A tough week and an opportunity blown.
Had we avoided defeat in those two games, I think we'd be very close to being un-catchable. As it is, we've left the door open and incentivised Middlesbrough to chase us down. It's re-shaped the external discourse amongst media and fans but hopefully the players aren't distracted by it.
It's going to take a big effort to onto 2nd spot.
The second half against Middlesbrough and first half to Millwall, were really poor performances.
We have to find a way of performing for longer spells in games - as, at present - we only seem to have a good 20-30 mins in us. It's been enough against lower-end opposition, but Middlesbrough and Millwall have shown us that it won't be enough against better sides.
We need to improve quickly.
It doesn't sound like those improvements are going to come in the form of returning absentees.... On the injury front, we've had no update lately on the timelines of any of our missing players. Some of which, Baldock and RND in particular, could make a big impact...
However, we do have players like Ahmedhodzic, Clark and Fleck waiting in the wings.
At their best, all would give us a stronger defensive platform to work from... something that has been missing from our identity in recent weeks.
Revised guesses below:
W Osula - late February 2023 (5 weeks) - fractured jaw
B Sharp - early-March 2023 - (3 weeks) ankle injury
G Baldock - early-March 2023 (6 weeks) - hamstring strain
E Stevens - early-2023 (6 weeks) - unknown muscular injury
R Brewster - March 2023 (5 months) - hamstring surgery
R Norrington-Davies - March 2023 (5 months) - hamstring surgery
Guess at the team for Watford's visit:
..........................Foderingham
....................Anel....Egan.......Clark
...Bogle..............................................Lowe
.................Norwood.......Fleck
......Berge...................................Ndiaye
...........................McBurnie
Subs: Davies, Basham, Robinson, Osborn, Doyle, McAtee, Jebbison.
Watford
It isn't a great time to be playing Watford. They're the only club in the league who seem to have had injury troubles as bad as ours.
The cavalry seems to be returning for the run-in now and they arrive off the back of a good win over West Brom.
It isn't going to be an easy game but we can help ourselves by keeping things a lot tighter and being a little less gung-ho than in our recent losses.
Defence
We've been unusually vulnerable in recent weeks. The best defence in the league is suddenly leaking 3 goals a game... and soft ones at that.
It needs a reset and the best way to do that is to make some changes. Anel & Clark are my preferred choices in the back 3.
Medium / long term - as soon as Baldock and RND are fit, I would stick them back into the XI in place of Bogle & Lowe who seem to have gone well off the boil. We miss their heart and grit in moments like this.
Midfield
Our weakest area. We were completely outplayed by Middlesbrough and Millwall in the middle of the park.
We've needed reinforcements in there for a few transfer windows, but sadly the embargo has stopped play.
Personally, I'm not a huge fan of Tommy Doyle. I thought he was our worst player again last weekend (goal aside). We know Osborn lacks the quality, he shouldn't start other than in emergencies .... and PH doesn't seem to trust Coulibaly.
Therefore, getting Fleck back to where he was in the run-in last season probably represents our best shot at getting some sort of decent shape in midfield.
It is a long-shot, as he isn't naturally the best conditioned of athletes but we have to try.
Forwards
McBurnie is probably the only player to come out of the last couple of games with any credit. He looked bang up for it. Led the the line well, tried to hold and link at every opportunity and defended our box from set-pieces. He's a no-brainer.
McAtee and Jebbison are strong options off the bench.
