Ratings (1 Viewer)

pusbccfc said:

Granted, and as stated in my ratings, players like Willis constantly punting balls in the air is part of the issue.

However, I've never seen a player of 6'4 fail to win a header like he does.

The problem is, if he isn't a target man, what is he? He's not quick, his touch is poor, he isn't going to create chances. I wanted him to prove Walsall fans wrong but they have been correct with everything they said.

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His touch is not poor. What are you watching?

Nick said:

He is quick. He needs the ball to his feet or in the channels, not miles up in the air against a couple of defenders with nobody around him.

Even if he won every single header tonight, what difference would it make? It would roll through to their keeper or their midfield would have picked up the 2nd ball.

It's the same as JCH, he hardly wins anything in the air but give him a 50/50 in the channels against a defender he will usually win it.

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His quicker than Biamou but he's hardly someone who is going to beat the last man in the way that McNulty or Armstrong did.

I agree with JCH and am equally as critical of him. Neither of the three strikers we have are lone strikers, but that still doesn't excuse basic mistakes like constantly being caught offside.

Skybluefaz said:

His touch is not poor. What are you watching?

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I'm not sure how you can defend his performance tonight. You must not have been in the away end as clearly everyone else had the same view.

pusbccfc said:

I'm not sure how you can defend his performance tonight. You must not have been in the away end as clearly everyone else had the same view.

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No I watched it on ifollow so had a better view. I'm not saying he was good, just not frothing at the mouth at the prospect of throwing him under the bus.

At the end of the day, whether Robins should should have said what he did in the interview or not, it was exactly what the rest of the 1000 Coventry fans thought.

Yes, everyone was poor, but there are times when you watch a player and seriously worry. It echos 2 seasons ago with the tripe we had up front there.

McNulty had some absolute shockers in the first half of last season but at least he had a few good season prior to prove he can score goals. Walsall fans were in hysterics when they heard they managed to get money for Bakayoko and everything they have said seems to be correct within a handful of games.

O Brien 0
Sterling 5
Hyam 6
Willis 6
Brown 4
Doyle 5
Ogogo 4
Shipley 5
Bayliss 5
Thomas 6
Bakayoko 4

Hiwula 6
Andreu 5

Nick said:

Robins putting the blame on Bakayoko takes the blame off him though doesn't it? He wanted to play direct, hence he played Biamou from the start.

I'm by no means saying he is world class or going to take the league by storm, just that we are clearly not playing to a system that will suit the players he has brought in.

It worries me that he is openly slating players, players are being bombed out and players have reported attitude issues. Biamou was pissed off against Oxford as well and wanted help up front.

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I certainly wouldn't have called him out in the interview. Same way that I didn't ironically cheer him as he left the pitch like a large section did.

I agree that Robins has played a poor card with that.

Nick said:

He is quick. He needs the ball to his feet or in the channels, not miles up in the air against a couple of defenders with nobody around him. He got the ball to feet a few times on Sat and linked up well. When he had the ball at an acceptable height tonight he laid it off nicely (put Shipley and Bayliss through from what I remember) with decent counter attacks.

Even if he won every single header tonight, what difference would it make? It would roll through to their keeper or their midfield would have picked up the 2nd ball.

It's the same as JCH, he hardly wins anything in the air but give him a 50/50 in the channels against a defender he will usually win it.

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If he needs the ball to feet or in the channels then why does he hide from it?

Nick said:

He did it twice in the first half and a fair few times last week.

Players weren't looking up, Willis and Doyle especially just aimlessly hoofed it.

It's the same as JCH, he needs the ball in the channels and not over his head. JCH is stronger when he wants to be, Bakayoko is quicker.

We need to start playing 2 up front or at least making sure strikers aren't so isolated.

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Numerous times Willis and Hyam carried the ball and he was static.
If he's got 3 men on him he needs to move about.

Everyone 0 except for Thomas 5

pusbccfc said:

I was the first to say Biamou had his worst game Saturday but he still made one of two good touches and won the ball in the air.

Bakayoko did nothing other than stand offside and fail to win a header for 70 minutes.

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Biamou is dross. No other manager would have him as third back up striker let alone the main number 9

Grendel said:

Biamou is dross. No other manager would have him as third back up striker let alone the main number 9

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Yet he is our best striker. Even I, a big Biamou fan, understands that is worrying.

O’Brien 2 - I’ll give him a couple of points for the decent save in the first half, but that’s it. Two shocking mistakes gifting them two goals they didn’t really deserve. Stays on his line way too much, their free header chance from a yard out in the second half should have been his to come and claim.

Sterling 2 - Never seen an 18 year old look so immobile! Seems to take an age to do anything, like hes running through treacle. Strange, cause he was beating opposition full backs for fun in the YouTube videos!

Willis 4 - Solid enough defensively, but distribution was absolutely dreadful. Constant, aimless punts upfield either out of play or straight to their keeper. Even some of his forward balls on the floor were nowhere near a white shirt.

