I'm just relieved that McSheffrey isn't finished, as after his first few games he looked all washed up. But in terms of ability, in that role, he is our best player when on any kind of form. He'll never be the player he was when young, but he's still a top Championship talent.
The most vital thing is-he gives us something that nobody else does; he can play in the "hole"; I don't think Baker can, as at Stockport he got most of his goals from distance and had just one striker ahead of him.
I raved the other day about how a fit Sheff could save our season, with Bell moving deeper. He is the only guy who can link with the flanks, and central midfield, and also get into goalscoring positions constantly. If you watched Sheff today, his movement was immense. He linked with both wings, particularly Hussey, and on numerous occasions when the final ball was lacking he was in a goalcoring position, waiting for the knock-down, and often our most advanced player. It transformed our shape, splitting the Reading CB's-who in the first half were constantly talking to each other and trying to pick him up as he was proving such a nuisance. His more advanced positioning also gave space for the rest of our midfield-which was helped with Bell and Thomas playing the RCM/LCM role better in this formation than Baker and Gael did, perhaps because of Sheffs stretching presence.
Will it be enough? Who knows, but the highlight of the day for me was seeing something of last seasons midfield shape returning. That was the platform for everything we did right last season, and I feared it had gone forever. If it hadn't been for an off-colour Sammy and a bad pen, it would have probably seen us get 3 points. It gives me hope.
