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.