By Deadbat
James Beattie's 40-minute run-out in the second half provided an object lesson in expectation-management.
Ertl 6/10 – He did not convince unfortunately. Quite sloppy in possession and his touch was inconsistent.
Francois 7/10 – An odd player. He is a bit like Nyron Nosworthy (the good Nosworthy who came on loan the first time!) in that he shows some nice touches and can get forward well with pace and athleticism. However, at times he makes some awful mistakes with telegraphed passes or shocking touches. In the first half he was very inconsistent but then had a much better second half and most things he did well, including getting forward.
Maguire 8/10 – Our best defender and solid all game. Read the game well, came out when he could and cleared it when he had to. Made some good tackles and looked very assured. Still had a tendency to go too long at times but that was the only fault with his performance.
Collins 7/10 – Another decent game. Did not really have anyone to play against, however what he did he did with confidence. His wait for his first United goal goes on after his header was tipped over in the first half.
Doyle 7/10 – Did his job. Maybe not quite as ‘at it’ as he has been but he won a lot of loose ball and kept it fairly simple. Some passing did go astray but most of the time he found a red and white shirt even if he was not very adventurous.
McDonald 8/10 – A few passes did not come off and for a man with decent technique his shooting and goalscoring record is abject but he was the most creative player on the pitch. He always seems to know where his team-mates are and can always make a yard of space.
Flynn 7/10 – Was okay in the first half and was involved in many of our better attacks. He took a bit too long at times to make decisions, but he has been much better recently.
Williamson 5/10 – Poor most of the game, with the only saving grace being his run and pass for the goal and maybe one or two other decent crosses among the 20 awful ones. He did not seem bothered for much of the game then suddenly did and got himself stupidly booked. He seems to think he is much better than he is and needs to start working harder. A talented but maddeningly inconsistent player.
Evans 7/10 – Again showed real flashes of class. His finishing was not the best and had a few chances from which he ought to have scored. Maybe it is the opponents we are facing these days, but he seems to have gained an extra yard of pace. Will he still be here by the time of the fourth round?
Porter 6/10 – Scored with a toe-poked finish under the keeper and had another header saved but still did not do enough. He was often offside or too slow to react to the ball coming forward.
Substitutes
Beattie 6/10 – Was given nearly 40 minutes, in which time he showed some neat touches but did not get involved enough – though lacked service - and seemed slow at times. He missed a good chance at the end when played in. He was getting held and battered by the big centre-half but against Salisbury the expectation was that he would shine but that did not really happen and everything continued to go through Evans.
Cresswell 5/10 – Brought on wide left and did nothing of note. He did not get in the game and when he did he often made the wrong decisions or overran the ball. He is clearly much better up front than out wide.
Chapell – Played wide left. Looks quite frail but got stuck in. Did not have much time to impress and overran one ball out of play in his short spell.
Simonsen 6/10 – Had little to do really. Saved a routine shot in the first half and his handling was fine. He may be a little disappointed with the goal, as he could have got down quicker, but perhaps that is being harsh.
Ertl 6/10 – He did not convince unfortunately. Quite sloppy in possession and his touch was inconsistent.
Francois 7/10 – An odd player. He is a bit like Nyron Nosworthy (the good Nosworthy who came on loan the first time!) in that he shows some nice touches and can get forward well with pace and athleticism. However, at times he makes some awful mistakes with telegraphed passes or shocking touches. In the first half he was very inconsistent but then had a much better second half and most things he did well, including getting forward.
Maguire 8/10 – Our best defender and solid all game. Read the game well, came out when he could and cleared it when he had to. Made some good tackles and looked very assured. Still had a tendency to go too long at times but that was the only fault with his performance.
Collins 7/10 – Another decent game. Did not really have anyone to play against, however what he did he did with confidence. His wait for his first United goal goes on after his header was tipped over in the first half.
Doyle 7/10 – Did his job. Maybe not quite as ‘at it’ as he has been but he won a lot of loose ball and kept it fairly simple. Some passing did go astray but most of the time he found a red and white shirt even if he was not very adventurous.
McDonald 8/10 – A few passes did not come off and for a man with decent technique his shooting and goalscoring record is abject but he was the most creative player on the pitch. He always seems to know where his team-mates are and can always make a yard of space.
Flynn 7/10 – Was okay in the first half and was involved in many of our better attacks. He took a bit too long at times to make decisions, but he has been much better recently.
