Deadbat
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- Aug 6, 2009
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This report will be very brief and not as in depth as normal. Sorry but I am tired and got a long day tomorrow at work. In
In short, we were garbage. Second best from start to finish. I went home angry Saturday at bad defending and missed chances. Our defence was poor again with errors for the goals and other chances but we created sod all tonight. We were well beaten and they totally deserved to win. I cannot think of one player who won their individual battle and no one can come off saying they played well. We were well beaten by a committed and organised side who worked us out from the off and won the game at a canter.
It was as bad tonight as anything under Adkins. Really? Yes. The thing that galled me was not the mistakes or the poor, pedestrian and predictable, totally non-penetrating football, but the lack of effort and not winning battles. The team did not look arsed tonight. That is a worry for a side top of the league. Hope it is a one off and we can get back to it in a few weeks but 4 or 5 will be fearing for their places after a total non-performance.
Everything we have done well this season, good attitude, pressing, hassling and winning first and second balls, we failed to do. They were well organised, hungry and exposed our weaknesses. There were 5 clear chances in the game and they had them all. Sharp had a few half chances; mostly made himself but I cannot recall a really good chance we made all game. Granted most of their chances came from abysmal defending.
Early on they had a clear chance when Basham tossed away possession and then Freeman got beat easily but Moore saved well. It went just wide off his legs. We did not heed the warning and Basham made another mistake before they cut in, hit a cross shot and it fell to the unmarked lad who smashed home. Lafferty was ball watching and nowhere near. They then had a third as we got caught out again and then Ebanks Landell left the only man that needed marking but Moore got us out of jail again.
In between this we had lots of possession, tapped it side to side and went nowhere. They sat off and waited for the inevitable mistake. They only pressed when it went do Duffy and Fleck, the only two players who can actually drive forward. They let Coutts have it knowing he plays it sideways and backwards and know our defence cannot step out and play in midfield so wait for their inevitable mistakes. Up top we had no service but McNulty and Sharp were immobile and leaden footed. We never turned them all night.
Sharp improved after the break and put some effort in and one of few who seemed to care but the rest the heads dropped. Even at 1-0 we never looked like scoring. It was really predictable to watch as another team worked out, we have no penetration or pace. You simply pack the middle and funnel us into the middle of the field before we run out of ideas. Worrying that 3 managers have now worked out what our strengths are. In essence close down the middle 2, limit Sharp and we look quite poor. Still you are still in the game but then Ebanks Landell makes an utter howler (he had been awful all night) and it is 2-0. Game over. After this they saw out the game comfortably. It was really worrying how the heads dropped and we have gone in a few weeks from a confident side that suddenly players cannot wait to get rid of the ball and move it on. Noone was taking responsibility and the ball kept getting shuffled onto the next player. It was if no one wanted to make the mistake but inevitably someone did.
SUFC Player Ratings –
Moore 7.5/10 – Best player. Made two great one on one saves. Some blamed him for the second but how was he to know Ebanks Landell would do that. He headed it nowhere near him and should have just got rid – it was well short. I clearly heard Moore shouting, ‘Get Rid’ too. Been poor recently but not sure you can blame him tonight.
Freeman 6/10 – Not at it like he has been but one of main attacking threats first half at least. He was off his man defensively and also made mistakes with basics passing and control. Felt second half he was a total non factor going forward but we did go to a 4-4-2.
Lafferty 5.5/10 – As above. He did not offer much going forward and 2 or 3 awful crosses straight to the keeper or over the top of everyone. Not sure he was that bad defensively but he got caught up in general malaise with some poor passing, touch etc. Some of his crosses were truly dreadful and his passing was not much better.
Ebanks Landell 3/10 – Awful. He did not do much right. His basic control and passing was sloppy. He kept playing it behind others or shinned it out. His headers going forward and defensively lacked conviction and actually lost quite a few to the striker. He looked so clumsy and sloppy on the ball and then made an awful mistake for the 2nd goal. Not the first time he has done that I am afraid. I have to say he has been terrible the last 3 or 4 games; maybe since he resigned for Wolves. He looked disinterested and seems to be going through the motions. Has to be dropped sadly as at the moment he is a liability and costing us goals every week.
