McNultyWatch

Sheffield United U23 2 v Huddersfield Town U23 1

U23 Professional Development League 2, North

Played at Stocksbridge Park Steels

Monday 9 January 2017

Twitter @ball_sup

From the regular First Team bench, we had Ramsdale & Scougall. From the sometime First Team bench, we had Louis Reed. And, from the past, we had recently recalled Mark McNulty. Plus, oft trialled Guillaime Trani.  Let’s begin with McNultyWatch.

Well, he scored an absolute belter to win it with 5 minutes left. So, he’ll fit the narrative of the First Team. He got a good ball through. (Maybe that was from Reed). He stood strong as he took it on. We were bang behind the goal. GO ON. He absolutely hammered it home. What strikers do.

I thought he looked a bit bulky in the stomach & arse area. But, he certainly ran his part & lasted the 90. Huddersfield did very well in patches. Both McNulty & Jake Wright the young & petulant ‘un had to pull themselves all over to look for the ball. It was only by doing his runs that McNulty kept Utd as an attacking threat in the first 25 minutes. He didn’t look outstanding, nor head & shoulders, but he kept his work rate up & chased the stuff.

I’m not going to go back through the lists. But, I think that might be the first time I’ve seen Trani. He had periods where he looked very comfortable on the ball. Essentially set up on the right as part of a conventional midfield four. He tracked back & did what Travis said. Organised & nippy. But, it just wasn’t the day when things happened on the end of his possession. It’s very tricky at the moment. Wilder has gone his own way. He’s signed the players he wants, with the Ticker he needs. He’s going young & hungry. And, look UP at the table. It’s working. United’s young lot are getting shifts on the bench. And/or being sent out to non-league clubs to learn a bit more. But, there is currently not much room for Academy Graduates with the First Team. Needs must.

So, pulling in other fellas, is a tricky strategy. Maybe someone in the structure can see some special potential in him. He’s got some of the skills. But, small sample size, I’m not fully feeling it.

There was a 20 minute period in the first half where Hudders were well on top. Moving the ball accurately at pace. Dragging Kelly and Bennett all over the shop out wide. That said, they didn’t turn that into many, easy chances. James Wilson looked calm & composed. Dealing with stuff. Finding his man when he had the ball. A conventional back four. But, United kept it simple & stuck to plan. Slowly, they came more into it. Not a day when you could say - he’s had a blinder. But, a day when you could say. Organised, workmanlike, they’ve deserved that.

That has got to be, on first gulp, one of the most BITTER beers I’ve ever tasted. Odyssey, Dr Green Thumb, Double IPA, from a bottle at 9.2%. (Yes, you’ve read that right). The label says dry hopped three times & left unfiltered. SEND A SPOON. Hhhmm. You know what? I love it. But, I’d prefer if there was a little more to discern. Some citrus or tropical fruit. Some spice or ginger. Some complexity or intensity. But, it does what it says. That is a Mental Hop Bomber.

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