• Sheffield United v Burnley

Posted: **Sat Nov 05, 2022 2:30 pm**

Please leave ratings for all players who have played 20 mins or more.

Scoring is from 3 to 10 as follows:

10 - Out of this World
9 - Excellent
8 - Very Good
7 -Good
6 - Average
5 - Below Par
4 - Poor
3 - Abysmal

Posted: **Sat Nov 05, 2022 2:34 pm**

Muric - 4
THB - 5
Beyer - 4
Maatsen - 3
Vitinho - 3
Cullen - 5
Cork - 6
Bastien - 4
Zaroury - 4
Benson - 7
Tella - 4

JBG - 3

Lack of experience from the manager and some of the players today. Easily bullied out of the game and struggled with every ball into the box. Regroup and work on the obvious weaknesses.

Posted: **Sat Nov 05, 2022 2:35 pm**

Muric - 4
THB - 4
Beyer - 4
Maatsen - 3 (responsible for two of their goals, looks lazy)
Vitinho - 5
Cullen - 5
Cork - 5
Bastien - 5
Zaroury - 5
Benson - 7
Tella - 5

Posted: **Sat Nov 05, 2022 2:36 pm**

A rude awakening as some concerns about the team selection pre match came true.

Muric - 5 - struggled badly at set plays all afternoon but not adequately protected and made 2 or 3 terrific saves at 3-2.

Vitinho - 5 - ball watching for the first goal and never really able to impose himself on the game.

Mastsen - 4 - hopeless for the 5th goal and rarely looked comfortable all afternoon.

THB - 6 - the pick of a ragged back four.

Beyer - 4 - unable to impose himself and caught ball watching for the second goal- he had to follow his man and compete for the first contact header when the ball cane back in. Also weak for the third.

Cork - 6 - really solid in the first half but unable to stem the tide after the break.

Cullen- 5 - tidy in the first half but another to fade badly after the break.

Bastien- 6 - competed well in the first half and it was a surprise he was the first to be hooked.

Benson - 8 - terrific in the first half and whenever we got him the ball he looked dangerous in the second period.

Zaroury- 6 - decent outlet in the first half but we couldn't get the ball to him after the break.

Tella - 4 - the decision to play him as the lone striker always looked suspect and so it proved. Never in the game.

JBG - 5 - I assume the idea was to help Vitinho but it didn't work and just made us a bit less coherent when we did get the ball.

Individually this was a poor performance but really, is a simple case of a manager getting his team wrong. Sheffield United are basically a very good version of a stereotypical Championship team - some quality in midfield, good delivery, strong, physical, terrific at set plays and with an effective long throw exponent.

The threat was obvious and it required some minor tweaks to our set up to deal with it. To leave the wingers high the full backs needed to be our best available defensively and physically, the back 4 as a whole needed stiffening with a bit of experience for a real bombardment, and some form of centre forward was required both to give us a platform and help out at set plays.

None of those concessions were made until 5 goals had been conceded. The error might have been corrected at half time after a very obvious 45 minute warning, but it wasn't and as a result for 20 minutes we were taught a very harsh lesson in the basics of the game and the need to respect your opponents.

This is a team and staff that is growing and learning and it's still well ahead of schedule at this stage in the season. This result has to be parked quickly and not taken out of context - but the lessons also have to be learned. We can't be so naive again.

Posted: **Sat Nov 05, 2022 2:40 pm**

Good post Spice. They had a plan, executed it and came out 2nd half on fire which we struggled to counter once the 3rd went in the team just visibly crumpled

Posted: **Sat Nov 05, 2022 2:40 pm**

Muric - 4
THB - 4
Beyer - 4
Maatsen - 3 (would be a 1 or 2 if we could. He was shocking)
Vitinho - 4
Cullen - 3 (forgot he was playing until he was booked)
Cork - 3 (as Cullen)
Bastien - 5
Zaroury - 4 (wasn’t in it)
Benson - 8 (wasn’t fed in the second half for some reason)
Tella - 3 (as Cullen)

JBG - 3

Shocking defending and I blame that on VK and the coaching staff. Zonal doesn’t work against a massive side.

