Has Billy got it right so far? And I don’t mean the signings but also the tactics...
Staying overnight in a Bradford hotel meant that I managed to see the whole match on Sky against Portsmouth, but only saw the highlights against Svennis’s team of video players and academy promotions. Sitting at home reading the DETelegraph updates on the Spurs match was horrendous.
While the evidence is so far flimsy, there is some indication that we might just survive - notwithstanding the dismal display at Spurs. First of all, most of our players are fit. Being fit means that one is not puffing and panting when one is trying to execute technical skills. And yes, some of our players are a bit short on that side of things but we knew that already. What’s maybe more important is the mental side of things – what Billy refers to as the ‘belief’. Players have to make decisions on the field – sometimes it’s a tough call. To play the safe pass or to go for a more adventurous pass and possibly put the team at risk of a comeback for example.
So far, the evidence suggests that Oakley, Mears, Howard and surprisingly Fagan have made that step up in belief. Todd already has it, so has Griffin as does Moore. Bywater, Jones, Earnshaw don’t seem to have made that step up yet. For me the jury is out on Pearson, Davis and Teale.
And therein lies my suggestion that we might just survive. For I’m sure that as we go along, those who mentally rise to the challenge will come good. Billy is too ruthless an operator to allow too much leeway for those that don’t.
Thirdly, the tactics so far seem to have been spot on. Redknapp was thrown off balance and Svennis was restricted to one goal. Okay – only one point so far, but the indications are we’re not another Watford. More like a Sheffield United, maybe going to the wire, but without Warnock’s naivety. Ok, Spurs was a bad game for us but the Blades still lost to them too.
Lastly, what’s undoubted is the will to battle – it was only two seasons ago that we used to wilt and give up. The change that Billy has wrought in that department is incredible and it could be this that will keep us going far longer than some other teams.
So in my opinion, there are some grounds for optimism – and I can’t wait to see the egg on the faces of these smug experts who have predicted that we are a lost cause and who will be coming out of the woodwork to say so after the Spurs match.
We’ll prove them wrong.