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More Encouraging Signs
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Not the worst
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By:
Eric Hitchmo
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16/08/2010
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More On Burton Albion
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"I can confidently say that there were yet more encouraging signs coming out of these early performances from our completely overhauled team. It's also fair to say that there are some worrying signs, however they are currently outweighed by the positives. On Saturday we failed to see off a Burton side who brought very little to the table, but in my opinion, this is a game that with last years' team, we would have lost.
As a unit we look far more solid. Our defence looked as if it would be very hard to break down and breach, and we looked like we wouldn't have to rely on Jake Cole to save our backsides time and time again. Whether this was down to Burton's lack of attacking prowess or not remains to be seen as the season progresses, but we do look strong at the back. Of the four, Darren Dennehy was the outstanding performer for me. Alongside the commanding captain Uddin, Dennehy was strong in the tackle, big in the air and assured on the ground. He was excellent.
So with the defence looking good, the other focus is on attack. Hmmm, now this is where we may struggle. Everything was very nice up until the final third. We played intricate passing moves, looking to play football the right way, but my worry was that there was never enough men in the box to really hurt Burton. Don't get me wrong, our lone striker for the main part of the game, Ricky Holmes, again showed good skill and ability on the ball, he just didn't get much support where it mattered. Phil Walsh (facially a spitting image of Arshavin?!) came on in the second half and showed he can hold a ball up, but the killer ball from everyone up top was not quite there.
It was a miserable day weather wise and a low crowd turned out for the first home game of this new season. You do come to get used to it, people are still on their holidays and no-one really wants to come out in the rain do they? With just under 1,500 home fans plus a measly following from Burton it was another sudued Underhill atmosphere. Still, the Burton cries of ""shit support"" were a little rich considering.
Much as their following did not offer much to the gate receipts, the Brewers' team did not offer much to the spectacle. A big (literally) talking point was their massive centre back Darren Moore. It would be fair to say that he was something of a presence, but was clumsy and didn't look comfortable with a ball on the ground. Though that said, if you were our sub 6 foot lone striker, would you fancy trying to take the ball around him? Nah. These are teams you want to be breaking down and beating, but they were stubborn and appeared happy to sit back on a point.
By no means a classic, but there are good signs here. There are some worrying ones, but I'm not ready to start slating this team just yet, even though we've only picked up one draw from our first three. Perhaps some people need to remember that patience is a virtue and to expect results straight away from a completely new team of players is perhaps a bit much. It all feels a little different this year, a little more encouraging. If you can't be positive at this stage of the season, there is very little point in watching football.
In other news, don't you like what they've done with the Pavilion? After three or so years, they're finally making a good effort and turning it into a place which resembles a football bar and somewhere you want to go pre-match. Photos, old posters and memorabilia from other clubs adorn the walls. There's a new little food bit too, which apparently does a blinding Lasagne. Finally, the Pav is offering itself as somewhere I would like to go pre-match as opposed to somewhere that I'll just pop in to at 2:30 because it's close to the ground. If they could find a way of ridding the bar of plastic glasses and replacing them with normal ones, then you'd have a deal. For now though, good work by whoever came up with that idea.
Back on the away days and Crewe next then. It's a quick train journey, it's very close to the ground, there are lots of pubs around the area that charge very little for a drink, there's a Tesco there for supplies on the way home. You do the math...apparently there's a football match occurring too!
Don't forget to rate the players performances if you were at this one. CLICK HERE to log in to MyDSH, register your attendance, and rate away."
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