some more muscle in alongside him.
Clement - 5. I thought he was reasonable and tried to keep doing the right things. Was involved in some good moves that led to corners. He is just physically not there yet, and Sheff U were always going to be getting up and at us, which made things difficult for him.
Bacuna - 4. Didn't impose himself on the game and his penalty was telegraphed completely, although it looked a good save. Questionable mentality for me, he always looks like he'll be one getting involved in shoving and pointing, or like he'll try and cut someone in half.
Jon Dadi - 5. Grafted but made no real impact. No one was close enough to him anyway.
Martin - 4. Anonymous. One chance near the end which he shanked wide but other than that he was a passenger.

I'm not one to advocate sacking the manager, and I like that traditionally we give managers a chance. But, when you just can't see what's so blatantly wrong, and can't seem to either change it or get your message across well enough, then there's a big problem.

He dropped Joey on Saturday and we looked a lot better, and even last night when we started to just go long from the goal kicks, which isn't a huge change, it allowed us to play our game further forward and put at least a bit of pressure on the opponents. Mixing up how you play doesn't make you a bad team, and simplifying things when you're playing shit can often lead to better results.

I want Jaap to succeed and he obviously wants to as well, but it seems like he can't see what's in front of him.

[paddy20]

Before I get the usual flack for being "delusional", I am not blind to the fact that the players are really not performing and the selection, particularly last night was poor from the manager. However, if Bacuna sticks in the pen then it's a different story, what can Stam do about him missing a pen? Someone will say pick a better taker - every oxf*rd pro footballer should be able to score a pen - the odds are stacked in the taker's favour.

Joey van den Berg is scarcely a footballer, let a lone a CB - Stam's fault there. We have little better options currently.

BUT, Hull and Barnsley drew which means neither has gained any greater ground on us, it's another game played. I was expecting to lose to Derby and draw this one so looking at the bigger picture things are still OK. "We go again Saturday".

Have you forgotten that they missed about 5 chances??

[John Smith]

the initial comments on the thread don't disagree JS. We were awful in the first half, but actually started the second half reasonably, and had it gone 2-2 then obvs it would have been right back in our favour. The third goal killed it.

Not sure whether I see Saturday as a total write off (Wolves away) or a free hit where any points would be a huge bonus.

The Bolton game is all kinds of massive though. If we lose that, presuming we lose to Wolves, we are knee deep in the brown stuff.

I'll help you with that one - the second part is the correct answer. We are capable of getting a point there, albeit improbable.

A defeat to Bolton wouldn't be too much of a problem as the same night Sunderland host Villa, Birmingham City host Boro and Barnsley travel to Cardiff - all of which should lose. I'd probably back Hull to lose at Millwall too. Then it's another fixture less.

[Basildon]

Went for a 2-1 win on the prediction thread but as soon as the team sheet came out any optimism I had quickly vanished.

First half was absolutely shocking, could have easily been 3 or 4 down at HT. Started second half pretty well, Omar took his goal well. Penalty didn't look too bad but I have no idea why Bacuna took it in the first place?! Surely Kelly would have been the better option, especially as he won the penalty?

Can see the points of view from both sides regarding their 3rd. I thought it looked clear we had let the ball go out for an injury. (granted Moore was back on his feet pretty much as the ball went out). Don't think is was very sporting of them to go for goal from it but at the same time why were half of our team asleep? It's not a rule that they have to give it back so you should always be ready for them not to.

Overall, a disappointing performance following what was one of our better performances at the weekend. Only real positive was Liam Kelly, thought he stood out from the rest last night.

[Maguire]

Last night was my first trip to the MadStad since the Fulham semi last season.

Observations:

- It wasn't that cold, there was no wind so perfectly tolerable
- Really easy to get a beer so did two at half time and didn't go back in until gone 60mins
- Reading were utter dogshit
- Generally felt quite saddened by the malaise around the place. Empty concourses. Uninterested crowd. Awful team. No momentum whatsoever.

[Hound]

Last night was my first trip to the MadStad since the Fulham semi last season.

Observations:

- It wasn't that cold, there was no wind so perfectly tolerable
- Really easy to get a beer so did two at half time and didn't go back in until gone 60mins
- Reading were utter dogshit
- Generally felt quite saddened by the malaise around the place. Empty concourses. Uninterested crowd. Awful team. No momentum whatsoever.

lolz that the 15 mins you missed having a beer were the only tolerable 15 mins of the entire match

[Berry]

the initial comments on the thread don't disagree JS. We were awful in the first half, but actually started the second half reasonably, and had it gone 2-2 then obvs it would have been right back in our favour. The third goal killed it.