Williamson 5/10 – Poor most of the game, with the only saving grace being his run and pass for the goal and maybe one or two other decent crosses among the 20 awful ones. He did not seem bothered for much of the game then suddenly did and got himself stupidly booked. He seems to think he is much better than he is and needs to start working harder. A talented but maddeningly inconsistent player.
Evans 7/10 – Again showed real flashes of class. His finishing was not the best and had a few chances from which he ought to have scored. Maybe it is the opponents we are facing these days, but he seems to have gained an extra yard of pace. Will he still be here by the time of the fourth round?
Porter 6/10 – Scored with a toe-poked finish under the keeper and had another header saved but still did not do enough. He was often offside or too slow to react to the ball coming forward.
Substitutes
Beattie 6/10 – Was given nearly 40 minutes, in which time he showed some neat touches but did not get involved enough – though lacked service - and seemed slow at times. He missed a good chance at the end when played in. He was getting held and battered by the big centre-half but against Salisbury the expectation was that he would shine but that did not really happen and everything continued to go through Evans.
Simonsen 6/10 – Had little to do really. Saved a routine shot in the first half and his handling was fine. He may be a little disappointed with the goal, as he could have got down quicker, but perhaps that is being harsh.
Ertl 6/10 – He did not convince unfortunately. Quite sloppy in possession and his touch was inconsistent.
Francois 7/10 – An odd player. He is a bit like Nyron Nosworthy (the good Nosworthy who came on loan the first time!) in that he shows some nice touches and can get forward well with pace and athleticism. However, at times he makes some awful mistakes with telegraphed passes or shocking touches. In the first half he was very inconsistent but then had a much better second half and most things he did well, including getting forward.
Maguire 8/10 – Our best defender and solid all game. Read the game well, came out when he could and cleared it when he had to. Made some good tackles and looked very assured. Still had a tendency to go too long at times but that was the only fault with his performance.
Collins 7/10 – Another decent game. Did not really have anyone to play against, however what he did he did with confidence. His wait for his first United goal goes on after his header was tipped over in the first half.
Doyle 7/10 – Did his job. Maybe not quite as ‘at it’ as he has been but he won a lot of loose ball and kept it fairly simple. Some passing did go astray but most of the time he found a red and white shirt even if he was not very adventurous.
McDonald 8/10 – A few passes did not come off and for a man with decent technique his shooting and goalscoring record is abject but he was the most creative player on the pitch. He always seems to know where his team-mates are and can always make a yard of space.
Flynn 7/10 – Was okay in the first half and was involved in many of our better attacks. He took a bit too long at times to make decisions, but he has been much better recently.
Williamson 5/10 – Poor most of the game, with the only saving grace being his run and pass for the goal and maybe one or two other decent crosses among the 20 awful ones. He did not seem bothered for much of the game then suddenly did and got himself stupidly booked. He seems to think he is much better than he is and needs to start working harder. A talented but maddeningly inconsistent player.
Evans 7/10 – Again showed real flashes of class. His finishing was not the best and had a few chances from which he ought to have scored. Maybe it is the opponents we are facing these days, but he seems to have gained an extra yard of pace. Will he still be here by the time of the fourth round?
Porter 6/10 – Scored with a toe-poked finish under the keeper and had another header saved but still did not do enough. He was often offside or too slow to react to the ball coming forward.
Substitutes
Beattie 6/10 – Was given nearly 40 minutes, in which time he showed some neat touches but did not get involved enough – though lacked service - and seemed slow at times. He missed a good chance at the end when played in. He was getting held and battered by the big centre-half but against Salisbury the expectation was that he would shine but that did not really happen and everything continued to go through Evans.
Cresswell 5/10 – Brought on wide left and did nothing of note. He did not get in the game and when he did he often made the wrong decisions or overran the ball. He is clearly much better up front than out wide.
Chapell – Played wide left. Looks quite frail but got stuck in. Did not have much time to impress and overran one ball out of play in his short spell.
Cresswell 5/10 – Brought on wide left and did nothing of note. He did not get in the game and when he did he often made the wrong decisions or overran the ball. He is clearly much better up front than out wide.
Chapell – Played wide left. Looks quite frail but got stuck in. Did not have much time to impress and overran one ball out of play in his short spell.
With Creswell and Porter so bad, Beattie must be AN IMPROVEMENT SURELY ? The question is, will we continue to progress by using our youngsters, as McCabe hinted at the start of the season, or will he sell them all at the first £1M offer ? We should be able to keep Evans, who would gamble on buying a guy who might spend most of the rest of the season in jail ? Not that I think he's guilty by the way.
Just a passing thought.
Posted by: Frank Turner | Monday, 09 January 2012 at 17:47