No 'Bad Day At The Office'; An Injury Crisis and Failed Attempt To Paper Over The Cracks

After the two-week break we went into this one rather blind. We had no idea who of the pre-break injured would be back available, or how Southampton would shape up, still with an interim boss and 18th in the table but coming to us on the back of consecutive wins, against QPR and Sheff Wed, and residues of Premiership quality and expectations. They’re all hard to call with any confidence, but before kick-off this one looked capable of going any way.

After 10 minutes of the game the die already seemed cast, with Southampton pulling us apart and missing at least three presentable chances. At half-time, having shipped five, all we wanted was to fast-forward to get it over with and to try to forget about it as soon as possible. Of all the possible outcomes ahead of the game I don’t think we would have added being totally played off the park, pulled apart, a strong defensive record in tatters, and for good measure unable to turn 49% first-half possession into any meaningful threat (before Jones’ header from a corner). The second half was utterly irrelevant.

I decided to wait before penning anything, feeling like Gordon Ottershaw (bonus points for anyone who remembers that one). The day after, no point in giving any account of the game (the Southampton goals have already morphed into a seamless shape), just an attempt to if not make sense of it (impossible) to put it in context ahead of Tuesday night’s game at Stoke.

First off, I’d reject the idea that this was just a ‘bad day at the office’. Wrexham was that, when a stretched squad proved unable to muster the extra effort to get something out of the game. Sure, there was an element of everything possible going wrong. We’ve seen other games this season in which we made a slow start, seemed off the pace, only to avoid conceding and progressively get a foothold in the game. This was different. We did escape lightly in the first 10 minutes, but instead of learning from the early escapes we carried on ploughing the same furlough. That, to me, suggests there was no Plan B, no attempt to try Plan B if we had one. Why not? Why were we so taken by surprise with Southampton’s plan? Had nobody watched their last couple of games?

Second, let’s accept this for what it is: an injury crisis hitting a (deliberately) small squad. Ahead of the game we were waiting to see who would be back involved. In the event it was disappointment across the board. We knew it would be much too soon for Edwards, that Bree would not be available, but we had hoped Burke and/or Bell, plus Kelman, maybe Godden, would be in the squad. I do believe, with hindsight, that sticking with a 3-5-2/5-3-2 was an error of judgement ahead of the game. Sticking with it through the game, at least until nothing mattered anymore, compounded the error.

Press-ganging Apter into a wing-back role is always going to be a gamble, that his offensive qualities will overcome defensive weaknesses. Pressing Hernandez into operating on his wrong side in an unfamiliar role was a second gamble which failed. Apter was sacrificed after 24 minutes, by which time we were four down. Hernandez was left on to have a shocker; he seemed to be everywhere when not needed and nowhere when he was. The blame for the result doesn’t lie entirely with dodgy wing-backs, Jones looked uncomfortable against a mobile Armstrong from the start. But when a defensive line is hopelessly exposed by midfield runners and each individual loses confidence in the ability of those around him to cope, chaos results. It surely did yesterday.

I struggle to understand why we selected and then retained a back five when we had only three senior centre-backs and no real wing-backs. Jones had to play the full game despite being clearly in discomfort since being shoved into their keeper at a second-half corner, with Gough and Laqeretabua left to warm the bench. Sure, it was no game to be blooding youngsters, in terms of getting anything out of it, but what would we have lost if Gough had come on for Jones in the second half? What would we have lost if Laqeretabua had been used, or Fullah, when the game was lost and Southampton had no inclination to inflict further pain?

We can have no idea what might have happened if we had acknowledged our absentees and switched to a 4-4-2, or something similar. That would have allowed Apter to play as a regular winger, kept one of the three senior centre-backs in reserve. It might have meant sacrificing Carey/Knibbs/Berry in the more advanced midfield role, at least at the start. Bottom line is it couldn’t have turned out any worse.

To summarise the lessons, I’d say: one, we had an injury crisis and tried – unsuccessfully – to paper over the cracks, in advance of and during the game; two, there seems to have been a failure of planning to be ready for what Southampton would throw at us; and three, Jones does not seem ready to trust Gough, Laqeretabua, Enslin, Fullah, or Rylah, perhaps even the recovering Casey up front and Anderson in midfield. Jones and his staff have to take their share of the blame for yesterday, along with the players. In any other season, under any other manager, there would have been howls of protest in favour of sackings/changes after such a performance. Jones and the players are still heavily in credit, but need to react. 

So to my mind, unless Burke and/or Bell are available for Tuesday night, along with Bree being available again, we change formation. Perhaps a 4-4-2 and utilise the two banks of four in front of our goal, or go again with a front three, with two of Apter, Campbell and Fullah operating either side of Leaburn or Olaofe. We will not be reacting to a bad day at the office, we will be reacting to a drubbing, one which will have dented confidence across the board, to try to stop consecutive defeats turning into a slide.