Not sure whether I see Saturday as a total write off (Wolves away) or a free hit where any points would be a huge bonus.

The Bolton game is all kinds of massive though. If we lose that, presuming we lose to Wolves, we are knee deep in the brown stuff.

I'll help you with that one - the second part is the correct answer. We are capable of getting a point there, albeit improbable.

A defeat to Bolton wouldn't be too much of a problem as the same night Sunderland host Villa, Birmingham City host Boro and Barnsley travel to Cardiff - all of which should lose. I'd probably back Hull to lose at Millwall too. Then it's another fixture less.

John I've warmed to your posts, but surely you must be disappointed and realistic that we will go down, forget that others are worse...Facts...6 points from a possible 24...Relegation form....We aren't the poor team that begun the season so earlier results are largely irrelevant... We are now a very poor team and can't get enough points to save our season.

I'm not a doom merchant but check the facts, We are not defending, We are not shooting, We are not getting the required points...Its all there to see, I was at Derby game Saturday and loved it, Would we had drawn if a fit Vydra had played??

To say that we would get anything from the Wolves game Saturday and that losing to Bolton on Tuesday would be no great shakes as Sunderland play Villa is unhinged...We need points and the more games that are played out the less we can get.

[Berry]

the initial comments on the thread don't disagree JS. We were awful in the first half, but actually started the second half reasonably, and had it gone 2-2 then obvs it would have been right back in our favour. The third goal killed it.

Not sure whether I see Saturday as a total write off (Wolves away) or a free hit where any points would be a huge bonus.

The Bolton game is all kinds of massive though. If we lose that, presuming we lose to Wolves, we are knee deep in the brown stuff.

I'll help you with that one - the second part is the correct answer. We are capable of getting a point there, albeit improbable.

A defeat to Bolton wouldn't be too much of a problem as the same night Sunderland host Villa, Birmingham City host Boro and Barnsley travel to Cardiff - all of which should lose. I'd probably back Hull to lose at Millwall too. Then it's another fixture less.

John I've warmed to your posts, but surely you must be disappointed and realistic that we will go down, forget that others are worse...Facts...6 points from a possible 24...Relegation form....We aren't the poor team that begun the season so earlier results are largely irrelevant... We are now a very poor team and can't get enough points to save our season.

I'm not a doom merchant but check the facts, We are not defending, We are not shooting, We are not getting the required points...Its all there to see, I was at Derby game Saturday and loved it, Would we had drawn if a fit Vydra had played??

To say that we would get anything from the Wolves game Saturday and that losing to Bolton on Tuesday would be no great shakes as Sunderland play Villa is unhinged...We need points and the more games that are played out the less we can get.

[Coppells Lost Coat]

the initial comments on the thread don't disagree JS. We were awful in the first half, but actually started the second half reasonably, and had it gone 2-2 then obvs it would have been right back in our favour. The third goal killed it.

Not sure whether I see Saturday as a total write off (Wolves away) or a free hit where any points would be a huge bonus.

The Bolton game is all kinds of massive though. If we lose that, presuming we lose to Wolves, we are knee deep in the brown stuff.

I'll help you with that one - the second part is the correct answer. We are capable of getting a point there, albeit improbable.

A defeat to Bolton wouldn't be too much of a problem as the same night Sunderland host Villa, Birmingham City host Boro and Barnsley travel to Cardiff - all of which should lose. I'd probably back Hull to lose at Millwall too. Then it's another fixture less.

John I've warmed to your posts, but surely you must be disappointed and realistic that we will go down, forget that others are worse...Facts...6 points from a possible 24...Relegation form....We aren't the poor team that begun the season so earlier results are largely irrelevant... We are now a very poor team and can't get enough points to save our season.

I'm not a doom merchant but check the facts, We are not defending, We are not shooting, We are not getting the required points...Its all there to see, I was at Derby game Saturday and loved it, Would we had drawn if a fit Vydra had played??

To say that we would get anything from the Wolves game Saturday and that losing to Bolton on Tuesday would be no great shakes as Sunderland play Villa is unhinged...We need points and the more games that are played out the less we can get.

However, I can imagine that reasoning in Stams debriefing this morning.

[leon]

I'll help you with that one - the second part is the correct answer. We are capable of getting a point there, albeit improbable.

A defeat to Bolton wouldn't be too much of a problem as the same night Sunderland host Villa, Birmingham City host Boro and Barnsley travel to Cardiff - all of which should lose. I'd probably back Hull to lose at Millwall too. Then it's another fixture less.

