With Nigel Pearson confirming that bids for Antoine Semenyo had been made from Bournemouth and Burnley, all of which were turned down, credit has to go to Antoine for a) not throwing his toys out of the pram at not getting a move (yet) to the Premier League and b) for not letting the noise and speculation around a transfer affect his performance.
While he will have been disappointed at the chance he missed in the second half, slicing his shot high and wide, he kept going, was a constant menace against Blackburn Rovers on Saturday and scored the equaliser. In the modern game, lots of players heads get turned at transfer speculation and they refuse to play or give less than 100 per cent.
It stands to reason that Antoine would see a huge salary increase and has the ambition to play in the Premier League, but he is clearly a decent lad, getting the right advice and another goal will I’m sure see improved bids next week and I suspect the Blackburn game may well have been his last in a City shirt. If it proves to be, I’m sure all fans wish him well and will look on with interest as to how he fares in the top flight.
As one door may be closing, another one opened this week with the performances of Sam Bell. The atmosphere and feeling from players, staff, and fans on Tuesday night after Bell's winner against Swansea City was palpable.
On Saturday, we saw a cameo from the bench that showed the new-found confidence that his debut goal has given him and but for the tightest of offside decisions, we may have been talking about two winners in a matter of days.
Sam has been in and around the first-team squad for a while and has made a number of competitive appearances, but this week has been different, and he has looked more composed. I’m not comparing Sam with Antoine, they are of course different types of player with differing styles, but again it highlights the brilliant work that our academy is doing.
If Antoine is to go for big money, I would expect a striker to come in as we can’t rely on Nahki Wells and Sam in the coming weeks with Andi Weimann and Tommy Conway presently out injured.
I wasn’t surprised at Nigel Pearson’s decision to keep the same starting XI, but it does highlight just how small a squad we have, as after 120 minutes of FA Cup football on Tuesday, a few fresh pairs of legs could have made the difference on Saturday.
Of course, having a consistent starting XI, high on confidence after an unbeaten start to the year, with two wins in the last two games is also a factor and I heard Gary Owers and Geoff Twentyman on BBC Radio Bristol saying how when you are playing well, getting good results, you don’t feel fatigued.
I’m sure that played into Pearson’s thinking but as the game developed one or two looked a little leggy.
After the game Pearson said that there wasn’t much more that his side could have done and claimed they dominated the game. He was disappointed conceding the goal that we did, and it was another game where we should have had a penalty and didn’t get one – 443 days and counting.
I don’t agree that we dominated the entire game, as such, but I did think it was a foul on Wells in the area. I thought in the first-half it was an even game, with both sides lacking the necessary quality in the final third.
We were the better side in the second half and after Antoine’s equaliser and then the sending off of Daniel Ayala for two bookings, we should really have gone on to win the game. As I said but for the tightest of offside decisions we would have done.
I would have changed Bell for Sykes after Blackburn’s opener. Sykes struggled to make any impact in the game and Bell showed a number of clever touches and link-up play when he came on. I would also have brought Joe Williams on, especially after the Ayala sending off. Williams made a real impact when coming on during both the Birmingham and Swansea games and it was strange that he didn’t get any game time.
Defensively, aside from the goal, we again looked solid, well-marshalled by man-of-the-match Zak Vyner. I’m not sure I have ever seen a player win over the City faithful in the way that Zak has done this season. We have even witnessed the birth of a new Vyner chant.
George Tanner is going about his business quietly and effectively and Rob Atkinson was strong alongside Vyner. Cam Pring didn’t get much joy on his side but kept going.
I did, as I say, feel that a change should have been made in midfield as the game wore on and we were at times a little bit too slow and safe in moving the ball forward. A big frustration of mine is just how many free kicks we win and play sideways or backwards rather than going forward.
Matty James did what he does and I’ll admit I perhaps don’t always see what he brings to the side but that is more on me than him. Alex Scott showed some brilliant moments, again, and Naismith again brought something to the midfield. Wells worked tirelessly up top with Semenyo and Bell linked well with his fellow forwards when he came on.
You can’t question the effort and honesty of the players today against a team that are in fourth place. We were the better side overall and with the change in shape, we look more solid, and the players seem comfortable. It’s another game unbeaten and we have certainly improved.
Our 3 Peaps In A Podcast Bonus show ratings were: Max O’Leary 5, Zak Vyner 7 *MotM, George Tanner 6, Rob Atkinson 6, Cameron Pring 6, Kal Naismith 6, Alex Scott 6, Matty James 6, Mark Sykes 5, Antoine Semenyo 7, Nahki Wells 6 (subs have to have come onto the field before the 60th minute). A game average of 5.91 and a season league average of 6.30. For Nigel it’s a 6 - a hard-earned point but perhaps further changes should have been made.
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