We look ahead to the Gills trip to Bramall Lane
SHEFFIELD UNITED V GILLINGHAMBramall Lane
Sky Bet League One
Saturday November 16
Kick-Off, 3pm
Team News:
Peter Taylor will welcome back two players to his match day squad with Leon Legge (suspension) and Danny Hollands (unavailable for the FA Cup) returning after missing last Saturday’s match against Brackley Town.
However Charlie Lee will be absent as he serves his mandatory one match ban, and Michael Harriman is away on international duty with the Republic of Ireland U21 side.
Amine Linganzi remains out with a hamstring strain, while Matt Fish continues to recover from his knee ligament problem.
However on the plus side new signings Craig Fagan and Elliott Hewitt are in line to make their full debuts after joining on short term deals earlier in the week, while midfielder John Mousinho is almost certain to make his first league outing since signing on loan from Preston.
As for the Blades they will be without former Gills loanee Febian Brandy due to suspension. The winger was dismissed having come on as a substitute during last weekend’s cup win over Colchester.
Another ex-Gills striker, Marlon King, is likely to play some part while on loan defender Aidy White will return after sitting out the first round of the FA Cup.
Manager Comments:
Peter Taylor, talking exclusively to the club’s official website on Thursday, said the squad have looked good in training this week and are committed to putting on a show for the supporters that make the long trip to Yorkshire.
He said: “They have got an excellent team and they really should be higher up the table on the strength of the players they have on the team sheet.
“What we can do is say to ourselves we are the away team, we are going to try and frustrate the home team and maybe get the fans a little bit impatient with them and that is what we are going to try and do.
“Maybe not give them so much time on the ball but that’s easier said than done because they have some good players. Nigel has gone in there, they’ve just had some good results, I know a lot of their players and have dealt with them too but it’s up to us to make sure we put on a performance like Port Vale away.
“For 45 minutes against Port Vale we played some very, very good Football and those are the areas I’m looking at.”
You can watch Peter’s exclusive pre-match interview on Gills Player.
The Blades – the season so far
United appointed David Weir as their new Manager in the summer, but after a disappointing start to their season which saw a return of just one win in 13 competitive fixtures, he was sacked and replaced by former Derby boss Nigel Clough.
Under his stewardship United have turned a corner and come in to the game having won three of their last six, including a 3-1 win over Crewe Alexandra at Bramall Lane.
In the cup competitions, United’s only interest is in the FA Cup where they will take on either Bury or Cambridge in round two having successfully negotiated the challenge of Colchester away from home.
In the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy the Blades were eliminated at the second hurdle following a 1-0 home defeat against Hartlepool, and in the Capital One Cup United lost 2-1 in the first round after being defeated by Burton.
The Gaffer – Nigel Clough
Clough joined the Blades on a two-and-a-half year deal late last month, replacing Weir at the helm.
He was previously the boss at Derby County, following in his father Brian’s footsteps who spent six years as boss between 1967 and 1973 at his second club in professional management.
Prior to that Nigel was Manager at Burton Albion for 11 years, guiding the club to the top of the Football Conference before finally making the jump in to League Football.
His playing career saw him play under his father at Nottingham Forest before enjoying spells at Liverpool, Manchester City and Burton.
Star Man – Stephen McGinn
The midfielder may not have found the net so far this campaign, but he has certainly been the club’s main playmaker having claimed assists on five goals in all competitions.
The 24-year-old Scotsman joined the club in the summer after spending three years at Watford, having spent three months on loan at Shrewsbury at the start of 2013.
One to Watch - Harry Maguire
Although a centre-back, Harry is currently the club’s top goal scorer with five to his name in all competitions so far this season.
The 20-year-old is in good form coming in to this game having netted three times in as many games, and will certainly pose a threat for the Blades going forward.
Current Form (last six games in all competitions):
Sheff Utd: LWDWLW (7 points)
Gills: LLWLWD (6 points)
Previous Meetings:
The sides haven’t played each other since November 2004 when a 0-0 draw was played out at Bramall Lane, and the Gills haven’t recorded a win over United since April 2001 when Andy Hessenthaler’s side recorded an impressive 4-1 victory at Priestfield thanks to goals from Marlon King (2), Iffy Onoura and Paul Shaw.
In total the clubs have met on 20 separate occasions – of those both clubs have won seven matches apiece, while the remaining six games have resulted in a draw.
Officials:
Referee – Geoff Eltringham
Assistants - Nicholas Gibbons and Jason Whiteley
Fourth Official - Mark Jones