v Sheffield Utd (h) - 2/11/2024

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Cantwell cut a very frustrated figure for me,there was just zero drive or passion in that performance today.

How does Eustace shake it up for Stoke?

[Crimpshrine]

7 minutes ago, KentExile said:

About £500K wasn't it?

big profit to be made there

[Ghost7]

I've no doubt about it, Cantwell will have a low release clause. There's no way he'd have signed here without one.

[JCRovers]

5 minutes ago, RevidgeBlue said:

I think I know what you mean but what's an "alibi player" ?

In the sense that a player is on the pitch but makes zero effort on contribution to the team. A player who would rather pass the ball to someone else than taking on his opponent. 

[RevidgeBlue]

Fun fact:

Since beating us Plymouth (who are in the relegation places) have lost 5-0, 1-0, drawn 3-3 at home against Preston after being 3 down and are 3-0 down in the first half at Leeds.

[ABBEY]

17 minutes ago, Exiled_Rover said:

Wait, you think those are low effort performances?

I think it's a team going flat out - which is why we struggle to back it up when we have 2 games a week.

Dolan, Hedges, Weimann, Buckley, Pickering, Pears - all L1 players. 

Sheffield United brought Harmer off the bench ffs. 

if you think today wasnt flat out I'd hate to see a shit one

[lraC]

12 minutes ago, simongarnerisgod said:

can anyone explain the insane tactic of not leaving anyone up when we have to defend a set piece,the bloody ball comes right back at us,cantwell.dolan and yoshi are more a hinderance when it comes to defending,leave one on the centre circ;le and another in midfield,the other side will have to bring 4 back and we`ll have an outball.it`s basic common sense imo

Yeah I can explain it. The manager thinks staying in the game for as long as possible, is a valid tactic. 

[simongarnerisgod]

2 minutes ago, Ghost7 said:

I've no doubt about it, Cantwell will have a low release clause. There's no way he'd have signed here without one.

i expect him to be off to a team in the top six in january,carter would have been sold as well but for his injury,after that the cupboard is bare and the brown stuff may well hit the fan,is a brainless way of running a club,you can`t rely on bringing in millions by selling players every year,the best way to bring in money is by trying to be succesfull

[arbitro]

That was an eye opener as we were dominated all over the pitch by a well organised Sheffield United. They were everything I think we should aspire to be. Big, strong, organised and a clear tactical plan to execute. To be truthful 2-0 flattered us and the fact I thought Pears was by far our best player speaks volumes. That said our play was so pedestrian it made us easy to play against. Not just pedestrian but at times too predictable especially in defence and midfield. The sideways and backwards passing was never going to hurt Sheffield but we persisted with it and so often barely got out of our own half. Perhaps one of the biggest surprises to me was that on Sheffield's corners Travis was picking up Soutar. Now I might be old fashioned but surely against their two biggest players two of our biggest players should be marking them. Our set piece coach should answer for that one. Also every player back for their corners is poor. Three times in the second half we cleared the ball from corners only for it to come straight back with their players having all the time and under no pressure. That wasn't the reason we lost though. 

Eustace has more selection problems for Wednesday and the non functioning attacking side of our game  needs to be addressed. I would start Harry Leonard although Ohashi was one of the best of a bad bunch today. I also sensed that Cantwell is becoming frustrated. Several times he made runs to get in behind but wasn't seen. His body language told me everything. And I'm becoming disenchanted with Gueye. What does he offer?

The hope I have for Wednesday is that Stoke aren't Sheffield United but Eustace has to earn his money here. We have to be more progressive in possession and score first. At least if we are going to sit in it would give us something to defend.

[roversfan99]

Dreadful watch again, our recent terrible goal return under Eustace continues, he plays a part in that but the main reason is the owners and the continued unwillingness to spend on the squad.

The transfer window was not a successful one, I suppose its hard when the budget is so low and you need so many. Beck has been good, Cantwell is our only good attacking player but otherwise, poor. We needed a striker, we got one in Ohashi who is not up to scratch, and another who is an embarassment. We needed a keeper, got a benchwarmer. We needed pace, yet we are slower than ever. Why is Baker never played too? 

If Hedges and Dolan (they will almost certainly start on Wednesday) never play again for us its too soon. They have both been here for years and arent good enough, and no longer have someone scoring all the goals, their lack of contribution is now more stark. Get rid at the end of their contracts.

It tells you a lot looking at the subs that when needing goals, we brought on a right back, a left back, a non scoring donkey of a striker and whatever Buckley is meant to be.

[M_B]

1 hour ago, Waggy76 said:

Very difficult to play any other way with this current squad!! 0

Spot on,especially against a team with such a gulf in squad depth and quality.

