The board appear to be standing by him but I am utterly convinced that if we don’t win on Saturday, the fat lady will be singing for Bryan Robson. You only have to have a read through some of the comments posted on this site to know that many Blades fans would ‘gladly’ take a defeat in this one if it means we can wave goodbye to Robbo. It’s sad that we’ve come to this point but hardly surprising given some of the ‘football’ we’ve had to endure.
Will we lose then? I just can’t see it to be honest. I’m in agreement with the 35% (at the time of writing) who have said in our poll that they think we’ll scrape a win. Having said that, perform like we did at Scunthorpe earlier this season and a heavy defeat could be on the cards, we were truly awful that day.
Vital Quotes:
Bryan Robson told the Yorkshire Post that whilst he is feeling some pressure, he still thinks we can make the play-offs ‘I still know that there is a pressure there,’ said Robson. ‘We need to climb the table and we are not doing that. Even though the sixth position is not pulling away from us, we need to make a charge on that position now. We cannot leave it too much longer or we are going to be in a situation where we have been talking about it all season rather than actually achieving it’
Sheffield United Team News:
New signing David Cotterill comes straight into contention. It’s wait and see up front with Jon Stead struggling with illness, Luton Shelton only back from international duty this morning and James Beattie still regaining fitness. Gary Speed is expected to be passed fit.
Player to watch: Matt Kilgallon
It will be very interesting to see whether Killa is selected. It has come as a surprise to most that he’s lost his place and leaving him out again would be a brave move by Robson.
Scunthorpe United Team News:
Geoff Horsfield is unavailable through the terms of his loan agreement. Not sure whether that is good or bad news. Key players Andy Butler and Martin Paterson are suspended.
Player to watch: Kevan Hurst
I was never impressed on the rare occasions I saw him for the Blades but he caused a lot of problems at Glanford Park. Like fellow ex-Blade Jonathan Forte, he’ll be keen to impress.
Match Facts & Stats
We’ve only played Scunthorpe 5 times at Bramall Lane, winning on each occasion. The last meeting at the Lane was in 1983 and ended 5-3.
Match Prediction:
The Blades to win 2-1 meaning Robson lives to fight another day.
Next Fixtures:
Feb 12th WBA (a)
Feb 17th Middlesbrough (h)