Post by deadbat on Sept 17, 2023 12:36:42 GMT
It was desperately cruel ending to the game at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the Blades as they led until the 98th minute but were undone by two late, late goals. Richarlison and Kulusevski goals in the 98th and 100th minute saw Spurs take an incredible win at the death. Gus Hamer’s second goal for United seemed to have given them their first win of the season but in the end they left with nothing and remain on only a single point from five games.
United made changes with Luke Thomas making his Premier League debut and James McAtee back at the club also getting the start. United were without both Egan and Baldock, injured whilst on international duty. In came Bogle and Basham with Ahmedhodzic moving to a central role. Tom Davies was on the bench alongside Anis Slimane. Spurs had stated the season in excellent form and had garnered both manager and individual player of the month honours with a new brand of football exciting the home fans thus far.
United wearing all yellow began with a solid enough start and tried to move the ball around and get up the pitch in the opening stages. McBurnie’s hold up was a feature and they looked to get Hamer and McAtee on the ball. The home side had the first effort with Sarr hitting a shot at Foderingham before Son had to be held up well by Robinson. A nice move from the Blades saw McBurnie hit his own man Archer preventing a save being made but Spurs slowly started to take control and United started going deeper and playing longer. A flurry of half chances came for Tottenham with the first seeing Bissouma get away from Souza too easily but Foderingham made the smart save at the near post before Son had an effort into the keeper hands.
Despite this, United created maybe the best chance of the game so far as Bogle pulled the ball back and Vicario had to save from McAtee. Spurs came at United for another spell with shots from Maddison and Solomon. Maddison was becoming increasingly influential and often on the ball. United kept a solid shape but were not able to get up the field as much as the half wore on. Basham was booked and so was Archer soon after for challenges. Another card came as Foderingham misjudged his positioning and was given a yellow card for handling outside the box. The free kick came to nothing and McBurnie then had a header at the keeper from a corner at the other end. The half time whistle came after three minutes of stoppage time which probably seemed insufficient considering the number of stoppages in the game and would be a talking point later in the game.
After the break Spurs started to dominate the ball and United were penned in for long periods. Most of the chances were long range efforts and the Blades kept a solid shape even if they were careless the few times they had the ball. Ahmedhodzic covered round twice and Robinson made a good block and the home fans were getting frustrated. Foderingham went down twice in close succession and in the eyes of the Spurs fans United were being quite cynical with time wasting.
The bookings continued with van De Ven, Maddison, McBurnie and Robinson all going into an ever-increasing full note book. Peter Bankes certainly seemed to want to get involved a lot in what was not a particularly dirty game. McAtee’s finish was weak after Archer’s good build up in a rare United break and Spurs now were patiently probing but not really creating too much despite dominating this half.
Norwood came on for McAtee as United tried to get more of a foothold in midfield and on 74 minutes, the opening goal came against the run of play for the visitors. Robinson sent a long throw over and it fell at the far post for HAMER who expertly guided his low shot through bodies into the far corner via the post. The United fans behind the goal were sent into raptures as the team celebrated right by them. Spurs made a triple chance with Johnson coming on his debut along with Richarlison and Perisic. United countered with Davies on for Hamer.
United were defending resolutely as the fury of the Spurs players and fans at the time United were taking over set plays continued. United were struggling to get out and players were getting treatment as fatigue seemed to be setting in. Maddison’s poor ball out of play and Bissouma’s wayward cross also drew frustration in the stands. Trusty came on for Bogle who went off with cramp. It was surprising Heckingbottom did not make another change or two at the point as a number of players seemed to be dead on their feet. On 87 minutes it seemed Spurs were level as Johnson broke to score but was adjudged to be offside and United looked like they had survived.
The assistant referee put up 12 minutes of extra time which drew groans from the United fans but for the first part of this, United continued to defend well in numbers and the clock ticked down albeit slowly from the away fans’ perspective. Sadly on 98 minutes, the Spurs goal came and it was once again poor defending with a cross coming in and RICHARLISON heading home from the Maddison corner. After defending so well for the entire game, they had switched off and it was costly. With still time left, the home fans sensed they could completely turn it around and so it proved. Ahmedhodzic tried to play it out and it was intercepted and Richarlison fed KULUSEVSKI who smashed home to wild scenes. The game restarted and McBurnie’s appeals for a foul saw him booked for dissent and he was off, getting his second red card. The game carried on and now Spurs players went down maybe mocking what the United team had been doing earlier to laugher from the home fans.
