Sheffield United

Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder speaking to BBC Radio Sheffield after his side's 1-0 defeat at Charlton Athletic:

On Japhet Tanganga's red card: "It's just ridiculous - yellow at very best. [He's] committed to a header, gone for it, not gone to elbow the guy, just committed, eyes on the ball, mistimed it - it's a yellow.

"The referee couldn't wait to get his red card out. It was unbelievable how quickly he did it. No discussion with the fourth [official], no discussion with the linesman who was right alongside it.

"Second half, incredible amount of cynical fouls by them, which I get when we're trying to get back into the game.

"I fancied us 11 versus 10, maybe a little bit more difficult when it was down to nine. But we still had a go, I thought the shape of the team was great - the amount of effort that the boys put in was incredible."

Image source, Getty Images

Sheffield United striker Patrick Bamford has won the English Football League's player of the month award for December.

Bamford scored four goals across the Blades' six Championship games in December, including a double in their thrilling 5-3 defeat against Wrexham.

"I'm really happy. I'm surprised, I guess, a little bit because I wasn't ever thinking about any individual awards and that was the least of my priorities when coming in, but I think it's testament to the group and the staff and the players," Bamford said., external

"I know it's an individual award, but obviously, as a striker, you can't do it without your team-mates, so I owe a lot to them for that."

He beat Norwich forward Jovon Makama, Preston goalkeeper Daniel Iversen and Leicester midfielder Bobby De Cordova-Reid for the award.

This is a first league meeting between these two in London for nearly 10 years with Charlton looking for only their second win in their past five matches.

Sheffield United are yet to draw an away league game so far this season.

• Charlton have won three of their past five league games against Sheffield United (D1 L1), including a 1-0 win at Bramall Lane this season.

• This is Sheffield United's first visit to Charlton in the league since a 1-1 draw in League One in November 2016, while in the Championship it is their first since a 5-2 win in November 2008.

• Charlton are one of only two sides, along with Sheffield Wednesday, who have faced more shots than they have had themselves in all three game states in the Championship this season: when drawing (72), losing (8) and winning (30).

• Sheffield United have won seven of their past 10 Championship matches (D1 L2). Since the date of the first game in this run (23 November), the Blades have won the most points of any side in the division (22).

• Patrick Bamford has scored six goals in 11 appearances in all competitions for Sheffield United. Since his debut for the Blades, the only Championship players with more goals are Norwich's Jovon Makama (9) and Morgan Whitaker of Middlesbrough (7) across all competitions.

Image source, Getty Images

Sheffield United striker Patrick Bamford and Norwich forward Jovon Makama have been nominated for the Championship's player of the month award for December along with Preston goalkeeper Daniel Iversen and Leicester midfielder Bobby De Cordova-Reid.

Bamford signed an 18-month contract with Sheffield United earlier this month having initially joined on a short-term deal in November.

The 32-year-old has scored six goals in 11 appearances for the Blades, including four in December.

Norwich's Makama is the Canaries' leading scorer this season with 12 goals in all competitions.

He scored twice in a victory over Southampton last month, once in a draw at Preston and the winner against Charlton - those goals worth a valuable seven points to a relegation-threatened Norwich side.

Iversen has kept eight clean sheets for Preston so far this season and vital saves against the leaders Coventry and Stoke in December helped the Lilywhites into fourth place.

With four goals in six games, meanwhile, De Cordova-Reid had a prolific December for Leicester as he scored in three successive matches.

The winner will be announced on Friday, 16 January.

Sheffield United have enquired about taking former Englandmidfielder Ross Barkley, 32, on loan from Aston Villa. (Pete O'Rourke), external

Want more transfer news from the EFL? Take a look at Thursday's gossip column here.

Rob Staton
BBC Radio Sheffield reporter

Image source, Shutterstock

Sheffield United might have gone out of the FA Cup at the weekend to League One Mansfield but the news of Patrick Bamford's contract extension should outweigh any disappointment.

The 32-year-old striker has shown he still has plenty left in the tank and the stats back that up.

