Bristol City fans' view with Matthew Withers
HOW can Derek McInnes say that City had the better chances and had more opportunities than Derby in Saturday's game?
I know that the manager tries to protect his players and tries to be positive, but please don't take us for fools. Derby should have been two-up before they opened the scoring and, aside from a chance for Sam Baldock in the first half and a couple of efforts from Steven Davies and LiamFontaine in the second half, we showed little as an attacking force.
Derby had the majority of the game, passed the ball ten times better than City and closed their opponents down all over the pitch. If the manager really feels that this was an even contest then I will need to get a pair of those rose-tinted contact lenses that he must be wearing.
Fans are coming to games expecting City to concede goals and it's no surprise when you analyse how we defend. We just don't stop balls into the box and Derby were the latest to exploit this frailty. Richard Foster had the opportunity to close the Derby midfielder down further up the pitch, but instead kept backing off and allowed a cross into the box. Matthew Bates and Stephen McManus lost the Derby scorer and he nipped in before Tom Heaton.
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Foster is just not good enough at this level and a right-back is a must in January if McInnes continues to ignore Joe Edwards.
Within a couple of minutes we were two-down with yet another cross into the box resulting in a goal, with this time Craig Bryson leaving the City midfield trailing and placing a neat header past Heaton. McInnes has seven centre-halves to choose from in McManus, Fontaine, Bates, James Wilson, Danny Wilson, Lewin Nyatanga and Louis Carey and yet none seem to be able to form a partnership that can keep clean sheets.
We are yet to see Danny Wilson. Why sign a centre-half on loan from Liverpool, supposedly vauled at £5 million, and then ignore him, in a team that is shipping two goals a game?
What is it that McInnes sees in Fontaine, Foster and Marvin Elliott on the training pitch that warrants their selection every game? Liam has struggled all season and Marvin is a spent force. It pains me to say it as I remember the powerhouse from three or four seasons ago who closed the ball down all over the pitch. Now, he seems to stroll around the centre circle, thinking that just getting his foot to the ball is enough.
There was some good news in the return of Greg Cunningham at full-back and I thought there was glimpse of a brighter future with Cunningham and Joe Bryan at times linking well on the left.
I just can't see this group getting us out of trouble, and the board have to decide whether they believe McInnes is the man for the job. If they do, they have to allow him to spend in January. McInnes will also have to ship out players. Mark Wilson and Bates are on short-term deals and neither has shown enough in terms of fitness or quality to warrant staying.
Comments
by piledriver
Monday, December 17 2012, 8:03PM
“If I see this £5m valuation of Danny Wilson again, I'll scream.SAY'S WHO??
Can't argue with a lot of the other stuff however and the deadline for a new manager is December not January as he'll need to asses the squad AND have signings lined up.
He'll also have to be able to clear out and that shouldn't be as diffiuclt as normal with players out of contract and loan expiration, plus Pitmans' impending sale.
I'm afraid the likes of Kilkenny, Morris & Elliott will be more difficult as they are overiad as well as lacking NPC ability.”