The final whistle finally came some 15 minutes after the 90 minutes had ended and the reactions of both sets of players, and fans said it all. Most Blades player lay prostrate on the ground stunned they had gone from three points, to one, to none in 2 minutes from the 98th minute. Football can be a cruel game but for United the wait for a win goes on.
United – Hard to take. It seems United find new ways to kick you in the you know what. I suppose I have never seen us do that so at last it was a different way to lose a game! The latest turnaround in Premier League history and the latest winner. So, we made history at least. Was dreadful to be in the ground when it happened. Everyone just seemed stunned. It would have been hard enough for them to score the one late, late goal but two was incredible. It was odd as they put up the 12 minutes and you thought they would get on but up till they scored they looked like they had kind of run out of ideas and were not creating too much (apart from the disallowed goal). It did not feel like it was coming but then the polar argument is we sat so deep, could not keep the ball and were just punting it away and so chances will happen and you may concede. It was two sloppy goals to concede but we did look knackered and probably mental as much as physical. We only used 3 of our 5 subs which was perplexing to me and he needed to get a few more on – Archer was knackered by this stage and needed replacing.
In terms of the stoppage time, I have no issue with it – even though we played a third of a half again. Clearly the new directive is seeing these sorts of times be added on now. The issue I have is they only played 3 at the end of the first half? So ridiculously inconsistent. We did timewaste and it was cynical. I get why to some extent as we are mis matched at this level and teams like us must use every tactic they can to get results. The financial imbalance of the league means you have to do things like that and spoil despite the big clubs moaning. Even this seems to have been taken away now and with the extra subs, VAR (so even the odd dodgy decision you cannot get – although can argue VAR favours the big clubs too!) it is even more weighted to the biggest clubs and those that spend the most. It makes it hard. Foderingham did timewaste (not sure what was said about him kicking it out long as Hecky alluded to which seems a nonsense as he can do what he wants – long or short) and however you dress it up, he went down a few times and a number of our players did this. 12 minutes seemed a lot but was probably about right and the reality is they scored on 98 and 100 anyway! I know a lot might disagree and say it would not be same if it was the other way but then we probably would not have time wasted as much if we were losing? It seems games will not last 90 minutes anymore and is routinely will go up to 100 minutes. The referee I thought was awful for both teams over the game and lots of decisions were poor but not sure I can really argue about the additional time.
Still, it is tough to take when you have a win and at least a draw right there and you then end up with nothing. Felt like a pivotal moment even this early in the season. I know many will say well Spurs is not a place where you expect to get much and anything you do is a bonus but that is fine if we had beaten or got more points against the 3 weaker sides we have played. The chances for points at this level don’t come around that often so you have to take them. Now we are in a similar position to last time we were up here in that second season and you are wondering where the next point, never mind win is coming from? McBurnie going off makes it even harder as Osula and Traore are not at the level we need yet and means we have no strikers at all. He may have to play an extra midfielder instead next week and its complete mismanagement by the board to not bring in another one or two senior players up the top of the field.
Going back to the game, taking away all the late drama and discussion about the referee and all the other stuff, I have to say we did not deserve anything from the game. Yes we were gritty, fought hard and defended in numbers but other than the first 10 minutes where we did quite well and looked to move up the field in numbers, our plan seemed to be just to defend and kick it long and feed off scraps from McBurnie. We have talented players like Hamer and McAtee but they did not get on the ball at all for long periods and we seemed to just bypass the midfield which was annoying as we kind of started the game playing through the thirds. I felt our approach just seemed to be defend in numbers, spoil, and play for a point. That is fine to a degree and do not expect us to go at teams like Spurs constantly as you get turned over and could get smashed (like Burnley did) but I do expect us to try and at least keep the ball or try and play some football. I thought our style was really depressing to watch and a waste of time playing McAtee (although he was poor when he did have it I felt) and Hamer in some ways if we are not going to try and pass it a bit. The defence did lots of good things and blocks/tackles but then often just smashed it clear ad then reset. You cannot do that for 90 (115 minutes!) and expect chances and goals will not come. It is hard as some will read this and argue that is the only way we might get results due to the talent disparity but at some point we have to try and be more progressive at points in game. The reality is we keep losing – yes it is by single goals and yes we keep conceding late but it is happening most weeks. We get tired (should have made more subs) and inevitably will probably concede. Even if we had won or got a draw, I feel the way we are setting up and playing (what is our style – it seems very direct or am I being harsh) means what we have seen so far will end up with lots of plucky narrow defeats where we do ok with lots of the off the ball stuff but ultimately we have to (at times not all the time) keep the football better and give ourselves chance to get up the field or get out. It felt like it kept coming back and coming back. It was just kick it away and defend again. It very nearly worked but it did not.
