Despite the Bristol City and Reading games, Kit's job is still far from secure- and should we lose tomorrow the questions will most definitely start to be asked again with regard to his future. I'm not saying the Reading (2nd Half) and Bristol City games weren't good performances, but they haven't cancelled out the vast majority of 2015. A negative result tomorrow and I genuinely wouldn't rule out Kit getting sacked in spite of the two games prior to Burnley. I'm not saying Birmingham should be a game where we win, but if we're serious about the Playoffs as Khan has stated we should be (as has Kit) we need to be trying to make up the gap between us and the teams above us ASAP.
It's funny, not so long ago I was praising us for having good strength in depth- but a few games later and we're looking pretty bare in some areas. It's definitely going to be interesting to see how we patch them up, specifically in one position. One position where we're missing a few players is Goalkeeper, but as I said in my Burnley Review I'm perfectly happy for Joe Lewis to be playing in Goal in Andy Lonergan's absence. Even though Lewis hasn't kept a Clean Sheet for us, it's not been for the lack of trying and in general I thought he's played decent when he's been given the opportunity.
Right then, the Right-Back problem. We've got Ryan Fredericks out injured after Wednesday's game. I said it in the Burnley Review, Fredericks is a very capable player- but he's gotten injured three times in just over 2 Months that he's been at the Club. Then we've got Jazz Richards who according to Kit won't be back until the MK Dons game, this of course leaves us without our two main Right-Backs- a situation that I'll admit I didn't actually see coming. The problem for us now is, with Jack Grimmer nowhere near being ready after the Wycombe game and Kay Voser not being with the squad at the moment we're ridiculously thin at Right-Back now.
The way I see it we've got three potential options for the Right-Back role tomorrow, and really none of them are ideal. A lot of it comes down to the Formation Kit uses, because we're already struggling when it comes to "normal" Right-Backs let alone Wing-Backs. I think our problems at Right-Back necessitate moving back to a 4-at-the-Back Formation for tomorrow, and the likely option I think is Liam Donnelly making his debut. Without knowing how long Kay Voser's been out with his "family problem" I think Kit recalled Donnelly from Crawley with this scenario in mind. It's not ideal for Donnelly to be making his debut in the way in which he may well end up doing so- but that's Football sometimes. The other likely option is using Richard Stearman in a role he used to play for Wolves a while ago. I'd personally be against this, because for me we can't afford to sacrifice Stearman in the heart of the defence however short we may be at Right-Back. Then the third option is keeping to Kit's new formation and playing a Wing-Back, most likely Christensen- which I'd be against just on the basic reason of form.
I've seen some people suggesting simply playing Garbutt and Husband, with one of them at Right-Back- but that doesn't work for me. It's very rare that a Left-Back, especially in someone like Garbutt's case who's as one-footed as he is can convert to the other side of the defence. With that in mind it's a lot more likely Garbutt and Husband will be fighting it out for one spot again, and nothing's changed with regard to my preference with Husband an Garbutt- and it won't until Husband does something to make that change. Should we be playing Stearman at Right-Back it'll open up a Centre-Back spot, and as it's on the Right-Hand side of the defence it's likely we bring in Shaun Hutchinson. However, as I've already said I don't want/think that'll happen either way. One thing I'd like to see explored if Kit's intent on playing this new formation would be to have Stearman as the Central Centre-Back with Ream and Hutchinson either side- but for now I'll leave that one because all signs point to 4-at-the-back tomorrow with Stearman and Ream in the middle.
Returning to a 4-at-the-back also means the return to "conventional" wingers in Midfield. As I've said a number of times at this point, I want Kacaniklic to get a run in the team. I'm not guaranteeing Kacaniklic getting a run in the team will be fruitful, but he earned a chance at doing so with his performance against Reading. A player who I'm starting to be unsure about really is Jamie O'Hara, and I didn't think I'd be saying that not so long ago. His performance levels are definitely dipping at the moment, I'm not sure if he's playing with a few knocks- or his fitness levels are a problem but there's been a noticeable dip. I'm not going to suggest dropping him, but it wouldn't surprise me if Parker starts starting in place of him for some games in the pretty close future. The other side of the Midfield is business as usual with Tom Cairney and Ryan Tunnicliffe continuing. We just have to hope- especially in Cairney's case that they can make an impact we know they're capable of making.
Reverting to a 4-4-2, or a variation on it will also hopefully mean Ross McCormack playing in his "proper" position. The First-Half at Burnley was so frustrating with regard to McCormack because he was playing so deep it in turn completely isolated Dembele. But hopefully that won't be a problem tomorrow, especially when considering Birmingham's general robustness. We're not any clearer at this stage when it come to Moussa Dembele and a potential new contract. I think that it'll be going on for a while this season, so while it's obviously something we need to be keeping an eye on- I think putting it firmly in the back of our minds will be ideal for the sake of our own sanity. I've already spoken multiple times over with regard to Matt Smith and how he's best used coming off the Bench, and I'll maintain that view until either Dembele or McCormack are injured, dead (although that may be classed as an injury) or ridiculously out of form.
Team for Birmingham
Games like tomorrow are interesting games, and even more interesting tests of the team. I've always said the Playoffs aren't attainable this season, but I'm willing to play along for now and as such we really need a win tomorrow to close the gap on Birmingham to 2 Points. I highly doubt Birmingham would remain in 6th should we win tomorrow, but if we can remain within touching distance of the teams who are likely to be fighting it out for those Playoffs spots there's always a chance. The game tomorrow is a massive test for us, because while Birmingham did get a Point on Tuesday Night- they're currently in their bad phase, of which every team has at one stage of the season. The job we need to do is get stuck into Birmingham early and not let them settle into the match. Much in the way of the Bristol City game, but obviously it's going to be a lot harder to do so given the standard of players difference.
Losing tomorrow really isn't an option, I know that usually goes without saying- but it's especially true here. I said heading into the Bristol City game that if we lose all three or two out of our next three then I'd be sacking Kit- and however great the Bristol City game turned out to be, it was still just three points on the board. A return of 9 Points out of a possible 21 (24 if we lose tomorrow) since the QPR game simply isn't good enough if we want the Playoffs, especially considering among that run and dropped points were Charlton and Leeds. I'll cross the bridge of who I'd have come in to replace Kit should we lose tomorrow, but if we lose that bridge will definitely be crossed by me- and hopefully those in decision making positions at the Club.
Thanks for reading as always, the Review will be up tomorrow as usual. Where hopefully I'll be celebrating a great performance and a win as opposed to making a Managerial Shortlist. If nothing else I'm desperate for us to actually perform to a high-level for two halves of the same game. If by chance Kit and the Players are reading this YES, THERE'S TWO HALVES! I KNOW RIGHT? Thanks again for reading, hopefully we can head into the Internationals with a win- it'll make watching England so much more bearable.
No comments:
Post a Comment