Posted: **Sat Nov 05, 2022 2:40 pm**

Muric - 3 shocker.
THB - 4
Beyer - 3
Maatsen - 3
Vitinho - 3
Cullen - 5
Cork - 6
Bastien - 4
Zaroury - 3
Benson - 7 mom
Tella - 3 no balls played into the channels for him though.

JBG - 3

Posted: **Sat Nov 05, 2022 2:41 pm**

Muric - 3 I thought there was a strong case for removing him at half time. Despite a couple of good saves in the second half he was truly awful
THB - 3
Beyer - 3
Maatsen - 3
Vitinho - 3
Cullen - 4
Cork - 5
Bastien - 4
Zaroury - 5
Benson - 6
Tella - 3

JBG - 3

We played really really well in the first half in general.
The second half was absolutely terrible. I’m not sure I’ve seen a collapse like that.
Despite the first half I can’t mark them any higher as the second was that bad.

Posted: **Sat Nov 05, 2022 2:42 pm**

Muric 4
Vitinho 5
THB 7
Beyer 7
Maatsen 5
Cork 6
Cullen 5
Benson 8
Varourry 6
Tella 5
Bastian 4

Posted: **Sat Nov 05, 2022 2:42 pm**

Muric 4
Vitinho 4
THB 5
Beyer 4
Maatsen 4
Benson 8
Bastien 4
Cullen 5
Cork 5
Zaroury 5
Tella 4

JBG 4

I think the score line speaks for itself. Bullied and weak defending by the whole back line. The trouble we have is the defence have no faith in the keeper. It’s hard not to look at what we had and Pope would have comfortably claimed the majority of the balls in and taken the pressure off the back line. IMO Muric should be dropped. We move on though.

Posted: **Sat Nov 05, 2022 2:45 pm**

Muric 5
Vitinho 5
Harwood Bellis 6
Beyer 6
Maatsen 5
Cullen 5
Cork 5
Bastien 4
Zaroury 6
Benson 7
Tella 5

Subs
Gudmundsson 6
Dervisoglu 6
Roberts 6
Taylor 7

Posted: **Sat Nov 05, 2022 2:45 pm**

Muric 4
Vitinho 4
THB 5
Beyer 5
Maatsan 4
Cullen 5
Cork 6
Zaroury 5
Benson 7
Bastien 6
Tella 4

JGB 4

Wrong team today. We couldn’t control the game with Tella on his own through the middle with both wingers hugging the touch line. Holding the ball and allowing the midfield to get forward is just not his game. Bastien although neat and tidy is not a number 8/10. Much as Benson deserved to start that left us with no real game changer to bring off the bench. That’s why our defence were put under so much pressure.

Posted: **Sat Nov 05, 2022 2:48 pm**

Poor selection from Kompany and too slow to change things

Muric 4 - awful
Vitinho 4
THB 5 - some good lots bad
Beyer 4
Maatsan 4
Cullen 4 outfought
Cork 4 outfought
Zaroury 4
Benson 7
Bastien 4 awful
Tella 4

JGB 4

Posted: **Sat Nov 05, 2022 2:49 pm**

The only person hopeless for the 5th goal was the assistant. It was miles offside.

Muric 5
Vitinho 5
Beyer 5
THB 5
Maatsen 5
Cork 6
Cullen 6
Bastien 4
Zaroury 4
Benson 8
Tella 4

Bad day at the office coupled with poor decisions from the officials that cost us the key first goal. Needed defensive changes at half time. The manager will learn from this. Not easy to play a team like that with a shorter turnaround. Typical for it to happen in our most important game just as it did last season at Leeds, Newcastle and the last week of the season.

Posted: **Sat Nov 05, 2022 2:49 pm**

Simple really a goalkeeper who can't command his box vitinho and maatsen can't defend.taylor and Roberts need to start next week.as for muric I can't see vk dropping him unfortunately

Posted: **Sat Nov 05, 2022 2:49 pm**

Muric 4
Vitinho 5
THB 5
Beyer 5
Maatsen 5
Cork 6
Cullen 5
Benson 7
Varourry 6
Tella 5
Bastian 4
Poor from VK, at halftime should have brought on Charlie and Roberts .Clearly what their game plan was and they knew our weaknesses

Posted: **Sat Nov 05, 2022 2:51 pm**

Muric 3
Vitinho 4
THB 4
Beyer 3
Maatsen 3
Cork 5
Cullen 5
Bastien 4
Benson 9
Tella 4
Zaroury 5

