Man of the match - Birmingham (A)

[torryowl]

Just now, toooldforthis said:

Flint made all the difference in defence today. A big improvement at CB.

 

Luongo is fantastic in that role.

 

Paterson didn’t let them settle for a moment and defended well too (my MOM vote for that)

 

Reach gets a lot of praise and I understand why...but his contribution is poor. Watch him closely and you’ll see so much waste and no end product.

 

As a whole, this team is going to be quite good when we get everyone back and a settled side.

 

Taking off a striker and bringing Pelupessy on nearly cost us points again. We cannot drop deep and defend for 15 minutes against good sides.

joey didnt come on until the 91st minute and until then we played with 2 strikers ........nearly all teams when they winning  in injury time take off a striker and bring on a defensive minded player if only to break up the play . 

[legendaryswan]

Hard to pick a MoM as no one really shone,thought it was a VERY hardworking team effort where everyone played their part.

What was pleasing,was to put two halves of dominance together,thought we should have been 4 up by HT so was worried wed missed the boat but we carried on in the same vein,last 15 mins apart where I was kicking every ball

[The Night-Owl]

A solid hard working performance, mixed with some more creativity and attacking threat than usual. On another day, with a bit more luck in front of a goal and a couple more decisions, we could have scored quite a few.

 

Picking a man of the match isn't easy, when the whole team earns the points. Any out of Flint; Van Aken, Luongo, Bannan, Reach or Paterson could have been the man of the match.

 

However, I'd give it to Flint, for a solid and assured debut only a day after signing and without even training with the team. He slotted in well, looked like he had been playing for us for a while and once we get some more players back, we should be strong at the back. I was most pleased with our solidity; pressing, creativity and grit, and it should be a boost of confidence to have hung on at the end for once. 

[Holmowl]

Gave it to Bannan who was involved in everything good going forward, and put in a hell of a shift defensively and pressing.

 

Reach close. He is high class and I’ll never understand some fans (and one manager) thinking Palmer, Moses or Penney should be picked ahead of him.

 

Luongo excellent, again. Hardly ever wastes the ball. Really tidy player. Played that weird role like he’d played it since schooldays. 

 

Flint’s distribution made Tom Lees look like Pirlo, but I like him. Does what he can very efficiently. Doesn’t pretend to be a neat ball player. It’s obvious he’s a huge threat and presence at set-pieces. And he’s a big talker...I love that in a CB.

 

Paterson’s effort superb. A highly willing and awkward customer, but does seem short of real quality. Interesting to see whether his effort makes up for his shortfall.

 

Kachunga looked what he is - a winger being asked to play striker. Worked hard, but has to cut out clumsy unnecessary fouls in dangerous positions.
 

Joost was terrific. I hope he shuts critics like me up with many more games like yesterday. Flawless.

 

Moses and Harris did very well. Deeper than usual given our makeshift defence. 
 

Windass ok. Like his other attackers he lacks real quality, but his pace and strength are a big danger.

 

Marriot looked electric. His runs and awareness were really encouraging. I can see why he’ll get plenty of chances.

 

 

 

[Holmowl]

8 hours ago, new zealand owl said:

Didn't watch it but really pleasing to see Luongo win MOM. I have to admit I'm not his biggest fan but love to be proved wrong. Do people think he's the real deal in CDM role or do we think he's a half decent player in great form?

He’s a half decent player, which in our squad makes him a prince. 
 

In the land of the blind the one-eyed man is king.

[Mike Hunt]

1 hour ago, Holmowl said:

Gave it to Bannan who was involved in everything good going forward, and put in a hell of a shift defensively and pressing.

 

Reach close. He is high class and I’ll never understand some fans (and one manager) thinking Palmer, Moses or Penney should be picked ahead of him.

 

Luongo excellent, again. Hardly ever wastes the ball. Really tidy player. Played that weird role like he’d played it since schooldays. 

 

Flint’s distribution made Tom Lees look like Pirlo, but I like him. Does what he can very efficiently. Doesn’t pretend to be a neat ball player. It’s obvious he’s a huge threat and presence at set-pieces. And he’s a big talker...I love that in a CB.

 

Paterson’s effort superb. A highly willing and awkward customer, but does seem short of real quality. Interesting to see whether his effort makes up for his shortfall.

 

Kachunga looked what he is - a winger being asked to play striker. Worked hard, but has to cut out clumsy unnecessary fouls in dangerous positions.
 

Joost was terrific. I hope he shuts critics like me up with many more games like yesterday. Flawless.

 

Moses and Harris did very well. Deeper than usual given our makeshift defence. 
 

Windass ok. Like his other attackers he lacks real quality, but his pace and strength are a big danger.

 

Marriot looked electric. His runs and awareness were really encouraging. I can see why he’ll get plenty of chances.

