trakia plovdiv
Member
Hello fellow sufferers - regular reader here, provoked into posting by a rare sighting of our heroes in the flesh (I live up north). It says it all really that I left after 75 mins, the first game I've left early for many years, so if anyone did anything amazing in the last 15 minutes I didn't take it into account.
Ratings: Donny away - easy access, easy parking, affable stewards decent view = in principle a very reasonable outing. However:
Alsop 5 - seemed gormless but blameless for the goals from where we were at the other end. Had no real saves to make. Doesn't command his box, however.
Pennington 1 - I have seen several hundred City games, and that was in my top ten of the all time worst individual performances I have ever witnessed. To blame for at least one if not both goals, skinned for fun by their good winger, offered nothing coming forward. Is not in any sense a wing-back, in a side already dismally devoid of width, and too slow to overlap or even cover. Why on earth is he playing ahead of one of our own?
Haynes 6 - a worthwhile performance, with some useful interceptions and crosses. Seemed to lack confidence when he did get forward, but all the trouble came down the other side.
Webster 3 - doesn't command, slows everything down to his (lack of) pace. Waves his arms at corners while losing his man. Manager's pet.
Martin 4 - better than Webster, and not helped by having to cover Pennington. Unconvincing when anyone ran at him though.
Finch 3 - I didn't see him do anything constructive, or, to be fair, stupid; I don't want to slate a kid, but invisible is not good.
Fleck 4 - return of sideways Sammy; caught in possession frequently, or trapped in the invisible centre circle force field that somehow makes man and/or ball go backwards from our midfield. Gets a point for barrelling across to bale out Pennington in the second half - thus proving that the winger wasn't that quick, but Pennington impossibly slow.
Barton 3 - in theory I warm to Barton's apologetic air of mild bemusement at what he's doing there, and he can pass, but again he tended to slow everything down and look for the easy option, and he should surely have some idea of how to tackle; a bollard would be as effective when he's in retreat.
O'Brien 4 - started brightly, hit one potshot over the bar, then wasted a clear chance in similar fashion, and faded fast. Did keep showing for the ball, even so, and even tried to find Madine occasionally instead of going crabwise.
Maddison 5 - another who started brightly; quick feet is good, falling over on them too often less so. I couldn't tell for the penalty claim, but he did go down with a flourish, which can't have helped. The one player who looked like he might create something - and it's credit to him, but a damning indictment of the lack of leaders in the side that he seemed to commandeer the set pieces. Didn't read Madine very well, however.
Madine 7 - kept trying in his thankless role, holding the ball up well, muscling the defenders, and getting off a number of useful flicks and touches to the invisible man, because no-one was ever close enough (Haynes did try). Not his fault the service is so poor.
Subs: should have been Willis for Pennington and Jackson/Nouble for Finch at H-T. By the time they were brought on, it was way too late regardless of the sendings-off.
The ref: did us no favours, but it would be an easy cop-out to blame him rather than:
Pressley 0 - he walks the walk and talks the talk - and so pleases the local radio and print media - but on this evidence he is clueless: sets up a 4-5-1 with no width whatever, fails to sub a man having a very obvious nightmare, and changes it way too late. No doubt he'll blame the ref, the pitch, or the phases of the moon, and talk about the Coventry way, which, whatever it might be, needs changing, as we all know. He needs to look in the mirror, or take his sterile, passive, one-paced football somewhere else.
Ratings: Donny away - easy access, easy parking, affable stewards decent view = in principle a very reasonable outing. However:
Alsop 5 - seemed gormless but blameless for the goals from where we were at the other end. Had no real saves to make. Doesn't command his box, however.
Pennington 1 - I have seen several hundred City games, and that was in my top ten of the all time worst individual performances I have ever witnessed. To blame for at least one if not both goals, skinned for fun by their good winger, offered nothing coming forward. Is not in any sense a wing-back, in a side already dismally devoid of width, and too slow to overlap or even cover. Why on earth is he playing ahead of one of our own?
Haynes 6 - a worthwhile performance, with some useful interceptions and crosses. Seemed to lack confidence when he did get forward, but all the trouble came down the other side.
Webster 3 - doesn't command, slows everything down to his (lack of) pace. Waves his arms at corners while losing his man. Manager's pet.
Martin 4 - better than Webster, and not helped by having to cover Pennington. Unconvincing when anyone ran at him though.
Finch 3 - I didn't see him do anything constructive, or, to be fair, stupid; I don't want to slate a kid, but invisible is not good.
Fleck 4 - return of sideways Sammy; caught in possession frequently, or trapped in the invisible centre circle force field that somehow makes man and/or ball go backwards from our midfield. Gets a point for barrelling across to bale out Pennington in the second half - thus proving that the winger wasn't that quick, but Pennington impossibly slow.
Barton 3 - in theory I warm to Barton's apologetic air of mild bemusement at what he's doing there, and he can pass, but again he tended to slow everything down and look for the easy option, and he should surely have some idea of how to tackle; a bollard would be as effective when he's in retreat.
O'Brien 4 - started brightly, hit one potshot over the bar, then wasted a clear chance in similar fashion, and faded fast. Did keep showing for the ball, even so, and even tried to find Madine occasionally instead of going crabwise.
Maddison 5 - another who started brightly; quick feet is good, falling over on them too often less so. I couldn't tell for the penalty claim, but he did go down with a flourish, which can't have helped. The one player who looked like he might create something - and it's credit to him, but a damning indictment of the lack of leaders in the side that he seemed to commandeer the set pieces. Didn't read Madine very well, however.
Madine 7 - kept trying in his thankless role, holding the ball up well, muscling the defenders, and getting off a number of useful flicks and touches to the invisible man, because no-one was ever close enough (Haynes did try). Not his fault the service is so poor.
Subs: should have been Willis for Pennington and Jackson/Nouble for Finch at H-T. By the time they were brought on, it was way too late regardless of the sendings-off.
The ref: did us no favours, but it would be an easy cop-out to blame him rather than:
Pressley 0 - he walks the walk and talks the talk - and so pleases the local radio and print media - but on this evidence he is clueless: sets up a 4-5-1 with no width whatever, fails to sub a man having a very obvious nightmare, and changes it way too late. No doubt he'll blame the ref, the pitch, or the phases of the moon, and talk about the Coventry way, which, whatever it might be, needs changing, as we all know. He needs to look in the mirror, or take his sterile, passive, one-paced football somewhere else.
