Stoppage Time's Been Good To Us

First off, I have to confess to still having a soft spot for West Brom. This dates back to early 1969 when, having brushed aside a certain team down the road in the third round of the FA Cup, we were drawn at Arsenal in the fourth. My father said we would watch the next round wherever it was if we made it through. We didn’t, but Arsenal came out of the hat with an away tie at the Hawthorns, close to where some of our relatives still lived. So we went anyway – and an adolescent youth was smitten by a distant cousin a few years older than me, in spite of the accent.

All a long time ago – and sorry to say it did nothing to stop me howling with joy and leaping out of my seat late last night back in Lyon. For it had been a long, hard game and a pretty tough watch. To have it rounded off in such fashion was, shall we say, most enjoyable. Like against Hull, Swansea etc, whether or not we deserved it on the balance of play and chances is irrelevant. We scored. End of. The game will live long in nobody’s memory, but the ending will.

I felt we went into last night’s game, while very happy with our placing in the league, with perhaps a little to prove after successive draws and having been second-best against Swansea on Saturday. That said, we were well aware that there would be necessary changes to the team given that Bell and Burke were presumably added to Edwards on the injured list. In the event those three were out and so was Kelman, depriving him of the opportunity to build on his first goal for the club.

The result was Ramsay joining Jones and Gillesphey in central defence, while Hernandez was to start as wing-back, along with Bree, although which would take which side remained to be seen. Midfield saw no changes, with Docherty, Coventry and Carey retained, while up front Leaburn came in for Kelman to partner Campbell. That all meant places on the bench, with Anderson, Fullah, and U21 captain Gough drafted in, alongside Rankin-Costello and Apter (both unable to get a look-in at the moment), Berry, Knibbs, and Olaofe as the only forward replacement. It all rather drove home the point that small squads are fine, have advantages, but sometimes you come a cropper – both Mitchells out on loan, as well as Kanu and Mbick, even Ahadme.

The first 30 minutes can be instantly written off, a horrible mix of misplaced passes and hopeless balls forward to static forwards, our only possession being a case of going sideways or back, while West Brom quickly got everyone behind the ball, leaving little or no space to work with. They had the only moments of danger, usually involving the returning Grant, including an early effort by a guy at the far post, who shot wildly, a break needing a very timely Jones block to end the danger, and then their guy on the right comprehensively beating Hernandez and fizzing in a low ball across the face of goal with nobody there to touch it home.

We had produced nothing in their half, then on 33 minutes out of nowhere we were handed the opportunity to go in front. Leaburn got his head to a ball into the box but there seemed no danger as their guy covered, only to use his hand. The ref was well placed to see it and pointed to the spot. It’s been a long time since anyone but Godden took a spot kick for us in the league at least and it was Docherty who stepped forward to take it. It was a poor effort. He shimmied and shuffled to try to second-guess their keeper, who stood his ground then dived left and made a comfortable save as the shot was neither powerful enough nor well enough placed, making it a 50-50. That said, Docherty took on the job when it seemed forwards were not interested. And that’s a bad sign. Killer was a mediocre penalty-taker but he always took them as he knew he was more likely to score than not.

Shortly after West Brom nearly went ahead instead. A ball through the middle found a guy who was surely offside, but no flag and he was in on goal, only to drag his shot wide. That miss ensured that West Brom ended the half with no efforts on target while we had one, the penalty.

The second half if anything got worse for us as West Brom for a period of time looked odds-on to score. Another shot wide from a good position, then a guy running through down the right, leading to a Kaminski save. Our spirits were briefly lifted by a well-struck effort from Carey, which drew a decent save from their keeper, and from the resulting corner Leaburn flicked on at the near post (the only time that happened all game, with Bree’s deliveries strangely disappointing) but with no Berry or Godden to read the situation it came to nothing.

It was time for some changes and, unlike against Swansea, they were to have a material impact on the game. On 72 minutes Knibbs and Fullah were introduced for Docherty and Hernandez and we changed shape, with those two operating either side of Leaburn. Immediately Fullah turned and fed Leaburn, which must have planted some doubt in the minds of previously untroubled defenders. A Gillesphey cross from the left was met by Leaburn, but his glancing header went wide. On 82 minutes Olaofe replaced Leaburn, but in the closing minutes West Brom did come close. A move down their right led to a ball in which Jones just managed to intercept before it reached their guy for a tap-in, then their sub cut into the box and flicked a shot which went just wide, might have beaten Kaminski if on target.

