Latics rally as the DW crowd gets behind them – Wigan Athletic 2 Charlton Athletic 1

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Match reactions and tagged with , , ,

February 12, 2022: Wigan Athletic 2 Charlton Athletic 1

“The character and response were fantastic. I felt the fans gave us a real big lift during the game today and we’ll need them more than ever going into the midweeks and the fixture list coming. We need this place bouncing and rocking because the lads need all of the energy they can get.”

Leam Richardson and the club in general constantly remind us of the importance of vocal fan support to the morale of the team. The loud, fanatical away support, buoyed by a strong element of younger fans, has proven a key factor in Latics’ success on the road. But that kind of raucous support has rarely been the norm in home games.

Much has been said in the past about a lack of atmosphere at the DW Stadium, particularly from fans of visiting teams. Theories abound as to the reason why, ranging from the fickleness of Wiganers to the stadium being too big, rarely being half filled. Supporters preferring the East and South Stands shun the West Stand, perhaps the bastion of the more fickle.

But the home crowd really got behind their team yesterday, as Latics rallied after a very poor start.

Portents were looking ominous in the opening quarter with a weakened Charlton side looking a cut above Latics. The warning signs were there, with those awful hoofballs coming from the defence and a lack of cohesion among the team in general. Elliot Lee’s 7th minute opening goal from Adam Mathews’ cross looked so easy, both players given so much space by the home side. They almost scored a second eight minutes later when Jack Whatmough blocked a low drive from Lee, with Alex Gilbey hitting the crossbar from the rebound.

But with the crowd behind them Latics started to claw their way back into the game. The home team and its fans were equally incensed when Josh Magennis was clattered to the ground. The initial contact was on the edge of the penalty area. Some referees might have awarded a spot kick, others a free kick, but this official simply offered neither. However, the referee was more decisive minutes later when he gave Latics a “soft” penalty after Callum Lang had gone down in the box. Will Keane converted with aplomb.

As the game had progressed Wigan had cut back on the hoofball, playing the ball more through midfield. Jack Whatmough has been an ever-present in the league 1 lineup this season and his solidity in defence has been key to his team’s success. Whatmough has the ability to play at a higher level and it was a masterstroke from Wigan’s recruiting team to get him on a free from Portsmouth. However, if Latics were to step up into the Championship next season he would need to improve his distribution.

Whatmough may have been playing under orders but he has pumped forward so many of those “hopeful” long balls which have made life easier for opposition defences. He did it again in the opening minutes yesterday until we later saw a most welcome change in approach. Instead of taking the easy option Whatmough stepped forward with the ball, using his pace to approach the half-way line where he was able to find a teammate close at hand. Whatmough also poses a threat on set pieces and his header back to Stephen Humphrys created Wigan’s winner after 74 minutes.

This was an important win for Wigan who have edged closer to Rotherham who have a difficult game today at Sheffield Wednesday. It was a spirited comeback backed by a vocal home crowd. It was the opener to a tough week for Latics who are at home to Crewe on Tuesday, with a trip to Rotherham on Friday.

For this game Richardson utilised a back three and resisted the temptation to resort to the habitual 4-2-3-1 in the second half. By doing so he was able to put out possibly his strongest lineup, although many would say that Humphrys should have been the central striker, rather than Magennis, at the start.

Magennis has had a difficult start at Wigan, looking ineffective in the target man role and lacking the sharpness needed to convert chances into goals. His career record reveals a strike rate of around 0.2 goals per game, his best season being in 2020-21 when he scored 19 goals for Hull City in League 1 from 29 starts and 11 appearances off the bench. However, Magennis was recovering from injury when Latics signed him from Hull and may need more game time to regain his sharpness. Moreover, he could have had two penalties yesterday, with a more blatant one near the end when the giant central defender Inniss pushed him as he was about to score.

