Sheffield United 2-0 Hull (A)
Riley Roberts rates each player's performance as the Blades maintained their unbeaten start in 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
Hard to give a high rating to a GK who was barely tested but Cooper seemed to marshal the defence well, claiming crosses with ease, and made two decent saves. Calming.
Alfie Gilchrist – 6
A really solid defensive shift while also providing support in attack. Probably his best game for us yet.
Harry Souttar – 6
Similar to Gilchrist – solid. Particularly remember one interception/block which denied Hull a decent chance. One half of the best CB pairings in the league.
Anel Ahmedhodzic – 6
Don’t remember him getting beaten once throughout the game. Did really well to blank out all the noise around his personal situation.
Harrison Burrows – 7
My MOTM. Don’t really remember him putting a foot wrong. Looked good defensively and was always a threat on the over/underlap.
Oliver Arblaster – 6
His worst performance of the season by my reckoning, which says a lot as he was still decent. Gave the ball away more than we’ve come to expect but was still solid and had moments where his class shone through.
Vinicius Souza – 5
Sure the stats say he won 5 tackles, 5/5 duels, whatever. But at the end of the day, he put himself in those bad positions that meant he needed to recover. Rarely looks comfortable with the ball – a pretty awful trait for a midfielder.
Jesurun Rak-Sakyi – 5
Struggled for involvement in the game but looked bright enough when he got it and tracked back well.
Callum O’Hare – 6
Similar to the Watford game in the sense that he didn’t get too involved, but created a goal. That’ll do for me.
Gustavo Hamer – 7
Took his goal extremely well and played a few nice passes, especially when Burrows overlapped down the left. Too good for this league.
Kieffer Moore – 6
The most polarising player going at the minute. Prior to the second goal, I was leaning towards the side of those who were slating him, but the way he bodied poor Liam Millar earns him a rating boost.
Average rating v Hull – A solid 6.00
Overall Season Average Rating - 5.83
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.
Yes, that body charge by Moore redeemed his performance somewhat as he won the ball, progressed and distributed it well. Played a crucial part in the goal. For a split second I thought the ref was going to blow, he might in the Prem, but Millar was just weak. Although on other occasions Moore chose the wrong option and fluffed it when we were in attacking positions.
Vini deserves another mark. He is all over the pitch making interceptions and tackles. It adds to our game. Agree Blaster's poorest game yet but was still decent. I wonder will he be able to maintain high standards he has set himself through a long and gruelling campaign in the Championship? He's only turned 20. When I think back to the end days of the Fleck-Norwood midfield. Both were brilliant in their prime and great servants for the club. But had long passed their ability to combine and deliver at the top level. I always thought midfield was a big weakness. Now it looks much better.