So as we entered five minutes of additional time it looked as though it would be a point apiece and both sides left to consider their shortcomings. Until we won a corner right at the death. It was another poor delivery headed out at the near post. It went behind Carey and he did have the easy and sensible option to lay it back to Coventry to put back into the box. Instead he turned with it – and for a horrible moment it looked as though he would have it nicked off him, in which case their guy might have had a clear run on goal, albeit from a long way out. Carey just made it in time and in space steadied himself, then just put his boot through the ball. It took a deflection and that seemed to deceive their keeper, who allowed it to go under him and into the net.

Cue pandemonium in SE7, Lyon, and no doubt many other places. There was barely time to restart after the mass celebrations before Jones the Boss was in front of the Covered End hailing another home win.

Let’s face it, stoppage time has been good to us. Apparently five of our 16 league goals have been after 90 minutes – and if you consider Berry’s Hull equaliser, the sitter that Swansea missed, and Carey’s winner, we could easily have been four points worse off than we are from the last three games. That said, the substitutions made last night did prove to be game-changers, we did end the game strongly (unlike on Saturday), and by pushing them back in the final stages perhaps encouraged West Brom to sit back and be content with a draw.

Teams we have played and neutrals may question how we are sitting in fifth. The answer to that is pretty obvious: 11 goals conceded in 14 games, only bettered by Stoke. And last night’s clean sheet was achieved without three defenders who would have been in the squad at least. So as a footballing spectacle last night may not have been in the top bracket, but we took the points and move on, nosebleed or not.

Belated Thoughts On Saturday Through A Haze Of Wine

Does the extra distance from the game – resulting from my second actual visit to The Valley in three weeks, this time for the most enjoyable International Addicks Day, then a flight back to Lyon (very) early Sunday morning – enable a better perspective on it? Doubtful, especially as much of the red wine consumed with fellow Addicks from far and wide before and after the game is still being dealt with. Let’s just say it enables me to cheat and watch the highlights first, as well as to look ahead a little to the West Brom game on Tuesday night.

To get Saturday out of the way, sure no question we were second-best through the second half, with the injuries to Bell and Burke causing disruption and the substitutions made not really turning things back in our favour once they’d equalised. And sure things could have turned out worse. The first-minute error by Burke resulting in a ball bouncing over Jones’ head and Gillesphey making a desperate challenge could easily have resulted in a red card; the scramble in our box in stoppage time might easily have seen them score a late winner, one which we could have had no grumbles about.

My (relative) misery was completed by the fact that I missed Kelman’s goal. For this one I’d opted to sit with Addicks friends in the Lower North, despite the endless up and down this would entail. I told people before the game that I just wanted to see the net billow in front of me for a Charlton goal (and to win the game of course). At half-time one of our number opted for a drink and we went along with it, losing track of time as we chatted. We were just starting the move towards the stairs to our seats when the roar went up. And quite frankly, like against Sheff Wed, we seldom gave the Covered End anything to cheer about in the second half after that moment.

Obviously the loss of two of the back five in the first half had an impact. With Ramsay the only centre-back option from the bench, we switched to a 4-5-1 in the second half but even with a midfield overload we were unable to retain possession and put them under any meaningful pressure. And they deserve some credit for that, playing decent stuff and moving well, with unfortunately Galbraith pulling the strings. My satisfaction at half-time was grounded on their front two looking rather inept (we know they were missing their leading scorer), shooting when others were in better positions – and shooting badly at that - and failing to exploit good openings. Then one of them gets the ball in a situation we seem to have under full control, takes a touch wide of Jones and turns, then getting off his shot just before Gillesphey’s challenge and placing it in the perfect position to beat Kaminski.

