Deadbat
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Aug 6, 2009
- Messages
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Quick summary and ratings which might be the case this season, rather than extensive and detailed match reports (said end of last season I might not do as in depth moving forward, sorry - some may rejoice!). I may bring them out of bigger games/great performances maybe.
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Really comfortable afternoon in the end. I expected a tougher test after seeing Mansfield cause us all sorts of problems in the FA Cup last season but they did not go as direct (leaving Oates and Smith out) and even though McGoldrick was good, it meant they did not get the ball forward quick enough. We controlled the opening, took the lead after a scrappy but poacher’s goal. After this Rothwell should have had a second, just after we really should have had a penalty too. However, they had a decent spell to end the half and Cooper made one good save and they had another half chance. Second, they had the Oates chance after Tanganga misjudged a ball through but then after we got the 2nd, it killed the game. After this we could have had a few more, if not for overplaying but finally got a third with a well made and taken move.
Overall, it was an easy win against a poor side. We had decent shape and the side looked solid. We looked better defensively and we had a nice solid base (granted versus an opponent we should be better than). Rothwell and Peck controlled midfield with the former the best player first half and the latter second half. Seriki and Chong looked threats and Bamford always looked to get on the shoulder. Concerns remained over performance of Cannon who again looked our weakest player. I thought O’Hare was frustrating but did improve second half when more central. One gave a decent cameo as did Arblaster. Donovan made some bewildering decisions but is tricky and quick. We will have a much tougher test next week, and beyond but it was a really professional performance, especially with the Hamer sale imminent and the lack of newcomers to add to already threadbare (in terms of quality) squad. I think we have a lot of weaknesses but Wilder is right – if Cooper, Tanganga, Arblaster, Rothwell and Campbell can get to standards they are capable, then we can be better in many ways but there is still some obvious holes for me.
Cooper 6.5/10 – Largely untroubled but made one superb save. His kicking was still awful – sent three out of play in the space of about a minute. Fine with everything else but not sure he had another save to make?
Seriki 6.5/10 – Few loose moments but got forward, looked a threat and carried the main bulk of our attacking threat earlier. Not as involved second half. Hopefully being withdrawn – just a precaution.
Norrington Davies 5.5/10 – No major errors but slow at times to react to the ball coming forward but Akins can be dangerous and did not offer too much. Surprised he is back involved as do not see a future for him here. Weird he ends up starting each season when you think he is off!
Tanganga 6/10 – Decent enough and won the headers he had to and was competitive. One poor moment where he lost Oates and nearly cost us.
McGuiness 6/10 – Scored a well taken header and was solid with no mistakes I can think of. Clearly will be off soon if we get a taker but did a professional job today.
Rothwell 7/10 – Thought despite his bad miss and the three odd wild efforts that led to the Bamford goal, he was our best player first half. Got on the ball and moved it on. Also got forward well. Played well and seemed to control midfield for a long period of the match.
Peck 7/10 – Quieter than Rothwell first half but then after he went off, came into his own and took over dictating play. Involved in a series of decent attacks and made a number of interceptions. He was our best player second half.
Chong 6/10 – Actually, did ok to start and despite sometimes taking too long, he put a few decent balls in and linked well with Seriki. Injury did not look – might be a hamstring and we already short out wide.
O’Hare 6/10 – I actually thought he was frustrating today with too many touches, poor final decisions and inability to pull the trigger. He shot when he should have passed and vice versa. Final half an hour was better, when put in the middle (not sure he is a winger) and he started to be a real threat. Could have had a few before he did finally net.
Bamford 6.5/10 – Held the ball up well and took his goal excellently, which was only a half chance really. He is an intelligent player and brings people into play. Few poor decisions when well placed though. Our best, and most important, forward.
Cannon 3/10 – A few bits of link play and he did show for the ball but overall, he was by far our weakest player. Lost out physically, did not hold it, made poor decisions and even when the game was stretched and he had at least 4 or 5 decent chances, took too long or was blocked. We were almost trying to tee him up at the end and he still could not score. I do not see what he offers – I would be trying hard to move him on and if interest from PNE is legitimate seeing what we can get.
