Sheffield United 3-0 Oxford (H)
Player Ratings from Riley Roberts as the Blades extend their unbeaten record at Bramall Lane with a thumping win.
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 – 7
Not called into action in the first half but made some very nice saves in the second. Had a lot of touches of the ball too.
Femi Seriki – 7
Actually, thought he had a few iffy moments at the start but went on to put in a top-class performance. Excellent ball-carrying and a few big defensive recoveries too.
Harry Souttar – 6
Played some poor long passes but was otherwise solid.
Jack Robinson – 7
Strong. When was the last time we scored from a long throw before now?
Sam McCallum – 6
Wasn’t involved as much as the rest of the back four, but played some nice combinations high up the pitch. Saved Cooper a couple of times with ridiculous leaps to keep wayward kicks in play.
Vinicius Souza – 7
Lovely back heel to Hamer for the third goal. Was impressive in possession throughout.
Sydie Peck – 7
Heavily involved in our little quick passing moves which looked oh so stylish.
Jesurun Rak Sakyi – 6
Wasn’t as much of a threat 1v1 as usual but took up good positions and got a deserved goal.
Callum O’Hare – 7
Glad to see him score and play really well first half. Think he began to falter a bit towards the end, but he works so hard that he was probably knackered.
Gustavo Hamer – 9
Stupidly good. He had two top-drawer assists and was very unlucky not to have gotten a goal himself. Looked a class above.
Tyrese Campbell – 8
Caused them massive problems, got into good areas, and scored. My personal opinion is that the centre-forward spot should be his for the time being, even when others come back.
Average rating – 7 (that’s good)
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.