John I've warmed to your posts, but surely you must be disappointed and realistic that we will go down, forget that others are worse...Facts...6 points from a possible 24...Relegation form....We aren't the poor team that begun the season so earlier results are largely irrelevant... We are now a very poor team and can't get enough points to save our season.

I'm not a doom merchant but check the facts, We are not defending, We are not shooting, We are not getting the required points...Its all there to see, I was at Derby game Saturday and loved it, Would we had drawn if a fit Vydra had played??

To say that we would get anything from the Wolves game Saturday and that losing to Bolton on Tuesday would be no great shakes as Sunderland play Villa is unhinged...We need points and the more games that are played out the less we can get.

However, I can imagine that reasoning in Stams debriefing this morning.

John Smith is either a WUM or delusional.

I'm going for both.

[double d]

the initial comments on the thread don't disagree JS. We were awful in the first half, but actually started the second half reasonably, and had it gone 2-2 then obvs it would have been right back in our favour. The third goal killed it.

Not sure whether I see Saturday as a total write off (Wolves away) or a free hit where any points would be a huge bonus.

The Bolton game is all kinds of massive though. If we lose that, presuming we lose to Wolves, we are knee deep in the brown stuff.

I'll help you with that one - the second part is the correct answer. We are capable of getting a point there, albeit improbable.

A defeat to Bolton wouldn't be too much of a problem as the same night Sunderland host Villa, Birmingham City host Boro and Barnsley travel to Cardiff - all of which should lose. I'd probably back Hull to lose at Millwall too. Then it's another fixture less.

What if they all win though? We will be utterly in the shit then.

[Victor Meldrew]

I'm not reading through the whole thread so please forgive me if I miss other points of discussion or make a point which has already been made.

The first goal felt inevitable after a really shaky opening few minutes and we got what we deserved, really. We didn't respond like we did against Derby and it looked like it'd be tough from there. The second was a great strike, take nothing away from it, but we were poor in getting out and pressuring the ball and with so many men back, we were so passive we were inviting it. Good smash from Richards for our goal, and we looked like we might be finding some character to get back into it. The pen was telegraphed but looked a good save anyway. Watching it back may be different, however.

The third goal was a complete shambles. It is up to the ref to stop the game for an injury in the first place, but I still do think it's sporting to give it back when the other team kicks it out. But when the player doesn't event want the physio you have to expect the other team to take advantage, which Sheff U deservedly did.

My player ratings are below, for anyone who gives a shit.

Mannone - 5. Unlucky with the goals, from memory, and needs to continue kicking it long from goal kicks as standard. We can play it short when it's on quick, and we're going to move up the pitch, which we were able to do in the second half late on, when there was more space.
Gunter - 4. Utter gimp for their third goal and offers nothing going forwards. Defensively he wasn't solid tonight and I can't really see any leadership from him, other than shouting at the ref and lino.
Richards - 6. Tried to get up and down and took his goal well. He's acquitting himself fairly well, being dropped into a team low on confidence battling it out at the bottom of the league.
Moore - 5. Trying his best but we are so disjointed at the back and he often looks like the only one holding it together. Needs to match players like Clarke and Donaldson's aggression in the air a bit more.
Ilori - 4. Shaky start and dwells on the ball too much in games where we can't afford to do it. I thought he actually improved as the game went on and got the ball moving forwards a lot quicker, which everyone needs to do. There's a good player in there, he just needs a confidence boost and to be a bit more canny.
JvdB - 4. Spent far too much time trying to have a go at Sharp who must have been laughing at him throughout. He slows us down so much and is positionally woeful, as well as just fouling people all over the shop.
Kelly - 5. Tried to get us going and did well to win the penalty. Good set piece delivery as well. Needs some more muscle in alongside him.
Clement - 5. I thought he was reasonable and tried to keep doing the right things. Was involved in some good moves that led to corners. He is just physically not there yet, and Sheff U were always going to be getting up and at us, which made things difficult for him.
Bacuna - 4. Didn't impose himself on the game and his penalty was telegraphed completely, although it looked a good save. Questionable mentality for me, he always looks like he'll be one getting involved in shoving and pointing, or like he'll try and cut someone in half.
Jon Dadi - 5. Grafted but made no real impact. No one was close enough to him anyway.
Martin - 4. Anonymous. One chance near the end which he shanked wide but other than that he was a passenger.

I'm not one to advocate sacking the manager, and I like that traditionally we give managers a chance. But, when you just can't see what's so blatantly wrong, and can't seem to either change it or get your message across well enough, then there's a big problem.

He dropped Joey on Saturday and we looked a lot better, and even last night when we started to just go long from the goal kicks, which isn't a huge change, it allowed us to play our game further forward and put at least a bit of pressure on the opponents. Mixing up how you play doesn't make you a bad team, and simplifying things when you're playing shit can often lead to better results.

