by Simon Hough
... our very own Roving Reporter!

Whilst the Leeds draw provided some early moments of promise, on this occasion it was a different story. We were poor from start to finish, looking stale and lacking in ideas. Norwich showed moments of class on the break, similar to us last season, and they should have gone on to win the game.

Without making any changes to our line up since last season, the concern is that we've been found out by teams in this league. We're unlikely to get the time and space in midfield that we exploited to good effect and we need to provide the opposition with different problems. Both Norwich and Leeds have pressed us in midfield and the likes of McKenna and Majewski weren't able to respond. We don't look solid enough to keep a clean sheet whilst at the other end, we've relied on dodgy goal keeping and dubious penalties to keep us in the past two games.

We were lucky to still be in this game after the early stages. Norwich hit the bar when it looked easier to score and then saw a low free kick off the post. We had one penalty shout turned down but then saw a comedy appeal given to make up for it. Blackstock, at least, converted into the bottom corner. It was pretty dull for the remainder of the half but just when it looked like we might make it to half-time in front, we conceded a poor freekick, didn't defend properly again and suffered the consequences.

Very little to mention in the second half until Earnshaw's smart turn and shot off the bar. At the other end, we had a few nervy moments and the visitors were the only team likely to score again.

There were a few positives from the game. MOTM Earnshaw has started the season looking lively and justifying his selection both home and away. Instead of carrying him through games, he's putting himself about and working hard for the team. Unlucky to see his last minute shot hit the bar. Bertrand continues to look composed at left back and has solved that particular issue until January at least. Moussi and McGugan made a difference in the closing stages and deserve a chance to earn starting places for the coming games. That's about it.

Defensively, we look uncertain from last season with even Camp looking dodgy in patches. At least he redeemed himself with a late low save from Holt that would have won them the game. It was another poor goal to concede as Norwich caused us plenty of problems. Wilson and Morgan haven't found that understanding from last season whilst Chambers is never going to replicate Gunter's attacking outlet down the right,

Midfield was a problem area again. There clearly isn't enough of a goal threat between our midfield options. Both Anderson and Tyson had opportunities to expose a lone defender but stuttered and ended up giving the ball away. McKenna, in particular, had a terrible afternoon and was lucky to last mid-way into the second half. Time and again he took all the pace out of a promising attack or relinquished possession without even looking. He still didn't deserve the sarcastic cheering his withdrawal though. Cohen tried his best but had one of those afternoons where things didn't work out for him and he can't be expected to do it all on his own.

At our best, we move the ball quickly and simply and used movement within the team to good effect. At the moment, we're ponderous, playing like statues and looking very predictable. Alongside Earnshaw, Blackstock made very little impression against the visiting centrebacks.

With recent injuries to Anderson and McCleary, tomorrow's deadline may give a good indication of how the rest of the season will progress. No doubt the Acquisitions Panel have been working 'tirelessly' since May and will claim to be ready to 'exploit' the loan market but this season's squad should have been sorted out ages ago. After the play-off defeat, the talk was adding 2-3 quality additions to build on last season. After dropping 9 points in 4 games, we're still waiting and moving backwards rapidly. At the moment, it's not looking good and lower mid-table beckons (at best).

Tags: MOTM Robert Earnshaw

Another typical Forest away performance which only resulted in a point due to a massive error on the part of their keeper. At this stage with 7 points dropped already, the signs don't look good in terms of repeating last season's achievements.

As usual, we started quite nicely, passing the ball around comfortably without ever really threatening. Then, predictably, we gave away a needless free kick, allowed the opposition to pack the area, failed to defend properly and suffered the consequences. One of their players ended up unmarked on the back post, his shot was blocked but still we couldn't clear the ball until we found it resting in the back of our goal.

Their keeper made a couple of decent saves in the first half from Earnshaw and Anderson but we couldn't convert a decent amount of possession into clear chances. Early into the second half. We enjoyed a real gift from their keeper, managing to kick the ball into the back of his own defender for Earnshaw to casually roll the ball into an empty goal. The rest of the second half was much of the same and apart from a decent penalty shout for a foul on Cohen, there wasn't much to get excited about.

We finally sprang to life in the closing stages and showed plenty of attacking intent in the last five minutes but it was too little and anything else would have been undeserved. McGugan in particular show moments of promise on the edge of their area but lost his balance at the important moment.

