Sheffield United 0-1 Millwall
Back-to-back defeats, at the worst possible moment, means the Blades drop to 3rd place after a frustrating night at Bramall Lane.
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 – 4
Bit of an off day. Shouldn’t really be getting beaten at his near post and almost passed one straight into his own goal.
Femi Seriki – 6
Possibly our best performer on the night, winning corners and providing a threat through his directness.
Anel Ahmedhodzic – 6
Made a good block from Ivanovic in the first half and had a period in the 2nd where he must’ve won the ball about 4 times in 2 minutes.
Jack Robinson – 4
Disappointingly beaten for the goal. Always looked troubled by the presence of Coburn and was fortunate enough to be given a few soft looking fouls as a way out.
Harrison Burrows – 5
Seen a lot of criticism of him – not really sure why. Put some decent crosses in and had a couple of efforts himself. Yes, the nutmeg on him was a terrible look but I thought his overall performance was okay.
Hamza Choudhury – 4
Had some sloppy moments with the ball including giving it away in his own half for the aforementioned block by Anel. Don’t think anyone was surprised when he made way for Souza.
Sydie Peck – 5
Had some decent moments but needed to be a bit more incisive for me.
Ben Brereton-Diaz – 4
Unfortunate not to level it with his header but wasn’t much of a threat from open play. Sloppy, poor touches, lack of 1v1 threat.
Rhian Brewster – 5
Didn’t think he was bad honestly – almost scored, decent on the ball.
Gustavo Hamer – 5
Decision making could’ve been better at times but still played some quality passes.
Tyrese Campbell – 4
Underwhelming. Looks tired.
Subs:
Jesurun Rak-Sakyi – 5
Didn’t think he was at his best, took a few sloppy touches but although I tell myself not to take this stuff into account here – he had the most shots and dribbles of any player on the pitch despite only playing a half. His presence makes things happen, and that is very valuable.
Average rating – 4.75
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.