Cut down by the Blades? Not really, Friday night just wasn't our night.
Well played all round by us, I thought. Just sadly somewhat lacking up front. Can we have two up front again please? Is that still a thing?
Yes, Captain Cool's tackle was daft. But he had to try and do something. Sadly he did the wrong thing. Fortunately, Sheffield United were yet another side we've played this season who thought they could just bully and kick us up in the air because we have a young squad. WRONG. That plan back fired as Souttar's second yellow levelled things up. Game on.
Sadly things didn't go our way at all. Luck can't go our way every time and we've had our share so far this season. However Friday night's stats show it was pretty even. We played well, even with 10.
All that being said... whoever chose Paddy to take that penalty is clearly a few spoons short of a cutlery drawer. Recently our set pieces have either looked really good, or been completely wasted by whoever takes them. So that needs sorting out. Right, I'll put my calm head back on now.
I wouldn't say this recent lull we've had was inevitable, but it's hardly surprising. It's nearly halfway through the season and we have a young squad. Simple as that. Or is it?
Our club's current business model and style of play are still in their early stages. Last season taught us that having a plan is great, but not being able to adapt said plan is just plain awful. During the summer we did tweak that plan with the addition of some slightly older players. There will be bumps in the road but at the moment I see no complacency in our squad, tactics or dare I say it - the folks upstairs. I can only think of a handful of games this season that we haven't dominated, and we still won most of those.
Plus, for me, we need to release the ball a bit earlier when we're going forward. We have some players who are brilliant at running on the ball, which is something we've lacked in recent years. But I feel like sometimes they have a habit of getting their head down and ploughing forward without much of a plan. I get the impression this is either down to inexperience or possibly the feeling they are fighting for their place in the squad. With so many up and coming youngsters flying into the squad there could be the feeling they've got to make an impact every time they're on the ball. Don't get me wrong, that's a great hunger to have, but hindsight is a wonderful thing to have. Not to state the obvious, but some more experienced players in squad would help. We're lucky that Jobe has this attribute far beyond his years.
Every game seems to be a lesson at the moment and due to the recent additions to our list of injuries, we've had quite a few classes. A couple signings in January, a few of the summer signings match fit and a shorter injury list should see us through the rest of the season. But we'll have to see how we bounce back from this first.
Keep the faith!
