Pictures VS Southampton

View image | gettyimages.com

View image | gettyimages.com

View image | gettyimages.com

View image | gettyimages.com

View image | gettyimages.com

View image | gettyimages.com

View image | gettyimages.com

View image | gettyimages.com

View image | gettyimages.com

View image | gettyimages.com

View image | gettyimages.com

View image | gettyimages.com

View image | gettyimages.com

View image | gettyimages.com

View image | gettyimages.com

View image | gettyimages.com

PODCAST THE SHOREHAM VIEW

Its no masterpiece, its a first attempt at something new and still have a lot to learn, a work in progress but we hope it is the start of something good

Blades Defenders Left In Limbo

With keeping clean sheets a paramount to success in League One many Sheffield United fans have been left scratching their heads at the decision to take two experienced defenders away from the first team.

As any Blades fan will tell you it was strange to see the club sign an experienced defender at this Level in Andy Butler to see him play only one game in which he scored a goal then to see him loaned out twice to rivals in the same division.

Also after being a key member of the first team for many years the decision to not include Neill Collins since the Chesterfield game in early October (scoring one of The Blades two goals in the process) again supporters ask themselves “why?”

There have been rumors of fall outs with the manager along with rumors that Collins may have assaulted someone in the changing room, but the truth is no one is really sure why the two defenders have found themselves surplus to requirements in the mind of Nigel Clough.

Clough had raised reservations about Butler’s performances in pre-season when asked why he was left out of the opening day squad, after the second game of the season Butler was pictured with fans of his old club whilst attending his previous club Walsall’s home game. Clough explained he had given Butler the day off but had no plans to let Andy leave saying “The way he can get back in, what any player in their position should do, is to keep on working hard during training. Because, if I was in their situation, I’d think nothing is set in stone as the team has lost its first two games.” When asked if Butler was on his way out he said “we have no plans to let him go.” Under a week later he was loaned back to former club Walsall.

The Collins situation is a little more shrouded in mystery, after being left out of the match day squad Clough was asked what the situation was, and Clough went into a bizarre almost rehearsed statement about the door always being open and if Neill had an issue he should raise it with him, almost as if Nigel was unsure if the defender had made a statement without him being aware. The statement about the open door was reiterated various times over the next few weeks which included many more omissions from the first team.

So with the future of both players still unsure the mystery as to what has caused all this remains unsolved, and with Paddy McCarthy’s loan ending soon experienced centre half’s are not exactly in abundance at Bramall Lane.

If this is a case of don’t cross the boss one would have to hope that the situations are resolved sooner rather than later, I hold more hope of Collins returning than I do Butler with his move to Doncaster being confirmed this week, but until more is known we will all have to continue playing the guessing game.

- Jonathan Gascoigne

Hard Work Brings Reward

Preston North End 1
Sheffield United 1
Deepdale
Attendance 11,058
Away Blades 1,817

When you look at the fixtures list you just know that some games are not going to be easy, and many will remember the onslaught we had to endure to take a point last season at Deepdale, this was a game that many thought would be a write off. This PNE side had the talent going forward and the physical edge you would expect from any Simon Grayson side. 

Clough's team showed four changes for the visit to Deepdale. Harris, Flynn and McNulty dropped to the bench, whilst Alcock missed out. In came McEveley, Higdon, Murphy and Campbell-Ryce, who made his first start. The Blades settled the better and created the first real chance with nine minutes gone - Campbell-Ryce's cross was enticing, Higdon beat his marker in the air but Jones pushed the header around a post. The resulting corner was returned to Davies and his drill across the box was kicked clear by Wiseman but the officials mysteriously awarded a goal-kick. Preston's luck continued as they took the lead moments later. LITTLE's inswinging free-kick travelled across the box, beyond defenders and Garner, before nestling into the bottom corner of Howard's goal. Deep crosses then presented both sides with a chance inside two minutes. Another Campbell-Ryce delivery saw Higdon almost attach himself to the ball and then Garner headed over a cross from Humphrey. On 34 minutes Garner went even closer with a half-volley from 25 yards, but the effort was a yard wide. Campbell-Ryce was particularly active in the first half and went close to levelling following a Blades break but his lob could not beat Jones and then the winger delivered a cross which Basham headed over. For Preston, Humphrey's long rang effort was pushed over by Howard before the Blades deservedly levelled on 41 minutes. Campbell-Ryce did well to get the better of Davies physically and Murphy was also involved before BAXTER's left-footer from the edge of the box took a telling deflection to beat Jones. The later stages of the half saw the Blades clearly on top but the only other effort of note was from another Campbell-Ryce cross, unfortunately Higdon was crowded out.


Campbell-Ryce continued to impress after the break and the first two chances fell to Davies and Baxter but the first one was punched away and the second was over the crossbar. On 56 minutes, however, Howard was at full stretch to make an impressive save from Humphrey, who was aiming to curl into the top corner. From the resulting corner, King's back post header was saved on the line by the Blades goalkeeper, although the home players were adamant the ball had crossed the line before Howard's block. The entertainment value continued and on the hour it was the turn of Jones to make a fingertip save - from Davies, who swung the ball in from a similar position from which Little scored in the first half. Garner headed onto the roof of the net and United made a number of blocks from one Preston attack, whilst Wiseman cleared off the line from Higdon's header on 63 minutes. Howard dropped on a corner as Preston looked to make their aerial advantage count and the home side went closer still on 72 minutes, Garner's cross found Hugill and his volley was goalbound before striking the leg of Howard. Campbell-Ryce was United's first booking, for a foul on Woods on 74 minutes, and soon after followed Clough's first change, McNulty taking over Higdon. The next change, with ten minutes to play, was Wallace taking over from Baxter. Collins headed wide a Davies free-kick and with two minutes left Howard dropped to his left to push away a 25-yard effort from Gallagher. The action relented somewhat in the final ten minutes after an exhilarating opening 80, although Gallagher turned over a Browne cross as three minutes of added time was announced.

Putting The Past Behind Us & Looking Forward

West Ham 1
Sheffield United 1

(Sheffield United win 4-5 on penalties)
Upton Park
Attendance 28,930

Away Blades 1,385

For many Blades this game was less about re writing old wrongs and more about trying to claim a Premiership scalp. many have moved on from the Tevez shamble, the same obviously can not be said for the East End of London. Somehow feeling that they were the victims of injustice (I know that astounds me as much as it does you) they took to social media proclaiming how they were going to decimate The Blades, how we would leave humiliated and humbled. The newspapers of course showing no biased what so ever even printed large Carlos Tevez masks the home fans to wear as they trounced us to further the humiliation that was imminent in the eyes of The Hammers. But of course football being the wonderful game where anything can happen the script decided to make a drastic u-turn and deliver a small yet satisfying dose of karma to the deluded bunch from "down south".

