Ronald is going to get a lot of hate today given how Niasse has been handled in the past, but I actually think there's a fairly strong case for anyone to defend him off of the back of this game. I thought we totally controlled the tempo in the first half, and you can see that at least some work is being done in the training ground because the intricate passing one-two's absolutely objectively has improved. This is especially important given we'll need to be really good at that to break down sides at home given that we have no pace at all in the squad.
The second half Holgate was unfortunate in an otherwise strong game to see Josh King skip past one and execute a fantastically placed finish. Koeman was right in my eyes to not change the side at half time because we had been performing strongly, but King's goal sucked all the momentum out of the side and I think it became clear that we needed to go a bit more direct, given that after a goal down the confidence gets sapped and the passing becomes less adventurous. On comes Tom Davies and Niasse, two substitutes that totally changed the game but probably couldn't start having played in midweek. Finally, there's recognition that we don't have a target man and Martina's lofty crosses haven't been working all game. I was absolutely fuming when he swapped a defender for a defender as the last substitute to change the game, but his low crosses proved to be extremely effective in unsettling the backline. Maybe I'm reading too much into that, but I honestly think that's a tactical decision given that Kenny and Martina both seem to have their favoured crossing styles.
Hopefully this doesn't read too much like I'm a Koeman sycophant, as I really really am not that, but I think he responded very well today.
