Sheffield United 2-0 Plymouth

Riley Roberts rates the latest display, as Blades remain unbeaten thanks to Michael Cooper who still hasn't conceded 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 – 9

Saved us really, didn’t he? Pulled out some top-class saves in what was his busiest game of the season at the Lane.

Alfie Gilchrist – 4

Wasteful in possession. Lost track of how many times he played a ball down the line to no one.

Harry Souttar – 6

Solid. Far from his best display but still decent. Made one really impressive tackle in the second half.

Jack Robinson – 7

Had a really good game I thought. Did well, especially when defending crosses where he consistently got in front of his man.

Harrison Burrows – 5

Meh. Very quiet day where he had little impact at either end of the pitch. Didn’t do anything massively wrong either. Solid 5/10.

Tom Davies – 6

Thought our midfield 2 were pretty anonymous for large parts of the game but have to consider that he won the penalty which killed off the game.

Sydie Peck – 4

Like I said with Davies, I thought he was unable to have a huge impact for most of the game. Didn’t keep the ball too well. He’ll have much better days.

Jesurun Rak Sakyi – 3

Probably his worst display for us. Something’s gone wrong recently because his form has dipped massively over the past 3 or 4 games.

Callum O’Hare – 6

Have to say as someone who hasn’t really “got” Callum O’Hare, I thought he had a decent showing here. Takes the pressure off by winning fouls.

Gustavo Hamer – 8

Dragged us through most of that game in truth. Excellent finish and the only player who looked up to the task from the off.

Ryan Oné – 4

Unfortunate to start in a game where he got the absolute worst service possible but no hiding the fact he didn’t really do the job too well either. He’s young.

Subs:

Kieffer Moore – 6

I’ll be nice here and give a 6 because it was a well-taken penalty and crucial to the result.

Rest of subs – 5

Didn’t think any did enough for their rating to slide up or down. Not to say they were bad, just didn’t impact the game much.

Average rating – 5.67

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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.