player ratings for tonight (1 Viewer)

[QUICKER_THAN_WRIGHTY]

Murphy 7 didn't have to do anything
Brown 6 steady game put a few decent balls in
Malaga 8 did simple things well
Wood 8 headed everything, good interceptions should be captain
Hussey 6 crap first half better second when he tried to take on his man
Barton 6 didn't do a lot, tired second half
Jennings 7 a real pitbull compared to deegan
Kilbane 5 too slow for left side hence blackman being free for goal
Baker 6 poor first half improved second
Mcdonald 6 worked hard can't do that much with aimless long balls
Elliot 7 great finish for goal, worked hard but can't do a lot with long balls

Overall poor first half good second. When we got the ball down and played we looked very good, as regards thorn the whole stadium could tell that killer and barton were nackered and needed replacing

 

---

[Reynolds_121]

Murphy - 6

Brown - 4
Malaga - 6
Wood - 8
Hussey - 7

Jennings - 7
Barton - 6
Kilbane - 5
Baker - 6

Cody - 5
Elliot - 7

 

[Sutty]

Murphy - 7

Brown - 5
Malaga - 7
Wood - 8
Hussey - 7

Jennings - 8
Barton - 6
Kilbane - 5
Baker - 6

Cody - 7
Elliott - 8

Ball - brought on far too late to judge.
Sheffers - ditto.

 

[stupot07]

Murphy 6
Brown 4
Malaga 6
Wood 8
Hussey 6
Barton 6
Jennings 6.5
Kilbane 5
Baker 5
Cody 6
Elliot 6

 

[fernandopartridge]

Was it wood's man for the goal?

 

[Cooksta94]

Murphy - 6

Brown - 5
Malaga - 7
Wood - 8
Hussey - 6

Jennings - 7
Barton - 6
Kilbane - 6
Baker - 3

Cody - 5
Elliot - 7

 

[Reynolds_121]

Was it wood's man for the goal?

Yes, that good of a ball across though it's undefendable. The build up to their goal was poor, how their goalie was able to chip the ball to someone unmarked on the halfwayline is beyond me.

 

[SkyBlue_Bear83]

Murphy 6 - Was beaten 3 times and saved by his defence twice
Brown 6 - Looked nervy earlier on but improved
Malaga 7 - Looks a threat at set pieces, a bizarre misplaced pass but otherwise very good on the ball
Wood 8 - Goal line clearance and dominant throughout
Hussey 7 - Looked a threat second half, got some good crosses in
Jennings 7 - Swept up well and started off attacks with short quick passes in tight spaces. Gives us an energy in midfield which Clingan didn't
Barton 5 - Disappointed tbh after I had heard good things about, looked like bambi on ice lunging into tackles often giving away fouls. Didn't feel he shown any real quality on the ball
Kilbane 5 - Got caught on the ball often where the opposition player nicked the ball from right off his toe
Baker 7 - Seems from the other thread he is a target for criticism today however I thought he had a decent game. First half when everyone was poor he produced our two best moments with great crosses, delivered a cracking corner for the Malaga header off the line and seemed to ride the wave of confidence for 20 mins when we scored when he was finding space in the hole and down the flanks with ease. He was a mixed bag and also gave away a lot of passes and passes but most of our good play came through him when we had our best spell
I would rather he played risky passes and tried to make things happen sometimes inevitable giving away possession than playing safe passes for 90 mins
Elliott 8 - Looked very sharp and lively, has quality and scored a great goal
Mcdonald 5 - Never had a sniff all night, should have been subbed off for Ball earlier

First half was very poor and Sheffield had control of the game and we were lucky to not going in 2/3 goals down with 2 goal line clearances, second half was much better. We dominated the second half for about 30 mins and then got caught out near the end.
A draw was all I felt we deserved

If we fail to beat Bury I may be giving up hope and lowering my expectations for the coming season

 

[fernandopartridge]

Yes, that good of a ball across though it's undefendable. The build up to their goal was poor, how their goalie was able to chip the ball to someone unmarked on the halfwayline is beyond me.

