At Last

Well a 2-0 win has lifted us to 19th in the table which has saved us and doomed Portsmouth and Coventry, however with the way the results went today we didn't need the win.
However the fact that we are safe means DM can now turn his attention to what really matters the rebuilding of this team it has been obvious for some time now that the defence has been the weak link in the side.
Despite Gerkens play since he has come back into the team we are desperate for another goalkeeper, Gerkens is a good backuu keeper but is he the solid keeper we need to drive us forward? he has improved but is it enough of an improvement? he still needs to learn to dominate his area but I suppose he is still young enough to learn.
The defence just can't hack it at championship level on a consistant basis this has been so obvious that we have needed to bring in so many central defenders on loan this season, who have improved the team it must be said, We must sign players like Bikey(Amougou) or McManus preferably both or we need to see more of the players from our reserves Riberio, Edwards, Holloway and see if they can step up to the plate at least now DM has the time to look at the players without the pressure of the threat of relegation (during the pre season)
Skuse is by far better at right back and Foster looks like he could be the answer at left back or has appeared to be to me in the games I have seen, although he might be even better at RB.
Midfield Adomah, Bolaise, Elliott and Cisse have all shown flashes of real ability but Hogan in his on loan period has shown we need to get class in that area, Kilkenny overall has been disappointing but how much of that is the fact that our defence has more often looked like a sieve than a defensive wall which has pulled our midfielders so far back into our own half that the only option has been to hit the ball forward and hope just to relieve the pressure.
Up front Jon Stead has proved many of the doubters wrong and has scored enough goals to show that if he gets good service then he is a threat in the opposition box, Pitman however has been rather disappointing since Maynard left he looks so good when comming on as a sub but does not seem to be able to show it when starting the match do we need another striker in the Maynard role (with the pace to make goals for himself) or as I think we need a goal poacher to play off of Jon Stead I just don't know if Pitman can play in that role perhaps he can but he will need to up his physical fitness.
Other players who have impressed have been Pearson and Louis Carey.
Carey is getting on and has slowed down but he remains the only player who can lead the team on the field, Pearson with his pace and willingness to run forever is a real asset but he does not have any particular position which he can claim to be his own just perhaps he could retrain as an attacking full back in the Terry Cooper style providing he learns to tackle somewhat better.

The biggest disappointments this season have been Woolford who does not seem to be able to offer much if anything to the team other than a pair of legs, and David James is being prone to more errors on a more regular basis although he has shown on his day he can be unbeatable. One of the best things that could happen to the club is for DJ to move into coaching and take over the academy he has so much experience and could teach so much to other players.
So where are we now? Well IMHO we are a work in progress we have a management structure that is new and exciting and know what they want and if they can get rid of some deadwood and bring in a few new players or sign a couple of the players that have been on loan here in the last few years could easily build a winning team, the future is still bright.