My only (perhaps related) gripes at the end were that I thought the substitutions made were questionable and that we failed to put them under any pressure in the closing stages. On the former, Leaburn came on at the break to replace Burke and it wasn’t clear to me how that was going to work, perhaps as a 4-4-2. Then when Kelman made way after 68 minutes it was for Hernandez and not Apter. We were then going to a 4-5-1 and surely that created the backdrop for Apter to cause them problems in their own half, not having to pretend to be a wing-back. The best way to stop them playing was surely to push them back by causing them problems. Not a criticism of Hernandez, but I found it odd. Equally, while Olaofe for Campbell was predictable, taking off Docherty and replacing him with Knibbs, rather than a more like-for-like with Casey coming off, or even giving Berry another short burst after his late goal rescued the point at Hull. Apter or Berry might have given them more food for thought. Of course hindsight is wonderful, I’ve no idea if Docherty was struggling or how things had looked on the training ground through the week.

On the latter, with 10 minutes left on the clock I just felt that we needed to up the effort and try to pressure them rather than be reasonably content with the point. Yes, we were second-best and rather disjointed, but the game’s there to be won if we played it in their half. Who cares whether or not you deserve a late winner? A decent attack, a set piece or two, and the Covered End would have been very vocal in its backing, which would surely have impacted on Swansea. Instead we almost lost it in stoppage time.

All of this is of course relative. The team/squad and of course the manager are in such credit that any criticisms are minor – and will be quickly forgotten if we beat West Brom. On that front, clearly Jones has defensive issues to work out, perhaps for the first time this season, being (we assume) stripped of Bell and Burke in addition to Edwards. Presumably either he will go with Ramsay, Jones and Gillesphey as a central three, with Bree on the right and someone filling in on the left, or start with a back four. We are going to be short of options from the bench and whether Jones will go with the versatile Rankin-Costello or the untried Fullah remains to be seen. Zac Mitchell is out on loan and I don’t know if Laqeretabua or Enslin – who both looked so impressive in cameos last season – are viable options.

I talked to an Ipswich-supporting friend today (I tried not to mention the score) and he said that West Brom carried very little goal threat when they recently beat them 1-0 at home. And the stats don’t lie – 12 goals for them in 13 games, two losses and a draw in the last three games, including failing to beat Sheff Wed at home. Clearly they don’t concede many either. Just how both teams go into this one is an open book. They may feel that we have had changes forced on us and may be a little cautious and vulnerable. Up to those called on to dismiss that. Let’s hope the Covered End gets good reason to provide the vocal support in the second half (assuming of course we don’t kick that way in the first). Every game in this division is tough – but we are loving (almost) every minute of it, even the one I missed on Saturday.

Another Good Reward For Very Hard Work

After Tuesday night there was a danger of euphoria, among us fans at least, resulting in over-expectations for today, another tough test away from home for some very tired players. We came up a little short at Preston last time we had three games in a week, two of which were away (after the home win over Blackburn and the draw at Derby), and the team had put in a big shift at Portman Road. Was it too much to expect a repeat performance, or will the team be brimming with confidence and not feel the tired legs?

In the event we got something in between. The tiredness undoubtedly showed and after a mixed first half (we had the better of the opening spell, them thereafter without actually matching the two early chances we had) once Hull had scored we did struggle. But this lot can dig deep and the equaliser in stoppage time was a reward for grit and perseverance. The character of this squad cannot be questioned. Hull will feel they let two points slip, but that’s their problem.

For the team it was really a case of how many neded a rest. And there were surprises, albeit the squad was unchanged from Tuesday. Ramsay, Jones and Gillesphey were retained as the central defence three, as was Bell as right-side wing-back; but Bree was on the bench and replaced by Apter – great for attacking threat but with a risk of being targeted at the other end. In midfield Coventry was moved to the bench and Knibbs came in, even though it seemed curious to have both him and Carey in from the start, while Rankin-Costello or Anderson might have been the more natural replacement for the excellent Coventry. And up front we would start with the two that came on in the second half against Ipswich, Leaburn and Campbell, instead of Olaofe and Kelman.

We came out of the blocks and Campbell had two glorious chances in the first three minutes, both the result of balls lofted to the far post and over the covering defender. The first he connected with well enough but their keeper pulled off a very good instinctive save; the second was more difficult and he chipped it over the bar. Hull seemed a little stung by that and it took them a while to get into their pattern. But when they did they – as so many against us – enjoyed the lion’s share of possession. Also like many against us in these circumstances, they failed to create a clear-cut chance.

