Need a Brute in Defence and Stick or Twist with Max O'Leary

Bristol City verdict: Luton Town loss highlights a key need and stick or twist with Max O'Leary
Talking points as Bristol City largely impressed against Luton but ultimately left Kenilworth Road empty-handed following a 2-1 defeat

Bristol City may have trudged away from Luton without a point but there should be a reason for optimism despite a frustrating and disappointing evening at Kenilworth Road.

Once again the visitors started the game brightly and dominated the ball, albeit without creating any real opportunities, before being handed a sucker-punch minutes before the half-time whistle.

Failure to defend another set-piece remains infuriating but the fact that former Rovers man Tom Lockyer was on hand to open to scoring in front of the travelling supporters really rubbed salt in the wound.

City also shot themselves in the foot in the second half when Elijah Adebayo capitalised on some horror defending to ensure the points remained in Bedfordshire after Andi Weimann had bagged a deserved equaliser.

Despite the result and the goals conceded, City were actually very impressive in spells, utilising the wing-backs well while the youngsters Alex Scott and Han-Noah Massengo in midfield stood their ground against Luton's brutes in the middle of the park.

Here are the main talking points from the contest...

The need for a physical presence
Quite probably the most obvious taking from the game after City's weaknesses were glaringly exposed once again.

Two deliveries and two goals, in a contest where Luton barely threatened Max O'Leary's box. In fact, the hosts only had three attempts on target in which two of them rippled the back of the net.

Manager Nigel Pearson was clear in his post-match press conference that they are constantly relying on two or three players to head clear the danger and when they don't, it spells trouble.

That's why Chris Martin's role in the side is vitally important but you can't rely on a striker to constantly do the defensive duties inside his own box.

The opening goal was schoolboy defending as Lockyer coasted in unmarked to head past O'Leary following a short corner. A closer look at the goal shows Alex Scott and Jay Dasilva as the two closest players to the centre-back and there was only one winner in that battle.

Tomas Kalas, yet again, was imperious on occasions but there is a sense of inevitably when a testing delivery is swung into City's area.

Nathan Baker's absence is an obvious issue and Pearson must find a solution by putting all his eggs in one basket this month and landing an intimidating, organiser at the back.

The manager doesn't appear all too keen on bringing Rob Cundy into the first-team frame anytime soon while question marks remain over Rob Atkinson's fitness.

Timm Klose, a towering 6ft 4' enforcer could be the answer to City's problems and he remains in training in a bid to prove his fitness and earn himself a contract.

Whether the 33-year-old has it in his locker to stand up to the physical demands of relentless Championship football after over six months without a club remains to be seen, but the requirement for a player in his mould is needed now more than ever.

A recall beckons for Bentley
The goalkeeper dilemma is likely to split opinion between the fanbase but there's a chance even Pearson himself isn't too sure whether to stick or twist with O'Leary in goal.

Club captain Bentley hasn't played since the 3-2 defeat against Huddersfield before Christmas and was even left out of the starting XI in the FA Cup game with Fulham.

O'Leary's introduction came at a time when City were clearly attempting to be more fluid with the ball at their feet and build from the back. To an extent, it has been a success and O'Leary certainly isn't fazed with this tactical approach.

Tonight was his fifth league start and he has conceded 14 goals during that period - albeit six were against an imperious Fulham side.

Now, he's clearly not being helped by his defence at the best of times but question marks hang over his performance this evening, both with the goals and his distribution.

His positioning for the first is questionable. When James Bree delivers the cross, he takes a couple of steps out, gets caught under the ball and retreats back to his goalline as Lockyer heads home.

When Lockyer connects with the ball, he's only a couple of yards from the goalline but there's no challenge or authority from O'Leary to make the ball his.

There was a sense of indecisiveness too with the second goal as he steps out towards the ball and then retreats. When the ball drops to the turf there's a feeling he could be braver and put his body on the line but he reacts too slowly before Adebayo punishes him.