The defence was reasonably secure with Camp having a fairly straight forward afternoon but it's the midfield that provides the greatest cause for concern. Majewski was anonymous and contributed very little, very similar to his other appearances this season. It says a lot that even McGugan was able to replace him and start having a impact in the last 20 minutes. Moussi does the scruffy work but we need a bigger attacking threat alongside him. Anderson had one of his more productive afternoons with some direct running which we often didn't take full advantage of. One header was destined for the top corner until their keeper produced the save of the game to deny us. Cohen continues to lead by example and produce quality all over the pitch but he's very unlikely to win us games on his own.

Strangely, Blackstock was wasted on the left wing for the majority of his spell on the pitch when we desperately needed him in the centre. Despite looking lively, dropping deep, MOTM Earnshaw lacked support around him as we should have made more against a ponderous home defence. However, he deserved his goal and his performances away from home so far justify his inclusion on our travels this season. In order to get the best from him, he really needs a partner alongside him instead of fighting lost causes on his own.

Tags: Games Drawn, MOTM Robert Earnshaw

The first twenty minutes brought back memories of the carefree attacking football so often last season. We could easily have been three goals ahead as Leeds had no answer to our pace and movement off the ball. We flowed forward at every opportunity with player running off the ball and quick, simple passing in midfield. Gunter seemed to be tripped just inside the area but nothing given, Anderson’s rebound hit their keeper (who knew nothing about it) whilst Earnshaw’s effort across the keeper flicked the post and away to safety. We had to settle for Gunter’s excellent left footed cross and Blackstock’s flicked header into the bottom corner to give us a deserved lead.
 
Even before their equaliser, there were signs that the game was turning away from us. However, this was all our own fault and nothing to do with any quality from a very average Leeds team. Too many unforced errors caused moments of defensive panic and eventually we got caught out. Morgan attempted a cross-field pass that was never on, the resulting left wing cross saw Morgan beaten again in the air, leaving Camp with no chance. Morgan wasn’t alone though, his was one of a number of unnecessary risks taken when in possession.
 
The rest of the game was a dull scrappy affair as Forest looked a mess in midfield, allowing Leeds much more time in possession than they should have been allowed. Fortunately, they had very little composure in front of goal and we got away with it. Neither keeper made any saves worth mentioning so a draw was a fair result. Their low shot through a crowd of players was a couple of feet wide and another flicked header, again off target, were the only times we looked in any genuine danger. At the other end, there was very rarely anything to get excited about as we struggled to maintain any momentum.
 
We looked a mess in midfield compared to the early stages as we stopped doing the simple things that gave us such a good start. McKenna constantly gave the ball away, Raddy looked for that glory pass or ambitious shot every time. Billy tried to change things around in the wide areas by introducing the pace of McCleary and Tyson. Neither had much of an effect and seemed to hinder us even further as it took an age for everyone to understand where they were playing. Cohen moved into the centre for a while and then ended the game back on the right wing once Moussi was belatedly introduced. Everyone seemed to be going through the motions and lacked that spark that a new arrival would surely provide. Worryingly, Billy wouldn’t talk about possible new additions after the game, seemingly bored and appearing resigned to a lack of action for some time.
 
Whilst the opening goal gave some cause for optimism, the majority of the game was below par and disjointed. In the poor spells, we looked a side approaching the end of a long/hard season instead of one bursting with energy. All the early enthusiasm soon disappeared to be replaced by an endless stream of mis-hit or mis-directed passes. Apart from Earnshaw and Blackstock, the lack of genuine goal scorers remains a concern, the midfield doesn’t look capable of providing enough goals on the occasions where the forwards are marked out of the game.
 
The full backs, Gunter and Bertrand, were the highlight of the afternoon. Neither were blameless in terms of giving the ball away but showed enough quality at both ends of the field to suggest we’ve addressed those positions at least. MOTM Gunter took advantage of the space down our right hand side to provide many of the first half highlights. Can consider himself lucky to stay on the pitch after a stamp on one of their players but having seen their behaviour, there was some provocation involved. Bertrand down the left looks very comfortable on the ball and adds badly needed balance to the side. With the narrow midfield we employ, it’s essential that the full backs are able to make use of the space in front of them.

Tags: Games Drawn, MOTM Chris Gunter