There were moments of danger for us through the first half. But inevitably there was a late block, interception, or save from Kaminski. In fact it was us again with the best chance as Campbell nipped in between defenders to get to a long ball first but just failed to get a good enough contact to send it either side of their stranded keeper. The only other incident of note was a very poor challenge by a Hull player on Knibbs, who got to the loose ball first and nudged it forward only to be taken out. There may have been no real intent, but the replays showed the guy going in off the ground, studs showing. With VAR he might have been given more than a yellow.

At the break the stats showed Hull with 53% possession, them having seven attempts on goal, just two on target, against four and two for us. For us you felt that the changes, while understandable, had reduced our potency as we missed Coventry and with Carey playing deeper alongside Docherty we lacked his drive. Apter and Knibbs put in decent performances, but they looked a little rusty.

We’d barely taken our seats for the second half (in front of the TV for me) before Hull went ahead. Gillesphey turned away out of defence with the ball and was caught out by their press. The guy took it on into the box and shot beyond Kaminski. You just knew it was going to be a real uphill struggle after that – and Hull were content most of the time to get men behind the ball and look to hurt us on the break, which they had ample opportunity to do, especially in the closing stages.

We were making the mistakes. After Gillesphey’s Ramsay gave the ball away with a poor pass, followed by another Gillesphey error then one from Bell. They were all labouring. On 50 minutes Coventry and Bree replaced Knibbs and Apter and we reverted to the shape of Tuesday night. Only difference was we were one down and chasing the game.

We did have moments of opportunity, as did they. But as the clock ticked down we became increasingly desperate. On 69 minutes Jones brought on Berry and Kelman for Docherty and Gillesphey, switching to what seemed to be a 4-3-3. On 85 minutes it was Hernandez making his debut for Carey, and by now it was Jones up front and pretty much everything going long in the hope of something.

As we started five minutes of stoppage time we seemed to get that something, as their keeper flapped at a cross and it dropped for Berry. His goalbound shot was deflected over for a corner. No matter, that corner was very well delivered and just cleared the people at the near post, Berry providing that nous in the box by reading the situation and getting on the end of it, getting enough contact to divert it into an empty net.

Suddenly it was Jones back in defence and a desperate few minutes to hold on to what we now had. We managed that and the players not surprisingly almost celebrated a draw in front of the travelling fans, the Hull players trudging off shaking their heads. If they had played out the game there would have been no complaints from us, like Preston it seemed a game too far. As it turned out they can have no complaints either as we did what we needed to do: score. More composure and intent from them on the break towards the end and they might well have scored a second to seal the points. But they didn’t.

Now we have a week to rest up before Swansea, with a great deal of satisfaction over the seven points out of nine. Take another bow Jones and the squad.

Everyone Take A Bow

Having taken the points on Saturday, and up against one of the promotion favourites on their own patch, a team which had beaten us in a pre-season friendly, I suspect most of us before the game would have been content with a point (unless of course we were three up in stoppage time – that was a pre-match joke). After 30 minutes or so we would have bitten someone’s arm off for a clean sheet and a draw. At the end we were cruising to a famous win. Football.

The team selection issues were I thought slightly different from those for Sheff Wed. The case for putting Ramsay in as left-side wing-back, to bolster the attacking threat, was weaker, given the opposition, the issue instead perhaps being whether Burke – or anyone else – might need a rest, with another tough away fixture (Hull) coming up on Saturday. In the event Jones opted to rest Burke and bring Ramsay back on the right side of the central three, as well as making a change up front, with Campbell on the bench and Olaofe starting.

Like some previous games (Bristol City comes to mind), we barely got a kick in the opening period. As Ipswich played it around it was a case of all hands to the pump at the back and defending the box, which we did very well. Although they had almost all the possession, in that first 30 minutes Ipswich were unable to create a clear-cut chance. And as we got more of a foothold in the game, in the rest of the half we gave as good as we got in terms of opportunities – and for some reason they started to flow.

