Thetownend.com

Been a while since I did one of these...

Sat at work waiting for close, so I thought i'd have a go.

I'm actually going tomorrow/ today. Therefore it'll be wonderful.

2-1 Town. (The high scoring games are past us now!)

One of Sheffield's sister cities is Donetsk in Ukraine. It also has a friendship agreement with Pittsburgh, USA. Pittsburgh has an American football team called the Steelers, which Swindon used to have.
2-2 draw. 8,978. 1,325 from whippet land.

First home game of the season before a 2 week break in Turkey.

I think United's front pairing of Sammon and Sharp might be too much for us today. 1-3

First defeat of the season I reckon, 1-2.

Town 2 - 4 Sheffield u 4 have a bad feeling last time Atkinson brought a team down here we lost heavily :(

This is odd, there´s a lot of negativity about the outcome of this one on the Blades' forum, too.  So, it's got to be a draw, then right?  :)

Is Big Ron on the comeback trail? :-)

I think we'll be ok. Sharp is still decent at this level but Sammon's goal scoring record is nothing special. Cue...a Sammon hat trick!

Yep - This one's got 5-5 written all over it  :nod:

Last weekend some dodgy defending wasn't taken advantage of by sarfend, today however I fear the worst, 1.4,  Att 8300

Expecting a cracking game, great atmosphere and general bedlam.

9002, with 1124 Blades, 2-3 guessing but no score would surprise me - except 0-0.

Looking forward to it.

Fuck off you lot. 3-1 Town. Robert double and Turnbull.

Win 2-1 Smith x 2

Looking forward to this - weather set fair - not easy to predict can`t decide if it will be 3-2 or 2-3 ---- there will be goals

COYR

Banker draw 2-2 with robert and byrne notching

First pilgrimage of the season for me today. 2-2, 8972 with 1457 away fans.

Does anyone know how much it costs to get a two year old in, if we just turn up on the day?

Free with an adult I think, you have to get them a ticket though

Thanks Berniman we'll get on down there then.

Probably a loss, but looking forward to watching it. 2-3.

2-2 Byrne & Robert.

My first game of the season.. My 4 year olds first ever game.

Robert 10/1 to score first on 365.Longer odds than storey,stewart and landolo!

BOO not in the squad due to illness
Be struggling to fill bench at this rate


Louis Thompson there today
Hope he brought his boots

We'll find out today just how good we are. I'd be happy with a draw but think we'll nick it 2-1, Robert, Smith and a crowd of 8756 COYR

Unable to make the trip, but fancy us to nick it 2-1.

3-1, Robert, Smith, Byrne  :clap:

That must be pushing the record for the lowest average age of a bench? I swear at least one of them is still in primary school.

Hate to think what the bench will be like when some of the boys go on international.

Is anybody out there?

Impressive match day thread. 0-0 halftime

Steve White just said that Byrne's end product has been poor. We all know what that means.... bring it on.

United hit the bar early on but we've controlled the game without really looking like scoring.

No end product but a good performance. Traore has stood out, he's been outstanding, as has Branco.

Still think Sheff U are good enough to carve something out to win the game but it's mainly been a positive first half.

Andy Cryer spouting shit on Twitter saying that Shitty should expect to lose because they can't fill the bench..  What a load of old shit..  You only need 14 players FFS, perhaps they shouldn't have spunked their coffers trying to get out of league 1 and worked on building a squad to handle the championship.

Winds me up..

Decent first half. Traore has been quality. Keeper has been decent, as has Turnbull.

Bring Miles Storey Him on....

I see Sawyers has added another few quid to his value today..

Just about to come on.

In the absence of Batch, Byrne has been pretty poor today.  No end product at all.

I would piss myself if He scored....Football, it's a funny old game.

Unnecessary cheering when Smith was subbed.  One up front against a pretty solid back four is always going to be tough. 

Balls

Agreed. Also....bollocks!!

Well shit

Yeo and the first ball forward to Him he was easily out muscled by the Centre Half, strangely enough the groans that would have accompanied Smith doing the same were missing

Oh titting hell

Unfortunately we seem to have fallen apart since the sub was made.

Fuck-a-doodle-doo!!

Vigoroux very lucky not to get sent off it sounds.

Sharp was going away from goal, but it was dangerous.

We are all over the place at the back.

