Deadbat
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In terms of last match report I am not going to write much as I really cannot be bothered and also I am concentrating more on writing the end of season review/school report so this one will be very brief.
First 10-15 minutes we were ok and had a few openings. Had a few scrambles and shots blocked. Basham had a header saved and then Sharp should have scored. They had looked quite nervous and were not in. However, after the scrappy goal they scored they were in complete control and got a second via a deflection. That was it. Hardly anything happened after this apart from the crowd booing and venting deserved anger.
United – Wretched. Poor play, no skill, hardly any chances, slow passing and so negative. Tempo on and off the ball abysmal. Really bad. After they scored. We seemed to almost just give in. Not one players had a good game. It was dreadful. Slow, languid play with no pace in the passing, movement. We never move off on throws or free kicks and look so static. We have had some appalling performances and this was right up there. The thing that galled me most was most players were outworked. Hopefully we won’t see a lot of them again.
McCabe was there and looked furious. Adkins at the end walked off like a man who knew his fate might be decided very soon. At the end McCabe was texting frantically from his seat and then went off very quickly. You fear another change may be coming. Sure we made some improvements late on but it was too little, too late. We finish 11th our worst league performance for 33 years in terms of the whole football pyramid. The board overall have to take most of the criticism but for this season Adkins has done what I did not think was possible and made us even worse than we were under Clough and even further off promotion. I sense he might be gone with all the rumours floating about. We will see.
Scunthorpe – They were ok but nothing special and a decent team with attacking purpose, pace and any kind of effort would have beaten them. In the end they won at a canter. They had a number of players such as Mirfin and Dawson who were built and looked more like rugby players. The lad Madden is lively but I am not sure they got behind us that much until the second half when we somehow played even worse than the first half. An easy win in the end as not sure we had an effort of note the whole second half. The fact a club with the resources of them finished above us sums it up.
SUFC Player Ratings –
Long 5/10 – On the first goal I actually thought he maybe could have done a bit better. I suppose he saved it but kind of pushed it back into the central area and the striker finished easily. Still he was badly exposed with the mistakes prior to this. For the second it seemed to hit someone and sent him the wrong way. Other than this he made a few routine saves and took a few through balls. His kicking was mixed today.
Basham 4/10 – Thought he was really poor today. They ended up trying the long aerial ball for the final part of the game. It was quite desperate that that was only tactic we had. Before this I felt that he was never really in the game apart from one header that was shovelled round. His control and touch was poor and he looked like a fish out of water in the wing back position after some decent games.
Done 4/10 – Thought like Basham he too was poor. He started ok and got down the wing and supported the attack but then slowly his touch and overall effectiveness diminished. He seemed to have no clue going forward just overrunning it or running into men. He then also overplayed many crosses. Defensively I felt he struggled and got caught out positionally. Not sure where his future lies.
McEveley 5.5/10 – The best of a bad bunch at the back. However, he was part of a series of errors on the second goal. Apart from that he was not too bad but still hit some short passes or miscontrolled. Defensively he did alright and made a few tackles/blocks but the fact he was one of better players today and this season sums it up.
Edgar 4/10- Thought he showed exactly why we should not be entertaining signing him. He constantly gave it away today or rolled slow balls across to other defenders. Hesitant defending and clumsy too. Another who lacks pace. Thanks but no thanks as it should be with all the loanees.
Baptiste 5/10 – He had a really poor game today. He has been excellent for most of his loan but made a number of mistakes today and was sloppy in possession. He seemed to be brought down to the same level as the rest!
Woolford 5/10 – Thought he was one of our better players for the first 15-20 minutes. Looked lively and got amongst things. He played a few passes into gaps and won a few tackles. Slowly he got worse and by the time he went off he was completely ineffectual. A dreadful signing and one that has another year on his contract. Seemed to gesticulate with the crowd when he went off. Not a good way to endear yourself to fans who already think you are rubbish.
Coutts 4.5/10 – Usual neat and tidy nothingness. Had one decent ball to Sharp and a few other link ups but then I felt he slowly became less and less involved. He is another that is so slow and needs 7 poor 8 touches to just pirouette around and make a simple 5 yard ball. Seems to never go forward and first instinct seems to be to go backwards at all times. Terrible when defending as seemingly can’t or does not want to run back. Twice today he pulled out of 50/50 tackles. Jeered off when he was taken off.
Hammond 1/10 – Awful. He played one decent little ball into the front men. That was it in 45 minutes. He gave it away 7 times. I counted. 3 times set them straight on the attack and the final one led to them breaking and scoring. Apart from his dreadful touch and passing, his defensive contribution is embarrassing. I watched early on as he lost it and tried so hard to run back but was painfully slow as he huffed and puffed. A player who is simply done. Taken off at half time. He had to be. It was almost like he was playing for them!
Adams 4/10 – Tried hard but nothing really happened for him today. He seems to have definitely lost some pace and at times today he was outmuscled too. Took too long to get it under control and felt he kind of lost interest second half. Once he had a chance to shoot and tried to pass.
