The Blades Yellow Card Issue | OneFootball

Yesterday’s win against Stoke City at Bramall Lane left the Blades 4th in the Championship table. However, it isn’t the only table where the Blades currently sit 4th.

The Blades are the team with the fourth most yellow cards in the Championship this season with 31. However, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise given the team with the most yellow cards (40) is Preston managed by former United boss Paul Heckingbottom.

The Blades have already seen the negative impacts of their lack of discipline. Both Vinicius Souza and Gustavo Hamer missed Middlesbrough and Stoke respectively for picking up the five yellows required for a one-match ban. Plus, Anel Ahmedhodzic will miss the Blackburn Rovers game after his fifth yellow of the season yesterday.

Where have the Blades yellows come from

(Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)

Previously, we wrote about the Blades being fined for ‘mass confrontations’ and one of the matches where they received a fine was against Watford.

Unsurprisingly, the game against the Hornets was the match where the most Blades received yellow cards with Cooper, Souttar, Ahmedhodzic, O’Hare and Hamer ending up in the ref’s book.

The Yorkshire Derby against Hull wasn’t far behind with Hamer, Arblaster, Gilchrist and Brooks booked at the KCOM Stadium. While, yesterday, saw Ahmedhodzic, Souza, Campbell and Brewster getting a yellow. With Souza wasting no time in getting back amongst the yellows.

A further three games have seen the Blades receive three yellows a game, four games have led to two yellows and Middlesbrough sans Vinicius Souza saw just Hamer receive a yellow.

Therefore, the current rate of yellows is 2.58 yellow cards per game.

Yellows per player

(Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)

The leader of the Blades yellow addiction is Vinicius Souza on six. Closely followed by Gus Hamer and Anel Ahmedhodzic on five. As a three they make up just over half of the club’s yellows (16).

The player to look out for, for the next suspension is Blades captain Ollie Arblaster, who has three yellows.

Three Blades have two yellows to their name, Harry Souttar, Andre Brooks, and Tyrese Campbell, whose most recent came against his former club, Stoke.

The singular yellow card club includes, Kieffer Moore, Michael Cooper, Callum’ O Hare, Alfie Gilchrist, Rhian Brewster and Sydie Peck, who also got an EFL Cup yellow against Wrexham.

Are the yellows avoidable?

Yellow cards are a part of the game and often happen when a tackle is mistimed. In those incidents there isn’t always a lot a player can do.

Although, some of the Blades yellows have been very avoidable. The tipping point that led to Hamer’s suspension was him kicking the ball away as Middlesbrough set up a free-kick.

During the tense scenes at the end of the Watford game; Hamer, Cooper and Souttar were all given yellows as tempers flared.

These are just a few examples of where discipline and calmer heads may have resulted in less yellows. Given the Blades have now received yellows in all of their last 11 games it doesn’t appear to be a trend that is slowing down.

Weirdly, the only game where the Blades didn’t receive a yellow was against leading yellow card specialists Preston on the opening day.

Takeaways

The Blades yellow card trend is concerning as after the Blackburn game the Blades will have played three consecutive games without key players because of too many yellow cards.

Plus, with Ollie Arblaster only two yellows away from his own suspension the Blades could soon be without our captain if it continues.

Not to mention, Vinicius Souza already getting back in the yellow card game in his first game back from suspension. If Vini gets another four yellows before Matchweek 32, he will receive a two-match ban.

It’s clear the Blades could do with a new tactic for walking the tightrope of too many yellows.