Sheff U vs Burnley Match Thread

[superdimitri]

We need to start commanding games better and not letting teams get easy goals. We have the ability to keep possession but keep giving set pieces away.

Richard Bredice has his work cut out. We have a set piece coach would you believe.

[dvalley69]

I think it's easy to point fingers at Muric but he's done a lot more today to defend our lead than anyone else. The defence has been atrocious. You can't blame the goalkeeper when players are being unmarked left right and centre.

You've not understood my point. I haven't criticised him. I'm saying he isn't the type of keeper we need, for the team we are and the defenders we have. We need someone commanding to give a YOUNG defence some assurance they have someone behind them who is strong in the air, commanding and takes crosses when needed. Defenders are always not gonna win headers but Muric was pathetic that first half and the Blades sniffed a real weakness and have exploited superbly.

[ClaretAL]

Kompany needs to have the defence in training all week with his kit on to show them how it’s done. The defence has been dodgy in a lot of the matches

[beddie]

Poor defending. Poor keeping. Out muscled. That’s it in a nutshell.

[1968claret]

nearly every goal has come from not winning the first header, not the goalkeeper.

Exactly this.
Yes, Coming out and claiming crosses etc is not Muric strength, clearly. Therefore we need our centre backs to be strong, we have to win the first ball more often.

Bad day at the office, but a good wake up call for us and hopefully VK will learn from this. Didn’t get team selection right today.

No need to get too down though. Still in a far better position than I was expecting at this stage.

[Robbo1882]

How the ref didn’t give a booking in the first half when Benson was kicked off the pitch.

[Cirrus_Minor]

I think there are a few teams when playing wingers as fullbacks is not exactly a good idea. Particularly when we have 2 decent but fairly inexperienced centre backs.

[warksclaret]

For me for all the attack mindedness of Maatsen and Vitinho when we are up against it against a pressing team we need to go Roberts and Taylor. And sorry but Muric just not up to it. Pointless looking at the saves he makes his command of anything aerial is the worst I have seen by a GK in a long time. He gives the defence no confidence

[Burnley1989]

It’s a shame, we looked really bright in phases. But big athletic quality players have bullied us in the second half.

The concerning factor is every team in the prem is littered with players like this.

THB and Beyer are good footballers but defensively they are just not top quality.

Big week to recover and go again. Even after this thumping I think we have shown we will have more than enough for Blackburn thankfully.

Agree with every word

[BurnleyFC]

******* rubbish.

[Devils_Advocate]

What's Tom Heaton doing these days?

He wasn't right good at coming for crosses and got a lot of stick on here for being stuck to his line to often. What he did have was players like Mee, Shackell, Keane, Tarks, Vokes, Wood etc in front of him defending set pieces

[Burnley1989]

For me for all the attack mindedness of Maatsen and Vitinho when we are up against it against a pressing team we need to go Roberts and Taylor. And sorry but Muric just not up to it. Pointless looking at the saves he makes his command of anything aerial is the worst I have seen by a GK in a long time. He gives the defence no confidence

As a defender you’d not feel confident with him, he’s the smallest giant I’ve ever seen

[Ampth7]

Peacock-Farrell has to start next game, as simple as that!

I think the winter break is going to come at just the right time. Injuries coming back, maybe a transfer or two to come in January (a centre half/keeper who can win a header/catch/punch), a month of defending the high ball practice…….Anything else?

[ElectroClaret]

He's probably the worst keeper I've ever seen for us

[Stayingup]

Roberts THB Long Taylor as a back 4 would do a hell of a lot better than today's defence.....

You could add Lowton to that.

[expoultryboy]

Maatsen is very good going forward , but as a defender he's a lot to learn . He doesn't get close enough to his winger . When they get passed him he seems to give up and doesn't put the effort in to chase back .

[superdimitri]

You've not understood my point. I haven't criticised him. I'm saying he isn't the type of keeper we need, for the team we are and the defenders we have. We need someone commanding to give a YOUNG defence some assurance they have someone behind them who is strong in the air, commanding and takes crosses when needed. Defenders are always not gonna win headers but Muric was pathetic that first half and the Blades sniffed a real weakness and have exploited superbly.

No, I understand your point and it's a weakness in our team but you can't concede like we have today and blame the goalkeeper. Muric may have bad decision making but he didn't make mistakes today that cost us goals. It was all down to bad marking from us.

The role of Muric in the side is help the team retain possession and to stop shots. Today he did that well. We are designed to keep the ball and not give chances away, we are not designed to be able to soak up pressure like we used to be.

A new keeper with better handling or command of the area will effect the team and put us on the back foot more because we will find it even harder to control games. If we could find one like a Ederson or Allison who can do both then great but we aren't going to attract that kind of player.

Sheffield United played really well but I don't think they changed tactics for us. They always have long throws with Robinson. They would have kept up with those even if Muric claimed each one.

