Not lost on Morrison either given his post match comments:Originally Posted by Bombers right foot
"I think it's the first time I have had to get angry again at half time. We huffed and puffed second half but still again we didn't value ball how I would like...The stuff that's brought us success wasn't there today....that's the thing I've leant today-we've got to be on the players every day and we can't come off the gas"
Yes, the players may have been tired having played a lot of football and, lately, playing it with some intensity and, yes, they had already achieved the rather miraculous aim of survival coming into this game but too many today were either too sloppy (how many wayward passes!) or else lacking in the necessary commitment. To my mind they let themselves and Morrison down as well as the fans.
Pity Molumby wasn't playing today because, while he might lack quality at times, he does have the right battling attitude and I'm sure he would have had a few choice words for some of his team mates. The decision to play Gilchrist over Phillips was down to Morrison but other than that, I thought he made the right changes at half time. The rest of today's poor performance lies with the players themselves.
We clearly lack the needed quality in several areas of the pitch but given our finances, coupled with an already thin squad, I genuinely think that any talk of a significant clear out is unrealistic. Those under contract who are underperforming will be hard to shift and while losing so many well paid out of contract players off the wage bill will help ease the recruitment situation, the moot issue will be whether we will really be able to replace them with cheaper and better.
As for our promising youngsters, I believe we should keep Bostock (and possibly Whitwell) and continue to give him first team opportunities to improve his game next season but the others I would loan out to aid their development.. They may indeed be the future but today showed that they aren't there yet and the Championship will likely be even tougher next season than it was this one.
I think most of us view next season as a transformative one and an opportunity to begin a rebuild. The extension to the number of play off positions may mean that achieving one of them should not totally be out of the question but I personally think that we should manage our expectations and accept that a placement just outside of these might be more realistic. The main thing would be to see the team continue to improve and move forward, playing with desire and attacking intent but also with more quality than we have witnessed this season.
Reply With Quote