In fairness on the pitch West Ham showed Premiership class controlling a lot of the early game, any hope that they would play the traditional Big Sam 'hoof' style was well and truly out of the window. West Ham were out to win this game decisively, as evident by throwing in their new twelve million pound signing Enner Valencia. Mark Howard had to make a string of saves to keep out the London outfit, but he was eventually beaten by a looping header from Sakho. The Blades had moments of danger but failed to test the opposition keeper with anything to threatening. Half Time came and went and United looked brighter, a good spell of possession and balls into the box gave The Blades hope but still failed to really throw anything at Jaaskelainen worth writing home about. But just before the hour mark the Blades were gifted an equalizer, a hopeful cross from Harris floated into the box, McNulty couldn't make full contact and it rolled safely into the box ready to be cleared, then in stepped karma in the form of Winston Reid's shins, awkwardly hitting the defender and slowly rolling into the goal, one all and game on. The rest of the half flew past, West Ham again looking the more dangerous but failing time after time to beat Mark Howard who was a man possessed. With the two sides unable to break the deadlock Extra Time was required but even after that neither team could gain the advantage, the dreaded game of chance approached, the tie would be decided on penalties. The same old story again came true, neither team could break the deadlock and four out of four penalties were scored for both sides, The Blades players overcoming the wall of boo's and jeers kept their nerves to set up the fifth, final all important kicks. Twelve Million Pound Man Valencia stepped up, the hopes of twenty plus thousand fans in paper masks sank into the ground and fizzled away into despair as Mark Howard calmly and easily saved the tame penalty. The boo's, the whistles and the hatred again filled the ground, Captain Michael Doyle stepped up, a chance to win the game, to make himself a cult hero. A chance to silence the hostility, a chance you only get once to deliver just a tiny bit of justice. And as the West Ham fans streamed for the exits Michael Doyle did a brilliant Cockney Walk in front of the traveling Blades who had erupted into a mass deliria, Doyle had kept his nerve, slotted home sending the keeper the wrong way, the battle was won and The Blades were in the next round. 

On a side note I would like to point out that the Daily Mail (head sports writer Martin Samuel) posted a rather, lets say catty match report, I am sure Mr Samuel had no hand in that what's so ever but I digress. I am very sure no one from The Daily Mail reads my blog but I would like to pass on a message never the less. No amount of catty reporting and biased views, no amount of trying to claim how superior West Ham were according to the stats will change the result. We won, West Ham lost, and now maybe it would be better if you reported on the current litter crisis in the East End as thousands of Carlos Tevez masks clutter up the gutter and drift across peoples gardens.

-Jonathan Gascoigne

This Is Not The Battle We Wanted

West Ham, the name still drys my mouth and makes my blood boil. The arrogance of this club, the sheer audacity of their actions past and present, the fans who somehow think we are the villains for taking their money and can not see what their club did wrong. The loud mouth manager, the West Ham FA mafia, I cant find one thing I like about this club. And for years I have dreamed of us pulling their name out of the hat and drawing them in the cup, a match eight years in the making, so why is it that I am so underwhelmed by Tuesdays game against this enemy? Well it's simple, this is not the game we wanted, this is not the right stage for this battle. The victory at Villa away last season sparked the club into reviving a season, and I have heard it mentioned this game has the potential to do the same, but I don't think that is the case. Yes knocking them out of the cup would give us all a great feeling of justice, but the circumstances have downplayed this fixture. Instead of it being on a Saturday where thousands of Blades could invade London and make their loud and proud voices heard, filling their ground with noise we have a Tuesday night, many who want to go to the game will be unable to due to work commitments, family commitments and whilst I am in no doubt we will take a good following we were never going to need further allocation like we would have done in lets say an FA Cup game. Even in the second round of the League Cup if this fixture had been at The Lane I feel comfortable saying with no exaggeration it would have been a sell out, at least for the home side. The Lane would have been rocking, that is the kind of stage this long awaited fixture deserves, instead we have this underwhelming feeling of it just being another game.

The exact moment that Tevez scored at Old Trafford, that cemented all that was wrong with football, an illegal signing scoring the goal to save a side from relegation and by doing so dooming another to that fate, ever since then animosity between the two teams has built to a level of hatred of which there is no coming back from. And whilst I am not expecting Tuesdays game to be anything other than a personal battle I believe this fixture deserves a better platform to be played upon.

The West Ham fans have been planning among themselves, talks of Tevez masks and taunting chants have been their main focus, but I think their main focus first of all should be selling out their tickets, already lowering their prices to just a tenner I cant see them selling out, I would love it if they did, I would love the chance to see over thirty thousand Eastenders with tears pouring out of their cheap cardboard Tevez masks. Nigel Clough has been fairly quiet in regards to this fixture, and sensibly so, the last thing we need is our management drawing battle lines, whilst to the fans this is more than just a game we want our leaders calm, focused on the game at hand and ready to try and win a game of football. In contrast Sam Allardyce has already been mouthing off to the press, claiming the West Ham fans were the ones who felt injustice, claiming he will do all he can to beat us and make his fans happy. Well Sam at if there is any justice in the world after ninety minutes you will be eating your words. Their was only one team that felt injustice, and no compensation payments will ever make up for that. Tuesday will be a battle, it will be a cauldron of passion and both teams will want to make their fans happy after all they have waited so long for this game, and whilst it may not be under the circumstances we wanted, one thing is clear this match will be personal.

The Contrast of Four

Since the opening fixture The Blades have been involved in four competitive games, and at this early stage of the season instead of four separate match reports I thought it may be more constructive to look at the four results as one. A one nil victory in the League Cup over Mansfield, a one nil loss to Coventry, our first league victory away to Peterborough two goals to one, and finally yet another one nil result this time The Blades defeating Crawly. One loss in four fixtures, not a bad run on paper, but why are so many still so disgruntled?

The Mansfield game, expectations of a big win are always present in these early cup fixtures, many thought the starting eleven including Doyle, Collins and McNulty would be more stable than the one chosen for the opener against Bristol. What followed was a mundane, unorganized disappointing fixture, McNulty fought well for his winner but expectations fell well short in this game. Jamal Campble-Ryce, Marc McNulty and Neil Collins were the stand out performers and looked like front runners for the starting line up in our next fixture, of course this theory was put to pasture when against Coventry the starting eleven like in the opening game left many baffled. 

