Sue Smith - All I want for Christmas is supporters back in the stadiums

The team most in need of a gift this year is undoubtedly Sheffield United and I just wish they would get the three points their football has deserved this season.

There have been so many games in 2020-21 where they have been unlucky, losing nine of their 14 matches by the odd goal.

Apart from the 3-0 defeat at Southampton, they have been in virtually every other game, so despite what the league table says, they should not be written off. If I was a Blades player I would be thinking we were not far away, and manager Chris Wilder was involved in their 1990-91 escape from relegation, so he knows it can be done.

Losing Jack O’Connell was on a par with Liverpool losing Virgil van Dijk to injury, so important are the centre-backs to their teams. O’Connell is not just a huge part of their team defensively but often builds the play up from the back.

I hope the Blades can find a centre-back in the January transfer window who can play that role but there are not many around.

Sander Berge will be a big loss, too, and his three months out after surgery on his tendon is another hard-luck story.

I would like Leeds United to get a new centre-back, too, with Robin Koch’s injury hurting the Whites.

I am a bit worried they do not seem to be learning their lessons at set pieces but another tall, dominant centre-back would certainly help.

What I would most like to get the players was a round of protein drinks and a set of ear plugs each.

The way Marcelo Bielsa has them playing is so intense they must be in need of an energy boost. It is great credit to them that they are able to maintain that intensity each week.

The ear plugs will come in handy to shut out all the noise about whether Leeds should change their approach – of course they should not.

They will win games 5-0 and lose games 5-0 but if they changed their ways they would hardly get any points because these are essentially Championship players who are playing in a way that has raised their levels massively as a team. Even in Sunday’s 6-2 defeat at Manchester United, they had plenty of chances.

I would like Liverpool to get the five substitutes they want if only to keep their manager, Jurgen Klopp, happy.

At first, I agreed with the likes of Sheffield United that it was not fair to allow teams to have more substitutes in the Premier League but with the amount of football played and the number of injuries, I would like to see it for just this season. I can understand Klopp’s frustration after his squad picked up so many injuries.

Referee Lee Mason could do with a hat and dark glasses in case he has to referee at Molineux again.

I feel for Mason because I think Wolverhampton Wanderers coach Nuno Espirito Santo was out of order criticising his ability at the weekend. Questioning decisions is understandable, even if managers are not supposed to do that either, but to be so scathing about him as a referee was just wrong. We all have refs we just do not like taking charge of our teams, but you just cannot come out and say what Nuno did in his position.

I would really like Paul Pogba to get a new agent because some of the things Mino Raiola comes out with at really inappropriate times are just ridiculous and a real distraction. Pogba is a World Cup winner and we often see glimpses of what he is capable of. The Premier League would be a better place if he was just able to concentrate on producing that more consistently.

For all Yorkshire football fans, regardless of whether you support a Premier League team or a grassroots side, I hope 2021 turns out to be a much better year and that you can get watching your team from the stands again.

It is about more than just the football, it is the whole social side of it, and it is such a shame all but a handful of Harrogate Town fans have been denied that.

I hope we can soon get back to full stadia, and that you and your family enjoy a relaxing festive period and a healthy and happy 2021.

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