A Move to Liverpool or Manchester United Would Hinder Lloyd Kelly's Development

'A move to Liverpool or Manchester United would only hinder Bristol City star Lloyd Kelly's development'
By
Matthew Withers

Our fans columnist looks back on the win over Birmingham City

Who would have thought it? In a season that has seen us win away at QPR’s Loftus Road for the first time in 41 years, we only went and won away at Birmingham City’s St Andrews for the first time in 25 years.

I remember the last victory and some pretty unpleasant scenes after the match and have to say I haven’t got too many fond memories of trips to St Andrews since that win in 1993. Another hoodoo confined to the record books.

I’ve given Lee Johnson some stick over the past couple of months but the manager got his tactics right and deserves the credit for a hard-fought win. This wasn’t pretty by any stretch of the imagination and we didn’t play scintillating attacking football, it was a dogged, determined and resolute performance and we did the ugly parts of the game really well.

This wasn’t a backs to the wall win, we had pretty much 60% to 40% possession and restricted Birmingham to just 3 shots on target. This was a Birmingham City side that hadn’t been beaten at home since February but we were pretty comfortable throughout the 96 minutes, with the only real Birmingham threat coming from Jacques Maghoma on the left and the aerial presence of Lukas Jutkiewicz.

We still have a habit of giving the ball away needlessly and at times were sloppy in possession. Too often we just hoofed the ball clear and didn’t find a man which led to us being out under pressure.

Despite a disappointing result last time out against Millwall, LJ opted to keep the same starting eleven. No bad thing for me as I think Lee tinkers with the side unnecessarily too often.

This meant a 4-2-3-1 formation again with Lloyd Kelly, Adam Webster, Tomas Kalas and Eros Pisano at the back, Marlon Pack and Josh Brownhill as the middle two, Nic Eliasson, Jamie Paterson and Andreas Weimann as the attacking three and Famara Diédhiou up top on his own.

As it was for a lot of the first half, Marlon Pack played in that Quarterback role and was often the closest player to Niki Maenpaa. Whilst not every pass found its target, Marlon led from the front and was my man of the match.

The back four were impressive with Lloyd Kelly again standing out. There has been a lot of talk in the media about Kelly and potential Premier League bids for him in January but I really hope that the club can turn down anything that may materialise or at least agree to a deal that sees the youngster remain at the club for the rest of the season and maybe next season.

Lloyd has a lot still to learn and a move to a Premier League club where his appearances may be limited would not help his development at this stage of his career.

Webster, Kalas and Pisano all stood strong and it was the defence that was the foundation of the win. The attacking three in Eliasson, Weimann and Paterson worked hard but didn’t really offer too much in the final third. In the first half our only real threats came from corners. It was only when Callum O’Dowda came on ten minutes into the second half for Eliasson that we started to give Birmingham something to think about. O'Dowda was at it from the moment he came on, closing the Brum backline down and not allowing them time on the ball. I’d start with Callum next week and give him a run in the side. With contract negotiations ongoing the Irishman needs to be playing and a fit and raring to go O’Dowda is a massive plus for City.

Famara Diédhiou will have felt that he owed Birmingham something after the incident last season that saw him banned at the start of this season for 6 games and so it was all the sweeter that it was Fam that got the winner, heading in from an O’Dowda corner. The big striker worked hard and playing as a one up front isn’t easy. I just think he needs to be on the front foot that little bit more and be on the move and I’m sure he will get more reward.

Brum boss Garry Monk bemoaned his side’s bad luck after the game and felt that they should have been awarded a penalty, having three appeals turned down by ref John Brooks. Not for me. I didn’t think any were at the time and having watched them back on TV over the weekend, I think Brooks got it spot on.

There was one nervy moment as we entered the final minute of injury time when Birmingham were awarded a free kick on the edge of the box. Jutkiewicz sent a drive through the City wall but thankfully Maenpaa was able to smother the shot and confirm the win.

As I say this wasn’t pretty, it was hard earned and showed a resolution and determination which was missing last week. City are now unbeaten in three with 7 points from a possible 9, next week’s game against surprise league leaders Norwich City will be a big test but the side can go into it with confidence. If we can look after the ball a little better and show intent when on the ball in the final third as O’Dowda demonstrated it could be a good game. The home fans need something to cheer.

On a final note, I hope that a friend and fellow City fan who lost his battle was looking down smiling at the win and the 3 points. Rest in peace Big Dunc, that one was for you mate.
https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport...ws/a-move-liverpool-manchester-united-2309210

 

2 lines from this article tells it's own story.

* 'This wasn’t a backs to the wall win, we had pretty much 60% to 40% possession and restricted Birmingham to just 3 shots on target.'
* 'City are now unbeaten in three with 7 points from a possible 9.'

Different picture when you read these stats.