It will be interesting to see how Richardson shuffles his pack for the Crewe game with that tough trip to Rotherham to follow. Given his history it is unlikely that the manager will make many changes for Crewe, but if he does not make at least a few how fresh are his players going to be at the New York Stadium?

Stats courtesy of WhoScored.com

Amigo and Social Media reaction to Latics’ bubble bursting at Sheffield

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Match reactions, Social Media and tagged with , , , , ,

February 8, 2022: Sheffield Wednesday 1 Wigan Athletic 0

Wigan’s unbeaten run of 12 league games has come to an end. An awful penalty decision given against them after 53 minutes proved to be a psychological blow from which they could not recover. Latics had played well in an entertaining first half, holding a strong Wednesday side goalless, but for some reason Leam Richardson saw a need to reshuffle his team half way through.

Switching Tendayi Darikwa from left to right, pushing Max Power into midfield and dragging James McClean backwards to left back had worked well recently against Oxford United. In that game Latics had started poorly and were a goal behind until Richardson made those bold changes. However, the situation at Sheffield was not the same. The result this time was that Latics lost midfield control, with the creative McGrath switched from the number 10 position to the left flank, where he looked lost.

Wigan had created chances in the first half, largely down to the excellence of Callum Lang on the right flank. Their defence had held up well to Wednesday’s probing, led by the classy Barry Bannan. Sadly, Latics regressed to that awful hoofball in the second half which made things so much easier for Wednesday.

The left back position has been problematic for Wigan all season. Joe Bennett’s recuperation from serious injury has been slow. Tom Pearce has signed a new contract but is again injured. Darikwa has done his best to fill in on the left, but it is not his best position. Pushing McClean to left back in the second part of the game meant that Wigan lost much of his attacking thrust. Lang thrives on Max Power’s accurate long passes down the right wing from the full back position. That stopped when Power was pushed into midfield.

Richardson has options for dealing with Bennett and Pearce’s absences without playing Darikwa out of position.

Luke Robinson made 25 appearances in League 1 last season, but has been used just once, being taken off after 56 minutes against Rotherham. There were reports of him being sent out on loan in January, but that did not happen. Although he remains a member of the senior squad his appearances have been limited to cup games.

The manager also has the option of playing with a back three with wing backs. McClean has lots of experience as a left wing back and his attacking flair is not lost. Moreover, Richardson has the option of Power, Darikwa or the more attacking Gavin Massey at right wing back.

Let’s take a look at how fans reacted to the match through the message boards and social media. Our thanks go to the Vital Wigan – Latics Speyk Forum and Twitter for providing the media for the posts below to happen. Thanks go to all whose contributions are identified below:

King_dezeeuw06 commented:

Performance was the same as we’ve been doing for months only difference is the opposition weren’t so much worse than us that we could pull out a moment of magic and get away with it.

The warning signs have been there for ages that we needed to cut the hoofing out if we were going to get results against the better sides and we just persisted with our Pulis era Stoke tactics – but without the players to make it work.

There’s no excuses for us not learning our lesson especially after the Oxford game. We all know what we are good and bad at and we just constantly play to our weakness.

We have possibly the best player in the division in Lang, then McClean and a very classy looking McGrath – give the ball to their feet in the opposition half and they’ll do damage. But they are reduced to running around chasing the opposition as nearly every ball they are watching flying over their heads to a completely isolated striker who’s got 2 defenders on him every time and zero support or service.

You can’t keep playing badly and expect to win and we’ve not put in a good 90 mins since Plymouth away. We are still in a very good position but we will blow it if we don’t finally learn the lesson that should’ve been learned a long time ago – long ball doesn’t work.

Jeffs right added:

What ever happened to the art of the dribble? Attacking defenders and getting crosses in or shooting?
Allegedly we have players that can do this so why don’t they? Sheffield played on Saturday and we had a rest. We should have been at them from the off. Is that eight shots we have had on target in the last four games? That is diabolical even for bottom of the league never mind promotion challengers.