Gudmundsson 4

Posted: **Sat Nov 05, 2022 2:51 pm**

Muric 3
Vitinho 4
THB 5
Beyer 4
Maatsen 3
Benson 7
Bastien 4
Cullen 5
Cork 5
Zaroury 4
Tella 4

JBG 4

Posted: **Sat Nov 05, 2022 2:53 pm**

Muric 4 - shocker, has to be more commanding
Vitinho 5
Beyer 4 - incredibly weak
THB 4 - incredibly weak mk 2
Maatsen 5
Cork 5- good first half, muscled out second half
Cullen 5 - as above
Bastien 4 - sorry, not having this lad
Zaroury 5 - they did a number on him
Benson 7 - played his part
Tella 4 - looks absolutely spent

JBG 4 - nothing

Posted: **Sat Nov 05, 2022 2:54 pm**

Muric 5 he's a big lad and should impose himself more but we give him zero protection at set pieces. Dyche always had someone stood with whoever was trying to block Pope - we never do with Muric so it's no wonder he struggles. 3 good saves in a row to keep the score down

Vitinho 4 nah

Harwood-Bellis 4 shaky shaky

Beyer 4 shaky shaky 2

Maatsen 3 wasn't very good on Wednesday and was worse today

Cork 6 covered most of the pitch with little support

Cullen 5 good to have him back but why oh why did he delay his through ball to Tella?

Bastien 4 some nice tidy touches but mostly this game passed him by

Zaroury 5 ineffective

Benson 6 showed why he shouldn't start as he's only got 45 mins in him. Got the goals though so y'know.

Tella 4 not in it at all

Gudmundsson 4 might have been useful if we were 3 up not 3 down

Good championship game this and Blades deserved their win. Said before the game this must be the smallest team we've put out on years and expected them to really struggle with the ariel stuff. So it proved but we don't helps ourselves with how we set up at set pieces. We let opposition players stand on our keeper with free reign and we don't have anyone on the posts. At least 3 of their goals were preventable, if not all 5.

Can't be overly critical after 16 games unbeaten and with just 2 defeats in 20 because this simply looked a game too far. We looked knackered and out of ideas after about half an hour and were lucky to be ahead at the break.

Really missed Jay today at both ends. Still, we have to remember this is a young team, they will learn from this and at the end of the day, we're still clear at the top of the league - ahead of expectations by some distance.

Posted: **Sat Nov 05, 2022 2:54 pm**

Muric 4
Vitinho - 4
THB -5
Beyer- 5
Maatsen -5
Cork-5
Cullen -5
Bastien- 4
Zaroury -5
Tella - 5 not the best
Benson - 9*

JBG-5

Posted: **Sat Nov 05, 2022 2:54 pm**

Muric - 3 - embarrassing. The one he slapped for a corner when Egan literally stood still in front of him summed him up. Scared to death every time a cross comes in.

Vitinho - 4 - poor
THB - 5 - best of a bad back line
Beyer - 4 - poor
Maatsen - 3 - abysmal

Cork - 6 - on his own once Bastien went off
Cullen - 4 - way off
Bastien - 6 - staggered he was hooked

Benson - 8* - outstanding and then became a passenger once the panic set in
Tella - 3 - staggered he wasn’t the first hooked - never had a kick
Zaroury - 5 - ok in patches but once we were at the Alamo he was non-existent

JBG - 4 - the strangest of substitutions - not sure where he was meant to be playing. Not sure he knew either

Cue every team launching it under our crossbar going forward.

What happened with Barnes? Was crying out for him to be on the pitch at both ends of the pitch

Posted: **Sat Nov 05, 2022 2:55 pm**

Muric 4
Vitinho 4
THB 5 extra point for the block on the line
Beyer 4
Maatsen 4
Cork 6
Cullen 5
Zaroury 6
Tella 3
Benson 8

Lessons to be learnt from this all round.

