Promising signs for the Blades

Yesterday I got my first look at Danny Wilson's Blades. Unusually, I haven't seen one minute of pre-season through work commitments and then a family holiday and I was quite looking forward to it.

Despite my reservations about Danny Wilson, I am firmly in the everyone should be given a chance camp. I was reasonably happy with his work in the transfer market over the Summer and a 2-0 away victory at Oldham was a good start to the season. Arriving at the turnstile at about 2:40pm via The Earl I was in good spirits, then it all went temporarily awry as this other post explains.

So when I did eventually get into Bramall Lane, what did I make of the Blades and the opposition provided by the Bees? Here are my post-match reflections.......

 

I thought the Blades opened up smartly and at a good tempo, with the freshly signed (that morning) Kevin McDonald making an instant impression in midfield. Making himself available and keeping play moving, maintaining possession. Composed on the ball, keeping it simple and providing much needed height in a midfield that seems to have comprised dwarfs for far too many years.

Playing one natural winger in Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, it was disappointing to see so little of the ball played down his side. Even temporary switches to the left wing saw the ball follow Stephen Quinn to the side of the pitch Mendez-Laing had previously been patrolling. As the game developed he started to see more and more of the ball and displayed a willingness to run at the Brentford defence that was always going to get the Blades fans quickly on his side. 

In fact, I would say he was having his most productive spell, just as he was substituted and taking both him and Slew off, immediately stripped United of pace and an element of unpredictably that the Bees defence were finding it increasingly difficult to handle. There was much praise of his performance on twitter afterwards, although I feel that the level of praise was perhaps somewhat heightened by the fact he could be name-checked with an @MendezLaing and the fact he has interacted with the fans on there quite a lot in the last week or so.

He certainly has talent and raw pace. Rather like forward Jordan Slew, I think he has much more to offer than we saw on Saturday. Fast running at defenders, with the quick feet to beat them, excited the crowd, but we need to see it more frequently and consistently, both throughout the match and from match to match. There also needs to be an end product more frequently and some of that can be put down to naivety that will hopefully be eradicated with experience.

For instance, Slew ran in from the left wing first half and took on a shot from a narrow angle when teammates were better placed. Having said that, what I really like about Slew is his willingness to turn/roll his defender and shoot and he took the goal well, although there was a deflection.

Of the other young prospects; academy graduate Harry Maguire continues to grow with experience and at times showed more composure than experienced colleague Neil Collins, who looked much more comfortable in a lower division. Matt Lowton looked better going forward than in his defensive duties and I can't help feeling he would be better deployed in midfield, but then who would play right back?

Understandably Wilson is playing experienced players ahead of youth where he can and seems content to rotate the bench each week. Of those yet to start, I would like to see more of David McAllister (who impressed greatly on debut last season) and, given the lack of contribution of Daniel Bogdanovic from the bench, I think Danny Philliskirk could offer something up front.

The final new boy to comment on is Lescinel Jean-Francois, who showed some nice touches but also a lack of concentration that could have left him exposed by better right wingers. He has clearly ingratiated himself to the fans and on one of his forays forward he demonstrated he has one hell of a shot on him. He just needs to lock on to his target!

Getting back to the match, after the bright first 15/20 minutes the Blades seemed to lose a bit of drive and were drawn into a scrappy midfield tussle. We saw this last season, where we don't profit from these spells of dominance, then pay the price. It didn't happen yesterday, but it could have.

Brentford battled hard in midfield, with Jonathan Douglas the main driving force, although an increasingly vocal and frustrated one as the match wore on. Yet they created little, one effort just over the bar, until an opening for Niall McGinn who curled a shot within a whisker of Simonsen's far post. That could have so easily been the punishment for our profligacy. Despite possession, Richard Lee was rarely tested until the final seconds of the half, when a great save led to pinball in the Bees' box. 

That aside, Brentford offered little and the substitution of the busy McGinn (always wanting the ball for the Bees) and the surprisingly ineffective Clayton Donaldson, did little to change things in the second half. It felt like the match would either drift towards a draw, or the Blades would have to up the ante around the box and pick up a win. The fact that there was neat and quick inter play leading to both goals, showed what was required and what we will need to break down teams this season.

It was hard to judge Brentford. I think they set up as many will at Bramall Lane this season. Keep it solid, work hard and look for a draw, or steal a winner. Few players stood out and Uwe Rosler said post-match that his players perhaps froze a little. I think they did as well.  