 Magennis or Humphrys for Saturday. Well it needs to be Humphs. He is younger, stronger, fitter and works harder. One thing though if we carry on the same garbage tactics please don’t expect to win on Saturday. Leam please look at the Jewell tactic book and burn Cook’s book.

FrancosLoveChild opined:

We didn’t deserve to lose according to the happy clapping commentators, worst second half all season, Leam needs to change up his sh.te hoofball without Wyke.

SwedishLatic wrote:

Sadly this is looking more and more like Cook’s tactics, kick and rush and hope for individual brilliance to save the team. Switching to two up front offered no difference either, we don’t have to be Man city with the ball but come on a bit more than this is surely possible?

FormbyLatic commented:

The thing that really worries me is our inability to keep the ball on the ground and to play it forward to feet. I cannot recall a single shot on their goal in the entire second half. Leam needs to change things and fast.

Stats courtesy of WhoScored.com

Stoke performance reveals strength in depth

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Match reactions, Reflections, Specials and tagged with , ,
Wigan Athletic’s Gavin Massey (Photo by Adam Davy/PA Images via Getty Images)

On paper the Wigan Athletic starting lineup at Stoke City looked good enough to compete with the Championship team on an even keel. This was despite the fact that only two players who had started the previous League 1 game against Oxford United were included, those being Gavin Massey and Max Power.

In reality Leam Richardson had used his squad to put together a team that looked well- balanced. But being so hastily cobbled together it was always going to struggle to show the cohesion needed to seriously threaten the home team. Jason Kerr’s slip was unfortunate, but it gave the home team an early lead that was going to be hard for Latics to pull back. Wigan held their own until a very well taken goal by Jacob Brown after 62 minutes was to seal Stoke’s victory.

Newcomers Ben Rea and Jamie McGrath made good starts to their Wigan careers. Rea worked hard in central midfield and certainly let Nick Powell know he was around. Since Sam Morsy’s departure Laics have not had a player of his ilk in their line-ups. McGrath slotted in comfortably and could well compete with Will Keane for the number 10 role, although he can also play in the wide positions.

Tom Bayliss has had a hard time since his arrival in Wigan but had one of his better games yesterday. Josh Magennis toiled with little end-result until being replaced by Stephen Humphrys after Stoke’s second goal.

Gavin Massey was excellent throughout, working hard, rarely wasting the ball and, most notably, showing the bursts of acceleration that were the hallmark of his game before he was dogged by a series of hamstring injuries. Richardson has faced criticism for his loyalty towards Massey, so often playing him ahead of others who were knocking on the door for selection. However, if Massey can display this kind of form, staying fit, he can play a key role in the bid for promotion.

Joe Bennett completed a full 90 minutes plus for the first time since playing for Cardiff City against Middlesbrough in late February last year. It has been a long recuperation for Bennett following the ACL injury that threatened his career. Yesterday he showed us glimpses of the player who made over 300 appearances in the two highest tiers of English football. However, it is going to take time before we see the player approach anything like his best.

The current squad is certainly well blessed with central defenders. Curtis Tilt and Jack Whatmough are the current first choice pairing. Jason Kerr (24) and Kell Watts (22) were a young centre back duo yesterday. With the full backs so often pushing forwards the centre backs can be stretched when the opposition counterattacks. That was the case for Stoke’s first goal, but both players have shown that they can be fine players in League 1 level and possibly at a level above. Given the quality of the centre backs he has at his disposal it is to be hoped that Richardson will more frequently go for a line-up of three central defenders with wing backs.

Latics have another 20 league games to play before the season ends on April 30. It is a tough and demanding schedule, but much will depend on how the manager utilises his full resources and adjust his tactics according to the situation. Richardson is not a manager known for his squad rotation, but if he does not rotate players, he runs the risk of injuries that will prove costly in the long run.

Richardson’s decision to reshape his team’s formation during the first half of the Oxford game was a welcome surprise. The changes he made had an immediate effect.

