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+----- Thread: The Season Just Gone (Month By Month) (/showthread.php?tid=2681)
The Season Just Gone (Month By Month) - madsteve - 18-05-2015
August
I was happy with our fixtures. We had avoided early fixtures against the promoted sides, Wolves, Rotherham & Brentford and we had early matches against Brighton, Millwall, Bolton, Birmingham & Reading, all sides that I expected to struggle. The only thing missing to make it perfect was to play Blackpool, who were in disarray and struggling to even field a side.
The run up to the opening match was disturbed by the news that we were selling Antonio. In pre-season, he had been integral to our play but two days before the season started, we sold our highest asset to Forest for what turned out to be £1.2m. This blow was softened by the news that SG had signed his number one summer target, Stevie May, from St Johnstone for £800k.
We started at Brighton and while many thought this was a tough match, I was heavily invested in Brighton to finish in the bottom half at even money.
We didn't play well but we did play professionally. Westwood & Lees made their debuts. Coke scored a wonderful goal from distance five minutes before half time and the task was made easier when Crofts was sent off five minutes after half time for a high tackle on Hutchinson.
I wasn't elated by the result because I expected to win with Brighton looking like a weak side with an inexperienced manager in charge but I was pleased by our calm efficiency and the fact that Brighton never looked like scoring.
Brighton 0-1 WEDNESDAY
After brushing aside Notts County in the League Cup, our first home match of the season was against Derby County, on paper the toughest of our opening six fixtures.
This was an entertaining 0-0 draw with May making his league debut. Maguire hit the bar from a free kick but we were indebted to Westwood, who made two great saves late on to earn us a draw.
This was a match that we could have won but could have lost so a draw seemed about right against a team fancied for promotion.
WEDNESDAY 0-0 Derby
Millwall at home looked like the perfect opportunity to push ourselves into the promotion frame as they appeared to be one of the weakest sides in the division. On the day, we didn't perform. We went ahead after an hour when Maguire's free kick was deflected in. Millwall blew the chance to equalise when Williams missed a penalty but levelled in injury time as we threw away two points.
WEDNESDAY 1-1 Millwall
Our next game was a tricky away match at Middlesbrough but it turned out to be probably our best performance of the season. The scoreline may suggest it was close but although there were squeaky moments at the death, we played brilliantly for 70 minutes. Maghoma had possibly his best game in a Wednesday shirt and created two of our goals with pin point crosses while Nuhiu twice & May were in the right place at the right time. We also hit the woodwork twice & had a good penalty shout denied. The fact that Boro made the score look respectable courtesy of two late penalties shouldn't take away from the fact that we thrashed a pretty good side on their own turf.
I went home that night believing that promotion was a very realistic possibility.
Middlesbrough 2-3 WEDNESDAY
After a good League Cup win at Burnley, we faced fellow unbeaten side, Forest at home next.
With hindsight, this match showed what was to come for the season - lots of endeavour but not enough skill or incisiveness when it counted. Forest executed the perfect smash & grab raid (as we had at Brighton) by taking their one chance then defending stoically. What made it all the more galling for our fans was that Antonio was their star performer and he created the match winning goal for Lansbury. It was evident then that we lacked the kind of pace and ability to change matches that Antonio provided.
WEDNESDAY 0-1 FOREST
We had two wins & two draws from five matches in the opening month and although the result against Forest was disappointing, there were still good reasons for optimism. We were one point outside the Playoff positions. Were we going to continue with our early season form or was the lack of creativity in the final third that showed up against Forest going to hinder our chances?
P5 W2 D2 L1 F5 A4 Pts8
RE: The Season Just Gone (Month By Month) - Owlkev71 - 18-05-2015
Apart from the Boro game you could see the potential problems we were going to have up front. Derby was one of the better performances I saw this season but typically we didn't score.
RE: The Season Just Gone (Month By Month) - madsteve - 18-05-2015
The Brighton match showed our ability to win away without doing much.
The Derby & Forest matches showed our inability to score at home.
