Delighted with that and performance against those welsh inbreds. Both strikers on the mark and a clean sheet with those three points.
Got sent a video of Naby Sarr easily overpowering their striker and bringing the ball out of the back like Ferdinand is in prime. Struggling to see how Pearce gets back in the team when he’s fully fit.
Being the highest place side to win is an added bonus. With our injuries starting to come back it’s going to be an exciting end of the season. As long as we keep winning that’s all that matter.
When pearce is back fully fit it could be him and Sarr 1st choice.
Bowyer didn't play Pearce and Sarr together when Bauer was out as they both prefer to play on the left. Indeed, didn't he play Pratley ahead of Sarr as the right sided CB once or twice?
How nice to see all these positive comments,hardly a mention of RD,long may it continue,lets forget all about him and get behind the team.Be great to see 15000 at the Valley on saturday.
On a further note it remains frustrating that everyone around us has a game in hand yet that looks to be wrapped up by mid-February
Although none of them appear to be that easy
As a break down
Portsmouth and Luton both have a game in hand on us: (Tues 29th Jan: Luton v Portsmouth) Sunderland have two games in hand (12th Feb: v Blackpool and 19th Feb v Gillingham both at home) Barnsley also have two games in hand (29th Jan v Oxford (A) and one other which hasnt been confirmed yet)
Have a feeling that Barnsley will get one of the automatic spots, they're a really good side.
Sunderland draw too many games and Maja looks like leaving. Luton i expect to drop off a bit now that Jones has gone. Portsmouth still have to play away to us, Luton and Sunderland and also could be distracted by still being in 2 cups.
So it's up to us to march on and nick the other promotion spot.
I still think it'll be Sunderland plus one other
Portsmouth: Need to drop a lot of points, might now happen with the loss of Ben Thompson Luton: I think the loss of Nathan Jones has ended their hopes Sunderland: Look very impressive at the Valley, they have their faults but their games in hand might just be enough Charlton: We know where the goal is but we do leak goals, if the attacking midfielder is our last incoming then that could be a BIG signing Barnsley: Do they have enough goals in them? Peterborough: After an impressive start they're having their usual season and dont see them as a threat Doncaster: Doing really well to keep pace but dont think they've the talent at the end of the day to be a serious danger
They've only scored 3 less than Pompey and Sunderland.......and they have games in hand.
Unlike last season, there are no real shock packages fighting for the automatic places, unlike previous seasons where the likes of Yeovil and Burton have gone up, or Shrewsbury finishing 3rd last season and Fleetwood 4th the year before.
Instead we have a top 7 filled by teams with recent experience of the Championship or higher, or clubs like Luton and Pompey who are returning back to their historical levels
Watched on iFollow. Enjoyed seeing a comfortable win without the usual nervous final 10 minutes that we’ve been through so many times this season.
First half we had the better chances and were dangerous on the counter/getting in behind. Shrewsbury did a better job keeping possession but their shots weren’t as threatening. Good to see Bowyer wasn’t happy with our passing in first half as we can definitely do better than that.
Great strike from Pratley, of all our midfielders he’s one of those you’d least expect to score that type of goal. Really wanted Grant to score after he missed those chances. A few years ago he’d have lost confidence, this time he went on to win and score the penalty (with a bit of skill thrown in to nutmeg the defender).
Second half we appeared to switch to the diamond midfield and took control more than we did into first half.
Williams stood out with his quality and intelligence on the ball. Purrington was solid, need to see more of him to see if that’s his game or if there’s more to come. He at least gives us more balance on the left and is more proven than Stevenson.
I don’t usually notice opposition players but I thought their goalkeeper kept the score down, while Haynes their left back looked dangerous going forward. He ran with the ball, got decent crosses in, had a shot or two and was comfortable using either foot. One to look out for and the type we might look at if the takeover goes through.
Looking forward to getting a few more back from injury. Cullen, Aribo, Williams and one other (I prefer Bielik as a CB) should be one of the best midfields in the league. Keep our key players fit, add a new striker and we really should challenge for the top two.
On a further note it remains frustrating that everyone around us has a game in hand yet that looks to be wrapped up by mid-February
Although none of them appear to be that easy
As a break down
Portsmouth and Luton both have a game in hand on us: (Tues 29th Jan: Luton v Portsmouth) Sunderland have two games in hand (12th Feb: v Blackpool and 19th Feb v Gillingham both at home) Barnsley also have two games in hand (29th Jan v Oxford (A) and one other which hasnt been confirmed yet)
Have a feeling that Barnsley will get one of the automatic spots, they're a really good side.
Sunderland draw too many games and Maja looks like leaving. Luton i expect to drop off a bit now that Jones has gone. Portsmouth still have to play away to us, Luton and Sunderland and also could be distracted by still being in 2 cups.
So it's up to us to march on and nick the other promotion spot.
Barnsley: Do they have enough goals in them?
Interesting point, Forever.
