Our verdict on what was a huge opportunity missed…
Yes it does allow us to concentrate on the league and yes we have had a reasonable cup run, but I can`t help but feel like Saturday`s defeat to Leicester was a massive opportunity missed.
One more winnable game either away at Chelsea or Birmingham would have been all that stood in the way of our first trip to Wembley since 1985 and our first FA Cup Semi-Final since Rob Newman and Chris Sutton scored against Alan Shearer`s Southampton.
So, what went wrong? Quite a few things all at the same time actually.
Whereas previous City managers have failed to see the need to pick any creative players at all in midfield, for Paul Lambert it seems creativity and inventiveness are a prerequisite.
The tidiest footballers at the club, Wes Hoolahan and David Fox have been almost ever-present since forcing their way into the team away at Bolton early in the season, and on Saturday Lambert saw fit to include Anthony Pilkington and Elliott Bennett alongside them, as well as two up top. On paper there wasn`t a lot of tackling in that offensive looking line-up and as it turned out, there wasn`t a lot of tackling on the pitch either.
This wouldn`t be a problem necessarily, as a fully functioning City side would have been creating chance after chance, only it wasn`t fully functioning, it was misfiring. The attractive little triangles were not coming off with pass after pass going astray, either out to touch or straight to the opposition. It was one of those rare days that are a throwback to the infertile years between Worthington and Lambert.
The only difference in the engine room from the Swansea victory was Hoolahan for Surman, however this simple change seemed to unbalance the team, with Wes staying very high up the pitch in the hole, leaving Fox very exposed. This put pressure on Fox and his passing was uncharacteristically inaccurate.
Wes too, had one of his poorer games in yellow and green. However I do have some sympathy as he may have missed the willing off-the-ball running of Holt creating the space in front. Whilst it`s not constructive to criticise the performance of any players, the unanimous view on Steve Morison`s performance was that he just served to highlight the benefits of the Incredible Holt.
Morison lost his man too easily for the opening goal, missed a good early chance and gave the impression of wanting to be anywhere else but on the pitch for his entire 60 minute ‘shift`. The stewards appeared to be putting more effort in than big Steve at times. Let`s give him the benefit of the doubt and assuming he was feeling unwell or carrying an injury as that wasn`t the Steve Morison we all know and love out there – and we do need him back to his best as it keeps Holt on his toes.
Aaron Wilbraham was a breath of fresh air when he came on and looked keen to impress. Let`s hope he gets that Premier League goal he deserves before the end of the season as despite being out of the first team picture he seems to have maintained a positive attitude.
Paul Lambert may be the greatest manager we`ve ever had at Carrow Road, time will tell. However for what ever reason, the side he picked didn`t quite click on Saturday and if the truth be told we were lucky to only lose by the one goal. Time to regroup for next week.
Leicester played very well, were supported by an energetic and vocal crowd, and were good value for the win. Let`s wish them good luck in the Quarter-Finals and hope they make it to Wembley. It should have been us though?
OTBC