The Boro match showed that we can win with style but we only repeated it once all season.
The Millwall match showed that we would struggle at home playing 442.
Sadly the problems evident during August were never addressed.
RE: The Season Just Gone (Month By Month) - St Charles Owl - 18-05-2015
The start to the season definitely papered over the cracks in the team. We were all on a high having got good results against a couple of good teams and a draw and narrow defeat to teams we all felt would be in the playoffs at least. As you say the wins ended up being against a struggling team in Brighton and a Boro team who did go on to the playoffs but who we seem to have a curse on!! As for the playoff favorites, Derby and Forest, both failed to reach them and we ended up finishing above Forest!!!
But August was good, it gave us optimism and ultimately our start is what ensured we were never near the relegation places.
RE: The Season Just Gone (Month By Month) - Owlkev71 - 18-05-2015
We must have played 442 about 40 times this season, time for a change for gods sake SG
RE: The Season Just Gone (Month By Month) - St Charles Owl - 18-05-2015
Wasn't it Fat Boy Evans who said we were playing Stevie May wrong by playing him up front on his own?? Shows how many games he has seen, I cannot remember May playing up front on his own at all, mainly due to us always playing 442!!!
RE: The Season Just Gone (Month By Month) - Thurnscoe_OWL - 19-05-2015
Whenever we have gone one up top and may has played, he was on the wing. THAT is how we played him wrong
RE: The Season Just Gone (Month By Month) - Maddix - 19-05-2015
In all fairness May probably would have scored 20 plus if he'd gone to Rovrum
The Fat lad would have worked out how to get the best out of him whereas I always thought that SG signed him to get one over on the local rivals rather than actually wanting him. He had no interest in playing to his best assets or building a team round him or playing a system to provide for him
RE: The Season Just Gone (Month By Month) - St Charles Owl - 19-05-2015
My god, the day we do something to get one over on Rovrum is the day we need to pack it all in!!!!! On that basis I hope you are wrong Maddix!!!
RE: The Season Just Gone (Month By Month) - madsteve - 19-05-2015
September
We started the month with a good performance at Bolton. Even though we gave new loan signing, Royston Drenthe half an hour, we couldn't break down Bolton's defence. 24 attempts on goal and just four on target says a lot.
Bolton 0-0 WEDNESDAY
Four days later we went to Birmingham & this time we claimed all three points. After a slow first half, we upped the pace in the second half to run out worthy winners. May scored the crucial goal with Helan adding a second in stoppage time.
Birmingham 0-2 WEDNESDAY
Back at home and we managed a streaky win against Reading. Reading's Glenn Murray had an eventful game, hitting a first half penalty central, allowing Westwood to save then his second half header came back off the bar. In between, Westwood made a miracle save to keep out Cooper's header and was again in the action to tip away Blackman's long distance pile driver. Against the run of play, we stole the points when May's free kick was deflected home.
WEDNESDAY 1-0 Reading
That win put us in a Playoff position that we never got as close again but for a few days, optimism was in the air. That balloon was burst when after a defiant first half, we totally capitulated 7-0 at Man City.
For once, we started the brighter at Cardiff three days later with May having a shot cleared off the line after he had rounded the keeper. Gradually the match drifted away from us with an own goal from a great Maguire cross being the only highlight as it was sandwiched between two Cardiff goals.
Cardiff 2-1 WEDNESDAY
We finished the month with a home match against Ipswich. We got off the a flying start with Nuhiu flashing header from Maghoma's inswinging corner. After that, we gradually sat back deeper & deeper & Williams equaliser was little surprise.
WEDNESDAY 1-1 Ipswich
It was a month that started optimistically with two wins and a draw, admittedly against three poor sides but finished poorly with one point from six against mid table sides.
P5 W2 D2 L1 F5 A3 Pts8
An ok month but I couldn't help thinking that our strategy was to just get enough points to be safe. The fact that Drenthe hadn't been given a start when we were crying out for pace & invention spoke volumes.