Sheffield United 1-1 Bristol City
City knocked at the door, and United let them in at the death.
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
Excellent save from Armstrong in the first half. Wasn’t tested much more.
Femi Seriki – 5
Provided attacking threat but gave his man a bit too much space at the back for my liking.
Rob Holding – 7
Good performance. Looked calm on the ball and solid defensively. One of our better players on the night.
Jack Robinson – 5
Hard to rate because I thought he actually had some very good moments but also lost Armstrong for the chance that Cooper saved and probably should’ve done better on the goal.
Harrison Burrows – 5
Had a decent effort saved mid-way through the first half and generally looked decent in their half. Wasn’t his best day defensively but could’ve had a penalty late on
Hamza Choudhury – 4
Had some solid defensive moments but offered little in possession.
Sydie Peck – 4
Struggled to impose himself on the game. Didn’t offer loads going either way.
Jesurun Rak-Sakyi – 5
Touch let him down when through on goal, but he was a very lively threat at the beginning of the game. Felt like a right side of him and Seriki left us a bit exposed defensively.
Callum O’Hare – 4
Genuinely forgot he was on the pitch until he was subbed.
Ben Brereton Díaz – 5
Was lively even if he didn’t create anything massively meaningful out of it.
Tyrese Campbell – 7
Got the goal and forced a decent save from the Bristol City ‘keeper. Was a real menacing threat in behind all day.
Subs:
Rhian Brewster – 6
Assisted the goal and generally moved the ball well. Got into some pretty good positions.
Gustavo Hamer – 6
Come on and played some neat passes. Showed his class when he was able to get on the ball.
Average rating – 5.31
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.