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Sheffield United 1 v West Bromwich Albion 2
The Championship
Friday 14 December 2018

Sheffield United U23 1 v Burnley U23 3
U23 Professional Development League
Monday 17 December 2018
Played at Stocksbridge Park Steels

SUFC 2018/19 Games 48 & 49

May to May Brewery Visits - 69

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I’m leaving the West Brom game alone in this Blog. But, there is still quite a lot to get through.

U23s v Burnley
Jake Eastwood was back in the brightly coloured shirt after a while away. Sam Graham was back in the middle of a three, I presume he’s not back permanently, but just getting some game time. Tyler Smith has been recalled from his loan spell at Barrow. He featured on the bench for the first team last Friday. Maybe he’ll go on loan again in the window. Given his relative success at Barrow, maybe a bit further up the pyramid. Keenan Ferguson & Oli Graves were both on the bench, after being out a while with injuries. First team recent regulars and fringers Kieron Freeman, Daniel Lafferty & John Lundstram were all given a game. Maybe to get some time in their legs. Maybe to give them a chance to get some form back. Or, maybe, (dramatic music plays) to put them in the shop window for a January move. Rumours are rife. I know. I started most of them. And, finally, Kean Bryan was back out there. Back on his next rehab/comeback trail.

Let’s summarise up top. Burnley were well worth that win. They are a very physical side. Not in the sense of dirty. Just big, strong & at it. A real test for this Mixed Bag O’Blades. One of their weapons was long throws. Again, United needed to really step up to deal with that. I’m usually too busy making incomprehensible notes & trying to work out emojis for my in game Tweets to pay too much attention to individual opposition players. But, head & shoulders standout was Dwight McNeil, at 8 for Burnley. He scored a wonder goal. Appeared to pop up all over the gaff. Constantly driving forward into space from midfield.

Jean Belehouan
I’m going to come on to Kean Bryan later. But, I was impressed with Jean Belehouan for United. Wearing two, but playing on the right of a back three, with Sam Graham in the middle & Bryan on the left. Jean (some web searches say he hails from France) was at Manchester United for 7 years before falling in love with Shirecliffe in 2017. I’ve seen quite a bit of him. In answer to a recent question on an Internet Forum, I said that, while he doesn't seem to make obvious howling errors, you sometimes forget he's out there. He doesn't make you sit up, but he's competent enough. Well, today, I thought he did very well in challenging circumstances. He had to fit in a three/five who were all way more experienced than him. And, deal with a very physical strike force. He took responsibility well & was a key part of organising the defence. He was subbed in a reshuffle on 75.

Tyler Smith
It’s small margins. Maybe he did look a little bit stronger. He certainly had it all on with this Burnley team. I feel Tyler has a pretty good all round set of skills. Today, he had to spend a lot of time coming very deep for the ball, and playing with his back to goal, a long way from goal. Working his socks off. OK. You do what you got to. But, he looks best to me when he’s got a channel to run into. And, there was little of that going on. However, in the role he was forced into, there were snippets of good stuff. On 26 minutes, he stayed very strong, more or less wrestling & shaking his marker off. And, he had another good run on goal after that.  Others tell me it was a blatant foul to rob Tyler, only just in the opposition half, on 17 minutes. It was knocked a little forward and Burnley’s McNeil took it on, burst through & into a midfield gap. It all set up nicely for him & he let go a superb shot from 25/30 yards which rocketed past Eastwood to make it one nil.

John Lundstram
Mixed bag. Look, no drama, he was clearly one of the more accomplished players out there. But, at times, you wondered whether he was making it count. I guess he sort of set up as the midfielder to take it off the back three. Although he was roving quite a bit all game. He carted a very poor free kick out of play on just one minute. Uncharitably, he seemed to be trying to play too many Hollywood Balls for me. Get it off Belehouan on our right, turn, and try and zing it way, way over to Lafferty on our left. Fair do. He’s sort of got the skills to do that. But, even if he hit the man, it looked a bit like he was isolating play, rather than building. Early in the second half, I thought the Young Blades Plus Big Lads were trying to play a bit shorter & quicker - like their usual style. And, Lundstram looked better (to me) doing that. Positively, there was some great - all the angles - interplay with Freeman at times. A great move on just 12 fed York & then Mallon. Although the chance came to nothing. At one stage, I had to check whether he was taking the piss. He seemed to be deliberately alternating right & left foot long passes. He wasn’t of course, but it made me realise & appreciate his two footedness and skill. I like Lundstram, he’s clearly in the mix if/when other midfielders get a knock/suspension or need a break.