I thought I'd have a look at the goals scored by the promotion chasing pack. Leading the way is:
Luton on 50 goals scored. Doncaster: 49 ..... (bloated by the fact they hit 5 past Rochdale last week, beaten by everybody recently). Peterborough: 47 Sunderland: 47 Charlton: 46 Pompey: 46 Barnsley: 43
Well, I reckon that's all much of a muchness, as far as goals scored.
As far as Barnsley are concerned, they've only got to give a struggling side a 4 goal beating and they've scored more goals than the League leaders ..... and they are well capable of that.
It’s all falling into place but we have shown already that we can sometimes be brittle. The run in starts now and we need to be ruthless and eradicate those dodgy results if we are to have even an outside chance of top two which still looks just beyond us. Playoffs look to be our best bet and getting our injuries back and keeping Williams and Taylor fit will be key.
Getting the additional striker in is important and I’m sure that’s going to happen within the next 14 days. This year looks like being our best chance of promotion given the number of senior players we’ve got going out of contract in the summer. I’m very happy we have Lee Bowyer at the helm. He’s got just the right balance of level headedness and hard bastard to grind this out.
So when everyone’s fit (probably never gonna happen), what’s our best eleven?
The good news is we don't have a best 11 when everyone's fit. What we do have is the best 18 in League 1; will be a great problem for Lee Bowyer to have.
Harsh on Naby I know but if we are leading towards the end take Williams off for Naby to defend the lead, but personally thing BFG and Pearce are 1 of the greatest partnerships at Centre Back we have had
Other than Solly, Grant and Taylor, I'm not sure anyone is an automatic starter when everyone is fit. I highlight those 3 as Solly is clearly the first choice RB, and the 2 strikers are clearly our first choice. At CB we have 4 excellent options, while in midfield we have a glut of permutations.
Comments
Really impressed by the referee's movement in keeping up with play.
Watch him keeping pace with Grant's run; and only a yard outside the box when he gave the penalty decision. He couldn't have been better placed.
How the commentors thought it was a free kick on the edge of the box ..... well, what game were they watching?
Instead we have a top 7 filled by teams with recent experience of the Championship or higher, or clubs like Luton and Pompey who are returning back to their historical levels
First half we had the better chances and were dangerous on the counter/getting in behind. Shrewsbury did a better job keeping possession but their shots weren’t as threatening. Good to see Bowyer wasn’t happy with our passing in first half as we can definitely do better than that.
Great strike from Pratley, of all our midfielders he’s one of those you’d least expect to score that type of goal. Really wanted Grant to score after he missed those chances. A few years ago he’d have lost confidence, this time he went on to win and score the penalty (with a bit of skill thrown in to nutmeg the defender).
Second half we appeared to switch to the diamond midfield and took control more than we did into first half.
Williams stood out with his quality and intelligence on the ball. Purrington was solid, need to see more of him to see if that’s his game or if there’s more to come. He at least gives us more balance on the left and is more proven than Stevenson.
I don’t usually notice opposition players but I thought their goalkeeper kept the score down, while Haynes their left back looked dangerous going forward. He ran with the ball, got decent crosses in, had a shot or two and was comfortable using either foot. One to look out for and the type we might look at if the takeover goes through.
Looking forward to getting a few more back from injury. Cullen, Aribo, Williams and one other (I prefer Bielik as a CB) should be one of the best midfields in the league. Keep our key players fit, add a new striker and we really should challenge for the top two.
(according to Sky).
The Nabster is playing at his best and Taylor is different class.
However in the shorter term, We are the only team at home next week out of top 6 other than Luton (v Posh)
I thought I'd have a look at the goals scored by the promotion chasing pack.
Leading the way is:
Luton on 50 goals scored.
Doncaster: 49 ..... (bloated by the fact they hit 5 past Rochdale last week, beaten by everybody recently).
Peterborough: 47
Sunderland: 47
Charlton: 46
Pompey: 46
Barnsley: 43
Well, I reckon that's all much of a muchness, as far as goals scored.
As far as Barnsley are concerned, they've only got to give a struggling side a 4 goal beating and they've scored more goals than the League leaders ..... and they are well capable of that.
Getting the additional striker in is important and I’m sure that’s going to happen within the next 14 days. This year looks like being our best chance of promotion given the number of senior players we’ve got going out of contract in the summer. I’m very happy we have Lee Bowyer at the helm. He’s got just the right balance of level headedness and hard bastard to grind this out.
Phillips
Solly. Sarr. Beilik. Page
Cullen
Aribo. Fosu
Williams
Grant. Taylor
Bench
Maxwell, Bauer, Pearce, Lapslie, Morgan
Purrington, Reeves
---------------Phillips-------------------
Solly BFG Pearce Page
----------------Bielik---------------------
-----------Aribo Cullen---------------
---------------Williams----------------
-----------Taylor Grant---------------
Harsh on Naby I know but if we are leading towards the end take Williams off for Naby to defend the lead, but personally thing BFG and Pearce are 1 of the greatest partnerships at Centre Back we have had
Play offs guaranteed e i e i e i o