The £60 million Game

So it comes to this, a one off £60 million pound decider. Sheffield United and
Burnley go head to head for a place in the Premier League.

There is no separating the two, both have done so well and both fully deserve their place in the Final.

Sheffield United has had a remarkable season, especially with losing their star striker James Beattie in January; they finished third, ending the season on a
formidable form.

Many players have contributed to their season but under the guidance of Kevin Blackwell, they haven’t done too much wrong. He has built and assembled a very good bunch of players that all are eager to play top-flight football. Many see it as justice is being done after harshly being relegated despite West Ham fielding illegal players.

They may be without Darius Henderson, Jamie Ward and John-Joe O’Toole as they are all out injured but Blackwell with give them until the last possible minute to recover just in case they can have any influence.

Despite having lost only once in the last 14 league games, goals have been coming all over the park as no one apart from Beattie has scored more than 7 goals in the league and they may need to rely on strikers if they are going to score at Wembley.

Burnley, on the other hand, are completely taking the Championship by storm. They have had a long long season with so many games being played but they look like the team with momentum. Captain Graham Alexander has been vital to his team success; he has been the influence and rock in the team, playing every game, he must be relishing a summer’s break knowing that top-flight football awaits him.

Owen Coyle must take his fair share of credit, on a small budget he has taken Burnley to the six round of the FA Cup, Semi Finals in the Carling Cup and guided them to fifth place in the Championship there is not a lot he has done wrong.

Burnley have played 60 games this term, second only to Manchester United in the league and they have used only 23 players during the whole campaign suggesting that a small knitted squad can do wonders. Coyle has managed them well.

Martin Paterson has been in great form for the Clarets and his stunner against Reading just shows how good he actually is, his 13 league goals show that as well.

Robbie Blake has been in the form of his life, Coyle’s given time and movement to express himself and it’s worked. The players play in harmony with their manager and there style reflects Coyle’s attitude.

It is so difficult in deciding what team will win, but I think Burnley will scrape it, as they know how to win these big games and momentum is possibly with them after crushing Reading’s dreams.

(Champ Corner, Football Fancast, 2009)

Blades need to focus on Job in hand

The debacle of the West Ham/ Sheffield United situation has been going on for far too long. After the Blades agreed a very generous settlement with the Hammers, former manager Neil Warnock has stuck his oar in again demanding compensation for himself.
Come on, the better team obviously stayed up, even though it was the illegal signature of Carlos Tevez to do so. But West Ham has been punished enough and surely, the Premier League should take more responsibility regarding the whole prolonged fiasco.
Warnock is currently considering legal advice to see any possible solutions and outcomes regarding West Ham and he says he is not alone.
His time would be better spent concentrating on Crystal Palace’s fortunes and as he still claims, “I should still be a Premier League Manager.” Palace currently sit 10 points off the playoffs and surely, he should have all focus on all that to become a Premier League once again. Simon Jordan must be pleased with these distractions.
Well in all honesty, Sheffield United would not have lasted much longer even if they had stayed up in the place of West Ham, as the tables do not lie.
Its more sour grapes as Sheffield United failed to beat Wigan Athletic and it is for that reason they were relegated. West Ham ended up finishing the season 15th in a tightly contested relegation battle. A win for United would have sent Wigan down and would they have sued, I would like to think they would have gone down with some dignity.
It is also known that players from the Sheffield United team are to pursue their own compensation claim, they didn’t play good enough and that is why they went down.
Tevez, on paper, gained six points for West Ham as his striker against Manchester United gaining two points, one for a draw and three for a win. He first the first in a 2-1 win over Blackburn which was a penalty gained another two points and a brace against Bolton in a 3-1. Bobby Zamora in fact earned more points that season.
Sheffield United sit in a healthy spot in the Championship, they are banging firmly on the door of the top three. Automatic promotion is still in sight and if they do go up I am certainly looking forward to a) Tevez playing at Sheffield United and b) the grudge match against West Ham.
Therefore, this fiasco is going to continue for a while yet.

