Silver Lining Written by SpiritOfJohn on Sunday, 13th Sep 2015 10:39 Sometimes one has to look long and hard for the silver lining and the bluebirds in the sky. Watching the team on Friday night was akin to seeing one’s favourite pullover being snagged and slowly unravelling while being powerless to arrest the destruction. Truly horrific stuff. Reading away has not traditionally been one of those fixtures that Town fans look forward to with delight at the prospect of three easy points. It is the type of venue where we are used to seeing Mick McCarthy’s blue bus parked between the sticks, where we keep our shape and defend in numbers, and try to nick a breakaway goal in the dying seconds. After the goalless fare had been served up we would hear the gruff Yorkshire tones exclaiming that there was no such thing as a bad away point. Long suffering supporters would yawn and shake their heads thinking how different things might have been if only they were in charge of team selection and tactics. We are only six games into the new league season but it is already plain to see that this season is going to be different. When the team was announced on Friday hardly an eyebrow was raised at the inclusion of four forwards in the starting line-up. Last season on our travels we frequently had Daryl Murphy on his own up front. The only murmurs of dissent at this new attack-minded set up were reserved for the choice of goalkeeper. Christophe Berra was back at centre-back so the defence would be rock solid as it was for most of last season. If the game had been played on paper we would have romped home 3-1. But life is not like that. It tends to deliver a swift kick to the seat of one’s pants at the most inconvenient times. Friday night was one of those times. Much has already been written about the individual and collective errors that cost Town goals, but one recalls what the (visibly shocked) opposition manager said on Sky after the game: "It did not feel like a 5-1." So what has been learned from the Brighton and Reading games? We all know we have exciting attacking options this season and we will score lots of goals but our defence looks pedestrian and needs greater protection. Our squad is incrementally better than last season and we have been congratulating ourselves regarding our shrewdness in the transfer market but recent results have shown that other teams may have strengthened exponentially. Has McCarthy allowed himself to get carried away with our embarrassment of riches in the forward department and will he continue to give them free rein as part of a new bold attacking philosophy for the season? Is this the silver lining one has been looking for? Or, now that we have seen that it can go horribly wrong, will we go back to packing the midfield and sticking Murphy up front on his own? Time will tell and we will probably see a more conservative line-up on Tuesday at Leeds. Up the Town! Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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