 

 

 

Strange how people see things 

[Mike Hunt]

10 hours ago, new zealand owl said:

Didn't watch it but really pleasing to see Luongo win MOM. I have to admit I'm not his biggest fan but love to be proved wrong. Do people think he's the real deal in CDM role or do we think he's a half decent player in great form?

He has slotted into the role flawlessly and seems to be relishing the job , when he signed he said he liked a tackle but I don’t think we saw much of that last season but these first few games he has been outstanding and will tackle anything that moves 

[frastheowl]

 

Dawson - 7 - Clean sheet. Not troubled at all.

 

Odubajo - 8 - Really strong performance. Was a good threat going forward, in the 1st half especially. Defended solidly. Part of a very organised back four.

 

Flint - 8 - For a debut, having only met the lads last night, that was impressive. Didn't complicate things. Did what you want a no-nonsense centre half to do...head it, kick it, block it.

 

Van Aken - 8 - Probably his best performance in a Wednesday shirt. His passing through the thirds in the 1st half was brilliant. 2nd half, showed his defensive capabilities. Fantastic block to deny Leko late on.

 

Harris - 7 - Did well at left back. Saw a lot of the ball, but again, just feel that he delays things too often when in good positions. Stuck at it though, and covered a lot of ground. Tired towards the end.

 

Luongo - 8 - Man of the Match - He's having a great season, and seems to be getting better. Played the half back role effortlessly in the 1st half, dropping into centre half when we were in possession, but diligently man marking Crowley when out of possession. Reverted back to his more natural role in the 2nd half, and was at his tenacious best.

 

Bannan - 7 - Kept things relatively simple yesterday, but I think it benefitted himself and the team. Controlled the midfield well with Reach in the first half. Took his penalty well.

 

Reach - 7 - Another good display from him, and his best in centre midfield for a long time. Looked to exploit the space that was left by Clayton and Gardener often, when tracking our very advanced full backs. Got into some good positions. His movement at times, was very similar to Kieran Lee's use to be in Carlos' system.

 

Kachunga - 6 - Worked hard, but just felt very few things came off for him. Showed his versatility and value to the squad, by playing three different roles...striker, no. 10 and left winger. 

 

Paterson - 7 - Was encouraged by Paterson and Windass' partnership yesterday. Both seemed to work well off each other. Paterson wins a lot aerially, but works so hard. He's the one that often initiates the press. Very unlucky not to score in the 1st half, and his unwillingness to give up a lost cause, won us the penalty.

 

Windass - 7 -Starting to become really impressed with Windass. He's strong and direct, and seems to be playing with confidence. I thought he had decent cases for a penalty and a sending off, when getting the wrong side of the defenders in the 1st half. His free kick that hit the post was a great effort.

 

Marriott - 6 - Showed some positive signs. Came on when we spent long periods defending, but still managed to fashion a chance out of nothing.

 

Dele-Bashiru - N/A

 

Pelupessy - N/A 

 

Overall -

 

For 70 minutes, I thought it was a very impressive performance, that just lacked more goals and that ruthlessness that'll turn these performances into comfortable victories. 

 

Full credit to Monk yesterday, for his tactical set-up. Despite losing four options at centre half, he still wanted to stick with a positive mentality, play with two up front with a link up player and push his wing backs high. I don't think anybody saw him playing a diamond, and it worked very efficiently in the 1st half. Luongo was a half-back was a revelation, and allowed Odubajo and Harris to effectively play as wing backs, in a back four.

 

2nd half, when Birmingham went to two up top, we instantly reverted to a rigid 4-4-2, pushing Kachunga and Reach out to the wings, and for the most part, this saw Birmingham struggle to break us down.

 

There's still a vulnerability to us mentally, in the latter stages of games. We don't seem able to carry on playing our game as the game closes out, and as a result, it puts us under more pressure that we need to. But, to be honest, Birmingham only really broke our back line on one occasion, and Van Aken was on hand to avert the danger.

 

Huge victory, and there's a really good opportunity to make it a great return week, with two home games coming up. 

 

This side is a million miles away from the one that Carlos produced, in terms of technical ability...but Monk promised us a side to be proud of...and at the minute, these players are giving absolutely everything. No need to get carried away, but as fans, we all ask for 100%, and these players cannot be faulted (something that hasn't been said for three or four seasons now).

[toooldforthis]

11 hours ago, torryowl said:

joey didnt come on until the 91st minute and until then we played with 2 strikers ........nearly all teams when they winning  in injury time take off a striker and bring on a defensive minded player if only to break up the play . 

 

Yep...I agree, normally...

 

But we diminish noticeably when we do this because we weaken significantly and invite teams onto us. The better teams don't do this, they defend further up the field...they had no threat at all throughout the game until we changed and sat back. We will lose a significant number of points doing this. We did last season and have this season.

