My take ...

[pommpey]

Watched this later this evening as I had guests who had the temerity to want to eat with us whilst Sheffield United were playing. How inconsiderate.

Anyways, managed to catch the first half hour live and it's clear that whilst this looks like it should be Wilderball, it doesn't play like Wilderball. The 5-3-2 is slightly pimped with N'Daiye who obviously started in the RAM role and ended in the RS role. It is quite clear though that he is the only conduit through which creativity flows, and he runs his fucking socks off and grafts to get the ball. Without him we'd struggle badly and him limping off means we might have to in a crucial time of the season.

Brewtser had a decent showing until he was injured and we did well employing him gainfully. His replacement was typically louchely skilled but by and large ineffective. Although we dominated the game - you'd fucking expect it versus a team we wiped our arses on at BDTBL and who are effectively upper Div One in their capability. We stroked the ball about tonight but again lacked that killer finish at times. balls bobbling across an open net and shots high, wide and handsome. Versus a team unlike Peterborough who would possibly capitalise on their chances those misses would be crucial. The mere fact that they couldn't get at us tonight was the difference in the win. It's not as though we kept their keeper's gloves warm or hit the woodwork several times. We just did the job and yeah, that's good. Three points is three points but we are a fucking long way from promotion.

Foderingham 6/10: Good save at the feet of one of their chances. Otherwise composed if a bit shaky in distribution at times
Bogle 8.5/10: Great showing again from this lad. Always involved and a real menace in their area. Some superb stuff with his feet.
Basham 7/10: Great player. Deft dummies, stepovers and runs into space, sometimes our most advanced player. Proof by his goal-by-proxy
Egan 6/10: Still not entirely stable as a centre back for me. Loses more aerial duels than he wins although he did find Bogle a few times from distance.
Robinson 6.5/10: Steadier. Thank fuck.
RND 7/10: Growing steadily into the role. Needs to have a bit more finesse in his play, mind
N'Daiye 7.5/10: Lovely game from him until crocked. Ball at his feet he is exactly what we want. Get well soon lad.
Norwood 7.5/10: Decent game from him with some lovely forward balls in the first half and steady play in the second, if only less in phases than the first.
Hourihane 5/10: Still unconvinced he is anything of what we need in that position.
Brewster 4/5: Thought he was pretty fucking ace in the 22 minutes he had. Get well soon kid
Sharp 7/10: Gutsy game from the skipper and a typical 'give him half a chance' goal from him that he has scored dozens of time off opposition defence's lapses. Needs to stop fucking goading the fans. His goals say it all

McGoldrick 5/10: Didn't think he was up to much tonight
Fleck 5/10: Good to see him back but nowt much to report
McBurnie (unmarked)

A good, well earned three points albeit against a pretty poor Peterborough team nowhere near matched against us. Well managed win lads.

Let's get at Birmingham. We have point to prove here

pommpey

 

[pommpey]

Twelftieth

pommpey

 

[Middle Aged Blade]

First

 

[Hagansbootlaces]

I think what was really noticeable tonight, especially while Brewster was playing, but carried on for the rest of the first half was Norwood and Hourihane, playing balls forward, the intent to get it forward, quicker was very clear

 

[Harry's Game]

“McBurnie (unmarked)”

I reckon that will be his wiki entry in the history of SUFC

 

[Maurice Maurice]

 

[Northern Rivers Blade]

Thought Hourihane had a good game.

 

[lakedistblade]

Think Norwood has been told or goaded by public criticism to shoot more. One terrible effort but one really good one fortuitously deflected by a defender as it was on its way to be a belting goal. A promising development and together with tackling , getting stuck in more and being less wasteful the old criticisms don’t apply any where near as much. I wonder if he reads this and if so both Pommpey and Ollie deserve credit.

 

[Deadbat]

I really enjoy your reports pommpey but Norwood and Hourihane completely controlled the game. The former was excellent and the latter very good. Your marks seem way too low .

