28th September Nottingham Forest 1 Sheffield United 1 (Attendance: 19,782)

Blades Line-up: Simonsen, De Laet (Calve 88), Jordan, Nosworthy, Bartley (Lowton 83), Britton, Montgomery, Ertl, Yeates, Cresswell, Bogdanovic (Evans 67),

Subs Not Used: Wright, Taylor, Quinn, Slew.

Bookings: Montgomery 36, Ertl 44.
Scorer: Cresswell 6.

Man of The Match: Daniel Bogdanovic.

Forest Line-up: Higgs, Camp, Gunter, Chambers, Morgan, Bertrand, Moussi (Adebola 60), McKenna, McGugan (McCleary 83), Cohen, Anderson (Tyson 72), Blackstock.

Subs Not Used: Darlow, Wilson, McGoldrick, Majewski

Bookings: McGugan 62.

Scorer: McKenna 69.

Referee: Mick Russell (Hartfordshire).

A Richard Cresswell goal helped Sheffield United claim a battling 1-1 draw at the City Ground.
Striker Daniel Bogdanovic and loan defender Richie De Laet were handed their full debuts in the clash with Forest. Gary Speed made a total of three changes, Mark Yeates also included on the wing along with Creswell. Forest started with the same side that played against Swansea on Saturday.
The home side started the brighter with a long, high cross from Chris Cohen which found its way to Dexter Blackstock whose effort was saved at the near post by Blades goalkeeper Steve Simonsen.
But it was United who went in front after six minutes with their first chance of the game, from a free kick. It was good delivery by Stephen Jordan, swinging the ball in to the six-yard box where Cresswell's diving header had goalkeeper Lee Camp beaten. The Blades were almost two up when Guy Moussi made an error to give the ball away to Bogdanovic in midfield. He was clear on goal with the Forest defence struggling to keep up and it took a magnificent save by Camp, who came out to smother the ball.
Forest came close to an equaliser after a good ball forward by Wes Morgan, which was headed down by Blackstock for Lewis McGugan as he came running in to the edge of the penalty area and his shot was only just wide of the post. The Reds shop stopper made another good save after a 30 yard volley from Stephen Jordan who pounced quickly on the ball.
Yates forced another save from Camp when he lobbed the ball in from the edge of the penalty area and the Forest keeper did well to put the ball over the bar for a corner. Forest had a chance just before half time when Cohen did well to win the ball in midfield and cross to McGugan who controlled the ball well, but Simonsen went down to his right to make the save.
United looked the more organised at the start of the second half, expeditiously defending their lead.  And going forward looking much better than previous weeks, a Jordan's cross was met by Cresswell, but his header was blocked. With Forest struggling Dele Adebola was brought on to replace Moussi.
They had a chance not long after from Paul Anderson's corner but Morgan was under pressure when he rose inside the box and his header went wide. With a quarter of the match remaining, Bogdanovic was replaced by Ched Evans up front, but the home side finally got their equaliser after 68 minutes when Ryan Bertrand saw McKenna unmarked 25 yards out and put the cross in to him. McKenna's shot flew high towards goal and Simonsen rose to get a hand to the ball but was not able to keep it out of the net.
Nathan Tyson became the second Forest substitute of the game, replacing left winger Anderson with 20 minutes remaining. The pace of Tyson added an extra spark to the home sides’ endeavours, Cohen had a shot blocked by Nyron Nosworthy and then Simonsen saved from McGugan.  An effort by Bertrand from 25 yards forced Simonsen to dive forward and pounce on the ball.
There was a delay to the game following a clash of heads between Adebola and Kyle Bartley and the Blades player had to be stretchered off with a fractured cheekbone. Mat Lowton was introduced with Johnny Ertl switching to central defence. Then Jean Calve replaced De Laet, who had cramp.
With eight minutes remaining by Garath McCleary. Neither side made any worthwhile chances late on, after six minutes of added time both sides had to be satisfied with a point.

