Sheffield United's playoff hopes are almost certainly over following a desperately disappointing home performance and defeat to lowly Scunthorpe in a Sunday lunchtime game at Bramall Lane. The Iron has beaten the Blades convincingly at Glanford Park earlier in the season and were able to complete the league double thanks to a solitary strike from Paul Hayes. The Blades may have had most of the possession and territorial advantage but despite this they did not create many clear cut chances with the visiting keeper Joe Murphy only having to make the occasional save. In truth it was another poor performance from the Blades and one that heaps further pressure on manager Kevin Blackwell as the season now will almost certainly peter out into a mid table finish.
The Blades began by making two changes to the side after the draw in Cardiff in midweek with Darius Henderson and Mark Yeates coming in for Jordan Stewart and Glen Little. Scunthorpe began with former Blade Jonathan Forte on the bench.
The game began in a scrappy fashion with neither team gaining the upper hand. Montgomery was busy for the Blades whilst Quinn was also looking to get on the ball down the left hand side and from one such cross the ball evaded everyone. United were marginally the better side but had not tested Murphy and it was Simonsen who made the first save gathering McCann's free kick at the second attempt. Connolly's effort from a Yeates corner was scrambled clear and then Yeates headed over when well placed after a Cresswell cross. Scunthorpe were given a golden opportunity to take the lead when Bartlett made a horrendous error and Thompson latched onto his errant touch. The striker was in the clear but Simonsen blocked well and was able to gather as the ball squirmed under him.
Yeates then had United's best effort of the half as his free kick was narrowly wide after Cresswell had been fouled. With four additional minutes to be played; after Mirfin has been substituted due to injury; Scunthorpe rocked the Blades with the opening goal. McDermott got away from Nosworthy and sprinted past the defender before cleverly playing the ball back to the unmarked HAYES who tucked the ball home easily with a right foot shot. The half time whistle came not long after.
The second half began with United trying to show more urgency but they did not put Murphy under any pressure and it was no surprise when Camara came on for the ineffective Harper with Cresswell going wide left. Yeates had another effort from a free kick which Murphy tipped over which was United's first shot on goal all afternoon! Yeates was replaced by Little and then O'Connor came on for McCann but United seemed no closer to finding a reply in what had been a very disjointed display.
Bartlett headed over and then Camara could not get onto Quinn's through ball before Scunthorpe almost sealed matters on the break. It was another piece of poor defending from Bartlett led to Thompson springing clear but his effort was saved well at his near post by Simonsen. Forte came on for the visitors and instantly almost was in on goal with a weaving run with half hearted appeals for a penalty. Forte then was booked for bringing down Little who tricked his way past him on byline. Camare then hobbled off just about the same time as Henderson made his presence felt but his flicked header looped onto the top of the bar and over. Williamson replaced Camara.
United were now almost permanently camped in the visitors half but Scunthorpe were holding out and it was only corners and set plays that were causing them a concern. Indeed, Murphy's main job was to take crosses rather than make saves. He finally had a save to make as the game entered the additional 5 minutes adjudged to be played when Bartlett flicked a header goalwards and the keeper did well to claw behind. The final effort from Nosworthy was off target and the visitors could celebrate a vital three points as boos filled the other sides of Bramall Lane on full time.
United - Blackwell's post match interview states we dominated the game and had lots of chances we failed to convert. I find it hard to agree with him as in the first half we did not have a shot on target with a Yeates header over and a free kick wide of the post the sum of our efforts. In the second half we hit the bar with a header but other than that I cannot recall that many clear shots/efforts on goal other than the Yeates free kick and then when Bartlett had a header saved. So to be frank I cannot see where he is coming from? We also did not really dominate the game; played little football of note and looked largely clueless against a poor side that should be beaten easily by a side with any serious promotion credentials. We looked no better than a team who had been at the bottom of the league most of the season and that says a lot. Today was desperately depressing with no atmosphere, no life and no spark both on the pitch and off it. The look on supporters' faces as the game petered out said it all. I worry about the decline in attendances and the apathy continuing with the current performances/results and lack of direction shown in the first team from both the manager and the board.