Alcock was back on center half duty with Davies filling in as right back. Ryan Flynn reclaimed his spot in the side, Louis Reed again featured whilst Higdon took McNulty's place up front. For the first twenty minutes we controlled the game, dominating the pitch and if not for a world class save from a close range Higdon header we would have been a goal up. But after that Coventry were the only team in  the game. United looked frail, weak and resorted to long balls towards Higdon, who despite his size is a ball on the deck player. The substitutions failed to change the inevitable and Coventry got their winner, Bob Harris completing a woeful start to the season by scoring an own goal. Disgruntled fans poured out of Sixfields, angry, disappointed and in a panic about how the early stages of the season have panned out, and with a tricky fixture approaching away at Peterborough many struggled to see where the first three points would come from.

A more straight forward line up took the field at London Road, Alcock at right back, new boy McEveley at left back, Collins and McGahey in the middle of defense. Davies was then in his more familiar role on the right hand side of midfield, McNulty was up front ahead of Higdon. The Blades like at Coventry started brightly, not showing the frailties of previous fixtures, clearly out to prove a point. United could have scored early on but failed to take advantage of some dangerous set pieces. A quarter of the way in The Blades scored a fortunate goal, Baxter slipped and miss hit his effort but it slid across the face of goal and into the back of the net, advantage Blades, but not for long. Some non existent marking allowed Posh to equalize after defender Brisley thundered in a header from his team mates near post corner. The game then went to stalemate mode, neither team able to break down the other, and certain negative tenancies which were familiar from previous games crept in. Higdon replaced McNulty and his late flick from a corner caused Posh to clear the ball wildly, it landed straight to the feet of Ben Davies who struck in from long range to grab the winner. Three points on the board and we have lift off. Not a classic performance but a vast improvement on previous outings. 

Crawly at home, surely a chance to carry on the momentum, one change with Higdon replacing McNulty. But what was to follow was truly awful, United looked lethargic, unable to really break their opponents down and again the frail back four, still ungeled, looked like they could be caught out at a moments notice. Higdon had a disappointing game, still not match fit and still being used as a target man despite that not being his style he failed to make any kind of lasting mark on the game, this being said he played a big part in the winning goal, and in the grand scheme of things, a bad game can be forgiven if you do one thing that leads to a win, and I think many Blades need to keep that in mind. A diagonal ball was chested down by Higdon well who played a calm ball to Basham, he then played it to Alcock who after a clever bit of vision he played off to Baxter, his shot was unstoppable, advantage Blades. The game however did not improve, United ground out the rest of the game and it felt to much like hard work, defending a one goal lead at home, it was a million miles away from the team of last season, three points, but still an obvious advertisement that this team is missing a great deal.

The defense, it looks unsettled, constant tinkering and a lack of real leadership is exposing its frailties, Clough needs to pick a back four and stick with it, and playing a creative winger at right back isn't helping matters. We need to buck our ideas up in midfield, at times we are not strong enough, some teams are to strong for us to be playing young lads like Reed as evident against Bristol and Coventry, this kind of player will be better suited against better footballing sides. Up front, Higdon is not yet fit, and the team haven't realized how best to utilize him, so instead of starting him unfit, isolated and ineffective and turning the more fickle fans against him, save him, get him fit, educate the team in training how best to set him up, then watch the work pay off as he nets goals, it is baffling how this has not been figured out yet. The potential is there, but we have just not completed the jigsaw yet. 

And So It Begins

Sheffield United 1
Bristol City 2
Bramall Lane
Attendance 19,889

After all the waiting, the worst part of the year for any football fan was finally at an end. It felt good to walk back up the stairs, to see the sights and sounds, the familiar faces, the music, it felt good to be home.

A pre season of optimism and an early kick off live for the world to see added to some fans expectations, and Nigel Clough marked the opening day by making a very brave set of choices in the Blades starting eleven. No Collins, no Butler, no Baxter and no Doyle. Alcock, McGahey, Basham and Higdon all made their league debut for us and seventeen year old Louis Reed made it into the starting line up. With the absence of Doyle Michael Higdon took the armband and lead us into the first battle of a long campaign.  

United started slowly and after the first Annie's Song of the season drifted into the afternoon air it became apparent Bristol were here to show that they should be bookies favorites this season not us. Bristol's Freeman used he ability to cause us problems, his set piece linking up well with Smith but his effort didn't hit the target. The feisty Higdon caused problems with his physical presence, both squads looked energetic but couldn't make the most of their attacking fortunes, the two sides continued to take turns testing the resolve of their defensive counterparts without really testing the goalkeepers. Twenty minutes in and the deadlock was broken, the few hundred traveling supporters filled the shocked stadium with an overjoyed cheer, Basham loosing possession to Freeman whose pass lead to an energetic run from the right flank and a rasping ball from Little found the powerful Wilbraham who powered his header home, and despite a faint touch by Howard there was no stopping the opener. 

Blades fans rose to their feet and despite a few doom and gloomer's that always find their way into the ground they got behind the team in the full voice, knowing that with plenty of football still to play it was far from over. An almost instant comeback was on but after Higdon's initial good work challenging the Bristol keeper for the cross whipped in by Harris Scougall's follow up was cleared off the line. Higdon then almost leveled after a cross from Davies was headed goal wards, but Fielding's hand came to the rescue as the ball was tipped over. All the pressure was now from United and Higdon fired the Blades level after finally taking advantage of a spell of dominance, Davies launched his free kick into a crowded penalty area where Higdon rose above the rest to nod calmly into the Bristol goal. We then went in for the kill, trying to force another goal that would give us the lead, Scougall headed over and Basham hit a volley wide of the target but we were on top. A pivotal moment approached after again putting Bristol under pressure the ball came to Little who shielded it on the touchline, he looked behind himself and saw Harris incoming before violently striking The Blades full back with his elbow clean in the face, Harris required lengthy treatment and was out cold, but Little not only escaped a red card, but escaped a yellow and was not even reprimanded, a joke of a call and despite the bravery shown by Harris to get up and play on he was not the same again, half time both teams level. 