Barton was virtually out of the game. Very little pressure on a loose ball. It was a great ball in mind.

 

[Nick]

Yes, that good of a ball across though it's undefendable. The build up to their goal was poor, how their goalie was able to chip the ball to someone unmarked on the halfwayline is beyond me.

He didnt, doyle did.

 

[DiveDiveWhereverYouMayBe]

Barton has a very languid and laid back style to his play. Didn't make the same impression with me as he started to at Yeovil, but I think - particularly if we manage to get on a little run and start playing a little bit of a higher tempo passing game round the middle of the park during such a spell - that he is going to be very capable of picking the ball up and looking imperious!

 

[Sick Boy]

Kilbane 5 too slow for left side hence blackman being free for goal.

It's not his fault is it, it is obvious that Kilbane is too slow to be in the position.

 

[CCFC_Charlie]

Joe Murphy - 7 - Good game today, could do much for the goal. Bit of a mix up with Malaga at one point which lead to an unnecessary corner but other than that pretty sound at coming out to collect. Didn't really have a save to make.
Reece Brown - 5 - Looked very shaky, made some stupid errors and was getting alot of the simple things wrong. Improved as the game went on but I don't think he should be a starter on Saturday if Clarke is fit.
Kevin Malaga - 7 - Classy game from the Frenchman, defended the long balls well and looked to play it out from the back. Wrongly had a goal disallowed and was unlucky to score around the 80 minute mark. Some very strange, and terrible long balls at times though.
Richard Wood - 8 - Very, very good game. Would have been 2-0 down going into half time if it wasn't for him. Dealt aerial balls well and made some superb challenges. Still prone to a massive HOOF though
Chris Hussey - Absolutely dreadful first half, looked so reluctant to drive forward with ball which is what his role needs to be in a narrow diamond formation. Came along second half but he needs to improve otherwise we should be looking at signing another left back.
Steven Jennings - 7 - Great debut from Jenno. Looked very intelligent with the ball and showed a good range of passing. Didn't think he got stuck in as much as I was expecting him too though.
Adam Barton - 5 - Slightly disappointing game after his performance on Saturday, struggled to get into the game but looked as if he can create which will be good once the team is settled.
Kevin Kilbane - 6 - Looks quite composed on the ball and kept the play simple but didn't show enough desire or urgency to move defense into attack. Not sure if he should be captain ahead of Wood either.
Carl Baker - 5 - Disappointing but not as bad as some are making out. Looks good with the ball at his feet but is prone to ruining his own hard work with a clumsy mistake.
Cody McDonald - 6 - Struggled to get into the game tonight and didn't really get much service. Puts amazing pressure on the opposition defenders though and I still back him to score a lot of goals this season. His knock down for the goal was sublime.
Stephen Elliott - 6 - Looked good but struggled against the big, physical centre halves. Took his goal very well. Needs to stop sliding in though

Subs

Callum Ball - N/A - Came on to late to make an impact
Gary McSheffery - N/A - Same as above

Andy Thorn - 6 - Should have made his subs about 10 minutes earlier but obviously riled the team up at half time

Referee - 4 - Not happy with the performance, seemed to give alot to Sheffield United in the first half and missed some fouls on our players. Should have allowed Malaga's header

 

[Buster]

Wood 8
Jennings Eliot Barton Malaga 7
Kill ban Cody 6.5
Hussey 6
Baker Brown 5

 

[Grendel]

Murphy 6
Brown 4
Malaga 6
Wood 8
Hussey 6
Barton 6
Jennings 6.5
Kilbane 5
Baker 5
Cody 6
Elliot 6

This is about right. It was not a great night. Most individual performances were poor. Wood was the stand out player. If you take out the 15 minute spell we had in the second half the performance was well below what we need. Baker was poor in midfield and Kilbane looked slow and ponderous. McDonald was largely anonymous. Jennings did well enough and should improve but overall level of performance was pretty disappointing.

