No, not of several players although that lamentable performance last night might suggest otherwise. As painful as it was to see NC's excellent Cup record punctured, we now have a clear run until the end of the season.
No more rearranged games, no more players Cup-tied, no more shuffling the team endlessly to fit in three games every eight days. We've got 21 League games now and absolutely no distractions. However...
The last two performances have been a wake-up call. Although we beat Swindon, the first-half performance was ludicrously inept. Not just down to many new, 'unfamiliar' faces, more a lack of basic footballing talent. And last night, after the excitement of the Spurs games, saw a return to the poor and sloppy standards we've been watching all season. Two home wins in the League since 21st October tells its own story.
The first half last night was untypical. We had (I think) three attempts on goal before half time. Three more than we normally have. Preston hitting the woodwork should have been a wake-up call, but proved the opposite.
While NC and his staff ranted throughout the second half, it seemed to have escaped them that we were 'inviting Preston on' to a ridiculous degree. As PNE continued to pump long, unopposed balls into our box it became inevitable that - sooner or later - one would fall just right. And when United won possession, it was just belted upfield to our 'outlet', i.e. no-one. 3-1 flattered United.
Missing out on a tie wth Man. U is estimated to have cost us at least £half million. That would have gone a long way towards our obviously-needed striker. Except we don't play with strikers...
You know what? Just as the MoTD stats (possession, attempts off-target etc.) are deemed increasingly irrelevant, so are the 'marks out of ten' for our players. If, say, Murphy has a blinder it will be negated by one or two others having shockers. Baxter had (I thought) one of his better performances last night but will be probably back to normal by the weekend. If some of those players can't see the incoming players as a threat - and therefore raise their personal performances - there's no hope for them.
And that, for me, is the missing ingredient and it comes direct from NC. A lack of motivation and 'balls'. Hence our consistent no-shows until the hour mark. Do you ever see (figuratively) 'tear shirt off and chuck it away' passion when a player is substituted? No. (Doyle v. Spurs excepted) Most of them are relieved to hand on the responsibility in much the same way as they 'hide' when a throw-in is being taken. Oh sure, they look as if they're keen to receive the ball but it's all half-hearted 'shadow play'.
Once again, the Cup runs have been fun. Our season starts (because it certainly hasn't started so far) this Saturday at Gillingham.