Posted: **Sat Nov 05, 2022 2:55 pm**

Muric - 6
THB - 4
Beyer - 4
Maatsen - 3
Vitinho - 3
Cullen - 6
Cork - 6
Bastien - 5
Zaroury - 5
Benson - 7
Tella - 5

JBG - 5

Posted: **Sat Nov 05, 2022 2:57 pm**

Muric 3
Vitinho 4
Maatsen 3
Beyer 4
Harwood-Bellis 4
Cullen 4
Cork 5
Bastien 6 - huge mistake subbing him. Completely lost any hold we ever had in midfield after he went off.
Zaroury 5
Benson 7*
Tella 4 - hope that’s the end of the “Tella as a lone striker experiment”. Did not work.
Gudmundsson 4

Posted: **Sat Nov 05, 2022 2:59 pm**

From TV and it hurts.

Muric 5
Vitinho 5
Maatsen 5
THB 5
Beyer 5
Cork 5
Bastien 5
Cullen 5
Zaroury 6
Tella 5
Benson 7

Second half we got bullied and out played . I just hope Vinny can sort it out by next Sunday.

Posted: **Sat Nov 05, 2022 3:01 pm**

Weird game, played very well first half and limited them to basically nothing. Their goal was never a corner but it happens. Second half they bullied us completely and exploited the key weaknesses in our 11 today. Kompany got the line up wrong today imo.

Muric 5 - mixed bag, some excellent saves and distribution but nowhere near dominant enough
Vitinho 5 - struggled a lot today, surprised Roberts didn’t start
THB 5 - his main weakness is his lack of physical dominance which McBurnie exploited
Beyer 5 - same as above
Maatsen 5 - threatening going forward first half but I thought VK should have started Taylor with Jay out, too small for that second half performance
Cork 6 - decent first half, lost control second
Cullen 6 - same as Cork
Benson 8* - outstanding first half but again his inclusion in the team reduces our overall height, VK needed to adapt to this
Bastien 6 - game passed him by a bit
Zaroury 6 - some bright moments again but couldn’t get him involved in the second half
Tella 4 - really struggled, not his game to be dropping and linking play, disappointed Dervisoglu didn’t play (also adds height)

JBG 5 - didn’t affect a thing

Posted: **Sat Nov 05, 2022 3:04 pm**

A rude awakening...

Muric - 4
THB - 5
Beyer - 4
Maatsen - 3
Vitinho - 3
Cullen - 5
Cork - 5
Bastien - 3
Zaroury - 4
Benson - 8
Tella - 4
JBG - 4

Posted: **Sat Nov 05, 2022 3:06 pm**

Muric 3
Vitinho 3
Harwood Bellis 4
Beyer 3
Maatsen 3
Cork 5
Cullen 4
Benson 7
Bastien 5
Zaroury 5
Tella 3

Gudmundsson 4

We were hugely fortunate to be ahead at half time and I said we need to make defensive changes to correct the wrong team he’d started with that were getting bullied.

Unfortunately he didn’t change it and Muric and the defence put in the most timid, pathetic, weak, and lightweight showings I’ve ever seen from a Burnley side. I still can’t believe how easily they collapsed. Frightening.

VK needs to acknowledge how good we are going forwards, but address the fact we simply can’t defend whatsoever. We won’t sustain our position at the top if we don’t earn the right to play first. The basics of football were nowhere near being done.

Posted: **Sat Nov 05, 2022 3:08 pm**

Muric 3. Only made saves when it was too late. Distribution was a big part of our problem in second half
Vitinho 4
THB 5
Beyer 5
Maatsen 3
Cork 6
Culle 5
Bastien 4
Benson 7. Brilliant first half but should have been subbed at ht
Tella 3
Zaroury 4

JBG 4

Posted: **Sat Nov 05, 2022 3:10 pm**

Muric - 3
THB - 3
Beyer - 3
Maatsen - 3
Vitinho - 3
Cullen - 5
Cork - 5
Bastien - 4
Zaroury - 4
Benson - 8
Tella - 4

JBG - 4

Decent 1st half but the 2nd was on the cards. We are utterly appalling at dealing with the aerial ball into the box, we have looked vulnerable at every corner all season.