Blackwell can say what he wants about the team disruption, the defence changing and injuries but the reality is we have lost to Scunthorpe and Peterborough in recent weeks and failed to score against either side. Against sides with a far inferior wage bill and playing staff that is unacceptable. Indeed, the performances, style of play and results for the most part this season have been largely unacceptable and his excuses are wearing thin. The chief executive Trevor Birch said we had the second highest wage bill in the division and we are now also rans in the middle of the league. The buck must stop with the manager.
The reality is next season we will probably have to cut the wage bill even further and we probably are going to need a manager with an eye for a bargain or able to spot good young players and a manager who can get the team playing with a pattern and purpose to hurt teams and win games. With the bulk of his recent signings also being not good enough (Evans, Taylor, Stewart) or not good enough for us (Reid and Sharp doing well elsewhere) we have to question whether Blackwell can rebuild the side (which he would have to do with only 10 or 11 players being under contract next season) and build a side that can contend again. The way things are going I fear we will be closer to the bottom than top without a major overhaul of both the managerial/coaching side and playing personnel. Maybe McCabe is happy with that so long as the wage bill is cut further and sees Blackwell as the man who can just keep us around the middle of the division whislt that happens but whislt the position in the table alone should be first and foremost I could accept 3 or 4 years more in this division and even mid table stuff if there was a plan for the future and some sense of entertainment in the football beign served up. At the moment we are not getting entertained nor getting results too move us forward.
In the short term I would certainly send back all (and I mean all) the loan players we have as they are not going to be part of our future (will any be around next year - maybe Seip only) and give 3 or 4 youngsters a chance. We have nothing to lose and may save some funds and actually see if we have any one who can come though. There is no point playing players like Bartlett, Connolly, Harper etc when they are not going to be here next season. Especially when they have not improved things and to all extent are just bodies filling shirts.
Scunthorpe - Thought they looked a very poor side but they defended in numbers and got a well worked goal so fair play to them. They maybe only had 2 or 3 shots on goal but could argue they were all 3 better chances than we had all game. No disrespect to them but the fact they have done the double over us this season should be a major embarrassment with the resources, crowd, history etc in comparison to the Blades. Blackwell and the club should be ashamed to be honest to be losing so limply to the likes of Scunthorpe and Peterborough and losing so abjectly.
To counter that regardless of this, Nigel Adkins has done a great job and on limited resources (they had their best player Hooper missing too today!) he looks like he may be able to keep them up so fair play to them. They were well organised and fought hard today even if they showed very little in terms of football played but it did not matter as their opponents where no better.
In terms of players no one particularly stood out but the defence did well and limited United to that many clear chances despite what Blackwell said about us missing chance after chance. However, they were put under little pressure with few crosses of note going in and those that did our strikers di not attack. The keeper Murphy defended his goal well with a few decent saves, punches and crosses that he took well.
Simonsen 7/10 - Made 2 good saves; one at point blank range that nearly squirmed under him in the first half and one from Thompson's shot in the second half. Had little chance on the goal as he was offered no protection with a clear shot on goal under no pressure although bizarrely he dived the wrong way! Maybe he was wrong footed. Did come off his line and command his box better than Bunn had been doing.
Connolly 6/10 - He did ok without doing anything outstanding. Was not as convincing as on his debut and at times he lost his man Woolford or got dragged out of positions. Offered little to nothing going forward too.
Nosworthy 6/10 - He seemed in complete control earlier on in the game with some clever pieces of defending, sensible reading of the game and good evidence of his pace/positional play. Then made a bad mistake on the goal where he let his man get away from him and run unopposed to the goal that led directly to the goal. In the second half he made another couple of unforced errors that nearly led to further chances/goals but for the most part still looked maybe our best defender.
Taylor 6/10 - Did a few decent things with the ball and put one or two decent crosses/balls in and he was slightly better than he has been earlier in the season. His main weaknesses are his inability to get in the right positions and to react to danger. He is also very weak in the challenge and rarely wins tackles. On the first goal I do not know quite where we went as the danger came directly down his side and he was nowhere to be seen. However, he did ok in the second half and kept to his position better.