O'Leary's distribution was lacking tonight and it could be a sign that his confidence has been knocked considering the number of times he has had to pick the ball out of his net recently.

Early doors in the game he scuffed an attempt upfield which fortunately fell into the path of a team-mate. But that wasn't a one-off occasion and at least three times in the first half alone he failed to clear his lines properly.

All of these small mistakes do have a knock-on effect on the defence's confidence and it could be a good opportunity for the trip to Preston to give a well-rested Bentley the opportunity to win back the shirt.

A plan in place
Yes, it's a game of small margins and two soft goals were the difference on a hard-fought contest but there were more than enough signs tonight to determine that City are heading in the right direction under Pearson.

They may be five points behind The Hatters after tonight but City were dominant for long spells and controlled the game for large portions of the contest. To put it in lamens terms, they were the better side.

That was clear with the home supporters growing increasingly irate at their team's performance until that opening goal went in.

The formation and tactics were spot on, with the width of Dasilva and Callum O'Dowda causing problems while the link-up between Martin, Semenyo and Weimann bamboozled the defence on occasions - just the cutting edge that was lacking.

With Scott and Massengo in the middle and Joe Williams making his long-awaited return to the side, City have the building blocks in place to have a really solid spine in the side.

Keeping Semenyo fit is vital to the system, he's the only player that can create something out of nothing and Weimann's influence should not be underestimated.

The crux of the matter is, City aren't playing like a side that have won just two out of their last eight matches. They're spraying the ball about with confidence and even when that first went in, they didn't just capitulate.

If they are performing like this despite a poor run of results, how are they going to look when the results start going their way?

Alex Scott the middle man
If his last two appearances are anything to go by, the experiment of shifting Scott to the right wing-back role should be over.

The only saving grace from Andy King's unfortunate injury on Saturday was the opportunity for Scott to move into the middle and boy, was he a breath of fresh air alongside Massengo.

Sometimes you have to remind yourself that he's only 18-years-old, he plays the game like a seasoned professional at times.

He was outstanding marshalling the midfield against Cardiff and once again barely put a foot wrong last night. With Williams coming back into the starting XI, you feel that can only benefit Scott's game and a consistent run in the centre will only do wonders for his game.

He has the maturity of a player who has seen it all, is not afraid to pick out a forward pass, can stick the ball on a twopence and launch himself into a tackle.

The building blocks of a future partnership of Massengo and Scott are firmly in place and with City too good to go down and languishing in midtable obscurity, it's the ideal opportunity to continue with the duo in the middle to forge a prolific partnership.

His confidence continues to grow with each game and his quality on the ball is evident just by his weight of pass.

On numerous occasions against Luton was always eager to look up and feed Weimann, Semenyo or Martin who were constantly looking for space between the lines.

Dasilva at right wing-back is another case of square pegs in round holes but if it means Scott playing in that central role, then Pearson should show no hesitation to continue allowing that to happen.
https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport/football/bristol-city-verdict-max-oleary-6550246

 

Bentley back in and Max ( Let in 14 goals in 5 games) out, sign up Klose or play Cundy and for Christ sake do something in the transfer window as Gould promised us.

 

Time to give him a break - Poor positioning, Lack of challenge or authority, Indecisive, Poor distibrution, Slow reaction, Failure to clear his lines.

* His positioning for the first is questionable. When James Bree delivers the cross, he takes a couple of steps out, gets caught under the ball and retreats back to his goalline as Lockyer heads home.
* When Lockyer connects with the ball, he's only a couple of yards from the goalline but there's no challenge or authority from O'Leary to make the ball his.
* There was a sense of indecisiveness too with the second goal as he steps out towards the ball and then retreats. When the ball drops to the turf there's a feeling he could be braver and put his body on the line but he reacts too slowly before Adebayo punishes him.
* O'Leary's distribution was lacking tonight and it could be a sign that his confidence has been knocked considering the number of times he has had to pick the ball out of his net recently.
* At least three times in the first half alone he failed to clear his lines properly.

The guy needs a break.