Posted: **Sat Nov 05, 2022 3:14 pm**

Muric - 4 - Thats plus 2 for a couple of good saves.
I'm actually shocked at how little idea he has at how to command his area.
THB - 6
Beyer - 5
Maatsen - 4
Vitinho - 3

Cullen - 5
Cork - 6
Bastien - 4
Zaroury - 4
Benson - 8 ***
Tella - 4
JBG - 4

Posted: **Sat Nov 05, 2022 3:21 pm**

Muric - 4
THB - 5
Beyer - 4
Maatsen - 3
Vitinho - 3
Cullen - 5
Cork - 6
Bastien - 6
Zaroury - 6
Benson - 8
Tella - 4
JBG - 4

Posted: **Sat Nov 05, 2022 3:22 pm**

First half was more than alright

2nd half they just never got going, and didn't react at all well to the early equaliser

Fell apart a bit after that it has to be said, and the three subs to shore it up came far too late

Still, you'd have to be a complete pillock to lose the plot after we've done so well so as long as lessons are learnt, its hopefully a one off

Muric 5 - hopeless on crosses, made some good saves as we collapsed though
Vitinhio - 4 Roberts would have been miles better I feel
THB - 5 - pulled all over the place
Beyer 5 - as above
Maatsen 3 - WBA away performance, which makes it even more baffling he was still on the pitch at the end- cannot defend
Zourary 6 - fine first half, but just couldn't get the ball to him 2nd
Cullen 5 - glad to see him back, but struggled with the 2nd intensity
Cork 5 - as above really
Bastien 5 - some good, some bad, but VK clearly thinks he's not a 90 minute player
Benson 7* - 1st half exceptional, 2nd half our only threat
Tella 4 - not a chance today

Subs, too late really

I think (as has been said), there was a chance to make some changes at half time, but we'd been ok in the first half so we didn't

Probably waited too long in the 2nd, but this team have been so good for so long I can understand that

Onwards and upwards!

Posted: **Sat Nov 05, 2022 3:23 pm**

Muric 3
Vitinho 4
THB 7
Beyer 5
Maatsen 3
Cork 6
Cullen 5
Benson 8
Varourry 5
Tella 4
Bastian 4

Posted: **Sat Nov 05, 2022 3:27 pm**

From TV

Muric 5

Vitinho 4
Maatsen 3
THB 4
Beyer 4

Cullen 3
Cork 4
Bastien 3

Zaroury 3
Tella 3
Benson 9 To score 2 away would expect to get at least a point

JBG 4

Posted: **Sat Nov 05, 2022 3:38 pm**

Muric - 4
THB - 5
Beyer - 4
Maatsen - 3
Vitinho - 3
Cullen - 5
Cork - 5
Bastien - 3 - genuine question, did he even touch the ball ?
Zaroury - 4
Benson - 7
Tella - 4

JBG - 3

Posted: **Sat Nov 05, 2022 3:46 pm**

Muric 4
Vitinho 4
Maatsen 3
THB 6
Beyer 4
Cork 6
Cullen 5
Bastien 4
Benson 7
Tella 5
Zaroury 4

JBG 4

Posted: **Sat Nov 05, 2022 3:57 pm**

DavetheVicar’s gone full BOYSIE!

Posted: **Sat Nov 05, 2022 4:04 pm**

Game of 2 halves

Muric - 3
THB - 4
Beyer - 4
Maatsen - 4
Vitinho - 4
Cullen - 5
Cork - 6
Bastien - 4
Zaroury - 4
Benson - 7
Tella - 4

JBG - 4

Posted: **Sat Nov 05, 2022 4:09 pm**

Muric 3
Maatsen 4
THB 5
Bayer 4
Vitinho 4
Cork 5
Cullen 4
Benson 8
Zahoury 4
Tella 3
Bastion 4

Tale of 2 halves - we should have been out of sight at the break
Second half less said the better and totally bullied and had no reply

Posted: **Sat Nov 05, 2022 4:31 pm**

Muric - 4 Looked a liability when crosses were coming in today. He has to be much stronger than that. Couple of smart saves. Distribution was varied.
THB - 5
Beyer - 4
Maatsen - 3 Shocking. His use of the ball was poor. He was seen ball watching or not getting back into position numerous times including from his own mistakes and they scored down his side when he wasn't bothering his arse to get back. Not a shadow of the player we saw at the start of the season. His shirt must be up for grabs after that. Play Taylor.
Vitinho - 4
Cullen - 5
Cork - 5 Norwood won the midfield battle today.
Bastien - 5
Zaroury - 5 Didn' t get him involved enough.
Benson - 8 He's red hot at the minute.
Tella - 4 Couldnt get in the game. Not a lone striker in a million years.