Sheffield United look to Ex-Premiership to Shine

Premiership class in the Championship may be overrated. Many of the players that have made the transition, or ‘step down’ have struggled with keeping up with the pace and power of Championship football.
Whilst the massive players like James Beattie and Kevin Phillips have certainly flourished in the league as many others end up struggling.
Andy Cole was a prime example as he announced his retirement from Nottingham Forest. He found it difficult to adapt and Colin Calderwood simply choose not to select him.
No club has quite recaptured the form of the players just like Sheffield United. They have many ex-Premier League stars turning out for them each week and they have been performing well.
So far this season The Blades have not been doing so bad; sitting a healthy fifth position firmly in the promotion picture.
Kevin Blackwell assembled his squad with the tried and tested notion and it has pinnacle to his success.
The relegation in 2007 hit them hard, huge controversy surrounded the saga. Famously West Ham stayed up through a Carlos Tevez winner at Old Trafford. Last season was a year of transition and it is encouraging to see a good club like Sheffield United looking admirable again.
Last season they finished nineth but never looked the side that achieved promotion with Reading and Watford in 2006.
Ex-Premier League talent came pouring in and soon it became the norm at Bramall Lane, players with huge calibre and reaching the twilight of their careers were putting on the red and white strips. Blackwell made a shrewd move in bringing these players; it may be deemed that they may not be up to the task. However so far this season they have defied that believe.
The most prodigious one must be Beattie. He has been scoring goals for fun since his £4 million move in the summer of 2007. The expensive price tag was justified as he supplied 22 goals last term and 7 so far this term. He came with bags of Premier League and scoring known how. He scored plenty of goals for Southampton, Blackburn Rovers, and Everton before deciding to take a step down to rediscover his touch.
Sun Jihai was a regular right back at Manchester City before joining the Blades, par his straight red card against Coventry City he has been performing well.
Gary Naysmith joined from Everton and is still good enough to be playing in a Premier League club. His £1 million pound transfer has been worthwhile has he has really tightened up the left side of defence.
Gary Speed has performed superbly at every club he has represented and it is no surprise that he has been doing the same. He currently holds the esteemed honour of ranking up more Premiership appearances than any other player. After joining in January 2008, Speed has been vital in United’s recent success.
Keith Gillespie was another Premier League startle who was touted for bug things, unfortunately he never really reached those expectations. Neil Warnock signed him in 2005 to add experience and flair to his midfield, but times have been difficult and he often is found fighting for a spot on the bench.
Ugo Ehiogu is another experience Premier League campaigner; he joined from Rangers also in January 2008. He certainly adds experience and much steel to the defence. Once costing £8 million, he has been the hairpin at the back and has formed a good partnership with Chris Morgan.
These players have dropped down to the league and have done a good job, Blackwell must have been trying to preserve these players and prolong their careers. So far, he has been able to do that. Well maybe leave out Lee Hendrie, who is on loan to Blackpool.
With more foreign influences invading the Premier League, the Championship may even the next call of protocol for the next breed of English talent.

Hume-Morgan Legal Action

Sheffield United’s Captain Chris Morgan may be in a bit of bother as he his reckless challenge on Iain Hume has left the striker with a fractured skull and internal bleeding.
Barnsley are consulting their lawyers and considering legal action.
Hume, 25, has just recently been moved out of a high dependency unit in hospital after undergoing a very serious operation.
Morgan was only initially booked for the challenge but replays show a clear indication that the Sheffield United defender forcefully used an elbow whilst challenging for a header with Hume. This caused an angry reaction from Barnsley’s manager Simon Davey as he deemed the incident as a straight red card.
Referee Andy D’Urso has been heavily criticised, Davey and assistant Ryan Kidd approached him at half time over Hume’s treatment by the Blades. D’Urso was a Premier League verified referee and this display adds to the poor refereeing currently been had in the Championship.
Stuart Atwell’s performances for the Reading-Watford and the Nottingham Forest- Derby County game were very much questionable.
In the Reading-Watford game, he gave a goal that clearly went a yard wide and gave a poor penalty decision at the end of the Nigel Clough Trophy game.
We can only hope the ex-Leicester City man can make a full speedy recovery to this horrid, unusual injury.
The Blades have sent their sympathy, they are known to be ‘saddened’ and ‘concerned’ regarding Hume being monitored in a high dependency unit. They are clearly disgruntled and the threat of legal action hovering over the club and Morgan is certainly worrying.
United sit in a healthy position of fourth position and if the League hands further punishment to Morgan they would use one of their stronger players. As for Barnsley, they will be missing a vital striker for a significant about of time as they look to race clear of the relegation zone.