Blades Player Performance Ratings v. Forest Simonsen 6, De Laet 7, Calve -, Jordan 6, Nosworthy 7, Bartley 6, Lowton 6, Britton 7, Montgomery 7, Ertl 7, Yeates 7, Cresswell 6, Bogdanovic 8, Evans 6,

25th September Leeds United 1 Sheffield United 0 (Attendance: 33,622)

Blades Line-up: Simonsen, Jordan, Calve (De Laet 45), Nosworthy, Bartley, Britton, Montgomery, Ertl, Quinn (Ward 59), Cresswell, Evans (Yeates 81).

Subs Not Used: Wright, Taylor, Bogdanovic, Lowton.

Bookings: Ertl 33, Ward 60.

Sent-Off: Ward 90+3

Man of The Match: Leon Britton.

Leeds Line-up: Higgs, Hughes, Bruce, Collins, McCartney, Gradel (Kilkenny 72), Howson, Johnson, Sam (Snodgrass 60), Becchio, Somma (McCormack 77).

Subs Not Used: Brown, Naylor, Faye, Watt.

Bookings: McCartney 44, Snodgrass 69, Kilkenny 90+1

Sent-Off: Snodgrass 89 (2 yellow cards).

Scorer: Johnson 83.

Referee: Anthony Taylor (Cheshire).

A late Bradley Johnson goal was enough to give Leeds their first victory over Sheffield United for 17 years, in front of the Championship's biggest crowd of the season. The Blades made two changes to their line-up with Nyron Nosworthy replacing the injured Chris Morgan and Stephen Quinn in for Jamie Ward, who was to the bench. Richie De Laet, signed on loan from Manchester United, was also amongst Gary Speed's substitutes.  
Leeds handed new loan signing George McCartney his debut, while Lloyd Sam and Luciano Becchio were also recalled to the starting line-up.  The Blades won the toss and forced the home side to play towards their Kop stand.
The opening 20 minutes were played at a frantic pace, but both sides saw quick moves break down in the opposite third of the field. The ball was rapidly going from penalty box to penalty box but it was Leeds who looked the biggest threat. The first real moment of opportunity was when Nosworthy then misjudged a cross from the left and was helped out by Stephen Jordan, who cleared ahead of the lurking Davide Somma.
Shortly before the half-hour a passing move ended with a cross from Max Gradel picking out Bradley Johnson, but Blades goalkeeper Steve Simonsen reacted well to push the ball round the post. Gradel was proving a threat down the left flank, and when he released McCartney, Becchio could not quite make a proper connection with his head. Leeds had the better of the first half, but late on the Blades had arguably their best opportunity when Quinn’s free-kick was saved by goalkeeper Shane Higgs. There was confusion seconds before the break when it appeared that the referee had pointed to the spot after Kyle Bartley and Bradley Johnson had jumped for a cross. The referee then went to the linesman and a free-kick was awarded to the Blades for a handball by Johnson.

At the start of the second half, Speed handed a debut to De Laet in place of Jean Calve at right-back and it was the Blades who started the brightest, putting the home side under some early pressure. More substitutions followed, Quinn was replaced by Ward and Leeds manager Simon Grayson made his first change with Robert Snodgrass replacing Sam. Snodgrass was booked for not retreating at a free-kick. Evans had a long range volley which went wide, soon after he was replaced by Mark Yeates. Moments later, Grayson made his second change, Neil Kilkenny replacing Gradel for the final 18 minutes of the contest. The Leeds goal came after 83 minutes. It started with a punt forward which Jordan swung his foot at and completely missed the ball. Snodgrass was on the right wing and managed to hold off De Laet and send a low ball into the six yard box from the by-line.  The cut-back was perfect for Johnson to smash the ball home from close range.
There was still drama, though, when Snodgrass was red-carded with two minutes remaining for a cynical right elbow straight into the face of Leon Britton, who was making good progress with the ball in midfield for the Blades. It could have been a red card, but a yellow was produced and Snodgrass was rightly sent off.
Johnny Ertle tested Leeds keeper Higgs with a fine header, the keeper reacting quickly to smother the ball. Amazingly, there was another red card, this time for Ward, following an apparent stamp on Kilkenny. Only Ward knows whether he made contact or not, but later replays showed there was minimal contact and an over reaction from the Kilkenny dropping to the ground in agony. It had been a decent enough performance from the Blades, still some uncertainty about the lack of undertanding between Noseworthy and Bartley in the centre of defence. But the main problem is the lack of support from midfield into attack, sometimes the front players look completely isolated.

