Riley Roberts

Charlton winless in 11, Blades looking much improved. We should’ve known.

Poor defending may have led to the goals that Charlton scored, but we were hardly brilliant with the ball either, creating just 0.59 xG from open play in a game that was eerily similar in feel to some of those earlier in the season.

Michael Cooper - 3

Back-to-back games where both shots on target against us have ended up in the back of the net. Unlike at Preston in the week, the goalkeeper definitely has to shoulder some of the blame when beaten at his near post from range.

Hamza Choudhury - 4

Clear from early on that Campbell had the better of him. That and a yellow card, which, if you watched MOTD last night, you’d know was correctly awarded, saw him hooked at HT.

Japhet Tanganga - 5

Had been beaten a few times early on, but played some nice switches of play and was probably our best defender on the day.

Liam Kitching - 4

Didn’t cover himself in glory for Charlton’s second, though none of our back line did, with no fewer than four United players beaten to a ball in our six-yard box by one Charlton forward.

Harrison Burrows - 3

Positive on the ball, but an absolute horror showing defensively. Constantly allowed crosses to come in or didn’t track runners.

Kalvin Phillips - 4

Didn’t look quite as classy on the ball as in previous outings, and he too was one of the white shirts stood watching on as Godden won Charlton the game.

Sydie Peck - 4

Never really got up to speed with the game. Uncharacteristically slow to loose balls in the middle.

Tahith Chong - 5

Gave a fair account of himself without ever producing any spectacular moments.

Romelle Donovan - 6

Again, don’t think he was at his most impactful here, but still had so much of our play run through him, and it seemed for most of the contest that if we were to score, it’d more than likely come with Donovan involved.

Ben Brereton-Díaz - 4

Played Tom Cannon’s role of being the forward player who just couldn’t really get involved in the game in this one. Just 16 touches in 87 minutes.

Jordan Ayew - 7

Picked up his first goal for United and had a few moments where he caused the Charlton defence real problems with his running and energy chasing balls sent up the pitch.

Average rating - 4.45

Ratings system:

• 0 – Reserved for anyone who has a wayward effort at goal smash me in the face, unlikely to ever happen.

• 1 – Worst of the worst. Saved for disastrous performances, with result-altering mistakes.

• 2 – A terrible performance. Performances where a player offers very little and has many unsuccessful actions, ultimately proving to be a major detriment to the team’s overall performance.

• 3 – A bad performance. Negative contribution. Like a 2, just a bit less rubbish.

• 4 – A below-average performance. Not necessarily having a negative impact on the game; it could just be a player who struggled to impact the game at all.

• 5 – The baseline rating. All players go into a game starting on a 5 — it’s bang average, given out for an unremarkable yet solid performance, for a postman delivering the post.

• 6 – A decent performance. A player who gets a 6 has positively contributed to the game, and at the very least has had some impressive moments while being generally solid outside of them.

• 7 – A good performance. Awarded for players who had a noticeable positive impact on the game.

• 8 – A very good performance. A player who made significant contributions to the outcome of the game with their performance and consistently displayed a high level throughout.

• 9 – An outstanding performance. To score as high as a 9, a player needs to be dominant throughout the match, performing at a level well above the standard and/or making multiple game-changing contributions.

• 10 – A perfect 10, unlikely to ever see the light of day as nobody has a flawless game. For me to even think about giving out a 10 it would probably have to be a player doing something historic or unheard of.

Riley Roberts

I remember once saying that I thought Peck was never going to manage to get his first goal for United, and it honestly did feel that way during the 66 games it took him to open his account. I would never in a million years have thought I’d see the day he bagged a hat-trick.

The game itself was hardly one of immense quality, but it was a good show of character to bounce back after conceding so early on and drag us within a point of the top eight.

Michael Cooper - 5

Conceded with both shots on target faced, though it would be very harsh to attribute the blame for either goal to him. Potentially saved us from going 2-0 down when he was first out to a ball it initially looked like he might not get to.

Hamza Choudhury - 5

Struggled early on, getting beaten a few times, but has to earn some redemption points for getting between Erabi and the ball when the PNE striker would’ve had an easy chance.

Japhet Tanganga - 5

Was generally good, but his awful defensive header in the build-up to the second goal definitely hurts him here.

Mark McGuinness - 4

Probably fortunate to get away with a few in the game, as he seemed to have a tight hold on his man on more than one occasion without giving away a foul, then managed to lose a header to someone about half a foot shorter than him for the second goal.

Harrison Burrows - 6

Awarded the assist for Peck’s first and, while there was obviously little intent to set up a chance with that pass, it does show exactly what Burrows is good for: his play in and around the opposition penalty area.

Jairo Riedewald - 5

Fairly anonymous in the game. Didn’t do much massively positive or negative.

Sydie Peck - 10

Tahith Chong - 4

Lost it far too easily in the build-up to the opener, though he did almost redeem himself after taking on a couple of defenders and sending his effort just wide.

Romelle Donovan - 6

Thought he was far from his best here, but still played a perfect cross into Peck and offers us so much that even that is still a positive display.

Ben Brereton-Diaz - 7

Played some really nice passes, including a flick in behind to release Peck. Looks much better suited to the role he’s currently playing.

Tom Cannon - 3

Won pretty much nothing at the top of the pitch. I’ve reiterated my point that I don’t like to let data sway my opinions here, but FotMob has him at 2/23 duels won in that game.

Ratings system:

• 0 – Reserved for anyone who has a wayward effort at goal smash me in the face, unlikely to ever happen.

• 1 – Worst of the worst. Saved for disastrous performances, with result-altering mistakes.

• 2 – A terrible performance. Performances where a player offers very little and has many unsuccessful actions, ultimately proving to be a major detriment to the team’s overall performance.

• 3 – A bad performance. Negative contribution. Like a 2, just a bit less rubbish.

• 4 – A below-average performance. Not necessarily having a negative impact on the game; it could just be a player who struggled to impact the game at all.

• 5 – The baseline rating. All players go into a game starting on a 5 — it’s bang average, given out for an unremarkable yet solid performance, for a postman delivering the post.

• 6 – A decent performance. A player who gets a 6 has positively contributed to the game, and at the very least has had some impressive moments while being generally solid outside of them.

• 7 – A good performance. Awarded for players who had a noticeable positive impact on the game.

• 8 – A very good performance. A player who made significant contributions to the outcome of the game with their performance and consistently displayed a high level throughout.

• 9 – An outstanding performance. To score as high as a 9, a player needs to be dominant throughout the match, performing at a level well above the standard and/or making multiple game-changing contributions.

• 10 – A perfect 10, unlikely to ever see the light of day as nobody has a flawless game. For me to even think about giving out a 10 it would probably have to be a player doing something historic or unheard of.

Riley Roberts

Are Sheffield United back? Three wins, one draw, one defeat after the international break, steadily climbing underlying numbers, and one of our best halves of football at 11v11 all season. The line-up may have raised a few eyebrows, but this looked like a side that actually had a clear idea of what it wanted to do with the football, limited the opponent to very little chance-wise and was ultimately rewarded with a very deserved three points.

Michael Cooper - 6

Had very little goalkeeping to do for most of the game, but he impressed me when coming for crosses and also had some brilliant distribution, with a quick ball in behind for Ayew leading to a chance being the clear highlight.

Hamza Choudhury - 5

Solid, steady showing for Hamza. Was never really tested too much by Wrexham’s left-hand side, but did his job fairly well.

Japhet Tanganga - 6

Played the ball into Ayew which led to the only goal of the game and, with Wrexham posing such little threat, both centre-halves’ games were characterised more by what they did with the ball than without it.

Liam Kitching - 5

Annoyingly picked up a fifth yellow card in just nine matches, meaning he’ll serve a one-game suspension, but he, like Tanganga, showed some good moments with the ball, with a couple of really nice line-breaking passes through the middle. Did, however, get skinned out on the left when he was indecisive about rushing into a challenge while already booked.

Harrison Burrows - 5

Involved in a lot of our good play in the final third. I actually thought at the time that Burrows hadn’t been great, with what seemed to me like a fair few sloppy moments in possession, but looking at the numbers, he only miscued three passes all night. I’ll never use data to change my ratings, but I can admit it suggests this one may be harsh.

Kalvin Phillips - 6

Another who had some very dodgy moments with the ball and was very fortunate that they didn’t potentially lead to more. Still, the game pretty much ran through him, so I suppose with such a high volume of touches, you’re bound to make some mistakes.

Sydie Peck - 6

An impressive performance from Peck, where he covered a load of ground and seemed to be in the right place at the right time more often than not.

Tahith Chong - 4

Was unable to really get anything going, as most of our play came down the other side.

Romelle Donovan - 6

Was dominant in the first half, with Wrexham’s defence left with no option but to resort to fouling him. His impact waned in the second half, but it was still a positive performance in what was a much-overdue return to the starting XI.

Ben Brereton-Diaz - 6

Got the all-important goal and looked to have more joy playing on the left side of a front two.

Jordan Ayew - 6

It was his shot which was initially saved that saw BBD with a tap-in, and he was generally impressive throughout, though he needed to get his shot away quicker when he was released by Cooper in the second half.

Average rating - 5.55

Ratings system:

• 0 – Reserved for anyone who has a wayward effort at goal smash me in the face, unlikely to ever happen.

• 1 – Worst of the worst. Saved for disastrous performances, with result-altering mistakes.

• 2 – A terrible performance. Performances where a player offers very little and has many unsuccessful actions, ultimately proving to be a major detriment to the team’s overall performance.

