Match Day Thread Hull City v Sheff United

This game will probably shape how we view our start to the season.

We’re currently 3 points of relegation and 4 points off the play-offs, we have the worst defence we’ve had for years and the best attack we’ve had for years. I’d say we’re bang average.

Win this game and we’ll be in the top half for the international break, lose and we could be in the relegation zone!

 

We basically play with a golf handicap this season, McBurnie is so good we have to gift the opposition a goal or two to make it competitive.

 

Talking to a couple of Utd fans at work and they said the atmosphere was dead. The crowd have lost their hostility as apathy has set in. Even after they scored it never really got going.

 

You know the script....0-2

 

4-1 city....you heard it here first

 

i love players like millar

yes he will frustrate, he will shoot when he should have passed it sometimes
he will miscontrol a simple ball here and there

but he puts fear into the defenders, helps stretch the pitch and makes it so giles has even more space for his guided missile crosses, when giles has the time to make a cross, he can put them exactly where mcburnie wants them
the 2nd goal was amazing

millar had 2 defenders on him, giles overlapped, in space, and mcburnie was pointing that he wanted the ball in front of him and giles delivered
i liked that giles actually ran off the pitch while millar had the ball

 

I found it interesting what Oli said about him the other night.

Essentially, the most annoying human he’s ever met.

 

Millar did a podcast recently where he talked about this a bit. He said he never shuts up on the pitch, and that he's constantly talking to try and get into the opposition full backs head

 

Millar did so well on his comeback the other night, After the Belloumi injury though I know we have got to be careful ( Really looking forward to see them two either side of Mcburnie, if and when it happens) Back to tomorrow having pace and trickery makes such a difference. He knows and I’m sure he will change that first half team from Tuesday. Gelhardt and will he chance Millar if not Joseph? I don’t know but it’s a shame we are still limited in that position. There is other options of course so let’s see how he goes this time. One thing everyone knows is that we have to defend better as a team. Big game, Yorkshire derby, forget league positions just get at them, hope it’s a good game and at the end the points come our way.

 

Agree.

The only issue is that the point gaps aren’t what they seem as other teams pick up points too. A four point gap requires several teams to fail to pick up points that are currently in better form than us. Realistically, it would take a handful of games to turn to close those gaps properly.

Its clear we’re seeing that team has potential – which is great – but potential doesn’t help us in the table and we could soon be in a position in which we’ve picked up fewer points than we did in our first ten games under Walter. The way we’re drawing games with multiple goals means there are also shades of Slutsky starting to creep in.

I think Jakirović is a much, much better manager than Walter so it would be a shame if he fell short in his first 10 games. If he does it’s difficult to see how the mood won’t start to shift around the team.

 

Further to this:

In our first 10 games last season we got 12 points (from those 3 wins in 8 days and 3 draws in the first 3 games).

In our next 10 games we managed only 4 points with no wins, dropped to bottom of the table, ended up with long term injuries to 2 of our best players and lost another to an indefinite suspension. It was not a successful 2 months.

We may currently look to be in a similar place, points and table position wise, to this time last season but that's nowhere near the truth. We're actually in a much better place.

 

We definitely look much better for sure. Walter still managed more wins than we have now though. We need one from the next two.

 

I think joseph should start against the blunts

He seems to be getting more and more confident

He has the ability to run with the ball and cause carnage
Not quite delap
But i think hes growing into a better player game by game
And he keeps winning fouls


And his intense fitness is not to be scoffed at
He doesnt tire

 

My worry with how we are right now is that it wouldn’t be the first time we’ve we said that we look good and it’ll only be a matter of time until we start to win games, only for it not to happen. I agree and don’t think we’ll slip up like last season, but in some ways it still feels like it wouldn’t take much for the wheels to fall off and for us to slip down the table. We need to get the defence sorted and turn potential into points over the next few games.

 

Indeed.

Although we look a much better side going forward, you're always going to come unstuck if you're conceding at least 2 goals every game.