This could get really ugly score wise

Toothless unfortunately whereas blades have more firepower.

We've played well but the better side are winning.

That's Byrne on his way then... You don't do a lap of the pitch and clap the 3 home stands after the fifth league game of the season.


#...and they fall like dominoes, dominoes...#

Let the transfer merry-go-round begin!!

Shit sticks that we lost. We'll lose games  this season so will others. We will win many though. Today *seems like a bad example of that, although there were many stages of play that could have gone either way.

*I wasn't there, someone who was can gladly correct me/support me.

listening that's how it appeared to me

We didn't play badly at all. Sheffield United very well organised, defended well as a team. Soaked up all our play, scored a bit of a fluke and then took charge.

For us no bad performances. Smith and then Storey up front anonymous. We are badly missing Obika and Hylton.

Byrne is gone so we need probably 3 more before the end of the window, the bench today was laughable, left no options to change things.

Blades will be up there for sure.

I'm not sure what happened defensively.  Up until conceding a soft (own?) goal from a corner, which should have been a free kick.  

Never really looked like pulling it back today though.

I know it's been said before, but the squad is just too small.  The fact that we still had 2 subs to make at 2-0 down and Cooper chose not to use them, says it all really.  Storey did nothing after coming on either.

Byrne definitely off.  Good business imo, but he needs to be adequately replaced.

Disappointing, 1 point picked up in the last 2 home games.  The same fixtures gave us 6 points last season.  

Likewise though, there will be games we dropped points in last season that we will pick up points this season (I hope!)

Deserved win for Blades. Thought we played quite well - looked tighter at the back and Traore was a huge plus.

With the missing injured players and 2 others - Smith and Byrne - making sure they didn't get injured it was a big ask for 9 men against a very impressive Sheff Utd side.

Smith was truly shocking and I can't believe there is a club willing to pay money - any money - for the useless fucker.

Blades will piss this league and we will be OK - we do have some good players.

Overall, well done Blades and the sooner Smith fucks off the better.

total agree bench was laughable what happens when the lads go on international duty were going to suffer ,pathetic on powers part.

Thought Town were the better team for large parts of the game. Traore was very very good and deservedly the man of the match. Vigouroux made some decent saves.

A bit of a freak goal and then we switched off.

Was that the new boy out kitted up running around prior to kick off?

Byrne is clearly off.. Must be a deal on the table for him.

Louis Thompson was sat next to Nathan on the bench

Thought we shaded first half despite them hitting the bar but we still never looked like scoring.
You could tell a goal was going to come 2nd half but what a soft one to concede, after that we barely clung on, would have put the house on the keeper getting a red for that clumsy challenge despite going away from the goal.

Thought Traore and Bob had good games but Smith was woeful again, IF Byrne does go we definitely need to be spending some money. Come the international games can see the bench being left half full.
No one of any note to come on today let alone any strength in depth.

  (http://i866.photobucket.com/albums/ab225/mark_woolhouse/stats_zpsvdoq3clk.jpg)

Sums it up really

Here come the nob head comments on  BBC Wilts

sorry. I was in skegness.

no way is Byrne worth 1.5m (worth a try)

No arguments from me, we weren't shocking but we never looked like scoring and Sheffield United deserved the points.

Our substitute bench today was the weakest I have ever seen during my time supporting STFC - that Storey is getting a run out in a promotion seeking side is remarkbale.

The next few days are vitally important if we are to meet Power's target for the season - he has delivered so far during his tenure, lets hope he can pull off some magic before the close of the window.

Blades were stronger and faster in attack and solid in defence.  Kasim's lack of pace was really shown for one goal, which has happened before this season.  A well deserved win but I enjoyed our good passing game and good teamwork, with better defending than usual, especially Branco.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU1PyzEVPdg

Oooh always love a bit of funky bass!!

Smith was awful today, totally disinterested.

If he wants to leave, fair enough, but whilst still being paid and playing i expect to see a little bit of effort.

Traore was quality, well deserved MOM.

for a big lump HE is a bit of a weakling,n'est-ce pas?

did you make up the promotion chasing bit ?

I never get when a player is trying to engineer a move why they're work rate goes down. Surely you'd work harder to get as best move you can?

