In most aspects of life, if you make a complete balls of something then there are longer term consequences. Mess up a job interview and there's no "Listen, I feel a bit better today. Can we try again?" facility. Similarly if on the first occasion you meet the Mother in Law you're half pissed and let out a rasper, you ain't coming back from that.
Football resembles life in many ways, but fortunately for us in this aspect there is a clear distinction. Tomorrow night we DO get that second interview, we DO get the chance to meet the MIL after a mid afternoon trip to the gym rather than an afternoon session on the beer complete with early evening visit to the kebab shop.
I'm sure many of the players and the management staff have had that uneasy "We let ourselves down" feeling since Saturday night. The more conscientious of them might even think that they let the fans down a bit too, we were really looking forward to a massive awayday. Even the club who really could have with the big wedge might have figured in their thoughts a bit, but I'm here to tell them that it's done now. Move on.
Of course when you lose a second round FA Cup tie everyone says "We could have drawn Man U away!", the reality is more likely that it'd have been Middlesbrough at home and a 4-0 drubbing, we'll never know. Look I wanted the big match too, but there's no guarantee we'd have got one, so put it to bed and move on.
The best way of moving on of course is to get our home form back on track tomorrow night against Newport. Our home form isn't currently so bad that it's a crisis, but if we don't win tomorrow it will be very close to it. When we DO win though (because we will) we'll be fourth in the league which ain't too Shabby Alonso. We then go to Harrogate and we can win there too, so COME ON FFS!!!!
In order to get back on track however we simply MUST have more variety in our play when we have possession of the football. In that aspect, our play particularly at home has been bang average. If we play with three centre backs & we allow one centre forward to force us into launching it, then simple logic tells you that we will be outnumbered in other areas of the pitch. We have to be MUCH braver in posession, we must hold it longer & at the very least draw a presser before we release it. One of the middle three at the back MUST take the responsibility to carry the football and travel. We've got to play with a bunch more freedom, get ahead of the ball, get some bodies into the box, take more risks.
In the last third there are many ways that you can score. It isn't JUST about getting it wide & putting crosses in, we have plenty enough ability in the team to open teams up with give and goes, second phase runners and the like. We are also EASILY athletic enough to commit more men into the box and be confident they can get back.
The players needn't worry as far as this fan is concerned. I don't feel let down at all, I know each and every one of them is doing their absolute best. I get most mad not by us getting beat, but when I see talented players unwilling to take a risk, not ready to express themselves for fear of making a mistake.
So let's do it tomorrow night. Yes sometimes we have to be direct, I 100% get that, but let's mix it up. If they form a "low block" (We used to call it defend deep) then keep the ball. Move it and them and work the opportunity for a shot. As it is, the opposition KNOW that they don't have to waste too much time pressing as we are likely just going to launch it anyway.
Mix it up lads, put Saturday behind us and let's beat Newport. COYD.
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