Before I begin this week, I would just like to reflect on the change in my attitude in the 89th minute. Until that point I had in my mind a summary for one Minority Report. After that point, a totally different summary suddenly materialised. The cause of the huge change in opinion - an equalising goal. After reflecting on events on my long walk home, and trying to map out what I wanted to say, I decided to keep it as it was. One event should not remove the impressions of the whole. The next thing that I wanted to do was to was to compare the statistics for the two games with WBA this season, because although both games were draws, I think that it very much describes the way that our season has changed direction and fortune: At Hawthornes Reds WBA Score 2 2 % Possession 32% 68% Yellow Cards 7 3 Shots 11 11 On Target 3 3 Corners 1 4 Fouls 20 9 At Oakwell Reds WBA Score 1 1 % Possession 54% 46% Yellow Cards 1 3 Shots 22 7 On Target 8 2 Corners 6 2 Fouls 8 15 I have produced the above list by way of contradiction. It shows, in no uncertain terms, the improvement in our play and control in just two short months. The first table (at the Hawthornes) showed a team that had been leading the game until late on, but which then failed to hold on in the face of tremendous late pressure. The second table shows a team that went a goal down early through an unfortunate error, but which dominated the game as it searched for a well-deserved equaliser. It is a total turnaround in just two months, and the new management team deserves huge praise. We are far from being out of the woods of course, but our direction of travel has improved out of all recognition. Of course, the new management team cannot claim all the credit for that. Any team with so many new players would have taken time to gel. However, they have introduced the diamond, and they have shown the players how it works, and in a very short time, they have got them playing the system properly. They deserve great credit for that. However, having got all of that out of the way, I must return to my pre-equaliser thoughts. I thought that WBA brought their eventual demise upon themselves through their dour game plan and negative approach. There is no doubt that they have good players, but good players cannot function if they become isolated. When you score first, and score early, why back off and attempt to play out the rest of the game with your backs to the wall and on the break. They invited us to dictate how the game would be played, and in fairness, we were by far the better team going forward after that early goal. Now I’m not saying what the final score would have been if Bilic had attacked us with conviction, instead of just on the break, but what I am saying is that if I were a WBA fan, I would not have been happy with that second half. I thought that our back four was superb today, particularly Diaby, who showed tremendous pace and physicality and Oduor (who I criticised after his first game). The control that they had over a team with forwards with very good reputations in our league, was almost total. But the gaps in front of them were once again obvious. The diamond had been adapted slightly since I last saw it. It was now wider when we were in possession, and Mowatt sacrificed much of his effectiveness going forward because he was not where he usually plays and had less influence on the game as a result. Admittedly, his new position probably allowed Oduor to be much more effective going forward than was the case in his first game at Oakwell, but is one thing an acceptable sacrifice for the other. On the other flank, we played Thomas, a wide left player, for much of the time wide on the right. He did test their keeper in the second half, for exactly that reason, but I raise this point in order to pose the question, “is he at his most effective out there?” You see, for me the diamond needs a right sided Mowatt in order to function as it should. A hard worker who can pass effectively, and that is not a description of Luke Thomas. I also have a problem with both points of the diamond. In spite of his hard work today, I do not think that Cauley Woodrow has the vision, the strength/accuracy of long distance strike, or the pass to play at the attacking point of the diamond. He is a very much more effective player in a front two with a target man taking attention away from him and allowing him the room for his greatest asset, keeping a cool head to score goals. By playing him at the head of the diamond, we reduce his goal output, and we lower his resale value. It is the same at the defensive point. The question is, does Aapo Halme have the engine, the ability to read the game and the passing ability to play at the defensive point of the diamond. Having got all of that off my chest, I thought that the diamond worked very much better today, and there was much less obvious evidence of the two centre backs being drawn out of position to cover attacking full backs than has been the case in many games. It was not a total triumph though. Oduor had a lot of ground to cover on more than one occasion because he had been drawn out of position in coverage of the centre backs, who themselves were in coverage, but I guess that is going to happen when a team devotes more resources to attacking than are good for it. I enjoyed the game very much, and I enjoyed it even more after the 89th minute. We deserved at least a point on the balance of play, but WBA really must attempt to be more positive. Rookie Watch Sami Radlinger unfortunately, he was at fault for the goal today, and his second half save after an error by Jordan Williams does not quite make up for that. Clarke Oduor was very much better than he was in his first game for us. He took far more responsibility for a start. Bambo Diaby This might have been Diaby’s best game for us. He will be an icon eventually. Mads Andersen did his job well without dominating proceedings in the same way that Diaby did. Aapo Halme is not at his best in the defensive point of the diamond in my opinion, and exactly why he was only 3 yards from goal for the equaliser is also a mystery. Although Diaby had been playing target man during the previous attack, so anything was possible at that point in the game. Luke Thomas is not a centre midfield player, in my opinion. Nevertheless, having said that, I thought that he had an exceptional game until he tired towards the end and cramp reduced his effectiveness. Conor Chaplin was much less of an influence on the game this week, although he did pop up with the pass to Halme for the equaliser. Man of the Match Last home game, the man of the match was obvious, but today, it is a far more difficult task. I have already nominated Diaby, Oduor and Thomas, and I would also add Jacob Brown who was a thorn in the side of the WBA defence until his removal to let Schmidt have 20 minutes. After much thought, I had to resort to the use of a lucky dip bag. The name I pulled out was Luke Thomas, in spite of my doubts about his role. But I would not argue against any of those 4.
You critiqued Odour after his first game ? A young lad making his debut for a new team in the Championship . Shame on you . Nil admirari .
Largely agree with much of your analysis. Oduor clearly the best player on the pitch for us, Theirs was their keeper. For me Diaby & Mads are not good enough as a partnership. Their distribution is poor & one or the other falls asleep. An experienced player alongside one or the other & we have a chance.
We have looked more solid with Halme in front of the back four in my opinion. The pass for the first QPR goal is the kind of thing he has been cutting out in the matches I have seen him play. I would be interested to see his heat map, because my impression is that he is fairly disciplined in maintaining his position - something the coach hinted at in his interview after the Millwall game. Only in the last few minutes did Halme (and Diaby) move up field in support of an equaliser. It was well deserved.