• 3 – A bad performance. Negative contribution. Like a 2, just a bit less rubbish.

• 4 – A below-average performance. Not necessarily having a negative impact on the game; it could just be a player who struggled to impact the game at all.

• 5 – The baseline rating. All players go into a game starting on a 5 — it’s bang average, given out for an unremarkable yet solid performance, for a postman delivering the post.

• 6 – A decent performance. A player who gets a 6 has positively contributed to the game, and at the very least has had some impressive moments while being generally solid outside of them.

• 7 – A good performance. Awarded for players who had a noticeable positive impact on the game.

• 8 – A very good performance. A player who made significant contributions to the outcome of the game with their performance and consistently displayed a high level throughout.

• 9 – An outstanding performance. To score as high as a 9, a player needs to be dominant throughout the match, performing at a level well above the standard and/or making multiple game-changing contributions.

• 10 – A perfect 10, unlikely to ever see the light of day as nobody has a flawless game. For me to even think about giving out a 10 it would probably have to be a player doing something historic or unheard of.

Riley Roberts

It’s cliché to say, but 25 minutes is a long time in football, and that’s all it took for the feeling around Sheffield United’s performance vs. Derby on Saturday to go from one of misery, staring at a wholly deserved defeat, to being mightily disappointed at only securing a point.

The Blades were booed off at HT and looked poor until Dion Sanderson’s sending off and Romelle Donovan’s introduction, but began to create chances en masse and would’ve taken all three points if not for some good goalkeeping.

Michael Cooper - 6

Made a really excellent save to deny a Bobby Clark effort that looked destined for the bottom corner not long before Derby scored.

Hamza Choudhury - 4

Derby’s goal came down his side and he had a few other moments where he struggled defensively.

Japhet Tanganga - 5

Had one of the most frustrating moments of the game when he knocked it out of play with United playing some decent stuff, and it wasn’t his only wayward action on the ball, though he defended fairly well.

Liam Kitching - 5

Was pretty much our main progressor of the ball at 11v11 which, while he does have the passing range, doesn’t look like a massively successful strategy.

Harrison Burrows - 5

Solid enough performance where he offered some threat with his crossing, despite not really having a huge impact.

Kalvin Phillips - 5

Thought he was a little bit off the pace in the first half, as it seemed Derby’s midfield were first to most stuff that dropped, but he was much more comfortable when he was able to dictate play with waves of possession against 10 men.

Ollie Arblaster - 4

Didn’t really do all that much wrong when he was on the ball, but that was far too infrequent for a central midfielder.

Tahith Chong - 5

Had an excellent moment where he sprinted back to make an important defensive intervention, but maybe questions could be asked about why he was unable to get to Campbell’s ball across the box near the end, which would’ve given him a tap-in.

Ben Brereton-Diaz - 4

Made way after 67 mins and ended up with fewer touches of the ball than Donovan, who replaced him. Never really got going in the game.

Tom Cannon - 4

Pretty much anonymous, with almost no impact on our play.

Patrick Bamford - 6

Soldiered on after busting his shoulder in the first half and then chucked himself at a cross to score, which saw him go down again. He was also pretty quiet for the most part, but deserves credit for getting the goal.

Subs:

Romelle Donovan - 7 & Femi Seriki - 7

Both came on and changed the game. Of course they were helped by the game state they came into, but they were at the heart of almost every chance we created towards the end and both made a pretty good case to be in the starting XI next time out.

Average rating - 5.15

Ratings system:

• 0 – Reserved for anyone who has a wayward effort at goal smash me in the face, unlikely to ever happen.

• 1 – Worst of the worst. Saved for disastrous performances, with result-altering mistakes.

• 2 – A terrible performance. Performances where a player offers very little and has many unsuccessful actions, ultimately proving to be a major detriment to the team’s overall performance.

• 3 – A bad performance. Negative contribution. Like a 2, just a bit less rubbish.

• 4 – A below-average performance. Not necessarily having a negative impact on the game; it could just be a player who struggled to impact the game at all.

• 5 – The baseline rating. All players go into a game starting on a 5 — it’s bang average, given out for an unremarkable yet solid performance, for a postman delivering the post.

• 6 – A decent performance. A player who gets a 6 has positively contributed to the game, and at the very least has had some impressive moments while being generally solid outside of them.

• 7 – A good performance. Awarded for players who had a noticeable positive impact on the game.

• 8 – A very good performance. A player who made significant contributions to the outcome of the game with their performance and consistently displayed a high level throughout.

• 9 – An outstanding performance. To score as high as a 9, a player needs to be dominant throughout the match, performing at a level well above the standard and/or making multiple game-changing contributions.

• 10 – A perfect 10, unlikely to ever see the light of day as nobody has a flawless game. For me to even think about giving out a 10 it would probably have to be a player doing something historic or unheard of.

Riley Roberts

Lincoln, 3-0 (H)

After a three-week international break, no one really knew what to expect from this one. Would we finally see an improved United? For 40-odd minutes, that definitely wasn’t the case, with no shots in the box before Bamford’s opener. The second half was better, though, with Chong and Bamford both adding brilliant finishes to give us our biggest win of the season.

Michael Cooper - 6
Cooper didn’t have much to do, but the one save he did have to make was a great reflex stop.

Hamza Choudhury - 6
Solid enough display from all of the backline, and Choudhury was no exception. Lincoln didn’t create much all game.

Japhet Tanganga - 7
Lincoln’s attack have caused plenty of teams in the division problems this season when they go direct, but Tanganga was assured throughout.

Liam Kitching - 6
Again looked ambitious with his passing, though the execution was hit and miss, especially early doors. He picked up as the team did, though.

Sam McCallum - 5
Started the game very poorly, giving the ball away far too cheaply, and against better opposition that may well have been costly. He did improve, though, in fairness, picking up the assist for the opener.

Joe Rothwell - 5
Another who probably had a decent game on the whole, but I find it hard to ignore a start where he was as ineffective as he was.

Sydie Peck - 5
United enjoyed more possession than usual in this one, and while that typically suits Peck, I don’t think he had his best day here. For all the ball he saw, much of it went sideways rather than forwards.

Tahith Chong - 7
Starting for the first time this season, Chong had quite clearly his best performance in red and white. His finish was top drawer, but his general play was good too, as he always looked to drive forward with the ball.

Ben Brereton-Díaz - 6
Another who looked threatening when he was able to run into space. BBD picked up his first goal contribution of his third spell with a brilliant cross to pick out Bamford for the third.

Tom Cannon - 5
Didn’t make the most of his opportunities with the ball, but his work rate never faltered and he gave the Lincoln defence something to think about throughout.

Patrick Bamford - 8
Two shots, two goals, two excellent finishes for Bamford. The third goal was really the best of Bamford: expert movement to evade two defenders before delightfully stroking it home with his weaker foot.

Average rating - 6.00

Portsmouth, 2-3 (A)

Could you ever find five minutes that sum up supporting Sheffield United more than the opponents scoring a worldie and then us getting a man sent off? I thought we actually looked a bit more purposeful with the ball before the red, with a clear focus on getting it wide and putting balls into the box, but Pompey had an easy time getting through us and a side with more quality might have scored before they did. The second-half fightback was commendable, but we stay equidistant between the bottom three and top eight after our fourth loss in six.

Michael Cooper - 5
Hard to be too kind to the keeper when we concede three, but I don’t think there was much he could’ve done about the goals, and he made a few nice claims from balls into the box.

Hamza Choudhury - 2
Had a wonderfully up-and-down game, playing some lovely passes, then getting skinned, then another lovely pass, then sent off. It was a harsh red, but it still massively impacted our chances of getting anything from the game.

Japhet Tanganga - 6
Thought he was once again more than solid in his duties, again up against a massive centre-forward, and he kickstarted United’s fightback with a really cool left-footed volley. Had we not conceded three, he’d be higher.

Liam Kitching - 5
Played some nice switches of play out to the right-hand side, especially in the first half. He came under a bit of fire for his pass leading to the winner, but I thought it was indicative that, even with 10 men, we were trying to win the game, and I’ve no complaints about that myself.

Sam McCallum - 4
Didn’t feel like he was ever really at ease in the game. Had a couple of moments where he was too hesitant to make a tackle and Pompey were able to keep the ball in good areas. Also conceded possession deep in our own half for a Pompey chance, though he was thrown under the bus a little by Kitching.

Joe Rothwell - 5
Both teams routinely went long in this game, and that’s never going to suit your technical midfield players. A victim of our tactical set-up.

Sydie Peck - 6
Unsurprisingly seemed well up for the fight when it felt like the whole world was against us at 2-0 and 11 v 10. He picked up plenty of loose balls in that second half.

Tahith Chong - 4
Had all the right desire as he got at his man and put crosses into the box in the first half, but was basically a cone defensively when moved to RWB after the sending-off.

Ben Brereton-Díaz - 5
Subbed at half-time, though I thought he had some nice touches despite not seeing much of the ball.

Tom Cannon - 6
Headed in the equaliser and, in all fairness, absolutely ran himself into the ground. I don’t think his general play was anything to write home about, but a goal and a good shift is hard to fault.

Patrick Bamford - 4
Missed a big chance at 0-0, though it wasn’t as easy as the stats may suggest given he was obviously expecting Cannon to get a touch. Didn’t have much of an impact.

Subs

Kalvin Phillips - 6
Looked well up for it when he came on. Won the ball plenty in midfield and it was his corner that was turned in by Cannon. Clearly has the quality to make stuff happen when he’s on the pitch.