The Blades showed in long spells a willingness to keep the ball on the deck and play out from the keeper, although that did provide some hairy moments. I can see a style of play developing and it will be interesting to see how the team settles down, particularly after the transfer window closes. Nick Montgomery and Stephen Quinn were integral to the win yesterday, yet both could be gone in weeks as the wage billis slashed. Certainly replacements will be sought and on current form I would be more concerned about the loss of Quinn.

Montgomery has a ready made replacement in Michael Doyle, you could even argue that McAllister could/should also come in. I think given the youngsters peppering the squad an experienced central/left sided midfielder will be on Wilson's list.

The other factor that might affect how we settle down is the willingness of the manager to chop and change.  He certainly set up the side differently away at Oldham and maybe we will see a grafting central midfield partnership away, with creativity applied at home. Who knows?

What I do know is that the signs are promising. There is still plenty that can be improved upon, but that will be the same across the country two games in. Most Blades fans would happily accept two 2-0 victories to start the season. Now can we back the manager, continue to back the team and build on it? Please!

Talent Show at The Theatre of Dreams

I hadn't looked forward to a game of football this much for some time. The first leg of the F.A. Youth Cup Final had whetted an appetite for football subdued by a season of turmoil at Bramall Lane. After giving such a good account of themselves last Tuesday, bloodying the nose of Paul McGuiness' latest batch of world talent, I was looking forward to another attractive, competitive game of football and the hope (you know just a little nagging hope, the kind that you try to dismiss) that I might see the "Junior Blades" lift the F.A. Youth Cup.

Driven across by my mate Simon, a Manchester United season ticket holder, roles were being reversed. Last week, Simon had sat alongside me in the heart of the Bramall Lane Kop, politely clapping all the goals and acknowledging the good football on display. This week, I had agreed to join him amongst the home fans at Old Trafford. The problem being, that I am slightly less rational than Simon.

A pleasant drive across the sun soaked Snake Pass ensued, chatting about Survival Sunday, twitter and that player who couldn't be named - until 5Live news at 6pm revealed to us that he had been outed in the House of Commons. Passing through Glossop, which always struck me as the Land That Time Forgot, even the prospect of the queue up the hill at Mottram didn't dull spirits.

25 miles and nearly an hour later, we meandered our way into Manchester. Our route affected by roadworks and events across the city, you know, those once every thirty five years type events.  In-car speculation ensued. Was Tevez there? Was Balotelli there? Was Balotelli's dog Lucky on-board?  

Eventually, some two hours after setting off, we were driving past the new home of Football Focus (Media City) and pulled into the car park at Salford Quays. Emerging from the car park and seeing the self-appointed Theatre of Dreams across the canal, in the distance.

Theatre in the distance

A brisk walk to the ground and after a brief meeting with my brother by the statues we headed into the ground. Drink and Hollands pie (£2.50 and still the best football pie for me) in hand we headed to our seats to find the teams on the pitch and going through the pre-match presentations.

We were sat on the half way line, a third of the way back in the North Stand. To my right, the Stretford End was sparsely populated. Opposite, the Directors' Box was filling up, with a small adjacent area for guests and players' families. Then over in the left hand corner stretching out across the rear of the East Stand were some 6,000 noisy Blades fans, trying to create some atmosphere and sense of occasion. Still arriving through the early stages of the game, many encountering the traffic problems we had encountered.



Pemberton's Red & White Army



Balancing, pie, drink, programme and with my knees under my chin (I though nothing could beat the Bramall Lane Kop for a lack of leg room until Monday night) we sat down to watch the match.

Compared to the Blitzkrieg start made by the Red Devils last week, the opening period was a cagey affair. Both teams sticking to their footballing principles, but without some of the pace and incisive play demonstrated last week.

Many supporters around me were a little surprised by the manner in which the Blades played, although I bit my tongue (and not for the last time that night) when the lad you in front expressed his shock at the fact Sheffield United even had an Academy. The insularity of supporting the Champions.

As the game settled down the home side took the upper hand, a mis-kick from Keane just inside the box fell fortuitously to Ravel Morrison who finished with aplomb. There then followed a period where both sides created opportunities, the more clear cut to the home side, and you sensed the next goal was vital.