Also RND 7 seems excessive. As did Sharp's despite his goal. Also Ndiaye 7.5 is too high. He tried hard but did very little

The best players were the two midfielders, Bogle, Bash, Robinson and Brewster (albeit brief) I felt.

 

[BrayfordsBushyBeard]

I actually think Hourihane allows Norwoods game to be more effective !
As ever UTB !

 

[blade67]

Well done to the lads. A steady win against a team that is going down. The midfield were terrific, but it's how they perform when teams get at them that is the problem.

That's why I can't see us catching the top 6

 

[dazzlingblade]

Thought Hourihane had a good game.

Me too I thought him and Norwood ran the game last night

 

[1973Blade]

Foderingham deserves an additional point for that first half save. The replays showed how well he did there. I'm pleased he is doing so well, we were quite dismissive of him when he joined us.

 

[metalblade]

The only trouble is Peterborough are one of those nice teams that let you play football, against more er robust opposition Norwood and Hourihane don't get a kick.
I thought every team had learnt keep a man on Norwood and he is out of the game, seems little Fergy doesn't do his homework. It really should have been another 6 goal drubbing Posh had a round 5 shots to our 20. More concerning is only 5 of our shots were on target Sharp, McGoldrick and Egan twice were guilty of glaring misses. I doubt we will ever have an easier away win Posh play some nice attacking football but as at the lane they can't defend for toffee and are as soft as shit. They look odds on to go back down.

 

[WigglyBlade]

Agree with most of the marks apart from two:

1. I thought RND had a very average game, never tried to take the man on and kept turning round and playing the ball backwards. And he got caught in possession a number of times too, which would have cost us against better quality opposition: 5/10 from me

Sharp: took his goal well and great to see him get the record but he desperately needs a rest. It's been 3 or 4 games in a row now where his touch has been awful and he loses the ball almost every time he gets it. I love him to bits but he was poor again yesterday: 5/10 (I've given him 1 extra point for his goal).

 

[CornwallBlade]

Thanks as ever and I agree with nearly all of that Pomps but Bash got caught out several times defensively. Against a more potent team it would have cost us. RND? It’s all down to opinions but he looks the weakest player in the team to me. Terrible touch, passes to nowhere and no attack. First thought is always backwards or sideways and so takes all the momentum out of our play. I watched McB very closely as I wanted to give him a totally fair review. 3 touches, 2 of which ended up with him on his arse - absolute waste of time. I posted during the game that I seriously think that Didzy needs a sports psychologist to try and conquer his paralysis in front of goal. It has to be psychological as a player with his footballing skills can’t become someone who, when given a chance to score, displays the standard of finishing that would embarrass a 10 year old.
Brewster looked like a £20m player at last, I share your hope that it’s days and not weeks but it didn’t look good. Hecky seems to have found a way to get him going.
It strikes me that, despite all the concerns about defensive gaps, with injuries and Mousse heading stage left, the personnel available means that we are really lacking up front now…….

 

[Yewsman]

I still think our biggest fault is not getting the ball forward quick enough. So often last night (and in previous games) by the time we get the ball into the penalty area the opposition defence is set with plenty of men back. Hence we have many shots blocked or we never quite get to pull the trigger hence opposition keepers don’t have many meaningful saves to make. However we are getting better at this but lack pace up front.

So sad Brewster out again. The lad really starting to look like he can be a big player.
Good points for the future are him, Bogle looking great, RDN improving every game, Ndaiye very exciting prospect (don’t agree with Pommpeys assessment of last night). We need other lads coming through too. Everyone wants Jebbo in but he needs time. We need some midfielders and Lopata and Gordon to step up too.

