Very pleasing start to the season.
Obviously the result is fantastic. Gets the season rolling right away, and we won’t have the questions and doubts about that first win we had last time. A draw would have been perfectly fair I thought, but this was a game that maybe we’d have lost 2 years ago.
Some of our signings look excellent. Obviously Enciso was just brilliant, clearly our MOTM, but Emmerson’s performance was a lot better than I expected, especially for his first match in this league. He’s got a lot going for him. Fatawu was in-and-out, but shone brightly for spells, and Maeda looked pretty lively.
In midfield Nunez amazed me, with I guess his best ever performance for us, certainly in that position. Not that he was briliant, but he looked pretty comfortable at the level. Oddly Lukic disappointed me slightly, but that may be because I’d come to consider him as a better player than he actually is. I thought he and Nunez were equally effective.
Each of the defenders had good moments and weaker ones (apart perhaps for Davis who was good throughout). I wait to see how the build out from our goal kicks develop. Work there, clearly.
Under McKenna on occasions we could substitute the entire front 4 and basically not weaken the team. We aren’t there now. But a new number 9 could help, and a fit Philogene.
Finally Sunderland seemed a much poorer side than I’d expected. Despite the win I expect us to have to fight for our lives in every match to have any chance of staying up. But we might find Sunderland are in the mix with us in the sticky stuff. |  |
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.
