One thing to watch is that when Kelly is on the pitch the players take the easy way out and give him the ball, even if it’s not necessary or the best option. Their first thought is always to give it to him and then all happens is there’s lots of shuffling about, with very little forward movement or intent. This then causes a second central midfielder to drop deep in search of the ball, thus removing an attacking option. That’s categorically not Kelly’s fault, that’s the players going overboard on giving him possession every ten seconds. When he went off that easy option disappeared, and we started playing balls forward and into channels. Gorrin is pretty much just there to press, intercept and cover any defensive player who moves up the pitch, meaning other players have to use the ball rather than hand it over constantly.
Very much looking forward to some competitive football again now, starting in the cup on Saturday.