Towards the end of the half there was a period of prolonged pressure on the Blades goal, in amongst which Kennedy did tremendously well heading the ball clear as a shot was fired on goal. Time to bite my tongue again. There was a middle aged couple sat behind me who had wittered on for most of the half, mainly criticising Morrison prior to his goal - after which he was the best thing since Warburton's sliced, unwilling to acknowledge there were two teams making this a game. They were probably surprised to know we had an Academy as well.

Following Kennedy's header, the wife commented, like me, on how well he had done. Hubby, not impressed, just replied "What? Rubbish clearance, gave the ball back to us". The scolded wife replied with "Come on, let them off, they're from Sheffield, they haven't got anything else going for them." I felt myself start to rise out of my seat, only the fact that I was in the wrong end, the match was nicely poised and I didn't fancy missing it by being thrown out and the fact that the lack of leg room had affected the circulation in my legs held me back. As someone commented later, an accidental spillage of Bovril might have been in order at half time.

With the next goal vital, I was thinking "just see this out to half time, re-group and get back out doing more of the same and the Blades had a chance". A penalty right on half time changed that. We couldn't see the incident clearly from our seat and I haven't seen it since however, if it was handball, I was surprised that a card wasn't brandished in Kennedy's direction. Keane tucked away the penalty with ease and it felt like game over.

The Blades started the second half brightly, but the loss of Maguire on a stretcher, who was playing particularly well alongside Kennedy, left the Blades re-shuffling the defence and I think then I acknowledged that we were as likely to concede another as we were likely to score ourselves. Pushing forward through captain Whitehouse and the hugely impressive Slew, the Blades were still creating openings without testing Johnstone.

The likelihood of getting caught on the break increased and so it was no surprise that the Blades went 3 down before immediately pulling one back through Ironside. Latching on to a perfectly judged chip from Slew, he slipped it past Johnstone and kick-started a short period where the Red Devils wobbled a little. Unable to clear lines, losing out in tackles, the Blades looked likely to get another. if only they had pulled one back at 2-0, then it would have been interesting to see the home side's response.

As it was, the Blades were to be undone on the break again and, although they continued to press, the fourth goal for Manchester could have been followed by more but for striker profligacy and the impressive Long in the Blades' goal. It was disappointing to see some Blades fans leaving as the fourth went in, I think the lads deserved to be applauded off by a full contingent of support at the end, although I appreciate it was a long journey across and not the shortest journey back.

At the final whistle went both teams deserved rousing applause. Whilst I couldn't disagree with the home side winning, the score line flattered them. I was proud that the Blades had stuck to their footballing principles right through to the end and certainly when other teams might have adopted a more direct approach to try and claw their way back into the match.

Of the Blades players on view, the central defensive partnership of Kennedy and Maguire continued to played well together (Kennedy's penalty aberration aside),  until Maguire was stretchered off.   Whitehouse quietened Pogba and matched up to his physical challenge much more adroitly than last week. Yet again, Slew impressed the most; holding the ball up well, before turning and accelerating away from defenders. He was unlucky with a couple of chances and set up Ironside's goal beautifully. Finally, an despite what the scoreline might suggest, Long impressed in goal. a save from a Pogba free kick sticking in the memory.

For Manchester United, both Morrison and Pogba were less effective than last week. Morrison starting more advanced, rarely dropping deep and only really coming to the fore when the play was stretched and his confidence was up (post goals) later in the game. Pogba still displayed enough in glimpses to see what a quality player he could be, however it was his central defensive colleague Tunnicliffe who excelled. The driving force behind the victory he tirelessly ran, tackled and passed his way out of the middle of the park. Physically and in terms of the quality of his play, he looked like a senior pro playing with the boys.



Young Blades collecting their medals



The trophy and medal presentations followed, unfortunately a vast majority of the 24,000 crowd didn't see it. Why the South Stand wasn't opened I am not sure, but if it had, a few more people other than directors and guests would have seen it. For most the hoisting of the cup could not be seen for the backs of the Manchester squad gathered on the podium and the subsequent celebration photos were then taken in an adjacent spot, again with the players facing away from the majority of the crowd.

Most fans' view of the trophy presentation

That said the home crowd disappointed me in several ways. Granted they had Blackpool and the Premier League trophy presentation the day before and Gary Neville's testimonial the day after, but at £5 adults and £1 kids you would have thought the world's biggest club could have generated more than 17,000 fans. I accept when you are Manchester United you have bigger things going on and, unlike the Blades (A Fourth Division Championship, Third Division Runner Up, twice runner up in the Championship (or equivalent) in my lifetime), the possibility of your club winning a trophy has less resonance. But those who didn't come along really missed out.