He's scored five goals in 10 league appearances (six starts) and he bagged another in the cup on Sunday. His goals scored per 90 minutes is 0.93 – nobody has a higher mark in the Championship currently.

This has clearly impacted United's overall scoring rate. The Blades are the top scorers in the second tier over the past eight games with 19 goals.

No team has accrued more points than United in the past 10 games either and they've claimed a 70% share of total xG. This has enabled United to jump to fourth in the league for xG.

Manager Chris Wilder made a point of highlighting the need for a number nine upon his arrival. With Bamford secured, the results are evident.

There are still improvements to be made defensively. Only three teams have conceded more, with United having played a game fewer than most. Yet as an attacking force, the Blades are now a different animal.

It's another example of Wilder's ability to create an environment for individuals to excel. David McGoldrick is the best of numerous previous examples. And Bamford is the latest. The boss has a keen eye for an opportunity then making the most of it.

Having waited patiently for the right opportunity this season after a barren spell in front of goal to end his time at Leeds, the one-cap England international has now returned to the form that helped the Whites to promotion in the past.

You could argue there might not be a more impactful Championship addition during this January transfer window.

There's still work to be done and further deals to be completed by the Blades. With Bamford leading the line though, there's evidence United can continue to move up the table.

Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder wants to keep 24-year-old left-back Harrison Burrows, who is reportedly a £3.5m target for Turkish side Trabzonspor. (Yorkshire Post, external)

Want more transfer news from the EFL? Take a look at Monday's gossip column here.

Pundits Dion Dublin and Phil Jones join host Kelly Somers to bring you the action and talking points from Sunday's FA Cup ties.

Watch on BBC iPlayer here

And listen back to selected full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Derby County 1-3 Leeds United

• Portsmouth 1-4 Arsenal

• Norwich City 5-1 Walsall

• West Ham United 2-1 Queens Park Rangers

Image source, Getty Images

Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder was left "disappointed" that the side he selected was unable to beat Mansfield as they were stunned by the in-form League One outfit in a thrilling 4-3 defeat at Bramall Lane in the FA Cup third round.

Wilder made 10 changes from the side that comfortably beat Leicester City on New Year's Day before their planned match against Oxford United was postponed just two hours prior to kick-off last Sunday due to a frozen pitch.

He told BBC Radio Sheffield: "Incredibly disappointed. I said I think the players might be a little bit bored of me going after them – this was an opportunity.

"I picked a team today to win a game of football, the changes that we made, we had to make. I'm not resting anybody - that team I picked, should have been good enough to win.

"I feel sorry for Adam Davies. The goals that we conceded are ridiculous. The centre forward has dominated the two defenders all afternoon.

"Today was an opportunity for people to stick themselves right in front of me and go, 'why aren't I playing?'.

"[Andre] Brooks just played where he wanted to play, Femi [Seriki] didn't do what he needed to do. Pat [Bamford] came on and made a big difference."

There are eight third-round ties in the FA Cup on Sunday - as Premier League and Championship teams enter the competition - and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Derby v Leeds (12:00) - BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Radio Derby & BBC Radio Leeds

• Portsmouth v Arsenal (14:00) - BBC Radio 5 Live & BBC Radio Solent

• Hull v Blackburn (14:30) - BBC Radio Humberside & BBC Radio Lancashire

• Norwich v Walsall (14:30) - BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 2, BBC Radio Norfolk & BBC Radio WM

• Sheff Utd v Mansfield (14:30) - BBC Radio Sheffield & BBC Radio Nottingham

• Swansea v West Brom (14:30)

• West Ham v QPR (14:30) - BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra and BBC Radio London

• Man Utd v Brighton (16:30) - BBC Radio Manchester and BBC Radio Sussex

Kick-off times GMT

Follow all of the action and reaction here

And find out how to follow the FA Cup across the BBC this weekend here

You can also listen to today's 5 Live commentaries on most smart speakers. Just say "ask BBC Sounds to play Derby County v Leeds United" or "ask BBC Sounds to play Portsmouth v Arsenal", for instance.

Find out more about how to listen to football on BBC Sounds