Average rating - 4.83

Ratings system:

• 0 – Reserved for anyone who has a wayward effort at goal smash me in the face, unlikely to ever happen.

• 1 – Worst of the worst. Saved for disastrous performances, with result-altering mistakes.

• 2 – A terrible performance. Performances where a player offers very little and has many unsuccessful actions, ultimately proving to be a major detriment to the team’s overall performance.

• 3 – A bad performance. Negative contribution. Like a 2, just a bit less rubbish.

• 4 – A below-average performance. Not necessarily having a negative impact on the game; it could just be a player who struggled to impact the game at all.

• 5 – The baseline rating. All players go into a game starting on a 5 — it’s bang average, given out for an unremarkable yet solid performance, for a postman delivering the post.

• 6 – A decent performance. A player who gets a 6 has positively contributed to the game, and at the very least has had some impressive moments while being generally solid outside of them.

• 7 – A good performance. Awarded for players who had a noticeable positive impact on the game.

• 8 – A very good performance. A player who made significant contributions to the outcome of the game with their performance and consistently displayed a high level throughout.

• 9 – An outstanding performance. To score as high as a 9, a player needs to be dominant throughout the match, performing at a level well above the standard and/or making multiple game-changing contributions.

• 10 – A perfect 10, unlikely to ever see the light of day as nobody has a flawless game. For me to even think about giving out a 10 it would probably have to be a player doing something historic or unheard of.

Riley Roberts

A real tough test awaited as promotion-candidates Wolves came to S2. Notably, the fixture signalled a shift to a back 5, something you’d expect to see a lot when facing off against the big boys this season.

It made for our most cohesive setup this season, looking fairly solid out of possession while also exhibiting a bit of control in the middle. A late Jimenez goal denied what wouldn’t have been an undeserved point, but there’s reason to be optimistic after that display.

Michael Cooper - 5
It’s a sign of our improved defensive performance that Cooper only gets a 5 here, as he had to face just 3 shots on target, as opposed to the 5, 8, 6 and 10 in the previous 4 games.

Hamza Choudhury - 5
Had a rough start, and probably still not one of his better performances defensively, but he looked more useful on the ball and took up some good attacking positions.

Japhet Tanganga - 5
I would like to give him a higher rating, as I thought his general performance was good, but it was a poor decision to go back to the line instead of sticking on Jimenez right at the end as Wolves scored.

Mark McGuinness - 5
Didn’t really notice him much, which I don’t exactly phrase as a complaint.

Liam Kitching - 7
Really enjoyed his performance as he got through his defensive work well, and went on a few forays up the pitch which actually looked quite dangerous.

Sam McCallum - 5
Didn’t have the most comfortable time defensively, but was a huge presence contesting aerial balls, as he always is.

Oliver Arblaster - 6
Looked promising when picking up the ball in tight areas and made some nice decisions on the ball. Positive.

Sydie Peck - 7
A very good battling performance which saw him pick up a lot of the loose balls and win a lot of scraps in the middle of the park, up against arguably the best midfielder in the division.

Kalvin Phillips - 6
All 3 in the middle were much better than our previous midfield displays in terms of the way they controlled possession and fought out of possession, and it was no surprise that it coincided with Phillips’ first start of the campaign.

Ben Brereton-Diaz - 4
Never quite made the right decision when he was found in promising areas.

Patrick Bamford - 4
Also didn’t impact the game much. Seems to be struggling with his role this season.

Average rating - 5.63

Ratings system:

• 0 – Reserved for anyone who has a wayward effort at goal smash me in the face, unlikely to ever happen.

• 1 – Worst of the worst. Saved for disastrous performances, with result-altering mistakes.

• 2 – A terrible performance. Performances where a player offers very little and has many unsuccessful actions, ultimately proving to be a major detriment to the team’s overall performance.

• 3 – A bad performance. Negative contribution. Like a 2, just a bit less rubbish.

• 4 – A below-average performance. Not necessarily having a negative impact on the game; it could just be a player who struggled to impact the game at all.

• 5 – The baseline rating. All players go into a game starting on a 5 — it’s bang average, given out for an unremarkable yet solid performance, for a postman delivering the post.

• 6 – A decent performance. A player who gets a 6 has positively contributed to the game, and at the very least has had some impressive moments while being generally solid outside of them.

• 7 – A good performance. Awarded for players who had a noticeable positive impact on the game.

• 8 – A very good performance. A player who made significant contributions to the outcome of the game with their performance and consistently displayed a high level throughout.

• 9 – An outstanding performance. To score as high as a 9, a player needs to be dominant throughout the match, performing at a level well above the standard and/or making multiple game-changing contributions.

• 10 – A perfect 10, unlikely to ever see the light of day as nobody has a flawless game. For me to even think about giving out a 10 it would probably have to be a player doing something historic or unheard of.

Riley Roberts

Norwich (H) 1-3

The first game of this Saturday-Tuesday double-header saw the Blades take on Norwich, in a game where one side had displayed a concerning level of performance but managed to pick up points, and the other had looked pretty decent while losing three of their first four. There was also an interesting subplot as Andre Brooks and Anis Ben Slimane returned to Bramall Lane.

Michael Cooper - 5
Might’ve conceded three goals, but I’m not sure there was much he could’ve done about them, truthfully, and he was overly exposed in a fragile defensive display.

Hamza Choudhury - 3
Was once again exploited at right-back, with Musaba taking him on with ease throughout the game.

Japhet Tanganga - 4
A poor display from the captain. His movement for Toure’s goal in particular saw him pick up a lot of criticism, and while I’m not sure he could’ve done much about the situation even if he’d played it perfectly, the optics weren’t good.

Liam Kitching - 5
An up-and-down game which saw a couple of frail moments, but also a desire to be ambitious with the ball at his feet, though those attempts were often unsuccessful.

Rhys Norrington-Davies - 5
Made a silly mistake which saw him booked right before he made way, but I actually thought he’d had a solid game up to that point, with Brooks the only man in the Norwich front line failing to get onto the scoresheet.

Jairo Riedewald - 3
A poor display, as Riedewald never seemed to get up to the tempo of the game, getting beaten to balls it felt he might’ve won last season.

Sydie Peck - 5
He came under a little fire for his performance, but I felt that was harsh. He was the midfielder most likely to make something happen in the game, especially in a first half where we looked pretty decent.

Romelle Donovan - 5
Didn’t come off for him going forward, but he continued to show an impressive work rate as he often got back when he had to.

Ben Brereton-Diaz - 5
Pretty quiet game really, but it was his pass that found Campbell for the equaliser, and was an example of the type of pass that will regularly lead to chances. A positive moment.

Tyrese Campbell - 5
Set up the opener, but didn’t really see much of the action.

Patrick Bamford - 5
Again struggled with most of his #9 duties, but did find an excellent finish for the equaliser.

Subs:

Kalvin Phillips - 4
I’ve liked Phillips thus far this season, but this display was sloppy, as he struggled to get control of the game.

Average rating - 4.5

Blackburn (A) 2-1

With all due respect to Blackburn, this was a great fixture to see in the calendar. Following a tough afternoon on Saturday, the last thing we needed was to face another top side, and a heavily depleted Blackburn side is about as comfy as it gets in the Championship, though no away day is too easy. The Blades started awfully, going 1-0 down, and would’ve been 2-0 down if not for an offside, before scoring with our first two shots of the game and seeing out a win in dogged fashion, even if Blackburn’s chances may have warranted a result in their favour.

Michael Cooper - 6
Beaten by a great finish for the first goal, but denied Cantwell early in the second half with a great stop.

Hamza Choudhury - 5
Was heading for another sub-standard performance after a terrible decision to play a ball into a marked Peck, which led to Blackburn’s opener, but he did also deny a certain goal with a clearance off the line after HT.

Japhet Tanganga - 6
Back to a good level of performance from the skipper, as he won most of what came his way and had to do a lot of defending in the box with United looking to see out the game.

Liam Kitching - 6
An equally solid display from the man alongside Tanganga. Another who was important in seeing out the three points.

Rhys Norrington-Davies - 4
Made way at HT in a sub I really liked, as Wilder, despite the scoreline, had clearly recognised there was an issue with our performance. I thought RND looked pretty uneasy when he was in possession in this one, with the odd loose touch among the lowlights.

Sam McCallum - 5
Didn’t have a superb time on the ball, but was another who chipped in defensively.

Joe Rothwell - 7
The best performer during his 58 minutes on the pitch, imo. Rothwell played a number of nice passes, and one of those led to Peck’s goal.

Sydie Peck - 7
Was dispossessed for the opener, though I took more issue with Choudhury’s decision to give it to Peck in that position than with him losing it. Rebounded in the best possible way by playing a huge hand (G+A) in both Blades’ goals.

Romelle Donovan - 5
Had some nice moments of ball control where he kept possession when others might’ve lost it, but ultimately didn’t impact the game too much.

Ben Brereton-Diaz - 5
I really didn’t like a lot of BBD’s early play, as he seemed to treat the ball a bit like a hot potato, but the defensive side of the game, which is still important for a forward, was there, and he helped out massively.

Tom Cannon - 7
Scored with a really nice finish and generally put in a pretty sound display at the top of the pitch.

Average rating - 5.73

Ratings system:

• 0 – Reserved for anyone who has a wayward effort at goal smash me in the face, unlikely to ever happen.

• 1 – Worst of the worst. Saved for disastrous performances, with result-altering mistakes.

