Two out of form teams, something had to give and there was poor defending on all three goals yesterday.

0-1: Chester and Cooper were only looking at McDonald, leaving Emnes unmarked and onside.

1-1: Hoyte dallied to allow King to take the ball and have a free run on goal. For once his heavy touches worked in his favour. With his third he knocked the ball well in front of himself but had pace to chase after it, and with his fourth he smashed it into the goal.

2-1: For City’s winner, McManus stepped out to close down King thus offering Fryatt the space in the middle he so rarely finds in home games to go through on goal. Typical Fryatt finish, holding off a defender and poking it past the keeper.

I think we should keep the same 4-2-3-1 system. Fryatt can play the lone striker role. He’s scored a number of goals for us when holding off the last defender, particularly in away games last season, and most recently at Leicester. Having proper wingers to give us width, space for Fryatt and Koren in the centre, and crosses and cutbacks he can attack would really help. Assuming we don’t sell off any of our first team players – any word on Koren staying? – I would say two wingers are all we need to sign in the summer, as well as Mannone. Another striker option would be nice, but not as essential.

As for needing a Plan B, we’ve already got one we’ve gone to at times this season: 4-4-2, with two centre forwards up top and Koren dropping back into a central midfield or wide position. I recall this working nicely at Reading in January. (Incidentally, since that game when we went ahead of Reading in the table, City got knocked out of the cup, have won just twice, had five goalless draws, two score draws, and now four defeats. Reading won eight on the bounce and have taken 34 points from 39 in all.)

So I’d be looking for a squad like this:
Goalkeeper – Mannone (Reserve: Oxley?)
Defenders – Hobbs, Chester, Rosenior, Dawson (Reserve: Dudgeon, Cooper, Bradley, McShane?)
Midfielders – McKenna, Evans (Reserve: Cairney, Olofinjana?, Kilbane?)
Wingers – New left winger, new right winger (Reserve: Stewart, Garcia, Koren)
Forwards – Koren, Fryatt (Reserve: Mclean, Simpson, Cullen)
Released – Basso, Gulacsi, Harper, Brady, King, Adebola

Apparently Burnsy said Adebola’s cost City £750k, in return for two starts and six sub appearances.

Last season, he came off the bench 27 times for Forest, helping them reach the play-offs. He seemed like a good signing to do the same for us. His link-up play in the first game of the season was excellent, and he could have had assists for a couple of goals if Fryatt had his shooting boots on.

Watching the goals on TV, the first came from a Coventry free kick in our half. Cooper is the only one of our back four who is goalside of his man when the ball comes into the area. It was Hobbs’s man that headed at Mannone. Cooper did the right thing by trying to head it out for a corner, with Hobbs’s man still free to tap in the rebound otherwise, but obviously miscued it.

The second doesn’t show the Cov scorer in the picture when the ball was played to him, but it’s possible Bradley was playing him onside.

Aldershot manager Dean Holdsworth said: “I spoke to Nicky Barmby this morning and it is a situation where we would have done the same thing.” www.theshots.co.uk/news/Aldershot84285.ink?newstype=p

What’s the ‘situation’? Joe Dudgeon’s injury? We already have Liam Cooper, perhaps Sonny Bradley is more comfortable at left-back. Is there anything more to it than that?

Remember the mess-up over Daniel Ayala’s loan to Hull City when he’d been injured?

Blackpool cost keeping Jonjo Shelvey on loan from Liverpool by talking him up:

“The reason we haven’t got him is because we were talking about him for months and he was somebody else’s player.
“He is on the bench for Liverpool at the moment and they bought him for a lot of money, so well done to them.”

www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/sport/football/blackpool-fc/too-much-talking-cost-blackpool-shelvey-1-4385218

BBB has joined Cheltenham Town on loan from Notts County. They’ve also signed Steve MacLean, formerly of Scunthorpe. That would’ve been a deadly strike partnership about nine years ago! Darryl Duffy’s there too, so maybe not.

www.ctfc.com/page/LatestNews/0,,10434~2688335,00.html

Deadline was 5pm yesterday. The League’s regulations are:

53.2.1 Emergency and Youth Loans are permitted both during the Transfer Windows and, subject to the provisions of Regulation 53.2.2, also during a Closed Period.

