Let's face it, we had very kind draws on the way - their achievement was much greater. As Redwurzel syas, they are strong contenders next season. Having three big clubs such as Leeds, Leicester & Saints come down together is unusual. Cov have done outstandingly well after selling O'Hare and Gyokeres; their budget over the past couple of seasons must have been much smaller than ours.
It's hard to judge this season for us because of the injuries factor but you have to say that disappointment was foreshadowed by our grim opening, which pointed up key issues: lack of firepower, soft goals conceded, conceding first. For me, retaining key performers such as VdB, McGree and Hackney is important, because I feel Carrick has the trust of the squad and, notwithstanding a similar injury crisis, we have the quality to challenge.
I think the emergence of Clarke has been interesting. He's a 'proper defender' and, although he does have a rick in him, a team needs that 'you're not getting past us' mentality. Bangura is an interesting one. He looked good on Monday when he came on. Is he suspect defensively - and if so, are we prepared to carry that given what he might offer as an attacking threat? Similar conundrum to Ayling really, who can look all at sea when a good winger gets at him.
The big plus from the last month or two has been the emergence of Lath, whom I didn't rate, but who seems to have made a real breakthrough. I do believe that confidence is the biggest factor in football and I believe the evidence is that Carrick makes players better and that's maybe down to his psychological influence as much as anything. I think two big questions surround Barlaser and Azaz on that score. In some games, Barlaser has ran the show. Azaz has had moments of real quality. Those sorts of players need a fair wind behind them; they need trust and self-belief. But both players need to be sharper, toughen up, cut out the tendency to flake out which gets fans on their backs. For players like that it might come down to a run of games in a winning team, just as for Lath is was a run of goalscoring once he'd got to grips with the pace and intensity of the league.
