The defence was solid. Hudson and Gerrard played well, and Taylor was impressive. McNaughton's defending was top quality but his distribution was poor on occasions. Marshall's handling was good, but once again his kicking was dodgy.
The midfield was faultless. Gunnarsson was excellent, Kiss made a great full debut, Cowie got through an astonishing amount of work, Conway was excellent and Whittingham was at his best. Blackpool were ripped apart time and time again by our midfield unit.
Miller wasted a couple of decent opportunities but he worked hard and linked well with the midfielders. I'm a big Earnie fan but I don't think he would suit the system we played yesterday as well as Miller. The Scot looked very upset to be substituted during the second half. Probably just frustrated that things aren't dropping for him at present. A goal will do him the world of good.
The amount of chances we created at Blackpool was astonishing and while a few were wasted, we were desperately unlucky not to have scored more goals. The performance of the side was hugely encouraging.
Heads seemed to drop for a short while after Phillips scored what was a fluke goal out of nothing, but by the end of the game we were well on top again and could easily have won it in the final few minutes.
I am of the opinion that the defence is a little stonger this season than it was last, while the midfield is significantly stronger. Mackay has plenty of genuine options available to him in that department and can play a number of different systems if he so desires.
The only area we are lacking is up front, but everyone knows that. If Mackay can bring in a decent striker who is a bit different to what we have here already, I firmly believe we can be a force to be reckoned with this season.