Sheffield United (a): Three Things We Learnt

Following the win on penalties away at Sheffield United in the Second Round of the League Cup, I asked the Vital Lincoln City members what three things they learnt from the match.

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Here’s what sedgleyimp said:

1. We can dare to dream with this team. Running the risk of getting carried away, but Wednesday night’s game at Sheffield United could easily be a League fixture in the Championship next season. We have had an excellent start to the season whereas they look like one of the teams who will be fighting a relegation battle from the Premiership. So we could be going back there quite soon. On the evidence of Wednesday night’s game if that did happen we might just be looking forward to more than a ‘one season jolly’ in the higher division. They didn’t put out a youth team. It was packed with experience and expensively bought players. Yet we put in a shift against them, the kind of shift you know we will put in against every team. It is that kind of organisation and commitment that will get results at a higher level. So let’s get carried away a little bit. This time next season we might be standing toe to toe every single game against teams like Sheffield United and I for one have the confidence that if we are, we’ll do well.

2. We don’t need to panic on transfer deadline day. My sole real concern over the next couple of days will be keeping the players we have at the club at the time of typing, still here come 11pm on Friday. There have been unsubstantiated rumours of clubs interested in the likes of O’Connor and Mandroiu and the way the team have been playing you’d expect some other players to be on other club’s radars. Unless we get a silly can’t turn down an offer for any of our first-team squad we need to retain all of them moving through autumn and winter. Then you consider do we need to bring anyone in and honestly, I don’t think so. You might suggest that this is something of a risk. At present, we have 19 players who would be considered our core first-team squad. We then have the likes of Makama and Gallagher who can fill in if necessary. Any of those 19 can do a very good job for us. So when you consider what can so very happen with teams on deadline day when they are scrabbling around for any old player just to fill a squad place, we don’t have to. I accept that two or three injuries may well scupper such a policy, but can we honestly say that any of those 19 don’t deserve a place in the 18 and a deadline signing deserve it ahead of them. Absolutely not. I’m looking forward to a very quiet day at Lincoln on Friday.

3. Supporters can make a difference. Being in that away end on Wednesday night was terrific. Noisy but good-natured throughout. I do think such support galvanises players. They want to give that extra 10% and having them celebrate right in front of us showed they get it. The home crowd being spread around the ground with that one end where their core support usually positions themselves did them no favours. I even noticed some of their supporters leaving before the penalty shootout!!! So when that inevitably a sticky couple of matches patch arrives this season, and all clubs have them, just keep behind the lads and they’ll respond.

– @SheffieldUnited (a): Three Things We Learnt:https://t.co/T7SVDdVrHL#SUFC #TwitterBlades #WeAreImps

— Vital Lincoln City (@VitalLincoln) September 2, 2023