On one hand, it’s great to have football back. On the other, I’d forgotten how anguishing a game it is for those who care for it.
I stormed from the ground in a rage today, foregoing all new season resolutions to take it all with a pinch of salt.
There was something frustratingly flat about the game. A sense of anticlimax perhaps, or just the indelible knowledge that things weren’t going our way.
On occasions like this every through-ball seems an inch off target, every flick-on seems magnetically averted from its destination and every shot seems fated for the stand.
Adebola twice swooned in front of a gaping net (the pundit sitting behind me explained why, turns out Adebola is a ‘bag of shit’), and several scything crosses across the coal face were gallingly swept away.
The most anguishing thing of all is that we were comfortably the better side. West Brom were drab; solid and organised but ultimately blunt and boring. In terms of chances, the best ones fell consistently to Forest. And the eventual winner was cheap by anybody’s standard.
It was obvious Earnshaw would miss. It was one of those games. Yes, those. And it became more obvious with every clumsy strut toward the spot. In the end he nearly picked out the corner flag.
A penalty miss at a crucial time is as debilitating as a red card. You could almost hear the air hissing from our pin-pricked bubble.
The fans lost hope and interest, the players called it quits. Five minutes of injury time proved to be more of an annoyance than an inspiration.
Still, we have something to build on. I’m not convinced we’ve found our strongest line-up yet, and I don’t think Davies believes we have for a second. We will still sign a decent defender before the window closes, and we have matched two of the sides earmarked for a top six finish.
I’d like to see the stats for Billy Davies sides that fall behind in games. His squads usually have the spirit to recover, but they are always tactically geared toward frustrating and containing for at least the first 60 minutes.
This is at least one of the reasons why our substitutes bench reads like an all star cast.
The mystery rise to prominence of Joe Garner seems as much to do with Davies dodging predictability as anything else.
Let’s hope he dodges the critics too. Another couple without victory and the legendary City Ground grumbles will begin...
Ratings:
Camp – 7 – I’d like to see the goal again before judging, but generally he was as restless and dependable as ever.
Gunter – 6.5 – generally solid and composed, and very difficult to beat on the ground. Beaten in the air once or twice.
Morgan – 7.5 – excellent game, hauling himself into blocks and staying sharp. Increasingly looks to avoided the usual 3-month ‘wearing in’ period which returns each summer.
Lynch – 6.5 – surprisingly solid defensively, poor distribution.
Cohen – 7 – some of his crossing was poor, but generally I thought he adapted well. Fairly solid at the back and picked out a few good passes coming forward.
Anderson – 7 – busy and hard-working, but not as influential as he would have liked.
McKenna – 7.5 – simple football, do or die tackling.
Majewski – 6.5 – I like him. He has some nice touches and excellent movement. At the moment he just isn’t getting involved enough.
Garner – 6.5 – I’m not convinced by Garner in this floating role, but he gave the usual masterclass in bad attitude football and worked hard to stay involved.
Tyson – 7.5 – final ball was sometimes poor, but his bursts of speed on the wing were our only outlet for some time. We’ll be seeing a lot more of him in this role this season.
Adebola – 6 – actually played fairly well in providing a target and winning physical battles. But there’s no excuse for any number nine to miss two chances like those.
Subs:
McGugan – 7
Earnshaw - 6
Blackstock - 7
