Sheffield United's appalling home form continued with another poor performance and defeat to Coventry City at Bramall Lane. United now find themselves embroiled in an early season relegation battle and with the lack of goals combined with the weekly defensive mistakes it seems difficult to predict when the rot will stop. The Blades should have gained at least a point but somehow managed to hit the woodwork three times with poor finishing and bad luck somehow allowing Coventry to escape with three points. City like many other visitors to the Lane had been relatively poor themselves but like 3 other Championship sides before them left Sheffield with all three points. United have now scored 9 goals in 14 games and lost 4 out of 7 home games. Unless there is a dramatic turnaround in either of the above statistics the Blades fans should be preparing themselves for a relegation battle.
New signing Andy Reid was on the bench for the Blades whilst Jamie Ward started up front in place of Daniel Bogdanovic. United shuffled the backline with Kyle Bartley coming back in and Nosworthy going to right back. United were also without Ritchie De Laet who had returned to Man Utd with Andy Taylor coming in. United kept with the 4-3-3 formation that has attracted a great deal of criticism and has contributed to the Blades having the worst offensive record in the whole of the Football League.
City began the game well and forced a number of corners and long throws with Gunnarsson proving his worth from that particular source. Referee Foster twice adjudged United to have committed offences but Clingan's deliveries were cleared from the Blades rearguard. United had struggled to get any kind of ascendancy in the game but on 10 minutes they nearly took the lead out of the blue. Cresswell chased a loose ball and as it dropped Quinn hit a looping half volley from fully 30 yards and it hit the top of the crossbar. Coventry continued to show their physical threat with both Platt and Jutkiewicz were causing problems with their height and strength and both Morgan and Bartley. This aerial strength led to the opening goal. In the build up Quinn managed to run into the referee but despite this moment of bad luck United had plenty of chances to prevent the eventual outcome.
The ball as played to the right hand side and a cross came in unopposed from Gunnarsson, Platt leapt and outmuscled Nosworthy at the back post to head back and MCSHEFFREY stole in between Taylor and Bartley to loop a header past Simonsen. A really poor goal to concede as United lost both the first and second ball in addition to not preventing a clear cross coming in initially.
United tried to come back into things but were struggling with the final ball with Yeates and Ward often crowded out. However, an awful mistake by Wood saw Ward in the clear and one on one with the keeper but his shot hit the angle of bar and post and bounced to safety. A few bizarre refereeing decisions ended the half as the Blades went in behind with the crowd voicing their displeasure with the officials and the score line.
As the players lined up to commence the second half; Lowton came on for Taylor and Nosworthy switched to left back. United tried to get back into matters but were struggling to make headway and it was City who nearly doubled their advantage. Jutkiewicz was fouled by Morgan but Clingan's effort was parried away by Simonsen and then the rebound was scrambled behind. Reid came on to loud cheers from the crowd replacing his compatriot Quinn and getting straight into the action with a clever through ball that nearly found Ward. United then were given a free kick from around 25 yards when Ward was barged over and Reid clearly wanted to take it. With the wall barely ten yards the Irish midfielder still got the ball up and over the wall and ball cannoned off the cross bar with Westwood beaten. Evans came on for Ertl as United adopted a more orthodox 4-4-2 formation but Clingan's deflected cross nearly beat Simonsen at the back post.
United were anxious to get back into the game but Coventry tried to break things up and made three substitutions within 6 minutes with Clarke, King and Baker coming on for McSheffrey, Jutkiewicz and Gunnarson. The game had now become sloppy to the advantage of the visitors who were now in relative control. Reid was trying to get on the ball at every opportunity. King curled wide from a free kick for the Sky Blues and United were struggling to create much. Yeates had a tame easily saved by Westwood and Ward's cross evaded everyone. Cresswell had a header blocked and then finally a chance fell to Evans at the back post from Reid's cross but his shot was blocked by the legs of Westwood. Reid's speculative effort from 30 yards was high, wide and not very handsome and the final whistle went not long after signalling another home defeat for Speed's Blades.
United - It was another very average performance that saw us create little for the most part. Sure we hit the woodwork three times but two of these were long range efforts and the other was put on a plate for Ward. I cannot remember an occasion when we created many clear chances on goal or got the ball wide and got a cross in that led to an effort on goal. It was a game that just limped by and needed someone to get a scruff of the game. Reid finally did this but by this stage we were chasing things and time was running out with Coventry killing things at every opportunity.
It was another daft goal to give away and we are always seemingly coming from behind. If we go behind we tend to lose with only Burnley I can think of as a game we have come back. Every other game we go behind we have not come back and gone on to lose and the belief and urgency was lacking. Even with 5 minutes to go we should have been piling men forward but it was only right at the end Bartley went up. I would have thrown Morgan and Bartley up long before this and certainly had both up for throws/set plays but to see Morgan on the half way line when we had a free kick near the end was bizarre.