• 2 – A terrible performance. Performances where a player offers very little and has many unsuccessful actions, ultimately proving to be a major detriment to the team’s overall performance.

• 3 – A bad performance. Negative contribution. Like a 2, just a bit less rubbish.

• 4 – A below-average performance. Not necessarily having a negative impact on the game; it could just be a player who struggled to impact the game at all.

• 5 – The baseline rating. All players go into a game starting on a 5 — it’s bang average, given out for an unremarkable yet solid performance, for a postman delivering the post.

• 6 – A decent performance. A player who gets a 6 has positively contributed to the game, and at the very least has had some impressive moments while being generally solid outside of them.

• 7 – A good performance. Awarded for players who had a noticeable positive impact on the game.

• 8 – A very good performance. A player who made significant contributions to the outcome of the game with their performance and consistently displayed a high level throughout.

• 9 – An outstanding performance. To score as high as a 9, a player needs to be dominant throughout the match, performing at a level well above the standard and/or making multiple game-changing contributions.

• 10 – A perfect 10, unlikely to ever see the light of day as nobody has a flawless game. For me to even think about giving out a 10 it would probably have to be a player doing something historic or unheard of.

Riley Roberts

O’Hare is gone. Hamer is gone. Brooks is gone. With deadline day bringing a close to a challenging window for the Blades, Bolton came to town as we searched for our first win of the new campaign. Going behind before the conclusion of GCB was hardly an ideal start, but it was a spirited display as we twice came from behind to eventually nick all three points with a last-gasp Romelle Donovan goal.

Michael Cooper - 8

It’s never the best sign when your GK is MOTM vs a newly-promoted side at home, but Cooper made some excellent stops, and keeping it at 2-2 eventually proved vital.

Hamza Choudhury - 3

Not an ideal return for Hamza, as Bolton’s Gale gave him a torrid time. Both of Bolton’s goals and many more of their chances came down that side.

Japhet Tanganga - 5

Had some good moments and some bad. Scorer of our first home goal this season.

Mark McGuinness - 5

Another who had some suspect moments, including for Bolton’s second goal, but he was there to deny a certain goal when blocking McAtee’s goal-bound effort with Cooper beaten.

Sam McCallum - 5

He was also part of the miscommunication that allowed what was basically a free header for Bolton’s second, but he immediately sprung back to life as he squared it to Bamford for a tap-in at the other end.

Jairo Riedewald - 4

Didn’t convince me with his performance. Seemed slow to react to loose balls, and I thought Phillips looked more assured when he came on.

Sydie Peck - 5

I thought Peck was fine. His corners regularly hit the first man, but it was his free-kick which found Tanganga to equalise the first time, and he kept play ticking in the middle of the park.

Romelle Donovan - 7

It didn’t always come off for him, but the desire to make stuff happen was brilliant to see. And, of course, topping off his performance with a late winner was about as good an ending as you can get.

Ben Brereton-Diaz - 5

Looked quite sharp early on, but his impact in the final third was minimal.

Tyrese Campbell - 5

Impressed me with his runs in behind in the first half, one of which should have absolutely led to a goal when he put it on a plate for Bamford, whose finish was lacking.

Patrick Bamford - 6

Again, probably didn’t have his best day in terms of back-to-goal/hold-up play, but I felt he was unfortunate not to win a few fouls, and he picked up his goal by being in the right place at the right time.

Average rating - 5.27

Ratings system:

• 0 – Reserved for anyone who has a wayward effort at goal smash me in the face, unlikely to ever happen.

• 1 – Worst of the worst. Saved for disastrous performances, with result-altering mistakes.

• 2 – A terrible performance. Performances where a player offers very little and has many unsuccessful actions, ultimately proving to be a major detriment to the team’s overall performance.

• 3 – A bad performance. Negative contribution. Like a 2, just a bit less rubbish.

• 4 – A below-average performance. Not necessarily having a negative impact on the game; it could just be a player who struggled to impact the game at all.

• 5 – The baseline rating. All players go into a game starting on a 5 — it’s bang average, given out for an unremarkable yet solid performance, for a postman delivering the post.

• 6 – A decent performance. A player who gets a 6 has positively contributed to the game, and at the very least has had some impressive moments while being generally solid outside of them.

• 7 – A good performance. Awarded for players who had a noticeable positive impact on the game.

• 8 – A very good performance. A player who made significant contributions to the outcome of the game with their performance and consistently displayed a high level throughout.

• 9 – An outstanding performance. To score as high as a 9, a player needs to be dominant throughout the match, performing at a level well above the standard and/or making multiple game-changing contributions.

• 10 – A perfect 10, unlikely to ever see the light of day as nobody has a flawless game. For me to even think about giving out a 10 it would probably have to be a player doing something historic or unheard of.

Riley Roberts

Back in Wales after a solid EFL Cup performance that saw Cannon and Donovan earn starting places. It was a disastrous start, followed by brilliant five minutes, followed by another eighty spent desperately defending. The performance was worrying, but the result, all things considered, was a positive one.

Michael Cooper - 6

Started shakily when allowing a Moylan effort to sneak in at the near post, but his kicking was pretty good, and he went on to make 8 saves as Cardiff created a bucket load of chances.

Jamal Baptiste - 4

Another who played a hand in the opener, I felt Baptiste improved as his game went on, but it was ultimately not a first league start he’ll remember too fondly.

Japhet Tanganga - 5

Had to do most of his defending deep in our own box, which you wouldn’t necessarily say suits him, but he put in a fair display on the whole.

Mark McGuinness - 4

Booked after being taught a lesson in aerial duelling by Salech early doors, and the Cardiff #9 generally got the better of him all game. Earns some credit for a sliding tackle when already booked, that he had to time perfectly.

Sam McCallum - 4

I personally thought Ollie Tanner was a standout performer for Cardiff, and he was in direct competition with Sam McCallum on that side. Both in and out of possession, we were left wanting more from a usually solid performer.

Sydie Peck - 2

Can’t say I’ve ever seen a worse performance from Sydie Peck, with a host of sloppy moments seeing him give the ball away far too easily.

Joe Rothwell - 4

Less destructive in possession than his midfield partner, though he too looked to be playing below his standards.

Romelle Donovan - 4

Basically a non-entity in the game due to our play totally bypassing him.

Callum O’Hare - 6

Got his goal with a nice finish, but was probably fortunate to win a couple of fouls after losing possession easily around the halfway line.

Patrick Bamford - 4

Started well setting up O’Hare’s goal, but he didn’t offer enough at the top end of the pitch in terms of hold-up play.

Tom Cannon - 7

Won and scored a penalty, and looked better than he ever has when it came to battling with defenders in the air.

Subs:

Rhys Norrington-Davies - 6

Came on and had a couple of bursting runs that briefly took us out of our own half.

Average rating - 4.67

Ratings system:

• 0 – Reserved for anyone who has a wayward effort at goal smash me in the face, unlikely to ever happen.

• 1 – Worst of the worst. Saved for disastrous performances, with result-altering mistakes.

• 2 – A terrible performance. Performances where a player offers very little and has many unsuccessful actions, ultimately proving to be a major detriment to the team’s overall performance.

• 3 – A bad performance. Negative contribution. Like a 2, just a bit less rubbish.

• 4 – A below-average performance. Not necessarily having a negative impact on the game; it could just be a player who struggled to impact the game at all.

• 5 – The baseline rating. All players go into a game starting on a 5 — it’s bang average, given out for an unremarkable yet solid performance, for a postman delivering the post.

• 6 – A decent performance. A player who gets a 6 has positively contributed to the game, and at the very least has had some impressive moments while being generally solid outside of them.

• 7 – A good performance. Awarded for players who had a noticeable positive impact on the game.

• 8 – A very good performance. A player who made significant contributions to the outcome of the game with their performance and consistently displayed a high level throughout.

• 9 – An outstanding performance. To score as high as a 9, a player needs to be dominant throughout the match, performing at a level well above the standard and/or making multiple game-changing contributions.

• 10 – A perfect 10, unlikely to ever see the light of day as nobody has a flawless game. For me to even think about giving out a 10 it would probably have to be a player doing something historic or unheard of.

Riley Roberts

A trip to South Wales was our first away day for the second successive season and, despite being under the cosh for the first 40 minutes, we offered more threat than we did in this same fixture last season, while also keeping a clean sheet. A good away point, where the team’s overall performance was probably greater than the sum of the individuals, as we now hold the record for the worst attack and joint-best defence in the Championship so far this season.

Michael Cooper - 5
Was never really called into action, making it hard to rate him above the benchmark.

Femi Seriki - 5
Struggled to make things happen for most of the game, as he was unsuccessful in taking players on, but many of our better moments came when he was played in down the right.

Japhet Tanganga - 6
Impressed me again, as he won his individual duels more often than not.

Mark McGuinness - 4
I don’t want to be too harsh, but he was caught under the ball on a couple of occasions, and it felt like a better attacking side would’ve punished those little errors.

Sam McCallum - 6
Playing in a less familiar LCB position, but was again solid, doing the defensive work he had to.

Harrison Burrows - 4
Had a couple of weak moments defensively, and his most impactful forward move saw him booked for simulation.

Sydie Peck - 5
Picked up on a few loose balls early on, but his impact on the game was minimal, and he probably wasn’t as tidy with the ball as he’d have liked.

Joe Rothwell - 4
Looked the more threatening midfielder with his passing, but his biggest moment in the game came when he lost possession deep in our own half and allowed a Swansea attack to unfold.

