Ireland And N'Zogbia Hold The Key

With 11 games left to go, as I posted yesterday, we are pretty much safe.  Despite this, I still can't see us picking up many more points looking at the teams we still have to face.  I think the key to our success in these games is the performances of Ireland and N'Zogbia.

In the first half at Blackburn they were terrific.  I know many of you will say it was because Blackburn were so poor but at the end of the day they capitalised on that and showed the quality they possess.  Obviously it is going to be tougher for them to produce that kind of performance against the better sides but I believe they have turned a corner recently and will continue to get better and better.

If they do get better and better then we can definately expect to score a few goals along the way to the end of a dismal season, and possibly win a game!  However if they don't then we can expect to see the same old dross such as the Wigan game where we will settle for a point under any circumstances.

Another Draw - More Chances Wasted

Our football was a breath of fresh air in the first half, but it was clear that it was only because Blackburn were afraid to go anywhere near us!  Ireland and N'Zogbia were given so much room and they took advantage with very good performances, a cracking goal by the latter and things were all looking very good indeed.

But the fact we were only 1-0 up at half time meant we all knew what the second half was going to be.  It was obvious we would go out there to hold on to the lead at any cost, but even I was stunned at just how much of a Blackburn precession it was!  We couldn't string 2 passes together for most of it and our goal was becoming increasingly more threatened.  Finally the inevitable goal came and surprise, surprise it came from a cross.

But then the most frustrating part is that as soon as they equalised we came back into it!  So why couldn't we have played like that at 1-0?  Whether it's the mindset of the players or the influence of Mcleish, it is quite simply not good enough.  We have been like it all season and has cost us a hatful of points.  We quite simply are not good enough to sit back for 45 minutes.

Weimann must have been pretty cheesed off at only getting a 2 minute run out, I mean what's the bloody point of that!?  Even it that 2 mins he won a corner with a deflected header, he simply has to play longer.  At least give him 20 mins at the end of the game because just giving him stoppage time every now and then is never going to aid his development.

Anyway, a point is a point.  I feel like I have said that a lot this season!  I'm fairly comfortable of staying up now as I can't see the teams below us earning much more than 10 points for the rest of the season so if we can pick up a point here and there we will be fine.  Mcleish has certainly done himself no favours today but it could have been worse so all we can do now is just continue to get behind the team (once again fantastic away support) and hope things take a turn for the better.

Which Way Forward

There has been a lot of debate over the last few games about Mcleish playing the wrong formation and the wrong players in the wrong positions etc. This begs the question though, what formation do we think would be the best way forward?

Ive thought long and hard about this for a while now and tried to take into consideration everything I have witnessed so far this season. The key thing for me is to get players playing in their natural positions where they know their jobs and can just focus on playing rather than trying to please the manager by sticking to his position. After considering all the possibilities I have come up with 2 line-ups that I would like to see be given a go.

Option 1

Given

Hutton/Herd Collins Dunne Warnock

Petrov/Clark

Jenas (if fit) Bannan

Ireland

Bent Agbonlahor

Option 2

Given

Hutton/Herd Collins Dunne Warnock

Clark/Petrov

Ireland Bannan

N’Zogbia Bent Agbonlahor

The first option is kind of what we saw against Wigan but with a couple of personnel changes. It seemed to work well in that game but perhaps that was just down to Wigan being a very poor team. The second option potentially offers a bit more width if Gabby and Zogs pull out wide but I appreciate that they both like to cut in so perhaps Albrighton might be a better choice instead of N’Zogbia.

All in all there are so many possibilities that we are all going to have our own preferences on what we believe is the right formation to take us forward. Those are my choices, but I would love to know what everybody else thinks.

Player Profile - 10. Charles N'Zogbia

Bought in the summer for £9.5 million, Charles N'Zogbia was supposed to be our saviour after the loss of Young and Downing. Unfortunately he hasn't lived up to expectations so far and was even dropped for the 2-0 victory against his former club Wigan last week. Since joining he hasn't looked half as good as what he did last year for Wigan as he almost single handedly kept them in the league. Instead what we have seen is a player who can barely control a ball, misplaces passes and can't beat a defender to save his life.

There is undoubtedly a very good player in there somewhere though, as he showed at the end of last season. It's all a case of will Mcleish be able to get that out of him. Perhaps he is struggling with the pressure of trying to fill the boots of Ashley Young and Stewart Downing, or maybe he is just taking some time to settle in Claret and Blue. Earlier this season, N'Zogbia claimed that he can "murder any left back" and I think it's time for him to start showing these qualities that we payed just shy of £10 mil for.

Rating - 6/10

Zogs Accepts Being Dropped

Alex Mcleish has come out today to explain his reasons for dropping N'Zogbia against Wigan. I don't think he really needed to explain why he was dropped, his performances have been shocking so far this season.

Here is what Mcleish said:

"He understood. There is big competition now.

"Charles has been very exciting in a lot of the games, it's just been his final ball.

"Maybe Roberto (Martinez) gave him more of a free rein and not checking back which made him a bit more dangerous at Wigan.

"But he is learning that side of the game as well which is important.

"I see Nani, Damien Duff and all the top wingers doing it."

The Scot says he wants N'Zogbia to work even harder and track back defensively, although he is mindful of wearing him out.

"Charles is explosive although we need to be mindful of not tiring him out having to run back all the time,"

"We've got to get the ball to him more and he is working on his delivery whether a shot at goal or a cross into the box or a one-two.

"These are the little things where he is not quite at his level yet."

Not too sure why he used Damien Duff as an example of a top winger but you get the idea...