I wasn’t going to write the game up this evening. I felt I needed some time to reflect on the game to add a bit of balance.
Instead, I’ve stewed on it; I’ve read comments on social media and got to a point where I feel I do have to write something tonight so that I can try to sleep easier. I’m not even sure a regular approach to the write-up is going to be sufficient because what I want to get off my chest doesn’t really conform to the usual ‘this happened, and it means that’ structure of my articles.
What I want to do is address some of the comments from people I’ve seen, if I may. It’ll give you a good idea of how I saw the match and where I think the team is now. What I want to stress is that opinions are valid, I do not block people for opinions, nor do I argue with people about their opinions anymore, even if they try to argue with me. This isn’t me having a pop at supporters; it’s me addressing what I feel are some of the big issues that have sprung up from today’s game.
Danny Mandroiu cost us the game
Firstly, I’m not going to dispute this. I know we’re jumping into a game on 70-odd minutes, a bit like a Mandroiu tackle I guess; we’re going in two-footed. In the first half, Bolton had the better chances, but I thought we looked decent out of possession. The obvious issue is that we don’t have an attacking threat, but that’s something else I want to address in a bit. The fact is we got to 70 minutes against a top team in the division, and we were poised delicately at 0-0. If anything, we’d improved in the second half, had a couple of chances and got into a position where I felt we could justify deserving a point. Of course, Bolton were better – them and Derby were the two hot favourites with Stacey West readers before the season started for a reason.
That said, we nullified them in the first half and even had a bit of control for spells in the second. In the seconds leading up to the card, I could see what was going to happen. Mandroiu, looking committed throughout the game, was fired up. He’d been fouled a couple of times, something the referee let go, and he’d shown some strength to win a couple of tackles. The ball went forward, and I could see him winding up for the challenge. Even as the ball was touched away, I could see what was unfolding, and it was excruciating, like watching a car crash in slow motion.
It’s a red all day long. Whether their player made a meal of it or not is completely irrelevant; Mandroiu was late, off the floor and lunging. I didn’t see why he argued the point either, and I have no doubt Skubala will be absolutely fuming. However, given we’d not shown a huge amount of attacking intent, why did it cost us the game?
Immediately, Bolton made attacking changes. We’d had to be energetic to cover the ground, but with one man over, they took complete control once again. They knew at that stage they could overload us, they could find pockets of space, and they did. I saw about four corners they played short after the red card, which we saw, but didn’t have the men to cover. A goal was inevitable after the red card, almost as it was against Burton. I said then that Mandroiu had cost us a point, possibly three, but I feel he definitely cost us one against the Trotters.
However, I’m not buying the ‘Kennedy was right’ tweets, nor that Danny Mandroiu got Kennedy the sack. That was the tipping point, and perhaps some of what he said was accurate, but there’s a time and a place to hang players out to dry, and that wasn’t it. Skubala refused to talk about Danny after the game – “I don’t really want to talk about Danny, if I’m honest. I want to talk about the Warriors out there that for 20 minutes looked like they were going to get something out of the game,” was what he said. That’s how Kennedy should have handled it.
I think the tackle was silly, I think it was over-committed, but I also feel Kennedy’s comments have set Mandroiu up as a villain, and that image hasn’t gone. Since Skubala has come in I’ve either seen him described by people as lazy and uncommitted or brainless when he does put himself about. He’s not a player who was bought for his tackling, and it’s clear that isn’t his strong point, but I think the after-effects of Kennedy’s comments have lingered over Danny, and the overreaction (I never want to see him in a Lincoln shirt again being one) is not justified. Do I think he is a starter at the moment in the strongest City side? Yes, but I’d like to think after January, the answer would be no. I’m not buying that he’s a liability. I thought he’d had a decent game up until the moment of madness, and the red card will skew many people’s view of that.
However, it was a silly challenge that has cost us, not his first, and he will be on a mission of redemption when he comes back into the team.
The injuries are not enough to excuse performances
I do find it tough to read people saying that the injuries do not excuse the lack of attacking intent when, in my opinion, they absolutely do. I keep writing this, but House, Walker and Hackett would make a big difference to what we’re trying to do in an attacking sense. Even missing Burroughs today was a blow as well, and I’m on the fence about Jack at times. You can afford maybe one or two players out, but we haven’t had a recognised striker for a while.
Jovon tried to put himself about today, but I watched him off the ball as much as iFollow allowed (I have been struck down by the same bug I imagine kept Adam Jackson at home), and I wasn’t impressed. Last season, we went to places like Barnsley and Ipswich and offered far less than we did today up top, but we did so with Ben House chasing everything down – Jovon just didn’t. I’m not saying he’s lazy; I’m saying he doesn’t have the experience to know how and when to press properly. When he did chase, the pass went away from him, and when he didn’t, Bolton had time. Our press in the first few matches was really good, but since we’ve lost House and Hackett (those two in particular), it has become far less refined. That’s why Ben House is so important, and that is why the injuries are never not part of the issue.
Then there’s the rest of the attack. Today, we went with what looked more like a 3-5-2, or maybe a 3-6-1, with Hamilton pushing forward to support Jovon. It didn’t work because despite Roughan’s best efforts, he is not an attacking wingback, and Jovon is not a League One striker. Bishop and Mandroiu are both talented, but it only appears in flashes, and it’s tough to carry two of that ilk. I thought Ted looked good today, but when he was picking up the ball, there was nothing through the centre. Jovon, at times, was dropping out wide to be part of the build-up, but that left a huge gap in the middle. There was one nice moment in the second half where Lasse got away down the right, played the ball back across the area and nobody had held their run – whatever ball we play, whatever runs are made, there’s a lack of cohesion. That said, it hasn’t been any different since September, and it is much more focused when we play good teams like Derby, Wigan and Bolton. Hell, it was obvious when we played Carlisle, Exeter and Morecambe as well.
I’m not saying that the only issue we need to address is the front line, but I can confidently say I believe had we had two of Hackett, Walker and House fit since September, we’d have nine or ten more points, than we have now. I firmly believe that. It might not have made a difference today in many people’s eyes, but it would have made a difference across three months.
You must be logged in to post a comment.