I want Jaap to succeed and he obviously wants to as well, but it seems like he can't see what's in front of him.

Pretty good summary although I might have upped the rating for Kelly.
Good to see that somebody else notices Gunter's shortcomings.

According to Talksport we and Middlesboro are the only 2 sides in the Championship that have failed to score a goal in added time this season-not sure what that says other than perhaps that we don't fight to the end (no surprise for a team that shows so little fight in 90 minutes).

Things must be bad for zip and Royal Blue to finally lose their RTGs and both see and acknowledge what is happening on the pitch.

Interesting to hear Stam acknowledge that it could have been 6 or 7.
There is something very likeable about the man, as there was with Rodgers , but it looks as though at this early stage of his management career he cannot manage players of Championship ability and, like Rodgers, he might be better managing players of a much higher standard.
Being Dutch he is quite open and once again he came out with the couldn't-care-less-really line about being sacked-presumably he is already a wealthy man even before any major pay out from us if he were to be sacked.

The daftest thing to me from his interview was saying that Mo was unfit and wouldn't have gone on-why have him freezing in the dug-out?
As for the attendance,there were just 5 of us in our row in the East Stand and just 2 in the row in front so somewhere around 7000 was probably about right with the way end occupied at around 15% of capacity.

Where do we go from here?
Wolves..........the sort of game where in the past we might produce a shock result (such as at high-flying Derby a couple of seasons ago when Fosu and a couple pf other kids played) but it has got so bad it is so difficult to see happening.

One good thing about last night-no traffic on the roads, motorways not closed and for once got in before midnight.

[Hound]

Think the thing that strikes me most about Stam’s interviews at the moment are the fact he is admitting what they are doing in training isn’t translating to the pitch

This suggests to me the training is wrong. I’ve long been of the belief the main issue we have here is one of coaching rather than just Stam’s management. I’m starting to think Stam is far too belatedly coming round to the same thinking

[Awayawayaway]

the initial comments on the thread don't disagree JS. We were awful in the first half, but actually started the second half reasonably, and had it gone 2-2 then obvs it would have been right back in our favour. The third goal killed it.

Not sure whether I see Saturday as a total write off (Wolves away) or a free hit where any points would be a huge bonus.

The Bolton game is all kinds of massive though. If we lose that, presuming we lose to Wolves, we are knee deep in the brown stuff.

I'll help you with that one - the second part is the correct answer. We are capable of getting a point there, albeit improbable.

A defeat to Bolton wouldn't be too much of a problem as the same night Sunderland host Villa, Birmingham City host Boro and Barnsley travel to Cardiff - all of which should lose. I'd probably back Hull to lose at Millwall too. Then it's another fixture less.

What if they all win though? We will be utterly in the shit then.

You weren't hit by a bus last night then?

[JR]

It not law in the Championship, though. Its up to the club.
The first thing I noticed when I checked the score this morning was the attendance. If Reading DIDNT use tickets sold, then where did the figure come from? Perhaps it came from the Turnstiles, in which case there was really less than 7k there. What do people who went feel? Was the stadium more than a quarter yet less than a third full?
I appreciate it was cold, but it was a very telling turn out.

I would say 6700 was pretty spot on tbh

People thinking there were more than 10,000.....cant see it myself. Only compared to the 'total sold' we normally get

Well if that doesnt send a clear message to the owners nothing will.

It's the first time the attendance figure has been less than I was expecting - we play an attendance prediction game and there is always a uplift for factoring in season ticket holders not there.

So a move to actual physical attendees is slightly odd - but maybe it's someone within the club trying to force the issue!

[Maguire]

Last night was my first trip to the MadStad since the Fulham semi last season.

Observations:

- It wasn't that cold, there was no wind so perfectly tolerable
- Really easy to get a beer so did two at half time and didn't go back in until gone 60mins
- Reading were utter dogshit
- Generally felt quite saddened by the malaise around the place. Empty concourses. Uninterested crowd. Awful team. No momentum whatsoever.

lolz that the 15 mins you missed having a beer were the only tolerable 15 mins of the entire match

At least I got back in time to see us miss a penalty.

Didn't see two of the first three goals though

[Tilehurstsouthbank]

Wasted 45 minutes of my life there. Left at ht. Chucked my st away somewhere in a bush. I do not see myself ever going back. I will get a Crawley st next year when I move.

Please do.

I'd support Reading even if they were in the Bostik League.

You're sticking with it then?

I see what you did there. Now where's that 'Clapping' emoji?