[StudentOwl]

12 hours ago, new zealand owl said:

Didn't watch it but really pleasing to see Luongo win MOM. I have to admit I'm not his biggest fan but love to be proved wrong. Do people think he's the real deal in CDM role or do we think he's a half decent player in great form?

 

3 hours ago, Holmowl said:

He’s a half decent player, which in our squad makes him a prince. 
 

In the land of the blind the one-eyed man is king.

Holmowl playing it down because he doesn't want to deter from Bannan (who I'm convinced is his secret lover).

 

Both Luongo and Bannan had the same number of touches yesterday (62)... more than any other players on our team. Luongo made SEVEN (7) tackles yesterday. Maybe it was just a feature of Brum's play to attack through the middle of the pitch, but that's some excellent work for a defensive midfielder. I think he'd be a good CDM for most teams in this division. 

[Hougoumont]

Gave it to Van Allen purely because he earned us two points with that fabulous block tackle at the end when everyone was on their last legs. Everyone else was a minimum 7 in a great team performance. However still not happy with Dawson.

[prowl]

1 hour ago, toooldforthis said:

 

Yep...I agree, normally...

 

But we diminish noticeably when we do this because we weaken significantly and invite teams onto us. The better teams don't do this, they defend further up the field...they had no threat at all throughout the game until we changed and sat back. We will lose a significant number of points doing this. We did last season and have this season.

It is a bad habit of ours and has been for a long while. We need to start time wasting much more, taking the ball into the corner, players going down injured to break up the run of play. All the tricks other teams pull to see out time.  It might spoil the game as a spectacle but we need points.

 

Just dropping deep lets the opposition gain confidence that we aren't a threat, their defenders push on and we don't have an out ball. If we had an out and out speed merchant as a forward it would help to force them to sit deeper.

 

Early days, it will come with time and building confidence. I just hate that gut wrenching feeling when we drop points in the last few minutes.

[Holmowl]

3 hours ago, frastheowl said:

 

Dawson - 7 - Clean sheet. Not troubled at all.

 

Odubajo - 8 - Really strong performance. Was a good threat going forward, in the 1st half especially. Defended solidly. Part of a very organised back four.

 

Flint - 8 - For a debut, having only met the lads last night, that was impressive. Didn't complicate things. Did what you want a no-nonsense centre half to do...head it, kick it, block it.

 

Van Aken - 8 - Probably his best performance in a Wednesday shirt. His passing through the thirds in the 1st half was brilliant. 2nd half, showed his defensive capabilities. Fantastic block to deny Leko late on.

 

Harris - 7 - Did well at left back. Saw a lot of the ball, but again, just feel that he delays things too often when in good positions. Stuck at it though, and covered a lot of ground. Tired towards the end.

 

Luongo - 8 - Man of the Match - He's having a great season, and seems to be getting better. Played the half back role effortlessly in the 1st half, dropping into centre half when we were in possession, but diligently man marking Crowley when out of possession. Reverted back to his more natural role in the 2nd half, and was at his tenacious best.

 

Bannan - 7 - Kept things relatively simple yesterday, but I think it benefitted himself and the team. Controlled the midfield well with Reach in the first half. Took his penalty well.

 

Reach - 7 - Another good display from him, and his best in centre midfield for a long time. Looked to exploit the space that was left by Clayton and Gardener often, when tracking our very advanced full backs. Got into some good positions. His movement at times, was very similar to Kieran Lee's use to be in Carlos' system.

 

Kachunga - 6 - Worked hard, but just felt very few things came off for him. Showed his versatility and value to the squad, by playing three different roles...striker, no. 10 and left winger. 

 

Paterson - 7 - Was encouraged by Paterson and Windass' partnership yesterday. Both seemed to work well off each other. Paterson wins a lot aerially, but works so hard. He's the one that often initiates the press. Very unlucky not to score in the 1st half, and his unwillingness to give up a lost cause, won us the penalty.

 

Windass - 7 -Starting to become really impressed with Windass. He's strong and direct, and seems to be playing with confidence. I thought he had decent cases for a penalty and a sending off, when getting the wrong side of the defenders in the 1st half. His free kick that hit the post was a great effort.

 

Marriott - 6 - Showed some positive signs. Came on when we spent long periods defending, but still managed to fashion a chance out of nothing.

 

Dele-Bashiru - N/A

 

Pelupessy - N/A 

 

Overall -

 

For 70 minutes, I thought it was a very impressive performance, that just lacked more goals and that ruthlessness that'll turn these performances into comfortable victories. 