The second half belonged to Bristol, they came out with a clear game plan, physically dominate and close us out of the game, and with the technical talent of Freeman and Wade Elliott always looking dangerous when given the ball we failed to cope. The larger stronger Bristol side controlled the play and caused our midfield and defense into a succession of errors. United's only attack of the opening of the second half saw the referee book Jamie Murphy for diving, but despite this Little after getting a yellow (despite already getting away with assault previously with no ramifications) was not given his second booking despite being caught diving in almost identical circumstances to Murphy. Howard did well to deny Wilbraham his second goal and like wise to deny Baldock, the pressure was mounting on The Blades who were having to hold on. Jamal Campbell-Ryce replaced Flynn, in a game I would have expected the pacey veteran to start he came on and looked like a man possessed, ever dangerous with the ball and with the talent to keep the ball and use trickery and pace to beat his man, but again the Blades couldn't take advantage of his hard work and put the ball into the goal. Harris's game had deteriorated and he never backed up Murphy when going forward, his distribution was poor and he was not marking well, it seems the first half incident had rattled him and he looked nothing like the calm, collected footballing full back we know he has been in the past. The last twenty minutes of the game just like the first twenty saw Bristol take the lead, a long ball saw a brilliant flick on from Bristol's goalscorer Wilbraham to old enemy of The Blades Wade Elliot who hot home the winning goal for the visitors. McNulty was brought on to Join Higdon upfront and just after a second Blade was booked for diving, this time it was Davies who had clearly dove in the box, not something I like to see from my own players. Bad luck saw us denied an equalizer as we finally took the game as our own and piled forward, Campbell-Ryce fired towards goal, it was then deflected into the path of Jamie Murphy who's clever effort hit the underside of the Bristol keeper before deflecting onto the post towards the back of the net, but dramatically defender Flint cleared off the line for an agonizing third time in this game. Baxter replaced Basham as we had one last throw of the dice, and despite throwing everything forward and having five minutes added time the game belonged to the away side who when the whistle went left with three valuable points, a first opening day loss since 2008 and Bristol's first win here since 1957.

Now since this game many people have panicked and gone into panic mode, I for one think this is unwarranted, yes today was not our day but there were to many positives to ignore, Higdon looks commanding up front, Reed oozes talent and we have the ability to cause a lot of problems, on this day what we did not have was luck. A few players had off games and to be honest the line up to me wasn't the way to approach a fixture like this, but I am not Nigel Clough, I don't see these players day in day out like he does, and I trust his judgment. We are short two fullbacks, one on each side as we have little to no cover, on the left we have no one else, and despite Harris being a good player he could have easily have had to be replaced in this game due to injury. It was not the start we wanted, but anyone panicking needs to calm down, stop believing rumors and being weighed down with the doom and gloom brigade and get behind the team, this was a battle not a war, and one battle loss does not a defeat in the long run make.

Jonathan Gascoigne

Tired Legs Lead to Ready Legs

One of the biggest differences I have noticed at the beginning of this pre season to any other is one word, fitness. Every interview the word fitness, every photo epitomizing the word fitness, I don't think I have seen a ball kicked. running, running, running more running. Anyone looking into one of the training sessions would be forgiven for not recognizing this is a football team that's training and mistaking us for a cross country team. But don't think that I am finding fault, I am happy to see this, in seasons gone by I don't remember seeing anything regarding training at this stage I was convinced that our players had extended holidays as The Blades pre-season never seemed to start until every other club was into week three of theirs.

But its a positive and another reminder that we now have a team in charge starting with Nigel Clough that understands what it takes to be ready for a successful campaign. Jose Baxter looks like he hasn't eaten since the end of last season, Chris Porter looks like his legs are on steroids, the squad looks like they could run through brick walls and not lose any momentum. Admittedly with our first friendly resulting in a loss to Burton a handful of Blades 'fans' went into panic meltdown, but still I don't remember any mention of a ball being kicked yet in training (not to mention two different squads in each half with minimal senior player involvement.) still the focus was, fitness. The coaching staff understand that United need to hit the ground running, we do not have a large squad, we cant have bit part players only good for half a match, we need everyone ready to run themselves into the ground and still have the capacity to get up and be ready for more. Even now after our 4-2 win over Dundee all the focus is on fitness and preparation for a long grueling campaign. When the attention turns to tactics, skills, set pieces and the rest the players will be shocked, every action will feel more fluid and players performances will hit a new peaks. I am thrilled that for once the club is finally showing these professional signs of improvement.

Harry Gate

So it looks apparent that Harry Maguire will be playing for Hull City when the season gets under way. In a bizarre day that has left many scratching their heads the bottom line is that Harry looks to have had a medical and will be announced as Steve Bruce's latest signing as early as tomorrow morning. Nothing looks like holding up the deal, Harry's brother a youngster at Chesterfield FC was quick to congratulate his sibling on Twitter, but what makes this whole thing so strange I hear you ask, well it is the bizarre chain of events. Early this morning Sheffield United released a statement, regretting to inform fans that Hull have made a new offer finaly meeting our valuation for Harry Maguire and the bid has been accepted. Blades fans were to be understandably unhappy but preparations to wish Harry well and thank him for his service began.

Almost one hour later, Hull City release their own statement.

"Sheffield United rejected an offer from the Club five days (Wednesday) ago for defender Harry Maguire. This was the Club’s final offer and we have since entered into discussions with other transfer targets.
In light of Sheffield United’s statement this morning the board will meet with manager Steve Bruce this afternoon to determine whether we now wish to pursue the transfer after the South Yorkshire club's apparent U-turn."

Now this raises the quandary, just what is going on? Who is telling pork pies and who is trying to save face?

Now many things could have happened and conspiracies will no doubt follow in the days to come, but in my mind there are two possibilities, the first and in my opinion the more likely are Hull have gone on the defensive. I mean how dare Sheffield United of League One stand their ground and demand more money from a Premiership side! We should jump through every hoop they have and offer players as sacrifice at the click of their fingers. So they are embarrassed that we set a price and they have had to meet our demands, and the danger in that is, what if they overpaid? What if Harry does a Slew instead of a Walker?

In saying that we pulled a U-turn and accepted an offer that was previously rejected it makes them look like they are the ones in charge, the ones pulling the strings and setting the prices and I do not believe that for a second. I personally would have canceled the whole deal had I been in a position at Bramall Lane to do so, I would not do deals with a club who are happy playing silly games.

Now can I guarantee this is the actual chain of events, can I say confidently that this theory of mine is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? No of course not, not at this stage, so it would be responsible for me to not mention other possibilities, so lets move on to theory two and no doubt the story conspiracy theorists will be clutching to, Harry has thrown his toys out of the pram. Harry did not feature in our last friendly and the reason given, he is unwell, it does not mean he is leaving was the message given by Nigel Clough. Now a few days later it looks as though Harry is on his way out. Now those that like a good conspiracy story will be ready to believe that harry refused to play, demanded that United revise their decision to reject a previous offer and sell him to Hull or face the reality they will have an unhappy player who will not put in one hundred percent in every game, cause problems to team harmony and so on. To me this is ludicrous, Harry has been a constant professional and wouldn't stoop to these silly games, plus if we let him sit on the bench or he purposely played badly or ruined the team then his reputation would be damaged beyond repair and any possible big money move would be off the table in the future for Harry.