Ollie Arblaster - 6
Looked the liveliest of the midfield three, with his defensive contributions the real highlight.

Callum O’Hare - 5
Had arguably our best chance of the game when he struck the bar and, while he was relieved of possession a little too easily at times, he often seemed to be in and around our better attacking moves.

Patrick Bamford - 4
Had to play a largely hold-up-focused role, which didn’t really work, more often losing out than bringing others into play.

Average rating - 4.91

Ratings system:

• 0 – Reserved for anyone who has a wayward effort at goal smash me in the face, unlikely to ever happen.

• 1 – Worst of the worst. Saved for disastrous performances, with result-altering mistakes.

• 2 – A terrible performance. Performances where a player offers very little and has many unsuccessful actions, ultimately proving to be a major detriment to the team’s overall performance.

• 3 – A bad performance. Negative contribution. Like a 2, just a bit less rubbish.

• 4 – A below-average performance. Not necessarily having a negative impact on the game; it could just be a player who struggled to impact the game at all.

• 5 – The baseline rating. All players go into a game starting on a 5 — it’s bang average, given out for an unremarkable yet solid performance, for a postman delivering the post.

• 6 – A decent performance. A player who gets a 6 has positively contributed to the game, and at the very least has had some impressive moments while being generally solid outside of them.

• 7 – A good performance. Awarded for players who had a noticeable positive impact on the game.

• 8 – A very good performance. A player who made significant contributions to the outcome of the game with their performance and consistently displayed a high level throughout.

• 9 – An outstanding performance. To score as high as a 9, a player needs to be dominant throughout the match, performing at a level well above the standard and/or making multiple game-changing contributions.

• 10 – A perfect 10, unlikely to ever see the light of day as nobody has a flawless game. For me to even think about giving out a 10 it would probably have to be a player doing something historic or unheard of.

Riley Roberts

Opening day might well be the most exciting day of the year, but I think a few neutrals who caught this one on Sky might beg to differ after a chance-light 0-0 draw. For the Blades, it was the defensive performers who provided the highlights, as a Gus Hamer-less side struggled to create, with a pair of Bamford efforts either side of the break the closest we came to something to cheer about.

Michael Cooper - 7
Is Michael Cooper back? I think he might be. Saved what he had to, and made numerous good claims from balls into the box.

Femi Seriki - 4
Didn’t have a great game, imo. Passed straight out of play when trying to link with Donovan on a couple of occasions and, despite showing the right intent, lacked quality in his passing/crossing.

Japhet Tanganga - 7
My MOTM. Made a big defensive intervention in the first half when beating Priske to a cross, and that summed up his game, with good positioning and timing allowing him to cut out danger throughout.

Mark McGuinness - 5
Had a solid game, though I think people’s desire for a redemption arc may have clouded judgements a little. There were still a few occasions where his body positioning allowed their CF to get ahead of him in aerial duels, and a couple where this resulted in him having to drag his man down.

Sam McCallum - 6
Another, like Cooper, who it was nice to see back in action, and he had a pretty standard, solid Sam Mc game.

Joe Rothwell - 4

Per below.

Sydie Peck - 4
These feel like harsh ratings for the two in midfield, but I felt it was Birmingham’s midfield who had a better hold over the game. Both had good moments during the first 10 minutes, in which we started the brighter, but the progression from defence/midfield to attack was a weak point for me.

Romelle Donovan - 5
Didn’t have the required impact at the top end of the pitch, with 0 shots or chances created, but he dug in defensively when he had to, and I found that commendable for a 19 y/o loanee.

Callum O’Hare - 5
Struggled to impact the game off the left, and played a disappointing ball when he could’ve released a dangerous pass in behind, but then did find the correct pass when creating our biggest chance of the game, which Beadle denied Bamford from.

Tom Cannon - 3
Struggled to make it stick when receiving it up top, and was caught flat-footed in the box in the first half when a cross came into the near post. Not his day.

Patrick Bamford - 5
Had our two biggest chances of the game, but was also bested by Birmingham’s defenders when he had to play the role of focal point.

Average rating - 5.00

Ratings system:

• 0 – Reserved for anyone who has a wayward effort at goal smash me in the face, unlikely to ever happen.

• 1 – Worst of the worst. Saved for disastrous performances, with result-altering mistakes.

• 2 – A terrible performance. Performances where a player offers very little and has many unsuccessful actions, ultimately proving to be a major detriment to the team’s overall performance.

• 3 – A bad performance. Negative contribution. Like a 2, just a bit less rubbish.

• 4 – A below-average performance. Not necessarily having a negative impact on the game; it could just be a player who struggled to impact the game at all.

• 5 – The baseline rating. All players go into a game starting on a 5 — it’s bang average, given out for an unremarkable yet solid performance, for a postman delivering the post.

• 6 – A decent performance. A player who gets a 6 has positively contributed to the game, and at the very least has had some impressive moments while being generally solid outside of them.

• 7 – A good performance. Awarded for players who had a noticeable positive impact on the game.

• 8 – A very good performance. A player who made significant contributions to the outcome of the game with their performance and consistently displayed a high level throughout.

• 9 – An outstanding performance. To score as high as a 9, a player needs to be dominant throughout the match, performing at a level well above the standard and/or making multiple game-changing contributions.

• 10 – A perfect 10, unlikely to ever see the light of day as nobody has a flawless game. For me to even think about giving out a 10 it would probably have to be a player doing something historic or unheard of.

Riley Roberts

Adam Davies - 5

Going to once again give Adam Davies the benefit of the doubt and say that the goals conceded fall more on the people in front of him than the goalkeeper himself.

Ki-Jana Hoever - 3

Arrived in a lot of good attacking positions in the first half but lacked the end product required, before cheaply conceding possession and being caught out defensively on a number of occasions in our own half.

Japhet Tanganga - 4

Got the better of Sam Smith as Wrexham looked to hit the target man a lot, but then lost Smith for the winning goal as he pretty much just breezed past him.

Tyler Bindon - 4

Also struggled in the big moments as it was practically the defensive unit who were in some way or another below expectations for Wrexham’s equaliser.

Harrison Burrows - 4

Was caught off balance for the Wrexham equaliser, which was ultimately his biggest contribution to the game despite looking pretty threatening in the first 45 when United were on top.

Jairo Riedewald - 6

Again was subbed off and again we dropped points after that change. Riedewald’s game itself was fairly unremarkable, though it probably is not a coincidence at this point that we tend to lose control of the game once he goes off.

Sydie Peck - 4

Not his day really despite having some nice passes in the first half, with a couple of poor touches and slow reactions to loose and second balls summing up a below par afternoon.

Andre Brooks - 7

Got our goal and always looked dangerous on the ball. He had lots of nice touches in and around the penalty area and when he gets going with the ball at his feet he is always hard to stop.

Callum O’Hare - 5

A mixed bag as he was simultaneously a key part of the play that allowed us to frequently get into good positions, but also showed an inability to finish those opportunities.

Gustavo Hamer - 6

Receives a slightly better rating than O’Hare as he too was involved in a lot of lovely football in and around the box, though he himself did not really squander any opportunities.

Patrick Bamford - 4

Similarly to the two players preceding him here, Bamford had a lot to like about his game, but the most notable thing about his performance was a horror miss just 11 minutes in.

Average rating - 4.73

Ratings system:

• 0 – Reserved for anyone who has a wayward effort at goal smash me in the face, unlikely to ever happen.

• 1 – Worst of the worst. Saved for disastrous performances, with result-altering mistakes.

• 2 – A terrible performance. Performances where a player offers very little and has many unsuccessful actions, ultimately proving to be a major detriment to the team’s overall performance.

• 3 – A bad performance. Negative contribution. Like a 2, just a bit less rubbish.

• 4 – A below-average performance. Not necessarily having a negative impact on the game; it could just be a player who struggled to impact the game at all.

• 5 – The baseline rating. All players go into a game starting on a 5 — it’s bang average, given out for an unremarkable yet solid performance, for a postman delivering the post.

• 6 – A decent performance. A player who gets a 6 has positively contributed to the game, and at the very least has had some impressive moments while being generally solid outside of them.

• 7 – A good performance. Awarded for players who had a noticeable positive impact on the game.

• 8 – A very good performance. A player who made significant contributions to the outcome of the game with their performance and consistently displayed a high level throughout.

• 9 – An outstanding performance. To score as high as a 9, a player needs to be dominant throughout the match, performing at a level well above the standard and/or making multiple game-changing contributions.

• 10 – A perfect 10, unlikely to ever see the light of day as nobody has a flawless game. For me to even think about giving out a 10 it would probably have to be a player doing something historic or unheard of.

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Riley Roberts

Adam Davies - 5

Think a better keeper stops the free kick that found the net, but he made some big interventions at times in the rest of the game, even claiming a few crosses with ease.

Femi Seriki - 2

Had one or two forays up the pitch before being sent off after a harsh red.

Japhet Tanganga - 7

Faced a heavy workload as we looked to hold onto a point with 10, but he was resilient and was often on hand to snuff out the danger when Birmingham piled forwards.

Tyler Bindon - 8

Likewise, Bindon kept up a good run of form, with his sense of positioning proving to be a key attribute once again, with crosses into the box often thumped away by the Kiwi.

Harrison Burrows - 7

Set up the goal with a nice ball forwards and was pretty solid defensively for an all round good performance.

Jairo Riedewald - 5

Did his job in the middle of the park without much fuss or spotlight. No complaints.

