All in all that was about as good as we could have realistically hoped for. You don’t go from where we are to where we were in the space of one game, especially with a much changed team. You only had to look at the front three to know we weren’t going to blow Wolves away regardless of how we played, but what we needed to see was cohesion, effort, desire to keep a clean sheet and generally just something we could feel good about. We got all of that.
It’s a very low bar that’s been set with recent performances and ordinarily this kind of display and result would just be normal, routine. Something we’d take for granted. We can’t take it for granted anymore because defensively we’ve been an absolute shambles all season. We’re struggling in attack too, but that will happen when you’re without four of your six strikers and one of the only two available has only been here a fortnight. There’s an excuse for that, there’s been no excuse for how we’ve been defending.
So this was really good. Wolves created virtually nothing and were unable to put us under any real pressure. We pressed well high up the pitch but we did not do it all of the time, which made it more effective when we did. When we needed to stay in our shape we did that. There were no big gaps for Wolves to play in, our lads were very compact and close together, they covered for each other and…. we actually won challenges. Fucking loads of them.
I’m not sure what to take from it though really. It’s not a line up we’re likely to see again so you can’t get the same kind of good vibe and confidence that you’d have if it was the regular line up looking so solid and organised. But maybe some of these will now be a part of the regular line up? Personally I’d be rolling this midfield three out again this weekend. Bringing Fabinho and Henderson back in sends out entirely the wrong message. The midfield were really good in this game. Not spectacular, just really efficient and effective. Things we haven’t been for some time.
It didn’t start too well though and in the opening minute I think Traore was able to find space and get a cross in three times! Three times in a minute!! Kinell. I was worried about how we were going to stem that tide but we actually did it pretty easily once we settled and got a few touches of the ball.
We were good in possession and even better out of it. Carvalho and Elliott were both lively and demanding the ball, and the midfield had a good control on things. Kostas was overlapping well and the link up with Carvalho was good. I liked what I was seeing but it wasn’t translating to clear cut chances. We got into some good situations for flashing crosses across the box but nothing really came of it.
Then came a mad minute where it looked like an NBA game. We put together a nice attacking move and Elliott made a run through the centre looking for a through ball. Milner attempted it but it was easily cut out and one pass later Ait-Nouri was bearing down on our goal. Not again. For fucks sake? Why does this keep happening to us? But we defended it well in the box and Gomez made a block. The ball hit his hand and the Wolves manager went the full Guardiola kicking off about it. Never handball in a million years, pipe down soft arse.
Next thing we’re running back the other way. Elliott carried the ball forward and was unchallenged all way until he got to 25 yards from goal and then lashed one over the keeper. Lovely strike and although it wasn’t your typical ‘unstoppable’ blast into the top corner that it usually takes to score from there, I loved this because Harvey looked up and saw the horrendous position the keeper was in and he just blasted it over him.
It’s terrible goalkeeping, he’s in no man’s land and then he goes for it with his wrong hand too because his balance and footwork was all wrong. But Harvey noticed it and capitalised, so it’s cracking goal. He loved it, and few things warm the heart like an Elliott goal celebration. He’s all of us isn’t he? Late on in the game he flew into a tackle and then celebrated in front of the travelling fans like it was a goal. At full time he collapsed on the turf, absolutely fucked. Like Milner after the Barca game. He’d given everything he had to get the result. They all did actually.
Recommended Comments