That win against Wigan really was something else. A complete anomaly in our recent form, we managed the game incredibly well and now we really look like a League One team... and I mean this in the best way possible.
Watching us at the weekend, we were a totally different side to the one we have seen as of late. We went straight for the throat – Wigan hadn’t touched the ball before our first goal. We attacked well and were resourceful out of possession, pressing well and not letting Wigan play out from the back. You could see us actively learning to be a League One side – from Patto’s time wasting to Gooch’s protection of the ball for our second penalty. Sure, we have blown away teams with our football this year, murdering Sheffield Wednesday for example with our free-flowing football. But, in the reverse fixture, we were bullied and comfortably beaten 3-1. Too often, we have been destroyed by physical sides.
Neil has experimented with the team’s composition. A month or two ago, Callum Doyle and Dan Neil were considered undroppable. Arguably, Lynden Gooch probably didn’t do enough to warrant going straight back into the side after his absence through injury, yet he was deployed extremely effectively against Wigan, nullifying the attacking threat of James McClean and linking up well with Carl Winchester down the right. Xhemajli has hardly played any senior football for us, yet he made the step up from the U23’s admirably and demonstrated that he can be a key part of the run in. The Kosovan was immense with Bailey Wright and reads the game exceptionally well. Patterson, our third-choice keeper, was preferred over our Bayern Munich loanee Thorben Hoffmann. We played without our dangerous wide men Jack Clarke and Patrick Roberts and maintained the invisible man Corry Evans in midfield – these were all decisions which contributed to a decidedly underwhelming starting eleven, at least on paper.
Yet Neil was vindicated by his selection. With Evans, for once we didn’t have a soft centre and limited Max Power to the mental battle, because he was anonymous in the physical one. Power wished to gain advantage psychologically and you could see him winding up Jay Matete all game but the latter embarrassed him. We have the footballers, but for once we had an uncommon solidity and guile. This is the League One football you play when you want to get out of League One and our promotion rivals couldn’t get a look in all game.
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, after all under Neil we have only 1 win in 4, which is mid-table form. But as our manager said, we have set the bar now. Continuing with a positive frame of mind, when you look to the players we have coming back, they really do strengthen any team in this division. There is not a side in the league that would not be enriched by the attacking flair of Aiden McGeady, the hard work and versatility of Luke O’Nien and the mercurial talent of Nathan Broadhead. Our strong bench supplement this. On paper we have a creative team, but it is one that has been run into the ground. Neil has managed to do what Johnson failed to do, to take young players out of the firing line and give them rest.
We were well balanced at the weekend and whilst we do lack a bit of depth in certain positions, hopefully this game is a turning point. We played like a team that can walk our remaining fixtures. At least in theory. Whether we can get a result at the weekend remains to be seen, but if we can keep that standard from the weekend just gone, we beat anyone in League One. I am still concerned at how many goals are coming from set pieces but on the other hand, we have proved to be adept at them.
We played like a League One team and I believe this is on Neil. He opted for experience in playing Gooch and Evans when performances would suggest they should be heavily restricted to just cameos for the rest of the season. But they were key components of a highly functional team.
At the weekend, we got the balance right. If this game doesn’t give us confidence I don’t know what will. We can go forward into the weekend with cautious optimism for the first time in a while. It’s one result, but it feels like it could be a pivotal moment. Hopefully, this is the implementation of the Alex Neil way. I like it. KTF.
