McGoldrick’s goals have lit up City’s revival
8 goals in two games, 6 points to boot; this week is very unlike the City we know, but the one we hoped for following last year’s train wreck.
At the forefront of the mini-revival which has seen 12 points claimed from 15 and just 3 defeats in 11 games is David McGoldrick in the form of his life.
McGoldrick’s goal at Colchester tonight (Tuesday) was his 12th in his 18 games since joining on loan from Nottingham Forest at the end of August.
It’s a return that no City striker can boast since Dion Dublin trundled off to Villa Park and it has come at a time when things were beginning to fall down a black hole.
Now, this isn’t a blog post saying that the black hole is merely now a speck in the rear-view, but there is some light on the horizon and this past five days has shown the reasons why.
Saturday, I and over 500 others made our way up to Hartlepool and after a prototypical City display in the first half, it was anything but one in the second.
Five goals in 25 minutes with four different scorers, along with an attacking display with pace and confidence which made the most of a brittle opposition looking up from their own chasm.
It was one of those rare occasions where City took an opposition and stood on their throats, no sitting back, but going for the kill, repeatedly. That is a trait it seems happened to a lesser extent in the dying embers of the game tonight in Colchester.
We now sit 15th, with a desolate Portsmouth heading to the Ricoh on Saturday and nine-weeks into the job the Mark Robins affect is beginning to come into focus.
Robins’ appointment was a turning point in our season.
This is my first blog since Robins took over, and despite my calls for Dennis Wise in my previous post, I was happy with the appointment; a young, driven manager with fresh ideas and someone who wouldn’t take the rubbish- that was seemingly taken with a grain of salt in previous regimes. He was someone who hadn’t even come to mind when Thorn was sacked, but looking into his ‘CV’ after he got the job it showed signs of hope if given the time to do so.
Nine-weeks in and he has let a City legend leave the club in Richard Shaw, he has urged someone to step up and become a leader and he has put across his philosophy on a set of players who were lacking that bit of self-belief anyone in any profession needs.
He also rekindled a fire in a lost soul and now faces a upcoming move, or non-move as it might just be, which will define the season and possibly his reign; Signing David McGoldrick on a permanent deal.
Forest have all but disowned him, McGoldrick is saying all those words we heard Marlon King say 15 or so months ago, but this time you have the sense he means it. The way he has spoken of Robins and the club is refreshing after such a short space of time spent, it is also a pointer into the rest of the squad who are on a high.
Away from McGoldrick, Robins has also got the players playing ‘his way’. I don’t get to many games as I used to with University studies, but watching them on Saturday a few things were clear.
Captain Baker stepped up with a double on Saturday as City hit the ‘Old Five’.
Firstly, the players are enjoying it; Movement off the ball is a common gripe at the Ricoh and on Saturday, albeit after Baker’s opener, the side were passing it with purpose and playing simple pass and move with the odd aimless punt mixed in to keep us fans grounded.
But Robins’ style is clear. Two domineering centre-halves setting the tone with two full backs full of pace and good with the ball at their feet, this needed trait made public by Robins after signing Blair Adams from Sunderland on Saturday morning. Then inside we have a ball-playing midfielder (Bailey) alongside a energiser who can get forward to support but is good in a ‘quarterback’ role (Jennings) with two inside wingers who float in and out off of the touchline (Moussa & Baker) with the heart of everything attacking wise being strong and a grafter, that is McGoldrick.
People still will gripe about our midfield, the full back’s, if fit, seem sorted now and the defensive partnership is steady as ever with Richard Wood playing the best I think he has since he joined.
With two Cup games in the next two weeks, the league may just be forgotten somewhat as we look to edge closer to a day out at Wembley in March, but between now and January with the belief in the squad and fans alike back after a extended hiatus, where we are placed when the time comes to snag McGoldrick permanently or let him slip away, will have a large say on what this season brings.
His goals have been a missing trait for too long, people will still gripe at ownership and people will still be unsatisfied by another set-piece undoing us tonight.
The defining moment of the season so far was the Robins’ appointment. The next one in this long haul of a season will come when McGoldrick’s future is decided.
A positive outcome might see the belief on the terraces grow after far too long.
PUSB!
sentfromcoventry 
Robins has been a breath of fresh air and hopefully he will stick with us when other clubs coming knocking on his door,as with mcgoldrick i hope we can sign him but his goals keep putting his price up and i think by january we wont be able to afford him,just hope Robins has a back up plan.P.U.S.B
if Robins really is our saviour he will have a clear plan, if as is most likely McGoldrick leaves in January. To be fair to McGoldrick he is a better player than the level we find ourselves in and expecting any degree of loyalty from modern day football players is equivalent to expecting Andy Thorn to speak coherently. It wont happen.