Birmimgham verdict

CherryBare

UTC Legend
+ves
Much needed win
Wilshire best game for us, suspect being protected hence substitution
Jeff looked back to his best
Danjuma goal and assist

-ves
Left back still an issue
Bego some dodgy moments
Long didn't do too much, hopefully needs games
Brooks poor again
 
Lot more movement esp first half against a defensive side so three goals is a big plus. Wilshere cook and lerma impressive. CCV offers a more physical presence than meps.

However two awful goals conceded. Bego now on a run of errors again. Really concerned at lack of tracking of runs.

kelly is a big liability now. Sad to see.
 
An important win and a decent performance. I get why we signed Long given King’s departure and his experience but does he really offer more than Surridge? I don’t think so.

Lloyd Kelly is overrated and looks a liability at times but I’m not sure Rico is that much of a better option at LB. Keen to see Pearson and a bit more steel in midfield to complement Wilshere (who we should be building the team around as long as he stays fit).
 
Lerma was garbage in the first half but much improved in the second, actually did a good job of protecting the back four in the second half. Harsh on Long, he did alright considering his lack of football, ran tirelessly and could have had a couple on another day. Was not ecstatic about his arrival but put in a good shift today. Wilshere easily our best player. Kelly and Brooks both very poor again and that’s putting it politely. Brooks can only play this badly for so long before people in football start to question whether his injuries have ruined him..... Kelly is just a complete liability at left back, if Zemura can’t get a game at the moment then tbh he needs to look elsewhere because he ain’t ever getting a game. You can see why our younger players don’t want to stick around. Why would they when they see highly paid players consistently underperforming but never getting dropped?
 
At this stage I take the three points and ignore the quality, which was really sketchy at times. They must have been offside on the second goal ..... although we did not see a definitive angle.

Lots to improve on, will be interested to see how we set up for the FA Cup match. 17th in the PL v. 6th in the Championship. On paper at least, not a lot to go on.
 
Kelly and Brooks need a break to consider their training back to something like they should be playing...not even sure Kelly is a LB..I would play Smith there and Stacey on the right until we can improvement....as for Brooks?.. he obviously is better than we are seeing at present but we have cover even if we give Riquelme a run to see if he can influence games more....Danjuma should be thinking quicker on the ball and not just trying to beat two players when he should be passing sharper..Long had tough baptism as a lone striker and will always give 100% so can’t complain about him today..we ground out a win which should increase some belief in the team...at least Bego’s mistake didn’t cost us three points but he needs to put that behind him
 
I'm actually more pleased by that result than if we had won 3-0 playing brilliantly......i think i'd have felt sick if we had tbh.....at least shows that perhaps it is just a confidence issue rather than something more sinister.
Winning is a great motivator...we do need to go on a run now to restore some of our guys enthusiasm...hopefully we can put our usual jan/Feb meltdown behind us!
 

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