[Goalposts]

We’ve been outfought today in the 2nd half , the first we held our own and were marginally better.
There was spell of about 15 mins in the second where we didn’t string 3-4 passes together , our pattern of play and shape went completely . Interestingly in that spell I didn’t really see a leader on the pitch. I would have expected cork - Cullen THB to step up. Our wingers that were so effective disappeared in the 2nd in terms of threat , this was because we were not getting our passing patterns together and there wing backs as a result were able to push on (benson and zaroury are not defenders), Enough has been said about the whipped balls in.

Brownhill and jayrod were missed , not least for their physicality in the middle and up front, I think you can see Cullen was missing a bit of sharpness from his recent layoff.. hindsight would suggest starting with Taylor and Robert’s would probably have been a better option.. interestingly on benson ive only seen him put one half of a performance in a game when starting and he is very effective when coming on. Muric can pass out and shot stop, but crosses high balls he is just not comfortable with and it shows. There will be a lot more of this to come from sides so needs working on.. as in life its the setbacks and how you respond to them that sets your character and strength. I think we will , 20 games in and only one side has outfought out battled and outplayed us in my opinion. So no reason for a panic or complete reassessment but definitely things to work on. I think VK and Bellamy are smart enough and students of the game to see that and make the required adjustments. Dissapointed in Barnes if its true he stormed off .

[Casper]

Muric is the definition of a trade off, there are far better keepers out there when it comes to commanding the area and even shot stopping, but what we sacrifice in that regard we gain with his ball control and passing range. If we want to play Kompany’s possession based style we can’t have a keeper like Pope bungling first touches and regularly over-hitting passes out of play. If Muric had the side of the game that Pope excels at whilst being as good as he is on the ball he’d be playing for Real Madrid.

Muric distribution is no better than Popes

[KRBFC]

It's almost as if they told everyone Muric was good with his feet and now everyone says it, without it actually being true.

He's probably the worst keeper I've ever seen for us

Then you haven't been watching Burnley for very long, simple

[Hibsclaret]

Not sure how any idiot can say that Sheff U are the best team in the league when they are not even top, got gifted a corner for the first goal got another goal that was miles offside and were playing a team that had a quicker turnaround and ran out of steam in the second half. Sheff U had a 6 game run without winning that ended last Saturday. They are not all that and just managed to prey on the weakness of inexperienced players who ran out of steam after playing every 2/3 days.

This is a great reset point for a team unbeaten in 16 games to take on the rest of the season and be even better.

[criminalclaret]

it's worth considering the idea that it is the defence and the keeper. Muric is not in any way giving anyone confidence in front of him. He looks terrified. Anyone ever play in a pub side when the keeper didn't show so you put the tallest player in goal? That's where we are.

The two centre backs have been passive at points. Want to see a Sheff Utd player surrounded by 2 or 3 of our defenders and yet win it on the floor in the box, or react first? Have I got some footage for you.

As other posters have said we have had a result like this on the cards because even the style of our play means we don't get much defending experience in a match. Under Dyche we could be down to 7 men and forced to ride spacehoppers whilst defending continual corners against Peter Crouch / Kevin Francis hybrids for 15 minutes and I'd confidently take the dog for a quick walk knowing we wouldn't concede.

But it's a learning curve for Vincent and our team. The real loss will be not using the defeat to improve and tighten up.

Accurate and very funny write up. Spot on about the Dyche defending era. We were spoilt with such good keepers and CB's over the years.

Irony of going through the last few years of being able to defend and not score, now we are in an era of being able to score and not defend.

As long as everyone learns from today I'll be happy. We are due a hiding and glad it's happened now if I'm honest.

[Mixedkompany]

We can’t defend the high ball. It’s been evident all season. The full backs should have been changed at HT for the inevitable onslaught from a gutsy team.We need height and experience in there. Muric simply isn’t good enough and needs replacing in January.

[jen1066]

They are literally taking the p**s out of us.

They literally aren't.

[KRBFC]

Muric distribution is no better than Popes

Well thats utter ********, here we go again with the blame Muric game everytime we concede a goal, PL cling on fans

[Spijed]

Not sure how any idiot can say that Sheff U are the best team in the league when they are not even top.

Guess who wrote that comment.

[dvalley69]

nearly every goal has come from not winning the first header, not the goalkeeper.

Why do you think they just resorted to putting balls in the box then? Did Sheff Utd have any other tactics first half? If you have a keeper who comes and takes all those first half long-throws and corners, commands his box and gives confidence to those in front then Sheff Utd stop that tactic and realise they need another way!! He might not have been at fault directly but he was targeted. And the home fans knew it as they were jeering him in everything he did. Stop being blinkered, his overall performance and general play was awful.

[Ampth7]

Why didn’t someone clatter McBurnie?

[Colburn_Claret]

Winning second balls is all about commitment, and they were up for it 10 times more than us.
I still think it's a game we could have won, but 2nd half exploited every weakness we have. They went for it, and all we did was watch. When you do that you deserve nothing.

Muric is not the problem, he saved at least 4, and another keeper couldn't have prevented the shambles in front of him.

I've said a few times we lack leadership at the back, nobody's barking instructions, nobody's pointing out the dangers, nobody's taking responsibility.

