Been a bit lazy of late and I've been happy to read the enlightening comments on other Blogs, but I thought I would post my own brief update supplement them.
It's been a momentous time with the two Sheffield games standing out and the United home fixture being momentous. My thoughts going into the Walsall away game was that the forthcoming sequence of games though not quite as important to the future well being of the club, they were beginning to look as important as that Leeds play-off game.
Well, few would have predicted the tremendous run of results that we have achieved (especially the two Sheffield games (the latter breaking a tremendous SU winning streak); all credit to the side and Chris Powell for holding their nerve. A draw at Exeter and 3 points against Walsall would set up us nicely. As a fellow season ticket holder said, a win in each of our remaining home games would probably see us on our way into the Championship.
Apart from the recent glory, and the right for us all to bask in it, it seems to me that a number of things seem to have emerged.
Wright Phillips looks like he badly needs a break of a couple of game at least; the edge has gone off his game and his head seems to be down. However, Hayes is no longer seen as a back-up and may possibly be on his way, and it seems that Haynes is being earmarked to fill in (and possibly challenge him for a place). However, it's early days for Haynes and he looks more like a winger to me; so that it looks like we are short of another striker, as Clark may not be ready.
We could play with just Kermit up front (he has been magnificent) but that might imply that we revert to a having a couple of fast wingers proving a constant stream of crosses. At the moment we do not have that supply (Green has been disappointing) and the left side would be dependent upon Wiggins. Maybe Haynes could provide this supply, but if we relied on this approach the style would have to change and we might become one dimensional and predictable.
Wiggins has continued to be a class act and Solly's efforts are bringing about continuous improvement to his game.
Morrison has been a rock, but I am still not certain about Taylor, and maybe because he is not fully fit I am not that confident about Cort. Doherty is likely to be on his way, but I reckon it is slightly premature as he could provide a good backup option.
Hamer has had a number of good games under his belt but has looked a bit shakey of late and Sullivan looked very nervous at Fulham. I hope thet Hamer's lapses have been molmentary as otherewise thois may be an area that may need early attention.
The midfield has been covering a lot of ground and putting in a 100 % effort. Hollands is playing well but though he has an all round game he is more of a stopper; Pritchard looks a real find from the lower ranks (and could earn us a lot of money in the future after a good CAFC career). Russell has been a good acquisition for cover but once again creativity is not his strong point (and by the way I think he was very unlucky to be sent off).
However, it still lacks that incisive creativity that it looked like Stephens could provide in his early games, and may yet do (let's hope so).
That leaves question marks on Wagstaffe ( a good sub to bring on if the game is running away from us or Solly needs the kind of support that Green does not provide; but will he want to perform that role add infinitely: I suspect not, and CP will give him a chance to make it elsewhere. Though a good runner and tackler he does not have the crossing capability for a winger and I suspect he would be better employed in the centre of the pitch as a foil to a striker.
Hughes is incredibly keen and has covered well in midfield but is prone to the odd near catastrophic mistake, and does not seem to have the requisite attributes to cover us for right back (which I was I thought he was acquired for), so he may also move though Russell's absence will make it a difficult time for that to happen.
Cannot comment on Alonso, I have yet to see him and he must join the ranks of other players in the past who failed to make any impact after much hype. I'm not clear as to what is happening to Bovvo; he looked to have talent but requires time and I am not sure if the club will give him that; same applies to Mambo who I have got a lot of time for (is he just out on loan or has he disappeared??).
Another encouraging thing is that we used to loose games like SW and SU and at the moment CP and the boys are not letting that happen, even if as against SU we seemed to lack some of the overall quality that we have come to expect from a table topping side. That has been a great change and long may it endure!
