I wish I could fill this particular piece with as much "whimsy" and "verboseness" as the one that preceded it but I'm fresh out of inspiration at the moment. How apt that is, all things considered- Mick and the team seem to be fresh out of spark and vision themselves, as well as cliché's judging by Stephen Elliot's comments that we'll be looking to "move on" and "get back on track". It seems we hear that time after time following defeat, and what on earth else would we be looking to do after a loss anyway? How about a little less talk and a little more implementation on the pitch from the team?

Someone should also point out to Stephen that it's not possible for a train to get "back onto a track" it was never on in the first place. We've not been on course for anything this year (so far) other than an inevitable decline, judging by most of this year's performances. Whilst there's nothing sweeter than a gut-wrenching 90 minutes followed by the sweet relief of a fortunate win, I doubt lady luck will continue to be as generous, that's if she hasn't shut up shop already. In which case, a miracle not withstanding, we're rogered.

Because it was certainly the grace of fortune that kept the mighty Colchester and Preston from running us ragged on our own patch and taking deserved spoils from it. And it was surely it's absence and perhaps a gulf in class, both managerially and on the pitch, that has led us to the last two calamities we've witnessed. 

I'm not saying we should have taken Barnsley nor Burnley to the cleaners, indeed both have earned themselves well due credit this season, but for God's sakes we couldn't even achieve the simplest tasks of a football team. I'm talking about passing, tackling, defending, winning 50-50s, BASIC BALL RETENTION! Against Burnley, if under pressure in defense, we'd just pass it back to Wayne for him to punt it over the top, only for a bulky Burnley man to control and set the Clarets off for their next in a frequent sequence of forays into the Wolves half. Not that it mattered who we were up against aerially, they could have all been dwarfs and we'd still not have made the effort to jump high enough. When we finally had a player boldly venturing forward he'd have to wait an hour before a man popped up in space or made himself available, if Ward/Gibson were to make a cross it'd have to be way before the by-line because they could hardly beat their man. On top of that, man-mountain Seyi was giving the ball away left, right and centre like early Christmas presents, and Bothroyd proceeded to fire over the bar every opportunity afforded to him in space without wanting to breach the 2 yard running limit. 

Now these very same players were serving up some of the best football in the division last year, and it's not as if talent disappears into thin bloody air now, is it? So what's the problem? Confidence? We had that in abundance last year, where's it gone? Passion? We were reknowned for it, what's happened? A lack of quality? Bothroyd, Keogh, Olofin and the likes were ripping teams apart towards the end of last year, why not now when all three have had a full undisturbed pre-season with us? Tactics? Now that's a good question. Mick hasn't exactly been reknowned for his tactical nous, though we did see glimpses against Charlton at home and West Brom away that he may yet surprise us, but perhaps with the key ingredients of work-ethic, passion and grit missing this year Mick's tactical ineptitude is a truth now blinding us?

It's really quite difficult to understand some of his selection decisions this year, too. Ward has clearly been running himself into the ground attempting to be our left winger, but with Jarvis back why on earth have we hesitated to replace him? Why did we not look into bringing in back up for Michael Kightly? Why endlessly rotate the strikeforce? Elliot and Eastwood begin to forge somewhat of a partnership and all of sudden it's halted by yet another rotation. Continuity is the key if you're ever going to make dividends from your forward line, if anything has needed a shake up it's our midfield which once again failed to create against the Clarets, perhaps Oli/Henry need swapping with (so shoot me) Potter? Maybe Davies, after plenty of reserve outings, is ready for a place on the bench? We could hardly do any worse, surely?

Let's hope QPR away on Saturday renders these ramblings insignificant and the rest of the season brings us the success we want, but until a marked improvement we see, question marks will continue to hover. And with fan opinion steadily shifting, it would seem Mick's time here isn't as assured as once thought. 

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