First, Bell made a terrific break but just overhit the ball through to Kelman. Then Bell was involved again as he gathered a cross from the other side and sent it back in. It dropped for Carey in space inside the box, but he seemed to hesitate, allowed the ball to bounce and hit it on the half-volley, sending it well over. Just after that Ipswich almost went ahead, with a good move ending with a ball inside and their guy steadying himself and sending his shot from the edge of the box crashing back off the crossbar with Kaminski having no chance. Then it was us again as Kelman touched on a ball and Olaofe outmuscled his marker and was through on goal. He tried to shoot across their (substitute) goalkeeper, but the guy read the effort well and saved with his legs.

Next up Kaminski nearly gave them one on a plate, playing the ball out straight to one of theirs. And in stoppage time we came closest to breaking the deadlock. A corner delivered well and it dropped to the feet of Gillesphey, but he was being challenged (ie pulled over) and couldn’t get a clean connection, putting the ball over the bar. There was still time for Docherty to take a yellow for the team, stopping their guy from advancing.

At the break the stats showed Ipswich had enjoyed 69% possession (apparently at one point it was around 80%) and had 12 efforts on goal – but only one deemed on target (against six and one for us). They’d dominated play, hit the bar, and had many efforts blocked. You still had the impression that sooner or later they were likely to score. But we were still on level terms and on chances it was a more even game.

Ipswich came very close to taking the lead on 50 minutes when a corner was cleared but returned with interest and the glancing header from their guy went just wide of the post, again with Kaminski a spectator. That was to be the closest they came to winning the game as in the next minute Carey collected the ball just inside their half and went on a run forward. They failed to put in a serious challenge, or to be fair to bring him down, and when he reached the edge of the area he sold the defender an excellent dummy, shaping as if to go inside then switching to the left, creating the yard of space necessary. Then he buried the shot. Glory be we were ahead.

And things only got better. Kelman brought out a good save from their keeper, but from the resulting corner we worked the ball on the right side, Bree and Coventry exchanging passes. The ball went in low, took a couple of deflections and looped up invitingly for Gillesphey to head home unchallenged.

Ipswich might still have got back into it as before the hour a header from close range at the far post went into the net, only for the linesman to raise his flag. Was it offside? Replays seemed tight. But this was our night. As if to prove the point we went up the other end and scored again. Leaburn and Campbell had come on for Kelman and Olaofe and Campbell caused confusion, the defender putting the ball behind for a corner. That came to nothing, but Jones managed to retain possession on the far side and played it back for Coventry. He shaped to cross but instead put in a ball for Campbell. It seemed it would run out of play (and perhaps it did, but this was our night), but Campbell chipped it back in and this time Leaburn was there to head into an empty net.

Although there were still around 30 minutes left, three goals in 12 minutes not surprisingly took the wind out of Ipswich’s sails and left their supporters ruing their manager’s decision to make so many changes for the game. There were more opportunities – it took a great Ramsay block to prevent a goal, then Campbell cut inside and sent his curler just wide of the post – but the job was done. Knibbs replaced Carey and at the end Burke and Rankin-Costello came on for Coventry and Docherty, the two of them afforded a few minutes break.

At the end there were many very tired legs. Whether that costs us on Saturday remains to be seen, but that possibility shouldn’t deflect from what was an excellent performance, from all concerned. The final stats showed that Ipswich had 31 attempts on goal – but only five on target. No doubt they will talk about their own shortcomings and we will not get the praise we deserve from them or neutrals, as we restricted a very good team to only a few genuine chances, while giving them an object lesson in how to put the ball in the net. Not often we’ve been able to say that this season. Onwards and upwards. 

And on that note, I did do a quick pre-match check of the odds on promotion from the Championship this season. It indicated that Ipswich were behind only Coventry in the betting. OK. But we were listed at joint 14th, with longer odds on going up (25-1) than Sheff Utd (not Wednesday, they were put at 1,000-1), also below Hull and even the Spanners. I thought at 25-1 we had to be worth a fiver. Too late. Checked again this morning and we’re in to 16-1, up to 10th in the rankings. It still means that the betting is still on us not managing to retain our current position. Long may we continue to be viewed as underdogs. 

