Good work Deadbat.
For me:
Moore 8/10. Great one-on-one stop. Made the anticipation and spread himself. Was well positioned to take on their shots from range and his ball-drop was mostly because one of our players cut straight across his line-of sight as he was about to claim. Not to blame for the free kick. Looks (at this stage anyway) like a decent replacement for Long)
Freeman 7.5/10. Played well and created nuisance-factor against their flanking defenders, who barely got to our crossing zone because they were dropping to counter his threat. Although it was a good display, against a more organised opposition LB/LM combination, I’d say he’d have to track back and sit deep more, and we know he isn’t good at doing that.
Lafferty 5/10. Didn’t impress me with that lunge to give away the FK, but as DB said, that was a result of others switching off too. Still not much of a player to tell me he is what we need in that position. Also seemed to be disconnected with what our team were trying to do around him.
Wilson 5/10. Only just ‘5’. Maybe it’s because we are trialling the 3-at-the-back but he was the one who seemed ill at ease with this. Not a great showing but maybe it will improve.
Wright 7/10. I was more impressed in the second half when some minor changes were made and the back three weren’t backing off from Dack. Wright started to sit into the role then and even their big attacker looked frustrated because he was being outfought by the likes of Wright. He’ll be found out against a more nimble position forward two, mind.
O’Connell 7.5/10. The best of the back three. Looked like he was happy with that line up (even if it did show frailty at times)
Basham 6/10. Although we saw a lot of Basham, I still think he is at the absolute limit of his capability and that isn’t good enough for a lynchpin central midfielder who is meant to do all the donkey work and more importantly, make it count. He broke away in the second half with the ball and as he reached the half way line, was chased and dispossessed easily by Byrne, a bloke a good eight inches shorter than him and three stone lighter. Can we imagine Michael Brown (or even John Gannon, or Carl Bradshaw) suffering the same treatment? Basham is (as has been said) an enigma. He almost picks himself, and no one asks why? Today he worked hard,but there was nothing great to show for it. He needs to be moved on and this is our next target for improvement.
Coutts 8/10. On the other hand, Coutts has been the improvement we have needed. Last time I saw him ‘live’, he was invisible, this time he is well involved and his fetch and carry link play is effective. Starting to hope we keep hold of him and allow him to become the conduit through which much of the midfield play flows. Certainly today it seemed like that even if once it had passed him it became a bit confused.
Duffy 5/10. I wasn’t exactly sure what position Duffy was supposed to be occupying. He was al hustle and bustle, but the outcome was well ... pretty shit. The crosses were awful and his reading of the three or so players he is supposed to be connecting with was cack. One good whack at goal but it was really just where the keeper wants it for a television save. Disappointing.
Done 6/10. Strange, because Done is now playing in a position we signed him for, but his link work with Sharp is not at all good. Both players are basically the same product, except Done now has no end product in hitting the net. I can’t recall him taking a shot at all, he just ‘got stuck in’ but there wasn’t a run ‘at’ the defence or a time when I was out of my seat for him. I think the time spent filling the big boots of Murphy and Adams has killed his game, and that’s sad for him because I think he is an honest player.
Sharp 6/10. Really thing Billy is waiting for his purple patch and given no one puts it his way much, I don’t think it will ever come. Every ball put forward either has him chasing it into the corner or looking round to have someone to ‘give and go’ ... and that is where Duffy, Coutts and Basham aren’t there. He grafts and he tries, but it’s like ‘The Isle of Sharp’. Unless there’s a chance ball over (like against Oxford or Rochdale, and there was none of that from the wing today) he is left feeding off scraps. That is seriously bad for Sharp, even worse for Done. We need to find Billy Sharp and let him do what he does best with half a yard. It almost happened for him today, but that needs to happen five times in a game, not just once.
Ebanks Landell 5/10. Looks imposing, but fuck me he is so match rusty. Fifty pence head and thumping the ball all over the shop. Might improve and bed in once a firm system establishes at the back. I just hope all the negative comments coming from Wolves aren’t true about him.
Clarke 4/10. Only ‘4’, because I didn’t see much of him. He is though pretty basic and limited. He’s a typical centre forward type bloke, so it was frustrating to see him tangling for the ball over by the dugouts a few times. He should be making opposition defences shit their pants and defend, but without him to get the ball to, where are we to go? That cross that the kid handballed – I was watching it go over and expecting it to find the head of Clarke. He was nowhere near. That’s his ball. Against a kid like Pask, Clarke should be pulling his kecks down and nutting the ball in. That’s what I have seen him do in the past.
Good (not ‘great’) performance and a deserved win, given we dominated the first thirty (up to their goal) and much of the second half. Let’s not forget that Gillingham were largely shit and once Dack went off, they lost all impetus and direction and any attacking capability. But credit to Wilder and to the players - they came back from a goal down and got the win they and the fans needed. Another one on Saturday might restore some faith in that this isn’t a flash in the pan and the faults aren’t in there still. I could certainly do with seeing us further up the table.
pommpey
