'He's learning' - Chris Wilder shares Tom Cannon verdict as Sheffield United striker finds form
Tom Cannon played an important role in Sheffield United’s 2-1 win over Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park on Tuesday evening.
Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder has said striker Tom Cannon is still learning on the job after scoring his third goal in his last three starts in Tuesday night’s 2-1 win over Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park.
After falling behind to Kristi Montgomery’s excellent opener, United got themselves back on level terms ten minutes before half-time when Cannon latched onto Sydie Peck’s pass and slotted a composed finish past Rovers goalkeeper Aynsley Pears.
It marked Cannon’s second goal in United’s last two Championship away games, following his conversion from the penalty spot in last month’s 2-2 draw with Cardiff City at Cardiff City Stadium.
The former Leicester City man’s leveller gave United an injection of confidence, and they proceeded to flip the game on its head before the half-time interval when Peck fired home a brilliant effort from the edge of the penalty area.
Cannon was drafted into the starting XI in place of Patrick Bamford and was joined in attack by Southampton loanee and former Blackburn man Ben Brereton Díaz. With three goals in his last three starts, the striker earned praise from Wilder, who explained that Cannon offered more than just getting himself on the scoresheet against Tony Mowbray’s side.
”It’s good for Tommy,” Wilder told BBC Radio Sheffield. “He's been under a bit of pressure.
“He knows that from the position that he's in and the price tag that he came in [with]. He's a relatively young player as well, so he's learning his trade.
“We’re scrambling a little bit on formations as well, what to do. We’ve had an opportunity to work on the formation that we played one day. I credit the players for taking the information on board, but it’s not that we’ve had six weeks.
“We worked on a system. Maybe people will say you need to work on two or three systems, but we want to be good at one system. We understand that we had to change that approach, and we might have to change that approach.
“We talked about it getting through to the international break and allowing us to work on that through that period.
“Tom scoring is great for him. He showed a load of energy. He did a job late on for us, wide on the right. We changed formations about three or four times to get the win.”