Dear FA .....

Barnsley U21 0 v Sheffield United U21 0

Monday 23 November 2015

Twitter @ball_sup

My letters to the FA go unanswered. I keep telling ‘em. Don't schedule U21 matches for Monday afts. Worse drinking day of the week. Specifically, The Old No. 7 in Barnsley don't open Mondays.

So, the drink is in The Sheffield Tap. Great beer that. Full of flavour. Black Iris, Stab In The Dark on cask at 5%. (Billed as NZ Stout). Not quite proper black. Coffee latte head. Clings to the glass. No dominant flavour. There is a nice bitter finish. But that is well balanced against some burnt, toasted sweetness. A hint of liquorice in the background.

As you get further down, the sweetness dominates a bit more. Some bonfire toffee kicks in.

Before the game, Morgan’s U21s were third in U21 Professional Development League 2 North. Six wins from 11. With one draw. Hosts Barnsley were bottom. With 6 points from 9 games.

There have been a raft of games this afternoon. But, if I've got it right, that result ….. still leaves us third.

Great nil nil that. Probably the best chances fell to the Blades. Ben Whiteman, the utility man. He played centre back last week. But with Ioan Evans getting a shirt, Whiteman slipped into centre midfield alongside Connor Dimaio. Amongst other things, he took some great old skool corners. In the air. In the mixer. Get your man free. Get the header in. Except Evans hit the bar.

Whipped in corners have their place. But get ‘em wrong & they're easy to defend. Particularly if you don't beat the first man.

CJ was busy all game. He really should have scored in the second half one on one with the keeper - who spread himself well to stop it. He's sort of frustrating as he runs into defenders too often. But, at least he's bang at it all the time. Got that skill of looking like the ball is tied to his feet.

Jake Wright became less effective as the game went on. Particularly as his head went. Got involved. Niggles. Handbags. Lip. Morgan helped him wind his neck in. Needs to stay focused.

Right. What is it with the Brayford fashion show. Can't even treat the kit as his uniform. Augmented. He's done black cycling shorts. Then the smallest adidas shorts. Rolled round & round at the waste. So that the labels which should be on the inside are hanging outside down his arse crack. His short sleeve lime green shirt is rolled & rolled at the sleeves. So, it ends up like a cap sleeve t-shirt.

And, it's deliberate. He's constantly adjusting it as the game goes on. Particularly the shorts. Gotta get them just right Kid.

Deal with it head on. He's coming back from a bad injury. Already had one setback. I'm not sure where he is on the programme. But, when he was first here, he stood out. Looked quality. A higher level. You could see he'd dropped down.

But, we're not seeing that now. Nothing wrong. But he just looks competent. There is the odd surging run. He gets the odd cross off. Works well positionally with the other defenders.

But, he seems more keen to pump a hopeful ball forward to his winger. I hope he's just easing himself into his recovery. Maybe he'll still be the player he once was. Or…..

Anyway, he's well on the way to getting the shorts & sleeves right.

Flo Cuvelier lasted 60 minutes. I thought he was about the best out there. I don't know what they told him in the changing rooms. He seemed to start up top with Jake Wright. But, as the game went on he was popping up. Taking. Giving. Going.

He stayed strong in every challenge. Hard to knock off the ball. He got a couple of shots off. And sent a free kick just wide. It was his involvement that stood out. In amongst it. Looked comfortable at the end. Presume it was just a 60 minute plan.

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