Sheffield United 1-0 PNE
A Bramall Lane return for Paul Heckingbottom ended in a win for Chris Wilder's Blades, as United went joint-top of the Championship.
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 – 6
Did his job well, even if he had little to do.
Hamza Choudhury – 4
Didn’t do enough for me with the ball, having given it away every time he attempted to go forwards, but was pretty solid defensively, especially when he moved into midfield in the second half.
Anel Ahmedhodžić – 7
Had a good game. Made some good tackles to stop potential counters, got forward at times, too.
Jack Robinson – 5
Preston’s CFs were quiet throughout. He played his part in that.
Harrison Burrows – 7
A good ball in for the assist and for the missed chance by BBD/Campbell, but I thought he could’ve done better at times on the ball. Seemed reluctant to drive into space when the opportunity was there. Still, hard to be too critical when he created two huge chances.
Vini Souza – 6
Got stuck in as usual and played a really nice pass through the lines to find Hamer (I think). Didn’t come to anything but it was a smart pick-out.
Sydie Peck – 8
Was everywhere. Lots of energy both on and off the ball. One of his best games yet.
Ben Brereton Díaz – 5
Fine. Kinda just did his job.
Callum O’Hare – 5
Gave the ball away cheaply quite a few times but did also well with a couple of flicks and carries in transition.
Gustavo Hamer – 6
Brilliant ball through to BBD for a chance at the start of the second half. Actually thought he could’ve done better with the chance when Woodman was out of his goal but still a solid, classy display.
Tyrese Campbell – 6
Should’ve scored sooner than he did but was extremely brave to put his head where it hurts for the goal.
Subs:
Femi Seriki – 3
Usually love his cameos but not on this occasion. Couldn’t stay on his feet and one instance when he wildly misread the flight of the ball led to the chance where PNE hit the post. Fortunate to have not gifted them a goal.
Average rating – 5.67
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.