Blues go down to Peterborough. Andy Munro reports.
This was the match where Blues were supposed to inexorably bounce back from the Fulham reverse. But this is also the Championship, where anything can happen -and it did.
From the moment that our captain OG’d in the first minute, it was obvious it was going to be one of those days. Yes, we huffed and puffed but with little end product and trying to be gung ho left us vulnerable at the back.
Up front, it seemed fairly obvious that the Juke and Troy Deeney, good players that they are, aren’t a striking duo made in heaven. In the middle, Ryan Woods was again a bit off colour and it certainly didn’t help matters when Gary Gardner was sent off. In fairness, I probably would have brought in Gardner and Deeney for the game so it would be hypocritical for me to criticise Lee Bowyer for just doing that. It’s also worth remembering that we are still mid-table, which is where I think we will finish and which will be an improvement on the last few seasons.
So no need to press any panic buttons yet but we certainly don’t want three defeats on the spin. I still think it’s worth bringing in an extra midfielder and pushing Tahith Chong up front with either Deeney or the Juke and certainly they probably have to give Dion Sandersen a start at the back to see what he’s made of. Maybe Riley McGree as well, as he’s young and eager and has certainly never let the side down. Either way, I think Bowyer will provide a solution to our downturn but it’s a matter of settling on the right combination.