Subs:
Burrows 5.5/10 – He was ok but did not get forward that much and we seemed to attack more down the right as the game went on. I do wonder if he is on his way out – the fact RND was preferred, with McCallum out poorly, was odd?
Donovan 5.5/10 – Weird performance. Some awful things where he mis controlled it out, ran into players or hit wild passes but then a few good runs and dribbles, culminating with the hockey assist at the end. Looks very raw though and not sure he can be relied on to be a regular starter – looks more an impact sub to me at the moment?
Arblaster 6/10 – Thought he did ok and played a few nice balls (one to O’Hare) and got about the pitch. Got a nasty whack too.
One 6/10 – Showed more in the brief time he was on the pitch than Cannon did the whole game. Got involved, got stuck in and won a few flick ons as the game was stretched. Had a hand in the final goal.
Doherty – Not sure he had many touches as the game was effectively won.
Wilder 7.5/10 – Solid showing where we controlled most of the game, kept a clean sheet and scored three goals. He picked McGuiness over Baptiste, who scored and the others who came on, all contributed too.
Mansfield – Thought they were poor and only had a brief flurry for 10-15 minutes towards half time. Maybe if the shot goes in past Cooper or Oates does not overrun it, it is a different game of course but they were second best throughout and struggled to create much at all. Defensively, they were holes all over the place. I thought Didzy showed flashes but also maybe slowed them down a bit (they were direct at the Lane and just sent it over the top). They might be in for a bit of a struggle this season, on that evidence.
Player of the match – Didzy was ok and nice to see him get such a great reception from the fans but the lad Blake Tracy was main threat with a couple of shots.
Weak link – Tyler Roberts has really gone downhill since being a promising player at Leeds and was rightly hooked.
Referee – Stephen Martin 7/10 – Thought he reffed it well. Kept it flowing and did not blow up for minimal contact. Thought Seriki’s booking was a bit harsh but suppose McGoldrick was getting away? Reed and Thompson were both rightly booked for them.
Will do my pre season predictions next few days.
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Really comfortable afternoon in the end. I expected a tougher test after seeing Mansfield cause us all sorts of problems in the FA Cup last season but they did not go as direct (leaving Oates and Smith out) and even though McGoldrick was good, it meant they did not get the ball forward quick enough. We controlled the opening, took the lead after a scrappy but poacher’s goal. After this Rothwell should have had a second, just after we really should have had a penalty too. However, they had a decent spell to end the half and Cooper made one good save and they had another half chance. Second, they had the Oates chance after Tanganga misjudged a ball through but then after we got the 2nd, it killed the game. After this we could have had a few more, if not for overplaying but finally got a third with a well made and taken move.
Overall, it was an easy win against a poor side. We had decent shape and the side looked solid. We looked better defensively and we had a nice solid base (granted versus an opponent we should be better than). Rothwell and Peck controlled midfield with the former the best player first half and the latter second half. Seriki and Chong looked threats and Bamford always looked to get on the shoulder. Concerns remained over performance of Cannon who again looked our weakest player. I thought O’Hare was frustrating but did improve second half when more central. One gave a decent cameo as did Arblaster. Donovan made some bewildering decisions but is tricky and quick. We will have a much tougher test next week, and beyond but it was a really professional performance, especially with the Hamer sale imminent and the lack of newcomers to add to already threadbare (in terms of quality) squad. I think we have a lot of weaknesses but Wilder is right – if Cooper, Tanganga, Arblaster, Rothwell and Campbell can get to standards they are capable, then we can be better in many ways but there is still some obvious holes for me.
Cooper 6.5/10 – Largely untroubled but made one superb save. His kicking was still awful – sent three out of play in the space of about a minute. Fine with everything else but not sure he had another save to make?
Seriki 6.5/10 – Few loose moments but got forward, looked a threat and carried the main bulk of our attacking threat earlier. Not as involved second half. Hopefully being withdrawn – just a precaution.
