Match Day Thread Sunderland AFC v Sheffield United – Championship Play-off Final - Saturday 24th May 2025 - KO 15:00

I really like the videos and he’s clearly a very smart and tactically astute guy, so this is in no way a criticism. But I sometimes wonder if some of the things he spots are intentional tactical decisions or just purely coincidental patterns of play that happen organically during the game. Either coincidentally or just “on the fly” repeated by the players.

 

One thing I liked, about the Sheffield game, was that he confirmed what I thought after the game.

The pundits, Wilder, etc, our critics, etc were making out the tide only turned when Hamer went off.

To me that was just a coincidence because we scored shortly after.

We'd clearly pushed more players forward and were pulling their defence all over the place.

Making out we only won because of a disallowed goal and an injury is nonsense ...

... they had endless replacements on their bench but couldn't cope with RLBs tactics and Wilder folded like a cheap deckchair.

 

how much longer can we keep this thread going?

superb work

 

I’ve said it many times that I know nothing about tactics in football. Thing is neither do the so called experts by the looks of it.

 

I'd say that one aspect is tactical ...

... the other is because he allows the players to work things out for themselves.

A manager continually waving his hands and 'dictating play', as some like to do, is often self destructive and the players look uncomfortable.

You rarely see our players looking over at the bench for instructions, Sheff Utd did it all through the game.

At the end O'Hare shouted to ask Wilder if he should sit back or press ... Wilder just shrugged

 

Our tempo increased at the start of the 2nd half and we started to dominate from there - without being able to break them down straight away

I think the game turned at the VAR decision, we played with more tempo and composure at that time and Sheff Utd couldnt/didn't react to it

 

I totally agree but disagree with the pundits, Sheff Utd fans, etc.

A goal chalked off, at 1-0 ahead, doesn't demoralise a group of hard bitten Championship players ...

... what it did do, in my opinion, was shock our young lads into the harsh reality that they were sleepwalking through the game.

They'd had a lucky escape and grabbed the opportunity with both hands.

 

I think the game changed on the VAR call. We ended the half pretty strongly.

On Hamer though, if him going off was the catalyst, maybe don't have your best player be so unfit?

He has 18 goals/assists this season, 14 of them were in the first half of games and just 4 in the second half. If you look at the timings of the goals/assists, the latest he had one was an assist against Oxford in the 58th minute. Surely alarm bells should be ringing for Wilder there? Instead of people blaming Hamer going off as the cause, maybe they should be looking at WHY he has to go off.

 

I think there was definitely an element of "rabbit in headlights" in that first 20 minutes. The occasion and perhaps the prize seemed to get to them (and probably losing Luke - although it may in the long run have been a benefit to have Mepham on). The VAR decision and probably the noise from our end when it came through probably woke up a few. Second half we were definitely on the front foot

 

I thought Hume did a job on him as the game wore on, I also wonder if he quit on his team by going off. He looked knackered and Hume was starting to get the better of him imo

 

Spot on, I got so annoyed at the commentors at the time as they kept going on about how Sheff Utd dominated throughout - they didn't. I thought they were really well organised and hard to play through for the 1st 30 minutes but other than those 2 big chances they didn't create a load.

The fact the commentators said that sheff utd won't believe they've lost it was mental - they didn't do enough to win it

I don't like Wilder at all but I thought he was fair in his assessment, saying they weren't good enough and didn't adapt

 

I called it ‘a mystery injury’ at the time.

It wouldn’t surprise me if he’d already sorted a move and doesn’t like Wilder’s ‘style of football’.

 

In the Sky commentary the pundit kept saying ‘That goal from Mayenda came from absolutely nowhere’ …

… it was our fourth attack in a few minutes and we were continually pushing forward ffs.

 

Hamer was the springboard of their most dangerous moves for me , and rightly was voted Championship player of the season this year, but he like Moore, ran out of steam second half, and ironclly their expensive subs were nowhere near as effective as outrs. It was a close run thing in imo., but that made it all the sweeter.

 

As been said previously, I don't think Sheffield carved us open in the match. The cross to Moore which Patto saved came from a Hume error and if Cirkin dealt with that ball in the second half, Patto didn't have a save to make. Yes Sheffield harried us in the first half and made it difficult but once the VAR decision went for us, we started to play. I thought at half time that we needed to get both Mayenda and Le Fee on the ball more and Reggie had the same thought and sorted it. We started the second half a damn sight better than the first and got after them without really creating anything in the box but were threatening in their half. You could see it was changing more for us when a half fit Roberts came on then it went totally in our favour when Wilson and Tommy appeared. For me, we battered Sheffield after that. Jobe and Le Fee totally took hold of the middle of the park with the front 4 pegging then back and I think Sheffield was hanging on after that. The goals told their own story. If it went to extra time, I was in no doubt we would've got the same result

 

Rubbish male commentators? Never!! Thought that was only women looking at some of the social media!!

Absolutely agree. When I watched it back I couldn’t believe the way they were going on. Glad we shut the ****ers up though!!

 

I might be a little harsh on Hamer,but did you see the way he went off gesturing to all his teammates that he was knackered, totally exaggerating his injury,and i think he bottled it,said before the game to my son’s they have a few sunshine players these (great when everything is going their way) but when you have to dig in they go missing

 

Absolutely brilliant
THANKS @Smug in Boots

 

Excellent stuff! Thanks for posting mate.

 

As always alt endings video is brilliant, does anyone else tear up everytime that Watson goal goes in or am I a geet big soft ****e?