Also back from match. Just one point I would make....

....is that it is about 4 games in a row where we have been found out by teams pressing us from the off. West Brom gave us a torrid time in the 1st half and we could easily have been 2 or 3 behind. Yes we were better in the 2nd half but one could argue West Brom got their tactics wrong and failed to change their team whilst we did. Certainly the Baggies fans I know ( quite a lot as I'm local to them) think they should have won and basically Darren Moore was 'outmanaged' by Daniel Farke which is interesting. I'm more than happy with a point. However I do not think it is Leitner we miss as much as Stieperman who has a more physical presence. Good as Leitner is I do think that any team that presses us (and I expect all others will now as it seems to work) will impact on his passing game as much as the rest of the team. We need a few pragmatic approaches for the rest of Jan and Feb as the next few games are all looking tough and I include Ipswich in this as I fear we will be playing them at just the wrong time as their new team gels. Then maybe from March onwards we can start to impose again. To maintain impetus (and impetus is vital) we need to win again against Brum as the Blackburn victory was approaching a month ago.

Posted By: Saucerer, Jan 12, 21:46:23