I’m running a bit late with this post, so imagine there’s an introduction here. Then scroll down to read the meat of the article. Cheers.
Goalkeeper: Ryan Schofield
A stat came out yesterday that said Schofield has made more saves from shots in the 6 yard box than any keeper in the top four divisions of English football. And he wasn’t even first choice until after Christmas. It’s a slightly odd stat but it does show that he’s very good at reflex saves. The less instinctive side of his game is slowly coming along too and I think he’s going to go from strength to strength now he’s broken into the starting eleven and had a decent run iof Championship games.
📈 Most saves from shots in six-yard box (top 4 tiers; 2020/21):
— playmakerstats (@playmaker_EN) April 20, 2021
16🤚: 👊@RyanSchofield_ 👊
13🤚: Schmeichel, Townsend
12🤚: Johnstone
11🤚: Areola, Vigouroux
10🤚: Bialkowski, Marshall, Fisher, S Brown#htafc pic.twitter.com/pmGhIDe7kw
Defence: Edmonds-Green, Keogh, Sarr, O’Brien
The big difference for Town against Forest was having our first choice fullbacks playing together. It seems that both are doubts for this game so we may be back to cobbling together makeshift fullbacks. As Barnsley are in good form and pushing for promotion I think we’ll go for defensive solidity on the right side and play Edmonds-Green as a conservative rightback, so he can support the central defenders.
To be clear, this is the team I think Carlos will pick, not the one I’d go for, so I suspect we’ll see O’Brien at leftback. This is despite the fact he’s not comfortable in the role and is far more effective in midfield. For whatever reason, Corberán doesn’t trust his other leftback options so I think the ginger dynamo will have to play out of position for one more game.
Sarr and Keogh isn’t a dream centre back pairing but it’s probably the most settled one we’ve had all season and there’s something to be said for consistency. While Keogh is closer to claiming his free bus pass than is ideal for a footballer, his experience can be useful at times. Sarr, for all the mistakes and nervy moments, has become a key part of our team and I think he’s played himself back into form after a rotten start to 2021.
Midfield: Hogg, Bacuna, Holmes
If Hogg is fit he will play, he’s too important to the team to rest until we know safety is guaranteed. It wouldn’t stun me to find out he’s another player having to play while carrying a painful injury but he won’t want to miss a game that could get us to the magical 50 point mark.
Duane Holmes has had to settle for playing as a winger or wingback in recent games but I think this game is an opportunity to play him in central midfield if O’Brien is needed at leftback. I’ve been a bit disappointed with Holmes so far but I think he will improve the longer he’s at the club.
I was calling for Bacuna to be dropped against Forest and then he popped up and scored a wonderful goal. More or the same tonight would be much appreciated.
Forwards: Rowe, Ward, Aarons
Rowe was my man of the match on Saturday so I’d definitely keep him in the team and continue with him as a winger rather than a fullback. His confidence is up at the moment and he looks like he can make something happen when he gets in the ball in the final third.
It’s a shame that Fraizer Campbell’s shoulder injury will rule him out for the next two weeks but it’s also an opportunity for Danny Ward to show us what he can do. Scoring a goal must be the priority for him as that’s the fastest way to boost a striker’s confidence and will help to win over some of his critics. I know some fans have already written Ward off but seeing as though he’s got another two years left on his contract it’s in everyone’s best interests for him to do well for Town.
I wasn’t really sure who to pick for the other wing slot. Holmes isn’t a natural winger and is better used in midfield. Josh Koroma is coming back from a long-term injury so probably needs to have his minutes from the bench to begin with. Isaac Mbenza has a similar injury to Pipa so can’t play without pain, which might explain why he’s looked so bad in recent games. Sorba Thomas looks exciting in short bursts but I’m not convinced he’s ready to play full games yet. Which leaves Aarons, who is also coming back from injury but is further along with his rehabilitation than Koroma.
Town v Barnsley- two good things, two superb passes from Carel Eiting, all the rest was C- – p with a capital “C”
god help the south yorks. airforce if they get promoted. the sooner this season is over the better.
It’s a funny piece of statistics that: “Schofield has made more saves from shots in the 6 yard box than any keeper in the top four divisions of English football”. However, after a game like this against Barnsley you tend to wonder why that list is “keepers only”, since probably Naby Sarr should be on it, too?!
Still this statistics shows what we knew, that Schofield has great reflexes, but unfortunately it says even more about the state of Town’s defence in general and in particular that Schofield isn’t getting out there to stop opponents from getting into scoring positions in the box in the first place. Which in a way is fair enough, since when he does, he often misses the ball and has to count on Sarr backing him up on the line – but if he ever is going to be a good keeper at this level he’ll have to start getting at those balls a lot more, even if that means making silly mistakes at times, as he develops.