I love our attacking play, but if we have to water it down to shore up the defence, so be it.

[jen1066]

Benson is one of the few bright lights today, just a pity his 2 1st half goals will count for nowt.

Defeat is one thing, and I expected us to lose today, however it's the manner of the 2nd half collapse which is far more of a worry for me.

And it's not just today we got lucky in our previous 2 games when we pulled wins out of the fire, but today we've been schooled by a decent Sheff Utd team who identified our obvious weaknesses and have ruthlessly exploited them.

Kompany wants us in reach of the top 6 come the break.

Add that to the fact the majority of fans expected mid-table or relegation fight to League 1, we're doing ok. I'm sure VK will learn.

[Quicknick]

In 1991-1992 we lost 5-2 [at Blackpool] and went on to win the league. The same will happen this season.

[Colburn_Claret]

Why do you think they just resorted to putting balls in the box then? Did Sheff Utd have any other tactics first half? If you have a keeper who comes and takes all those first half long-throws and corners, commands his box and gives confidence to those in front then Sheff Utd stop that tactic and realise they need another way!! He might not have been at fault directly but he was targeted. And the home fans knew it as they were jeering him in everything he did. Stop being blinkered, his overall performance and general play was awful.

They lump balls in the box because they know our CHs are **** in the air.

[Hedontplayforyou]

Lots to learn for VK from this. I’ve no idea why we didn’t bring on Taylor at 2-2 or 3-2 to give us a little more height , it was simply an aerial bombardment . We needed a centre forward to hold the ball up as it was just coming back at us instantly. Not a good day unfortunately but hopefully there’s a backlash next sunday

[Burnley1989]

Muric distribution is no better than Popes

Ahhh nah I’m not having that one

[KefkaClaret]

Muric distribution is no better than Popes

How do you even respond when you see something so blatantly incorrect?

[KRBFC]

Why do you think they just resorted to putting balls in the box then?

because collectively we're absolutely pap at dealing with them, lost every first header, gave space up, they had much bigger players than us. You don't know football if you think a goalkeeper comes out and claims every cross into the box. Go watch the first goal, Mcburnie v Cullen (with Mcburnie having the run on Cullen) in an area no goalkeeper could ever come and claim.

[Burnley1989]

In 1991-1992 we lost 5-2 [at Blackpool] and went on to win the league. The same will happen this season.

I agree

[Devils_Advocate]

Guess who wrote that comment.

Dont worry he knows. I inferred he was an idiot for an idiotic post he made a few days ago and he got all upset like a little baby. Not sure if he thinks following me round calling me an idiot is going to upset me as much as it upset him but its quite amusing all the same

[Clive 1960]

No excuses from here , poor defence and GK been waiting for it to happen , we can't rely on our forwards to get us out of trouble.

[dvalley69]

Are we the only team playing twice a week?

Well, Wednesday night and then Saturday 12:30, yes!!
And we played Norwich midweek 10 days ago when Sheff utd didnt.
So, yeah, a slight difference in our schedules.

[Culmclaret]

It does feel like that Blackpool game in 1992…..whatever happened to the keeper who played for us in that one?

[dvalley69]

Oh dear. Don't even know where to start with that one.

enlighten me. We've been lucky, I guess.

[TheOriginalLongsider]

I thought we played really well in the first half. Utd we’re a lot more physical in the 2nd half and we didn’t have the players to (on the pitch) cope with that

Muric takes too many chances and touches, and regularly comes for balls that he shouldn’t. His distribution today was also poor, mainly playing it straight down the middle where we constantly lost the ball.

Maatsen just gave up for one of the later goals where mcburnie followed up on a spilled save.

As some have said, we need to change the team sometimes for opposition like this with Taylor at left back and Roberts or Lowton at right back

[Devils_Advocate]

It does feel like that Blackpool game in 1992…..whatever happened to the keeper who played for us in that one?

He sadly died before he even turned 50

[Jimmymaccer]

It's almost as if they told everyone Muric was good with his feet and now everyone says it, without it actually being true.

He's probably the worst keeper I've ever seen for us

I remember a lovely sunny opening day at Sheff Wednesday………lovely looking very smart new keeper took to the pitch, bright green kit and excellent pair of new gloves………..

Now he was sh#t!,,,

[NewClaret]

How do you even respond when you see something so blatantly incorrect?

There’s been some rubbish written on here over the years but that post tops the lot!

[Colburn_Claret]

The replay of that last goal, and yes he was well offside, but Maatsen's reaction shows why he shouldn't be playing against any team that offers a threat. Awful defending, Vitinho can be the same at RB, great going forward but poor defensively.

We used to be so good showing the opposition the outside and forcing them wide, but now they can skip past Vitinho and Maatsen with ease.

[SammyBoy]

Muric distribution is no better than Popes

It really is.

[Taffy on the wing]

You could add Lowton to that.

His face doesn't fit......or something.

[dvalley69]

They lump balls in the box because they know our CHs and goalkeeper are **** in the air.

I'll add in what you missed!!