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Wednesday Week
A trip to Burslem awaits...
Week 1 Review & Carling Cup Draw
Two games, seven goals and already several talking points. Another dull season lies ahead it would seem...Saturday’s wave of opening day optimism Wednesday into a two-goal lead at half time against Barnsley. However our all-too-familiar propensity for turning up for just one half of a game reared its ugly head as the Tykes outbossed us in the second half and deservedly earned a point. Brian Laws wasn’t all too pleased with Simon Davey’s post-match comments that his side were fitter than their Wednesday counterparts pointing to Prozone match analysis which prove that we ‘covered more blades of grass than they did.’ I’d love to know who gets paid to count the blades of grass.
No such worries however on Tuesday night as Wednesday comfortably dispatched Rochdale to make it through to the Second Round of the Carling Cup. One cup win constitutes a cup run for us these days doesn’t it? The only real problem at S6 on Tuesday seems to have actually letting fans into the ground in time for kick-off although I find the laughable excuse that there was an unexpected number who turned up on the day given the overall attendance didn’t even reach 7,000! Our reward is a trip to Port Vale, conquerors of our friends from Bramall Lane, so it gives us yet another opportunity to show why we are the top dog in Sheffield by dispatching Vale and marching through to the Third Round.
Striker Hunt
The media has been awash with the story this week that Brian Laws is on the verge of bringing in a mystery, unnamed striker. After the Barnsley game on Saturday Laws said: ‘I have already had permission from a Premier League club to speak to their player and I will be speaking to him again tomorrow (Sunday) to try and persuade him to come to this football club.’ Five days later one can only assume the lure of new pies and electronic turnstiles weren’t enough to persuade some kid from Bolton that he should come to Hillsborough.
Kit Launch
Saturday morning finally sees the launch of the new away kit. Fans can go down to Hillsborough and get their new away shirt from 9am but presumably once it sells out within the first hour we’ll then have to wait another month for a fresh batch. It’s a great shame that the club haven’t managed to sort this out when we have two cracking kits that are probably the most popular in years!
Defensive Battle/Miller Time?
There’s been a lot of debate this week over the defence which is an area that seems to have come in for the most criticism in the aftermath of the Barnsley draw. Darren Purse has slotted straight into the side as captain but had a far from confident display as he looks to form an understanding with Richard Wood. Tommy Spurr and Lewis Buxton look solid on the left and right respectively but Mark Beevers should be knocking on the door to displace his more experienced centre half colleagues. Purse will presumably be undroppable as captain unless he drops a real clanger so Woody as the man in possession will be under pressure to keep his place. It’s great to see Frank Simek back to full fitness, however there were signs on Tuesday night that he is still not completely confident going into a challenge and it may be some time before we see a return of his marauding runs down the right.
Tommy Miller made an encouraging debut on Tuesday night but with James O’Connor seemingly recapturing the form that won him many plaudits when he first signed last summer he may struggle to force his way in, especially with Darren Potter looking on the money from the word go. Sean McAllister also had a strong game against Rochdale from the right which will provide Brian Laws with a welcome selection headache.
Two games, seven goals and already several talking points. Another dull season lies ahead it would seem...Saturday’s wave of opening day optimism Wednesday into a two-goal lead at half time against Barnsley. However our all-too-familiar propensity for turning up for just one half of a game reared its ugly head as the Tykes outbossed us in the second half and deservedly earned a point. Brian Laws wasn’t all too pleased with Simon Davey’s post-match comments that his side were fitter than their Wednesday counterparts pointing to Prozone match analysis which prove that we ‘covered more blades of grass than they did.’ I’d love to know who gets paid to count the blades of grass.
No such worries however on Tuesday night as Wednesday comfortably dispatched Rochdale to make it through to the Second Round of the Carling Cup. One cup win constitutes a cup run for us these days doesn’t it? The only real problem at S6 on Tuesday seems to have actually letting fans into the ground in time for kick-off although I find the laughable excuse that there was an unexpected number who turned up on the day given the overall attendance didn’t even reach 7,000! Our reward is a trip to Port Vale, conquerors of our friends from Bramall Lane, so it gives us yet another opportunity to show why we are the top dog in Sheffield by dispatching Vale and marching through to the Third Round.
Striker Hunt
The media has been awash with the story this week that Brian Laws is on the verge of bringing in a mystery, unnamed striker. After the Barnsley game on Saturday Laws said: ‘I have already had permission from a Premier League club to speak to their player and I will be speaking to him again tomorrow (Sunday) to try and persuade him to come to this football club.’ Five days later one can only assume the lure of new pies and electronic turnstiles weren’t enough to persuade some kid from Bolton that he should come to Hillsborough.
Saturday morning finally sees the launch of the new away kit. Fans can go down to Hillsborough and get their new away shirt from 9am but presumably once it sells out within the first hour we’ll then have to wait another month for a fresh batch. It’s a great shame that the club haven’t managed to sort this out when we have two cracking kits that are probably the most popular in years!
There’s been a lot of debate this week over the defence which is an area that seems to have come in for the most criticism in the aftermath of the Barnsley draw. Darren Purse has slotted straight into the side as captain but had a far from confident display as he looks to form an understanding with Richard Wood. Tommy Spurr and Lewis Buxton look solid on the left and right respectively but Mark Beevers should be knocking on the door to displace his more experienced centre half colleagues. Purse will presumably be undroppable as captain unless he drops a real clanger so Woody as the man in possession will be under pressure to keep his place. It’s great to see Frank Simek back to full fitness, however there were signs on Tuesday night that he is still not completely confident going into a challenge and it may be some time before we see a return of his marauding runs down the right.
Tommy Miller made an encouraging debut on Tuesday night but with James O’Connor seemingly recapturing the form that won him many plaudits when he first signed last summer he may struggle to force his way in, especially with Darren Potter looking on the money from the word go. Sean McAllister also had a strong game against Rochdale from the right which will provide Brian Laws with a welcome selection headache.
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