Possession – one tenth of the game?

Blues’ goalless draw with QPR is watched by Andy Munro.

Many Blues fans, myself included, have been critical of our deep-lying defence and midfield under Aitor Karanka. This invites pressure even though we’ve often had the majority of possession.

The game against QPR was the opposite, with us enjoying a meagre possession ratio of below 40% yet having the majority of chances, and I know which statistic I would prefer. We played three at the back and including wingbacks had five in midfield.

Up front was the increasingly impressive Leko, partnered with the increasingly unimpressive Scott Hogan. The latter without the Juke is like Laurel without Hardy, or should that be Little without Large?

Still, overall the back three of Roberts, Dean and Friend were solidly impressive, allowing the wingbacks to be more wing than back. In the centre of midfield San Jose oozed class, Gardner also played his part and Sunjic was an asset with his boundless energy.

Overall, and despite the blank scoreline it was a far more heartening performance than recently. With the Juke returning to the fray, it just needs players to gel together to produce a more than solid Championship outfit, and I’ll certainly take that for this season.