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Situation looking increasingly bleak for blunt Blades

Situation looking increasingly bleak for blunt Blades
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The current Premier League campaign has been one of a nightmare second season syndrome for Sheffield United. The Yorkshire outfit sunk to new depths on Wednesday night as the Blades made it 16 Premier League games without a win this season, suffering a 1-0 defeat at Burnley.

Chris Wilder’s team are rock-bottom of the table after picking up just two points this season. The defeat at Turf Moor leaves Sheffield United 11 points from safety.

The bottom of the table team has never really been completely out of games this season, as most of their losses of late have come by a single goal.

However, the Blades biggest issue this season has been scoring goals, as they have scored just eight times this season.

They were not exactly prolific in last season after winning promotion. Their solid defensive displays rather negated the lack of goals though. This season the Yorkshire outfit have not been as solid at the back.

The long-term absence of centre-back Jack O’Connell has been a key factor in the defensive slump. The former Brentford star was key to his team’s very distinctive style of play last season.

The over-lapping centre-backs employed by Wilder was something new to the Premier League. O’Connell was one of the key players in that system, as his presence also helped initiate attacks.

With the 26-year-old missing, there is a flaw in the system, which has meant the team has failed to perform to the same standards as last season.

The attacking side of Sheffield United’s play is mightily concerning, as even if they would have been solid in defence they still would have struggled to pick up wins due to a shortage of goals.

If a team doesn’t score goals they don’t win games it is that simple. The lack of goals has made Sheffield United’s chances of beating the drop this season look increasingly bleak.

Premier League
OVERALL TABLE PTS GP W D L +/-
1
Manchester City 73 32 22 7 3 44
2
Arsenal 71 32 22 5 5 49
3
Liverpool 71 32 21 8 3 41
4
Aston Villa 63 33 19 6 8 19
5
Tottenham 60 32 18 6 8 16
6
Newcastle United 50 32 15 5 12 17
7
Manchester United 50 32 15 5 12 -1
8
West Ham 48 33 13 9 11 -6
9
Chelsea 47 31 13 8 10 9
10
Brighton 44 32 11 11 10 2
11
Wolverhampton 43 32 12 7 13 -5
12
Fulham 42 33 12 6 15 -2
13
Bournemouth 42 32 11 9 12 -10
14
Crystal Palace 33 32 8 9 15 -17
15
Brentford 32 33 8 8 17 -11
16
Everton 27 32 9 8 15 -16
17
Nottingham Forest 26 33 7 9 17 -16
18
Luton Town 25 33 6 7 20 -24
19
Burnley 20 33 4 8 21 -35
20
Sheffield United 16 32 3 7 22 -54

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