Sheffield United 1-2 Sunderland (A)
Another defeat in the toughest part of the Blades' season thus far, and Riley Roberts shares his marks out of 10.
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
It's a pretty standard mark for a goalkeeper who conceded two goals.
Alfie Gilchrist – 5
Little involvement in the game; wasn’t overly positive or negative.
Anel Ahmedhodzic – 5
Similarly middling but for different reasons. He was beaten far too easily for their second but denied them a huge chance with an excellent tackle in the second half.
Jack Robinson – 3
Gifted them a goal. Not much else to add.
Sam McCallum – 5
Similar to Gilchrist in that I wasn’t massively wowed or disappointed by him. Average.
Tom Davies – 6
Got on the ball a lot and played some good passes. Looked good.
Sydie Peck – 4
Love the boy but it’s becoming a bit of an issue how often he is pressured and concedes possession. Happened for their 2nd goal.
Callum O’Hare – 6
Less wasteful in possession than on other days. Thought he was decent to b honest.
Rhian Brewster – 6
Missed one half chance but was a positive overall. Carried it forwards well and won a fair few fouls.
Gustavo Hamer – 7 (MOTM)
Created the goal in two separate phases. Our top creative force.
Kieffer Moore – 4
Didn’t think his general play was as bad as some are making out but wow that penalty was shocking.
Average rating – 5.00
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.