we'd won 6 on the bounce before his conviction and he was scoring for fun (29 in the league) but only 1 point from the last 2 games means it's now likely to be just the play-offs.
my bruv went to the game at MK Dons immediately following the trial and said the atmosphere was very strange with many blades fans arguing amongst themselves about the rights and wrongs of it all... i guess that must have been replicated in the dressing room too.
i bet he'd have got off if he played for ManU
Last edited by superfrank on Wed May 02, 2012 2:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
I logged onto Sheff Utd's forum after the verdict, just to get an idea of the fan reaction. The supporters were divided on their opinions, so it's a tricky one due to the subject being so sensitive.
My worry for United is that being in pole position for so long, but only ending up in the play-offs is a mssive downer. It will take a great managerial effort by Danny Wilson to put that disappointment behind them and to win the play-offs
The scum RAPED a young girl. He should have his f****** balls cut off. The ignorant little prick who plays in the reserves who named her needs to be sent down too.
Men surprise me sometimes. I am sure if any of these "fans" had their young daughter raped like this they wouldn't be quick to forgive.
mugsgame,
i'm glad you're not a judge!
things aren't always clear cut.
did you know that only 6% of rape trials end in a conviction? (usually because it comes down to one person's word against another's, and you can't convict on that alone).
i heard some stuff about the case that i can't repeat on here for obvious reasons, but imho girls who go for footballers know the score. Evans is no doubt a bit of a nob, but i doubt she's Mary Poppins either!
LeTiss 4pm wrote:My worry for United is that being in pole position for so long, but only ending up in the play-offs is a mssive downer. It will take a great managerial effort by Danny Wilson to put that disappointment behind them and to win the play-offs
agree LeTiss, defo lay material for the play-offs. we also have a lousy record in them.
they heard all the evidence that was ALLOWED to be presented to the court.
imho there is a massive difference between a situation where some poor soul is dragged off the street and raped by a stranger, and ones similar to this case.
i'm not defending Evans, as i said, he's probably a nob who thinks he's god's gift because he's a footballer on 30k a week, but i think to ruin his life because of some sordid night in a Travelodge with a drunk girl who gladly went back there is a little harsh.
If ever there was a club to bottle the playoffs it's united. I've supported the Blades for about 20 years and in that time we've been relegated twice from the premiership on the last day of the season, once with the last kick of the ball which involved the Hans Segers bung scandal and by a single goal with the Tevez saga and in which Man Utd & Liverpool put reserve sides out against our rivals in crucial matches. Theres also been 3 FA Cup semi final defeats including our cross city rivals, a league cup semi final when we was cruelly robbed at Anfield, 3 play off final losses with an injury time winner and a semi final defeat and now the Ched Evans affair when it looked like we was certainties for promotion. United just don't win high pressure matches.
I too travelled down to the MK Dons game & United were really poor. Only one lame shot on target throughout the game whilst Mk hit the woodwork on 3 occasions despite being down to 10 men in the last 30 mins. We took over 6 thousand fans down but though the atmosphere was good before the game in the pubs round Milton Keynes it was rather subdued in the stadium. There was one short song about Evans but it was largely uncomfortable with most fans. I can see the dressing room being split though I haven't heard any rumours coming out. Evans appears to be extremely arrogant and his statements to police printed in the papers back this up so i'm sure though he has his supporters in the dressing room there will also be players who can't stand his guts and think he deserves what he got.
As for Uniteds promotion chances, I just can't see it i'm afraid. Not only is history against us, but it's hard to see where the goals are now going to come from. Cresswells experience might come in handy if we're in a winning position but if we're chasing a game he won't offer much, Hoskins has been played out of position since he arrived and has struggled, Porter who's never looked like scoring, Beattie who's hardly played all season though you'd fancy him for a high pressure penalty and O'Halloran who's got plenty of pace but has only come off the bench and has a poor shot. Our midfield also lacks a spark and creativivity and an organised team should quite easily keep our playmaker Mcdonald out of the game.