I am not even sure Spurs were that great and the argument can be made they did not create tons of clear chances but once again Foderingham is our man of the match (and has been nearly every game). I think there is a stat that says we have conceded 115 shots in 5 games. That carries on and we lose nearly every game. We are inviting pressure all the time. I know it is hard and teams have better players and maybe it is just going to be like this (and I can hear look at how Burnley are doing argument) but I have been disappointed at times with certain things. It’s not as simple as we are just conceded poor goals (we are by the way) and without that we would be fine. The reality for me is teams are having lots of shots and lots of balls and we just look mismatched quality wise. We have brought some decent players in but still look far inferior to most teams in general play and the gap is even bigger than last time we were up here. I hear some saying we are improving every game but actually in my mind – Palace apart -the performances and results have all been remarkably similar (City of course a different beast). We seem to be the same most weeks. Defend in numbers, hope for a break at the other end and then spoil and manage games out. It is not working but mainly because everyone is better than us!
The team did show lots of resilience and the effort at times was great in terms of throwing bodies in the way and blocks etc and I know people will say well we hang on and it’s a great away performance but not sure it was really? We got a great goal but that was hugely against the run of play and as irritating as the Spurs fans were coming out with comments they were making – they were probably right despite me wanting to have a pop back. They basically said we were a horrible, ugly team that just defended and time wasted and got what we deserved for our cynical and negative tactics.
The problem is the Premier League is now so imbalanced and my critique of United is more about the whole league and system that has been set up. Even with some of my thoughts what we could do better – it is so difficult. The refereeing seems to be favour big teams. VAR seems to favour big teams. Teams can now make 5 subs. We now have the extra time. It’s like more factors are being weighted in to favour the bigger clubs/bigger spenders. It is so hard and it seems like we know that we are probably going to get relegated even after 5 games. Our only hope is that one of the other sides (outside the 3 go up) implode but the number of wins we can put on the board might even be fewer than last time looking at things so far. I know the reality is, this is where we are at and we will lost most games and maybe my comments are way too harsh but we seem light years away from the side that played under Wilder that first season (some may see lesser talent) in how we are matching up despite a lot of close defeats. Maybe the step up is just too much for the promoted teams now and you just have to accept that you probably will go down and the start again. It’s a depressing reality of the Premier League. I half hope the top 6 do just sod off and breakaway and form a Super League as at least the rest then can just get on with it and it is more of a level playing field. It is sad what football has become.
In terms of short term, we now have more injuries and with McBurnie suspended will be under strength again next week. The starting eleven (strongest one we can put out) is not probably at the level needed to stay up so when you take 2 or 3 out (Baldock out for a few weeks, Egan possibly too) then we have no chance.
We have a game next week against another talented side albeit one that has stuttered a bit but it’s hard to make a case we will get much but hopefully we can do better with the ball at home and cause a shock but as each result goes by, the confidence will sap. The rumours about Wilder do not help and surely are nonsense but despite Betis comments about him not being sacked even if we go down, you know that rumours about any manager starts if we keep losing. I totally disagree with it, if it did happen and think Hecky has done a great job but if we are winless and say lose 5 or 6 more on the bounce, I would not be shocked if they did sack him. Would be nonsense but football and the pressure of losing makes owners do stupid things.
Ratings:
Foderingham 7.5/10 – United best players. His time wasting was excessive and he misjudged the hand ball incident but outside of this he was excellent making some expected saves and some really good ones too. He commanded well and looked calm/composed. He has been our best player by some way so far.
Bogle 6/10 – Mixed bag. Did ok at the start and put in a good cross for McBurnie and showed neat touches but then defensively I thought did not get tight enough to his man. He made a few interceptions but they had lot of space down this side and he tired badly second half and barely got out if his own half.
Thomas 6/10 – Solid enough and an improvement on Larouci on that evidence. He was neat and tidy on the ball but not sure he went forward much at all? He did ok in individual battles but did take a few heavy touches as the first half went on and second half he was guilty of squandering possession too cheaply.