Promotion is in the air at Wigan, but much will depend on the manager’s ability to choose the right players at the right times, adjusting his tactical approach when needed. He has a very strong squad at his disposal.

Amigo and Social Media reaction to a gritty performance against Oxford United

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Match reactions, Social Media and tagged with , , ,

February 1, 2022: Wigan Athletic 1 Oxford United 1

“In the first 15-20 minutes, they shaded it and it was a good goal on their part. After that, I thought we took over the game and the impetus was on us. I thought in the second half, we limited them to certain things around the pitch and the momentum shifted.”

Leam Richardson was certainly right about the momentum shift. Oxford’s superbly worked goal after 23 minutes was the reward for the team that was playing the good football, even if their players can tend to go down easily. It was so different to Wigan’s “hoof and hope” approach. Oxford had controlled the midfield and looked in command.

But the momentum of the game changed when Richardson shuffled his pack around the half hour mark. Max Power was shifted from right back to midfield, with Tom Naylor dropping back in a more defensive role, protecting the centre of defence. The change in shape was to give Latics more midfield control.

Richardson has shown himself to be a wonderful motivator and this team never gives up. They are the fittest team Latics have had for many years and every player will give his all to fight for the cause. However, he can hardly be classed as a flexible, innovative manager. But in this case, he proved us wrong and his reshuffling got so much more out of the players he had on the pitch, the balance of the game switching in Wigan’s favour.

Callum Lang’s expertly taken goal from a superb pass by Max Power in the 35th minute had got Latics level. Although they exerted pressure on Oxford for the remainder of the game the approach remained largely long-ball and creativity at a premium. The stats show that Wigan had 3 shots on target, Oxford one.  

Richardson continues to leave out his most skilful and creative player. Thelo Aasgaard can be frustrating at times, particularly when he loses the ball when going for an over-ambitious option. But what a breath of fresh air he could have brought to this game.

With the signing of Jamie McGrath, a natural number 10, Aasgaard’s opportunities appear even more limited for the remainder of the season. Will Keane’s creativity has been missed, not only when he has been out due to injury, but also when being played further forward, more akin to the role of twin striker. The result has been a gap between holding midfield and the attack, with the ball played over the top. At his best, Keane has played a key role in dropping back to receive the ball and help the holding midfielders, in addition to the goals and assists he has supplied going forward.

Let’s take a look at how fans reacted to the match through the message boards and social media. Our thanks go to the Vital Wigan – Latics Speyk Forum and Twitter for providing the media for the posts below to happen. Thanks go to all whose contributions are identified below:

FormbyLatic wrote:

What’s with this constant hoof and hope sh.te? Only one team in this so far and it isn’t us.

Daleks.at.the.monaco commented:

Oxford horrible team who fall over a lot but are good at passing.

NorthernSoul noted the tactical changes:

Changed formation to 4-3-3 Max in the centre. Lang right. Darikwa right back. Power pass immediately goal. Edging closer to 3-4-3.  

FrancosLoveChild opined on the visitors’ goal:

Great goal, that’s how football teams should play, deserved for Oxford, hopefully our hoof and hope will somehow get us a result.

He later added:

Think it’s clear we really lack any threat at goal in open play over the course of the game. Thought Naylor was poor and kept giving it away. For all of Lang’s ability his brain is frustrating, so many needless fouls in good positions

Wesleystammer retorted:

I’m really surprised to read that you thought Naylor was poor. First half he wasn’t great but he was the glue holding our shape together second half imho. He was always in the right place at the right time to make the interception and gave a lot of protection in between defence and midfield.

Could have been 3 tonight tonight but not too disappointed with 1 point after the first 25 mins or so.

King_dezeeuw06 commented:

Hoof ball is when you are continually blasting balls 70 yards for the strikers head despite the fact it’s not working and doing little else. As we did in the first 30 mins.

No one would call the last 60 mins of that game football instead of hoof ball – not because it was the same approach but worked better but because it was a different approach. As you pointed out we mixed it up nicely playing plenty of football that wasn’t attempted in the opening stages.

