ProfitInMyPocket

Their team reminds me of us in previous seasons having one or two opportunities a game under LJ and Holden. We've come a long way but I was screaming at the amount of times we broke and everyone slowed down instead of trying to break their lines. Slowed down and their defence got back into shape to cut it out, I know they might be tired but you're not going to break them down on the counter if you win the ball then start walking. Lack of quality past the half way line, deary me. I know Cornick is the whipping boy but thought he did about as much as Wells did in all fairness. Couple nice touches but running off the ball both were poor. Without James we're screwed, saved us on countless occasions today. Both teams got what they deserved today, that I can 100% say for sure. Fair play to them they held on and had some chances but we need to do better, only forward who seems to be consistent for us is Sykes, amount of running he gets through is crazy.

Decision making in the final third today has been horrendous. Simple passes down the line and inside into pockets and killing each other with them. Steady possession but the quality when it goes over the half way line has been so poor.

Mark that one in the Reading and Brum away column for that second half. Killed us when Williams came off. Weimann and Cornick just don't fit in to the system at the moment. Every time the ball comes into them they lose it and it is every time. I usually don't mind losing too much but not going to lie this one rankles a bit. Their players wanted it more than ours and it showed, they might be knackered from midweek but they let themselves down today, no way near enough passion and energy to win the 50/50s and the decision-making going forward was too one dimensional for Kipre and co to clear. edit: Shout out to Sykes today who probably the only one who played to the level required today - he never stops running, some good quality crosses in the first half today too.

Looks like they're gunna win every ball that's there to win - losing Williams early has lost our edge. Weimann, Wells, Cornick all poor since coming on, not made any impact whatsoever. Sykes the only one for me who comes out with much credit, so so poor from the team today.

Too many letting the game go by, had the chance in the 1st half to get in front and it's costing us now.

Says it all that their comms are saying they haven't seen certain players play like this before this season, they're definitely up for it. We haven't settled yet and we've still created the best chances of the game. Getting dragged into a bit of a fight man for man but we're holding firm and so are they, just need to be switched on when we turn the ball over.

Unpredictable, no idea whether he's gunna drop a shoulder and go left or right in a tight space. He's not even rapid in comparison to other pacey wide players I've seen but he just draws defenders in and ghosts past them, must be a nightmare to defend against - one of those players like Alex Scott that seem to be quicker with the ball then without it because of their qualities on it. He works hard, got a bit of an attitude and he's only going to get better which is scary. The players are giving him the ball early a lot and he's barely been here 5 minutes, says a lot about the confidence the team have in him and what he can do for us as a side. Proper signing Nige and the recruitment team! I'd rather him being playing for us and learning his trade instead of him up against us that's for sure.

Getting in down the right a lot with overlaps, Pring can't get out much as he has to cover for the imbalance on Kalas' side. Final ball hasn't been too bad just need the right runs in the box. They've got a threat from either wing too and look fairly good on the break. Williams a real plus today, played us through a fair few times. If Scott can't walk off the whacking he's taken then move Bell out to the left and try Mehmeti in his role, think he could do well there.

Him and Williams were everywhere today, gave us a good base to get the ball down and play.

Cornick did well to pinch the ball back in the process to us winning the penalty, caught them napping on the ball. Probably deserved to win that but the run continues. Well done to the team, the coaching staff and the travelling fans, bet all the disruptions was worth it for a fighting point and a penalty!

Would have kept Mehmeti on instead of Weimann, not really bringing much on the left side. Hope he can pop up at the backpost if we're going to use Sykes as an outlet

Taking a risk to try and get something, don't deserve to be losing whatsoever. Still a bit of time remaining.

They're in a good run of form and playing well. Bought in a lot of younger players like ourselves and letting them play with freedom. Lot of confidence on their forum and rightly so but I'm confident we can hold firm and hit them on the break with our counters. Don't give them a sniff and get the home crowd agitated, if we concede early then it might be a bit iffy but got faith we can go there and get the points.

Bar the two woodworks and a few wayward smashes across the box we didn't create much else, fair play to Wigan. They could have pinched it and so could we. Weimann really poor decision making, Cornick will take time to settle but looked ok in linking up some bits first half. Mehmeti overplays sometimes but showed a bit of his quality tonight, got us a point with that ball in for big Rob. Another game unbeaten, people speaking like we're right in and amongst the top six, this team is growing and learning still. We'd have thrown that game away in previous seasons! Another point on the board and on to Saturday.

