Brentford (h)

[Mick]

“The top teams can grind out a result even when they are not playing well”

[KMK]

“The top teams can grind out a result even when they are not playing well”

Agreed. Grit and determination crucial in winning ugly. Job done.

[Mick]

Today actually reminded me how much our famous “press” depends on the hard running of Willock, Joelinton, Almiron and now of course Gordon.

[GhostfaceKillah]

Yeah absolutely Mick, Willock is the one for me, he still offers something that no one else in the squad in that position does, and that is the ability to carry the ball long distances from half to half and drive into the opposition box from deep lying positions. He was superb last season and it is such a shame that his hamstring injury has then led into an achilles injury, two worrying injuries for a player out this length of time who are as explosive and athletic as Willock is. He would have lit up the Champions League nights as you look around Europe and you don't see many players doing what he does from the position he plays in, and the form/relationship he had with Joelinton on the left hand side, along with Almiron on the right, was key to the foundation of how we pressed last season. You look at it now and Almiron's form came and went, Joelinton looks shot and Willock has boucned from one injury straight into another, and it's no wonder we are struggling to carry the same threat with the same sort of identity as we did last season.

We have to adapt though and adapt quickly.