Gave it everything, just lacked a little quality

[Rodley]

Not going to dig anyone out as it was seriously cold out there, both teams were very competitive. First half we mauled them and should have been two up. Second half we just didn’t pull the trigger and made poor decisions in possession.

Forest were alright, played a high defensive line and with their strikers dropping deep tried to compress play. We outplayed them first half but second half just couldn’t break them down. A few more additions and I think we could push on again next year.

Blackman - some outstanding saves and one world. (8)
Baldock - tireless runner, what an engine he has! (7.5)
Stevens - better defensively but needs to work on his crossing (6.5)
O’Connoll - sloppy at times on the deck but did well enough (7)
Stearman - did well, what a good signing he’s been (7)
Leonard - did OK at RCB but his crossing was poor. Think that could be his position though long term. (6.5)
Evans - some really good stuff but need to work a little harder off the ball. Good player at the right age to develop. (7)
Fleck - he’s our best player but on occasion he made the wrong decision in possession (6.5)
Duffy - Watson kept him quiet and he wasn’t in the game (6)
Sharp - Never really in it, didn’t see much of the ball (6)
Clarke - Missed a good chance in the first half and another in the second half. The work rate was back though and he gave the Forest back line a torrid time (6.5)

Brooks - had a shocker from the bench. Held onto the ball too long, gave it away or fell over and appealed for a foul (5)
Holmes - Busy and put himself about. Lacks a yard of pace for me. Best of the subs. (6.5)
Donaldson - did nowt and looked a bit clumsy (5.5)

Forest fans - quiet. Villa are comfortably the noisiest fans we’ve had a BDTBL

Blades fans - apart from 5 minutes in the second half, was quiet - especially for a game with a rival

UTB

 

[Harry's Game]

I don’t know how you rated Clarke higher than Sharp,

Sharp looked the liveliest of the forwards when he was inexplicably substituted. Plus Clarke had an Akinbyi in the first half.

 

[Grappler]

Can't argue with much of that, Brooks not really at the races compared to his usual standards, and Holmes had a chance then dithered, looked for a pass, couldn't find one, so blasted it at one of their defenders. Leon's headed miss (across the goal mouth) and Billy too slow to tap it in.

Forrest were poor and no wonder their league position is what it is. A team we should have beaten.

 

[raimond]

You're right, it was cold. Shouldn't expect anyone to perform when it's cold.

 

[sufcboy95]

Abysmal performance all round.
Lacked creativity yet again.
Blackman had an absolute stormer yet again, and with out him we would’ve comfortably lost that.
Defence were comfortable. Think today spells the end of jake Wright though with Leonard being picked in front.
Thought midfield was poor, gave them far too much time on the call.
Duffy may as well have been sat with me.
And What wilder was thinking taking sharp off instead of Clarke I’ll never know

 

[Rodley]

You're right, it was cold. Shouldn't expect anyone to perform when it's cold.

It’s was Baltic and swirling winds. Those kind of conditions won’t be conducive to total football. Cant fault the effort and commitment, it was the decision making which was awry.

 

[Rodley]

Abysmal performance all round.
Lacked creativity yet again.
Blackman had an absolute stormer yet again, and with out him we would’ve comfortably lost that.
Defence were comfortable. Think today spells the end of jake Wright though with Leonard being picked in front.
Thought midfield was poor, gave them far too much time on the call.
Duffy may as well have been sat with me.
And What wilder was thinking taking sharp off instead of Clarke I’ll never know

Seriously?!

 

[sufcboy95]

Seriously?!

certainly

 

[Rodley]

certainly

Have you forgotten so soon?

 

[raimond]

It’s was Baltic and swirling winds. Those kind of conditions won’t be conducive to total football. Cant fault the effort and commitment, it was the decision making which was awry.

Cold brains.

 

[Rodley]

Cold brains.

It’ll warm up mate, stick your fire on.

 

[Chali 2na]

Think today spells the end of jake Wright though with Leonard being picked in front.

Wilder (rightly) regards RCB, CB and LCB as different positions. Wright never plays at RCB.

 

[Fanny magnet]

I don’t know how you rated Clarke higher than Sharp,

Sharp looked the liveliest of the forwards when he was inexplicably substituted. Plus Clarke had an Akinbyi in the first half.

That's just crazy talk
At least Leon got on the end of things and put himself about
Sharp was anonymous

 

[sufcboy95]

Have you forgotten so soon?

View attachment 37845

Standards are different now. Compared to how we can and have played this season. That was poor

 

[Harry's Game]

That's just crazy talk
At least Leon got on the end of things and put himself about
Sharp was anonymous

No Sharp was moving pulling players wide and holding up the ball. Clarke was back on his heels the whole game, and after seeing how well he linked with Duffy and Brooks in midweek I was gobsmacked when he was taken off.

 

[Fanny magnet]

No Sharp was moving pulling players wide and holding up the ball. Clarke was back on his heels the whole game, and after seeing how well he linked with Duffy and Brooks in midweek I was gobsmacked when he was taken off.

