Sheffield United 0-0 Portsmouth (A)

Riley Roberts rates each player's performance as the Blades continued their unbeaten run without conceding a goal in September.

These ratings will follow after every game of the Championship season, and they will — depending on your outlook — be harsh or too kind. Any 1-10 rating should make use of every number, and as Riley explains below, the ratings system starts at a 5 (when a player enters the field) and goes up or down depending on their contribution.

Riley Roberts

Michael Cooper – 8

Can finally give Cooper his flowers here after two great saves to keep it at 0-0. Possibly the best shot-stopper in the league.

Alfie Gilchrist – 6

Solid. Was a bit quiet in the second half but impressed in the first with some nice passes.

Harry Souttar – 7

Getting a bit silly how good he is. Feel sorry for the attackers playing against us.

Anel Ahmedhodzic – 6

Stopped most things that came his way. Solid

Harrison Burrows – 6

Good shift. Played some really neat combinations on the left at times.

Sydie Peck – 5

Thought he was fine. Not particularly good or bad. Puts himself about very well for a young ‘un though.

Vinicius Souza – 4

Sloppily gave away possession a few times and, unbelievably for him, made 0 tackles. Gifted them the chance that Cooper saved in the first half too.

Jesurun Rak-Sakyi – 7

Extremely positive performance. Had the beating of his man all day and you would say he was unfortunate not to come away with an assist after setting up that chance for Hamer in the first half.

Callum O’Hare – 4

Didn’t impact the game at all, and in the end, correctly substituted. A common theme occurring with O’Hare where he picks up some excellent positions, only to let himself down with a poor first touch.

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Gustavo Hamer – 5

Had some nice linkups with Burrows on the left but ultimately didn’t do much to impact the game and actually missed our biggest chance.

Kieffer Moore – 4

Hard worker? Yes. Leads the press well? Yes. Offers goal threat? Erm… no. I appreciate what he does for the team, you’d be blind not to see it, but unlike some seem to believe, that doesn't mean he gets a free pass.

Average rating v Portsmouth – 5.64

Overall Season Average Rating - 5.72

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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.