Blades Player Performance Ratings v. Leeds: Simonsen 6, Jordan 5, Calve 5, De Laet 6, Nosworthy 6, Bartley 6, Britton 7, Montgomery 6, Ertl 7, Quinn 6, Ward 6, Cresswell 6, Evans 6, Yeates 6.

24th September United have signed Manchester United defender Ritchie De Laet on loan with the Belgian set for his debut against Leeds on Saturday. Blades boss Gary Speed had lined up a loan switch for De Laet to help bolster their defensive options. The Belgian international is highly-rated at Old Trafford and he has made six first-team appearances since arriving from Stoke in January 2009.

21st September Boss Gary Speed has bolstered his squad by signing free agent goalkeeper Richard Wright on a four-month short-term deal. Former England stopper Wright, who has been without a club since his release from Ipswich in the summer, will challenge current goalkeeper Steve Simonsen for the number one jersey.

Blades boss Speed was happy to secure the former Arsenal and Everton man's signature. He commented: "We are delighted to be able to bring in someone of Richard's calibre, he's played internationally and has hundreds of first-team games behind him," "Richard bolsters the squad. He not only provides competition for Steve Simonsen but also gives us the oppurtunity to make Mihkel Aksalu available for loan to enable him to get much-needed first team games under his belt."

20th September Gary Speed is convinced his Sheffield United players will improve once they start believing in themselves. The Blades have made an indifferent start to the Championship campaign, picking up ten points from their opening seven matches.

United have lost three of those games, including a midweek trouncing by Scunthorpe at Bramall Lane, but they hit back to take three points off Portsmouth on Saturday.

Speed said: "If I have a criticism of the boys it's that sometimes they don't really know how good they are, which convinces me that we can improve.

"I was delighted with the way they went about the job because you can't play well every game and when you don't you have to work even harder to get the result.

"We had to show different qualities after playing well but losing in midweek. "They learnt a lot from that, so did I, and the lads improved their shape and discipline."

18th September Sheffield United 1 Portsmouth 0 (Attendance: 20,712)

Blades Line-up: Simonsen, Calve, Bartley, Morgan (Nosworthy 25), Jordan, Montgomery (Quinn 53), Britton, Ertl, Ward, Cresswell, Evans (Yeates 81).

Subs Not Used: Aksalu, Lowton, Taylor, Bogdanovic

Bookings: Ertl 33, Ward 60.

Scorer: Evans 77.

Man of The Match: Steve Simonsen.

Portsmouth Line-up: Ashdown, Ward (Ciftci 90), Mokoena, Rocha, Dickinson, Lawrence, Brown, Mullins, Utaka, Kitson, Nugent (Kanu 81).

Subs Not Used: Flahavan, Sonko, Hughes, Ritchie.

Booked: Brown 31, Dickinson 57.

Referee: Grant Hegley (Hertfordshire).

Ched Evans hit a 25-yard free-kick to earn Sheffield United a scarcely-deserved 1-0 win and pile the misery on beleaguered Portsmouth. Evans rattled in United's only shot on target with 15 minutes remaining to ensure Pompey left the Lane empty-handed despite dominating from start to finish in this Championship clash.

Both sides were looking to respond to heavy midweek defeats, where they shipped four goals apiece, and it was Portsmouth that carved out the first opening with just two minutes on the clock.

Chris Morgan returned to the starting line-up, taking over from Nyron Nosworthy, who dropped to the bench. The skipper and Nosworthy changing places was the only change. For the visitors, Aaron Mokoena was recalled after injury and former Blade Michael Brown also started.

John Utaka advanced down the left, cut inside past his marker and fired a low shot that brought a stunning save out of Blades goalkeeper Steve Simonsen, strongly palming away a vicious shot.

It was a bright opening from the visitors and David Nugent would have been disappointed not to connect better with his 15-yard effort after Brown's pass, while Utaka proved a constant threat down the left.

United were forced to make a change midway through the first half when captain Morgan limped off to be replaced by Nosworthy in the centre of defence. And Brown became the first name in the referees' book soon after for a late challenge on Leon Britton.

