Sheffield United slipped out of the automatic promotion places in the Championship after they were beaten 1-0 by Millwall at Bramall Lane on Tuesday night.
The Blades found themselves 1-0 down after 21 minutes when centre-forward Josh Coburn brilliantly beat Michael Cooper with a well-taken effort from just inside the box.
Chris Wilder was not afraid to make changes in an attempt to turn the game around, withdrawing Southampton loanee Ben Brereton Diaz at half-time after the forward put in a dismal showing.
Ben Brereton Diaz's performance against Millwall
The Chile international had an excellent opportunity to draw the Blades level shortly after they went 1-0 down when he had a free header from around eight yards out, but could only guide his effort straight at the goalkeeper.
Brereton Diaz ended the half with one ‘big chance’ missed – the header – and created one chance, whilst he lost possession six times, which led to Wilder taking him off at the break.
The former Blackburn Rovers attacker is now in danger of losing his place in the starting XI after he failed to make the most of his chance in front of goal, but he was not the only poor performer for Sheffield United.
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Wilder must also ruthlessly ditch Gustavo Hamer from the line-up against Plymouth Argyle at Home Park, as the mercurial playmaker was just as bad as Brereton Diaz.
Why Gustavo Hamer should be dropped
The Sheffield United boss must brutally drop the attacking midfielder from the team after a disappointing performance from him against Alex Neil’s side on Tuesday night.
The former Coventry City dynamo did not offer enough quality with his use of the ball on the left flank, letting his team down too often with a poor pass or delivery into the box.
He ended the match, having played the full 90 minutes, with zero shots on target, zero out of two dribbles completed, and zero ‘big chances’ created for the Blades.
Minutes
45
90
Shots on target
2
0
Key passes
1
2
Big chances created
0
0
Crosses completed
0/1
2/10
Duels won
2/3
2/7
Possession lost
6x
22x
As you can see in the table above, Hamer and Brereton Diaz both failed to create a ‘big chance’ for their teammates, but the former failed to do so whilst losing the ball a staggering 22 times, failing with eight of his ten attempted crosses.
It was an incredibly wasteful display from the Dutch whiz, who has now scored one goal and provided zero assists in his last nine outings in the Championship.
Sheffield United needed Hamer, who has eight goals and five assists to his name in the league this season, to step up and provide a bit of quality in their time of need, 1-0 down and trailing for so long against Millwall in front of their home supporters.
Unfortunately, the right-footed flop did not step up to be a difference-maker, delivering a performance just as bad as Brereton Diaz’s, and that is why Wilder should consider axing him from the XI for Saturday’s trip to Plymouth.
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