O’Connell 5.5/10- He wasn’t great but he did at least keep going and attacked the ball better than the others. His passing and touch was poor also and had a tendency to keep kicking it out also. He is not the most technically gifted for me and I am afraid at times he looks very clumsy when in possession.
Basham 5/10 – He did at least try and go forward a few times with the ball but defensively he was wretched first half. He gave it away three times and missed two vital headers all leading to half chances or the goal. He is a player that teams just let have it as they no he lacks ability to do anything with it. The only silver lining is Ebanks Landell was even worse. He also will be fortunate not to be dropped and was taken off at half time of course.
Fleck 6/10 – Quite game. They surrounded him when he had it and made sure he had no space. He did try and get on it and try and go forward but long spells went when he was not in the game. They simply clogged up the middle.
Coutts 5.5/10 – As above. They did let him have it deep but he plays so many backwards or sideways balls he simply does not hurt teams. A few weeks ago he would drive or try and carry it forward but he seems to have resorted to last seasons’ Coutts who just plays the easy ball to the defender and then this just slows things down. He needed 7 or 8 touches tonight to make a simple square pass and by this time they had got everyone behind the ball. When they broke he lost his man a few times too.
Duffy 5/10 – Poor as he was Saturday. They kept channelling him inside and then picking him off with a second man. He was given limited space and they like other teams realise if they pick him up we have little idea in the last third. He started to wander but his end product was really poor. He wasted so many crosses or overplayed so many balls. By the end he looked disinterested and lost the ball quite a bit too. He needs to improve over his last few weeks and get back to standards he set.
McNulty 3/10 – Non existent. Barely touched the ball. No effort. No movement and his touch when it did come to him was poor. Given a chance to stake his claim. His answer was that he does not give a toss sadly. It was not about ability tonight but he did not get in front of his man, did not compete or even chase lost causes. His performance tonight was of a player who does not give a damn. I do not think he will play for SUFC again and will end up back in the Scottish League. Just not good enough and has had so many chances under 3 managers now.
Sharp 6/10 – Gets a 6 for giving a damn. He had a few half chances made by his own determination and running off the ball. Given no service whatsoever. First half he was very static and not that much better than McNulty but second half he came to life and looked a threat with a few decent half chances. I think he got very frustrated by appalling service with no decent balls or crosses in all night.
Subs
Scougall 4/10 – Barely involved. He miscontrolled the ball three times and other than this I can’t recall anything he did. Another that I am not sure will ever be good enough. With the competition in midfield I do not think he will even make the bench with O’Shea and Carruthers now here.
Lavery 5.5/10 – Put some effort in and at least tried to link but his touch was not always great and he was not able to really offer much of a threat either. Too busy wrestling with his man instead of getting in the box and being a threat. I felt he went searching for the ball but some of that was due to the crap service. We had nothing of quality going in the box all night. Everything was either first man or overplayed. Not one ball was in and around the penalty spot. A lot will be made of the strikers but there was nothing behind. We never turned them all night. Everything was easy.
Manager – Wilder 3/10 – Awful night. Another poor team selection. He has brought Riley in but is not using him. He will not change a defence leaking goals and McNulty was abysmal. His subs did not change things much either and I felt we had no plan B. Rosler as with the Walsall manager worked us out. Compress the play. Shut down Duffy and make sur Sharp does his work away from goal. Knock the ball forward and then wait for the mistakes. Big couple of weeks for him now as 2 or 3 teams have completely nullified our threats and badly exposed our weaknesses. He has to make changes now and also get the team back to the pressing, effort filled side it was. At the moment we are 5 yards off in pressing and not winning battles.
Ref – Fine. They timewasted but they won easily. I am not sure he got much obvious wrong all night. He actually gave us quite a few 50/50’s too.
Crowd – Like a library. The team was awful but the crowd did not turn up either. It was as quiet as the Lane as ever been even before they scored. Even at 1-0 the performance was so flat the crowd barely raised a whisper. It was so flat. The team has to take much of the responsibility of course but it has been like that some weeks when we have won. Absolutely no atmosphere whatsoever.