After lacking a cutting edge for the first 40 minutes, Gary Speed's men finally got in behind the Portsmouth defence and they should have taken the lead.

Evans made good progress down the left and invitingly pulled back for Johnny Ertl but he sliced his shot wide from the edge of the area.

Utaka was again the architect as Pompey showed some early second-half promise when he again beat fullback Jean Calve on the left wing with ease before seeing his shot blocked by Johnny Ertl, while Nugent's header at the far post was pushed away by Simonsen.

Simonsen was again called into action with a stretching save to deny Liam Lawrence after the Republic of Ireland international had played a neat one-two with Nugent on the edge of the area.

The onslaught continued against and Simonsen came to the Blades rescue when his flying save tipped Lawrence's free-kick around the post.

The visitors were unable to force an opener, though, and with 13 minutes remaining they paid the ultimate price when United went ahead with their first shot on target.

After Carl Dickinson had handled, Evans stepped up and thumped a low effort past Jamie Ashdown and in off the post from 25 yards to give the Blades the lead.

Ashdown did well to stop the Blades doubling their advantage on 83 minutes, racing off his line to deny Richard Cresswell.

Pompey pushed for a leveller in the final stages and Dave Kitson fired wide from an angle as they were left to rue a host of missed chances.
It was an undeserved victory and let’s not pretence otherwise, it was not a good performance by any means. It appears from today’s and recent performance's that United's problems are in the final third of the park.
Their play in the last third is predictable and one dimensional lacking width and pace. And our forwards are closed down before they can connect with the final ball. They will need to be their toughest on Saturday at Elland road that's for sure, or they will be overwhelmed. Get behind the team and Up the Blades!

Blades Player Performance Ratings v. Portsmouth: Simonsen 8, Calve 5, Bartley 7, Morgan 6, Nosworthy 6, Jordan 6, Montgomery 6, Quinn 6, Britton 7, Ertl 6, Ward 7, Cresswell 6, Evans 6, Yeates 6.

14th September Blades boss Gary Speed vented his frustration after seeing his side fail to take advantage of a host of chances. He also expressed his anger at the display produced by referee Neil Swarbrick, who failed to spot an apparent handball by Dagnall ahead of his opener.

The official also ruled out a Johnny Ertl goal for United with the score at 1-0 before rejecting strong home appeals for a penalty when Richard Cresswell went down in the area.

"It was a bizarre game really," said Speed.

"Firstly, credit to Scunthorpe, they played great in their manager's first game, you can't fault them. But they had a lot of help tonight and took advantage of it.

"Their first goal, if you look at the video it's blatant handball. Then we had a goal disallowed. I've seen the video and I haven't got a clue what they disallowed it for.

"We then had a penalty appeal, which was a hundred times more of a foul than whatever our goal was disallowed for."

A discouraged Speed added: "I've been here for two-and-a-half years now and I've never known a place where you get so little as a home team.

"It cost the previous manager (Kevin Blackwell) his job this year and now it's keeping on.

"It's getting beyond a joke, but I must stress that's not an excuse for tonight's performance.

"We got beaten 4-0 by the better team. I thought we were the better team in the first half, but then we lost our discipline. We felt hard done by and didn't handle it right."

14th September Sheffield United 0 Scunthorpe United 4 (Attendance: 19,390)

Blades Line-up: Simonsen, Calve, Jordan, Nosworthy, Bartley, Britton, Montgomery (Yeates 63), Ertl, Cresswell, Ward, Evans (Bogdanovic 79).

Subs Not Used: Morgan, Aksalu, Taylor, Quinn, Lowton.

Bookings: Bartley 59.

Man of The Match: Leon Britton.

Scunthorpe Line-up: Murphy, Togwell, Byrne, O'Connor (Woolford 70), Dagnall (Grant 84), Forte, Mirfin, J. Wright (Rayne 87), Collins, Nolan, Canavan.

Subs Not Used: A. Wright, Slocombe, Godden, McClenahan.

Scorers: Dagnall 33,73, Mirfin 63, Woolford 90.

Referee: Neil Swarbrick (Lancashire).

