A friend has just asked me if we’ve put in a good performance this season. I have to admit I’m struggling to think of one. I was more than willing to wait until around this point in the season to reach an informed opinion and, sadly, we are badly lacking. I can accept a lack of quality but the money outlaid has been poorly spent and the football is just awful. The amount of headed kicks and clearances that reach the opposition is astonishing, and the lack of space for our centre midfielders is so frustrating. No doubt Warnock will point towards us missing key players in Bacuna and Hoilett, but come on, the point of an expensively assembled squad is that we have quality replacements. Ralls has gone backwards, Pack has yet to live up to the billing and Bacuna can’t seem to stay fit and consistent. Whyte is bang average at best and spends too much time tracking back to defend. Glatzel is another dud who will follow Madine into obscurity before the season is out. We have a £4 million signing (which raised eyebrows) who has been sent on loan and is now out for the season. The Flint-Morrison pairing has looked slow and ponderous all season and NML is a shadow of himself. It’s so difficult to find a positive at present.