53.2.2 Notwithstanding the provisions of Regulation 53.2.1, a Player cannot be registered on an Emergency Loan or Youth Loan:

(a) during the period of seven days after the end of a Transfer Window;

(b) in the first half of the Season, after 5pm on the fourth Thursday in November; and

(c) in the second half of the Season, after 5pm on the fourth Thursday in March unless in accordance with the provisions of Regulation 54.

www.football-league.co.uk/regulations/20110629/section-6-players_2293633_2125731

Odd quote from Nick Barmby today: “I was told in the press conference when I first got the job there’d be money to spend so we’ll see.” – www.thisishullandeastriding.co.uk/story-15598963-detail/story.html

Is he making a point that this promise was made public? Seems an odd turn of phrase to say he was “told in the press conference”.

Could well be the current bottom three: Wigan, Bolton and Wolves, but would just take one of them to get a couple of wins to see QPR drop in there.

Bolton have the best set of remaining fixtures so they might escape, but they’re a poor team.

Blackburn need to do well in their six-pointers to stay safe.

From City’s perspective, Bolton and Blackburn seem to be in most financial danger if they come down, and Wigan depending on Whelan’s support. Wolves and QPR would be very strong promotion contenders.

City wanted him in January but he was in the Wolves team at the time. He’s now joined Middlesbrough on loan until the end of the season. Surprised we wouldn’t have been back in for him when he became available with the fixtures we’ve got coming up.

www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17220389

Video linked below of Leigh Jenkinson in Hull City kit competing in the football Sprint Challenge:

www.bigbettingblog.co.uk/football-other/join-our-campaign-bring-back-the-sprint-challenge

Good old-fashioned sexism and to hell with responsible drinking!

www.hullcityafc.net/page/NewsDetail/0,,10338~2606114,00.html

“This is for the boys! Christmas is over. You survived January. The weather’s a bit chilly. You need a night out – you deserve Free Beer and a Proper Boys’ Night Out with The Tigers and your mates at our match on Wednesday 22nd February against Brighton! And that’s what we’ve arranged for you… When you arrive at the KC Stadium we’ll whisk you immediately to a warm, comfy seat from where you can start enjoying our VIP hospitality in the form of as much pre-match draught beer as you can drink – all on us.”

Nick Barmby in today’s HDM: “As long as we’re keeping the ball out of the net at one end, we’ll always have chances.
“Nine times out 10 we will score goals and knowing that we’re defensively strong gives you a lift.”

Is that a prediction for the next 10 games? Because we’ve only scored goals in 6 of the last 10 league games.

We’re looking at playing two games a week from the start of March until the penultimate week of the season. To keep players fresh, lower the risk of injury, and give them a chance to train between games, how about this idea: a Saturday team and a midweek team. The defence would have to stay largely the same, but the rest could rotate entirely.

Mannone, Rosenior, Chester, Hobbs, Dawson, Evans, McKenna, Koren, Stewart, King, Fryatt.

Mannone, Rosenior, Chester, Hobbs, Dudgeon, Cairney, Olofinjana, Brady, Garcia, Simpson, Mclean.

The two sets would be used to playing together and preparing for matches together and have a full week between games, instead of chopping and changing every game when players have fatigue or knocks.

www.southlondon-today.co.uk/Sport.cfm?id=4358&headline=Palace

“I’ve got another season after this at Hull but I’m not willing to sit around and be treated as a player they don’t really want to play or that will never be looked at as a regular. It’s disappointing but that is football, I’ll probably have to move on.

“When you look back at the team that came down from the Premier League there is only Andy Dawson and myself left – so the writing has been on the wall for a long time. They want everyone gone from the old regime.”

There’s also Garcia, Olofinjana, Barmby, Kilbane, Ghilas (!), Cairney and the other kids, but the sentiment is right.

31-year-old (!) Richard Hinds has signed for League One Yeovil Town until the end of the season.

www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/16861384

Solano has reportedly joined Newcastle Benfield in STL Northern League Division One as a coach:

www.nonleaguedaily.com/news/index.php?newsmode=FULL&nid=82209

A number of Championship clubs looking at Derby’s Paul Green. Weren’t City linked?