The other thing that worrys me is if we need to over turn a first leg deficit. We bottled it last Saturday in front of over 30 thousand fans against Stevenage. The pressure on our players will be immense, even more so in which Wednesday will have then been promoted, while our opponents will be relishing the big time occasion. If we don't get a goal early the crowd might turn or the nerves from it will get to the players and like I said, this division is all about organisation and staying solid and we haven't got the players to break a stubborn defence down. Wilson is also ex Wednesday and though most think he's done a good job, it won't take much for the crowd to take their frustrations out on him. It wouldn't surprise me if there was also a few chants in support of Evans which would become an un easy side show in the stands and transpire to the players.
For me, MK are the most interesting going into the playoffs, they've pretty much sat in fifth all season and quietly done their business. They haven't got the disappointment, expectation or pressure of United or Huddersfield who will feel they blew automatic promotion and promotion this season is seen as a necessity. Whoever finishes 6th will already feel they have had a succesful season and may be content with that, they also lack enough quality to get past both United and the winner of the other semi final.
One other thing is that if we do reach the play off final, i'm not sure how many fans we'll take down to Wembley. We might be the biggest club in the play offs but with the recession hitting Sheffield badly there might not be the huge numbers people will be expecting. The last time we played down there I payed £80 for my train ticket which I know has increased alot & £72 for my match ticket. Alot of fans might think it just not worth the cost with our terrible play off record and be expecting us to lose anyway. When we played Burnley their fans outsung us and their end was like a carnival throughout the game,
so I wouldn't take the crowd into any extra consideration in the final.
I've had a look at the promotion market and i'm shocked that it's so low at 2.6, though theres no liquidity in it at the minute, I was expecting around 4.0 and anything below would be a great price to lay United for me though I can't bring myself to bet against the Blades. I just can't see Wednesday messing it up against Wycombe and we've got a tough game away at Exeter anyway. It's unlikely many United fans will be betting on promotion so if the price is forced down it'll be from people not doing there homework.
i don't think Wednesday will slip up now as they have momentum and an easy fixture. 'think we should be 3rd fav in the play-offs; no form striker now and i remember the Forest return leg in the magical 02/03 season... it took a mighty effort in a truly memorable game to get thru to the final where we never turned up. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h90MGFo8gi4 - we were a bloody good team back then!
goal of the season - http://youtu.be/HYbbAxWur40?t=1m27s
I think the fact Sheff Wed were the team chasing United added to the pressure.
Just a quick question to the two Blades fans here - What reaction will Danny Wilson (ex Sheff Wed player and manager) receive if Sheff Utd miss out on promotion & flunk the play-offs, whilst Sheff Wed are celebrating going up?
i'm London-based so don't see them very often but my 2 bruvs are split! one likes the style of play under Wilson but the other doesn't trust an ex-pig!
The fans reaction won't be good if we miss out and would need to get off to a great start to keep the fans on his side next season. At the minute he has most fans support i'd say and recognise that he has done a good job under difficult circumstances this season, trying to pick up a team who's confidence was shot and the football has improved under him. Alot of that good will, will evaporate if Wednesday are in the division above.
When he was appointed there was a small demonstration outside the Lane and alot of anger at the time. The home leg in front of a big crowd, if we're in the play offs is where it will hit boiling point if we're not in control of the tie, it makes it a hundred times worse that Wednesday have gone up and the atmosphere will be far more hot and intense and the fans less patient than if it would have been any other team that had gone up in our place. Football fans are very fickle and it won't take much for those few voices to turn on him if things are not going our way, those few voices will grow in number and all the frustration will be aimed at Wilson and it could turn nasty for him and a distaction to our players on the field. To say he'll have less grace being ex Wednesday is an under statement and the agent Wilson jokes from the pigs will be flying around.
I forgot to mention also that both Wilson and Grayson were losing managers in their last two play off final matches. Coincidentally in this division when managing Swindon and Leeds. Not sure if it's a good thing that they're got experience in the playoffs or that they know how to lose a final ?