Good To Be Back

To say it was a pleasure to be back at The Valley on Saturday would be an understatement. Most enjoyable pre-match drinks with fellow Addicks followed by an entertaining first half, a win and the three points, and more fun after the game. There were only two downsides. First, the forwards once again didn’t manage to find the back of the net, and there were chances; second, a subdued second-half performance, one not revitalised by the subs, gave the Covered End nothing to cheer about (until the final minute) and enabled Sheff Wed to get a foothold back in the game and the chance of a point when at the break it appeared all was set up for us to go on and win the game handsomely, even allowing for their recent record for comebacks.

The game really was remarkably simple: play it in the Wednesday half and we would score goals, with their back line looking highly vulnerable and all at sea for second balls, in front of what seemed a flaky keeper; play it in our half and they had decent enough players to cause problems, even nick a goal, as they did. The first half was a fairly even affair in terms of possession and where the game was played and we won it 2-0; in the second we barely mustered an attack and ended up with a 2-1 win despite having just 40% possession for a home game.

For that it’s fair to give Wednesday some credit – although none should go to their 29, whose main contribution to the game was trying to wrap his arm(s) around Kaminski at every set piece. We all know and sympathise with their problems and wish them well. Like us when we were suffering with Duchatelet, the priority is getting a change of owner and then start the rebuilding process, in whatever division.

We have to focus on our own issues – which are of course entirely relative, we are all delighted with where we stand in the Championship. As I’m writing this back in Givry, having flown back from London on Sunday, there’s no point in a formal match report, just thoughts on the game.

First, we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that the best chance of the game before we scored went to them, a guy who should have buried a header from close range – after he’d shoved Coventry aside - instead of putting it straight at Kaminski. So the first half was not some walkover, we might have gone behind before scoring.

Second, we might easily have scored more than two in the first half. The first came curtesy of Campbell, who for the one and only time received the ball in space. He opted to draw defenders and play it inside for Carey, who netted the rebound after his first effort had been saved. The second was down to Burke timing his run better than his marker to get on the end of a very inviting Bree set piece delivery. In addition, Kelman might have notched a couple. He failed to get on the end of a very inviting ball into the box, then managed to get goalside of his marker and seemed to be through on the keeper, only for that defender to get back in time and block his shot. Got to give the crowd some credit here as they sang his name when he was substituted; he will come good in front of goal, just needs to get off the mark. More generally, although Wednesday had the height in defence to usually win the first ball up to forwards or into the box (especially when Iorfa was still on the pitch), they seemed to panic very easily when it came to the second, looking very uncoordinated.

Third, what exactly did go wrong in the second half? Their manager said they made small changes at the break, perhaps the substitutions improved them, perhaps it was just a case of nothing to lose and them raising their game. However, watching the game you couldn’t avoid concluding that we really fell off the pace, perhaps thinking that the game was won, or to be more kind that sooner or later we would score a third without having to do too much. The absence of action in their half kept the Covered End pretty muted and all the initiative was with Wednesday. We were taking it to the corner flag with some time left to play.

Our substitutions – Olaofe and Leaburn for Kelman and Campbell, then Knibbs and Ramsay for Carey and Burke, finally Rankin-Costello for Bree – failed to change the balance of play, although Leaburn may well have won us a free-kick on the edge of the box, the ref waving play on (I hope he’s not getting a reputation among officials for going to ground a little too easily), and Olaofe did ensure the game ended with a flourish as he was taken out by their keeper after nudging the ball past him – even if it did take intervention by the linesman to persuade the ref that a foul had been committed, quite absurdly he was playing on. There was no doubt at the time and the replays just underline the point.

On substitutions, I thought at 2-0 there was a case for getting Apter and/or Hernandez on the pitch. We were causing them no problems and needed a spark. But that, and Jones’ more understandable reluctance to risk opening things up more at 2-1, only underlines how difficult it is at the moment to get either onto the pitch. Apter has to be for Bree and once Olaofe has replaced Campbell that’s the other side taken care of. I think – with the full benefit of hindsight – that there was a case for replacing Campbell with Hernandez (assuming he’s been good in training) and going just for Olaofe to replace Kelman.

But what does it matter? We won. Perhaps the players had one eye on another tough game tomorrow night at Ipswich. If the second-half display left us with more in the tank for that one, so be it. We will find out. 

