Another away performance that was uninspiring. This has been the case all season. We've lost to Wigan Athletic and Middlesbrough and really should've lost at Nottingham Forest, Sheffield Wednesday and Birmingham City. We've had our fair share of luck this season and we've been rescued by the quality of a couple of individuals namely Harvey Barnes and Matty Phillips. At home we've pretty much deserved the points we've accumulated although we could've been three down to Bristol City before the aforementioned Barnes took over the show.
We have individuals that are better than other clubs in this league. Ahmed Hegazi, Craig Dawson, Phillips, Kieron Gibbs, Jake Livermore, Gareth Barry, Chris Brunt and Barnes are all players that have Premier League quality whilst Dwight Gayle is top Championship quality. These players have played in most games this season and it's the quality of those individuals that have got us results and not the quality of the team.
We are disjointed, a group of individuals rather than a team. If this continues we will not finish in the top two. Because of the quality of our individuals we will be around the top six for sure providing they all remain fit and we don't lose them for periods of time or in the transfer window.
The midfield is the biggest problem. Defensively we've struggled but a lot of that is to do with the middle of the park there is no solid base in front of the back three. It's been said all season and it is perfectly true, Chris Brunt is a very good footballer but he is not a central midfielder it is not in his nature to play there and he doesn't have the attributes to consistently play that position. Gareth Barry does have the attributes and we've looked better with him in the middle rather than Brunty but Barry is 37 years old, he doesn't have the legs. He can and will do a decent job in midfield but you cannot expect it all the time in the Championship at his age. Barry should be an option to play in midfield as should Sam Field and for me it's the biggest issue of the season that Field is not getting a look in. This is Darren Moore's biggest issue and biggest failing. Livermore has too much on his shoulders at times and at times it is affecting him. We are fine in wide areas with Gibbs and Phillips and Conor Townsend is a player we can get by with for a few games if Gibbs is absent. Everyone knows we need cover for Phillips, the club included, I'm certain this will be addressed in January.
Going forward we've scored goals for fun but there have been games where we've needed another option and haven't had it. We rely far too much on Barnes and Gayle. Jay Rodriguez has offered very little all season from open play and at times has been totally anonymous. When the guile and craft of Barnes is nullified we offer little threat. We could do with a "Mitrovic type" option at times, which we don't have at the club and there are times also, particularly late on in games where we've been holding a lead where we've been crying out for some real pace up front to give the opposition a problem rather than just inviting endless pressure like we did at home to Stoke for the last fifteen minutes or so. There will be more occasions as the season progresses where we're in a similar position. Oliver Burke and Bakary Sako are potential options as the season progresses.
Some of the weight needs lifting off Barnes's shoulders. James Morrison and Wes Hoolahan don't have the same qualities that Barnes has but they do offer a kind of creative threat that we may need to exploit more.
At the back, given the way we're playing and given the fact that we do not have a solid platform in front of them we're not actually doing that badly. We are conceding too many goals overall but this isn't just a reflection of the back three. Hegazi gets criticism which for me is not only ridiculous, it's plain baffling at times. Not only is his defending vastly under-rated particularly one on one, he is also by far the best of our three on the ball. The way we play doesn't really play to Dawson's strengths. Daws is at home in a deep lying defensive unit where his main job is to head the ball away, put in tackles and blocks and basically be a rock. He is excellent at that. His game isn't really suited to playing expansive football where he is expected to play on the ball BUT he is good enough to get away with it at Championship level. Kyle Bartley is the clear weak link in the back three. He is not particularly comfortable on the ball and his idea of marking is to wrap his arms round strikers or tug their shirts. We have been lucky not to have conceded more penalties than we have this season. We could do with an upgrade here.
Moving forward Darren Moore's biggest priorities are:
a) Sorting out the midfield. Field and Barry need to be the option alongside Livermore. Brunt cannot start games in the centre of midfield.
b) Finding other options up front when Barnes is nullified. Stop Barnes and you stop us creating. We then rely on moments of individualism, usually from Phillips.
c) Find a decent back up for Phillips in January.
d) Either get more out of Rodriguez in terms of his positive influence in open play over ninety minutes or find another alternative.
e) Find a left sided centre back that is better than Bartley.