Kendal Blue summarised:

From 30 minutes on that was a top class performance. Max further forward is a level above. Lang was excellent but his silly little spat ended his threat far too early. I’m not fully convinced that we don’t have better options than Naylor, but that role just in front of the 2 centre backs seemed to suit him perfectly.
They were a really difficult team – they could play and they could sh.thouse. They were like our little brother. In the end a good point but could have had 3 if players could get their foot over a ball on the volley. Even John Pender taught me the importance of getting over the ball!

Edit – Tilt showed why signing him permanently was so important. He knows when he can bring it out and when he should clear his lines better than anyone else we have back there.

Th10 wrote:

Play like we did before the equaliser and we’ll be lucky to make the play offs.

If we continue playing how we did after the equaliser then I’m confident we’ll win enough games to get promoted. It was so much better to watch once we changed system, we were pressing high up the pitch which stopped them playing. We also passed it better ourselves, won every second ball and had more time on the ball when we won it back. There’s still some room for improvement and I struggle to see how Massey keeps getting in the side. Sykes looked terrific for them, he’d have been a great signing.

ExiledViking added:

1st part of the 1st half was Cheltenham all over again (only with more clinical finishing), ***Note to Leam*** hoofball in windy conditions is rubbish to watch & doesn’t work.

After that, we went back to what we know best, and to be truthful, we was unlucky not to win.

Point gained, but we cannot let this become a habit. Sheffield Wednesday next Tuesday Night will be the real acid test of where we’re up to.

It’s definitely 2 points dropped but I’ll happily sacrifice those 2 points if that’s what it takes to see us finally learn that passing football is the way to go for the rest of the season. If the penny finally drops and we start to do that all the time we’ll make those 2 points up over the season by playing better more often.

Zakky wrote:

I really don’t want to give the impression I am against Leam because I’m not. I have nothing but admiration for what he has done in being loyal to the club in the last 18 months, but he doesn’t get everything right as some folk think. People are saying his tactics have worked all season, well yes they did until we lost Charlie, but can anyone say we have played well since Plymouth away the week we lost him.

Leam has continued to play that long ball, but it has failed to work and the fact we have been winning is down to the resilience and brilliance in some cases of the players, and he needs to get his tactics right from the start. We dropped 2 points last night that could be crucial at the day of reckoning and had we started with the formation the way we finished we may well have won.

You are my sunshine summed up:

Oxford mostly controlled that 1st 30 mins. But as soon as Power went in CM, Lang RW, Darikwa RB, McClean LB the team looked so much better balanced. We then started to get a firm grip on the game as a result and mostly dominated thereafter.

We pressed them higher when Max went in the middle and Shinnie moved a bit further up also. This meant they stopped controlling the middle areas of the pitch, as they had less time and space to play and we were able to get on the ball more ourselves. Lang also looked much more dangerous off the right, with Darikwa more comfortable behind him on his natural side which meant we then had a left footer at LB. All of that unsettled Oxford and we looked much more comfortable ourselves ,so we pushed them back for that last hour.

I must say they have some good footballers, but they are also a team of f…ies who like to go down easily to try and buy free kicks and do a lot of moaning at the ref.

After having by far the better of the last hour,I’m frustrated we didn’t get the win,even though I would’ve took a point at 30 mins.So plenty to be positive about from tonight, against a decent side once Leam changed it.

I’d make lots of changes at Stoke on Saturday to keep the lads that played tonight fresh for Sheff Wed. Even with all those changes, we will still have good options within the squad to be very competitive.

Stats courtesy of WhoScored.com

Amigo and Social Media reaction to a “long ball” draw at Cheltenham

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Match reactions, Social Media and tagged with , ,

January 29, 2022: Cheltenham Town 0 Wigan Athletic 0

“Any point away from home in this league is a good point. “

Leam Richardson post-match comment was fair in the context of accumulating points over a long season of 46 league games.

