I have always enjoyed watching Keith's mind work....

but today I could not make sense of it.

If Keith thinks that Cranie is a full back, then I have to say that I do not agree. He seems to offer nothing going forward and is clearly uncomfortable there. Whilst most posters on here were pleased to see Wiseman out of central defense, I was happy for positive reason; he is a better right back than Cranie. Cardiff would not have scored their first if Foster had been in central defense for that corner. He may have lost some pace, but he is still our best defensive header of a ball. McNulty would have been in my starting line-up, but today he was very poor, and not just for the goals. His whole game seems to have gone backwards since last season.

However, I was more distressed by the absence of shape in midfield. In my opinion, central midfielders must either be good at everything, or they must have talents that complement each others game. For me Greening and Dawson are too alike. Both want to play in front of our defense, beginning moves from deep. Playing them together slows the game down, something that is not improved by the fact that neither has much pace. Unlike most on here, I thought that Greening was OK in the first half, but that the pace was telling on him in the second.

I have left my biggest complaint until last however. The biggest reason for the lack of balance in midfield was the selection of Done and Mellis for the wide positions. This was compounded by the fact that both had to play on their "wrong" sides. This is something that I have taken issue with Keith before. When they cut inside, as they are encouraged to do, it means that they are entering the most crowded area of the field, cutting down the space available to their team mates, and making it more difficult to find the angle to make a telling pass. Virtually the first time a player went around the opposition full back was when Wiseman delivered the telling cross for our goal. OK, it is easier to cut inside, because that is what the fullback wants the opposition winger to do, but that does not make it a sensible option for the manager to encourage. The selection of Mellis wide left baffled me. It was as if Keith had decided that Mellis must play, even if he had to play out of position. His covering for Golbourne drove me spare all the first half and he only became part of the game when he moved inside, fine for him, but bad for the team shape. In the end, Keith was forced to fill the gap on the left with Davies, removing him from a more dangerous central position. Done has also gone backwards since last season, and I do not think a return to form is likely, just because he is playing games. I do hope that Keith is not going down the Spackman road of believing that midfield is just a question of numbers rather than of balance and quality.

Most of you will know that, in the past, I have always been a supporter of Keith. My position has not changed, in spite of my doubts. I still think that he will get things right, but it looks to me that the pressure to win is starting to tell on his decision-making. He needs a win... any sort of a win, to take away the pressure and allow him to think again.

 

When we win on Tuesday, the swagger will be back, not just in Hill, but his big fans on here,
It will come something like " Come on you moaning bas***ds, what about that then?" I can tell by pm who it will be by too!

 

Can't disagree with any of that. Some baffling selection decisions by keef today. In the starting line up at least.

 

Excellent post. I enjoy reading your match analysis . Always very balanced, insightful and knowledgeable.