Holding it up
I thought we had a net on the halfway line the ball came back with such alarming regularity

 

[zablade]

Missed Coutts quality in midfield today, Lee Evans has been the best of the January players we brought in by some distance but doesn’t have the speed of thought to get us moving quickly when in possession that Coutts has.

 

[Harry's Game]

Missed Coutts quality in midfield today, Lee Evans has been the best of the January players we brought in by some distance but doesn’t have the speed of thought to get us moving quickly when in possession that Coutts has.

Feel a bit sorry for Leonard out of the new signings, he’s struggled to make the step up in midfield and today had to play as part of a back three probably for the first time in his career.

Looked a bit forlorn when he was brought off.

 

[Scooter_mcgavin]

Holding it up
I thought we had a net on the halfway line the ball came back with such alarming regularity

Of all of sharps game, his hold up play is terrible.

He's an 18 yard box player, unfortunately we always seem reluctant to put it in when in decent positions

 

[Fanny magnet]

Of all of sharps game, his hold up play is terrible.

He's an 18 yard box player, unfortunately we always seem reluctant to put it in when in decent positions

Yes he must be tearing his hair out at the indecision and reluctance to cross or pass in and around the box

 

[shrubbery]

Abysmal performance all round.
Lacked creativity yet again.
Blackman had an absolute stormer yet again, and with out him we would’ve comfortably lost that.
Defence were comfortable. Think today spells the end of jake Wright though with Leonard being picked in front.
Thought midfield was poor, gave them far too much time on the call.
Duffy may as well have been sat with me.
And What wilder was thinking taking sharp off instead of Clarke I’ll never know

This.

Another incredibly frustrating afternoon at the Lane. We could have played for 6 hours and not scored.

Considering so much of our current playing style involves getting the ball down the wings to get crosses in, I am consistently amazed at how shocking we are are delivering the ball from these positions.

Stevens must be one of the worst crossers of the ball that we have had at the Lane and that’s when he actually decides to attempt a cross rather than spinning around and passing it back when in excellent positions. The number of times that he hits the first man is simply incredible. Baldock on the other hand consistently over cooks it straight over everybody’s heads for a throw in on the other flank.

Then you’ve got Evans that seems incapable of taking a shot without leaning back and sailing it over the bar, Duffy and Brooks overplaying it and loosing possession and Clarke continuing to miss sitters.

Add this to the fact that it was fucking freezing then I wish that I had stayed in the Cricketers.

Great game from Blackman though and that tells you everything that you need to know about this performance.

 

[tomtheblade]

To call it 'abysmal' is an abysmal analysis. Think i'm being too harsh? .. Exactly.

Generally we played ok, but ok is not enough to win matches. OK generally gets you a draw, which is exactly what we got.

 

[Sheffsteel]

To call it 'abysmal' is an abysmal analysis. Think i'm being too harsh? .. Exactly.

Generally we played ok, but ok is not enough to win matches. OK generally gets you a draw, which is exactly what we got.

Totally agree.
We’ve been playing OK for a while now and just look a top half team but not good enough for the playoffs. Reality is starting to set in that maybe we’re the 8th or 9th best team in this league. In some ways it’s dissappointing after such a promising and impressive start but let’s be fair if we were offered 9th at the start of the season most would gave accepted it.

Makes me wonder if the players are running out of gas
So we’re unable to play our high pressing game, this means opposition teams are allowed time to build up their game.

 

[Sean Thornton]

I don’t know how you rated Clarke higher than Sharp,

Sharp looked the liveliest of the forwards when he was inexplicably substituted. Plus Clarke had an Akinbyi in the first half.

Because he put more into it?

 

[Toronto Blade]

That pitch was a good skill leveller for them it looked like half of the players were on skates.I also thought that the ref was poor too many fouls for players that just doing their best to just stay on their feet.
Was the ref related to their keeper he was killing time even in the first half !

 

[Sean Thornton]

Feel a bit sorry for Leonard out of the new signings, he’s struggled to make the step up in midfield and today had to play as part of a back three probably for the first time in his career.

Looked a bit forlorn when he was brought off.

Wilder said he only brought him off to go for it. Nothing to do with his performance. Thought he did okay. Also think O'Connells. Form has dropped dramatically. He looks knackered today though. Thought Stevens did okay.

 

[Trafford]

To be honest, I don’t think that all of the players ‘gave it everything’ today and we’re definitely not missing ‘a little quality’, we’re missing a lot. The latter comment isn’t a criticism per se, we are where we are on the quality front and I think that our shortcomings have been evident fir some time, too many of the team look like League One players. Or to put it another way, if we went up (and I don’t think we’ll make the play-offs based on performances over the last couple of months), how many of the current squad would we realistically expect to play in the Premier League?

 

[Northyorksblade]

By the end, I was too cold to care and glad of a point, even more glad for the final whistle. That A1 was bad on the way home, only brightened by the irate Pig phoning P & G from the coach on the way home, whose coach had been sent onto the M62! What?? At 6pm they had just got onto the M1.

 

[ChipButtyBlade]

Its "Nouse" what we are lacking,Billy Murphy was going barmy sat behind me,kept saying we need nouse,nouse,nouse,the cunt threatened to highjack the Kop.