The draw means that Latics have now gone 19 matches without defeat in all competitions. This was their fourth consecutive game against a team in the lower reaches of the League 1 table. Three wins and a draw against Doncaster, Morecambe, Gillingham and Cheltenham have helped raise Wigan into the top two, with games in hand against all of their promotion rivals.

“It was either going to be a piece of magic or a set play, but we will certainly shake hands on the draw, take our point, and look forward to Tuesday.”

Latics’ display was lacking that magic yesterday, although they did look dangerous in set plays, with their big men up there. Good football was in short supply, with Latics content to constantly launch hopeful long balls gratefully received by the home side’s corpulent central defence. A draw was a fair result in the end.

Richardson sprung a surprise in his starting lineup, leaving out Steven Humphrys, who had not only scored in consecutive games, but had led the line with some style. He was replaced by new signing Josh Magennis, a battering-ram type of centre forward who had a thankless task in chasing those awful long balls against Cheltenham’s back line of three big central defenders.

Richardson’s style of play invariably includes a strong element of long ball. It is not an aesthetically appealing way to play, but it has produced results up to this point. His team is physically strong and tends to wear down the opposition by attrition, with late goals winning so many matches as the other team tires. However, it was not the case at Cheltenham, who held their own to the end. Tom Naylor and Graeme Shinnie in the centre of midfield are very experienced and accomplished players at this level. Both are capable of receiving the ball under pressure and playing accurate passes along the ground to the players further forward. Their talents were wasted in this game, the ball so often launched over their heads.

Let’s take a look at how fans reacted to the match through the message boards and social media. Our thanks go to the Vital Wigan – Latics Speyk Forum and Twitter for providing the media for the posts below to happen. Thanks go to all whose contributions are identified below:

Dudestalker commented:

Horrible football, no width. He may just get us promoted playing this style, but we would get destroyed in the championship. Before anyone kicks off, I’m fully aware we were top at 3pm but it’s terrible football to endure.

Zakky stated:

Everyone loves Leam but his tactics stink. I’ve said all season I hate the way we play, and we are awful to watch, and today’s display highlighted everything that’s wrong with his tactics it’s obvious we are struggling at present, but he changes nothing.

Megennis was just as isolated as Wyke was, and the result was the same, we had no idea how to break them down today and if anyone was going to win it was going to be Cheltenham. It might sound very harsh given our position, but we will have to massively improve if we are going to come out of February unscathed.

FrancosLoveChild wrote:

Think it’s a result we should not be surprised over considering we have not actually been performing well in games, especially the last few weeks. To be honest it’s been coming.

I can’t say much as I was not there, but I do think Leam got it very wrong leaving Humps out altogether and not going to a back 5 quicker.

WalgarthJohn added:

It was always going to happen. One game without scoring. Feel for Humphreys. As the lad was just starting to show some form. See what happens now before the window shuts. Missed max in the middle of the park. Keep playing him at full back and we will get more of these results.

Jeffs right summarised:

This is how we play. Its the same every week. We are the best side in the league but far from the most attractive to watch. However in Leam we trust and he will turn this around.

Hindleymon commented:

We aren’t capable of playing through them…haven’t been all season. What we are doing is getting results by hoof ball so until the wheels come off, he won’t change it.

King_deZueew06 provided an eloquent overview:

Only real positive out of today was we didn’t lose and Sunderland and Wycombe losing. But make no mistake MK are now in the mix and very dangerous as they play the best football out of everyone. Team selection, subs and tactics were quite counter intuitive today for me.

I don’t think we played that different today than we have done in many games this season but the difference was normally one of our players pulls out a moment of individual quality to find a goal to grind out a win while today it never arrived. If one of our set pieces goes in we excuse the rest of the performance as it’s a results business but I think if you keep playing well results will follow and i fear if you rarely play well results are going to become harder and harder to come by.