Norrington Davies 5.5/10 – No major errors but slow at times to react to the ball coming forward but Akins can be dangerous and did not offer too much. Surprised he is back involved as do not see a future for him here. Weird he ends up starting each season when you think he is off!
Tanganga 6/10 – Decent enough and won the headers he had to and was competitive. One poor moment where he lost Oates and nearly cost us.
McGuiness 6/10 – Scored a well taken header and was solid with no mistakes I can think of. Clearly will be off soon if we get a taker but did a professional job today.
Rothwell 7/10 – Thought despite his bad miss and the three odd wild efforts that led to the Bamford goal, he was our best player first half. Got on the ball and moved it on. Also got forward well. Played well and seemed to control midfield for a long period of the match.
Peck 7/10 – Quieter than Rothwell first half but then after he went off, came into his own and took over dictating play. Involved in a series of decent attacks and made a number of interceptions. He was our best player second half.
Chong 6/10 – Actually, did ok to start and despite sometimes taking too long, he put a few decent balls in and linked well with Seriki. Injury did not look – might be a hamstring and we already short out wide.
O’Hare 6/10 – I actually thought he was frustrating today with too many touches, poor final decisions and inability to pull the trigger. He shot when he should have passed and vice versa. Final half an hour was better, when put in the middle (not sure he is a winger) and he started to be a real threat. Could have had a few before he did finally net.
Bamford 6.5/10 – Held the ball up well and took his goal excellently, which was only a half chance really. He is an intelligent player and brings people into play. Few poor decisions when well placed though. Our best, and most important, forward.
Cannon 3/10 – A few bits of link play and he did show for the ball but overall, he was by far our weakest player. Lost out physically, did not hold it, made poor decisions and even when the game was stretched and he had at least 4 or 5 decent chances, took too long or was blocked. We were almost trying to tee him up at the end and he still could not score. I do not see what he offers – I would be trying hard to move him on and if interest from PNE is legitimate seeing what we can get.
Subs:
Burrows 5.5/10 – He was ok but did not get forward that much and we seemed to attack more down the right as the game went on. I do wonder if he is on his way out – the fact RND was preferred, with McCallum out poorly, was odd?
Donovan 5.5/10 – Weird performance. Some awful things where he mis controlled it out, ran into players or hit wild passes but then a few good runs and dribbles, culminating with the hockey assist at the end. Looks very raw though and not sure he can be relied on to be a regular starter – looks more an impact sub to me at the moment?
Arblaster 6/10 – Thought he did ok and played a few nice balls (one to O’Hare) and got about the pitch. Got a nasty whack too.
One 6/10 – Showed more in the brief time he was on the pitch than Cannon did the whole game. Got involved, got stuck in and won a few flick ons as the game was stretched. Had a hand in the final goal.
Doherty – Not sure he had many touches as the game was effectively won.
Wilder 7.5/10 – Solid showing where we controlled most of the game, kept a clean sheet and scored three goals. He picked McGuiness over Baptiste, who scored and the others who came on, all contributed too.
Mansfield – Thought they were poor and only had a brief flurry for 10-15 minutes towards half time. Maybe if the shot goes in past Cooper or Oates does not overrun it, it is a different game of course but they were second best throughout and struggled to create much at all. Defensively, they were holes all over the place. I thought Didzy showed flashes but also maybe slowed them down a bit (they were direct at the Lane and just sent it over the top). They might be in for a bit of a struggle this season, on that evidence.
Player of the match – Didzy was ok and nice to see him get such a great reception from the fans but the lad Blake Tracy was main threat with a couple of shots.
Weak link – Tyler Roberts has really gone downhill since being a promising player at Leeds and was rightly hooked.
Referee – Stephen Martin 7/10 – Thought he reffed it well. Kept it flowing and did not blow up for minimal contact. Thought Seriki’s booking was a bit harsh but suppose McGoldrick was getting away? Reed and Thompson were both rightly booked for them.
Will do my pre season predictions next few days.