In short, we were garbage. Second best from start to finish. I went home angry Saturday at bad defending and missed chances. Our defence was poor again with errors for the goals and other chances but we created sod all tonight. We were well beaten and they totally deserved to win. I cannot think of one player who won their individual battle and no one can come off saying they played well. We were well beaten by a committed and organised side who worked us out from the off and won the game at a canter.
It was as bad tonight as anything under Adkins. Really? Yes. The thing that galled me was not the mistakes or the poor, pedestrian and predictable, totally non-penetrating football, but the lack of effort and not winning battles. The team did not look arsed tonight. That is a worry for a side top of the league. Hope it is a one off and we can get back to it in a few weeks but 4 or 5 will be fearing for their places after a total non-performance.
Everything we have done well this season, good attitude, pressing, hassling and winning first and second balls, we failed to do. They were well organised, hungry and exposed our weaknesses. There were 5 clear chances in the game and they had them all. Sharp had a few half chances; mostly made himself but I cannot recall a really good chance we made all game. Granted most of their chances came from abysmal defending.
Early on they had a clear chance when Basham tossed away possession and then Freeman got beat easily but Moore saved well. It went just wide off his legs. We did not heed the warning and Basham made another mistake before they cut in, hit a cross shot and it fell to the unmarked lad who smashed home. Lafferty was ball watching and nowhere near. They then had a third as we got caught out again and then Ebanks Landell left the only man that needed marking but Moore got us out of jail again.
In between this we had lots of possession, tapped it side to side and went nowhere. They sat off and waited for the inevitable mistake. They only pressed when it went do Duffy and Fleck, the only two players who can actually drive forward. They let Coutts have it knowing he plays it sideways and backwards and know our defence cannot step out and play in midfield so wait for their inevitable mistakes. Up top we had no service but McNulty and Sharp were immobile and leaden footed. We never turned them all night.
Sharp improved after the break and put some effort in and one of few who seemed to care but the rest the heads dropped. Even at 1-0 we never looked like scoring. It was really predictable to watch as another team worked out, we have no penetration or pace. You simply pack the middle and funnel us into the middle of the field before we run out of ideas. Worrying that 3 managers have now worked out what our strengths are. In essence close down the middle 2, limit Sharp and we look quite poor. Still you are still in the game but then Ebanks Landell makes an utter howler (he had been awful all night) and it is 2-0. Game over. After this they saw out the game comfortably. It was really worrying how the heads dropped and we have gone in a few weeks from a confident side that suddenly players cannot wait to get rid of the ball and move it on. Noone was taking responsibility and the ball kept getting shuffled onto the next player. It was if no one wanted to make the mistake but inevitably someone did.
SUFC Player Ratings –
Moore 7.5/10 – Best player. Made two great one on one saves. Some blamed him for the second but how was he to know Ebanks Landell would do that. He headed it nowhere near him and should have just got rid – it was well short. I clearly heard Moore shouting, ‘Get Rid’ too. Been poor recently but not sure you can blame him tonight.
Freeman 6/10 – Not at it like he has been but one of main attacking threats first half at least. He was off his man defensively and also made mistakes with basics passing and control. Felt second half he was a total non factor going forward but we did go to a 4-4-2.
Lafferty 5.5/10 – As above. He did not offer much going forward and 2 or 3 awful crosses straight to the keeper or over the top of everyone. Not sure he was that bad defensively but he got caught up in general malaise with some poor passing, touch etc. Some of his crosses were truly dreadful and his passing was not much better.
Ebanks Landell 3/10 – Awful. He did not do much right. His basic control and passing was sloppy. He kept playing it behind others or shinned it out. His headers going forward and defensively lacked conviction and actually lost quite a few to the striker. He looked so clumsy and sloppy on the ball and then made an awful mistake for the 2nd goal. Not the first time he has done that I am afraid. I have to say he has been terrible the last 3 or 4 games; maybe since he resigned for Wolves. He looked disinterested and seems to be going through the motions. Has to be dropped sadly as at the moment he is a liability and costing us goals every week.