Sydie Peck - 3

Struggled to really have an impact on the game after taking a really poor penalty. Not a day to remember.

Andre Brooks - 6

No Seriki meant no party, at least in attack, but Brooks has proven that he can help the team out in more than one way, and his work rate and tracking back was certainly a big help when playing with 10.

Callum O’Hare - 4

Took a poor touch early on in the box after being found by Burrows but was fairly anonymous after the red card, which isn’t at all his fault, but meant he did very little in the game.

Danny Ings - N/A

Came in for a first league start since December and was taken off after 25 minutes. Incredibly unfortunate and certainly not possible to grade.

Patrick Bamford - 7

Got the equaliser after rounding Beadle and maybe should have done better with a headed chance a few minutes prior, though it is hard to fault his performance too much.

Subs:

Ki-Jana Hoever - 6

Replaced Ings early on and did well in a tough environment, with the highlight probably being a late pass that looked to have released Cannon one on one before the offside flag was raised against the forward.

Average rating - 5.45

Ratings system:

• 0 – Reserved for anyone who has a wayward effort at goal smash me in the face, unlikely to ever happen.

• 1 – Worst of the worst. Saved for disastrous performances, with result-altering mistakes.

• 2 – A terrible performance. Performances where a player offers very little and has many unsuccessful actions, ultimately proving to be a major detriment to the team’s overall performance.

• 3 – A bad performance. Negative contribution. Like a 2, just a bit less rubbish.

• 4 – A below-average performance. Not necessarily having a negative impact on the game; it could just be a player who struggled to impact the game at all.

• 5 – The baseline rating. All players go into a game starting on a 5 — it’s bang average, given out for an unremarkable yet solid performance, for a postman delivering the post.

• 6 – A decent performance. A player who gets a 6 has positively contributed to the game, and at the very least has had some impressive moments while being generally solid outside of them.

• 7 – A good performance. Awarded for players who had a noticeable positive impact on the game.

• 8 – A very good performance. A player who made significant contributions to the outcome of the game with their performance and consistently displayed a high level throughout.

• 9 – An outstanding performance. To score as high as a 9, a player needs to be dominant throughout the match, performing at a level well above the standard and/or making multiple game-changing contributions.

• 10 – A perfect 10, unlikely to ever see the light of day as nobody has a flawless game. For me to even think about giving out a 10 it would probably have to be a player doing something historic or unheard of.

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Riley Roberts

Adam Davies - 5

Made a nice stop to deny Slimane with an effort that looked to be headed into the bottom corner, but looked uncomfortable when balls came into the box.

Femi Seriki - 4

Played a decent game with a couple of first-half crosses causing Norwich a world of danger. That said, he ultimately made the mistake which led to the winning goal, so is pretty capped.

Japhet Tanganga - 6

If we ever were to hold onto the 3 points after taking the lead, we would’ve had 2 CBs to thank. Tanganga battled well and made a couple of nice blocks, including a header off the line as Kvistgaarden was inexplicably left free in the box from back-to-back corners.

Tyler Bindon - 7

In danger of sounding a little snide here, as I think some of the praise going his way recently is a little overboard, but he was 100 per cent deserving in this one, with some big blocks/clearances and always being in the right place. Was fortunate not to give away a late penalty, though.

Harrison Burrows - 4

Probably a little too ambitious in his play on the ball, as he often went searching for a forward pass which wasn’t there. Left a fair bit of space defensively, which was exploited on the counter for the winning goal.

Jaïro Riedewald - 6

Started the game really well with his positional sense leading to him picking up numerous loose balls, before a five-minute spell where his athleticism left him a little exposed; though he bounced back by firing us in front.

Sydie Peck - 5

Didn’t impact the game in any meaningful way, though did make a couple of nice bursting, off-the-ball runs from midfield which we potentially could’ve made more of.

Andre Brooks - 5

Showed a lot of class with some lovely touches to keep possession of the ball in spots where it looked like he shouldn’t, but his actual impact at the top of the pitch was minimal, with a tame effort the best he could muster before Norwich went down the other end and scored the winner.

Callum O’Hare - 6

Assisted the goal and generally put himself in a lot of good positions, battling for everything and often managing to beat the Norwich defender/midfielder to whatever bouncing or loose ball he was challenging for.

Tom Cannon - 3

Struggled to make the ball stick when the Blades needed an outlet at 1-0 and 1-1. Later headed wide from a corner where you might have expected a goal.

Tyrese Campbell - 4

I don’t wish to be too harsh, because he didn’t really do much wrong – he just didn’t get on the ball enough to impact the game.

Average rating - 5.00

Ratings system:

• 0 – Reserved for anyone who has a wayward effort at goal smash me in the face, unlikely to ever happen.

• 1 – Worst of the worst. Saved for disastrous performances, with result-altering mistakes.

• 2 – A terrible performance. Performances where a player offers very little and has many unsuccessful actions, ultimately proving to be a major detriment to the team’s overall performance.

• 3 – A bad performance. Negative contribution. Like a 2, just a bit less rubbish.

• 4 – A below-average performance. Not necessarily having a negative impact on the game; it could just be a player who struggled to impact the game at all.

• 5 – The baseline rating. All players go into a game starting on a 5 — it’s bang average, given out for an unremarkable yet solid performance, for a postman delivering the post.

• 6 – A decent performance. A player who gets a 6 has positively contributed to the game, and at the very least has had some impressive moments while being generally solid outside of them.

• 7 – A good performance. Awarded for players who had a noticeable positive impact on the game.

• 8 – A very good performance. A player who made significant contributions to the outcome of the game with their performance and consistently displayed a high level throughout.

• 9 – An outstanding performance. To score as high as a 9, a player needs to be dominant throughout the match, performing at a level well above the standard and/or making multiple game-changing contributions.

• 10 – A perfect 10, unlikely to ever see the light of day as nobody has a flawless game. For me to even think about giving out a 10 it would probably have to be a player doing something historic or unheard of.

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Riley Roberts

Adam Davies - 5

Made one decent stop just after the restart and didn’t really look in much trouble throughout the game.

Ki-Jana Hoever - 5

Had a solid time defensively, though West Brom’s young Ollie Bostock may not have been the toughest foe. Hoever’s game was marred by a series of poor passes, with one going out for a throw after he’d drifted infield and another very comically conceding a corner seconds after we’d taken one at the other end.

Japhet Tanganga - 6

Maybe had a tough task with Heggebo and Dike, both big number 9s likely to give you problems, but Tanganga came out on the winning side more often than not in his individual battles.

Tyler Bindon - 6

Same story here as Bindon battled well up against the Baggies’ two number 9s.

Harrison Burrows - 5

Played a couple of handy passes without really impacting the game too much.

Jairo Riedewald - 5

Had a couple of defensive lapses that, in my opinion, cancelled out his fairly tidy work in possession. He allowed Heggebo to get a run off him towards the end of the first half, where the Norwegian almost got on the end of a dangerous cross, then couldn’t stop Dike’s pass to Price just after half time.

Sydie Peck - 4

I thought Peck struggled to get into a proper rhythm in the game, with a lot of passes seemingly searching for a run that wasn’t there or catching his forward players off guard.

Andre Brooks - 5

Looked a threat and was able to get on the ball in good areas a lot but lacked any real quality moments as the Blades struggled to create against a solid West Brom defensive display.

Callum O’Hare - 5

Got around the pitch a lot and often in the right places to pick up the ball in dangerous areas, but like Brooks couldn’t find the big moments we were crying out for in the game.

Gustavo Hamer - 4

When you carry a high risk, high reward type player like Gus you’re bound to get some off days. On a day where nothing truly clicked for the team in attack it’s no surprise that this was one of those days. Annoyingly picked up a 10th yellow card, signalling a two game suspension.

Patrick Bamford - 4

Picked up a knock which forced him off at half time but hadn’t impacted the game prior to that, with his run selection failing to give an adequate option in behind the Baggies backline.

SUBS:

Tyrese Campbell - 5

A lot has been said about him and his performance, with it being the main talking point for many walking out of the ground, but I find it hard to criticise a centre forward who came on into a misfiring team, made some decent runs and held the ball up nicely.

Average rating - 4.92

Ratings system:

• 0 – Reserved for anyone who has a wayward effort at goal smash me in the face, unlikely to ever happen.

• 1 – Worst of the worst. Saved for disastrous performances, with result-altering mistakes.

• 2 – A terrible performance. Performances where a player offers very little and has many unsuccessful actions, ultimately proving to be a major detriment to the team’s overall performance.

• 3 – A bad performance. Negative contribution. Like a 2, just a bit less rubbish.

• 4 – A below-average performance. Not necessarily having a negative impact on the game; it could just be a player who struggled to impact the game at all.

• 5 – The baseline rating. All players go into a game starting on a 5 — it’s bang average, given out for an unremarkable yet solid performance, for a postman delivering the post.

• 6 – A decent performance. A player who gets a 6 has positively contributed to the game, and at the very least has had some impressive moments while being generally solid outside of them.

• 7 – A good performance. Awarded for players who had a noticeable positive impact on the game.

• 8 – A very good performance. A player who made significant contributions to the outcome of the game with their performance and consistently displayed a high level throughout.

• 9 – An outstanding performance. To score as high as a 9, a player needs to be dominant throughout the match, performing at a level well above the standard and/or making multiple game-changing contributions.

• 10 – A perfect 10, unlikely to ever see the light of day as nobody has a flawless game. For me to even think about giving out a 10 it would probably have to be a player doing something historic or unheard of.