Whatever your theory I think we have to accept Harry wanted to move to Hull, and will get his move sooner rather than later, now before we berate him and make him a pantomime villain lets remember all he has done for us,  I for one wish him all the luck in the world for the future, and I hope one day to see him back at Bramall Lane.

#BelieveInTheBlades

More info on #BelieveInTheBlades and how you can win next seasons home shirt will become available soon

The Shoreham View End Of Season Awards

Player Of The Season

This is self explanatory, twenty one years old, over a hundred first team games, always gives his all and so often delivers a powerhouse defensive performance, as well as being a good footballing defender.

Surprise Package Of The Season

Ryan Flynn wasn't expected to deliver much this season, to often we saw him as a defensive winger, no strength, no flair, no pace no skill, scared to go forward or attack. Then along with a new manager came a new Flynn, from goals against Villa to tearing apart full backs with a new found confidence Flynny put plenty of smiles on plenty of fans faces this season, and long may this continue. 

Unsung Hero Of The Season

Neil Collins, week in week out, alongside Harry this lad has worked his backside off. Despite taking a lot of flack from the crowd and having every mistake highly scrutinized Neil Collins gets on with it. And I feel this season he should have been the one wearing the armband. His level headed approach and the way he has adapted his game completely eclipses his limitations as a player. Without Neil Collins this season that rut that had us in second bottom, well it may not have been salvageable.  

Cult Hero Of The Season

FEAR THE BEARD!

Flop Of The Season

Fourteen games, no goals, two red cards, one verbal warning, missing the team bus, missing open nets, constantly on the floor and now transfer listed, need I say more??

Chant Of The Season

HE'S GUNNA BRAZIL, HE'S GUNNA BRAAAZIIIL, THAT LAD CHRIS PORTER, HE'S GUNNA BRAZIL!!!

So About Last Season

With last season firmly in the history books and the new season fast approaching we have a lot to reflect on.

First of all I think it only fair to apologise to you readers for my prolonged absence, my adventure in Greece at the end of the season and a very hectic work schedule before that writing became very difficult, after all I do this because I enjoy it, and there was not much enjoyment in sitting with matchsticks in my eyes trying to force my brain to force out ramblings that would have been as legible as a cat with a crayon.

But now thanks to a new chapter in my life I can return to enjoying what I do and putting my humble opinions about our club into words.

So after Wembley The Blades had the bittersweet task of returning to league football, five fixtures, three wins and two draws helped us finish in seventh, seven points away from the play offs. In a normal season we as Blades would see that as a failure. So why is it currently we as a fan base are full of optimism, counting down the days until we can get going again? One word, belief, belief that if a simple change of manager can guide us from second bottom to seventh in half a season, belief that if than same man can guide us past two Premiership sides, two Championship sides and reward us with three goals at Wembley in The FA Cup, belief that Nigel Clough can finally add stability and ambition into our football club.

When we look back to last year and we remember the belief we had when we destroyed Notts County on the opening day, and how quickly it faded with the sale of a key player along with the following plunge in moral and form is it dangerous to have belief? No is my answer, why is this? Nigel Clough, this man knows football, he knows what he wants, he knows what kind of players we need at this level, and he has the contacts and know how to properly do his job.

When I look back at last season I do not just see a season of two halves, I think there is more to it that that, I see a rebirth, a revival. Last season saw the arrival of 'individuals', and look what Clough thinks of individuals, Clough knows its about a team, not about a player. He quickly removed any players he saw as not being team players and brought in some shrewd loan signings to fill the gaps, what we ended up wit was a tight nit, small squad that played for each other, the simple theory of football should make this philosophy simple, but from Europes elite to teams at grass roots it so often gets over looked.

Here's to next season and the welcome arrival of belief.

#BelieveInTheBlades

-Jonathan Gascoigne

We Are Proud Of You

Sheffield United 3
Hull City 5

Wembley Stadium
Attendance 71,820

Away Blades 33,000

Away Hull Fans 26,000

It is now three days after the Semi Final was left in the history books, I would like to apologize for being so late with this match report, I have to be honest, it has taken me three days to get over the raw emotion coursing through every fiber in my body since Jose Baxter put us ahead, and I got to hear that almighty roar of a goal celebration for the first time at the New Wembley.

It was a memorable day and one I will look back on my entire life, it was a strange day, the usual pressures, the expectation the nerves, they were all replaced by a strange calming sensation, and I don't mean the beer. We were heavy underdogs, we had nothing to lose, the eyes of the word were not watching, judging lashing expectation upon us to progress to the final, we were here to win it yes but we knew that we had the freedom to go out and play without having to please anyone else but ourselves.  

Fans left Sheffield in their thousands, coachloads, carloads, I am pretty sure I even witnessed a few limo's haul past us on the motorway with red and white flags from the windows dancing in the wind, all of us together on our way to watch the team we love finally give us what we deserve, a day at Wembley that wont hurt every time we reminisce. And as the fans filled pubs surrounding the National Stadium, singing songs, having a red and white party the players made their way into the famous stadium. Not in suits like Hull, but in their team training gear, after all we are a football team, not celebrities dressing to impress in front of the worlds media.

As I climbed the stairs from the concourse to the stand my eyes took time to adjust, what I came to see was a sight to behold, the teams were walking onto the pitch, the grand stadium on one half was packed to the rafters, the full half, the red half stood in unison welcoming their heroes onto the field, family's, friends young and old filled the London air with noise, emotion, pride and loyalty for our team it was all on show today. 

As spontaneous minutes applause payed tribute to the ninety six Liverpool fans who never made it home on that dreadful day twenty five years ago. Whilst it was planned to be a minutes silence the round of applause ensured that no blemish was left on the moment, and also showed that we applaud the life's of those innocent men, woman and children who should still be here today.

