Sheffield United 1 v Walsall 2
EFL Trophy Northern Group H
Tuesday 4 October 2016
Twitter @ball_sup
A small crowd expected tonight. So, I ventured into The Lord Nelson (Fannys). In my advanced years, it’s a bit too crowded & full on for me when there’s an 18k crowd in the offing. I always feel it’s a bit too Greene King oriented for my tastes. Although, when you do the maths, it’s never quite that bad.
Anyway, tonight was 4 handpulls & (as it happens) one Greene King Craft Keg. I won’t knock too much, that’s about right & doable. I went “guest”.
Milestone, New World Bitter at 4.8%
Bradfield, Yorkshire Farmer at 4%
Both were great. Seemed to be well kept.
Everyone can bleat on about the PaintPot Cup. Wilder says we can’t play our best youngsters as they’ve been called up for England Age Squads. B Team Boycott we know about. But, the absolute pits is IT’S NOT A KNOCKOUT. Simple. I’m for a full season league format. We’ve got that. I’m for knockout cups which put you up against the higher level. We’ve got that. I’m for knockout cups which put you up against “your own level”. We had that - the old PaintPot. But, knockout cups masquerading as league formats. No thanks.
I watch SUFC Age & Future Groups. So, my football horizon is wide. I’ve now got three (count ‘em 3) Cups with group/league formats on the go round. This poxy Checkatrade effort. The Premier League Cup (U23). And, even the Central League Cup (U23). Madness. The CFPC (Campaign For Proper Cups) starts here.
Pretty dire from United. Defensive errors. No energy. Nothing happening up top. You’d at least think the fringe players would stand up for a shirt. I’ve seen a lot of David Brooks, obviously. But, he’s had a wake up call there. We still saw a little bit of the close control & trickery. And, just occasionally, his eye for a pass - usually fairly short mind. But…..
He was a bit too safe. Make the run. Make the room. Show. Get it. All good. But, then. Give it back. Knock it square. He’s an impact player. Needs to make an impact. No point being pretty pretty pointless. And, did Wilder give him free rein? Because he popped up all over. I didn’t like that. It made it difficult for his mates. It lacked “shape”. And, crucially, as he finds his feet in senior football, he needs the discipline of a defined role. I like the Lad. But, he’s not really done himself a big favour out there.
385/805
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