We’ve been talking about the same issue all season – we are rubbish at long ball. Our long ball style of play is playing to our weakness and against our strengths, it gives the opposition possession back constantly, nullifies our quality by making every game into battles for 50-50 balls and it’s not seeing us hit anything like our potential. There’s been a direct correlation with our best performances being the ones we’ve played less long ball and our worst performances being the ones we’ve played the most. It makes no sense why we keep persisting with this less effective style when we’ve seen us play teams off the park in patches playing it on the deck. I have no issue going long if we were any good at it but we aren’t and we aren’t talking tikka-taka we are talking just doing what we’ve shown we can do if we don’t always try and bypass midfield.

It’s not the players aren’t good enough, it’s not the formation, it’s not a lack of fight, effort or spirit – we have all of those attributes in abundance and those characteristics are the reason we are where we are. While we are where we are despite our style of play making it harder.

Last week in the first half against Gillingham we tried to play football and it was the best we’d looked in so long. While Gills were poor in their own right there was a concerted effort to avoid going long and it made us look so much better than normal – it was the first sign of progress or improvement in our game we’ve seen in months. But today it seemed like all of that went out of the window and it was a massive step backwards. Granted the pitch might not have been perfect for playing nice football but we made zero attempt to play football despite it being apparent long ball wasn’t working after about 20 mins.

I don’t think anyone played very well – to be fair the way we played made it near impossible for anyone to look good as we never strung enough passes together. But Magennis hasn’t played in nearly a month and didn’t look at all fit. Starting him at the expense of Humphrys who was fit, in form and full of confidence was a really poor decision and you didn’t need hindsight to see that. If Magennis so obviously needs to build up his fitness why wasnt he starting against Arsenal u21s in the PJT that would’ve been the perfect opportunity to ease him back in rather than in at the deep end. Im sorry to say Humphrys has been very poorly man managed for me – the lad was not given a proper chance and his confidence had clearly taken a big hit. But he finally gets a break – takes his chance, gets his confidence back and scores 2 in 2 and you drop him for an unfit player and bring on a centre back and an under performing winger ahead of him – it’s going to be a unnecessary hit to his confidence. I think writing off Magennis on today is really unfair, he was a 1 in 2 striker at this level last season and besides not looking fit, he was given absolutely nothing to work with. I know he’s a target man but he was on his own against 3 massive centre halves and none of the long balls were played into him with any precision or control they were just blasted as hard as they could in his general direction. Obviously you want your target man to challenge for everything and try and make the most of anything played towards him but he was fighting an up hill battle to make much out of some of those balls. Even if he did win the ball there weren’t many men running off him or ready for the knock downs.

I’m not worried because we didn’t win 1 game, I’m worried because the style of play is something we’ve seen so little evolution or improvement over the months and we don’t seem to learn or adapt from our mistakes. We’ve been playing teams that are low on confidence, in poor form and vastly weaker quality of players and we’ve been scraping by. When we’ve played teams that play more passing football we’ve come unstuck previously and we’ve got a lot of those coming up.

We are in a fabulous position, we have so much going for us – work rate, fight, fitness, spirit and often vastly superior players – but this style of play levels the playing field for the opposition and gives everyone a chance against us. It’s like us going into a boxing match with one hand tied behind our backs.

This run of fixtures coming up really worries me as I fear we’ve been getting away with so many lack lustre performances and giving away soft goals before turning it on for 30 mins at the end to save ourselves. B against teams who are going to be much more competitive we wont be able to play poorly for most of the game or give away leads without being punished.

No one is saying we need to sack anyone or buy a new team or throw the baby out with the bath water. There is a great deal we do very well as proof by our league position but we certainly need to improve our style of play if we want to keep on track for promotion and look beyond that. We are far better and more capable than hoofing it all the time, it’s just getting a much lower return out of the great amount of quality we have. If we could just play more pass and move football than long then we’d be unstoppable.

Stats courtesy of WhoScored.com