Bartlett 3/10 - Had an afternoon to forget and for the most part had an absolute nightmare. An appalling mistake in the first half led to a one on one and a near goal for the visitors and he made 2 or 3 similarly bad mistakes in the second half that nearly led to chances. His confidence seems shot and it got to the stage where he was scared to even try and bring the ball down or pass it; reverting to just lumping it out. He is also very weak in challenges/headers for a guy of a decent physique. Rather worrying that we would rather being in young loan players from other teams that are no better than what we have in the squad (Seip?) or even try our own young players (Lowton). Bartlett may make a good player eventually but on this evidence he is not ready football at this level yet.
Harper 4.5/10 - Offered little to nothing as the game bypassed him completely. Made one or two simple square balls but also lost the ball quite a bit and was so slow to get back when opposition midfielders moved forward and advanced past him. Clearly his legs have gone and he does not seem to have the fitness/pace nor ability to impact games much any more. Cannot see that he will be brought back when the season finishes and will probably end up in the lower divisions.
Montgomery 6/10 - Started the game well winning tackles, loose balls and trying to get United moving in the right direction. However, as the game disintegrated; Monty's touch and influence went too. The game became very scrappy with little football played and Monty only seemed able to flick or help balls on.
Quinn 6.5/10 - Actually thought he was one of our better players just by sheer effort and ability to try and get involved if nothing else. He did try and play the ball to feet or play a few give and go's; but his influence also lessened as the game went on.
Yeates 6/10 - Had a few of our better efforts on goal with a free kick just wide and another saved by Murphy in the second half. In general play though I did not feel he did enough and flitted in and out of the game; switching flanks but without having a major influence. Also, his distribution was pretty poor from set pieces with numerous free kicks/corners floated into the keeper or not beating the first man. The jury is still out on him so far.
Cresswell 6/10 - He had a decent first half with a few nice flicks/touches or pieces of interchange but he did not offer much of a goal threat today with little in the way of service and no kind of partnership understanding with Henderson; it made things difficult.
Henderson 4/10 - A really poor performance where he did little right all game. Had one looped header that hit the top of the bar but other than that he was totally ineffective. His touch, passing and link up was ineffective and he once again seemed more interested in fighting with the centre back than actually trying to play the ball. The few decent crosses we did put in he did not even bother trying to attack. Also strangely kept coming back into midfield or even defence and did not stay up front.
Subs -
Camara - Came on not long into the second half and had a few runs where he was played in but did not really have any shots or efforts on goal and then he went straight down the tunnel seemingly having reinjured his hamstring; an injury that had made him a doubt beforehand. With him probably being out for the rest of the season and out of contract that may be the last we see of him at the Lane.
Little - Instantly became involved in the game showing his touch and class as he drifted across the field. Always tried to find a red and white shirt and at least tried different things. Also put in a few poor balls as he took over from Yates in being unable to beat the first man.
Williamson - Played the final stages of the game when he came on for Camara but it was a difficult game to get into as United were now chasing a point and playing most things long.
Referee - Thought it was a poor performance which was in keeping with a poor game. Seemed like he was not going to book anyone despite one or two that looked certain yellow cards and then he booked Forte for his first indiscretion and ended up being the only booking of the game. He got a few decisions wrong; namely one or two corners we should have had and also was not helped by poor linesmen with both having an inability to put their flags the right way! Surely this is an essential skill when running the line! Despite the additional time he added on in both the first and second half he still let Scunthorpe get away with some appalling time wasting and should have booked the keeper for feigning injury and taking 20 seconds over every kick out whether it was from ground or his hands!
Crowd - A really poor atmosphere. Whether because it was Sunday kick off, an early kick off or the fact we were pretty awful; it made for a very quiet Bramall Lane. The fans did not really get on the teams back even and just seemed totally disinterested. There were boos at the half and of course larger ones at the end (and some quite vocal Blackwell out chants from the Kop as the game entered stoppage time) but generally the apathy in the stands was quite worrying. It was like nobody cares anymore. The team and club needs a shake up of quite large proportions if they are not going to just descend into a long spell of Championship (or heaven forbid even worse) mid-lower table with dwindling crowds back to the pre Warnock days. The fact McCabe has said nothing in the press or via the official club channels for months does not help and it seems the club are just meandering along at the moment with little direction from management or board level.