Player Ratings: Sheffield United 1-1 Millwall (A)
No Riley today, so our editor picks up the ratings for Blades' third draw of the season
Riley Roberts Sam Parry
Michael Cooper – 8
Made a superb early save to keep it at 0-0 and could do nothing about the equaliser. Dealt well with set-pieces and solid kicking when he was frequently pressed by Millwall forwards.
Femi Seriki – 6
Marked down for some sloppy moments in the first half, partly due to being offered passes in tight areas by McGuinness. One brilliant piece of skill caught the eye, and he was again a threat in the box. Could easily have had an assist on another day.
Mark McGuinness – 5
Did the basics well, winning aerial duels and making life reasonably difficult for Millwall’s strikers. Marked down for not taking responsibility at the set-piece that led to their goal and for an array of wasteful passes.
Tyler Bindon – 5
Much tidier on the ball than McGuinness, but clearly targeted by Millwall’s press (press TB; let MM have the ball). Competed well in the air but struggled to deal with Coburn after he came on.
Sam McCallum – 5
Not on the pitch long enough to make a sustained impact, but dealt with Femi Azeez, Millwall’s biggest threat, fairly well. Unlucky not to win a penalty after missing a wayward shot and then being crunched. A real shame to see him go off in clear pain after rolling his ankle.
Andre Brooks – 8
The only thing stopping a 9 was one more goal contribution. An astonishing attacking display in the first half, completing 3 of 3 dribbles and embarrassing Alfie Doughty at left-back. The deflection for his goal takes nothing away from how dangerous he was. In the second half, the sheer volume of sprints was remarkable.
Sydie Peck – 6
A solid all-round display. Did everything to a good standard, making tackles, winning headers, and hoovering up second balls.
Tom Davies – 4
If five is the midpoint, Davies was just about a net negative in the first half. Lost the ball sloppily and generally struggled to match the tempo of the game.
Gus Hamer – 7
In a performance where he often ball-watched and lacked the legs to press, he was still arguably one of the most dangerous players on the pitch. Won the ball superbly in the build-up to our goal and was crucial to our counter-attacking play with his passing.
Callum O’Hare – 6
Failed to sort his feet out from a cut-back in the second half and went down for a ‘seen-em-given’ penalty that looked soft. A standard, net-positive O’Hare performance, but those moments in the final third let him down.
Tom Cannon – 6
Hard to judge given his role chasing lost causes, running channels, and battling huge centre-halves, but Cannon put in a proper shift. Pressed more intelligently than usual and did well to retain possession with a couple of driving runs while support arrived.
Subs
Harrison Burrows – 6
Thrown into a full-blooded Championship game after replacing McCallum, Burrows produced a very encouraging display. Azeez was quieter after his introduction, partly due to Burrows’ ability to keep the ball, alongside…
Oliver Arblaster – 6
A smart change from Wilder. Arblaster’s introduction brought calm and control, helping us take the sting out of the game. Millwall were never quite able to set themselves in the second half, and Arblaster played a big part in that.
Average rating - 6.00
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.