‘DIFFICULT PLACES TO GO’
Apart from eating a few sandwiches from the dressing room refreshment table at Chris Wilder’s post-match briefing on Monday, it is hard to imagine how Sheffield United’s players could have disappointed their manager any further. No one in their right mind, not even a Premier League manager like Wilder, would have given the Blades a snowball’s chance of getting a result against Mikel Arteta’s rampant Arsenal side, and the speed and docility of their surrender must surely have raised eyebrows. Bramall Lane. The clack-clack-clack-clack of hastily emptied seats punctuated the stunned silence of the stadium, certainly raising the rear as hundreds of fans decided to give up on a bad job and head for the exits less than a quarter later. one hour.
While the home players deserve plenty of criticism for their inability to fight back in the face of relegation, Football Daily is not here to kick a blind man’s stick. The truth of the matter is that they are not good enough and cannot be held responsible for the club’s inevitable relegation from the top flight. Truth be told, the moment when Sheffield United’s fate was sealed came before the ball was even kicked off this season, when the club’s hierarchy decided to cash in on a few key players from a team already ill-equipped for the much bigger challenges ahead.
In his post-match comments, Arteta diplomatically described Bramall Lane as “a really tough place to come”, but United’s home record shows nothing could be further from the truth. A gift that keeps on giving, United’s stadium has been a happy hunting ground for most visitors, scoring 32 points and scoring 42 goals in 14 games against a variety of opponents. In fact, the only stadium that has proven more welcoming is Burnley’s Turf Moor; It is another ground that the Arsenal manager recently described as “one of the hardest places to go to”. If there’s a silver lining for Blades fans, the presence of thousands of empty seats long before the match against Arsenal kicks off suggests that Bramall Lane, at least, isn’t a difficult place to leave.
“We have to pick ourselves up and get back on track on Saturday,” said Wilder, whose players have conceded five or more goals in four of the last seven matches. “I understand the fans leaving but the noise at the end of the game was fantastic. The boys are a damaged group of players, they’ve had bad defeats and they’re suffering. There were some disappointing performances all around the park and if you’re not on your level you’re going to be punished. We couldn’t even put a glove on them. You’ve got to be on your level because that’s the most Good teams can tear you apart.”
The club has a history of pulling off miraculous escapes, although it may seem like a Houdini move to get out of their predicament. Having scored 24 goals in the last five league matches, Arsenal’s next match will be played at home against Brentford; This unconventional team would normally give hope of causing an upset if it weren’t for their current shortcomings. The first choice is all four behind.
LIVE ON MAJOR WEBSITE
Hot Big Cup action tonight: Simon Burnton will represent Bayern 3-0 Lazio (3-1 on aggregate), while John Brewin will bring you Real Sociedad 1-1 PSG (1-3 on aggregate).
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“If I say this now it will probably make a big headline: you don’t know what the future holds tomorrow, but I’m happy” – Erling Haaland intends to turn what should have been a simple Grand Cup press conference into a burning wreck The highlight of a day for the Manchester City press officer with Copenhagen It keeps things balanced before the second match.
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Our man David Squires… Mark Clattenburg, dribbling and sliding strikes at Nottingham Forest.
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FOOTBALL DAILY LETTERS
I was at Goodison for the Merseyside derby in 2007 and was ‘referred’, if that’s the right term, by Mark Clattenburg. The fact that he appears in any post that requires him to comment on the ‘mistakes’ made by his successors suggests that if satire wasn’t actually dead when Kissinger won the Nobel Peace Prize, then it must now move on. life support at best” – Tony Killen.
Here in the US, we don’t do the relegation/promotion thing in the US, so forgive the ignorant question but: Could Sheffield United be relegated straight to League One?” – John Schaefer.
(Monday’s Snow Hoax episode – full email edition) Following your post about LAFC having to play in a snowstorm, the snow doesn’t appear to be as deep as it was in Uzbekistan during the Australia-South Korea Women’s U20 Asian Cup match. There are some ridiculous players trying to dribble in the snow. “I can’t believe they didn’t clear the entire field” – David Branch.
Send a letter to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s winner of the non-prize letter of the day is… John Schaefer.
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