Sheffield United hit rock bottom again after a shock 4-0 defeat to a manageress Scunthorpe United at the Lane. The Blades did play some good football in the first half, apart from some poor defending the four goal margin was not a reflection of the performance.
Manager Gary Speed kept faith with the side that beat both Preston North End and Derby County, Nyron Nosworthy and Kyle Bartley continued in the centre of defence and Chris Morgan was on again on the bench. Scunthorpe made just one change to the side that lost 2-0 to Bristol City at the weekend. The enforced change for the visitors involved replacing injured defender Rob Jones with Niall Canavan in a straight swap.
United started in a positive manner, with some confident passing play, instead of the long ball we had grown accustomed to in the past. After just four minutes, Jean Calve linked up with Jamie Ward down the right side and he pulled back perfectly for Ched Evans, but the striker's shot was blocked by defender Canavan.
The first real chance of the game arrived in two minutes later as Richard Cresswell struck the post from close range for the Blades with a low drive after turning his man. The Iron had their first chance of the game in after 12 minutes when Jonathan Forte headed wide of goal from Eddie Nolan's deep cross went wide without testing Blades goalkeeper Steve Simonsen.
The Blades started to build up a bit of pressure again though and they rattled the woodwork once again on 26 minutes as Evans' effort from the edge of the area cannoned back into play after Scunthorpe goalkeeper Joe Murphy got a hand to take it on to the post.
But just after the half hour mark, the visitors scored against the run of play with their first real opportunity. Cliff Byrne crossed and Dagnall was allowed time to run before he unleashed a low drive from the edge of the area into the back of the net.
It was a shock for the Unitedites, simply because they had dominated possesion and their team had played some attractive football going forward. Spirits were raised six minutes later as Cresswell was clipped through down the left hand side of the area, but his weak shot was saved by the legs of the keeper, The Blades came even closer just two minutes before half-time as Nolan headed off the goal-line from Bartley’s header after a Steven Jordan corner from the left.
There was one final opportunity for the visitors just before the break but O'Connor curled his free-kick over the crossbar from 25 yards. On the half time whistle, the Lane faithful gave the Blades players a round of applause for the effort even though they were a goal down.
The Blades thought they had levelled the scores after 52 minutes, but Johnny Ertl's header was ruled out for a push in the area. Straight at the other end, Canavan's header was cleared off the line by Nick Montgomery following a corner as the Iron looked to extend their advantage. Then, when it looked like he was going to deliver the ball into the area, Michael O'Connor tried to cleverly beat Simonsen with a free kick from 35 yards out but the Lane keeper easily saved.
But the visitors were looking more dangerous in particular Forte was a real handful for Uniteds back four. Eventually they made a period of pressure tell when David Mirfin easily beat Nosworthy and dispatched a glancing header beyond Simonsen at the near post on 63 minutes following a Josh Wright corner to extend Scunthorpe's lead.
Soon after, Montgomery was replaced by Mark Yeates and the captain's armband was handed to Cresswell. At this point the Lane fans were calling for the appearance of Morgan to take control of the central defensive shambles which was unfolding.  
But worse was to follow when after 73 minutes, the busy Dagnall chased down a loose ball, brushing off Nosworthy and managed to round Simonsen, cutting inside before crashing his effort into the back of the net. The goal was greeted with jeers of derision as thousands of Unitedites made for the exit.
Many of the long suffering Lane faithful will have missed the final Scunthorpe goal. It was another calamitous error that ensued. We had got used to Nosworthy’s mistakes by now, but this time it was Simonsen’s turn as he raced from his goal to cut out a through ball but his pass, aimed for Calve, was intercepted by Martyn Woolford and the winger slotted the ball into the unguarded net from over 40 yards on the left flank. It had been an embarrassing night to lose 4-0 to Scunthorpe United at home! Please bring back Captain Chris Morgan and drop the journeyman.

Blades Player Performance Ratings v. Scunthorpe: Simonsen 5, Calve 6, Jordan 6, Nosworthy 4, Bartley 5, Britton 7, Montgomery 6, Yeates 6, Ertl 6, Cresswell 7, Ward 6, Evans 5, Bogdanovic 6.