 

[Ridgeway Blade]

Just why, whatever individuals play like, are we really so poor at putting teams away when we dominate games so much. Our shooting last night was pretty appalling and we didn't work the goalie too hard despite all the possession and dominance. I recall awful shots from McGoldrick, Norwood and a right footer from Hourihane that looked like poor park players never mind senior professionals. Even Billy missed a decent chance in the second half. I think overall we did great but to breathe a sigh of relief when we got a lucky own goal seemed wrong somehow when we had completely dominated the game. Even then, recent events when two up come back to mind or even the three nil at Barnsley where we we finished hanging on after having dominated the match.

 

[Ecco1889]

Imo..
Egan 5
Hourihane 7
Norwood 8.5
Hecky 9
hope Brew isn’t out too long,great to see his development

 

[ATL Recs]

I think what was really noticeable tonight, especially while Brewster was playing, but carried on for the rest of the first half was Norwood and Hourihane, playing balls forward, the intent to get it forward, quicker was very clear

Think Norwood has been told or goaded by public criticism to shoot more. One terrible effort but one really good one fortuitously deflected by a defender as it was on its way to be a belting goal. A promising development and together with tackling , getting stuck in more and being less wasteful the old criticisms don’t apply any where near as much. I wonder if he reads this and if so both Pommpey and Ollie deserve credit.

I’m sure your comments are tongue in cheek but on the pretence they aren’t

He might read it but to even think he’d take notice of the lack of football knowledge on here is plain daft

He’s a professional elite athlete I can assure you elite athletes are self critical and will analyse constantly their own performance as well receive the same levels of analysis and constructive criticism from professional coaches and playing colleagues

To sustain a professional career for over a decade in sport requires qualities you or I, or maybe younger players in the game did and do not have.

Think Norwood has been told or goaded by public criticism to shoot more. One terrible effort but one really good one fortuitously deflected by a defender as it was on its way to be a belting goal. A promising development and together with tackling , getting stuck in more and being less wasteful the old criticisms don’t apply any where near as much. I wonder if he reads this and if so both Pommpey and Ollie deserve credit.

that wasn’t Norwoods strike that got deflected it was the managers love child

 

[SirNibletsO'Korne]

Good take there. Thought we were excellent for most of the game, against a team that were always going to make things hard for us. I think if we'd have taken our early chances they'd have crumbled but we kept good shape and kept at them. Whereas a few weeks ago we'd have been struggling to create anything and would have completely run out of ideas, ground out a nil nil or have lost to a stupid mistake in the final minutes.
I'm so disappointed for Brewster,he looked superb tonight. Quick, hungry and eager and it's such bad luck for the lad.

 

[wavy-blade]

We’re to quick to slag our players sometimes and it’s only because we want our team to win really so when they play well we need to praise them
Robinson, Norwood and Hourihane were all good yesterday, all players that have took stick but yesterday turned up keep it up lads .

 

[Blade1959]

I’m sure your comments are tongue in cheek but on the pretence they aren’t

He might read it but to even think he’d take notice of the lack of football knowledge on here is plain daft

He’s a professional elite athlete I can assure you elite athletes are self critical and will analyse constantly their own performance as well receive the same levels of analysis and constructive criticism from professional coaches and playing colleagues

To sustain a professional career for over a decade in sport requires qualities you or I, or maybe younger players in the game did and do not have.

that wasn’t Norwoods strike that got deflected it was the managers love child

It was Norwood

 

[Hagansbootlaces]

I’m sure your comments are tongue in cheek but on the pretence they aren’t

He might read it but to even think he’d take notice of the lack of football knowledge on here is plain daft

He’s a professional elite athlete I can assure you elite athletes are self critical and will analyse constantly their own performance as well receive the same levels of analysis and constructive criticism from professional coaches and playing colleagues

To sustain a professional career for over a decade in sport requires qualities you or I, or maybe younger players in the game did and do not have.

that wasn’t Norwoods strike that got deflected it was the managers love child

my comments were not tongue in cheek, just a clear and obvious observation, both Norwood and Hourihane looked to pass forward, with a lot more urgency than in any other game this season, if you think that is undue criticism or likely to upset either, then you are wrong on both counts

 

[pommpey]

I really enjoy your reports pommpey but Norwood and Hourihane completely controlled the game. The former was excellent and the latter very good. Your marks seem way too low .