Posted: **Sat Nov 05, 2022 5:48 pm**

From tv
Muric 4 that was his worst display in a Burnley shirt, we know he has weaknesses with crosses but his performance today meant the defence had no confidence in him at all. I would seriously be looking at playing Peacock against Blackburn.
Vitinho 4 I’ll keep on saying it, he and Maatsen are defensively awful at full back.
TBH 5 no support from fullbacks or midfield.
Beyer 5 no support from fullbacks or midfield
Maatsen 3 I’ve said it from day one Taylor has to play at lb, he is one of the best left backs in the Championship
Cork 5 was midfield on the pitch today?
Cullen 4 was midfield on the pitch today?
Bastien 5 same comment
Benson 8 a very special player
Tella 5 got outplayed by defenders much bigger and much stronger than he.
Zaroury 6 no supply from Maatsen or midfield, ended up chasing back.

JBG 4 couldn’t do much when we were being overrun and outmuscled all over the pitch.

VK got it wrong today. When I saw the starting line up, I said it was far too weak with no height to play a big, strong, tall Blades team. I hate to say it but it was men against boys. I would be tempted to play Peacock Farrell, Lowton/Roberts and definitely Taylor at left back against Rovers next Sunday. We are being sussed.

Posted: **Sat Nov 05, 2022 6:07 pm**

claretspice wrote: ↑
Sat Nov 05, 2022 2:36 pm
A rude awakening as some concerns about the team selection pre match came true.

Muric - 5 - struggled badly at set plays all afternoon but not adequately protected and made 2 or 3 terrific saves at 3-2.

Vitinho - 5 - ball watching for the first goal and never really able to impose himself on the game.

Mastsen - 4 - hopeless for the 5th goal and rarely looked comfortable all afternoon.

THB - 6 - the pick of a ragged back four.

Beyer - 4 - unable to impose himself and caught ball watching for the second goal- he had to follow his man and compete for the first contact header when the ball cane back in. Also weak for the third.

Cork - 6 - really solid in the first half but unable to stem the tide after the break.

Cullen- 5 - tidy in the first half but another to fade badly after the break.

Bastien- 6 - competed well in the first half and it was a surprise he was the first to be hooked.

Benson - 8 - terrific in the first half and whenever we got him the ball he looked dangerous in the second period.

Zaroury- 6 - decent outlet in the first half but we couldn't get the ball to him after the break.

Tella - 4 - the decision to play him as the lone striker always looked suspect and so it proved. Never in the game.

JBG - 5 - I assume the idea was to help Vitinho but it didn't work and just made us a bit less coherent when we did get the ball.

Individually this was a poor performance but really, is a simple case of a manager getting his team wrong. Sheffield United are basically a very good version of a stereotypical Championship team - some quality in midfield, good delivery, strong, physical, terrific at set plays and with an effective long throw exponent.

The threat was obvious and it required some minor tweaks to our set up to deal with it. To leave the wingers high the full backs needed to be our best available defensively and physically, the back 4 as a whole needed stiffening with a bit of experience for a real bombardment, and some form of centre forward was required both to give us a platform and help out at set plays.

None of those concessions were made until 5 goals had been conceded. The error might have been corrected at half time after a very obvious 45 minute warning, but it wasn't and as a result for 20 minutes we were taught a very harsh lesson in the basics of the game and the need to respect your opponents.

This is a team and staff that is growing and learning and it's still well ahead of schedule at this stage in the season. This result has to be parked quickly and not taken out of context - but the lessons also have to be learned. We can't be so naive again.

Hi Spice, don't disagree with any of your comments. I wasn't at the game, watched on tv. I wonder how much of today was a result of very tired legs from young players, playing wednesday night, with more than 16 minutes added time in the game, and then again Saturday 12:30. Manuel Benson game on in second half on Wednesday and got a start today, first in many games. Most of the others have been on the pitch most games.

Posted: **Sat Nov 05, 2022 8:24 pm**

Paul Waine wrote: ↑
Sat Nov 05, 2022 6:07 pm
Hi Spice, don't disagree with any of your comments. I wasn't at the game, watched on tv. I wonder how much of today was a result of very tired legs from young players, playing wednesday night, with more than 16 minutes added time in the game, and then again Saturday 12:30. Manuel Benson game on in second half on Wednesday and got a start today, first in many games. Most of the others have been on the pitch most games.