The roar as the referee's whistle ended the minute shook the foundations of Wembley, it was time to put the occasion behind us and let the football take centre stage. A more familiar team took occupied the starting eleven than in the last game against Rotherham, Captain Michael Doyle along with Mark Howard, Neil Collins, John Brayford, Conor Coady, Stefan Scougall, Ryan Flynn and Jamie Murphy all being recalled after taking a well deserved rest midweek. The opening few moments couldn't prepare us for the ninety minutes of drama that awaited us as both teams looked slow to settle or get into any kind of rhythm. In the nervy opening the Blades tested the waters of the defense pushing forward's, this lead to Meyler picking up the first yellow card of the game after a fowl on Scougall. Just before the twenty minute mark The Blades ended the Wembley goal drought and rewarded the thirty three thousand with a goal that will last long in the hearts a mind's of us all, a Coady throw in landed at the feet of John Brayford, he took the ball forward and hit a delightful cross into the Hull danger zone, and in front of the opposition support Jose Baxter managed to force himself onto the ball, it hit the back of the net in what felt like slow motion, the Hull fans sat in silence as the West end of the stadium erupted, people were stunned. I myself opened my mouth to cheer but I

remained almost silent, it felt as though I had no breath in my body, the tips of my fingers and toes ran cold and numb, my legs felt lost beneath me as though I was learning to walk, I hugged anyone one who came within a yard of me, people embraced each other in euphoria, scenes like this usually accompany a last minute winner, but this, this was what a goal at Wembley meant to every single Blade here, two previous visits of pain with no goal, we had seen that goal now, and it felt better than any drink, drug or thrill seeking experience anyone anywhere could possibly offer me, but not just me. Sisters nearly in tears held each other, men hugged their sons and daughters close, and my dear old dad raised the picture of his fallen brother high in the air with pride, his brother dreamed of seeing us play at Wembley but passed away whilst watching the Blades before his dream could come true, for my Uncle and his family that misses him, that was the goal that would honor his memory. And as Baxter, born in Liverpool, a son of the City that lost so much those twenty five years ago it was the goal he dedicated to them, kissing the memorial armband before raising it to the heavens. As we all came to terms with finally witnessing a big game goal, the reality was League One Sheffield United One Premiership Hull City Nil.

It could have been two moment's later as Scougall came close, but his effort was to high on this occasion and drifted over the bar. It took twenty five minutes for Hull to register their first shot at us, and it was from Huddlestone, the only Hull player who looked of any real worth so far for Hull, his shot deflected wide on this occasion. United dominated from here, passing the ball between ourselves, closing the door on our opponents, and the fans cheered every pass, five passes felt like a hundred, when it surpassed twenty five we felt as though we were just passing for fun with no competition. But before the break of half time the frustrated Tigers lashed out at us, after finally managing to disposes us (which at times felt like it would never happen) Elmohamady played a clever ball into the path of Sagbo who slid in to bludgeon the ball into the back of Mark Howard's goal and equalize, he celebrated by shushing the Blades fans who had been in full

voice since the first whistle, but his arrogant behavior didn't have the desired effect, we grew louder, we heaped encouragement on our lads, and it payed off, as just two minutes later the lead was ours again. The urgency of Jamie Murphy saw him dart down the wing and out muscle his opponent, he then slid in a ball to

the waiting Stefan Scougall, the young Scottsman thumping the ball into the net before dancing with his team mates in celebration, and as Sagbo looked back all he could see was a sea of red and white, again surging to the soundtrack of a emotional roar. Shortly after the referee blew his whistle and called and to a fantastic half of football, we had to pinch ourselves and check that this was really happening, The Blades marched down the tunnel a goal to the good at Wembley. 

Now I hate cliches, but to say that football is a game of two halves is the most understated way of describing the rest of the game. Stern words and tactical changes saw Steve Bruce make a brave double substitution at half time, strikers Fryatt and Aluko replacing Boyed and Figueroa, and unfortunately for us it payed off for them. A corner took a few touches before luckily dropping directly into the path of Fryatt, he took his chance and fired Hull level. It was a sign of things to come, Fryatt then having one disallowed before Hull got their third leaving our hearts to sink, a neat bit of football saw Huddlestone and Meyler link up well with a sublime one two, a faint touch allowed Huddlestone to get the better of our defense and he calmly slotted the ball into the net giving Hull the lead, and as much as it pains us all with the way things were going in this second half it was now a deserved lead just as ours was int he first. United never gave up and neither did the fans, we never stopped backing our heroes and they never stopped fighting. Coady almost set up Ryan Flynn, but he was closed down and crowded out of the game denying him a chance to produce a dangerous effort. Substitute Stephen Quinn was brought onto the pitch by Bruce, and the ex Blade cult hero was unfortunately the one to break the hearts of those that still love him. A good ball into the box by Livemore was met by the compact Irishman who had timed his run superbly, he headed home and put Hull two goals into the lead, he held his head in his hands as his team mates celebrated around him, a class act to the end, a quality goal by a quality player, but one we wish he hadn't. The fans and the players still didn't know how to say die and we continued to try and get ourselves back into the game, it was frustrating as things had now gotten frantic, but we all still believed. Murphy tried to hit in a overhead kick from a set piece but Harper was relieved to see hit drift over the crossbar. Goal scorers Scougall and Murphy were substituted, Davies and Porter their replacements as Clough tried to reshape. We had a glimmer of hope tantalizingly dangled in front of us as Murphy pulled a goal back in the last minute of regulation time. Harris played like a man with nothing to lose skinning two players before chipping in a delicate but world class ball to the unmarked Flynn, the winger attempted to head the ball low into the goal but it was deflected, the deflection fell for Murphy who kept his composure to hit the ball hard into the ground forcing itself into the goal. The fans went bezerk and we urged our team to carry on this fight, and they did, they threw everything at Hull. Centre half Harry went on one of his mazy runs forward as United threw nine of their eleven men forward, no one was able to stop the talented youngster of disposes him, he found himself at the edge of the Hull box, cry's of shoot, and Harry was happy to oblige, but sadly, it wasn't meant to be. His shot was desperately blocked (I think I

counted four Hull players panic and dive for the ball) before it got a chance to test the keeper, and with so many forward we were hit on the break. Meyler scored Hulls fifth and booked their return for the final, five three to Hull. But we did not swarm for the exits, we didn't boo, we did not sit in silence, we stood and we applauded, we applauded our warriors in red and white, we applauded them for taking the fight to Hull, we applauded them because we were proud of them. We applauded our players until the final whistle a few seconds later, we only stopped applauding so we could sing, and sing we did. We may not have won the day, we may not have gotten to the final, but we did ourselves no injustice, we came here to do ourselves proud, and despite the scoreline we can finally say we left Wembley with our heads held high.

-Jonathan Gascoigne

The Kids Are Going To Be Alright

Sheffield United 1
Leyton Orient 1
Bramall Lane
Attendance 16,809

Jamie Murphy grabbed Sheffield United's seven thousandth league goal to gain a hard earned point against one of the seasons success stories Leyton Orient. In the clubs fiftieth competitive fixture of the season United were boosted by the return of Harry Maguire. Porter was also in the starting line up as Paynter dropped to the bench. Matt Hill and Bob Harris also returned to the bench after both picking up injuries away at Preston. The opening fifteen minutes was more a game of chess than a game of football, each side unwilling to take many risks or look to try anything out of the ordinary, instead they both attempted to retain possession whilst searching for a potential weakness to exploit.