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Riley Roberts

Michael Cooper - 3

Beaten twice and flapped at a couple of balls into the box, which caused us to look unsettled at the back.

Femi Seriki - 4

Very loose in possession with some frustrating loses of possession, while struggling to have an impact in the final third.

Japhet Tanganga - 3

Made some really poor decisions on the ball and that led to trouble on more than one occasion.

Mark McGuinness - 4

I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and say that West Brom’s 2nd goal may have been a foul, but it was still pretty poor play in the first place and he allowed Hegebo away too easily for the opener. Made some good clearances as WBA looked to get balls into the box in the first half.

Harrison Burrows - 3

I really don’t know why he hesitated so long before challenging for the ball in the build up to the opening goal.

Jairo Riedewald - 4

The game pretty much completely passed him by with the Dutchman having little effect on the game.

Djibril Soumare - 4

Hassled West Brom high up the pitch on a couple of occasions, but still looked lacking in guile, and positional discipline to my eye.

Andre Brooks - 3

Started the game brightly as we were promising for 15 mins, but was a passenger for the rest of his time on the pitch, with his brief 2nd half performance being one of insignificance and anonymity.

Gustavo Hamer - 3

Should have put us ahead within 8 mins, but had a fairly poor all round performance, losing possession too easily and not providing adequate defensive support.

Tyrese Campbell - 6

Impressed in creating chances, with a lovely knock past a West Brom defender before cutting it back into the path of Soumare. Generally a threat throughout the first half.

Patrick Bamford - 4

Made a hash of the decent opportunity he got around half an hour in and generally lacked the energy to battle with West Brom’s defence.

Average rating - 3.73

Ratings system:

• 0 – Reserved for anyone who has a wayward effort at goal smash me in the face, unlikely to ever happen.

• 1 – Worst of the worst. Saved for disastrous performances, with result-altering mistakes.

• 2 – A terrible performance. Performances where a player offers very little and has many unsuccessful actions, ultimately proving to be a major detriment to the team’s overall performance.

• 3 – A bad performance. Negative contribution. Like a 2, just a bit less rubbish.

• 4 – A below-average performance. Not necessarily having a negative impact on the game; it could just be a player who struggled to impact the game at all.

• 5 – The baseline rating. All players go into a game starting on a 5 — it’s bang average, given out for an unremarkable yet solid performance, for a postman delivering the post.

• 6 – A decent performance. A player who gets a 6 has positively contributed to the game, and at the very least has had some impressive moments while being generally solid outside of them.

• 7 – A good performance. Awarded for players who had a noticeable positive impact on the game.

• 8 – A very good performance. A player who made significant contributions to the outcome of the game with their performance and consistently displayed a high level throughout.

• 9 – An outstanding performance. To score as high as a 9, a player needs to be dominant throughout the match, performing at a level well above the standard and/or making multiple game-changing contributions.

• 10 – A perfect 10, unlikely to ever see the light of day as nobody has a flawless game. For me to even think about giving out a 10 it would probably have to be a player doing something historic or unheard of.

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Riley Roberts

Michael Cooper - 8

Really saved us at times with some excellent stops. Delighted to see him put out a top performance again.

Femi Seriki - 5

Would be higher if not for a couple of poor mistakes giving Norwich some decent chances. Great energy down the right and always a thorn in the side of any opposition, but needed to be more secure on the ball on more than one occasion.

Tyler Bindon - 5

Didn’t really like his performance on the whole, despite some timely interventions in the box. Often allowed Norwich’s attackers to hold the ball up by getting outstrengthed/giving them too much space, and had to have Tanganga clean up for him a few times in the 1st half, alongside some cheap fouls.

Japhet Tanganga - 5

A very good 1st half followed by a not so good 2nd, including a moment of absolute misery in the build up to Norwich’s equaliser. Unfortunately they are the moments that matter most.

Harrison Burrows - 5

Completes a back line of 5s, following a display of sub-par defending, but being unfortunate not to provide an assist or 2 with Cannon and Chong both allowing a superb ball to flash across the face of goal.

Djibril Soumare - 1

One of the worst performances of the season, by a player who looked like he’d never experienced 11-a-side senior football. He was second to every loose ball, and scored a complete calamity of an own goal amidst a shoddy showing.

Ollie Arblaster - 5

Hardly affected the game, but was still pretty tidy in his actions and it was nice to see him back in the side.

Tahith Chong - 6

Frustrating in the 1st half as he seemed just as unfamiliar with our press, as you’d expect from someone in his first start for the club. Still, he provided a superb assist for the goal. I’ll bump him to a 6 to save you from the slew of 5s.

Callum O’Hare - 4

Did at least try to make things happen in a poor first half, but was dispossessed too easily and guilty of running down a few dead ends.

Tom Cannon - 3

I like to use these player ratings to talk about what I saw with my eyes. But tonight, I have to include some rare data points: 72 mins played, 2 passes completed, 2 duels won. I just can’t see what makes him a Championship for all the lost headers and balls given away. He really should’ve attacked Burrows’ low cross better.

Danny Ings - 5

Missed a few huge chances and generally didn’t offer the same activity his last couple of Blades outings had but salvages a 5 with his goal.

Subs:

Andre Brooks - 6

Rarely do I give subs a rating. But he was the most dangerous player on the pitch while he was on, and I feel like that deserves a reward.

Alex Matos - 4

Similarly — but not really — Matos came on and showed a whole load of nothing positive.

Average rating - 4.77

Ratings system:

• 0 – Reserved for anyone who has a wayward effort at goal smash me in the face, unlikely to ever happen.

• 1 – Worst of the worst. Saved for disastrous performances, with result-altering mistakes.

• 2 – A terrible performance. Performances where a player offers very little and has many unsuccessful actions, ultimately proving to be a major detriment to the team’s overall performance.

• 3 – A bad performance. Negative contribution. Like a 2, just a bit less rubbish.

• 4 – A below-average performance. Not necessarily having a negative impact on the game; it could just be a player who struggled to impact the game at all.

• 5 – The baseline rating. All players go into a game starting on a 5 — it’s bang average, given out for an unremarkable yet solid performance, for a postman delivering the post.

• 6 – A decent performance. A player who gets a 6 has positively contributed to the game, and at the very least has had some impressive moments while being generally solid outside of them.

• 7 – A good performance. Awarded for players who had a noticeable positive impact on the game.

• 8 – A very good performance. A player who made significant contributions to the outcome of the game with their performance and consistently displayed a high level throughout.

• 9 – An outstanding performance. To score as high as a 9, a player needs to be dominant throughout the match, performing at a level well above the standard and/or making multiple game-changing contributions.

• 10 – A perfect 10, unlikely to ever see the light of day as nobody has a flawless game. For me to even think about giving out a 10 it would probably have to be a player doing something historic or unheard of.

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Riley Roberts

Michael Cooper - 5

Similar to large parts of last season where he didn’t have much of a job to do, with just the one save that was down the middle of the goal. An expected save.

Femi Seriki - 9

I’m just delighted for this lad at this point. A stunning goal and assist in a tremendous all around performance.

Mark McGuinness - 7

Dealt with all the defensive work he had to, including injuring his ankle in the process. Opened the scoring, and probably could’ve had a hattrick before his HT substitution such was our dominance from corners.

Japhet Tanganga - 8

A completely dominant display. Defended every ball into the channel with ease combining pace, strength, and wits to provide a superb defensive performance.

Sam McCallum - 7

Always a threat down the left, getting involved in a lot of our neat attacking play, but also very solid defensively up against a tricky winger in Manhoef.

Jairo Riedewald - 6

Felt fairly uninvolved in the game, but found a couple of nice passes when he needed to and never really put a foot wrong.

Sydie Peck - 5

Could be a contender for my harshest rating of the season, but I thought Peck was really sloppy on the ball with a couple of loose passes allowing Stoke to win possession in decent areas. I will say that his reaction/celebration to Tyler Bindon’s 2nd half block was a really nice moment that showed what kind of excellent character Sydie Peck is.

Andre Brooks - 7

Frustrated when he was unable to get on the scoresheet after Bamford’s cutback, but he didn’t need to score to have to get his positive contributions recognised, winning the penalty and also providing some good defensive support when needed.

Gustavo Hamer - 7

Had a couple of loose touches in the middle but also some brilliance in taking on 2 Stoke players in our own half, and then giving a masterful showcase on how to take a corner with just the 1 assist feeling underwhelming in the end.

Patrick Bamford - 8

Another very good performance as he got on the scoresheet for the 2nd time in 2 home games, but that wasn’t all. He was regularly involved in the attack linking the play well, and winning the corner for the 1st goal.

Tyrese Campbell - 5

Quiet, and mostly offside, Campbell has had better days, but salvages a 5 with an unbelievable little pass to Brooks right before the penalty was won.

Subs:

Tyler Bindon - 6

Coming on as an enforced HT sub, having not played a league game in a quarter of a year is hardly the ideal scenario, but Bindon can be really happy with that 45 mins as he made a superb block and generally didn’t look at all out of place in a side that is much improved from the one he was regularly starting in.

Average rating - 6.67

Ratings system:

• 0 – Reserved for anyone who has a wayward effort at goal smash me in the face, unlikely to ever happen.

• 1 – Worst of the worst. Saved for disastrous performances, with result-altering mistakes.

• 2 – A terrible performance. Performances where a player offers very little and has many unsuccessful actions, ultimately proving to be a major detriment to the team’s overall performance.