Hyam 7 MOTM - Solid defensively, won a lot in the air and got in some good tackles and clearances when needed. Was the only player confident enough on the ball to at least try and drag the team forward with any degree of purpose, shocking that this only came from a centre half but fair play to him nevertheless!

Brown 3 - Slightly better than Sterling, but pretty ineffective going forward and got beat on his side a few times too.

Doyle 4 - Tried to get his foot on the ball but was guilty of aimless hoofs forward without checking for other options. Does seem a yard behind the play at times as well which is fair given his age, so maybe we’ll see less of him as the season goes on.

Ogogo 3 - Like him, but not in the game tonight. Gave away so many needless fouls, coupled with poor passing and poor touches and it wasn’t his night!

Bayliss 3 - As other’s have said, probably his worst game for us tonight. Completely marked out all night, Blackpool CMs didn’t give him a sniff.

Thomas 6 - Tried his best, some nice touches and bits of class but when everyone else around you is so shit it’s difficult to do much. Was clearly getting frustrated at the end as his touch was getting clumsy and he was giving fouls away.

Shipley 3 - Ineffective, didn’t do anything that we know he’s capable of!

Bakayoko 1 - What in the fuck was that?! At least try and do something to affect the game, it’s difficult playing up top as a line striker but try and put yourself about and offer something but there was absolutely fuck all from him. Walsall must be pissing themselves!



Hiwula 5 - Looked reasonably dangerous when he came on, was unlucky that O’Brien basically threw the game away just as he was starting to have an effect on the game.

Andreu 4 - Some decent touches, but as with Hiwula, he was unlucky that the game was over before he could have a chance to make a proper impact.

Robins 2 - No obvious system or game plan, especially after Biamou went off in the first minute he seemed to panic and not know how to change it. Really disappointing. Frustrating that we’re persisting with a formation and system that is clearly not working, he’s got to go back to a 442 which bought us some success last season.


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Truly abysmal from all involved bar maybe Willis and Hyam. Said for years now that the goalkeeper position needs to be addressed, and on that performance my opinion hasn’t changed, O’Brien and Burge simply aren’t good enough. Probably one of the worst performances from a striker I’ve ever seen from Bakayoko, does the guy know about the offside rule? Hiwula back in on Saturday up front as well as Grimmer in at RB for Sterling who had another stinker. To be honest you could probably argue the same for the whole team but a lot of them are worryingly the best in their positions so we’ll have to stick with most of them. Seems like Robins has invested in quantity rather than quality.

fernandopartridge said:

O Brien 0
Sterling 5
Hyam 6
Willis 6
Brown 4
Doyle 5
Ogogo 4
Shipley 5
Bayliss 5
Thomas 6
Bakayoko 4

Hiwula 6
Andreu 5

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Jesus that’s generous! We didn’t even have a shot on target.

O Brien - 2 (two bad errors)
Sterling - 4
Willis - 5
Hyam - 9 (MOTM)
Brown - 4
Doyle - 5
Ogogo - 5
Baylis - 5
L. Thomas - 6
Shipley - 4
Bakayoko - 3 (dreadful)

O'Brien - 2: Doesny command his area, flaps at stuff, should've done better with the first and completey at fault for the second. Bring back Burge

Sterling - 3: Skinned and out of position repeatedly, poor distribution. Don't see why he's in the team.

Willis - 5: Did OK, distribution terrible. Just lumping it up.

Hyam - 7 (MOTM): Did well, only player driving us forward at times.

Brown - 4: Poor

Ogogo - 4: Slow, poor ponderous passing, not what I expected from reports.

Doyle - 3: More aimless hoofing, slow, looked outclassed.

Thomas - 6: tried but crowded out of the game and no service. Looked like he could be arsed which puts him above most.

Bayliss - 4: Tried too much, didn't use the ball well. Looked a bit Johnny big bollocks to be honest.

Shipley - 3: forgot he was playing at times. Did nothing.

Biamou - 0: Not on long enough.

Bakayoko - 3: Offside for no reason, poor in the air, poor touch, just poor.

Hiwula - 5: Shouldve started through the middle. Looked far better.

Andreu - 4: Madeno difference.

Robins - 1: Dog shit selection, dog shit tactics, dog shit interview after.

O'Brien - 4 One good save, but doesn't command his area well and Flaps at set pieces.

Sterling - 4 Don't see how he is keeping Grimmer out of the team, too slow and always looks nervous.

Willis 5 - Did what he could, not as bad as others around him, but still a poor showing.

Hyam - 8 Very solid first half, winning headers and always in the right positions, only one who turned up it seems.

Brown 4 - A fair few stray hospital passes into the middle of the park in which they almost broke on us. Didn't do alot, would start mason next game.

Doyle 4 - Did what he could, tried to make things happen, too slow at times,

Ogogo 4 - An off game, gave away silly fouls around the box on numerous occasions and things didn't really work for him.

Bayliss 4 - tried to be influencial, didn't really get much space or time on the ball, too slow at times releasing it.

Shipley 4 - was non existent at times, didn't really threaten, poor display.

