First things first, congratulations to Sheffield Wednesday, you thoroughly deserved your victory. That’s you as in the team, not you the disappointing 24,000 fans. What a warning sign that should be to Kevin McCabe, it doesn’t take all that much for the support base of a club to collapse beyond repair. And make no mistake, Mr McCabe, our support base will collapse if you continue to employ Robson into next term.
I suppose the only positive that has come out of Robson’s passion sapping tenure at the club is that defeats like this don’t hurt as they once did. They don’t hurt because it’s hard to care about a team that doesn’t care, with a manager who doesn’t care and a chairman who doesn’t care. I’m a Blade and proud of it but do I feel the same way about my club as I have in the previous 25 years or so of watching them? No I don’t. That’s due in small part to our heartbreaking relegation and in large part to Bryan Robson and the men who appointed him.
The lack of heart and desire has never been so horribly apparent as it was on Saturday. From the spineless team selection to the spineless performance, this was seriously bad and meant we were outfought and outplayed by a limited side who were only a couple of points off the bottom of the league before the game. Neil Warnock was slaughtered by some Blades fans last season for going with one striker at Stamford Bridge and Anfield, that was understandable, but one striker at Hillsborough is inexcusable. The likes of Lee Bullen who should have been fearing this match must have been delighted when they saw our team sheet.
Not for the first time this season, Robson laid the blame firmly with the the players who remain from Neil Warnock’s time at SUFC. Last time he did this, he forgot soon afterwards and changed his tune. This time he shouldn’t be allowed to forget. Proud men like Nick Montgomery and Derek Geary should do everything in their power to have this man removed from our club for insulting them in such a way. If that means rolling over in the next few games then so be it, it isn’t even like we’d notice a huge change. How long can Robson be allowed to make contradictary statements that do nothing but divide and demotivate? How many time can he declare a game must win or set a points target and fail, over and over again, to achieve his own goals?
I wouldn’t ever want to see Wednesday’s forward line on Saturday playing for us but having said that, for all they were clumsy and unrefined, they did contain pace and power. Pace and power left Bramall Lane this summer. In its place are a group of Robson signings who are entirely lacking in physical attributes. Can anyone name 5 players at one club more lightweight than Lee Hendrie, David Carney, Billy Sharp, Gary Naysmith and Lee Martin? Why is Robson obsessed with small, slow and weak players?
Gary Speed has been hailed as ‘the answer’ in midfield. Unfortunately the question wasn’t ‘Who is the least mobile player still in the game?’. Speed was embarrassingly off the pace on Saturday, a red and white bollard would’ve caused more problems and I had horrible flashbacks to 2003/04 and Stuart McCall playing on for one season too many.
I don’t believe that Robson will go in the next week or so, the board are too busy chasing property deals in Budapest. What hurt McCabe more? Saturday’s surrender or the Hungarian government’s U-turn?
Our club is now in a critical condition and if the board don’t act quickly and sack Bryan Robson, it may be decades before it recovers.
Player Ratings
Kenny
6/10 – Made one or two decent saves.
Geary
5/10 – Not at his best but looked interested at least
Armstrong
4/10 – Left horribly exposed by Lee Martin and struggled to cope with a quick winger who had acres of space to run into.
Bromby
4/10 – Didn’t cope with the aerial threat and was found wanting more than once.
Kilgallon
5/10 – The pick of the back 4 but that isn’t saying much.
Carney
5/10 – A touch unlucky to be withdrawn perhaps but, the QPR game apart, doesn’t look up the required standard.
Montgomery
4/10 – A poor half and then withdrawn. Full credit to Robson for making even Monty look less than 100% up for it, no mean feat.
Speed
3/10 – A waste of space. Can’t run, his passing was wayward and his main contribution was to clatter into Armstrong in the build up to the first goal.
Martin
4/10 – Looks about 8 years old. If he was a drink, Robson would probably consider him not strong enough. Had no interest in helping out defensively and we paid for it. Please send him straight back.
Tonge
5/10 – Looked the man mostly likely at times although he invariably made a hash of it when the crucial moment came.
Hulse
5/10 – Not really at the races until he had some help in the 2nd half.
Sharp
5/10 – A goal ruled out for offside and put some effort in but lacks the pace to really trouble defences.
Gillespie
6/10 – I thought we looked better for his introduction.
Opponent Rating
Brian Laws He enjoyed his moment in the sun. The Warnock wannabe can’t be faulted as he got his team fired up. The celebrations were contrived in the extreme but had their desired effect of being an irritant. The cheap suit and the huge belly were in keeping with the surroundings but Laws got his job done. He proves that natural charisma isn’t needed to on derby days but actually trying to appear interested is.
Wednesday fans
The numbers were poor and, for a long spell in the middle of the game, so was the noise. However, credit to them, they enjoyed their day and that cute little dance (did that come from Steelers games?) is quite endearing I suppose. The skinhead at the front of the South Stand who was dressed like an extra from ‘This is England’ (have skins always worn pedal pushers to show off their DMs though?) looked particularly funny performing it!
It’s a fine line, and I offer thanks every day that I was born on the right side of Sheffield. As I trudged back up Halifax Road to my car, I saw a family of Wednesday fans in their replica shirts. They got in their car and I glanced in. ‘Mum’ had a furry, pink seat cover with Minxy embroidered on the back of it. They’re a classy bunch.