The other thing was that a large proportion of those who did stay left prior to and just after the presentation, before their team had paraded the trophy in front of them. I can never understand that. Having said that the FA and or their club made a decision to exclude them from the trophy presentation, so maybe you cannot can blame them in this instance?  The final thing was that I am sure I heard a few boos as the Blades players went up to collect their medals, I hope I was wrong.

So ended what will probably be my last trip to Old Trafford for a few years. A decent match, good company on the trip, a good pie, a few irritants (but every ground and even your own support can supply those) and an over-arching sense of pride in what my team had achieved. The Academy class of 2011 in one half of Manchester and one half of Sheffield have graduated with honours, but how many of them will go on to forge a successful career?

The Future is Red & White

And the kids are United

Last night, Bramall Lane hosted its biggest crowd of the season as close to 30,000 attended the FA Youth Cup Final first leg between Sheffield United and Manchester United. The home side's superb ticketing policy allowing a full ground to watch some of the best under 18 year old footballers in the country. To understand how important youth development is for the Blades and what an achievement reaching the final is, this article I wrote for When Saturday Comes prior to the match will tell you more. So what did we see....

A noisy crowd welcomed both sides on to the pitch, but the home crowd were quickly silenced as the young Red Devils opened with a pace an intensity which the Blades struggled to match. The time and space afforded to the Blades by semi final opponents Aston Villa, which allowed them to play their passing game, maintaining possession for long spells, was not on offer from the visitors. Harried and hassled by opponents who looked physically bigger and stronger led to possession being lost and misplaced passes. However, unlike when the Blades first team misplace a pass, there were no catcalls or groans of discontent, just encouragement and patience. Despite being on the back foot, the best chance in the opening stages fell to the Blades, with Corey Gregory heading over whilst well placed.

At the other end of the pitch the movement of the Red Devils' front players started to pull the Blades defence around.  They then made their possession count when Lingard gave them a fortuitous lead, his shot looping off keeper George Long with Maguire unable to stop it on the line. Some thought that it hadn't crossed the line and it took referee Oliver several seconds before he gave the goal. The issue muddied further by Maguire's flailing hands being raised as he cleared. From my viewpoint behind the goal there was a fear that he had patted it away with his hands, although replays suggest a lack of contact and that the ball didn't cross the line. Certainly to the naked eye it was hard to tell how he cleared it, in the end it came off his head on to the crossbar and out.

The visitors built momentum on the back of taking the lead and George Long in the Blades goal continued to show the impressive form that saw him make his first team debut at the end of the season. Impressive one on one stops from Morrison amongst others and he continued in the same manner during the second half.

The Blades eventually started to settle and late in the half a break from the back by captain Elliot Whitehouse saw him eventually lay the ball off in the centre circle to Callum McFadzean. The young left winger who took the ball on into the space ahead of him, before unleashing a bullet of a shot straight into the bottom left hand corner. A fabulous strike from the youngest Blades player on the pitch and an example of the ability which has seen him playing above his age group for much of his academy career.

The Blades opened the second half much sharper, improving the possession stats with better ball retention and creating more chances than the visitors with better link up play and Slew ever willing to turn and run at the Manchester defence. The visitors were by no means out of it though and, after a spell of Blades dominance including having a shot cleared off the line, a very open game ensued with both sides finding plenty of space, particularly in wide areas. However, slightly against the run of play, the visitors again took the lead. The Blades getting caught out down their left, after an earlier warning went unheeded. The cross could only be deflected by Long into the path of Will Keane who tapped in with ease.

Within minutes the Blades were back level with the ever willing Slew willing to take on the shot and a deflection looping it past Johnstone. Further opportunities fell to both sides, with an majority falling to the visitors and Long again came to the fore with several vital blocks.

A 2-2 draw sets up beautifully an intriguing second leg at Old Trafford next Monday and an appreciative crowd applauded off both sides for what had been an evening of good football, open play and a demonstration of plenty of promise for the future for both sides.

For the home side, George Long pulled off some great saves, a couple with his feet and shows confidence in his actions. Commanding his box well, he looks like a keeper with instinctive actions and could have a key role for the first team in coming years.  He played a large part in ensuring that the tie is level going to Old Trafford and will be just as vital next Monday.

