Nothing has changed under Michael Skubala
I can see what people mean by this, but here’s a question – what can he change right now? He has tried – he’s given Jovon a chance, a run in the team to get settled, which people were calling for two months ago. Now that hasn’t worked, I’ve seen calls for another youth team player (unnamed, obviously) to be given a go. So it isn’t that things haven’t changed; the changes haven’t worked out, and that’s left supporters angry at the head coach.
I’m not sure we were ever going to see changes straight away. Michael Appleton made changes after he replaced Danny Cowley, but it was only the following season, where we topped the table for a few months, that the fruits of his labour were evident. People who criticise Skuabla for not changing enough are in direct conflict with those who say Kennedy shouldn’t have been fired and football wasn’t the problem; it is contradictory. We are looking very similar to how Kennedy was playing, which got us to eleventh last season and has seen us remain ninth despite this challenging run of form. His football was no different to what we’re seeing now, I grant you that, but that was even with our exciting players fit and in the side.
The Skubala era will be different, one way or another, but when you’re only given two-thirds of a squad to choose from, it makes changes difficult in the short term. This afternoon, I thought the first half was very Kennedy, backs-to-the-wall, not wanting to get beaten. In the second half, until the red card, I felt we edged into the game, had a bit of the ball and looked much braver. One or two passes we tried didn’t come off, but we did try them; we did look to create something. It is easy to believe we were completely negative because we lost, but we were certainly more forward-thinking than we were one year ago in the Boxing Day fixture against Burton Albion. Same outcome, mind.
We need to get the next two matches out of the way and have the extended break being out of the FA Cup affords us. We’ll get Jack Moylan around the first team, and possibly Freddie Draper as well. We need some flair up top, there’s no doubt about that, whether that is Hackett or a loan player from higher up. We need to sign a Morgan Rogers, Morgan Whittaker or similar, someone who can try things when they get on the ball. One criticism of Appleton was that he stifled creative players (not Brennan Johnson, but we can forget something that doesn’t fit the narrative), and I don’t think Skubala is seeking to do that – if you have a bit of flair, he will encourage it. The problem is our creative players, largely, either stifle themselves or don’t have anyone to aim for when being creative. Getting Bishop or Mandroiu on the ball at the moment is like giving Da Vinci paints and a brush, but no canvas. There have to be the runs, and there has to be some intent from the supporting cast. Dare I say there has to be one Bishop or Mandroiu in the side, but (going back to the injuries) we’re currently carrying two.
Well, not for the next three matches, at least. So there’s one positive.
There’s a lot of deadwood in the squad
I’ve seen this suggested as well, and I just can’t agree with it. Let’s look at the first team today, and you can tell me in the social media comments where the deadwood is.
Jensen? Not for me, he was excellent today, making a couple of good saves and commanding his area well. In fact, he barely put a foot wrong, and he’s certainly turning into the sort of keeper I want to see wearing Imps colours.
In defence, O’Connor had a good game. He battled on with an injury for much of the second half after being bundled into the advertising hoardings, and he made some crucial tackles. Alex Mitchell has been reinstated to the team and could be on the way to winning the Stacey West Player of the Month for an unprecedented third month in a row. He’ll be pushed all the way by TJ Eyoma, who was again excellent on the right side of defence. No deadwood there, and in Lasse Sorensen, we have one of the first names on the team sheet, a firm favourite with the supporters who nobody wants to see leave the club.
Jack Burroughs is a loan player, so perhaps doesn’t count, but he’s been a valued squad player, and whilst Sean Roughan has found it tough to get a game recently, he cannot be classed as dead wood we need to trim – he’s still one for the future and still a player who adds value, even if left wing-back isn’t the position I’d like to see him playing in. Into the midfield, and neither Ethan Erhahon nor Ethan Hamilton can be classed as dead wood – Erhahon wasn’t at his best today, but he’s an important member of the first team, while Ethan Hamilton has proven to be the capture of the summer.
That’s eight of the starting XI already, 72%, and so far, not one player can be classed as so-called deadwood. I get there will be a debate around Mandroiu, but whilst I’m angry at his tackle today, there’s no doubt he is a player who has a lot to offer the squad. My gut feeling is if we had the sort of forward options Bolton have, or if we had all our forwards fit, he’d be in and out of the side, perhaps learning a valuable lesson about consistency. Sure, there’s a question to be answered about him, but deadwood? Not for me. The same goes for Ted Bishop – he looked lively today, and I see him as a valuable squad player, as he was at the beginning of the season. Deadwood? No. Someone who might find it tough to get fresh terms in the summer? Currently, yes.
That brings us to Jovon, and whilst he is in a bit of a rut, it’s through no fault of his own. He toiled away up top, but he did look out of his depth today, and what he needs is a loan spell in Ireland or the National League, where he plays 25 games without the pressure (and, dare I say vitriol) he is dealing with right now. He’s not a League One attacker, but who do we play there instead? Haks, a winger? No. Jack Vale? Perhaps, but he doesn’t offer the same aerial presence. A youth team player not yet named? What, and give those inclined to find scapegoats another target? Again, not for me.
The point I’m making is eight of the eleven starters are, in my opinion, up to the task of a top-six assault. Another one (Bishop or Mandroiu) you can afford to have in the side, although it’s the three leading the line right now that I’m not sold on, and that also includes Ali Smith when he comes on. I like Smith but as a midfielder offering us an alternative to Hamilton, not a player sniffing around the front three. Deadwood? Absolutely not.
Back to the game
Unless you just want to be angry, and there are Imps fans out there who are like that, then you’ll be able to find some comfort if you sit back and really think about the game. Nobody likes losing matches, and Bolton were a lot better than us, but is that a surprise? If Northampton are the same on the 29th, then perhaps I can get on board with a bit of anger, but I expected to lose twice against the Trotters this season. I hate them; they’re so good at what they do. They’re strong and attack with pace but are brilliant at the dark arts. Makama’s booking their lad made a meal of, and even the red card (which was a red card) was compounded by their lads’ theatrical fall.
They’re going up for a reason – they have a deep squad, they can make multiple changes and not affect the quality of their XI, and they know when to play pretty and when to play nasty. Remember, this is a team Evatt has been building since 2020, one with much deeper pockets than us, one that can afford to pip us to players like Dacres-Cogley, and can afford to pay big bucks for strikers like Dion Charles.
No, I’m not upset at the fact we lost, certainly no more than usual, but I am upset that we got to 70 minutes and had worked ourselves into a position where I firmly feel we’d draw the game. I don’t feel this defeat, nor the Derby defeat, are reflective of any issues we didn’t know about before – the injuries and lack of a striker. Of course, I’ll stand corrected if, in three months’ time, we’ve got a whole new front line and still can’t score goals, but I don’t think that will happen.
The doom and gloom on some social media platforms is only what we saw around Christmas in the last two seasons – sleepwalking into a relegation battle, I think it was. In both campaigns, we didn’t end up in the bottom four because January enabled us to make signings, patch up our injured squad and move forward. I firmly feel that will be the case this season and that where we are now, give or take one or two places, is where we’ll be come May. The big question is whether, in three years’ time, a writer covering another club will be penning an article about us, saying how Michael Skubala has had time to develop and grow a legacy at Sincil Bank, just as I have about Evatt.
Whatever you feel right now, it is far too early to say whether he can or cannot do that, whatever the last two games might have you thinking.
Final Page – Bubs Full Gallery
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