Joe Williams been winning a lot of balls and recycling the ball well

Deep defensive line from Wigan giving them a lot of safe passes along the back, that possession doesn't mean danger for us, they're playing it down the sides and inside only if one midfielder or winger gets into space, if not they're playing for the corners and the throws. Every time they've tried to play down the middle we've pinched it and got forward up the pitch. We're not going to press their wide centre backs because if we do we'll leave gaps for Sinani, Aasgard, Darikwa and McLean down the sides. Midfield got a lot of side to side running to do and when we pinch the ball we got to be ready to release the front 3. Win the battles out on the wings defensively and we can see this game out. COYR.

If Vyner was having the iffy performances he used to have instead of the wonderful season he is having we would still be playing a back 3 or 5 to cover for it. If Pring hadn't improved his fitness levels in games and not gassing out after 60 minutes we would still be playing a back 3 or 5 to cover for it. If Tanner hadn't improved his levels of defending (he was getting beaten by a fair few wide players earlier in the season) we would still be playing a back 3 or 5 to cover for it. If Atkinson hadn't improved his vocal side of his game we would still be playing a back 3 or 5 to cover for it. These things above have freed up Sykes to play further forward, Scott can join in more with attacks further up, Naismith to play a different role but still giving support to the backline. Things take time, it's not FIFA where you can move players around and it is still the same. The players we had knew the 352 - a change to 433 when the players didn't have the confidence to have a bit more time and space in their positions would have led to countless more mistakes than we were making. Having Naismith in the backline was there as extra security. Now the boys have the minutes, sharpness and confidence to play. You can say I'd have done this or made this change earlier or whatever but Conway and Wells in a 2 up top were a bloody good strike partnership and something I really enjoyed watching this season, there was no reason to change that at that time. And now when we take leads, we go back to a back 3 or 5 with Kalas coming off the bench to see out games, our players know the system and it's giving us results.

Tanner gets my MOTM just about, but no-one had a poor game today. Everyone really solid! Him and Pring had a lot more to do today with the overlaps from Gianoulis and Aarons so their performances did stand out more but my god both of them were brilliant from the first whistle to the last. I was worried when that Onel Hernandez came on as he's someone I really rate at getting past players when 1v1 but Tanner wasn't fazed in the slightest. Knew when to get tight to him when he was cutting inside, stopping crosses come in when he was going for the by-line. We've seen similar performances from Pring in recent weeks but it's wonderful to see Tanner make that position his own now, did some really nice possession play on the touchline with Sykes throughout too. Giving these young players time to bed in - and I harp on about patience all the time - we will see the benefits and that performance showed that today.

Pukki and Sargeant spinning in behind going to cause us problems but holding firm on set pieces and we look pretty sharp on the counter. They do look good playing through the lines in midfield and could get back into it if we make a mistake. Big 45 minutes now, COYR.

Yes! could see signs of it towards the end of last season and we've taken another step this year. We've been much more competitive this year and can only think of 3ish games where we haven't been at the races. Love having pace in our team, catching teams napping at the back with quick breaks. And these players don't half run themselves into the ground each week. Give this team and the staff more patience and this team could flourish but not getting ahead of myself. The Championship is a division that takes no prisoners, it can be joyous one week and devastating the next. Could take us another season or two till we hit our peak with the trajectory we seem to be on and if we recruit properly to replace any outgoings and promote well from within like we have been doing then the future is bright. Take it game by game and it really feels like we could beat any team in the division. Now our club looks like it has a real identity and 'DNA' (a phrase we've heard coined countless times by some not-so favourable people) Our progress has not happened overnight and our future possibilities are not going to happen overnight. Let's give Norwich a good game this weekend and get behind our boys, COYR.

insert Pep Guardiola we cannot replace him video here - Alex Scott been brilliant - not even shocked anymore. They got right on top of us but we held firm and caught them cold at the back. Hope Naismith is alright. If we hold firm early in the second half we can really get at them on the break with fresh legs in Weimann, Cornick and Mehmeti. Stay strong City, COYR.

They're struggling at home and will want a reaction, going to be a tough game as it always is up there. Would be pleased with a point to keep the unbeaten run going. I reckon Bell can get in behind Browne and Storey down their right side, and we've got an extra man in midfield so Scott will get a lot of the ball today, hopefully we can make it count when we turn it over and break on them. COYR.

With the Klose signing and Bamba training with us for a short while, I wouldn't be surprised if we picked up an experienced CB as cover on a free if one became available and was needed.

Did well for us but it's time for change. Wish them the best.

Matty Taylor was a poacher, Cornick is a right winger who can play across the front line. Not sure where this comparison has come from.