The Chairman has been very clear what this seasons expectation is, whether that is a realistic one we will see.

must have missed that.

also. not his biggest fan but feel a bit sorry for smith. he's always been useless on his own up front, needs a strike partner.

yes I know Byrne and Robert are pushed forward, but not as out and out forwards.

so I'm going to say it, play him with HIM if they are both still here.

At 35 minutes I commented that the game looked like a next goal wins effort...

Disappointed that it ended up as next two goals wins.

The glorious cross that wasn't converted changed it for us.

I thought keeps was lucky to stay on.

Blades didn't have to play well to beat us and that hurts.

Left early, not because we were shit...we aren't..but didn't feel we had a goal in us today....

Looking forward to the transfer window slamming shut as at least we know what we have or not to work with.

This. Thought that United were nowhere near as good a side that played in the 5-5 game, quite a lot of hoof it forward and see what breaks, which apart from the shot which hit the bar and the long range effort it was down to our gifts that gave them the result. Long way to go yet.

The highlight of my day was seeing up Hertha's shorts..

Someone on fb was saying Cooper spent half-time signing autographs on the bench. Anyone verify that? If so, seems very odd. Fallout with our great leader over the squad?

What would lead you to jump to that from him signing a few programmes? You've gone full on Daily Mail there.

Ha ha. The way it was written seemed like he stayed out all half-time. Though this was on the fb fans group, so quite possibly drivel. Mainly trying to liven up a dull Sat evening.

He was back out before the team, but only by a minute (ish)

This is where you went wrong.

Very even first half today. Unfortunately it went tits after the break though.

I get what others say about Smith, but it's a tough ask playing up front on your own. He's a big unit, but hasn't got the best of first touches, which frustrates the fuck out of a lot of our twat fans and they then get on his case, which makes things worse for him in terms of confidence.

I think we all acknowledge that fact that we need two up top - especially at home, and it's shocking that we haven't brought someone in yet.

Kasim looks fucked if he's doing anything other than passing the ball in the middle of the park. In fact, I thought the whole side tired very quickly in the 2nd half, which worries me this early in the season. Doesn't bode well when we get heavy pitches in the winter.

Power will have new players lined up to come in next week; 1 to replace Byrne and at least 2 who can play up top. My guess is that the Villa / Sherwood connection will be in play.

If we're that short on funds, a decent (if risky) long-shot might be to bring
Nial Ranger in from the cold. I'd take him over Storey any day - despite the baggage.

Bizzare flip of our normal self today. Looked decent at the back but poor up top. Cooper must be frustrated given he has so many players out at present. It was a makeshift defence and a tough ask against probably the best side in the league.

We will be fine though but as mentioned earlier in this thread if Power is serious about promotion he needs a few more bodies in. Even a short term loan up top wouldn't go amiss. Storey was poor and so was Smith. We miss Obika and Hylton a lot.

Positives were at least we matched them for 70 mins. Robert looked good again. Turnball and Stewart did well at full back. Other than than though not much else to be happy about. Rodgers was poor today. His passing was poor and his decision making wasn't much better. Smith had the touch of a rapist and Byrne didn't really seem interested. Big week ahead for us.

The build up play was too slow, which meant the likes of Byrne had 3 players practically marking them out of the game. We lack energy and drive through the middle. Whilst we were more disciplined overall, we didn't have enough movement and creativity to win that one.

I actually like that idea. I think Ranger is desperate to play and for that reason would actually behave himself for, say, a month.  Any longer than that and he will start kicking security doors in again and breaking exclusion orders but for a month's loan or short term contract (I can't remember if he has a Club currently?)...it may just work  :hmmm:

Ranger is in contract dispute with Blackpool still isn't he? Think they're giving him a taste of his own medicine. Not that it's likely to happen anyway.

First match of the season for me, first match ever for my son (£2 for under 11's btw, which is very reasonable).

I thought we played pretty well, looked dangerous, and a class apart in terms of playing the game, first hour anyway. Traore looks v good, Branco was good too, as were JT and Williams.

Better than I expected, though the result didn't surprise me.

Pretty much the same as me... Even on the level that it was my first game of the season and my sons first game ever..

Good man Darlo! My son's only 2 (3 next month) so he won't really remember it, but I was an annoying tourist type yesterday taking a load of photo's and 'videos' of the day. He even got a photo with SSP.

They activated a years option on his contract, then waited for him to turn up to training (2 weeks late) then sent him home, so he's currently contracted for 1 more year, but wont be playing.