11th September Manager Gary Speed was pleased after seeing his side claim a 1-0 win at Derby. Richard Cresswell scored the only goal of the game and while Speed wanted more goals he felt the Blades were always comfortable. Speed was delighted with his side's work rate and felt they fully deserved their victory at Pride Park. "We had a lot of things to work on after the win a couple of weeks ago," said Speed. "We didn't create enough chances against Preston, which is what we have been working on.

"We had a lot of things to work on after the win a couple of weeks ago," said Speed. "We didn't create enough chances against Preston, which is what we have been working on. "To win any game away from home is a great result wherever you are, but this gives me something to work on and while it would have been nice to finish them off I thought we were pretty comfortable."

11th September Derby County 0 Sheffield United 1 (Attendance: 25,749)

Blades Line-up: Simonsen, Calve (Lowton 74), Jordan, Nosworthy, Bartley, Britton, Montgomery, Ertl, Evans (Quinn 63), Cresswell, Ward (Yeates 86).

Subs Not Used: Morgan, Bogdanovic, Taylor, Aksalu.

Bookings: Nosworthy 63.

Scorer: Cresswell 15.

Man of The Match: Jamie Ward.

Derby Line-up: Bywater, Brayford (Doyle 81), Barker, Leacock, Roberts, Savage (Bueno 61), Bailey, Commons, Green (Martin 72), Moxey, Cywka.

Subs Not Used: Deeney, Anderson, Pringle.

Referee: Phil Crossley (Kent).

Richard Cresswell's first goal of the season gave United a 1-0 win at Pride Park, their second straight Championship victory. Blades striker Cresswell converted Jean Calve's cross from close range in the 15th minute and the only surprise was that the Blades failed to add further goals in a game they dominated.

United were unchanged after clinching their first win of the season under manager Gary Speed against Preston two weeks ago. That meant Chris Morgan on the bench while Nyron Noswothy and Kyle Bartley continued their partnership at the centre of defence. The Rams, without a win since their triumph at Leeds on the opening day of the season, made just one change to the side that conceded two stoppage-time goals to draw 2-2 with QPR in their last match, with Tomasz Cywka assuming duties as a lone striker in place of Conor Doyle.
The Blades started full of confidence and went close through Evans before taking a 15th-minute lead. Right-back Calve stormed forward and delivered a tantalising cross into the six-yard box which was swept into the back of the net from close range by Cresswell.
Derby had plenty of first-half possession, but the Blades carved out by far the better chances. Ched Evans low left-footed shot was parried by Derby goalkeeper Stephen Bywater and Johnny Ertl pulled his effort wide moments later..
Evans connected with Ward's right-wing centre at the near post with a goal bound effort. Derby keeper Bywater produced another save at point-blank range to deny after Evans effort after the Rams were caught out on the break. The Blades came close to doubling their lead late in the half, but Cresswell's looping header was just off target.
Derby began the second half sharply and were keeping United camped in their own half, Commons had Derby's first effort on goal 80 seconds after the restart, but his angled drive was blocked by Nick Montgomery. Evans continued to cause problems, firing wide and testing Bywater with another angled shot, either side of Derby manager Clough's decision to send on new signing Alberto Bueno in place of Robbie Savage to help ease the burden on Cywka.
Bueno, on a season-long loan from Real Valladolid, was given a crude welcome to English football soon after when Nosworthy clattered into the 22-year-old Spaniard and received a booking. But United continued to carry the greater threat. Substitute Stephen Quinn drove an effort wide on 67 minutes, with Ward's pace again a real thorn in the Derby defence.  Two minutes later, Calve crossed again for Ward to plant a firm header just wide.
Cresswell lashed a shot over the crossbar and Montgomery dragged another wide before Commons forced Blades goalkeeper Steve Simonsen to hold his raking 20-yard shot. Ward was off target with another shot as the Rams failed to lift themselves for a rousing finale and it was Cresswell who went closest to adding to the scoresheet in the five minutes of time added on when he rifled a 20-yard effort over the crossbar.

Blades Player Performance Ratings v. Derby: Simonsen 7, Calve 8, Lowton 7, Jordan 7, Nosworthy 7, Bartley 7, Britton 8, Montgomery 7, Ertl 7, Evans 8, Quinn 7, Cresswell 7, Ward 8, Yeates -