Came off today thinking write it off, Stoke on Wednesday is a much more credible challenge. There is an obvious lack of quality up front, yet Eustace is being criticised for playing defensively, despite that apparently being the first time we've conceded at home in 5 games.

 

[Blow-in]

35 minutes ago, JCRovers said:

That was an awful watch. Nowhere near competing with Sheffield Utd today who were better organized both in defence and attack. My ratings: 

Pears 6 - made some decent saves, could've done better with Campbell's first shot at goal as the rebound came back straight to him. Would like to see Toth in one of the upcoming games against either Stoke or Cardiff. 

Beck 6 - committed himself in the challenges as always but struggled with Rak-Sakyi's pace & skills throughout the game.

Hyam 7 - won at lot of challenges and was the best defender on the day.

Batth 6 - questionable positioning for the second goal as Campbell was left unmarked inside the box.

JRC 3 - shocking clearance for the first goal. His lack of vision/awareness has been exposed previously in the cup against Blackpool this season. Nowhere near the starting XI for me, neither as a right back, central midfield or any attacking midfield position.  

Travis 5 - gave away a couple of freekicks in dangerous areas and struggled to get forward to support the attackers. 

Tronstad 6 - made some good interceptions but didn't offer any quality passes when in possession.

Cantwell 8 - by far Rovers' best player on the pitch. Only one who looks composed on the ball and making right decisions. 

Dolan 3 - looks panicked and lost for finding any solutions when in possession. Dwells constantly on the ball, can't beat his marker for pace and overall football intelligence is lacking. Nowhere near starting XI for me.

Hedges 3 - missed a great opportunity to get Rovers back on level terms. Works hard and tracks back but overall attacking skills and pace is severly lacking. Alibi player. Nowhere near starting XI for me.

Ohashi 6 - Battled with Souttar and Burrows for long balls which was a total mismatch. Work rate and commitment was good as usual but isn't suitable in playing as a lone striker against physical teams in the league. Better off playing together with a target man or take a position on the left wing to cut inside as he's probably the best finisher the club has at the moment. 

Subs:

Brittain 5 - gave away possession which led to the second goal. My preferred choice as right back but his defensive skills and decision-making are questionable at times. 

Weimann 5 - didn't provide anything of note when he came on.

Pickering 5 - slotted in at left back when Beck pushed forward up the field to chase a goal. Beck is my preferred choice as left back however and think Pickering will struggle to back into starting XI. 

Buckley 5 - has regressed in the past season. Do possess some good technical skills but decision-making is at times poor. 

Gueye 4 - needless challenge when booked. Only target man in the club but hasn't been utilized to the best of his abilities. Technically poor so would have to learn to play simple passes, win aerial duels and get into the box for crosses. Feels like the sending off against B***ley and coming off the bench in subsequent matches has made his confidence drop a bit. 

Overall match plan: 4. Feels like Eustace has gotten stuck with selecting same type of players who hasn't shown that they deserve their place in starting XI (Dolan, Hedges, JRC). Booting it long for Ohashi, Hedges and Dolan to compete in the air is a complete mismatch and didn't work at all. Team is struggling to play out of defence when being pressed and doesn't have a target man to aim for when hitting long balls (when Gueye isn't on the pitch). Defensively the team is better organized than it was under JDT, but Eustace is lacking any real solutions attacking-wise. I don't see any combination play, overlaps/underlaps, skills in 1 v 1- situations etc., just a bunch of alibi players who shies away from making a difference. Hope to see Cozier-Duberry back soon as he seems to be a proper winger with pace and skills, unlike Dolan and Hedges. 

I appreciate that this took a long time to type out but  I am sorry noone out there was an 8 that is insane.

[Penwortham Blue]

41 minutes ago, Torgeir said:

Different level Rak-Sakyi from our wingers. 

We were reported to be after him for the last few windows. How on earth can we allow Adam W to sign for Palace without at least securing the loan of their winger, what we have been crying out for for years.

[scotchrover]

8 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

Dreadful watch again, our recent terrible goal return under Eustace continues, he plays a part in that but the main reason is the owners and the continued unwillingness to spend on the squad.

The transfer window was not a successful one, I suppose its hard when the budget is so low and you need so many. Beck has been good, Cantwell is our only good attacking player but otherwise, poor. We needed a striker, we got one in Ohashi who is not up to scratch, and another who is an embarassment. We needed a keeper, got a benchwarmer. We needed pace, yet we are slower than ever. Why is Baker never played too? 