Yep, and his wage is rumoured to only be £150 as the rest of his money was based on appearances or something like that.

Spot on as I understand it. My guess is he's probably selling the big issue near Sainsbury's in Brixton as we type.

My boy is 5 in November and absolutely loved it.

I did the same thing, he had a picture with Will Randall which he was really pleased with. He wants to go again today.. Haha

Yep, if he's turned up of course.

if it's not sunk in by now that ranger is the biggest waste of space going, it never will.

he's not going to change, he's a fruit and nut case

Way out of our wage structure, then!

I know - I'm just saying that I think he could be capable of not acting like a nut job for a month, but I wouldn't give him any more than that. I don't suppose for a minute that it will happen, it's just an interesting idea.

not even worth the months hassle. you'd need a 24/7 babysitter. he took us for mugs last time, just like every club he's been at. he's disruptive.

I think United gave us far too much respect in the first half and when they stepped up a gear we dropped several gears.
We work so hard to literally stand still. A team that won't attack and a team that can't defend.
My only surprise is that we didn't concede more. (I did predict a 3 p defeat before the ko)
A sign of the general apathy for the Town is this thread is only up to page seven. The one positive note is the attendance at games is bearing up.

Not sure if it was just me but the atmosphere yesterday was probably the worst in a long time.

Cooper's post match interview on Radio Wilts was interesting. You could tell he was frustrated by the current personnel shortage. Offered the interviewer (who does the match commentary and whose style I like) a game if he brought his boots to Newport. When they talked about Pulis' comments about the transfer window ending earlier Cooper agreed, and sounded pretty resigned to the fact he was going to lose personell even after the season had started.

I do think this current situation qualifies as an injury crisis. If we lose Byrne on top with nobody to replace him we are going to be screwed.

What's the point in worrying about that until Wednesday? Have a stress free couple of days!

Agreed. If after the transfer window closes we are Byrne and Smith down and nobody in, I'll start to worry. That said, I suspect we'll still be making use of the loan market more than bringing in any permanent faces.

Although the transfer window closes 6pm Tuesday, the loan window re-opens almost immediately.

I know our wriggle room regarding loans is tight, but it's still there.

You can say what you like about Power but he isn't stupid. Players will come in - not many, but 2-3 I reckon.

I reckon 2, 3 if Byrne goes.

Some keep banging on about strikers but there's nowt wrong with what we have, except that 2 are injured and another's mind has turned to jelly. We should be able to rely on Smith to put in a decent performance at least, he's good enough. That's just not happening right now.... And then there's HIM, our saviour.

We're effectively 3 first team strikers down at the moment and most teams would struggle with that. The striker 'crisis' is nowt to do with a thin squad but more to do with being bloody unfortunate. Obika should be back soon with Hylton not too far behind, getting in a loan would likely just be a waste.

We clearly need more cover at full back though, and for the wide front/winger positions.

Striker loan for a month would be OK.

Not sure who we would get for just 4 weeks, though

Tope Obedayi anyone??

Ben Hutchinson.

Blair Sturrock and Jamie Slabber.

Dare i say it, lets bring back Harry Agombar. Top player in the midfield.

I thought it was an entertaining match right up to the minute they scored something of a fortunate goal which knocked us out of our stride - I thought we did well considering that Smith couldn`t / wouldn`t get in the game - couldn`t figure out why he was on if no one was going to even attempt a cross for him to get onto - ok there was one that he missed but that was it. I was hoping Byrne would put in a shift to show that he was worth buying but I didn`t notice him so I can`t see him going for very much....£ 750k maybe....

All things considered being a small club without any cash I think the management are producing a football playing team and it will keep me coming back - hope a few more start turning up - the club needs bums on seats.

Doodoo from Leicester?

I enjoyed Town's performance up until the second goal. The only downside was the lack of efforts on target.

Branco and Traore impressed. Branco looked like a very good third division centre back and Traore looks like he can break up attacks in the middle and has got some skill on the ball.

From the Town End, Lawrence looked fortunate to stay on the pitch, not because of stopping a goal scoring opportunity, but for serious foul play. Apart from that one rush of blood, he looks a decent replacement for Wes.

Felt sorry for Smith.

No complaints that Sheff Utd won as they did more to get the ball in the net.