 

[speedie87]

Murphy 5

Brown 5
Wood 7
Malaga 7
Hussey 6

Jennings 7
Barton 6
Kilbane 6
Baker 5

Cody 5
Elliot 8

 

[georgehudson]

Murphy 4, doesn't need to blame all & sundry
Brown 3, out of position & tactically inept
Malaga 5, some useful efforts, but guilty of ball watching
Wood 8, hard, dominant, & purposeful
Hussey 4, lacked support & was naive
Jennings 7, showed he may be able to cope with this league
Barton 5, signs of promise, but signs of rawness
Kilbane 6, experience just overshadowed the pace of the game
Baker 5, could & should have got the better of his duel with Doyle
Elliott 6, good goal but struggled against strong arm defence
McDonald 4, out of position far too often

 

[Yorkshire SB]

Murphy - 6 - Nothing of note, couldn't do much about the goal, but otherwise fine.
Brown - 4 - Very poor first half, but lacked confidence. Better second, but made some bad decisions in the game. However there were some glimpses of a good player there.
Malaga - 7 - If you consider it was his header that wasn't given as a goal, think he deserves a 7 for a solid game!
Wood - 9 - Harsh not to give him a 9, countless tackles and brilliant defensive headers when we were under pressure.
Hussey 6 - Tale of two halves, woeful first, but excellent second half!
Jennings - 8 - Superb performance, great engine and his ball winning was superb, his passing and overall decision making also excellent.
Barton - 7 - Thought he fitted in well and looks a good player, one of only a few to player well over 90 minutes as well!
Kilbane - 5 - Game passed him by, looked out of position and off the pace.
Baker - 4 - Poor game, but also out of position on the tip of the diamond, not enough space for him.
McDonald - 6 - Largely anonymous but worked hard and got a good assist.
Elliot - 7 - Well taken goal and thought his second half performance was excellent.

 

[Nathccfc]

Murphy- 6 didn't have much to do, couldn't do anything for the goal and was saved by woody with the clearance off the line.

Brown- 5 thought he had a poor game, a few misplaced passes and often hoofed the ball up to the front two. Improved second half as he was playing the balls into the channels.

Wood- 6 a reasonable game maybe at fault for the goal could have possibly got ahead of the forward, headed most things but too much hoof ball for my liking.

Malaga- 8 impressed me the most today, headed everything and was very composed and relaxed, first half hour never put a foot wrong and found the right passes and some were superb and then had a couple of misplaced ones, but overall a good performance, also nearly got on the goal sheet twice!

Hussey- 6 had a good game, running up and down the left like usual, one thing that I picked up on was that he kept playing it inside (maybe because we play a narrow diamond?) found himself in a lot of space at times on the left and I wished he could have called for it more.

Jennings- 7 also impressive, very much the same sort of build as deegan but much more composed. A stocky guy, who seemed to protect the back four quite well, even though a couple of times was out of position. Ran his socks off and passes simple! Hopefully he can make this position his own.

Barton- 6 tall and lanky, good touch for a tall guy played some good football and will come good after a few more games under his belt could be an important player, looked a little leggy coming towards the end of the game perhaps could have been changed.

Kilbane- 6 didn't break any records or set the world alight, just got on with his job. Provided some experience in the middle or park and seemed to talk to hussey quite a bit. Could prove vital, in that respect. Just misses that extra bit of pace from a few years ago.

Baker- 5 had a poor game in my opinion, didn't seem to have the strength or stamina to keep up with the game. His passing was poor and most of the time lost the balls, missed fleck in this position, hopefully fleck can stay fit after this and run the game from this position.

