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An excellent away point that I’d have taken before KO, especially seeing as Collins went off so early with an injury.
There were solid performances all round although we didn’t create much going forward. (I can’t remember us having a shot on target and they seemed to have loads of corners, especially in the second half)
Allsop made a few regulation stops with one excellent save down to his left towards the end.
West Brom are the first team that I have seen REALLY press us from our own goal kicks but in fairness to our players, they stuck to their game and remained calm even if it did occasionally make for some hairy viewing. I don’t mind that at all and think that it is good to see although others in the crowd weren’t seemingly as happy.
Ralls looked a bit off the pace and I was glad to see him replaced with Sawyers, and the game became increasingly ragged the more substitutions were made.
Simpson grew into the game after appearing very casual in possession in the first half. His calm manner on the ball could prove to be an asset in time.
West Brom were average at best.
P.S. Away fans having to walk away from and then around the stadium after the game is a right pain, if you ever visit The Hawthorns 🤬
Just got back as well and can't disagree much with that - considering after 5 minutes we had two different defenders from Saturday showed our strength in depth and also the togetherness especially as it was a new left hand sideOriginally Posted by Bobby Dandruff
O'Dowda was top draw and Wintle again excelled
Not sure how we ended with bookings for our first fouls when they were getting three or four bites ( mainly on ojo) before getting booked
Great night shit journey home though
You say we didn't have a shot on goal and West Brom were average at best. What does that say about us?
Almost every goal kick went to NG or Simpson then right down the middle to Wintle. West Brom knew exactly where it was going and how they didn’t end up nabbing it off us and scoring I don’t know.
Playing from the back is clearly an important part of what we do, but on occasions it has to just go forward, as Morison clearly instructed in the end last night.
There we also a couple of occasions when it looked like we might attack but played it all the way back to Alsopp.
All in all though, a very good point and some good performances. Simpson had me worried at times with his choice of pass, but you have to say well done to him given his lack game of time.
O’Dowda showed excellent attitude when asked to play left back and is looking like signing of the season.
Ojo did well and might’ve scored. I always feel there’s a great player just waiting to be released from him. Hope he can do it.
NG excellent and strong throughout.
Sawyers and Ralls looked a bit off the pace. I’m sure no one will thank me for saying it, but Etete looks nowhere near ready. He can’t win anything in the air and does not appear to chase anything down. At the moment the place in the starting 11 belongs to Watters.
Agree about Odowda, he was excellent again last night, we missed his ability to influence the game up front, but with 3 clean sheets out of 4, we are developing into a team that's hard to beat.
Hopefully Collins injury isn't as bad as it looked and he's back soon, he has really impressed me, if he is out I would imagine Ng will go to left back on Sunday and Simpson will partner Kipre.
Fair play to Simpson for coming in and after a couple of shaky moments settling into the role to produce a decent debut
It was a good strong team performance and a draw was the right result.
Neither Watters or Etete had much chance to shine and Etete will need a run of games to get up to speed in the Championship.
Having come to accept (and even enjoy/admire) the way we pass the ball about at the back, even under pressure, what I could not put my finger on last night was why, having seemingly cleared the danger zone, we then played it back to do it all again. Was it because of a change in personnel: wide players not giving options; a centre midfielder not on top of his game; centre forward not dropping back or maybe a change in structure/ instructions? Or was it down to the fact that Birmingham just pressed us more in midfield?
Have to add that I thought Watters was superb last night and, at the moment, Etete worries me, he seems to have no ability or desire to get involved and influence the game. Early days I know, and he is young, we will see. But perhaps those that do can get off Watter's back now, goal or no goal (yet). It is the last thing he needs or deserves.
Considering that City didn’t manage a single shot on target last night, what was it that Watters did so well? I’m genuinely curious.
He didn't have any shots off target which is pretty impressive for 90 minutes.
Chased down well and won the ball a few times to create opportunities.
