Brighton (h) review - Square pegs, round holes

Brighton ended their bad run of form which had seen them win only one of nine league games (they'd also failed to beat us in their last nine attempts) at our expense by defeating Town 2-1 at the John Smiths Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Two first-half goals from the impressive Will Buckley were enough to wrap up the points, and although Simon Church grabbed a late consolation  we never really deserved anything from the game.

Brighton played some decent stuff and while it was Buckley who took the headlines Liam Bridcutt was an immense presence in midfield. For me the game was won and lost in the middle of the park where in the first half especially Brighton won all the important battles, Bridcutt in particular standing out.

The former Chelsea youth man seemed to find space every time he was on the ball, and denied our players space when we were in possession. If you were looking for a polar opposite of Bridcutt on Saturday then Town offered it in the shape of Oliver Norwood. Having been hyped up so much by Town fans after a decent start to the season the Northern Ireland international is really struggling for form currently.

Oliver Norwood is struggling for form

The early season composure on the ball has disappeared and Norwood now seems a little nervy when in possession. Perhaps even more worryingly at this level where there are so many good midfielders who can punish teams, Norwood bares an uncanny resemblance to Anton Robinson when not on the ball. No real lack of endeavour but all too often he's left chasing shadows while the ball is just passed around him.

Oliver is an important part of the squad, but his inclusion on Saturday was a major factor in us losing the game. Could Novak have taken one of the chances he failed to convert? Maybe. Could we have defended better for both of their goals? Maybe. Could the referee have given us a few more decision? Maybe.

Could we have coped better in the middle of the park had Adam Clayton been partnering Keith Southern instead of Norwood? Yes.

I'm a believer in picking a team based on form, and currently Adam Clayton is in great form. He's been our best player in almost every game we've played in the last couple of months and earned the right to play in the middle of the park against Barnsley last week. He started the season playing on the right but a string of good performances earned him the chance to play in his favoured central position, and he didn't disappoint.

Why then was he dropped back to the right against Brighton just to make way for the well out of form Norwood? Play your best player in his best position, it seems pretty simple to me. If Clayton and Southern had started the game in the middle of the park it would have been an entirely different game, but as it was Brighton dominated the midfield in the first half and were out of sight by the time Clayton was pushed infield.

Clayton closing down the brilliant Liam Bridcutt

The man who came on to replace Norwood and swap positions with Clayton was Scott Arfield, and for me he's someone who deserves a chance. His only start this season was in the opening game against Cardiff and he didn't do too much wrong - if it means we get to see Clayton in a central role give him a go. Norwood will hopefully rediscover his form sooner rather than later, but for the time being he needs dropping.

Square pegs, round holes - I don't get it.

Barnsley (a) preview - Drop Norwood

Town travel to South Yorkshire tomorrow to take on Barnsley having not faced the Tykes since we were beaten 3-1 in a disappointing second leg of the League One Playoffs back in May 2006. Despite winning the  first leg 1-0 at Oakwell we never really looked up for it at The Galpharm and three second half goals in the space of 20 minutes sent Barnsley to the Millennium Stadium. They would beat Swansea City on penalties to secure promotion to The Championship, the hero that day being Nick Colgan who is now the goalkeeping coach at our academy.

Since winning promotion that day Barnsley have remained in The Championship, surviving season after season despite constantly being tipped for the drop. They currently sit 21st in the league table (the same position they finished in last season) and head into this weekends clash having lost their last three matches, winning only once in their last seven outings. Despite not being in great form the Tykes will see this weekend as the perfect chance to get back on winning ways - a feisty local derby against a team who've lost their last two away games convincingly against struggling teams.

Barnsley gaffer Keith Hill had hoped to have a new striker in his squad for tomorrows match, but is as yet to succeed in bringing in any targets. Reading front man Simon Church was a long-time target but Hill will have to set his team up to defend against the Welsh international who signed on loan for us yesterday. With Mido and top goalscorer Craig Davies still out with injuries Hill will have to choose from Chris Dagnall, Marlon Harewood and academy product Danny Rose up front. Town on the other hand will be without James Vaughan but could welcome back Jermaine Beckford into contention alongside Church, Alan Lee and midweek hero Lee Novak.

Town played a 4-5-1 system midweek against Blackburn Rovers who are very strong in the middle of the park with Dickson Etuhu, Danny Murphy and Ruben Rochina. However, Barnsley are unable to boast such quality and I'd like to see us start with two front men in an attempt to get at the opposition and take three points from the match. Lee Novak has more than likely earned his place in the team if he's fit and either Church or Beckford could play up front alongside him with Alan Lee remaining a good option from the bench. 

However, it's in the midfield where I'd like to see a big decision made. Oliver Norwood made himself a hero almost overnight upon his arrival from Manchester United in the summer. He started the season very well and impressed with his set-piece deliveries but in recent weeks has been consistently poor, outshone by both Keith Southern and Adam Clayton. 

Norwood gained admirers with his early season form but has been below par recently

If we stick with a five man midfield then I'd like to see Scott Arfield given a chance who did nothing wrong in his one league start against Cardiff City, but my preference would be for Norwood to make way for another forward. Southern and Clayton offer plenty of battle in the middle of the park while in the last few matches Clayton has shown he can be just as creative as Northern Ireland international Norwood. There's no doubting Oliver has a lot to offer and is a key part of our squad, but his recent performances for me have earned him a place on the bench.

Out wide we have options with Danny Ward, Sean Scannell and Adam Hammill, while Clayton or Arfield could perform the more industrious wide midfielder role if needed. I'd go with pace down the flanks to get at Barnsley - Scannell deserves a run in the team to see what he can do while Ward was impressive in his 30 minute appearance from the bench on Tuesday. Hammill has the potential to be a top player at this level with his obvious technical ability but he's too often infuriating with his tendency to try silly tricks instead of getting a shot away or a cross into the box.

At the back Jack Hunt has to come back into the team to replace Callum Woods who has been badly exposed in recent weeks. Paul Dixon remains our best option on the left side of defence while Peter Clarke should captain the side alongside Joel Lynch who makes the back four look much more solid with his presence. Alex Smithies will maintain his 100% appearance record between the sticks this season, meaning my starting eleven would be as below:

Barnsley have a reputation for being one of our bogey teams, but our overall record against them isn't too bad. Out of 58 league matches between the two clubs we've won 26 compared to their 21, with 11 games ending in stalemates. More recently, since the turn of the century games between the two clubs have been very even with three wins apiece and two draws. The most recent game was the aforementioned Playoff second leg in which Barnsley were victorious, their three goals in 20 minutes cancelling out Jon Worthington's fortuitous goal.

I therefore don't subscribe to the theory that we have to worry about this weekends opposition being a bogey team. If we go to Oakwell tomorrow with the intention of taking the game to them, exploiting our pace down the flanks and avoiding playing aimless long balls down the channels, I fancy our chances of winning. However, if we turn up and perform like we have done in our previous two away matches we will once again lose and lose convincingly. I fancy the first option tomorrow, and my prediction is a hard fought 3-1 win for Town.

By Terrier1987cas