Many fans comments around the toilets/concourses suggest that most feel things are no better under Speed than Blackwell. Sadly results and performances are proving them right as we seem to be getting no better with no kind of mark being stamped on the side by Speed in terms of change of style, formation or approach. Worrying times ahead for many. I hope fans will stay patient but if we continue in the same vein in performances and results football dictates that we will be changing our manager yet again before the end of the season. I feel Speed has been dealt a poor hand but even this team should be doing better than it is and several senior players are letting him down. However, he is the manager and as he says the bucks tops with him. We are actually getting worse under him, not better and the football we saw in early weeks has gone. We now don't seem to have any style and no direction on how we will get chances or win games. It is a mish-mash of nothing. At least under Blackwell we did grind out results. It was horrible to watch but we very rarely just rolled over and if we went behind we did often fight back. At the moment we look so lacklustre and the management team have shown they are powerless to change this. It is not just about changing personnel but attitude and style. There is now way teams like Watford, Scunthorpe and Coventry have better players than us but they have a belief about what they are doing and get the best out of what they have.
We look clueless for the most part and I cannot see any purposeful change in what we are doing. Yes we need new players and yes many of these are not good enough but we never lost so many home games and so limply under the previous manager and whilst the lack of style is clear, the absence of any real fight, organisation and steel is also now completely missing. We look so easy to beat and seem to just roll over when we concede. In short we are a soft touch. We cannot score and added to this we have no steel. Even if we drew a few games 0-0 and stopped the rot but I feel if we go behind now that is it. The results this week are proving this.
The players do not seem to have any real belief they can get back into games (Burnley excepted) and seem to just plug away with no one getting the games by the scruff of the neck. I know many of the players not playing are no better than those playing but he needs to shake things up now. Even if it blooding a few of the youngsters like Slew and Lowton. He cannot keep picking the same players, Ertl, Quinn, Nosworthy, Cresswell every week when they are barely putting in 5/10 performances and getting outplayed by their respective opponent each week. He needs to make some changes and really put a rocket under the backside of a few of the above players mentioned. At the moment I see nothing but a season of struggle and a relegation battle. We look far worse than the Wednesday side who went down last season (at least they scored goals - granted they chucked away even more than us) and the body language of the players at the moment is just awful. They almost look resigned to losing goals and games. When the goal went in yesterday they were no recriminations, no arguments, nothing. That says a lot. I would like a few of our players to have a set to like Adebayor and Kompany. Maybe not that extent, but basically show some passion and some fight but at the moment we don't even have that. We are not getting players booked at the moment which for me is a worry. I would take a few yellow cards and physical challenges if it incited some passion in the side and on the terraces but at the moment it is just like they are turning up for a job and just going through the motions and almost a shrug of the shoulders when a goal or defeat happens.
Simonsen 6/10 - Do not think he had much chance with the goal. Other than that I cannot remember any real clear saves he had to make other than one parry from a free kick? A few times he was indecisive in coming out to claim/deal with danger when it clearly seemed the goalkeepers ball. Morgan looked at him a few times when it was clear he ought to have commanded better.
Taylor 6/10 - I actually think it was one of his better performances in a United shirt but he was still very ordinary. Granted he did nothing outstanding but was decent enough on the ball. He put in one cross that nearly led to a chance and just did the basics. However, at times he always seemed to be at full stretch and also had to take some fault for the goal as he got dragged out of position initially so could not stop the cross and then did not do enough when he jumped with McSheffrey. I assume he came off injured as he was no worse than anyone else.
Nosworthy 6/10 - Played at right back for the first half and then at left back for the second half. He was marginally better at full back than he has been at centre back but still was not convincing. Did some alright things defensively with a few blocks, tackles but also had the usual mixture of slices and misheaded clearances. Got badly outmuscled by Platt in the lead up to the goal. He is one of those players that you would not re-sign if he was on a short term/month loan but he is here for the season so we are stuck with him.
Morgan 5.5/10 - A mixed bag. Some awful clearance and lumps forward but some good tackles and headers. However for the most part I thought he struggled to cope with both Platt and Jutkiewicz. The latter was big and strong but also fairly mobile. Got pulled out wide on the goal and then when the ball came in was out of position as Coventry won two headers to score. Seems too be struggling to dominate aerially as much as he did a few seasons ago and is resorting to fouling a hell of a lot.
Bartley 7/10 - Thought he was our best defender. He made a few good tackles and blocks and also showed he can read the game well. Tried to use the ball when he could rather than just lump it; which is what the majority of the rest of the defence did for much of the afternoon; except Lowton when he came on. He still got moved too easily by attackers and needs to work on his strength to prevent this happening.
Ertl 3/10 - Really poor. Amazed he made it past the hour mark. Gave the ball away a lot and looked off the pace completely. When I saw him for Palace I thought he always looked very limited and had no real strengths to his game. However he had done alright in the early games looking functional and just keeping things simple. The last few games he has not been in games and when he has had the ball his technical inability has been clear. He seems unsure where to play in midfield (With Britton being further back of three) and at the moment like many others looks like a square peg in a round hole.
Britton 5.5/10 - Thought he was poor again. He seems to have regressed after a few good games when Speed first took over. He is not getting on the ball and the game is bypassing him. The odd times he gets the ball he is not keeping it consistently either. Another one that looks completely lost and has no confidence that he can affect games or in the teammates around him. Worryingly he is looking no better than many of them when you would expect him to stand out.
