Wednesday 20 February 2019

Binnion & Brexit

Sheffield United U23 0 v Sheffield Wednesday U23 2
U23 Professional Development League
Tuesday 19 February 2019
Played at Bramall Lane

SUFC 2018/19 Game 68
2018/19 Football Season Brewery Visits - 90

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A big Under 23 night at The Lane against The Owls. Half Term. The weather is picking up. I'm hearing first teamers or fringers on both sides. Just the sort of alignment of planets that will draw a few more in. Lots of daytrippers. Unfortunately, those once a seasoners have not been exposed to the full SUFC Academy Experience. No Trav you see. Travis Binnion is in Spain this week. So, the crowd tonight were not treated to his booming voice and constant encouragement of the Young 'Uns. Pity.

Travis is on a trip to Spain with a group of Academy coaches to look at how Spanish clubs develop young players. That exchange trip has been organised by League Football Education & is fully funded by the EU Erasmus+ Programme. Natch, I understand Travis will also have a crack at Brexit negotiations while the EU have got access to him.



Anyway. It was the John Dungworth show tonight. The younger Young Blades will have benefitted from that experience. Sure, that was a disappointing night. But, this is Development Football. A place where kids learn to play the game. I've no problem with other supporters approaching it as they would a first team game. But, that's not my way. It's sort of an Absolute vs Relative point. Some will look at a youngster’s performance & be definitively damning. He'll never make it. Some, will be point in time damning. He's nowhere near ready yet. I tend to judge more along the lines of - he's better than when I last saw him & a load better than last season. Or not…..

It is a game of opinions & all hail that. But, I've had my fingers burnt & so might you. I've watched Diego De Girolamo as a kid & thought - surely, he's got the lot. Opponents on their arses. Goals for fun. He'll make it. I've watched David Brooks as a kid & thought. Whaaaaat? Why persevere with this scrawny short arse? No. Chance. I've watched. I've decided. I've been wrong. I'm more careful now.



It's also worth recalling the Keenan Ferguson Story. That was Keenan at 2. On the right of Jake Wright. With Kean Bryan left of him. Keenan taking the ball off Simon Moore. And pushing it forward to Coutts. Keenan had already had one short go with the Academy. But, had to move on to see whether he could get anywhere at Chesterfield. He didn't. He was released by them. He thought he might have a go in non league, & sit some exams at college. But, Lee Dunn, Del Geary & Travis (at that point not swanning around Spain with a PowerPoint presentation) saw some potential & gave him a shot with United's Second Chance Saloon Futures Programme. That was him. Number 2. Under lights. At The Lane. Kids develop at different rates. Don't dismiss them.

With Semple, Gilmour, Hallam gone. Slater, Smith, Rhys Norrington-Davies, Graham, Mallon, Parkhouse, Doherty, Cantrill out on loan. Those younger lads out there tonight are the - actually here Academy leading lights. Ferguson at right CB. Sheppeard at RWB. Boyes at LWB. York & Broadbent in midfield & Greaves at ten/up top.

I thought, in patches, all of them did well. Harry Sheppeard had a number of marauding runs down the right. Poor decisions once he'd got there let him down. I felt for him a bit. Some nice interplays. All the angles. Wriggle into the penalty area. Then more or less beat himself & have nowhere else to go. I felt that the calming influence of the first teamers made the game less frenetic & end-to-end than normal. That meant more time on the ball for Boyes, York, Greaves. But, I think it also meant fewer chances & meant the game was going nowhere for large swathes.

United started quite brightly. Reece York held the ball up well, Oli Greaves took it on, fed Harry Sheppeard. But, (as mentioned) he couldn't work it further. More or less immediately, Bryan hared down the left, some neat interplay with George Broadbent got Harry Boyes free. But, the best he could do was win a corner.

Coutts drifted in & out. I felt towards the end his head had gone down & he was off the pace. His best spells were when he came very deep towards Moore & the back three to take it off them. I know it's makeshift. But, it's difficult to make Greaves with Washington work. For long periods of the first half, both looked very isolated. That was a key reason United couldn't get anything going.

For me, the game was dying, verging on dead before Wednesday scored on 28. It came down our right. United were standing too far off their attackers. That meant they were able to turn our defence around so we were facing our own goal & exploit the space. The second goal on 50 minutes was down to an awful error by Jake Wright. United had actually worked two pretty good corner routines just before that. With Kean Bryan getting headers on both of them. Basically, they were our best chances all night.



Two pounds fifteen. If I'd used a CAMRA 50p voucher, that'd be one pound sixty five. That's for a pint of Thornbridge Jaipur on cask at 5.9% in The Sheaf Island 'spoons. Sure, it's not what is was. But, don't write it off yet. Nice & fresh. Lovely balance.

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I have now Blogged from 778 games in 1,645 days

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