I ampresuming that most folk were either at the game, ot saw it on tv. Alnwick 7: can only give him that because he hardly had anything worthy of note to do. What more can you say? Kennedy 7: fitted in well and kept the ball reasonably well, but the fact that he is almost entirely left-footed will not have gone unnoticed. If Birmingham had sussed this, we could have been in more trouble down our right. In spite of the result, I would think that either Hassell, or Stones should come back for the Ipswich game. Foster 8: good goal. He always looks as though he could have been a striker when you think of some of the goals he has scored over the years, including the header at Liverpool. Seems to have an instinct to be in the right place and get the right contact. Most defenders would have strated tracking back once that corner flopped into the area. Defended well against King and Lita, who are no mean strikers at this level. Wiseman 8: passes the ball well and kept a firm grip on King and Lita, especially in terms of reading potential runs well (both are quick), rather than out-muscling them, which is not his style. I was not convinced when he was moved to central defence and still think he would struggle under pressure against a big target man, but it was horses for courses b Brum and he was the man for the job. Golbourne 9: highly impressed. He looked assured on the ball; never let his winger get clear and it was Chris Burke, whose records shows he is one of the best goal-makers in the Championship last season and who also is capable of netting a few. This has to be significant reason why Brum offer so little threat and that has to be down to Scotty. He also looked good coming forwards with the ball and not afraid to run on beyond the half way line. Amazing how few defences know how to cope with players running at them. They seem petrified of giving away a free-kick, penalty, or getting booked. Well done, Scotty. Best I have seen of him so far. Cranie 9: great idea, born out of necessity to play him as the holding midfielder in the diamond, but how well he is doing. I thought at Wolves that he looked assured on the ball and he looks even better now. There was one back-heel flick, which was just premiership class and, with the experience of having played in defence, he read the attacking threats well, positioning himself well and picking off the through balls and runs. Another class performance. I don't think he should be shifted from the holding role now. Dawson 9: epitomised what the whole team performance was about - non-stop motion and getting into opposition players, mostly legally, but I hope Ipswich did not notice his flash of temper and try to get him riled next week. Looked good going forwards as well. Another top performance. There were flashes of the Billy Bremner in him against Bristol City in the last game of the season and this was clear enough this time. Cywka 9: full of tricks and movement, although you were not always aware of him, as he fitted so much into the quick, one-touch stuff which was going on through our moves. Did well. Mellis 9: along with Dawson, Cranie and Davies, a key influence on the game and its outcome. Against Wolves I thought he was too fancy and needed to get involved in the physical stuff before being able to be creative, but he was close to perfect this time. Again, you hardly noticed what a great first touch he often had, so that an average pass suddenly became the start of one of our lightning-quick counter-attacks. Great commitment this time, as well as skill, reading of the game and positional play. Selfless pass for Davies to score and that shows that he is reading the game right and playing for the team, rather than just thinking of himself. Dagnall 8: impressive running of the right-hand channel, had enough chances to bag a couple himself and this would be down to some good goalkeeping and bad luck, rather than any shortcomings in the ability department. I was wondering how Mido would have fared against that defence, but, with Davies bagging them, it scarcely mattered. You cannot fault his commitment. Sometimes that little extra edge of skill is what means the ball ends in the net, rather than against keeper, or post, but that is being a bit harsh on him on that performance and a lot of strikers (like King and Lita) would not have put in half the shift of Daggers. Davies 10: I don't think I have ever given maximum before in a report, but you can't give less. This guy has the lot on that performance. He has the physical strength of an Aylott to hold the ball up, wins headers with fair consistency, has sublime skills when the ball is on the deck (viz his goal dribbling past varied defenders), and has pace as well, which helped him a lot when judging those runs against the backline offside trap. Wonder if Bruce Dyer has watched the highlights - he might learn something, but a bit too late. The last Reds player I can recall scoring four was David Currie against Bournemouth. I hope his nan and grandad enjoyed playing with the ball over Sunday lunch and that he enjoyed the champagne. Shouldn't it have been the other way round? Also liked his modesty and crediting of the team work. What now can you say? It was up there with the all-time memorable Reds performances. The philosophy is clear - we may not have the elite players, to whom you give the ball and let them do it on their own, but we have developed a style of play under Hillflicker which makes the ball do the work and the team produce the elite quality. The elite quality throughout the team was in the first touch, which so often gave us time to look and think where to go next; the fast, one-touch passing, which meant that Blues could not get near us for much of the match; the accuracy of passing, mostly short, but some of the longer stuff was also amazing (I can think of one pass threaded through forty yards across the deck by Cranie, which was a great pass to feet and there were others too); the ninety-minute work rate which meant that there was no time that we let Blues have possession. Had they established any great amount of possession, they could have punished us, because they do have quality players in their team. What a show. Well done, all ther lads and, above all and bearing in mind the resources available and not available, a huge WELL DONE to Keith Hill and David Flitcroft on getting the team beginning to play the way they want. I remember seeing an early Derby County performance at Rotherham early in the Clough era. Derby won 3-1 and some of the football was akin to the style we played against Brum. Hillflicker for the next Clough and Taylor - I hope so. On that show, they would deserve to inherit the title.