Up front, Slew and Ironside worked tirelessly. Ironside perhaps not as effective as in the semi final, but Slew's running in particular pulled defenders out wide creating space for others. His raw pace and willingness to turn and run at defenders is a commodity that has been rare in the Blades first team for some time. He was also willing to take on a shot, often out of nothing and that paid off for the goal. With little room to play with he squeezed out a shot off the defender and in.

At the back, Maguire and Kennedy faced a difficult challenge against the highly rated Will Keane and the deeper lying Ravel Morrison. They stuck to their task well, although you feared for them every time Morrison picked the ball up and ran at them. Maguire certainly has benefited from his first team experience and any player that puts Craig Bellamy on his backside so early in his career lacks little confidence. Kennedy looks a more accomplished footballer, yet without a significant late growth spurt you have to assume he would look to  a different position in senior football.  Both sides found space out wide and it's fair to say full backs and wingers on both teams impressed more going forward than for their defensive capabilities.

The midfield battle was intriguing. Both Tunnicliffe and Pogba impressed for the visitors. The Frenchman showing some brilliant touches, but also a fragile temperament. His run and lofted pass to the wing that led to a first time cross and a tap in for Keane was sublime. Judged to perfection dropping on to Lingard's boot for a volleyed cross. Other times Pogba's more casual approach led to passes not finding team-mates and a frustrated flailing of arms, seemingly because they were not on his wavelength. There was enough skills on show to see he is something special but will need careful monitoring.

Tunnicliffe was less noticeable in many ways, but for positive reasons and played the game with an ease and comfort on the ball which suggests both could step up to the first team over the next 18 months. Long denied him the chance to be a match winner in the last couple of minutes and my only criticism would be that he seemed to delay his shot too long allowing the keeper to close down the shot.

Pogba and Tunnicliffe were up against a more diminutive midfield pairing of Harriott and Whitehouse for the Blades, their physical size making them look like under 12's in comparison. Unsurprisingly they lost the physical battle against the Reds' pairing for much of the game, but they more than held their own in footballing terms. More  often than not they were the driving force, bringing the ball out of defence and putting the Blades on to the front foot, particularly in the opening stages of the second half. Late in the first half, it was a dogged run out of defence by Whitehouse, shrugging off several challenges and a tussle with Pogba, that led to the ball being laid off to McFadzean who advanced up field to strike the Blades' second goal.  

The central attacking pairing for Manchester United impressed greatly. After Will Keane's hat-trick against Chelsea in the semi final against Chelsea he was kept relatively quiet last night, his goal being a simple finish into an open goal. What impressed more was his work rate and movement off the ball. Easy to dismiss as a lanky target man, his movement and turn of pace is very good and, largely on his own, he led the line well.

The main attacking threat came from Ravel Morrison who showed glimpses of why, providing his personal life remains on the straight and narrow, he has the potential to go the very top in the English game. He had very much a roving role, in the mould of Wayne Rooney, coming deep to collect the ball and link play before bursting forward towards the Blades defence. His turn of pace was blistering and it took a good save by Long first half when Morrison eased free of the Blades defence. As the match wore on he clearly tired and came deeper and deeper for the ball, once or twice popping up in front of his back four, but always trying to make himself available to accept the ball and keep play moving.

You can see why both Keane and Morrison are highly rated and how the young Red Devils scored three against Liverpool and six over the two games against Chelsea. It could be another difficult night for the Blades defence at Old Trafford, but I am sure they will have learnt a lot last night.

Leaving the ground, the match left a warm glow as the sun went down and the temperature dropped. Football being played the right way, with short sharp passing to feet. Players of promise, some of whom you could potentially see in big tournaments in 4 years time. Sportsmanship, with a lack of histrionics and very few bad tackles. A Manchester United player took a nasty tumble after a nudge over the advertisement hoardings, but just got up, brushed himself down and ran back on the pitch to get on with the game. No petty repercussions or revenge. An appreciative crowd that warmed up as the night progressed to create a friendly and encouraging atmosphere. And Blades Academy Manager John Pemberton, resplendent in woolly hat, rocking backwards and forward on the edge of his technical area  like a modern day Randle McMurphy.

I look forward to more of the same at Old Trafford next Monday.