• 3 – A bad performance. Negative contribution. Like a 2, just a bit less rubbish.

• 4 – A below-average performance. Not necessarily having a negative impact on the game; it could just be a player who struggled to impact the game at all.

• 5 – The baseline rating. All players go into a game starting on a 5 — it’s bang average, given out for an unremarkable yet solid performance, for a postman delivering the post.

• 6 – A decent performance. A player who gets a 6 has positively contributed to the game, and at the very least has had some impressive moments while being generally solid outside of them.

• 7 – A good performance. Awarded for players who had a noticeable positive impact on the game.

• 8 – A very good performance. A player who made significant contributions to the outcome of the game with their performance and consistently displayed a high level throughout.

• 9 – An outstanding performance. To score as high as a 9, a player needs to be dominant throughout the match, performing at a level well above the standard and/or making multiple game-changing contributions.

• 10 – A perfect 10, unlikely to ever see the light of day as nobody has a flawless game. For me to even think about giving out a 10 it would probably have to be a player doing something historic or unheard of.

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Riley Roberts

Michael Cooper - 3

A really poor mistake for Leicester’s first goal, which could’ve proved costly. The second goal didn’t look the best on his end either.

Femi Seriki - 7

Involved in the opening goal and a constant threat down the right, it was another impressive display for Femi Seriki who has really come into his own since returning to the starting XI.

Japhet Tanganga - 6

Looked a threat from set pieces and was generally solid in his defensive efforts as part of a unit that barely gave Leicester a sniff for 45 minutes.

Ben Mee - 5

Had potential to be a 10 had his acrobatic effort from the edge of the area gone in, but I don’t think there was much else of note in a fairly standard, solid performance.

Harrison Burrows - 7

Given the tough task of returning to the starting 11 to face Fatawu, but made some good tackles and was always an option overlapping on the left hand side.

Andre Brooks - 6

Gave Leicester constant problems in a first half where we really looked like scoring every time we went forward. Didn’t get much of the same opportunities in the 2nd 45 but was disciplined in his out of possession role.

Jairo Reidewald - 6

Was often in the right place at the right time during the 1st half, but less so during the 2nd. I hope he has a goal bonus in his contract though.

Sydie Peck - 7

Got United on the attack on numerous occasions with some neat passes in behind the Leicester defence. Added a first non penalty goal for the Blades too, and what a strike it was.

Callum O’Hare - 7

Probably deserved to be on the scoresheet for his part in the 2nd goal, but the fact it didn’t go down as his won’t take away from another good display where he received between the lines and created chances at ease in that 1st half.

Tom Cannon - 6

Not a great performance in all truth as he dallied on the ball at times and was guilty of a couple of wrong decisions, but he did open the scoring and for that, earns himself a 6.

Tyrese Campbell - 5

Missed a glorious opportunity to make it 4-0 before HT. No surprise to see him taken off in the 2nd half after barely going near the ball after the restart, though a change to 1 up top may have invited more pressure than it was worth.

Average rating - 5.91

Ratings system:

• 0 – Reserved for anyone who has a wayward effort at goal smash me in the face, unlikely to ever happen.

• 1 – Worst of the worst. Saved for disastrous performances, with result-altering mistakes.

• 2 – A terrible performance. Performances where a player offers very little and has many unsuccessful actions, ultimately proving to be a major detriment to the team’s overall performance.

• 3 – A bad performance. Negative contribution. Like a 2, just a bit less rubbish.

• 4 – A below-average performance. Not necessarily having a negative impact on the game; it could just be a player who struggled to impact the game at all.

• 5 – The baseline rating. All players go into a game starting on a 5 — it’s bang average, given out for an unremarkable yet solid performance, for a postman delivering the post.

• 6 – A decent performance. A player who gets a 6 has positively contributed to the game, and at the very least has had some impressive moments while being generally solid outside of them.

• 7 – A good performance. Awarded for players who had a noticeable positive impact on the game.

• 8 – A very good performance. A player who made significant contributions to the outcome of the game with their performance and consistently displayed a high level throughout.

• 9 – An outstanding performance. To score as high as a 9, a player needs to be dominant throughout the match, performing at a level well above the standard and/or making multiple game-changing contributions.

• 10 – A perfect 10, unlikely to ever see the light of day as nobody has a flawless game. For me to even think about giving out a 10 it would probably have to be a player doing something historic or unheard of.

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Riley Roberts

3-0 v Sheffield Wednesday

Michael Cooper - 5

0 shots on target.

Femi Seriki - 7

Gave us a real asset in his ability to draw fouls under pressure, but was also able to progress us into dangerous areas consistently with his powerful carrying.

Japhet Tanganga - 8

Every time the ball went towards him he won it. Both CBs were absolutely dominant and really didn’t give Wednesday much hope in the little pressure they had.

Ben Mee - 8

Equally as impressive, Ben Mee barely lost a thing all game, and these 2 have clearly cemented themselves as our best CB pairing.

Sam McCallum - 5

This may feel a little harsh, but I felt he kept a hold of the ball too long at times in the 1st half and on a couple of occasions that led to us turning over possession just inside our own half.

Jairo Riedewald - 8

I found his performance to be one of the most enjoyable of the season. Not only for the goal in which he won possession high up the pitch, but his consistent ability to be in the right place at the right time.

Sydie Peck - 8

Like his partner Riedewald, Peck was excellent in the press that didn’t let Wednesday breathe, and also had some moments of quality on the ball, setting up the 2nd goal.

Andre Brooks - 7

Ended up with 11 tackles - which was the most of any Championship player in a game for 2 and a half years. Created some decent chances from winning the ball back high up the pitch too.

Callum O’Hare - 7

I’ll be honest, I thought he may have made the wrong decision when electing not to shoot, but instead lay off to Campbell, but it proved to be an excellent one. Another player who really came to life in the aggressive, in your face approach.

Tyrese Campbell - 9

Pretty much a Sheffield United legend at this point with his 3rd Steel City Derby goal in as many matches, with 2 lovely finishes into the bottom corner kicking us into a 2-0 lead.

Danny Ings - 6

Pressed like a mad man from the front, allowing Wednesday defenders no time at all on the ball. Ran himself into a deserved rest after 70 mins.

Average rating - 7.10

3-0 v Portsmouth

Michael Cooper - 6

I’ve criticised his distribution on here a few times this season, but was more precise in this one, and made a pair of stops to keep the clean sheet in tact

Femi Seriki - 4

I make no secret of how much I love Femi Seriki, but I thought he was sloppy here. The end product was not quite there and a couple of slips were fortunate to not have a worse outcome.

Japhet Tanganga - 7

Not quite as dominant as on Sunday but still had a fine performance up against a very capable #9. Looks so much like the man we paid a big fee for since returning to a natural CB position.

Ben Mee - 6

Guilty of being involved in a mix up or two but was mostly solid en route to back-to-back victories and a third successive clean sheet.

Sam McCallum - 6

Put in some excellent set pieces, from which we always looked like scoring, and was generally lively down the left, with a shot on target late in the first half stemming from a nice bit of interplay between himself and O’Hare.

Jairo Riedewald - 5

Started the game not as well as he showed he can at the weekend, with a couple of loose balls and 50/50s evading him, though he recovered to play some tidy stuff in the middle of the park.

Sydie Peck - 7

SYDIE PECK HAS SCORED A GOAL!!!!!!!

It was another assured performance from a young man who seems to be well on the road back to his best, and what a delight it was seeing his penalty hit the back of the net.

Andre Brooks - 4

Had some nice bits, but was unable to really impact the game as others did in the final third.

Callum O’Hare - 7

A quality display with his back-heel to McCallum in the 1st half showcasing exactly what he brings to the team and continued his improved productivity, with another assist.

Patrick Bamford - 7

Got a goal on his home debut and was a fun watch as he linked play effortlessly. It’s early days but I like what I’ve seen from this man so far.

Tom Cannon - 6

Assumed Danny Ings’ role of being the guy who hunts down defenders on the ball and did a solid job, also making some nice runs in behind and keep the ball moving in an attack that once again created enough chances and got into the right positions to score well.

Average rating - 5.91

Ratings system:

• 0 – Reserved for anyone who has a wayward effort at goal smash me in the face, unlikely to ever happen.

• 1 – Worst of the worst. Saved for disastrous performances, with result-altering mistakes.

• 2 – A terrible performance. Performances where a player offers very little and has many unsuccessful actions, ultimately proving to be a major detriment to the team’s overall performance.

• 3 – A bad performance. Negative contribution. Like a 2, just a bit less rubbish.

• 4 – A below-average performance. Not necessarily having a negative impact on the game; it could just be a player who struggled to impact the game at all.

• 5 – The baseline rating. All players go into a game starting on a 5 — it’s bang average, given out for an unremarkable yet solid performance, for a postman delivering the post.

• 6 – A decent performance. A player who gets a 6 has positively contributed to the game, and at the very least has had some impressive moments while being generally solid outside of them.

• 7 – A good performance. Awarded for players who had a noticeable positive impact on the game.

• 8 – A very good performance. A player who made significant contributions to the outcome of the game with their performance and consistently displayed a high level throughout.

• 9 – An outstanding performance. To score as high as a 9, a player needs to be dominant throughout the match, performing at a level well above the standard and/or making multiple game-changing contributions.

• 10 – A perfect 10, unlikely to ever see the light of day as nobody has a flawless game. For me to even think about giving out a 10 it would probably have to be a player doing something historic or unheard of.

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