Sheffield United of course play in red and white stripes and there are many other similarities between them and us this season. Like us, they were expected to be up near the top of the league and challenging at least for the playoffs. Like us however, they are having somewhat of a wasted season. The only reason they are not in the Premier League this season is because they lost in the last minute of the play-off final to Sunderland last year and the new owners decided to go in a different direction and sack Chris Wilder, after winning 92 points last season. Like our owners, their appointment of new manager was questionable at least, when they fell for the presentation given by Ruben Selles agent, who is clearly a better magician than David Copperfield, Dynamo and Paul Daniels rolled into one. Ruben Selles himself was very predictably very shit, and became the first manager in the Championship to get sacked this season, after losing every game. The owners sent up the bat signal again and appointed Chris Wilder for his fourth stint in charge of Sheffield United, and turning to the more experienced man has seen them rise up the table but not significantly, as they currently sit at one place behind ourselves.

One thing that is consistent in Chris Wilder teams over the years, is a lack of discipline. Wilder himself managed to get himself sent off against us at Bramall Lane for wellying a ball into the crowd and in their defeat against Charlton a few days ago, they had had two players sent off before half-time and eventually lost 1-0. I wonder if Nathan Jones come out with that shit about it be more difficult to play against nine men.

Whereas we spent our free agent chip on Oriol Romeu, a move that has yet to work out, Sheffield United signed to Patrick Bamford who has repaid them with the goals that have moved them up the league. He will be the main threat today. Usually, it’s Gus Hamer but he seems to have fallen out with someone and he’s not being chosen at the moment, though with the suspensions they have, I guess he may come back into the equation if the rift has been at least partly healed.

In the game earlier on in the season when Wilder got sent off, we escaped with a 2-1 victory that we barely deserved with Ross Stewart scoring twice. Stewart‘s latest resurrection from the dead, saw him score against Hull at the weekend, so it would be interesting to see whether he is given a run out today or whether he is saved for the game on Sunday, which as everyone knows, is rather more important than this one.

That said, we certainly cannot afford to sack this one off given our position in the League. Results last night have dragged us closer to the bottom all of a sudden and a defeat here tonight and potentially another one on Sunday, would leave us seriously looking over our shoulders.

The way we are playing at the moment, it is kind of hard to see any other outcome. Even with Sheffield United missing players, all they have to do is work hard and throw a couple of set pieces into the box and we struggle. Selles look-a-like Tonda, gave a press conference yesterday which was the usual load of waffly-unlistenable-kick-the-radio-in-PE-Teacher-bollocks, talking about how when you analyse the Hull game, we won in every other aspect apart from the score sheet. Fuck right off mate. Regardless of your statistical approach to things, games are won and lost in both penalty areas and that will always be the fucking same and you can’t modernise or reinvent that, no matter what your college coaching badge course told you.

Tonda will be forced into changes today by his minutes spreadsheet and so we can probably expect appearances by the likes of Matsuki, Robinson and maybe even Shea Charles who is apparently very close to a return. One thing for sure is that we can’t afford to go behind early tonight as the atmosphere would take a turn for the grim, very quickly as anger isn’t far beneath the surface for a lot of people. Most fans will arrive at this game either feeling anger or apathy. I expect there will be a bit of dread thrown in. It does seem like a pivotal game, especially with Fratton on the horizon. The only way we’ll possibly get a result on Sunday, is if we win today.

Team news and there are changes and it looks like Tonda is going with a back for today unless he’s doing something really weird. Welington has finally been given a start in the league ahead of Ryan bloody Manning and there were also starts for Ellie Jelert, Jack Stephens and Ross Stewart. With both Josh Q and Nathan Wood left out it suddenly looks like quite a strong side. Finn Azaz for me is the only one lucky to survive the challenge to his place. The only thing that strikes me about the team is about Ross Stewart. Even if he scores a hat trick today, we maybe can’t play him on Sunday or else we’re just asking for trouble again.

Away we go and it’s a back four and we look comfiortable within about ten seconds. Everyone knows their job and we look up for it. Seven minutes in and Hoever, who I remember being shite for Stoke a couple of years back, dallies and Welington get in to win the ball and feeds compatriot Scienza, who cuts in and shoots, big deflection, wrong-footed keeper, goal. Get in you fucking’ beauty. That might be an own goal in the Prem but fuck the Prem and who fucking cares.

It’s nearly two as we win a corner and Scienza’s delivery from the right is met powerfully by Stewart on the run and I think his header would’ve hit the post but the defender on the line dives across to clear it anyway.

Fellows tries to beat a man and gets tackled by Callum O’Hare and the ball breaks the Blades way but Flynn Downes flies in to win it back and find Stewart who finds a return pass to Downes, who unselfishly lays it square across to Azaz, who has an open goal from 6 yards and just needs a clean contact…. but he totally fucks it and sharts it wide.

There’s another half chance as Jander fires across the goal and wide of the far post and the Blades have not done anything yet, but then they get the chance and of course, we create it. Jack Stephens is under no pressure at all and bobbles a horrible back pass to Peretz, who doesn’t clear it properly and in the chaos it causes, Campbell rams a shot into the side netting.

Saints are looking pretty controlled overall, with the left hand side looking particularly effective. Welington chips a ball down the wing into space and Vacuum falls over and gives Scienza another chance to cut in from the left and hammers inanother shot which Cooper saves well down low but it pops up in the air but neither Stewart or Azaz can get on the end of it.

