Now is Not the Time to Judge Dean Holden

Now is not the time to judge Dean Holden with so many first team Bristol City players out
Our weekly view from the stands/sofa.

I’ve started this week’s column about four times already but even though it’s twelve hours later I’m still raging and so disappointed in the result and first half.

On the back of two of the worst performances in the last few seasons – Rotherham away and Millwall at home (you can also add in the defeat to Birmingham City at home) – I really thought that we would show an intensity and desire away at Preston North End.

I’d hoped that Dean would have the lads fired up and playing front-foot football to end the Preston hoodoo that has hung over us for far too long. Preston, like the aforementioned teams, had been on a poor run (at home for PNE) and would surely be lacking in confidence but then sadly so are we.

Holden opted to recall Callum O’Dowda and Zak Vyner to his starting line-up with Adrian Mariappa and Tyreeq Bakinson dropped to the bench. With Famara Dièdhiou suspended following his sending off on Tuesday, experienced attacking options were limited and Holden named attacking youngster Sam Pearson on the bench alongside four other players from the U23s – Opi Edwards, Ryley Towler, Sam Bell and Zak Smith.

I’m not making excuses, but that bench highlights just how thin our squad is right now and I for one won’t be judging Holden until he has some of the ten first teamers back available.

But, even given the fact that we are so short in numbers and experience and this is such a tough league, you do still have to show the basic fundamentals. Not showing the effort, desire, running and being able to pass a ball ten yards is the least that as a fan we can expect and Holden has to get his formation and line-up better prepared to start games whatever the personnel.

There really wasn’t much to write home about in the first half for City. The only real talking point was the penalty given away by Taylor Moore on 21 minutes. Scott Sinclair weaved across the box and fainted to shoot and Taylor challenged for the ball, slightly mistiming it and Sinclair made the most of the minimal touch. His theoretical dive was a joke and something that is all too familiar in the modern game by all teams and the ref gave the pen. Whether Taylor got something on the ball was not obvious to see and he did catch Sinclair and so as soft as it was, it was a penalty for me.

Up stepped our nemesis Daniel Johnson to slot the ball past Dan Bentley. Johnson has one of those slow run-ups with his penalties, waiting for the keeper to move and I would have liked to have seen Bentley hold his nerve and stand his ground and force Johnson to make his own mind up. One nil down with just over 20 minutes gone and I’m ashamed to say it that with the performance I was watching, on the back of our recent form, I honestly felt that it was game over.

Just how we could play that badly was a mystery to me. After the game Dean said that the first half was like a boxing match with both teams trying to work each other out. We should have had PNE worked out in or preparation but seemed to have no real game plan and it was another half of football where we failed to have a single shot on the North End goal. Our most dangerous situation was when Rudd in the Preston goal tripped himself up.

Dean did make substitutions at the break withdrawing Moore and Han-Noah Massengo. Moore struggled as he has done most times when he plays the left of a back three. He is just not suited to it. His best football was playing in the middle of the three. Han tried in the first half and it could easily have been Adam Nagy who made way at the break. On came Antione Semenyo and Tyreeq Bakinson and we switched to 4-4-2.

The second half was much improved and we certainly deserved to get something from the game. Antoine caused Alex Neil’s side real problems and their right-back Fisher should really have seen red when having already been booked he caught Semenyo again. Had it been his first challenge I think he would have been booked but as it was the second the ref showed leniency which is infuriating and just shows inconsistency. Who knows if that would have changed the result but certainly we were on top and Callum O’Dowda who was very good in the second half forced Rudd in to making two good saves from a curling left foot shot and then a header.

We actually did play on the front foot. Jack Hunt got to the byline and his crosses carried so much more of a threat than the over-hit crosses from 30 yards out that he was hitting in the opening period. With a little more composure we should have got something from the game but at the moment we just can’t find the back of the net.

Worryingly we haven’t scored in four out of the last five games and Sky said that we were second worst in the league with only Sheffield Wednesday who sit bottom of the table having a poorer shots per game ratio.

I was really disappointed that with time running out, Holden didn’t give youngsters Sam Bell or Sam Pearson a chance. Both would have shown more energy up top than Chris Martin was able to muster and both know where the back of the net is, albeit at a much lower standard. However, they would have been fearless and it just felt that Holden missed an opportunity.

The second half needs to be the template for performance and formation. With Bristol moving to Tier 2 some fans (not me sadly as I am in South Glos and Tier3) will get the opportunity to be at the next home game against Wycombe. We have to provide a more entertaining brand of football as per the second half. It’s a big game.

Giving the players ratings on our 3 Peaps In A Podcast Bonus show, the scores were very different 1st half compared to the 2nd half. These scores are based on the game overall. Had the second half not been a considerable improvement on what we witnessed in that opening half, these scores would have been 4’s and 5’s. In the end we went with Bentley 7, Vyner 6, Moore 4, Kalas 6, Hunt 6, Rowe 5, O’Dowda 7, Massengo 5, Nagy 5, Wells 6, Martin 4, Semenyo 7, Bakinson 6.

Finally, it’s been a horrible year and I would like to wish all Bristol football fans as happy a Christmas as is possible. Stay safe.
https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/now-not-time-judge-dean-4816275

 

I agree with the article, now is not the time to sack DH, it would be stupid, 20 games into the season, January window is upon us, Covid 19, 12 injured squad players, 9th place and 30 points, regardless of a 3 game run of defeats, relegation fears are a distant concern, the guy deserves a chance, he has not done a bad job so far, even with all the problems.

 

Now that is a fish hook.