McDonald- 6 quiet game for him, ran his socks off and jumped for everything that was hoofed up to him even though he didn't win many. Provided the touch for goal all be it probably a fluke.

Elliot- 6 again had a similar game to McDonald ran his socks off and took his goal very well! Ran the channels well during the second half, extra couple of inches to his height and he could have had a second.

Subs- well Macca can't really comment as he didn't have much time on the pitch and also didn't touch the ball much or get involved.

 

[Mucca Mad Boys]

Murphy - 6
Brown - 3 - looked like a little boy out there
Malaga - 7 - unlucky not to have a goal to his name
Wood - 8*
Hussey - 6 - got better as game went on.
Jennings - 7
Barton - 7
Kilbane - 6
Cody - 6
Elliot - 6.5 - Great finish!

Motm - Wood, closely followed by; Barton, Jennings & Malaga

 

[psgm1]

I'm curious - how can you give so many players 8/10? They only played (wood excepted) 45 mins, so surely those marks should be divided by 2!

Played 2 games now of the 10 some say can make their mind up about thorn.

personally first game 3/10 this game be generous 5. WHY OH WHY didn't he sub McDonald earlier? Is it because he thinks this is going to be the only regular source of goals?

Fair play to Elliott he scored a decent goal tonight, but he and cody need to be scoring more and each game.

Defence is extremely iffy. Strongly suspect brown only got place because of his brother!

Yet again a side put out by Thorn loses the game in the last 5-10 minutes!

was ever so last season. Had we had a real manager last season, even if we kept the lead in half the games, cov would have got a further 21 points!

Sorry but thorn has been weighed, measured and found wanting.

It's only a matter of weeks now, so I suggest Thorn work on his CV.

 

[Martin180]

I'm curious - how can you give so many players 8/10? They only played (wood excepted) 45 mins, so surely those marks should be divided by 2!

Played 2 games now of the 10 some say can make their mind up about thorn.

personally first game 3/10 this game be generous 5. WHY OH WHY didn't he sub McDonald earlier? Is it because he thinks this is going to be the only regular source of goals?

Fair play to Elliott he scored a decent goal tonight, but he and cody need to be scoring more and each game.

Defence is extremely iffy. Strongly suspect brown only got place because of his brother!

Yet again a side put out by Thorn loses the game in the last 5-10 minutes!

was ever so last season. Had we had a real manager last season, even if we kept the lead in half the games, cov would have got a further 21 points!

Sorry but thorn has been weighed, measured and found wanting.

It's only a matter of weeks now, so I suggest Thorn work on his CV.

We didnt lose ! and Brown played because Clarke wasnt available , next ............

 

[shmmeee]

Murphy - 6: did what was asked, distribution could have been better and can't really be faulted for any of their chances.

Brown - 4: avoids a 3 for a better second half and linking with Barton much better. First half was one of the worst footballing performances I've ever witnessed. How this guy is on Man Utds books I'll never know, shows the power of nepotism in football I guess. Headed like a blind seal, continually out of position, couldn't pass wind, played his teammates into trouble, just awful. I think that's what I'd look like if given a run out at this level. Also at fault for the goal where he should have been able to stop the attack twice and failed miserably. Looks more like a midfielder than a defender to me. Really hope he's not required to play by any clause in his loan.

Malaga - 6: At one point I turned to my Dad and said "I like Malaga, he does the simple things well" after that he played two dreadful passes out of defence and a laughable clearance. Other than that I liked what I saw. Was solid recovered well and looked a threat at corners (it didn't go in) and on another day could have had a goal or two.

Wood - 8(MOTM): played really well, some excellent tackles to bail others out, and one piece of really insightful defending where he positioned himself on the line to clear a certain goal. Should be captain IMO.

Hussey - 7: I assume he played much better than Yeovil because first half he was our best attacking outlet by far and did his job defensively especially considering Kilbane hasn't worked out his role in the diamond yet. Attacked his man well and was always an out ball on the left.