Half time and 1-0 and pretty comfortable. There’s the usual fear about the missed chances and the usual fear about us playing any game longer than 45 minutes. Tonda has to get the subs right int he second half and the players have to keep the energy up and keep doing what they’re doing. I am told that Sean Bean is in the away end. He always dies in the end. Bastard.

Not a lot going on at the start of the second half and the hour mark sees Stewart hit the deck and be slow to get up. He’s fine to everyone’s surprise but is immediately replaced with Armstrong. Ross makes such a difference but, we all know the but. Arma is a different player of course so we can’t carry on going direct up the middle and we send Armstrong away on the right and he looks up and chips the ball ionto the head of Scienza, who comes running in and with no technique whatsoever, throws himself at the ball and batters his header straight at the goalkeeper.

Hamer has come on for the Blades and has immediately added a bit of quality. He curls a corner over and everyone flaps around and misses it, except THB who heads it off the line about a foot off the ground. We geta Tonda triple sub with just under 15 to go with Welington, Azaz and Scienza making way for Manning, Charles and J-Rob. Manning immediately wins his first tackle and Shea, who has moved straight into Azaz’ position begins putting himself about strongly and looking very fit considering it’s his first game in months. Not looking fit is Danny Ings who comes on for the Blades at the same time. I never really wanted us to resign him at any point and seeing him as he is now is a perfect example of a bullet dodged.

Still not much for Sean Bean to get excited about and then the moment as a hopeful ball is flicked forward and Jelert and THB leave it to each other, allowing Bamford to get through. He cuts inside the retreating Jelert before shooting at the far post and Peretz blocks with an outstretched foot. Fucking hell.

We bring on the extra central defender for the seven minutes extra with Woody replacing Jelert. A bit strange to not take Fellows off but with the Blades getting more and more desperate and lacking in patience, we hold on pretty easily. The End.

Well as a game of football, that was absolute shite but it doesn’t matter because we won and it was mainly down to heart and guts which is something up to this point, that we have never demonstrated.

Sending the team out with back four made a huge difference, especially as all of the back four were committed to defending. THB threw himself at everything and took the majority of the responsibility when it came to getting his head on the ball. Great game from him. Jack Stephens had a few dodgy moments which probably are down to rustiness, but he grew into the game and got more confident as the game went on. Jelert gets knocked around a little bit but he gets stuck in and reads where the danger is pretty well – and there could be a decent partnership with Fellows developing on the right hand side if we keep this formation. Pick of the bunch for me was Welington on the left, who won headers, got stuck into tackles and also supported Scienza in another budding partnership on the left. Welington‘s willingness to get stuck into the tackle or even rubbed off on Ryan Manning who kept up the good work when he came on as a substitute and probably put in more tackles than in his last twenty appearances combined.

Behind them of course was the goalkeeper in Daniel Peretz who kept his first clean sheet. There was an audible gasp when he came through a crowd of players and caught the ball in the first half because we haven’t seen one of our goalkeepers do that for quite a while. His only dodgy moment in the first office was from a shit back pass by Stephens and though some of his distribution was a little bit shaky, in the second half he earned his money with the save from Bamford in the last couple of minutes.

Casper Jander had his best game for a number of weeks and Flynn Downes was solid and very quick into the tackle. Maybe it’s the fact that those two know that Shea Charles is back now and they are going to have to up their game to stay in the team. Scienza and Fellows both looked much more comfortable playing as conventional wingers and hugging the touch lines during the buildups. Leo had a bit of fortune when his shot was deflected in for what turned out to be the winning goal, but there would have to be a defender hanging around somewhere near Row Z for a Fellows shot to deflect anywhere.

Along with the back four, the addition of Ross Stewart made us look like a functioning Championship team. You need the option to be able to go long and Stewart is a willing runner and he gets his head to quite a lot and even if he flicks it onto no one, it at least means that the central defenders don’t have an easy ride. Him just playing the 60 minutes will hopefully mean that he is able to start on Sunday because we will be a much more competitive side with him in it.

The only real flop today was Finn Azaz, who missed a couple of quite simple chances and had one of those games where his passing was so awry you could barely see who he was even aiming at. It wouldn’t surprise me to see him drop to the bench on Sunday but do you do that when you know there may be another hot streak around the corner and he probably just needs one goal to kickstart another scoring spree..

It was very good to see us win a game a different way. The performance levels didn’t drop off a cliff at halftime and to be honest this game would’ve been a lot more comfortable if we’d take our chances. Regardless of the lunacy that Chris Wilder comes out with, we should’ve won that by 3 or 4.

Tonda deserves credit for picking that formation and I felt sure at halftime that he would bottle it again on about 65 minutes and go to a back three again which would’ve just invited pressure and we inevitably would’ve let in a goal. Bringing Nathan Wood on to be the third Centre back in the 90th minute however was exactly the right thing to do because we weren’t going to be doing any more attacking at that point and it was all about shoring things up.

All in all it gives me a little bit more hope going into Sunday’s game. It would be nice of everything clicked into place in an attacking sense because if it does, then we could cause them all sorts of problems through Scienza, Fellows and Stewart, however, you know that a Derby is going to be attritional and at least the players proved today that they can guts it out if needs be.