 

Full credit to Monk yesterday, for his tactical set-up. Despite losing four options at centre half, he still wanted to stick with a positive mentality, play with two up front with a link up player and push his wing backs high. I don't think anybody saw him playing a diamond, and it worked very efficiently in the 1st half. Luongo was a half-back was a revelation, and allowed Odubajo and Harris to effectively play as wing backs, in a back four.

 

2nd half, when Birmingham went to two up top, we instantly reverted to a rigid 4-4-2, pushing Kachunga and Reach out to the wings, and for the most part, this saw Birmingham struggle to break us down.

 

There's still a vulnerability to us mentally, in the latter stages of games. We don't seem able to carry on playing our game as the game closes out, and as a result, it puts us under more pressure that we need to. But, to be honest, Birmingham only really broke our back line on one occasion, and Van Aken was on hand to avert the danger.

 

Huge victory, and there's a really good opportunity to make it a great return week, with two home games coming up. 

 

This side is a million miles away from the one that Carlos produced, in terms of technical ability...but Monk promised us a side to be proud of...and at the minute, these players are giving absolutely everything. No need to get carried away, but as fans, we all ask for 100%, and these players cannot be faulted (something that hasn't been said for three or four seasons now).

Really great summary. Enjoyed reading that mate. 

[torryowl]

7 hours ago, Holmowl said:

. 

 

Flint’s distribution made Tom Lees look like Pirlo.. 

 

 

 

Yep shocking wernt it.....but the bloke looks like he knows how to defend which is what you want from a centre half  ... 

[davetherivelinowl]

19 hours ago, Inspector Lestrade said:

Only one who probably played under par was Kachunga but he wasn't terrible.

 

Bannan was determined ran his heart out, dogged tackling and put the penalty away easily. 

 

Reach getting back to his industrial ways seems to be playing with a spring in his step and never stopped running.

 

Van Aken was really up for the game and showing why he was highly rated before he came to Hillsborough. 

 

 Luongo is getting better each game another one who seems to be enjoying playing now, have not been a fan of his, but he's definitely making me eat my words, hope he keeps progressing.

 

Flint surprised me played with a lot of intelligence and assuredness and to say that was his first game in ages you would have never guessed.

 

Windass and Paterson stuck to the game plan and battled for everything, a difficult game for them without Brown been in the team they had to feed off titbits.

 

When I saw the line up before the game I thought Monk had lost the plot, but he can take pride that his side stuck to his game plan and made Birmingham fight for every ball and yard and to say that was Brums first league defeat it was pretty impressive with all the injuries he had to overcome.

 

 

 

 

I disagree on that one. Whilst watching it he seemed to me to be anonymous without the ball and ineffective with it. The stats on whoscored show that he only made 18 touches all game including not a single tackle, interception block or clearance. In fact in 199 minutes of league football he has yet to make a single tackle, interception, block or clearance. Yesterday he only made 7 successful passes.

 

Before we bought him I imagined him to be a player of little quality but maybe loads of effort. Not seeing much of that effort so far.

[Inspector Lestrade]

Just now, davetherivelinowl said:

I disagree on that one. Whilst watching it he seemed to me to be anonymous without the ball and ineffective with it. The stats on whoscored show that he only made 18 touches all game including not a single tackle, interception block or clearance. In fact in 199 minutes of league football he has yet to make a single tackle, interception, block or clearance. Yesterday he only made 7 successful passes.

 

Before we bought him I imagined him to be a player of little quality but maybe loads of effort. Not seeing much of that effort so far.

 

 

Saw him play a couple of decent passes in difficult circumstances which probably swayed me and he didn't make any out an out mistakes, but I can't argue with your summing up.  

[davetherivelinowl]

4 hours ago, Hougoumont said:

Gave it to Van Allen purely because he earned us two points with that fabulous block tackle at the end when everyone was on their last legs. Everyone else was a minimum 7 in a great team performance. However still not happy with Dawson.

Based on this game? He had very little to do but did it very competently. Not sure why you'd want to single him out for criticism when he's done nothing wrong.

 

This seems to be an example of the stick that Dawson gets that I don't think is justified. He might not be as good as some other keepers we've had but he's doing fine.

 

This might not apply to the poster but there are some on here who dislike Dawson just for not being Westwood - or at least the Westwood of two-three seasons ago.

[Minesapint]

What is impressing me is that the team all look to have more energy. While in recent years we have been short of a leader, we now have players communicating from all over the pitch and very vocal coaches.  Finally there is a bit of “spite” in the team and no one is going to see us as a team they can intimidate. 

 

All improvements on last year

[Inspector Lestrade]

Nice to see a number of players been strongly voted for MOM 

[HandsworthOwl]

 Mostly 7s, probably 8s for Van Aken and luongo, would like to see Marriot start next game, always looked to make those instinctive runs you often see from strikers.