In retrospect what we saw tonight was a Brum Team of limited technical ability that had to out work and bully our kids to just get a point. Is this an illustration of how to play against us yes, but I hope that over the season the kids can smarten up, bulk up, and stiffen their spines in the face of such adversity. In contrast to the first two games, when players were showing and wanting the ball, in this game against such adversity they chose to be shy and in some instances to hide, which just made the challenge harder.
Fer is not the answer to this problem. He has serious shortcomings that will not permit him to offer leadership by example. And if anything, if he plays to form, can only offer a bad example to kids. Being a character in the locker room is all well and good, but frankly if that doesn’t translate into character, wisdom, skill, quality, consistency and work ethic on the field, it offers little in the end. Fer did not really make much of a difference to a midfield that still was overwhelmed by bully and bluster and underwhelmed by its own lack of quality .. on the night.
Potter saw what was happening on the field and was continually trying to adjust to offset what was not being delivered by the players. There’s only so much he can do when players are being pushed off the ball and hide rather seeking and wanting the ball. When the seniors he could call on (Dyer, Routs, Narsingh) are not showing enough in training to make the grade for selection then he has to play, stand by, and support the cards (players) he has been dealt.
We organized and held on against Brum and Monk’s so called bettering of Potter that could only deliver a point at home against a performance we all recognize was piss poor by us. I would rather be Potter than Monk. If we think Potter has problems, then Monk has a terrible season in front of him. We know we can get better.