Really enjoyed our performance. I thought Dougall & Diaby would make a difference to us & they certainly did. I’ve commented all season that I think we’ve looked lightweight at times with Bahre, Thomas & the two Williams often playing but that wasn’t the case today. We looked so much bigger & stronger than the Swansea players & seemed to win the majority of the 50-50’s. Dougall & Mowatt are pretty much the only two players we’ve got who can keep possession & play good passes consistently so it’s huge to get Dougall back in the side. I think Dougall’s often gone under rated because we were still able to win games at league one level without him but that was largely because we didn’t need a holding midfielder in them games, we definitely need one at championship level. What I would say are the negatives are that’s pretty much our best eleven & we played very well yet still had to rely on our goalkeeper to save us in the second half. Squad depth’s a massive worry. Outside of Wilks replacing Chaplin I don’t really see any other replacements of a similar standard. I don’t think the other full backs are up to it, Anderson’s has looked the worst centre back up to now, Bahre & Styles are way off Mowatt & McGeehan, Thiam & Schmidt aren’t exactly Woodrow replacements etc. We’re going to get injuries as shown by Diaby & Cavare going down late on which leads me on to my next point... Should them two have even played? Both missed Preston through injury & went down injured again. Albeit today was a good performance was it really worth potentially ruling out two important players for another month or so. I’m not so sure. Was that Murray gambling everything on a win to get himself the job over the long term benefits of the team? I hope not but it doesn’t look good that two of them went down injured after missing the last game. I also hope people aren’t too harsh on McGeehan, I’ve criticised his passing & decision making in the past but he’s normally a very capable finisher, he looked devastated in the dug out after, bet he’s kicking himself. And how much does Chaplin look like Hazard from the stands? Same physique, same hair, same facial hair & even runs like him. Wish he played like him!
Decent display, don’t think he stood out as much as his two fellow centre backs defensively but he still impressed me with his passing. He’s probably our least experienced signing & has made a big jump up to the championship playing 4 different positions in just 12 games, I think he’s doing pretty well overall.
I’d like to think the same but Cavare’s looked far worse than cramp. He could barely stand up 10 minutes after he came off
According to Murray’s post match interview on radio Sheffield, both have a slight calf strain and major doubts for Tuesday
I thought Sibbick was ok until the point where they made a change second half and pushed Ayew more inside and onto Sibbick. He got turned every time one of which led to the cross field pass to set up their goal. I think he has some talent but needs to improve his reading of the game, speed up his decision making and get that sense of urgency. I think its all about gaining more experience and getting the right coaching for him.
