Words of advice not falling on deaf ears
IT was only three home games ago, a matter of just five weeks, when Lee Bowyer launched into Scott Hogan.
Birmingham City had been beaten 3-0 by Nottingham Forest – another game when they had plenty of chances to win but in which a failure to convert those opportunities left them vulnerable and ultimately saw them defeated.
But it wasn’t Hogan’s failure to score that afternoon which compelled the Blues head coach to single him out.
It was a failure to do what Bowyer considers the basics. Visibly irritated he said: “Scott Hogan just gave the ball away like not a care in the world, time and time again. Guess what? Don’t work with me.”
Most of the assembled press was surprised. They had just witnessed a poor defensive display yet here was Bowyer giving his main hope of ending the club’s goal drought a bit of a kicking.
It’s rare when managers single out players, even more rare when that player is known to struggle for confidence.
Yet, perhaps surprisingly it was just what Hogan needed to hear because the 29-year-old has turned things round.
And we’re not just talking about the run of three goals in three games – as pleasing as that is.
And we’re not just referring to the composure he showed in latching on to Liam Moore’s backpass and going round the Reading goalkeeper like he was a hologram.
Hogan’s most telling moment came in the 40th minute at St Andrew’s on Saturday, when Blues were still leading but the Royals had begun to exert control in midfield.
Josh Laurent was starting to pick up second balls and supply Ovie Ejaria and the excellent John Swift with the possession they needed to hurt the hosts.
The Reading midfielder did just that, held off two Blues players, just outside their own penalty box and looked to feed Andy Yiadom who was starting to maraud on the right.
Yet out of nowhere Hogan appeared, deep inside his own half, less than 25 yards from his own goal and outmuscled Laurent, winning the kind of tackle you would never expect him to try in an area you would never expect him to be.
If anything manifested Hogan’s rejuvenation that was it.
He would spend the afternoon winning headers, holding up the ball, making runs and generally playing like the centre-forward Bowyer and Blues need him to be.
His next task is ensuring his level doesn’t drop because with six goals
already this season, which admittedly isn’t Mitrovic-esque, he has the platform to go on and have a very fine campaign.
He was signed to make a difference in the opposition penalty area – but influencing games near his own is a pointer he has taken Bowyer’s advice on board.