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| Blades fans endured another disappointing performance on Saturday |
Sheffield United’s 1-1 home draw to Swindon on Saturday was
a frustrating afternoon of football for their fans to watch. This was a game
The Blades were capable of winning, even dominating, but they failed to create
enough chances and fell victim to a well-worked late equaliser from the
visitors. The United faithful left Bramall Lane with a sour taste once more, as
another side with little quality in their ranks earned a hard-fought point.
That’s not to say Swindon played a poor game – Far from it. They had a solid
tactical game plan and executed it well. They created one good chance all
afternoon and scored from it. But yet again, Sheffield United dropped points at
home in a game they should have put to bed before half time.
The Blades started brightly. Many United fans have been
bemoaning the lack of forward-thinking, attacking football this season. The “rugby
team” sideways passing, the frustration of yet another good chance passed back
to the ‘keeper. Not so in the first half. Sheffield United started on the front
foot, slicing passes through the middle, mixing it up with crosses from the
flanks, winning balls in midfield. Their style was aggressive and pacey, yet
controlled and precise. It was refreshing to see Adkins employing a direct strategy
at home, and the mood was buoyant in the home stands from the early exchanges.
The penalty was a bonus from the initial period of pressure;
Billy Sharp confidently struck the back of the net for his 7th goal
in as many league games, and that seemed to signify the beginning of a
comfortable home win for Sheffield United. Indeed, Sharp was close to securing
a 2nd later on in the half, and had the cross he failed to convert carried
a little less pace, The Blades may well have been 2-0 up at half time, cruising
to victory. Games hinge on these knife-edge chances, and that one went begging,
especially for a striker on top form. Such is the game of football. Nevertheless,
Sheffield United went into half time a goal up, and had played well for it.
The second half was a different story, and showed a worrying
trend in Adkins’ match tactics of late. Apart from a couple of early attempts
on goal in the first few minutes, Sheffield United spent the 2nd
half playing a more defensive style, sitting back and allowing Swindon to have
time and space to carve out chances and take hold of the game. As a promotion
chasing side, Sheffield United should be trying to put away home games such as
these comfortably, scoring 2 or 3 and aiming for a clean sheet. It is
unacceptable for a 1-0 lead in this kind of game to be deemed “job done” and
have the manager instruct his squad to take the foot off the accelerator and
wait out the final 30 minutes. Allowing the away side to come back into the
game in the 2nd half is just asking for trouble, and The Blades were
punished for their lack of creativity with an equalising goal in the 79th
minute.
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| Billy Sharp's penalty capped off a bright start for Sheffield United, but was the only goal the home side managed all game. |
While there will be questions raised about the poor level of
defending leading up to Swindon’s goal, (McEveley clearly out of position, no
one marking the attacker in space in the box, the goalkeeper left stranded,) a
far more pressing issue is at heart here - Sheffield United should have been 2
or 3 up by that stage. The Blades have not kept a clean sheet for 6 games,
mainly due to poor defensive displays, and therefore must go out with the
intention of scoring more than 1 goal. Adkins was happy to settle for a 1-0 win
by the hour mark, and made all his substitutions before Swindon’ goal. While the
Baxter sub was a positive attacking move, bringing Flynn and Reed on showed a
clear intention to play out the game and stifle any further Swindon attempts on
goal. This would be a prudent decision if the team had a solid back four, but they
don’t. Sheffield United have conceded more goals than any other side in the top
half of the table, excluding Peterborough. It’s far too risky to rely on
getting a clean sheet. Sheffield United must score more goals.
When the stifle tactic failed, Adkins had no more subs to
use, no further rolls of the dice to try and change the game. Adams and
Campbell-Ryce, a pacey pair of tricky forward players who would have chopped up
the mediocre Swindon defence had to watch on as a negative, defensive Sheffield
United side dropped points at home once again to a mid-table side they should
have been thrashing.
Adkins did virtually the same thing a week previously away at Colchester. Sheffield United had a bright first half, scoring in the 20th
minute and taking a 1-0 lead into half time. Colchester responded well in the 2nd
half, and got a deserved equaliser to set up a potentially fiery final 30
minutes. But Adkins failed to see that the game was there for the taking, and
worryingly seemed to be content with a point away at a side that had lost 9 of
their previous 10 games. He set up to defend, failed to bring attacking players
on to stretch the game, (however using Baxter as an impact sub which did help
to link the midfield and the strikers,) and got a lucky win through a tap in
from a corner in the 92nd minute. Again, this is a side Sheffield
United need to be comfortably defeating, instead they barely won the game. Adkins rode
his luck away at Colchester, and managed to win. He did the same at home to
Swindon, and dropped 2 points. That is not a sustainable strategy if Sheffield
United want to start winning games every week.
Many Blades fans think that the players are to blame here,
that the squad lacks quality. I disagree, I believe the squad is good enough on
paper to beat most of the teams in League 1, rather it is the tactics employed that
are at fault. At home, the brief should be to win the game as early as
possible. The best teams score early on 2 or 3 times, and then sit back. This
is what Adkins did against Bradford just after Christmas. The game was won once
Connor Sammon scored on the hour mark, a full 3rd of the match remaining.
It was the best win of the season, and showed how well The Blades can perform
when enabled to play a creative, aggressive style. December was the best month
of the campaign so far, but already feels like a false dawn, and results such
as Saturday’s are two steps back.
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| Sheffield United only just managed to beat relegation-threatened Colchester last week |
Having said that, overall the results of late haven’t been
disastrous. Only 1 loss in 8 league games is a good record, and The Blades have
certainly overcome their September-November slump. But with Millwall,
Peterborough and Southend all pushing for the coveted 6th spot,
Sheffield United have a lot of competition to fight off to reach the play-offs,
and Adkins can’t ride his luck for much longer. Dropping points as he did
against Swindon on Saturday may come back to haunt him.
Sheffield United have still yet to play the entirety of the current
top 6 once more this season. They will be the testing games, the games that are
OK to nick 1-0, the games that are OK to only gain a point from. But if The
Blades are to reach the play-offs, mid table/relegation sides such as Swindon
on Saturday (and Blackpool tomorrow night,) need to be dispatched cleanly and
efficiently. They will only achieve that with attacking, positive football, played
over the full 90 minutes, and most importantly, scoring more goals!
Good form starts at home, and the next game at Bramall Lane
will be against Wigan, a Championship team last season, FA Cup winners in 2013,
and one of the best teams in the division. I hope Adkins realises the immense
importance of that game, and sets up his squad and tactics to win convincingly.
If Sheffield United play as negatively as they did against Swindon, I can see
nothing but a demoralising home loss to a team that will be in the mix for the
play-off final in 4 months. Sheffield United have contested some solid results
against the big hitters this season, a home win against Coventry, a draw and a
clean sheet away at Burton, and sensationally coming back from 3-0 down away at
Wigan to snatch a point. All this will stand for nothing if they can’t win
against lesser sides at home.
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