If Hedges and Dolan (they will almost certainly start on Wednesday) never play again for us its too soon. They have both been here for years and arent good enough, and no longer have someone scoring all the goals, their lack of contribution is now more stark. Get rid at the end of their contracts.

It tells you a lot looking at the subs that when needing goals, we brought on a right back, a left back, a non scoring donkey of a striker and whatever Buckley is meant to be.

Disagree about the transfer window. Whoever plays in that final third is going to struggle, based on the service they get. Eustace is completely at fault for this. We are for too negative, especially with someone like Cantwell in the team. 

Edited Saturday at 16:14 by scotchrover

[rigger]

Did we have a shot on target today ?

[sharpysharps86]

22 minutes ago, SIMON GARNERS 194 said:

Cantwell cut a very frustrated figure for me,there was just zero drive or passion in that performance today.

How does Eustace shake it up for Stoke?

Well he can start by dropping at least one of Hedges and Dolan.

[simongarnerisgod]

3 minutes ago, M_B said:

Spot on,especially against a team with such a gulf in squad depth and quality.

Came off today thinking write it off, Stoke on Wednesday is a much more credible challenge. There is an obvious lack of quality up front, yet Eustace is being criticised for playing defensively, despite that apparently being the first time we've conceded at home in 5 games.

 

the criticism of eustace is a  case of not changing formation when it was clear  sheff utd were having it to easy,at the very least make them work for it,i thought his team shape and preparation were poor today,it looked like no one had any game plan or idea of what they were doing

[RutlandRover]

3 minutes ago, rigger said:

Did we have a shot on target today ?

No

[scotchrover]

Just now, RutlandRover said:

No

Someone mentioned 5 shots on target in 4 games. Not sure how true this is? It can’t be that far wrong though. 

[Ghost7]

There's definitely a feeling under Eustace of "I have the ball what do I do next with it".

We are playing out short from the goalkeeper without having any midfielders capable of coming for the ball or taking it comfortably on the half turn and we do not have runners in behind.

I'm not sure what the idea is behind playing it short without any of the above.

Whatever the gameplan is at the moment, it's not working even before today.

[Andy]

Horrible performance today.
Not a single shot on target in a home game is criminal.

Cantwell looked a clear class above anyone else on the pitch, but what's the point in trying to soar like an eagle when you're surrounded by pigeons?

Dolan does have some positive attributes, but his decision making and overplaying is more a hindrance than any benefit he offers the team.

Edited Saturday at 16:22 by Andy

[Scoobydo]

Soon as ACD and Siggy are fit they have to go straight in. I’d even argue Buckley deserves fitting in somehow. Dolan and Hedges are poor footballers. Only two players capable of a top half finish are Cantwell and Tronstad. That being said we only conceded today through stupid errors, JRC and Pears when he parried it straight back to them. 
Can’t expect much to happen going forward when you’ve Cantwell on the ball and the three players attacking would struggle in league one. 

[JCRovers]

13 minutes ago, Blow-in said:

I appreciate that this took a long time to type out but  I am sorry noone out there was an 8 that is insane.

Maybe the rating is a bit high, but thought Cantwell performed well given the opposition. He showed that he can be a top-level Championship player; too bad the rest of the team is nowhere near that quality. 

[Blow-in]

15 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

The transfer window was not a successful one, I suppose its hard when the budget is so low and you need so many. Beck has been good, Cantwell is our only good attacking player but otherwise, poor. We needed a striker, we got one in Ohashi who is not up to scratch, and another who is an embarassment. We needed a keeper, got a benchwarmer. We needed pace, yet we are slower than ever. Why is Baker never played too? 

 

Sorry but if you spend less than 10% of what you received, being on the same points as the previous season is a success sort of.

Its a numbers game, all these teams are looking to buy a bargin same as us but we have literally nothing spent. If and its a big if we can finish above where we did last season, we should all be counting our lucky stars because this only ends one way sooner or later.

Downgrades of the playing staff, downgrades of the backrooms staff (Gestede, really) We will be in League 2 in the next 5 years unless there is a change of ownership.

[simongarnerisgod]

2 minutes ago, Scoobydo said:

Soon as ACD and Siggy are fit they have to go straight in. I’d even argue Buckley deserves fitting in somehow. Dolan and Hedges are poor footballers. Only two players capable of a top half finish are Cantwell and Tronstad. That being said we only conceded today through stupid errors, JRC and Pears when he parried it straight back to them. 
Can’t expect much to happen going forward when you’ve Cantwell on the ball and the three players attacking would struggle in league one. 

im`e sure cantwell would be more effective in the middle,we are wasting his ability out wide,because there is no one on his wavelength,in the centre he`d be the one making the runs and pulling defenders about