Possible Options For Saturday

Like London bloody buses. I’ve not managed a trip to The Valley for a while now (last one I saw live was Wembley) and now events/circumstances dictate/allow me to get in two in three weeks, starting with Sheff Wed on Saturday. Can’t wait. I see the club has even decided to mark the event by installing a new screen. As long as we still get to shout ‘Fiiiiish’ at it.

No game at this stage of the season is ‘must win’, and nobody’s imagining that Sheff Wed are going to be anything other than a tough nut to crack, despite their problems (arguably to some extent because of them, given the team spirit they have engendered). But we really could use the three points, to put us back into ‘positive territory’ for the season and to encourage us to be looking up not down. And after two on the road and the international break we really want the warm glow of a win, plus hopefully a good performance, back home.

I don’t think there’s any doubt that Jones the Boss does face some selection issues for Saturday. It would not be surprising were he to name an unchanged starting XI, but he must be thinking about options – which is positive in the sense that he has them.

The loss of Edwards is a big blow, which is no reflection on the capabilities of Bell and Gillesphey. He slotted in from the start and is well versed in working on the left side with Campbell going forward. Bell as we’ve seen can play the wing-back role, but not as yet with the same drive going forward. The choice of Ramsay in the role at Preston may have been dictated by the desire to nullify Small (which very nearly worked) but it has to be in Jones’ mind to keep him there, this time more for attacking potential.

Assuming we stick with a back three/five, that all bar Edwards are fit and available, and given that Jones the Player is barring injury a shoo-in, as is Bree as right-side wing-back, the choices are either Ramsay or Burke to his right and Bell or Gillesphey to his left, both influenced by the choice to fill Edwards’ slot. I don’t know enough about Sheff Wed’s attacking strengths to say if they might influence the choice; but given that we are at home and looking at their defensive record – by a distance the worst in the league so far – the decision will surely be as much about attacking as defensive capabilities.

The other issue – which does potentially affect even the formation – is up front. We’re nine games into the season and have registered one goal to date from a recognised forward, one that hasn’t yet made a start. At the same time our player of the month for August, who has scored, isn’t getting either a start or a kick at the moment. It is blindingly obvious that Campbell, Kelman and Leaburn are all very much in need of a goal, of any description. Kelman’s play outside the box is much improved from the start of the campaign, Campbell always looks a threat as a provider or by cutting inside. But nobody as yet has demonstrated the poaching instincts of Godden or the bulldozing impact of Aneke.

It is for me telling that in recent games we have seen some really inviting balls into the box just evade a forward or find nobody. It’s not that the forwards are guilty of glaring misses, rather that we don’t create many clear-cut chances for them in open play while the half-chances and possible openings have not been converted. Barring Olaofe’s one, the goals have instead come from the attack-minded central midfielder, the No.10 if you like (two for Carey and one for Knibbs), a wing-back (a brace for Bree and one for Apter playing in that position), and a central defender (Gillesphey). It has to be a cause for concern, irrespective of chances created and work outside the box.

So what makes sense in terms of options? I’d say we may have options but no obvious solutions. Kelman has been handed a thankless task, usually up against two fresh central defenders, before the ‘impact players’ come on to face a tiring defence. In that context Campbell offers little direct support, doing his good work out wide – but not yet scoring goals. Leaburn has struggled so far this season, with some exceptional touches but not the kind of impact from the bench that we would hope for. Again, Jones may conclude that the system is working, that Kelman and Campbell tire the opposition and create the conditions for others to benefit from later in the game. But on Saturday we are up against what on paper is the worst defense in the league.

Jones could opt simply to start with Leaburn and look to either Olaofe or Kelman to replace him in the second half, or indeed Olaofe. If he starts, as and when Campbell tires we now have Hernandez as well as Olaofe to replace him, but that leaves out Apter. We could go with a front three, of Campbell, Kelman (or another) and Apter, but then you would have to sacrifice Carey/Knibbs and their goals contribution. The same applies if we went for 4-4-2.

The conclusion? Without wishing to appear to be sitting on the fence, I trust that Jones and his team have taken a good look at Sheff Wed’s defensive frailties and worked out how we might best exploit them. That could mean selection changes. His preference may well be to focus on just us and what we do best, but the status quo has not yet delivered goals from the forwards, so at the least there is a case to be made for changes. What we really want from Saturday, in addition to the points, is goals from the forwards, whoever they are.

