The last time we were in Sheffield, it was a balmy August evening. A cool, assured performance had just given us three points against Wednesday and our roller coaster season had got off to the perfect start. Seven months down the line, with the chance of automatic promotion having all but disappeared, the play-offs are the only chance of glory.
Watching the performance at Bramall Lane you’d never have believed it. To put it bluntly, we were crap. Second rate crap at that. I wouldn’t normally slag off the team, because you can nearly always make a case for a poor performance (suspensions, injuries, etc.), but today there was no such excuse.
When the team lined-up, the players were of no surprise, but that couldn’t be said for the formation.
Playing three up front was a bold move by Stan, but I for one believed it to be the right one. We had a five-point cushion over Birmingham in seventh place, so a win would put us within touching distance of the play-offs. The only reservation I had was that Ball had been put in central defence rather than midfield. Where is Arthur? When will Davis be fit? Central defence has been a problem for a while and starting with the same pair two or three games in a row would be a step in the right direction.
Straight from the start, it was clear that the midfield were struggling. They couldn’t hang on to the ball for any length of time, and were being overrun by the numerically superior United midfield. Gazza’s first contribution of note was to almost gift Peschisolido a goal when he under-hit a back pass to Beresford, allowing the striker to get to the ball first. Only a terrific save prevented a goal.
On 17 minutes, Stan’s plan looked even more ill-founded when Cox had to go off with what looked like a pulled hamstring. Briscoe went back into defence and Alan Moore came on, leaving the midfield looking more vulnerable. Indeed, the defence came under increasing pressure, and after a poor clearance from West, Jagielka shot from about 20 yards. Beresford managed to get both hands to it but mysteriously couldn’t keep the ball out, and we were 1-0 down.
Surely this would give us the kick up the arse we needed? Don’t you believe it. The only outlet was DJ, whose work rate and pace never gave the United defence a minute’s peace, but the quality of service was never there. A couple of passes from Gazza were frustratingly over-hit, and he got caught in possession too often. Taylor and I Moore simply couldn’t get into the game and may as well have been sitting in the stand.
The rest of the first half could only be described as tedious at best. Neither team looked as though they would score, and the best thing to happen in the half was the whistle that ended it. The only player who stood out was, surprisingly, Kevin Ball, who when called on to play at centre-half hasn’t looked out of place. When I say stood out, though, don’t forget that everything is relative.
The second half started with the Clarets reverting to 4-4-2, with Weller replacing the ineffective I Moore. Hopefully, Taylor and DJ would get more service and we’d be able to pull a goal back. Well, there was a goal after 47 minutes, but at the wrong end for the Clarets fans. A speculative cross from the United right wasn’t cleared, the ball fell to D’Jaffo about thirty yards out, and his shot flew to Beresford’s right, giving him no chance. It was a good finish, but if he tried it ten times, I doubt he’d score another like that.
There appeared no way back playing as we were, but at least we started to take the game to United. Taylor had a header just over the bar, a Gazza free kick from the edge of the area was just wide, and DJ’s control let him down after a good pass from the Geordie. In his desperation to get behind the United defence, DJ was getting caught offside too frequently, and a few promising positions were wasted.
On 69 minutes, Gazza was replaced by Payton, and was given a rapturous round of applause. Nothing unusual in that, you may think, but it was mainly the home fans making the noise. The away end, by contrast, was strangely muted. Gazza’s anonymity on the pitch maybe had something to do with it.
On 76 minutes, the Clarets should have done better when a goalmouth scramble saw several players have an attempt at goal, only for the ball to end up in Tracey’s arms. Nothing was going our way and although the performance in the second half was an improvement on the first, a goal never looked likely. This was typified when Taylor hit the bar with a decent header, and the rebound bounced to safety. Moments later, United wrapped up the game when, with the Burnley defence having gone AWOL, Jagielka had time to pick his spot from the edge of the area and give the scoreline a flattering look.
After reaching the safety target of 50 points in the 25 games before Christmas, we have only managed to accumulate a further 18 in 16 games. If we maintain this form, the season is in danger of petering out and there are worrying parallels with Huddersfield who, having fallen out of the play-offs on the last day of the season two years ago, were relegated last year. Hopefully, with Little available next week, things may improve, and if Gazza is going to make a difference then he needs to get used to the tempo of football in this division. He simply doesn’t have the time on the ball that he’d like, and far too often is caught in possession.
A particularly galling aspect of today’s defeat was the fact that Sheffield United are managed by the loathsome Neil Warnock. Stan must have found that hard to stomach even more than the pathetic performance, but let’s hope that United come to their senses and get rid.
Scorers: Jagielka (20, 88), D'Jaffo (47).
Crowd: 19,003.
Referee: D Laws of Whitley Bay.
Paddy’s Man of the Match: Kevin Ball.
Midfield? What midfield?