Sharp 5/10 – Best player first half and had one good move where he played a one two and shot wide. He maybe should have scored but made it all himself. He then got into a skirmish with their skipper Dawson and after this seemed to fade. Second half he ran into some blind alleys and seemed as frustrated as the rest of the team.
Subs
Whiteman 5/10 – Did not make much of an impact. He too made a few errant balls but passed a few to a white shirt which was more than Hammond. He at least got stuck in a bit. Still not sure what he offers but maybe will develop. Lacks pace and aggression.
Cuvelier – As with every other game I have seen he was useless. Slow, unfit and overweight and no kind of redeeming feature whatsoever. Get rid.
Reed – Came on late on but the game was gone by this stage. A wasted season for this lad.
Manager – Adkins 1/10 – 1 for wearing a smart suit. Another woeful performance from his team. He cut a man who looked like he might be leaving soon. His team selection seemed a big ‘up yours’ to McCabe and the emphasis on young players as he played all his favourites. We did ok for 10-15 minutes and then looked like we did not have a clue how to do break them down. The second half was wretched and as individuals and a team we looked a disorganised and more importantly for me a disinterested bunch.
His interview at the end where he had a dig at the fans really might be the final straw. It was the usual waffle but he also sounded like someone who knew he might be gone. I think he is a really decent bloke (despite his shitty repetitive interviews) but he has failed disastrously and cannot put up any kind of argument if he is sacked. May struggle to get another job (may have to go right down to League Two or Non League) it he wants to come back now after two failures and seems to be a spent force as a manager.
Ref – His final game as a ref. A nothing game to referee. We barely put a tackle in all game.
Crowd – 21, 445 and 3,000 from Scunthorpe. Their lot were noisy early and when Barnsley were losing they got even more excited but then even they quietened down understandably. Our fans became more and more angry as the game went on. ‘You’re not fit to wear the shirt!’ and ‘You’re getting sacked in the morning!’ with a few more thrown in. Heard ‘Sack the Board!’ too. They were boos for subs and boos when they announced the end of game appreciation. It was quite toxic but then as the game petered out even the ire of the fans started to diminish.
Most left before the end (including me) so cannot comment on what happened in terms of those that stayed – fans reaction. Seems not many in and was a mixture of boos and some applause (always will be a few that stay and clap no matter what – stupidity/loyalty)
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You might think you have heard enough from me but there is more to come….my end of season review/school report will be posted at the end of the week with a breakdown of each part of the club and squad. I have written most of it so if Adkins goes or big changes happen early next week then it might be a little out of date but will start posting it later in the week.
First 10-15 minutes we were ok and had a few openings. Had a few scrambles and shots blocked. Basham had a header saved and then Sharp should have scored. They had looked quite nervous and were not in. However, after the scrappy goal they scored they were in complete control and got a second via a deflection. That was it. Hardly anything happened after this apart from the crowd booing and venting deserved anger.
United – Wretched. Poor play, no skill, hardly any chances, slow passing and so negative. Tempo on and off the ball abysmal. Really bad. After they scored. We seemed to almost just give in. Not one players had a good game. It was dreadful. Slow, languid play with no pace in the passing, movement. We never move off on throws or free kicks and look so static. We have had some appalling performances and this was right up there. The thing that galled me most was most players were outworked. Hopefully we won’t see a lot of them again.
McCabe was there and looked furious. Adkins at the end walked off like a man who knew his fate might be decided very soon. At the end McCabe was texting frantically from his seat and then went off very quickly. You fear another change may be coming. Sure we made some improvements late on but it was too little, too late. We finish 11th our worst league performance for 33 years in terms of the whole football pyramid. The board overall have to take most of the criticism but for this season Adkins has done what I did not think was possible and made us even worse than we were under Clough and even further off promotion. I sense he might be gone with all the rumours floating about. We will see.
Scunthorpe – They were ok but nothing special and a decent team with attacking purpose, pace and any kind of effort would have beaten them. In the end they won at a canter. They had a number of players such as Mirfin and Dawson who were built and looked more like rugby players. The lad Madden is lively but I am not sure they got behind us that much until the second half when we somehow played even worse than the first half. An easy win in the end as not sure we had an effort of note the whole second half. The fact a club with the resources of them finished above us sums it up.
SUFC Player Ratings –
Long 5/10 – On the first goal I actually thought he maybe could have done a bit better. I suppose he saved it but kind of pushed it back into the central area and the striker finished easily. Still he was badly exposed with the mistakes prior to this. For the second it seemed to hit someone and sent him the wrong way. Other than this he made a few routine saves and took a few through balls. His kicking was mixed today.
Basham 4/10 – Thought he was really poor today. They ended up trying the long aerial ball for the final part of the game. It was quite desperate that that was only tactic we had. Before this I felt that he was never really in the game apart from one header that was shovelled round. His control and touch was poor and he looked like a fish out of water in the wing back position after some decent games.
Done 4/10 – Thought like Basham he too was poor. He started ok and got down the wing and supported the attack but then slowly his touch and overall effectiveness diminished. He seemed to have no clue going forward just overrunning it or running into men. He then also overplayed many crosses. Defensively I felt he struggled and got caught out positionally. Not sure where his future lies.
