By Andy Baggott
August 16 2005

So, three games into the season, and are we any wiser about where we will finish this season? In a word – no. The consistency that was missing last season is already in evidence with 3 different results and performances in 3 games. Against Millwall, there was reason to be encouraged, as we kept the ball on the deck for the most part. Then came Cardiff. A decent first half, although not as fluent as Millwall, but a silly ten minutes, and the game was gone. The Luton game was a poor game in general, with little goalmouth action, but the defence did well. So what have we learnt? Healy looked good back up front, but Blackwell appears to have a few concerns about the former Preston man – could he be on the way out? Certainly clubs are looking at him. Bakke, if he stays fit, could play a huge role for us, as he is a class above most in this division. The centre back pairing of Gregan and Butler look solid. A clear lack of pace may be exposed, but so far, so good. Lewis out wide looks a fair player, and Ricketts, although not up to speed yet, looks fitter and more determined than last year. What about the downsides. The lack of flair is still evident, with no one having the ability to open a team up. We need to get some imagination in our play as we are still too predictable. The jury is still out on a couple of new signings – Harding has struggled once or twice, and Blake hasn’t been involved enough – I’m confident these two, especially the latter will come good though. We also need Hulse and Stone back playing. Hulse could be the main man this year, and Stone will do well at this level.
Although we haven’t made the best of starts, look at the clubs who came down – Norwich, Palace and Southampton – all who have struggled, in what is a tough division. Bates will want to see some end product for his money, and Blackwell may start to feel the heat soon if performances and results don’t improve. Personally, I don’t think there’s any need to panic. We are three games into the season, and think we need to look where we are at the end of September. Anywhere lower than 7th or 8th could see Blackwell under serious pressure, but I’m hopeful that we’ll be a little bit higher than that, and think Saturdays game against Wolves will give us the chance to measure ourselves against one of the strongest sides in the division….