How Jasper Moon is turning his career around at Burton Albion

Jasper Moon moved on loan to Burton Albion in January and appears to have settled in at the Brewers winning man of the match awards and appearing in the Football League Paper League One team of the week.

So what has changed for Moon? From not getting a game at Barnsley to slotting in at Burton we asked Brewers supporters David Wilson-Turner and Tom Elliott for their thoughts on Moon and his performances so far.

Here are David`s thoughts:

So Jasper has been put straight into a side which before his arrival had shipped 9 goals in 2 matches and looked like one of the shakiest defences across the league throughout the whole season.

We moved from a back 4 that we operated for most of the season, to a back 3 with wing backs against Oxford with Jasper playing on the left side of that three. In that first game against Oxford he made some crucial interceptions and blocks, as well as looking assured on the ball, and despite the opinions that were widely broadcast by Barnsley fans over social media upon his signing, he looked far from the player we had been expecting.

Personally, I wasn’t at the Fleetwood game a week last Saturday, but I was told that he came up against more of a battle in Jack Marriott and Jayden Stockley, but again, as the left sided centre back in a back 3, he performed well, despite the side conceding 2 goals.

Onto Saturday, against another side who had been scoring a lot of goals throughout the season, although they were missing their top scorer in Jevani Brown for the game against us, Exeter looked a threat going forward and held a lot of the ball, but Jasper, alongside the same 2 centre backs he had started with in the previous 2 matches, he looked composed and comfortable in any clearance or tackle that he needed to do.

It seems with Jasper that he breeds performances based off confidence, as I am sure is the case with a lot of footballers, but it is clear that he needed time to bed into a squad before stepping out onto the pitch, and although he had been at Barnsley without stepping onto the pitch, being thrown in so quickly can sometimes lead to mistakes. Our fans are very pleased with his first three matches, and it seems a lot of early worry about whether he would step up has gone.

Tom gave us his thoughts:

So far Jasper has played the full 90 minutes in each of the three matches we have played since he signed. He has been on the left side of a back three and looked equally assured using both feet. He’s next to the magnificent Sam Hughes who is without doubt one of the best CB’s in the league so Jasper can learn an awful lot from him.

He is committed in the tackle, brave and his attitude has been first class since he arrived. He looks confident, plays the ball out well and looks like he’s been given a new lease of life at the Brewers. Not sure why it hasn’t worked out well for him at Barnsley but if we can do something similar with Jasper to what we did with Victor then one of us will be on to a winner. It’s no coincidence that we’ve won three on the trot since Jasper joined and this loan spell will do him the world of good.

I hope that we end up signing him in the summer as age is on his side and he looks at home in League One. We have been crying out for new defenders since Jimmy Fraud left us and it looks like Dino has got it spot on with Jasper.

The smaller crowds at the Pirelli may help him adapt to playing with a bit more confidence that he possibly lacked at Oakwell. Jasper will have a huge say in our quest for survival and let’s hope his form stays for the remaining months. I’ve seen nothing so far to suggest that it won’t.

With Moon`s contract expiring in the summer, maybe he is playing for the opportunity of a new permanent contract with the Brewers?