It was another of those games where it took a little while to get going.
The big problem for me is the lack of accuracy and quality with our passing from the entire backline. The goalkeeper and the whole defence are guilty of making poor decisions on the ball and also lacking passing skills.
On one hand, why do you allow Carl Ikeme to keep kicking the ball upfield like that? What purpose does it serve other than make life really difficult for the strikers to win and get control of the ball?
On the other hand, why would you trust giving it to the defenders to distribute, because they have their own set of problems and have difficulty with making the right decisions on the ball, the weight required in the pass and finally accuracy.
The shape at the back was far too square when we were in possession too, so there is also a lack of tactical intelligence and understanding on how to create depth and angles to encourage easier passing and to make space and give yourself the time on the ball you need to work on all the skills I’ve just mentioned above.
Sheffield Wednesday did suck us into playing that way at times by hitting high balls forward that we had to deal with and sometimes you have to hit it directly back as a means of supressing the immediate danger.
The shame was, when there was time to actually get the ball under control and put your foot on it, we still resorted to lumping it forward pretty aimslessly. It’s that composure and understanding that’s required. That would have allowed us to take a real stranglehold on the match and create a wave effect in terms of pressure, but because we didn’t think on our feet we never really did anything despite having most of the ball.
The Owls never looked threatening either, but our lack of punch and cutting edge means we’re always liable to get caught if we don’t put games to bed and that’s what happened. One quick counter attack and a lovely cross saw the ball hit the back of the net and there were a multitude of defensive errors in the lead up to the equaliser.
They didn’t offer much of a threat and were okay, but nothing more on the day. I actually liked Marcus Tudguy’s movement and willingness to spin and turn off his marker, but he didn’t get much service to feet.
As for us, we looked a little lost for ideas. Jay Simpson’s movement was good, he got in all the right places, but his touch and timing was off and he looked well off the pace as a result. It’s clear that he wasn’t fully fit. I thought the midfield didn’t really get into the game, but that was mainly because they were bypassed by the style of play employed by both teams. It was all a bit too congested for my liking and I’d have liked the defence to have taken up their starting positions 5-10 yards deeper.
Going forward, our inexperience showed when we tried counter attacks of our own. We broke down most of our own play by rushing and therefore quite often two players misinterpreted each other and the possession was conceded cheaply. In those moments, sometimes you have to slow it down just momentarily so that everybody can synchronise as they make the shift from defensive to attack and ensure they are in the correct rhythm, posture and stride to read and take control of the situation as it materialises.
But, I still see a lot of these things as teething issues and we are moving in the right direction, albeit slowly.
I was really pleased that Alejandro Faurlin got his first goal for the club. It’s been a long time coming and I hope it can take him to a new level with us. I thought he was the pick of the bunch out there, showing how to control the ball under pressure and keep a cool head and pick the simple pass.
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