Also RND 7 seems excessive. As did Sharp's despite his goal. Also Ndiaye 7.5 is too high. He tried hard but did very little

The best players were the two midfielders, Bogle, Bash, Robinson and Brewster (albeit brief) I felt.

Each to their own DB. Norwood and less so Hourihane have been 'better' for me of late but the midfield we have played against haven't really been challenging and as other have said, taken both players on man-for-man in the middle of the park. Last night saw some bloody good balls into the mixer from Norwood and maybe better connectivity from Hourihane but there were many errors, misplaced passes and nothing 'going forward'. Both players don't carry the ball and they want to get shut of it straight away. Their tackling game is marginally better but as mentioned, there weren't many battlers out there in blue and white. Compare that with the right side midfielder last night - N'Daiye (up to 24 minutes) and there you have a bloke who harries, carries and digs out the ball from the tackle. He also takes players on. So does Basham. So does Bogle.

Less so with RND but what we have there is a player willing to advance and get involved, and more intelligence than Stevens who regularly is more error prone than RND. RND isn't the solution out there and Osborn lacks the stature to play the wide man. But RND did contribute last night. His problem is that over on the right Bogle has the mercurial and 'sees-the-game-ten-passes-ahead' Basham as his backstop when he bombs up the wing who advances with him and then when he knows we are about to give it up retracts back to cover (saw him do this last night, many times) whereas RND has Robinson, an 'improved' LCB but who hasn't the guile to fall back and cover RNDs arcs when he is up in the advanced role of LWB. It's an area we would see have huge gains if JOC came back but I feel you and I know that is never gonna happen now.

pommpey

 

[CopenhagenBlade]

The work rate is excellent. We never gave them a second’s space to relax and they were not good enough to play at the necessary tempo. I thought it might drop off second half but we continued to the end

 

[Snowflake]

I really enjoy your reports pommpey but Norwood and Hourihane completely controlled the game. The former was excellent and the latter very good. Your marks seem way too low .

Also RND 7 seems excessive. As did Sharp's despite his goal. Also Ndiaye 7.5 is too high. He tried hard but did very little

The best players were the two midfielders, Bogle, Bash, Robinson and Brewster (albeit brief) I felt.

I agree.
I thought RND was poor again, rarely taking on the defender and his crossing was poor.
Whilst I rate Ndiaye I didn’t think he was that effective last night.
Big blow to lose Brewster for a few weeks as I thought we were seeing him at his best.

 

[pommpey]

The work rate is excellent. We never gave them a second’s space to relax and they were not good enough to play at the necessary tempo. I thought it might drop off second half but we continued to the end

Agreed, in part.

You have only to look at Roys narrative from their fans to see that even they recognised they are way behind the capability curve for this division. As I have said, yesterday was a much deserved, much needed and very much expected win. In essence, we should have won it at a canter, yet we spent great phases of that game trying to win the midfield challenges and have some effect when provided with clear cut chances. Only rarely did they look anything like threatening us with scoring (although I wouldn't have put it past them given games such as Preston)

Our work rate 'looked' high - but on balance it was mainly us containing what was a non existent threat. Norwood and Hourihane didn't have any skilful, quick, mobile midfielders up against them (they were a bit static and allowed our two to dwell on the ball)

Anyway, onwards and upwards. Three points against the Bluenoses would be good

pommpey

 

[Mumbo]

Foderingham deserves an additional point for that first half save. The replays showed how well he did there. I'm pleased he is doing so well, we were quite dismissive of him when he joined us.

An impressive 7 clean sheets this season already.

 

[Brewster Cost £70 million]

Ryan Brewster 4/5