Don’t think anyone thinks he’s the long term answer but on last nights evidence offers more than Etete currently
I agree with all of that apart from the Etete and Watters bit. I’d like to see Etete start and Watters come on. (Despite very little service for either, Watters again frustrated)
Wait: Watters was superb? How do you come to that conclusion?
I don't like Etetes body language. On showing so far I prefer Watters up front
taller players can often appear languid and less interested than shorter players, but it isn't necessarily true
Ok, maybe "superb" was not the best choice of descriptor. Obviously he is still lacking in some areas and is probably not the final answer but I thought his chasing and his runs were "very good". I think we missed him after he was taken off. I also think he was way above Etete and to a lesser extent Harris in terms of commitment and impact. He kept the defenders working and thinking.
Yea I don't know what that was all about, both times I noticed it we were either just inside their half or near halfway with options to go forward.
Playing it all the way back so we could play roulette again seemed odd.
I'm happy we are trying to play out but some of it was beach football. Really should have been punished.
No doubt you'll get a whole bunch of stats which tell you otherwise, personally I like to trust my eyes on whether a person or team plays well.
The way we have been playing by getting the attacking midfield forward and defending from the front, as a CF, Watters has done what has been asked of him.
Sure he needs a goal for himself but as long as he continues to work for the team then goals will come.
Personally I don't care who scores them.
It's a team game.
On Etete, I mentioned in the Birmingham thread that I wasn't sure about him and yesterday night I saw nothing to change my mind.
Hopefully he is simply not fit enough and has ability. We shall see but at the moment I agree with JB, Watters is our best option up top.
The side is developing into something good and many are willing to get behind MW but you are always going to get your snipers who enjoy nothing better than scoring points against the glass half full fans.
Cue the "Happy Clapper" comments....
etete has only played 69 minutes at this level
Watters did well last night, won the ball back a few times, held it up and brought others into play a few times as well. We didn't create anything for him but he kept plugging away and hopefully will get that goal soon, think it will do him the world of good. Etete just doesn't look ready too me, he looks lost out there. I'd be tempted to give him a few games in the under 23s and see how he does there.
I think the team is looking fairly solid, much more solid than I imagined. We need an experienced striker if we are going to threaten the play-offs though, I would go for Grabban I think if his wages aren't too bad. Get someone who can score 15 and we'd not be far away from the top 6 I don't think, the league is wide open this season.
nice
Exactly......
so let's not rule him out just yet.
I think even someone like Harry Kane played something like 500 minutes at this level before he scored his first goal
Lovely summary , appreciated
Would you say he was given good service ??
What we don't want is a front man running around in the wrong areas looking for the ball
I'm not liking the look of Etete so far. He seems like he doesnt know what to do. I hope he comes good.
Which is pretty much what Watters does!!
Really good point up there. You'd have thought WBA'd be thinking we were there for the taking with Jamilu coming off so early on, but I'd argue it was them who looked more vulnerable in the first half (though second half they were the better side for a fair bit of it).
Ojo was very good, Simpson had a good solid debut, Ng played well again and made a few vital interceptions. Allsop was faultless- unreal feet for a keeper at this level and made a few good saves, particularly the one towards the end of the game. I heard several cries of "he can't kick" from people around me, which led me to wonder, not for the first time, if we have the dullest fans in the world.
Watters v Etete is fairly close for me at the moment- Etete was much more involved in the game than Watters was, won a few duels and played a couple of decent passes/flicks, but he probably isn't ready for the press from minute 1 given he didn't press much at all when he came on last night (although I think, by that point, we were happy enough to stand off and sit deeper and protect the point). Watters didn't play badly last night, but again offered little in terms of an outlet for Philogene/Ojo/Rino (who also had a very good game- the best of our midfielders). I would be inclined to give Etete a start soon just to see how he does- realistically, he is unlikely to offer less than Watters has done so far this season.
All in all, another good point to add to our collection for when HMS P*ss the League starts boarding come March/April
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