Odubajo was the first to try and spark the game into life, but his low cross into the box couldn't find a team mate. Brayford's cross at the other end forced the Orient keeper to parry the ball clear of danger, both teams had now begun to test the waters and were ready to try and take the required risks to gain an advantage in the fixture. The deadlock was broken as Odubajo used a cheeky little turn to give himself some room, his shot deflected off of Brayford before being looped into the box, Cox used some sublime ball control and skill to flick it over hos marker, as Howard rushed to close down the danger but Cox slid to roll the ball under the Keeper and into the back off the net, one nil to Orient and as Cox ran in front of the Kop with a rather arrogant celebration it became clear we would have to show a vast improvement to salvage the game. 

The second half was a wake up call and The Blades changed their strategy and fought hard to gain control. A Brayford corner caused danger in the box but the ball wouldn't fall into the goal, Murphy's free kick looked goal bound but unfortunately the ball kept rising and went over the bar. A change from gaffer Clough saw United replace McGinn and Porter with Davies and Scougall, Jamie Murphy switched form the wing to being the sole striker. It was this tactical change that would lead to the equalizer. Goal number seven thousand was one that radiated quality, Davies played a high through ball that beat Baudry in the O's defense, Murphy used great pace to stay onside and rush onto the ball, he used intelligent footwork to round the keeper and slide the ball into the opposite side of the goal from an acute angle to beat the defender who was rushing back, he celebrated his goal in front of a jubilant Kop. United could have nicked all three points, Harry Maguire made an amazing run from his own half, skinning more than one opponent, but once he was at the edge of the Orient box his legs buckled and he resembled Bambi on ice, screams of shoot rang out but Maguire became indecisive and opted to play the ball wide and nothing came of the attack. A draw was a fair result in the end and both teams shared the spoils.

Sheffield United 1
Rotherham United 0
Bramall Lane
Attendance 21,529

Sheffield United have a trip to Wembley just five days after this fixture, so as one would expect it was a very different looking starting eleven that faced the confident Millers. Rotherham were on a sixteen game unbeaten run and confident of gaining their first victory at The Lane since the eighties, all week we had heard from confident Millers how we were going to be defeated, how many they would score, how badly they would humiliate us in our own back yard. But as other fans of other clubs have discovered this season, the best thing to do is ensure your words remain soft and sweet, because you may end up eating them.

George Long replaced Howard in the Blades goal, a back three of Harry Maguire, Matt Hill and youngster Terry Kennedy all had the duty of protecting Long from Rotherham's strikers. Kieran Freeman and Bob Harris took the wing back roles in this altered formation. Clough has selected a midfield three of McGinn, Davies and the eightteen year old Conor Dimaio, the young Irish midfielder making his first senior start. Baxter and loanee Billy Paynter made up the front two. The away fans had made a lot of early noise but soon fell silent and remained that way for a lot of the game, the cause of this silence, United having the early dominance despite an altered line up, with Baxter and McGinn both testing the away side with long range efforts. Rotherham did create a good chance but Tavernier's long range effort was strongly pushed away from danger by Long. The Rotherham total football we had heard so much about was non existent, the away team was content with long ultra direct balls up field that were dealt with easily by the Blades defense. And apart from a few chances late on for the away side the first half ended without incident. 

The second half got underway, Rotherham looked more determined in this half and built a strong momentum, but after having a penalty appeal for handball turned down it seemed they lost their composure, they began appealing for fouls and handballs at every opportunity, believing they were owed one, nothing could have been further from the truth. Two more youth players made their debuts in senior football as eighteen year old Otis Kahn replaced Bob Harris. After driving a hard long range shot that just went wide of target Baxter was also replaced by Louis Reed, a sixteen year old, also the youngest player to ever represent The Blades at league level. Kahn saw a lot of the ball, he looked energetic, pacey, composed and great with the ball at his feet, he was an instant danger, and he sent the Millers into a panic. United began forcing chances, McGinn fired just over. The talking point of the game came in the last minute, the kids had been bossing the game for United, we had taken control, and after forcing a corner tall centre half harry Maguire made his way into the box, before the corner could be taken referee Mike Dean had to blow his whistle twice and

warn The Rotherham defenders that they had to release their grip of harry's shirt and stop dragging at him. The corner was taken and ignoring the official's warnings Morgan dragged down Harry and conceded a last minute penalty. The Rotherham players were outraged, Steve Evans was outraged (his outrage lead to him giving a scathing blast blaming the referee on the radio in a bit of a temper tantrum) but their outrage couldn't save them from their own mistake. Davies stepped up, Bramall Lane erupted and the sixteen game unbeaten run was ended by a makeshift Blades squad, the South Yorkshire derby was won by The Blades.

-Jonathan Gascoigne

Precious Point and Common Sense

Sheffield United 0
Brentford 0
Bramall lane
Attendance 15,730

A single moment can leave you speechless, a rare and surprising decision can restore your faith in common sense, and yes it has finally been proven that a referee CAN change his decision. Sheffield United took on one of the seasons front runner for promotion Brentford, all be it without the suspended Harry Maguire, Brayford switching from his native right back position to centre half. Baxter and Scougall were put on the bench after picking up minor injury concerns at the weekend. Paynter and McGinn took their places in the starting eleven. In a game many were thinking we would struggle we played relatively well and had brief chances to steal all three points, but in the end a share of the spoils was a fair result.