Came Up Short This Time

After a tough one away at Derby along came in all likelihood a tougher one today at Preston, sitting just above us in the league and having lost just one game to date. With another international break coming up you wanted to just get something out of the game, to keep the unbeaten run going. But we didn’t manage that, it looked like a game too far at this stage of the season. We didn’t play especially badly, just lacked a little zip – and fundamentally carried virtually no goal threat throughout, being restricted to some decent passing at times outside the box and a couple of good balls into the box just evading the forward. We had no efforts on target and for long spells it looked as though if Preston got one – and they did cause us problems at the back - it would probably be enough.

They got one, albeit a fortuitous one as Small’s shot was deflected just over a diving Kaminski, and for good measure scored a second which at first sight looked for all the world offside, but Steve Brown said replays showed it was OK, so we have to live with that. It meant for us a game to forget, as quickly as possible, although Jones has to be concerned that in nine games none of the starting forwards has scored – and all told the tally is just one, the Olaofe goal to beat Sheff Utd. It’s not that their fluffing chances, just that we’re not creating many for them and they seem unable to be in the right place at the right time (unlike Godden of course).

The team showed one change to the starting XI from Derby, with Burke – who was given a rest for that one – returning and Bell taking a break, named among the subs. That left a central defensive three of Burke, Jones and Gillesphey, with Bree and Ramsay named as the wing-backs given the continued unavailability of Edwards – with the very unwelcome news on that front that he will be out for ‘more than a few weeks’. Which one would take the left side and probably be given the task of stopping Small was unclear before the game, but it proved to be Ramsay, which looked like a decision based around stopping Small. No change in midfield or up front, but on the bench new signing Hernandez was included, with Anderson missing out.

The first half was nip and tuck throughout, but they had the edge as going forward they looked the more likely, even if we managed to prevent any clear openings and what half-chances they engineered lacked a good finish. For us I can only remember Kelman getting free down the right side, his cross in being half-cleared then laid on for Bree but his curled effort going wide, then later Kelman again getting free and sending in a good ball which Campbell was unable to convert, getting crowded out.

At the break all the plaudits went to both defences. No effort on target from either side. And it stayed that way until the hour mark. We did have one moment as Burke delivered an excellent ball into the box, but this one too just evaded Campbell at the far post. It was Campbell’s last meaningful involvement as he was replaced by Leaburn shortly after. Then Preston really should have taken the lead on 60 minutes as a cross from their left for once caught out our back line and their guy was left with a header from close range unchallenged, the ball bouncing up nicely for him. Like at Derby Kaminski read the effort well and pulled off a good save, but if he’d placed the header either side of him there would have been nothing he could have done.

That let-off failed to galvanise us and instead gave Preston renewed impetus. After Leaburn had failed to hold off the defender to get on the end of a Ramsay through ball Small, who had been very well marshalled by Ramsay, got his moment. We failed to deal with a ball in from their left and eventually it was laid to the right side of the box for Small. Whether his shot was going wide or would have been saved by Kaminiski we’ll never know as it deflected off Ramsay and went over Kaminski’s outstretched arm into the net.

Jones responded with a triple substitution, with Bell, Olaofe and Knibbs coming on for Burkey, Kelman and Casey, with Ramsay switching back to the left side of central defence. We continued to struggle to create anything in the final third, Bree firing off one effort but not a repeat of last week’s wonder strike. We almost went two down on 72 minutes as we lost the ball down our left and Preston moved forward quickly, but their guy chipped wastefully over.

On 75 minutes Bree did get clear down the right and played a good ball in, this time it was Leaburn who arrived just too late to convert. And after Berry came on for Coventry, Jones clearly gambling now, on 79 minutes we were two down. A ball down their left side to a guy who we all thought was yards offside, no flag, he played it into the box – and unlike all of our such balls this one found a forward who converted. That was it. Five minutes of stoppage time produced nothing for us. And it was one of those afternoons when you felt we could have played all day and not scored.

The result really does square things up – played nine, won three, drawn three, lost three, scored eight, conceded eight. It will serve as something of a reality check after a good run. Preston were decent but far from world-beaters and this time a tight game went against us. On the day we weren’t good enough. Jones will have time to ponder why.