Cresswell 5/10 - Another fairly non descript performance. He was put as the central striker instead of being out wide but he could not get into things at all save for a few flick ons or headed efforts. A few moments of hustle and bustle but cannot remember one moment when he I felt he would create something or score. He had one really poor header over the bar in the second half when he should have scored. Needs taking out of the team as continually picking him week in, week out despite poor performances is puzzling. Only the dearth of potential replacements (Evans, Bogdanovic been be barely better) keeps him in the team I feel.
Ward 4/10 - He was probably even worse than Cresswell. He looked lively early on and tried to get involved on the ball but the chance he missed seemed to affect him. He really should have scored and although it hit the woodwork he was leaning back and never looked convincing when he struck the ball. Not involved at all in the second half and seemed to fade from proceedings somewhat. I would like to see him more central than being out on the flanks. I forgot he was playing for long spells of the game.
Quinn 6.5/10 - He actually was better than last week but that was not difficult. He hit the bar and looked relatively busy but his passing was always inconsistent and I recall at least two hospital balls he played. However, he was more involved and more influential than any of the rest of our midfield. He was taken off just before the hour but despite him being so-so; again; was he any worse than Ertl and Britton?
Yeates 3/10 - Never in the game today. Coventry pressured him when he had the ball and often doubled up on him. When he had the ball he gave it away or did not make things happen as he has in recent weeks when he had been our star man. He did not get many crosses in and his touch all game was off. His corners were also awful.
Subs -
Reid - Came on and played two quality but simple balls. He then hit the free kick which deserved a goal. He was involved in most of our better things as we tried to get back into the game. Towards the end he actually tried to overplay or do too much and messed up with two balls and an ambitious long range shot. Must start next week and for every game we have him. Sure he may carry a few extra pounds and not be much of a defensive midfielder but who cares? If he can pass the ball on the floor and offer an offensive threat then he is better than anything else we have.
Evans - Was put on as we finally went to a 4-4-2 formation but he did not do that much. One run and cross from wide right and a few decent hold up plays apart he continued to show his lack of a football brain as countless times he was missing from the penalty box or failed to get in front of his man. He will not score many goals as he does not know where to run when crosses or balls are played in. Not quite sure what we are going to do with him for the remainder of his United contract as he is just not getting any better and will probably be limited to substitute appearance in the immediate present.
Lowton 7/10 - Thought he was very good when he came on. He actually showed more football and urgency in everything he did than any other United player. He looked to get on the ball and find feet, played a few clever balls such as one inside the full back and always looked to make things happen. Needs a run of games wherever he plays. I think he looks a good intelligent footballer who simply needs games.
Coventry - They were very ordinary for me but did things we cannot do. Namely score and then stop us scoring! They never looked like ripping us to pieces and relied a lot on set plays and long throws but they never looked like capitulating at the back either and killed the game for long stretches after they took the lead. In general play they did some things better than us such as keeping the ball in the last third and managed to win more second balls than United. The front two worked hard and made our defenders play all the time (which you could not say at the other end. McSheffrey always looks a threat but other than the goal I felt we kept him under control. In midfield I felt Clingan, Gunnarsson and Carsley controlled the ball better than we did until Reid came on and started to get on the ball. I felt Wood and Turner were indecisive at times but we did not pressure them much (the awful error by Wood showed this when Ward should have scored). I think that personnel wise we still have a better squad/side than them man for man but they are 4th and we are near the bottom. They are probably more organised, more disciplined and play to their strengths more. He is a manager from the Blackwell mould in that his teams will never be pretty but his teams rarely seem to be near the bottom of divisions (Premiership apart with Watford) and he always gets his teams doing the basics well.
Officials - David Foster. A lot of the 50/50's in the first half seemed to go to the visitors and the number of free kicks he gave them in the first half in dangerous areas for non descript fouls was ridiculous. Morgan in particular was wrongly penalised twice. We had a few obvious fouls waved away for similar offences. One where Yeates was taken out and then when Simonsen was clearly fouled just before half time he played on. He summed up his performance when straight after this non award Bartley fouled Platt and he played on. He seemed to be continually evening up one bad decision with another. As the game went one he started to give us some free kicks which I did not feel were fouls as once again with the crowd frustrated he seemingly sought to even things out. Never seemed to have control of the game from start to finish and it was hard to tell what he was going to give/ignore next. Maddeningly inconsistent for both teams and both sets if supporters.
Crowd - Just topped the 20,000 mark but probably only because Coventry brought a sizeable following. They must have brought over 2,500 today which were the best they have brought to the Lane for some time. The United crowd tried to keep behind the team and Speed but even then sections of the crowd became frustrated. The lack of fluency and chances combined with seeing yet another lacklustre home defeat before their eyes saw the eventual boos at full time. Many fans are getting fed up. Fed up with the rubbish performances. Fed up with barely seeing the side ever score and fed up with losing. Whether he is a nice guy or not. Whether it is his first job or not. It matters little. Carry on like this and the management and board will be hearing the inevitable criticism a lot louder in coming weeks.