I'm sure fatigue was part of it but that made the selection today even more surprising. Vitinho and Tella were two players who looked tired on Wednesday. When Pochettino was at Spurs he used to make a policy of rotating the full backs so they didn't play more than once a week - because they do so much running.

When you put that together with the wider point about picking a team which respects a really tough opposition's strengths, it feels as though playing with Barnes or Dervişoğlu up top, and Roberts and Taylor at fullbacks, was a bit of a no brainer today.

Posted: **Sat Nov 05, 2022 9:26 pm**

Muric 3 - A 7ft tall, 14 stone weakling. Kicked worse than Pope today

Vitinho - 4 Really didn’t fancy this

THB - 6

Beyer - 5

Maatsen - 4 VK knows more about football than I ever will but Charlie Taylor simply HAD to play today

Cork - 6

Cullen - 5

Benson - 7

Bastien - 4

Zaroury - 5

Tella 3 - Not his fault he was asked to a job he absolutely can’t do. But i can only mark what i see.

Wrong team selection, which pretty much everyone in the away end knew before kick off. Reminded me of what we did to West Ham a couple of years ago. Bullied the keeper, put great deliveries in and watch them crumble.

Got to learn quickly from that. It’s alright being rubbish at defending when you have the ball 80% of the game but if a side doesn’t let us, we’re in massive trouble.

Other than that, Bramhall Lane is great, Sheffield is nice and Blades fans were sound. Shame we’re awful there.

Posted: **Sat Nov 05, 2022 9:50 pm**

Muric 3 can’t command his box. Doesn’t fill anyone with confidence
Vitinho 4 part of a shambolic defence
Beyer 4 as above
THB 4 as above one of his worst games imo
Maatsen 3 shocking defensive display
Cork 5
Cullen 5
Benson 8 mom excellent the only positive
Bastien 5
Zaroury 6
Tella 5 anonymous

JBG 5 doesn’t offer enough for me

Dreadful 2nd half but the signs were there before and changes should have been made at half time. Some experience was needed at the back and we missed Jay Rod up front. If we continue to defend remotely like this there is no way we will go up. Really struggle against big physical sides.

Posted: **Sat Nov 05, 2022 9:59 pm**

Muric 5
Vitinho 4
Maatsen 4
THB 5
Beyer 5
Cork 6
Cullen 6
Bastien 6
Zaroury 4
Benson 7
Tella 4

JBG 4

Of the above comments I think Spice has it most right. It felt like the manager’s error for me but he is ahead of it so far so he gets a break and we move on. He is 36 years old, a puppy in manager age, he won’t have seen this experience elsewhere much.

The naivety was thinking he could turn up here with some tiny footballers and play them off the park. Whereas the contradiction is that the big strong Kompany would have been the first name listed when City played at the Turf. He should have taken a leaf from his former manager’s book.

They play Warnock style with a big lump up front and a long throw merchant the likes of which I have never seen under a fierce crowd. We had to nullify those then play from there. We didn’t. It needed Taylor, Barnes and Gudmundsson all playing. All 6 foot plus. It also needed tactically to protect the keeper which we didn’t do.

I’m confident though that this wasn’t a defining moment, we were tired and missing our taller players, we won’t get exposed like this again. We move on.

Posted: **Sat Nov 05, 2022 10:19 pm**

Muric 4
Vitinho 5
Maatsen 4
THB 5
Beyer 5
Cullen 4
Cork 4
Bastien 6 - first half he was more effective than Brownhill in that role
Benson 7
Zaroury 5
Tella 4

JBG 4

Hard to blame CBs for not being taller or fullbacks for not being solid defenders (it's neither of theirs' games). It's VKs team and bench selection that was wrong. Muric needs coaching on nothing but crosses for the whole of the WC break. Benson was good but Brownhill's physicality would have helped second half.

Posted: **Sun Nov 06, 2022 1:11 am**

Muric - 5
Vitinho - 4
Maatsen - 3
Jordan - 4
Harwood-Bellis - 4
Cullen 4
Cork - 5
Bastien - 6
Zaroury - 6
Benson - 8
Tella - 4
Gudmundsson - 4
Dervisoglu - 6

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