As the game got underway the back four had to put in a tremendous amount of effort to keep Brentford out. The team in second place came out all guns blazing and controlled the opening quarter of an hour in search of the opener. The most nervy moment for The Blades came within the opening minute, Donaldson hit a weak shot, in the aftermath a Brayford passback was sliced by Howard straight into the path of Trotta, his deflected low driving effort was hacked off the line by Kieran Freeman. Donaldson had a few chances on goal but nothing to threatening. The Blades had a penalty appeal turned down (and rightly so as it was a weak appeal) when Murphy went to ground under McCormack's challenge. United started to string passes together and break against Brentfords dominance in possession, and The Blades almost took an unlikely lead, a low placed cross into the math of Coady needed an excellent block to prevent a clear goal scoring chance. Brentford again took control and a string of half chances and scuff shots kept the scores at deadlock, but as always United looked dangerous on the counter attack. Flynn made a darting run down the wing, and after a pass into the box Murphy had a golden opportunity taken away by a last ditch strong sliding challenge. It was then the defining moment of the game presented itself to us, it came around thirty minutes in, Trotta bore down on goal and an excellent tackle from a stretched Freeman won the ball and played it away from the path of Trotta, just as the Kop was applauding the tackle the evening air filled with the screech of the referees whistle, disbelief and anger engulfed Bramall Lane as the man in black pointed to the spot and sent off Freeman showing him a straight red, disappointingly Brentfords players were applauding the referee and already walking the ball to the spot, happy that they had conned a penalty and gained a man advantage, but that happiness was short lived, the protesting Blades players, the shocked Freeman and thousands of livid supporters poured their opinions in his direction and pleaded with him to go and discuss this instance with his linesman, the referee, well he obliged. Much to the panic of Brentfords players who began angrily crowding the official and his assistant before being sent away, after a few moments discusion common sense prevailed, the red card was rescinded, the penalty withdrawn,a drop ball and a stroppy kick out of play by a childish Brentford who were acting like a spoilt five year old who had just had their favorite toy taken away. The half fizzled out after a prolonged amount of a added time as a result of all the drama, and as the Brentford players continued to protest United left the pitch happy knowing they had coped well with not only the pressure put on them but by showing we can make breaks of our own.

As the second half began Freeman again made an important block to prevent an opener for the visitors.
United spent the opening twenty minutes on the back foot but coped well and looked comfortable mopping up the pressure. Newly appointed cult hero and super sub Chris Porter came on, replacing a disappointing Billy Paynter who had picked up a knock. The fresh legged Porter used his energy to cause problems with the visitors back four and looked to make a real nuisance of himself, especially when going for ariel challenges against the Brentford goalkeeper. Porter also mishit a header towards goal, but the ball looped and seemed to be falling on target forcing the keeper to tip it over the bar. Brentford tightened up their lines and again looked to take advantage of their ability to effectively keep possession, Douglas hit a long shot towards Howard but it was plucked from mid air, it seems due to Donaldson and Trotta struggling to get onto the passes from midfield (thanks to intelligent defending from United) that Brentford were limited to long range shots, non of which troubled us. But it was a long shot that nearly won the game, for United, a clever ball wide to Flynn saw him fire a curling shot towards the goal, the kop almost erupted but after minimal deflection it bounced a hairs width wide of goal scratching the paint of the post as it went out. In the final moments Trotta beat two defenders but hit a low shot straight to Howard as it became clear no team was going to break the deadlock. Full Time and a very well fought, well earned and well deserved point, as stated before the Play Offs were always a pipe dream but its nice to see that we can mix it up with the supposed best in the division, two more of The Sky Bet League One's top six, Leyton Orient and Rotherham United will visit Bramall Lane before our day at Wembley, and at this stage I say bring them on.

On a side note, to add to my already growing opinion that Brentford are like spoilt brat children who spit out their dummy when they don't get their own way take a look at this tweet and the picture they used to try and drum up people thinking they were hard done by.

Well in the interest in fairness here is a better and more impartial picture of the incident showing the ball was won.

-Jonathan Gascoigne

Taking Chances and Highway Robbery

Crawley Town 0
Sheffield United 2
Checkatrade.com Stadium
Attendance 3,622
Away Blades 795

Two goals from loanee Conor Coady condemned the home side to their first home league defeat of 2014 and kept the play of fantasy alive mathematically. In a tight game on a dark Tuesday evening it was crucial to take every chance presented to you. And Crawley had their chances with Mark Howard making good saves from ex-Blade Kyle McFadzean and Andy Drury twice, but there was no way through a well-organised Blades defense. The Blades cut through to open the scoring on 18 minutes, showing a more clinical touch than the home side, Mark Connolly and Mike Jones both fell trying to stop Jamie Murphy down the left and although McFadzean managed to block Murphy's cross the ball fell to Conor Coady, from twelve yards out he powered it home past Paul Jones.

United began the second half on the front foot but the home side should have leveled on fifty four minutes. Mike Jones’ shot ricocheted into the path of Drury who went for goal from a tight angle. Howard blocked his shot with an outstretched leg and Tubbs could only force the rebound over the bar. The Blades doubled the lead and put the game to bed in the sixty second minute, Murphy's trickery saw him ease past Connolly down the left and his cross found its way to Coady, he hot a power effort and watched his drive fly past a helpless Jones. Crawley had no way back into this and three valuable points were on the board.

Swindon Town 2
Sheffield United 1
The County Ground
Attendance 8,441
Away Blades 982

The Blades were robbed of three points and suffered defeat thanks to the man in charge deciding he was going to pick this game to show how much he loved Swindon Town. Flynn, Scougall and Baxter all returned after being rested at Crawley. Maguire missed out due to suspension, an accumulation of yellow cards, whilst Porter and McGinn dropped to the bench. The game started late, a victim of a delayed kick-off due to an accident close to the County Ground, After a quiet opening quarter of an hour, the home side took the lead in the eighteenth minute, Ben Gladwin picked out the run of Storey with an excellent throughball and the young striker scored for the second match in a row with a clinical finish, high to Mark Howard’s right. The Blades had failed to get going in the first half but failed to take advantage of two glorious chances to level the tie towards the end of the half. Firstly, Wes Foderingham saved well from Connor Coady low to his left and then got up high to his right to keep out John Brayford’s header when the bearded one was left unmarked at the subsequent corner.

After the break Sheffield United improved and as Swindon sat further and further back we looked in control. Finally after knocking at the door time and time again The Blades equalized on the hour mark. Stefan Scougall and Kieron Freeman combined excellently down the right to set up Doyle for a simple tap-in at the back post. Porter headed over a Davies corner as the final fifteen minutes approached, the Blades looking the more dangerous and there was an appeal for a penalty turned away when Freeman went down under a Archibald-Henville challenge. A half-volley from Doyle on eighty two minutes, which could not have been far wide of the top corner, emphasized the fact that United were on top and Porter almost got on the end of a McGinn pass but Foderingham was quickly off his line. It was at this point the great County Ground robbery of 2014 took place, firstly we set the scene. United had been the dominant force of the second half, and after the equalizer were committing men forward, pushing on hard to win the game, Flynn was fouled on the edge of the box the ball came to Coady who slotted it into the back of the net, now if Flynn had kept going and passed it Coady would have been offside, but from his last touch before being fouled Coady was onside, play was brought back for the free kick the goal disallowed and the resulting counter attack (after an excellent save from Foderingham) saw Swindon take the lead, raced-up the other end of the pitch and scored when substitute Thompson's shot squirmed away from Howard and the spin saw it bounce across the line, not only did United not get the win but they were denied any points despite deserving so much more.

- Jonathan Gascoigne