6 things we learned from Sheffield United vs Estoril Praia

We coughed up £6 to see the results of United's Portuguese training camp.

Photo: Jonny Toyne

Words: David Taylor

Welcome to Sheffield United’s now-annual jolly to Lisbon! While the fans who made the trip will by now be full of the joys of the Portuguese capital – by which I mean nice beer and sunburn that could void most travel insurance – United’s coaching and playing staff have been hard at work in the Iberian sun, getting up to speed before another season back in the Big Time™.

I didn’t get to watch the Chesterfield game but, like the Coca-Cola lorry advert and Christmas, it’s not really preseason until Sheffield United Football Club hop on a Jet2 plane, which is why I’ve waited until the second game to check in with the lads.

There are some new faces – Chris ‘Trialist’ Francis was joined earlier this week by Anis Ben Slimane, Yasser Larouci and Bénie Traoré, with more signings on the way (and hopefully one renewed contract). Add to that a youth group that seems to be developing at a promising pace, and the two teams United sent out on Wednesday evening had some interesting talking points within, despite the goalless draw. Here are five things I noticed after forking out £6 for SUTV and powering through the ensuing motion sickness.

“…and don’t forget your seasickness tablets!”

1. SUTV is still not good

From the general lack of information or sophistication (such as a lack of starting lineup at the side of the stream – you know, where it says “lineups”) to the Barclays-era graphics, SUTV continues to miss the mark. Presenter Matthew Young and the ever-welcome Carl Asaba are a solid studio team, but it’s difficult to judge them fully when it sounds like they’re coming to us live from inside a tin can half-submerged in a pond.

The commentary disappeared eight minutes in, only to reappear four minutes later at seven times the volume, which was better than the muffled earlier attempt and also helped wake me up from a “minutes in the legs” lull in the match. Alas, the oaky timbre of Young & Asaba was lost again about half an hour in – I’m not sure of the exact time, as I was once again drifting in and out of consciousness.

Overall, the stream was janky enough to make you slightly nauseous (especially when the cameraman decided to dramatically zoom in for a corner), the sound was either poor or non-existent, and there was a lot of suspect rustling of microphones. It was less Premier, more Isthmian League. It’s almost as if they want us to use a dodgy Firestick.

As mentioned though, Asaba was good value for the fleeting moments we were treated to him.

N.B. there was also someone either in the crowd or on the camera team who had a worrying cough that should really be seen to by a professional.

2. Pace will play a more central role this season

It’s an odd experience to notice one player who feels leagues above pretty much anyone else on the pitch, even when they’re relatively quiet. Iliman Ndiaye crackles with footballing ability, creating one of the only real chances of the first half through some characteristic trickery. He hasn’t lost any of his eagerness to track a player, either. He doesn’t jog – he stalks. When he puts his head down and leans forward like one of the Looney Tunes, it spells danger for whoever’s in his sights.

He’s certainly no slouch, and is joined in that category up front by Daniel Jebbison, Andre Brooks and Will Osula. Communication between Jebbison and Ndiaye is getting there – you could see them interacting more after an unfortunate bundling together on the ball – and might be key to our attacking chances this season. It’s nice to see pace up top, something that will only improve with the introduction of Bénie Traoré.

At the back and in midfield we still look pretty slow, especially in central positions. Hopefully, our TBC additions will help improve this area of our play.

Star power from our Starboy

3. The youth look handy… but not quite ready

There were some encouraging performances from the younger United contingent tonight, but the gap between youth and senior football was still noticeable. This isn’t to say that they were disappointing, with many putting in the sort of performance that will have them either floating around the first team or on the road to a second or third-tier loan.

Sai Sachdev has obviously been studying at the George Baldock School of High Octane Tackling and put in a solid 45-minute performance down the right, while Louie Marsh gave off young Premier League professional vibes in the limited time he was on the pitch.

Chris Francis impressed at central CB. He was a composed influence, used both feet and was aware of danger across the back line. From that showing, he would fit nicely in the squad as a low-risk high-reward free signing. I’d hope to see him promoted from trialist to a human being in the coming weeks.

Osula has a lot of raw ability – an overhead kick in the second half was vicious and technically brilliant – but perhaps needs another year of football education. His link up play has improved since I last saw him, however, and I think he’s one to keep an eye on this season, be it at Bramall Lane or from afar.