McEveley 5.5/10 – The best of a bad bunch at the back. However, he was part of a series of errors on the second goal. Apart from that he was not too bad but still hit some short passes or miscontrolled. Defensively he did alright and made a few tackles/blocks but the fact he was one of better players today and this season sums it up.
Edgar 4/10- Thought he showed exactly why we should not be entertaining signing him. He constantly gave it away today or rolled slow balls across to other defenders. Hesitant defending and clumsy too. Another who lacks pace. Thanks but no thanks as it should be with all the loanees.
Baptiste 5/10 – He had a really poor game today. He has been excellent for most of his loan but made a number of mistakes today and was sloppy in possession. He seemed to be brought down to the same level as the rest!
Woolford 5/10 – Thought he was one of our better players for the first 15-20 minutes. Looked lively and got amongst things. He played a few passes into gaps and won a few tackles. Slowly he got worse and by the time he went off he was completely ineffectual. A dreadful signing and one that has another year on his contract. Seemed to gesticulate with the crowd when he went off. Not a good way to endear yourself to fans who already think you are rubbish.
Coutts 4.5/10 – Usual neat and tidy nothingness. Had one decent ball to Sharp and a few other link ups but then I felt he slowly became less and less involved. He is another that is so slow and needs 7 poor 8 touches to just pirouette around and make a simple 5 yard ball. Seems to never go forward and first instinct seems to be to go backwards at all times. Terrible when defending as seemingly can’t or does not want to run back. Twice today he pulled out of 50/50 tackles. Jeered off when he was taken off.
Hammond 1/10 – Awful. He played one decent little ball into the front men. That was it in 45 minutes. He gave it away 7 times. I counted. 3 times set them straight on the attack and the final one led to them breaking and scoring. Apart from his dreadful touch and passing, his defensive contribution is embarrassing. I watched early on as he lost it and tried so hard to run back but was painfully slow as he huffed and puffed. A player who is simply done. Taken off at half time. He had to be. It was almost like he was playing for them!
Adams 4/10 – Tried hard but nothing really happened for him today. He seems to have definitely lost some pace and at times today he was outmuscled too. Took too long to get it under control and felt he kind of lost interest second half. Once he had a chance to shoot and tried to pass.
Sharp 5/10 – Best player first half and had one good move where he played a one two and shot wide. He maybe should have scored but made it all himself. He then got into a skirmish with their skipper Dawson and after this seemed to fade. Second half he ran into some blind alleys and seemed as frustrated as the rest of the team.
Subs
Whiteman 5/10 – Did not make much of an impact. He too made a few errant balls but passed a few to a white shirt which was more than Hammond. He at least got stuck in a bit. Still not sure what he offers but maybe will develop. Lacks pace and aggression.
Cuvelier – As with every other game I have seen he was useless. Slow, unfit and overweight and no kind of redeeming feature whatsoever. Get rid.
Reed – Came on late on but the game was gone by this stage. A wasted season for this lad.
Manager – Adkins 1/10 – 1 for wearing a smart suit. Another woeful performance from his team. He cut a man who looked like he might be leaving soon. His team selection seemed a big ‘up yours’ to McCabe and the emphasis on young players as he played all his favourites. We did ok for 10-15 minutes and then looked like we did not have a clue how to do break them down. The second half was wretched and as individuals and a team we looked a disorganised and more importantly for me a disinterested bunch.
His interview at the end where he had a dig at the fans really might be the final straw. It was the usual waffle but he also sounded like someone who knew he might be gone. I think he is a really decent bloke (despite his shitty repetitive interviews) but he has failed disastrously and cannot put up any kind of argument if he is sacked. May struggle to get another job (may have to go right down to League Two or Non League) it he wants to come back now after two failures and seems to be a spent force as a manager.
Ref – His final game as a ref. A nothing game to referee. We barely put a tackle in all game.
Crowd – 21, 445 and 3,000 from Scunthorpe. Their lot were noisy early and when Barnsley were losing they got even more excited but then even they quietened down understandably. Our fans became more and more angry as the game went on. ‘You’re not fit to wear the shirt!’ and ‘You’re getting sacked in the morning!’ with a few more thrown in. Heard ‘Sack the Board!’ too. They were boos for subs and boos when they announced the end of game appreciation. It was quite toxic but then as the game petered out even the ire of the fans started to diminish.
Most left before the end (including me) so cannot comment on what happened in terms of those that stayed – fans reaction. Seems not many in and was a mixture of boos and some applause (always will be a few that stay and clap no matter what – stupidity/loyalty)
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You might think you have heard enough from me but there is more to come….my end of season review/school report will be posted at the end of the week with a breakdown of each part of the club and squad. I have written most of it so if Adkins goes or big changes happen early next week then it might be a little out of date but will start posting it later in the week.
on his own. Why wasn't he in the dressing room delivering his last-minute pearls of wisdom? Chucking teacups? Feeding the team raw meat? The answer is, like 'This charming man' Pellegrini, he doesn't possess the require nous and aggression that any half-decent manager must have.
