Nigel Pearson said in his post-match press conference, following the 3-0 away defeat to Birmingham City “It was awful – there is no defence for that performance today. It’s not acceptable. There’s no defence for us to give three points away in that fashion.” Awful doesn’t come close to describing what I witnessed.
It was 340 days ago, on Tuesday, November 2, 2021, since we witnessed the same shambolic, gutless display at the same ground against the same opponents with the same result. We all knew what to expect from the Blues and yet couldn’t combat it. We were devoid of any passion, devoid of leaders, devoid of any player taking responsibility, too many hiding and just not winning their personal battles.
This was a performance so out of character from what we have witnessed for much of this season. Where was the team that put in an excellent away performance at Carrow Road in that narrow 3-2 reverse to Norwich City? With other results going for us, we could have gone second in the league that night and less than a month later we are 18th. These two performances were chalk and cheese.
What has changed? Nige couldn’t answer the question and if he can’t, who can? I had honestly thought these types of performance were a thing of the past.
With injuries and suspensions, we don’t have a massive squad to choose from, so there was no real surprise with the starting line-up. Andy King kept his place in the back three following a confident performance when he replaced the injured Kal Naismith in defence during the Coventry game. With Joe Williams suspended and Alex Scott returning from a ban, a midfield of Scott and Han-Noah Massengo was the obvious selection.
At the top end of the pitch was probably the discussion point and the manager reverted back to the partnership of Nahki Wells and Tommy Conway, with Andi Weimann in behind and Antoine Semenyo on the bench.
We talked about it in the car on the way up, we couldn’t afford to concede early and what do we go and do? Three minutes on the clock Auston Trusty beats City’s zonal marking to find the back of the net from a corner. I’m not a fan of zonal marking and would much prefer man to man. Within minutes it could have been worse when Tahith Chong was put through and forced Dan Bentley into the first of three or four important saves in the game.
It was hard to fathom just how bad we were playing; the midfield couldn’t find a pass. The front two of Conway and Wells had no service. Jay Dasilva and Mark Sykes couldn’t cross the ball and the defence reverted to lumping the ball forward.
Bentley made another good save and just as we were all thinking about going in just the one goal down and hitting the reset button, we conceded another goal from a set piece. Trusty saw his header hit the post and reacted quicker than anyone else to stab the ball in.
I’m not sure if Bent’s had spotted someone in the crowd that he knew, was thinking about the latest Netflix drama or thinking what to have for his tea, but he was so slow to react, watching the ball in some sort of slow motion as it hit the post and then waiting for it to bounce into his hands. It was yet another terrible goal to concede.
There was a crescendo of boos from a large contingent of travelling fans in the sold out away end of St Andrews, and whilst booing is not my thing, I can’t honestly blame anyone that showed their frustration.
The manager was clearly annoyed and made a triple substitution at the break. We could see Antoine and George Tanner stripped and warming up during the break and I expected us to move to a back four and bring on Timm Klose, moving King into midfield but we didn’t. Klose remained on the bench and Chris Martin was the third change, with Wells, Conway and Sykes withdrawn.
Honestly, I felt a little sorry for Nahki and Tommy as the service they’d had was non-existent. Pearson could easily have made five changes at half-time, as we’d been that awful. Semenyo and Martin did pose more of a physical presence and for the opening 10 minutes, we did cause Birmingham one or two problems but failed to trouble former City loanee (one appearance) Jon Ruddy in the Brum goal.
The remaining changes were made with academy youngster Dylan Kadji replacing Massengo and then later, the lesser spotted Cameron Pring replacing Jay Dasilva. The same defence frailties were still evident when Dion Sanderson made it three, tapping in at the back post. Another Chong corner was inexplicably allowed to go straight across the goal just a yard out.
The fans reaction at the end, while not as toxic as last year, was still one of disappointment and frustration. To their credit, first Scott and then Martin came right over to our end to applaud the fans and while Pearson insisted all the players and coaching staff came across, it was Scott and Martin who really stepped forward.
This result throws up all the old questions that just weeks ago, we thought had been put to bed. Pearson needs to see a reaction from his players on Wednesday night against bogey side Preston North End.
I don’t want to see club media posting video’s of players debating hair styles or dress sense. I want video’s of disciplined hard work and I want to see the players show they were hurt by the fans reaction and embarrassed by their own performances.
Our 3 Peaps In A Podcast Bonus show ratings were: Daniel Bentley 4, Mark Sykes 4, Jay Dasilva 4, Andy King 5, Rob Atkinson 4, Zak Vyner 4, Alex Scott 5 *MotM, Han-Noah Massengo 4, Andrea Weimann 4, Nahki Wells 5, Tommy Conway 5 and subs George Tanner 5, Chris Martin 5, and Antoine Semenyo 5. A game average of 4.43 and a season average of 6.25. For Nigel it’s a 4, this was shambolic.
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