Jennings - 7: Did well kept the ball and buzzed about well. I like the look of him. At some points seemed to e the only one in the midfield.

Barton - 7: I really like this lad and that may skew my score as its the first time I've seen him. Uses the ball well and has good feet to get himself out of danger. Will be good with Thomas when he fit. Adds some much neede height too. Was no coincidence that our play moved to the right second half because Barton figured out how to play his role and he made Brown look like a much better player.

Kilbane - 6: Was OK. Did nothing terrible but nothing particularly well either. Looked better as the game went on and though much is made of his lack of pace, we dot play wingers and his role is more as a bouncing board for Hussey not makin runs himself.

Baker - 6: not really in the game first half and wasnt the link player we need in that role (for the record neither is Sheffers). Looked better when we were attacking second half but I think lacks a bit of confidence to shoot. Also is a player who needs the ball in space and the lack of movement from all (including Baker) meant there wasn't much of that.

Elliot - 7: buzzed around well with McDonald, and like McDonald suffered from poor service especially first half. These two are not giants so why so many long balls and high crosses? Took his goal really well and deserves to start next game.

McDonald - 6: basically read Elliot minus the goal. Did all that he could and looks twice the player he was last year.

Subs

McSheffrey - 5: not a McSheffrey fan so will refrain from comment.

Ball - 5: Surprised he's not taller, not on for long.

Thorn - 6: gets credit for changing it second half but we are still doing some of the things that undid us last year like retreating to the 18 yard box once we are ahead until the opposition inevitably scores, or refusing to put our foot in until they're in our box, or the midfield and attack not moving at all when we have the ball, or bringing everyone back for corners. Some of these are down to players mentality but that's his fault long term too. Needs to learn to see out a lead if we are to get out of this league.

Overall: I said before I'd take a draw, but as always when you have the lead it feels like a loss. First half we were dreadful, but so were Sheff Utd. This league is poor and many fans are going to have to understand that the quality of either us or the opposition will be lower than last season. Second half we looked a lot better, but again failed to see out the win. Frustrating, but overall a draw with a gelling team against the favourites to win the division is a reasonable result.

 

[dongonzalos]

Murphy- 6 didn't have much to do, couldn't do anything for the goal and was saved by woody with the clearance off the line.

Brown- 5 thought he had a poor game, a few misplaced passes and often hoofed the ball up to the front two. Improved second half as he was playing the balls into the channels.

Wood- 6 a reasonable game maybe at fault for the goal could have possibly got ahead of the forward, headed most things but too much hoof ball for my liking.

Malaga- 8 impressed me the most today, headed everything and was very composed and relaxed, first half hour never put a foot wrong and found the right passes and some were superb and then had a couple of misplaced ones, but overall a good performance, also nearly got on the goal sheet twice!

Hussey- 6 had a good game, running up and down the left like usual, one thing that I picked up on was that he kept playing it inside (maybe because we play a narrow diamond?) found himself in a lot of space at times on the left and I wished he could have called for it more.

Jennings- 7 also impressive, very much the same sort of build as deegan but much more composed. A stocky guy, who seemed to protect the back four quite well, even though a couple of times was out of position. Ran his socks off and passes simple! Hopefully he can make this position his own.

Barton- 6 tall and lanky, good touch for a tall guy played some good football and will come good after a few more games under his belt could be an important player, looked a little leggy coming towards the end of the game perhaps could have been changed.

Kilbane- 6 didn't break any records or set the world alight, just got on with his job. Provided some experience in the middle or park and seemed to talk to hussey quite a bit. Could prove vital, in that respect. Just misses that extra bit of pace from a few years ago.

Baker- 5 had a poor game in my opinion, didn't seem to have the strength or stamina to keep up with the game. His passing was poor and most of the time lost the balls, missed fleck in this position, hopefully fleck can stay fit after this and run the game from this position.