Robinson 7.5/10 – Our best defender. Made some good blocks and interceptions and competed well. He led the rearguard action well and thought put a real shift in. His long throw led to the goal. Another who gave it away and went long too often though.
Ahmedhodzic 7/10 – Definitely much better in the three and along with Wes, Robinson, Hamer and McBurnie, one of our better players. He got in some vital tackles and covered well when they threatened to get in and his pace helps us more than when Egan is there. Sadly, we were still too deep and kept getting further and further back. He has looked ok at Premier League level but maybe not quite made the leap as comfortably as we thought he might and not sure he will have tons of suitors if his performances are this sort of level. He has been ok so far but not outstanding.
Basham 6/10 – Thought he looked what he is now and at times get beat too easily but then also showed some character and defended well too. He made interceptions and reads the game well still but the pace and athleticism seems a bit much for him at times. He was one of those most guilty of just smashing the ball away and not trying to keep it and looked fatigued by the end. Seemed to be his man on the goal for the header?
Souza 6/10 – His stats look good in terms of winning balls/duels etc but I am not sure how involved he was. He did make a few interceptions but thought game passed him by for long spells. Got beat easily down the line when the lad ran in early on. As I say he seems neat and tidy but do not see this enforcer others have (I know people will throw stats at me). He is a functional player but we need to break play up more and keep it better and not sure I have seen him do enough of this with my ‘real’ eyes! He is quite slow too. I am sure others might say how great he has been but I think he has been very average so far. Not sure he is affecting or impacting games that much on or off the ball? People might say that’s not his job but then we need a link between defence and attack and we just kept booting it away (granted defence as guilty as him and others)
McAtee 4/10 – Thought he was poor and our weakest player albeit the way we played did not help him. He had two decent chances he fluffed which showed he could get in the right areas and be a threat but the rest of the game I barely noticed him. The formation did not really work after the first 10 minutes when he and the team did some good things but he faded badly and we had none of the ball or kept it in midfield at all. When he did have touches he often cheaply gave it away. I am not sure you can play those three in midfield away from home at least. I know there is a clamour for this but the shape of the side and how we play (we are not playing through midfield) makes him redundant. Can see why City wanted him at Leicester as he will have lots of games like this for us where he does not see the ball.
Hamer 7/10 – Started with a few neat touches and involved in some of the decent football we played but then he became less and less involved as the game went on and we did not play through midfield. Works hard and gets up and down and can do some of the defensive things but clearly he is better at the attacking stuff and with the ball and again like with McAtee we won’t have it much away. I know my argument is us keeping the ball and playing more football – getting up the field and me saying these players are redundant might be defeating my own argument but somehow we need to ensure we get these players involved and may need to tweak the formation and certainly the style. Getting up the filed via playing football rather than the big punt must be frustrating for him. He scored another brilliantly taken goal and clearly this is a huge asset. Good on the ball and we need to get him more involved.
Archer 5/10 – Started with a few bits of link play and got in good areas but not sure he had any efforts himself or looked much of a threat – granted we defended a lot. He made the one chance for McAtee second half but I needed him to do more the team in terms of keeping it. McBurnie was the only real outlet and he held it far better. When it did go to him came off him too much. Did not work hard enough for me when we did not have the ball and looked shattered by the end and should have come off.
McBurnie 7.5/10 – Would have been higher if not for him giving the ball away near the end (lead up the second) and then the red card (can argue whether it was or not but he still got sent off and we lose him for a game). Up to this point, you can argue he was with Robinson, our best outfield player. Held it up superbly and worked so hard. He was our main focal point and even though he just had to feed off punts up to him, it normally stuck. Most of our good play came from when we played it to him and he allowed others to get involved.
Subs –
Norwood 6/10 – Put a few tackles in but mostly looked at full stretch even though he had fresh legs. He ended up almost as a centre back at the end.
Davies – Put in poor tackle and was booked. Hopefully now he is fit (fitter) we may see more of him but not sure he helped us keep the ball (neither did Norwood) as the ball just kept coming back.
Trusty – Did not even realise he came on till after the game so cannot have noticed him much! Will be concerned that even with Larouci, Egan and Baldock out, he is not getting a start. Maybe he has not shown enough in training to force his way in?
