Player Ratings: Sheffield United 0-1 Charlton & Southampton
Two defeats on the spin for Blades – Riley's here with the (belated and bad) ratings.
Sorry they’re late. Work commitments have got in the way in January!
Riley Roberts
Vs Charlton:
Michael Cooper - 4
Could he have done better with the goal? Probably. Though he did make a few saves to keep the score down.
Femi Seriki - 7
Probably tired towards the end, but unsurprising given the effort he had to put in. Even at 1-0 with 9 men he was able to burst forward on a couple of occasions and win freekicks.
Japhet Tanganga - 1
Maybe I’m in the minority but I don’t think it was a particularly egregious decision to give a red card, especially given the force he flew into the challenge at.
Tyler Bindon - 5
Almost lost possession under the threat of Leabern when dallying the ball in the centre circle, but was fortunately able to win a free kick. Substituted off at HT.
Sam McCallum - 7
Looked a threat going forwards in the 1st half, then shifted to an unfamiliar CB role and still managed to put up a decent display even at 11v9.
Oliver Arblaster - 5
Subbed half way through the 2nd half, and really didn’t do much of note in the game.
Djibril Soumare - 1
As close to a 0 as you can get, given the timing of his poor touch and subsequent challenge. Had hit the post last then 5 minutes prior.
Andre Brooks - 6
Part of the side which was giving Charlton all kinds of problems in the first 35 minutes, with his willingness to take players on a big threat. Battled resiliently after the red cards, but was given little chance to impact the game at the top of the pitch.
Callum O’Hare - 6
Another who played a big part in our early dominance, O’Hare was subbed before HT after the red cards, despite arguably being the attacking player who you’d bank most on making something out of nothing.
Tom Cannon - 4
Didn’t see much of the action, but had a massive opportunity when 1v1 with Kaminski, but his effort was well stopped. You do have to wonder though if his effort was a bit further into the corner, whether the Belgian keeper would’ve been able to keep it out.
Patrick Bamford - 6
Held up the ball and linked the play really well when we went direct to him in the first half, though he too missed a big chance, opting to go for the near post effort when a curler into the far side would’ve probably been expected.
Average rating - 4.73
Vs Southampton:
Michael Cooper - 6
Had little to do about the goal, but made a few other saves to deny Southampton a 2nd goal.
Ki-Jana Hoever - 3
Had a couple of nice carries forwards, but was well beaten time and time again in his individual battle with Leo Scienza, gave away the ball for the goal, and nearly cost us another with a slip.
Mark McGuinness - 5
Had a couple of headed opportunities he could’ve possibly done better with, but was fairly solid defensively.
Ben Mee - 5
Similarly to his CB partner, was individually fine without doing anything spectacular.
Harrison Burrows - 4
Perhaps a little fortunate to survive a penalty appeal, where the Southampton attacker’s decision to try staying on his feet likely cost him the decision.
Oliver Arblaster - 3
Had multiple poor passes and touches that got us into real trouble. Didn’t feel like he was ever in control when he had the ball.
Sydie Peck - 4
Failed to really put his stamp on the game, though wasn’t as wasteful as Arblaster.
Tahith Chong - 4
Had a brief moment early on where he looked dangerous with a cross fired in from the right, but was otherwise wasteful with the ball, and didn’t offer much defensive support to Hoever on his side.
Callum O’Hare - 4
Had no real meaningful impact on the game. Unable to receive in dangerous areas as much as usual, and less than secure when he did get it.
Tom Cannon - 4
Quiet. Unable to make much happen, though you can argue that is down to those servicing him. Either way, he didn’t really impact the game.
Tyrese Campbell - 4
Even less in the game than his strike partner, Campbell, in truth, did very little. He did blast an effort into the side netting in the first half, but that was as much as he provided in another disappointing showing this season.
Average rating - 4.18
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.


