In the main points dropped/gained thread I gave a couple of examples of the circumstances under which we would judge the team to have dropped points...
1. We are dominating a game and on course to win or draw but then either through individual error or general team naivety/loss of concentration gift our opponents a win or draw against the run of play.
2. Managerial error, like making bad substitutions, changing tactic/formations in a way that clearly changes things for the worse.
So we don't have a crystal ball and can't see what would have happened if the starting eleven had been different but there's a strong argument to be made, I think, that MW clearly messed up, even though he didn't have the guts and honesty to admit it.
He could easily have started Ball and played a back four with Barbet at LB...given our current form and our second half comeback its not difficult to argue that we would have won that game.
That draw felt like a win and I have nothing but admiration for the team...but did MW cost us 2 points?
On balance, a point gained. MW trying to allow for the knackered and battered squad after Wednesday clearly got it wrong. But to come back from 0-2 with 15 to go has to be a point gained.
I only put the last option for the hell of it...I didn't expect anyone to choose it!!!
How can we not have deserved at least a point from that display...once MW fixed his selection mistakes we were brilliant and even pushing for the winner in the last couple of minutes...so were Barnsley to be fair and thanks to Kakay they didn't get a winner.
I understand that at 2 nil down a draw feels like a point gained but if you were a neutral I think you would see that we were good value for the draw and if MW had started differently we might even have got an easy-ish win.
That said I do take Ghost's points on board and will respect the majority opinion!
In respect of the starting eleven I did raise both eyebrows prior to the game at the decision of playing Thomas as the right wing back and Kakay on the left. I thought he would be going with a back four with Barbet playing as the left back which seemed more obvious. His decision to rest Ball for Dozzell was more understandable. Dozzell had done well when coming on in previous games as well as in pre season but that was when he played in a team with a recognised wing backs.
Both Dozzell and Thomas will get more chances in the first team but Warburton has learnt that it has to be when they are not used as stop gaps.
We really didnt deserve anything but the spirit and fight the players showed in the 2nd half was tremendous and the point we got was well deserved.