Sheffield United 1-0 Watford (H)

Riley Roberts rates each player's performance as the Blades win at home for the first time in what feels like years.

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

Didn’t have to do much (only 1 save), but distribution was decent, and he played a part in the goal. Good home debut for the lad.

Alfie Gilchrist – 6

Decent. Couple of defensive interventions and looked solid in the air which was an area he’d seemed a bit shaky so far. Failed to provide the attacking support you expect from a modern full-back but that isn’t really his game.

Harry Souttar – 7

Just ridiculous in the air and so composed on the ball for someone who is so tall that he doesn’t really have any right to be able to control his legs so well.

Anel Ahmedhodzic – 8

My MOTM today. There aren’t many, if any, CBs at this level that can carry the ball out with such effectiveness as Anel. Made two really big tackles as well, one of which denied a massive chance for Watford. Some player.

Harrison Burrows – 7

I was really impressed with Burrows today, more so than I have been in any of his previous appearances for the Blades. Did a nice job at both ends of the pitch.

Oliver Arblaster – 7

Continuously one of the highest-rated players for me, it was more of the same from Ollie Arblaster today. He’s the most comfortable I’ve ever seen a United at taking the ball on half-turn and driving with it, plus he won the penalty. Good performance.

Vinicius Souza – 6

“Was running all over the pitch like a mad man, especially in the first half but a lot of that energy was positive, and he was fine in possession.” That’s what I have said in the past 2x editions of these ratings, and I think I’ll probably just copy and paste it 40-odd more times. I don’t think he was as good as some are making out today, or at least, by my rating criteria, anything higher than a 6 would be over-exaggerating. I liked his performance though, but I feel a few have forgotten the times his tackles were unsuccessful.

Jesurun Rak-Sakyi – 6

Haven’t seen the best of him yet but still had some decent moments where he created stuff from carrying/dribbling. He’s a fun one to watch.

Callum O’Hare – 6

Made the goal happen and probably should’ve had a penalty just before half time but was generally ineffective for much of the game. 5 feels low, 6 feels high based on the system I set. I’ll go 6 because of the goal.

Gustavo Hamer – 6

A decent showing, but not much more by my reckoning. Showed his class at points but also had some poor moments such as a misplaced pass deep on our own half that could’ve been costly. Excellent challenge at the end.

Kieffer Moore – 3

Hate to give this low a rating when everyone else is relatively high but struggle to see how it could be any different. Missed a penalty, messed up another big chance, wasn’t particularly good in general play either. Maybe I was a fool for being adamant that another striker wasn’t what we needed.

VS Watford Average Rating – 6.18 (that’s high for me)

Overall Season Average Rating - 5.78

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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.