McDonald- 6 quiet game for him, ran his socks off and jumped for everything that was hoofed up to him even though he didn't win many. Provided the touch for goal all be it probably a fluke.

Elliot- 6 again had a similar game to McDonald ran his socks off and took his goal very well! Ran the channels well during the second half, extra couple of inches to his height and he could have had a second.

Subs- well Macca can't really comment as he didn't have much time on the pitch and also didn't touch the ball much or get involved.

Good detail......

 

[Nonleagueherewecome]

Murphy-6

Brown-5
Hussey-6
Wood-8
Malaga-7

Jennings-9
Barton-7
Kilbane-6
Baker-5

McDonald-7
Elliott-9


Best thing about tonight? Jennings not simply sitting behind the midfield, but having the mobility and savvy to step forwards and join them as a midfield 3, particularly second half. It may even have been deliberate management instuctions, but it worked in that suddenly Barton was linking up with Brown and Kilbane with Hussey as the midfield spread more. It highlights how the two most vital positions in the formation are the anchor and "hole" players.

Considering that every single formation I've speculated on I've wanted that DMC 5-10 yards higher up the pitch, I'm over the moon to actually see it happening. It totally transformed our shape as we won the ball before the opposition crossed the half-way line. That hardly ever happened last season. Promising.

 

[cyril]

Whats that got to do with rainbows?

"hole players" maybe??

 

[Nonleagueherewecome]

I'm curious - how can you give so many players 8/10? They only played (wood excepted) 45 mins, so surely those marks should be divided by 2!

Played 2 games now of the 10 some say can make their mind up about thorn.

personally first game 3/10 this game be generous 5. WHY OH WHY didn't he sub McDonald earlier? Is it because he thinks this is going to be the only regular source of goals?

Fair play to Elliott he scored a decent goal tonight, but he and cody need to be scoring more and each game.

Defence is extremely iffy. Strongly suspect brown only got place because of his brother!

Yet again a side put out by Thorn loses the game in the last 5-10 minutes!

was ever so last season. Had we had a real manager last season, even if we kept the lead in half the games, cov would have got a further 21 points!

Sorry but thorn has been weighed, measured and found wanting.

It's only a matter of weeks now, so I suggest Thorn work on his CV.

I know this is a cliché, but..epic fail. In particular-we didn't lose :facepalm:

 

[Nonleagueherewecome]

Whats that got to do with rainbows?

"hole players" maybe??

We could change it to Glory Hole if you like?

 

[cyril]

We could change it to Glory Hole if you like?

I don't know of such a thing

 

[Nonleagueherewecome]

Here ya go: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glory_hole_(sexual_slang)

 

[Nonleagueherewecome]

Woah, the section on "motivations" is a tad creepy!

 

[SkyBlue_Bear83]

Best thing about tonight? Jennings not simply sitting behind the midfield, but having the mobility and savvy to step forwards and join them as a midfield 3, particularly second half. It may even have been deliberate management instuctions, but it worked in that suddenly Barton was linking up with Brown and Kilbane with Hussey as the midfield spread more. It highlights how the two most vital positions in the formation are the anchor and "hole" players.

I agree one thing I noticed last season was with the DM playing so deep we rarely win second ball from knock downs or loose balls around the midfield. The DM would be too deep and have to much ground to make up to win the ball

Jennings stepping up a bit in the second half and his tenacity meant he was able to pick up the second ball from are cleared crosses which there was a lot of rather than an opposition midfielder pick it up without any pressure as the DM wasn't close enough to the action

 

[stupot07]

Looks like most (not all) gave Wood man of the match.

 

[Grendel]

Now I hate digging old threads up but perception is often reality. Only 2 posters rated Malaga above wood, wood was largely accepted as man of the match.

Malaga averaged around 6.

 

[Sick Boy]

Maybe he wants to stay at the club so that we can get a fee off one of those Premier League clubs who wanted him?