Kieron Freeman
Right. He’s turned up in the column inches above. He also had a key hand in our equaliser on 37 minutes. He combined well to free Reece York on our right. Reece whipped a ball across the six yard box. Lafferty sort of kept it in, kept it live & knocked it back all at the same time. It fell nicely for Stephen Mallon, who calmly knocked it in with his left foot. But, all told, I didn’t think Freeman had a good one. He looked a bit disinterested and uncommitted at times. Burnley had gone two one ahead in first half stoppage time. Poked home following a goalmouth scramble at a corner. But, their third, killer, goal (64 mins) looked like a major defensive error by Freeman to me. He lost it, horrendously, on the half way line. He couldn’t recover, ended up on his arse. And the Burnley fella took it all the way into the box and rifled it under Eastwood. Don’t take my word for it. Long before that, a neutral behind me asked “Who is number 7? Is he a first teamer?” I tried to explain the situation. The bloke responded “I thought so, he’s clearly just going through the motions”. Telling comment that.

Kean Bryan
Because of the stuttering start he’s had to his Utd career, we don’t know. Has he been brought in as a hopefully fully formed member of the first team squad? To sit alongside Egan, O’Connell, Basham, Stearman & the lesser spotted Jake Wright The Elder. Or has he been brought in as a Development Player? And, don’t get me started on Ben Heneghan. Anyway, I saw Kean play 45 for the U Two Threes earlier in the season. And, I liked the way the wind was blowing then. Today, he lasted until 65 minutes. Simeon Oure came on for him (looked planned) & there was a reshuffle which effectively put Lafferty into the back three. And, hey, I still like the early look of Kean Bryan. A lot of his play is calm & composed. He judges balls very well. If he comes in quick for a loose ball, he gets there. If he comes forward to try & head a hoof ball clear, he gets there. Now, a comparison. In the first two minutes, Lundstram wasted a free kick, Bryan got in a very strong, but fair, crunching tackle on their no. 7 over on the far side. He left nothing, the lot went in, perfectly timed. Ooohhh Hello. I felt a little bit sorry for their 7. Emphasising, it was a fair challenge. Ended with a throw to them. But, he’s “tried to get up off the deck a number of times, and failed”.  Bryan switched on quickly and picked up on the long throws. Dealing with them very effectively on our left. I felt he looked very comfortable in a three. That very much seemed to suit him. He’s one of those defenders who just seems to be able to tidy shit up. Good positioning. Reads it well. Got a bit of pace. Gets there. Deals. On 24 minutes, one of the Burnley lot just drifted past Lafferty easily. But, there was Bryan just in the right place to get it all tidy. He was also with the overlapping programme as well. Not all the time, but he did have all the bomb wide attributes.

I had it that Burnley hit the woodwork twice. And, they wasted a couple of easy looking chances. United weren’t overrun. But, only a few glimpses of attacking play & urgency.  We had a good spell towards the end of the first half. (Killed by the Burnley stoppage time goal of course). Reece York hit a powerful shot, which the keeper effectively chested away. We did have a handful of flowing moves, particularly down our left. Stephen Mallon had the ball under close control on the edge of the box a few times. But, Burnley were really organised in making sure he went lateral across the box and couldn’t see a way in. United looked better in a very brief spell in the second half when we went shorter.

The Beer
Two of us ticked off a new MicroPub in S6 called The Brass Monkey. On Middlewood Road, opposite the park. I’m feeling benevolent, so I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt. There was nothing wrong. But, a lot of Teething seemed to be going on. It’s a modern, quirky place. It looked to me like the banquette benches were old bus seats that had been creatively carpented. A simple one room affair. High tables and chairs to watch the coming & goings through the window. And those bus seats down one wall. Two on cask. One of which was hand labelled on the Clip as “Rocking Rudolph” - no mention of Brewery (presumably Greene King, Hardy & Hansons) nor abv. The other cask was Belgian Blue. The craft kegs were from Legitimate Industries. That has passed my by. Their web presence & beer names seem to be a neat piss take - “Bank Job” “Election Fraud”. I’m afraid I didn’t get the chance to pile in. Anyway, three members of owners/staff were having ongoing Teething discussions in the pub. What’s this Gin? Which Whisky is Irish? How do you pronounce Talisker? If a Brewery want their beer on, should we ask them for a third handpump? The pints of Rocking were coming up big head, short beer. No great drama. Nothing awful. But, all that lot needs to settle down so it becomes a lovely nice pub. Full time whistle at Stocksbridge, bus or lift to Middlewood, one stop hop to Leppings Lane. It’s on our route Pal. We’ll. Be. Back.

Next up for the Under 23s is Crewe away on 7 Jan.

756/1581