Manager: Heckingbottom 6/10 – If we win, it probably is a bit higher of course as that is the nature of football but even with the resolute defensive efforts to keep Spurs out and the commitment of the team allied to being quite organised – till the end – I have concerns about how we are playing. Maybe we have to play like this as everyone is better but our style has been quite poor to watch – I know it’s not about how you look but at some point we have to play some football – even against the better teams as that is the best way to get out and get up the field. We can still be organised, resilient and workmanlike and at types will have to go longer but we also have to progress the ball more and keep it more. I think we can do that without being ridiculously expansive and getting done on the counter? There will be the argument we have only lost every game by a single goal and been close but in every game we have lost Wes has been pretty much our best players and shots have reigned in -we did keep them to few chances today to be fair. I think he will argue he is doing the best with what he has and we are mismatched talent wise. Just think jf we are going to get some results/points we need to try and simply not just hang on almost from the off in games. It is not working even if it is small margins. I think he can use his subs more and today we left 2 subs unused when a lot were tired. Archer for one had to come off.
Spurs – They won and celebrated wildly with the German football style hand holding as they acclaimed their fans. Get it as it is still a win and in remarkable circumstances. They will feel they deserved it despite not having tons of clear chances -they had all the ball and dominated most of the game. Weirdly we maybe had two better opportunities than them in the first half but overall, they were the one asking all the questions. The goal came against the run of play and then we frustrated them and they will say we time wasted and broke things up. However, they did not impress me as much as I thought they would. I felt United kept giving them the ball back and time and time again they were slow to penetrate and move it. They became a bit predictable and it seemed like they had run out of ideas but then credit to them they got the two late goals. As soon as one went in, you knew another would probably come. The fans and team sensed it. I think if they had scored at 100 minutes to level, they still would have won, as soon as they get the equaliser.
I did expect this swashbuckling style with free-flowing football and not sure I saw that. They are doing well but from that game I came away pretty meh about them despite them doing more than enough to win. They look a side that will finish anything between 4th and 7th. I expect them nearer the latter as without Kane long term not sure where the goals are coming from consistently? The best thing about them is the stadium which is fantastic but a horrible sight when they are all jumping around at the end.
Opponent Man of the Match – Maddison was an annoying so and so but at times the ball seemed to always be with him and their main creative factor. I thought Son was ineffective today and not really at it. Of course, Richarlison, without a goal so long, had to come on and score and assist against us. Bissouma and Sarr are two big units and seems we play players like this every week that are massive and can run up and down.
Opponent Weak link – Thought defensively they looked slow and could be got at. The big lad van de Veen looked clumsy and slow for someone who cost so much.
Referee/Officials – Peter Bankes made the game all about him. Was as bad for both teams. We will point to the stoppage time (and the inconsistency of the two halves) and the fact their lad could have been sent off the elbow, along with MCBurnie going for far less seemingly. They will point to the penalty they might have had, the red card for Wes (he should have had really for timewasting after the handball – might have been a red too?), the way we kept stopping the game and maybe even feigning injuries. Overall, when both sets of fans think he has been awful, you know you have had a bad game! He booked 13 players and not sure there were many bad tackles all game. Completely mismanaged the game. Dreadful.
Matchday/Crowd/Coverage – Been last time we were up there but it is a great stadium. The sightlines are brilliant and the atmosphere really stays in the ground and aesthetically looks superb from outside and inside. Last time we got served much quicker and seemed more spacious in the concourse but maybe we got in later. Shoutout to the Pinch (Sam) for the fanzine which was free and a good little read. It was brilliant when we scored and that picture of the fans as the players celebrate is fantastic! The Blades fans were noisy and did their best and the Spurs fans got frustrated but at the end it was sickening. Many stood stunned before shuffling off to listen to a mixture of Spurs chants and moaning about our tactics as we headed back into Central London.
The rest of the day was excellent with good company, beer and food. We got into London at 8.30am, had a quick breakfast and then headed to Walthamstow and went to the Big Penny Social (kind of warehouse bar/eating place – bit like Peddler) and sat in the sun for a few hours. Then went to Beavertown and had a few more and pizza before getting an Uber to the ground. Had a good time with Eggy, Webding, BladesPod (Ben) pre game and Travelling joined us after the game. We sat and had a few more beers before heading home and finally could laugh and chat after being stunned silence for a while after the game. Was going to go to West Ham but will probably return my tickets due to the strike on the trains as too awkward to get now. Not sure when our next away one will be as busy when go to Fulham but hopefully will not be as cruel as today.