O’Connell 5.5/10- He wasn’t great but he did at least keep going and attacked the ball better than the others. His passing and touch was poor also and had a tendency to keep kicking it out also. He is not the most technically gifted for me and I am afraid at times he looks very clumsy when in possession.
Basham 5/10 – He did at least try and go forward a few times with the ball but defensively he was wretched first half. He gave it away three times and missed two vital headers all leading to half chances or the goal. He is a player that teams just let have it as they no he lacks ability to do anything with it. The only silver lining is Ebanks Landell was even worse. He also will be fortunate not to be dropped and was taken off at half time of course.
Fleck 6/10 – Quite game. They surrounded him when he had it and made sure he had no space. He did try and get on it and try and go forward but long spells went when he was not in the game. They simply clogged up the middle.
Coutts 5.5/10 – As above. They did let him have it deep but he plays so many backwards or sideways balls he simply does not hurt teams. A few weeks ago he would drive or try and carry it forward but he seems to have resorted to last seasons’ Coutts who just plays the easy ball to the defender and then this just slows things down. He needed 7 or 8 touches tonight to make a simple square pass and by this time they had got everyone behind the ball. When they broke he lost his man a few times too.
Duffy 5/10 – Poor as he was Saturday. They kept channelling him inside and then picking him off with a second man. He was given limited space and they like other teams realise if they pick him up we have little idea in the last third. He started to wander but his end product was really poor. He wasted so many crosses or overplayed so many balls. By the end he looked disinterested and lost the ball quite a bit too. He needs to improve over his last few weeks and get back to standards he set.
McNulty 3/10 – Non existent. Barely touched the ball. No effort. No movement and his touch when it did come to him was poor. Given a chance to stake his claim. His answer was that he does not give a toss sadly. It was not about ability tonight but he did not get in front of his man, did not compete or even chase lost causes. His performance tonight was of a player who does not give a damn. I do not think he will play for SUFC again and will end up back in the Scottish League. Just not good enough and has had so many chances under 3 managers now.
Sharp 6/10 – Gets a 6 for giving a damn. He had a few half chances made by his own determination and running off the ball. Given no service whatsoever. First half he was very static and not that much better than McNulty but second half he came to life and looked a threat with a few decent half chances. I think he got very frustrated by appalling service with no decent balls or crosses in all night.
Subs
Scougall 4/10 – Barely involved. He miscontrolled the ball three times and other than this I can’t recall anything he did. Another that I am not sure will ever be good enough. With the competition in midfield I do not think he will even make the bench with O’Shea and Carruthers now here.
Lavery 5.5/10 – Put some effort in and at least tried to link but his touch was not always great and he was not able to really offer much of a threat either. Too busy wrestling with his man instead of getting in the box and being a threat. I felt he went searching for the ball but some of that was due to the crap service. We had nothing of quality going in the box all night. Everything was either first man or overplayed. Not one ball was in and around the penalty spot. A lot will be made of the strikers but there was nothing behind. We never turned them all night. Everything was easy.
Manager – Wilder 3/10 – Awful night. Another poor team selection. He has brought Riley in but is not using him. He will not change a defence leaking goals and McNulty was abysmal. His subs did not change things much either and I felt we had no plan B. Rosler as with the Walsall manager worked us out. Compress the play. Shut down Duffy and make sur Sharp does his work away from goal. Knock the ball forward and then wait for the mistakes. Big couple of weeks for him now as 2 or 3 teams have completely nullified our threats and badly exposed our weaknesses. He has to make changes now and also get the team back to the pressing, effort filled side it was. At the moment we are 5 yards off in pressing and not winning battles.
Ref – Fine. They timewasted but they won easily. I am not sure he got much obvious wrong all night. He actually gave us quite a few 50/50’s too.
Crowd – Like a library. The team was awful but the crowd did not turn up either. It was as quiet as the Lane as ever been even before they scored. Even at 1-0 the performance was so flat the crowd barely raised a whisper. It was so flat. The team has to take much of the responsibility of course but it has been like that some weeks when we have won. Absolutely no atmosphere whatsoever.
