We need to find a replacement in midfield though. Whitts has been crap lately, hasn't scored in ages!!! If it wasn't for the likes of Hudson, Gunnar, Nugent and Connoly fighting to get on the end of rubbish crosses we'd be struggling. Only 7 of our players have scored 4 goals or more in the league and only 12 have scored in total. Worrying given we are already 21 games in!
Top performance last night, too drunk to post anything last night... Great performance from all the lads and Huds deserved MOM. Great away points and some great finishing.
Aparently we had 4 attempts on target and 4 goals. Totally different from the 15 attempts on target and 1 goal against wendsday. Also funny that after a 4-1 win it's a defender that gets MoM. Shows the way we play as a team. Thought the tracking back and defending from the front was superb last night. Bellamy and HH chased and harried, Noone, Conway and Whitts put in some important tackles. The quiet one was Cowie who rarely got a mention, but I think did a lot of break up and link play. Going back to Huds, we spoke a season or two back about defensive frailties, but one of the things we're seeing now is the benefit of the midfield doing their defensive duties. 2 seasons back every time we cleared the ball and it came straight back. Now, our defense is exposed less often due to the front 6 doing defensive work and when they clear the ball we often keep hold of it. Great all round performance last night. Another 4 of those before the new year will cement our credentials.
Agreed about the great finishing. To use one of Malky's favourite sayings from the recent past, "on another night we'd have score plenty" was the ritual after some of our tight scoreline games - well it came good last night. All four were brilliantly taken goals. So glad that the two subs Mason and Kimbo slotted theirs. It'll do both of them the world of good.
Only 4 shots on target, but they were very clear chances. It looks on paper like everything we hit flew in but you'd have been disappointed if anyone except maybe Kim had failed to put those away.
What was evident last night was the movement off the ball and the what a player did after he made a pass. Bellamy continuing his run after heading the ball to HH for his goal, Kim coming inside after passing outside and losing defenders for the return pass. There were numerous other occassions when palyers made searching runs. Sometimes the passer and the receiver weren't on the same wavelength and sometimes more than one player made the same run or took up the same space, but overall we're seeing more and more of a team and less and less a group of individuals. We were a team at the begining of the season but it is becoming more and more fine tuned, with depth and options. Bellamy's interview after the game was interesting when he said he hadn't played with a harder working and more honest group of players. I'm sure there will be a few more blips along the way. Very hard not to start getting carried away though.
The thing I found so satisfying last night was the quality of our defending. For the last few seasons we've always had that attacking flair, only to be let down by some comical defending at times. Last night we looked the real deal. I don't want to count any chickens just yet...but...I...just...can't...help...it...one...two...three...
Tremendous all round performance from the boys last night. That is what other clubs have done in the past, and is required to get out of this division. I said it in a recent comment that we must score more goals to be serious contenders. You can't ask for a better squad performance than that last night. We played to our strengths last night going forward and the movement off the ball was stepped up a notch. Great to see us pressure Blackburn when they were in posession and forcing mistakes. The focus and workrate of this squad on promotion is frightening.
Apart from the fact that his haircut is a copy of Gilbert O"Sullivan's, he of Nothing Rhymes fame back in the seventies....on reflection Joe Mason's goal last night was pure innocent reaction. He reminds me of a fearless youngster, who"s instinct is finish off what you're given, just put it away. Similar finishing to what Bothroyd delivered a few seasons ago...class!
Cracking result for you lot last night. The more Welsh teams we have in the PL the better welsh football will become, so good luck in your push for automatic promotion
