On the face of it, a draw away at the second placed team in the league, one that had won 5 of its opening 8 matches, and with a new manager taking charging for the first time, is hardly a disgrace. In fact, a draw was probably more than most of us had anticipated going into last Saturday’s match away at Bradford. Although it did feel as if something was missing from an attacking point of view.
Presumably in response to the rather lacklustre showing against Plymouth in our previous outing, there were a number of changes to both the line-up and formation. Firstly, we reverted to the back five formation that we know isn’t necessarily Richie Wellens’ favourite, but which usually serves to make us more solid defensively. Surprisingly, there was a recall for James Morris who had been taken out of the firing line after some error-filled recent performances.
In the centre of midfield, we paired Isaac Hayden and Alex Gilbert with Idris El Mizouni dropped to the bench. This was something that Wellens later admitted he had done as the Tunisian “was nowhere near the level that he can produce”, and “needed a kick up the backside”. Apparently, this was something the gaffer had done previously, and El Miz’s response was excellent. We can only hope it works to get the best out of him again.
Up front Dane Scarlett was given his first start since joining the club on the last day of the transfer window. Interestingly, he was stationed in the central striker role with Jaze Kabia moving out wide to the left. I wonder if this perhaps suggests something about where the two might sit in the selection hierarchy?
For me, Kabia has made a decent fist of adapting to life as the main striker in a League 1 side, but while Scarlett has needed to get up to fitness, he does have more of a pedigree having been highly rated coming out of the Tottenham academy. With Aaron Connolly getting closer to claiming an inevitable starting berth, presumably wide on the left, it really does feel as if it is going to be a choice between the pair for the one position.
Being completely honest, this wasn’t a match that will live long in anyone’s memory. Bradford couldn’t produce a shot on target despite enjoying just under 70% of the possession. While we managed to misplace a total of 126 of our 217 attempted passes (a passing accuracy of just 42%). Not exactly indications of a quality performance by either side.
On an encouraging note, we did look more solid and organised defensively. The fact that we defended (survived?) a total of 11 corners, something that we know has been a weakness for us for quite a while, is testimony to the work that has reportedly been done on the training ground. Other than a couple of vital blocks by Alfie Gilchrist, we dealt effectively with the pressure Bradford applied.
The home side’s best chance came late on when Adam Phillips’ effort clipped the top of the crossbar after he had slid in to meet a low cross. In response Aaron Connolly blazed one high over the bar after being set up by Alex Gilbert, but in truth the draw felt like an inevitable and a fair result.
Speaking after the match, the gaffer (back on interview duties!) commented: “out of possession I thought we were outstanding, in possession and on transition – a little bit disappointing.” An honest and fair assessment. He then went on to suggest that it was his fault that the team had been too open on a number of occasions this season as he had focused very much on the attacking side of the game, and as a result neglected the foundations of defensive organisation and working to be hard to beat.
That is perhaps something that has been evident in the difference between our home performances and those on our travels so far this season. At Brisbane Road we have played 5, won 1, and lost 4, scoring 5 goals and conceding 10. As a result, we rank 22nd in the home league table with a points per game of 0.6. On the road we are 5th in the away games table with 2 wins, 2 draws, 8 goals scored, just 1 conceded and a points per game of 2. So why the big difference?
Richie suggested: “at home…we go on the pitch thinking we’re going to win the game. We’re going to attack, we’re going to be open, and we’ve got done by being too open. Whereas away from home, our mentality has been…let’s stay in our shape, make no mistakes, let’s play long if we have to.”
It is of course a fine balance to strike, as focusing on the defensive side of the game can often inhibit the attacking threat. If we take the Bromley game out as something of an outlier, as they were poor defensively, we have managed 8 goals in our other 8 league matches. So, it feels very much as if work is needed on improving our attacking cohesion as well.
As alluded to earlier, if we assume that Yusuf Akhamrich retains his place on the right despite some subdued recent performances, and that Aaron Connolly comes in on the left-hand side, then it boils down to a choice between Kabia and Scarlett as the central option. Both have their undoubted merits, but which would work better with the wide men? Akhamrich and Kabia have combined very effectively on a couple of occasions so far this season, and looked to be building a relationship, if Scarlett is the first choice can we expect the same?
We know that Connolly likes to run at the defence, but can we find a way for him to operate in tandem with the central striker, whichever is preferred? If we assume that El Miz will come back into a midfield three with Gilbert and Hayden, can they link better with the front line and also contribute goals?
Our start to 2026/27 is almost identical to last season’s, differing only in the fact that we have a positive goal difference this time. It is obvious to say, but if we are to kick on from here rather than losing our way as we did 12 months ago, staying solid at the back while scoring more goals is going to be the key to that. Saturday afternoon against a struggling Blackpool team that have drawn 1 and lost 4 of their last 5 matches, would be an excellent place to start.
Up the O’s!