Thomas 6 - the one bright spark on a horrendous night, always drove at the defenders and tried his best to get a goal back.

Bakayoko 5 - Ran around alot, offside too often, needs a partner up top, 1 up front is not working.

General thoughts;

GK, not up to the level, unfortunately.

Thought our CBs did okay, dealt with a lot of balls into the area and ultimately were let down by LOB and then a total lack of anything going forward. Brown a bad game but then so did everyone else, and he's not played a huge amount of football over the past 12 months. Find it odd with Sterling, he's obviously got quality despite his performances. Can only think he's struggling with confidence, going into a new dressing room as a young lad can be difficult. Confidence is everything in football, and I feel like he just needs more time to get going.

Midfield woeful, the first option every time is to pop an aimless ball over and try and turn the opposition round. For me we need desperately need quality in cm, someone who's going to recycle possession, take the ball in tough areas and keep it. Doyle and Ogogo not going to do that, so someone else needs to. Would look at Bayliss potentially, or even Andreu.

Bakayoko despite his best efforts doesn't look like he'll do much at this level, can't see what his strengths are, and constantly offside. I'd try Hiwula up top, I think he's got the most pedigree and quality of our current crop. Then once Jones is back, he and Thomas should give us more dynamism and quality in the right areas.

Sterling played just like this when I saw him a couple of times with England. Ball watching no urgency

Watched it last night. Bakayoko wasn't great, far from it, but I don't agree with him being made the scapegoat. Awful punted balls up to him in the first half, that no forward would of got on the end of. Our 2 best moves in the first half actually came from us playing it up to his feet, and we broke from there. He is not a target man. However his numerous offsides were unforgiveable. Still think their might be a player there though.

Brown was hugely disappointing. Seemed casual, and his passing in the opening 20 mins was shocking. Never got close to overlapping and getting a cross in. Sterling the same.

Offhegoes said:

Brown was hugely disappointing. Seemed casual, and his passing in the opening 20 mins was shocking. Never got close to overlapping and getting a cross in. Sterling the same.

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This is the key for me. With 2 dm's you need proper attacking full backs. Ours very rarely get forward to the point of overlapping

Skybluefaz said:

This is the key for me. With 2 dm's you need proper attacking full backs. Ours very rarely get forward to the point of overlapping

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Yet that's what they are both renowned for.

Bakayoko shouldn’t wear the shirt again, absolutely fucking pathetic

SkyBlueDom26 said:

Bakayoko shouldn’t wear the shirt again, absolutely fucking pathetic

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You think 5 games is enough to make such a judgement, to never wear the shirt again?

SkyBlueDom26 said:

Bakayoko shouldn’t wear the shirt again, absolutely fucking pathetic

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Another rational approach

Offhegoes said:

Watched it last night. Bakayoko wasn't great, far from it, but I don't agree with him being made the scapegoat. Awful punted balls up to him in the first half, that no forward would of got on the end of. Our 2 best moves in the first half actually came from us playing it up to his feet, and we broke from there. He is not a target man. However his numerous offsides were unforgiveable. Still think their might be a player there though.

Brown was hugely disappointing. Seemed casual, and his passing in the opening 20 mins was shocking. Never got close to overlapping and getting a cross in. Sterling the same.

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The performance of the team was so poor that it is unfair to scapegoat and be over critical of Bakayoko. I don’t think you can judge a centre forward fully when his service is so poor. The problem is that we have 5 players who play in that ‘centre forward’ position, and none of them at the moment seem capable of making the shirt their own. We also had no width last night, why did we not play Thomas wide, where he could run at 1/2 players, rather than get swallowed up by Blackpool’s midfield?

O’Brien’s first half save was superb, I was right behind the shot, it was fierce and accurate, and had goal written all over it, an exceptional save. However, he was at fault for the two goals, and does anyone know why Burge, having earned the number 1 shirt last season, is not getting a look in?

On the 5 Live football show this evening, there was talk that a couple of seasons ago, Liverpool were putting clauses in their loan deals which enabled them to fine the ‘borrowing’ club if their loan player didn’t play. Do we have some similar deal with Sterling? I wouldn’t write Sterling off at all, I’m sure that there is a player there, he is young and struggling to adapt to men’s competitive football. It does, however, appear to be unfair on Grimmer, who played, what, 46 games last season, and hasn’t had a look in this season?

I thought that generally the support for the team was good last night, but if anyone thinks that applauding when a player is substituted, or when our goalkeeper catches a ball, is going to do anything to help to improve those players, then they’re sadly mistaken. It was, however, a really, really poor team performance, so I guess that some frustration is understandable.

Nick said:

I don't need to rely on what other people think or say, will just say what I saw.

I am just saying it was pointless, he was chasing aimless balls forward all game. Players weren't looking up, just hammering it forward and he was expected to do something with it. The couple of times in the first half he did get the ball played into him he looked better.

He showed a couple of good touches when he did get it played into him and not aimlessly hoofed up field on his own with 2 or 3 defenders. He had a much better game against Plymouth when we played it to him properly.

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agree Nick but as an out and out strilker part of his skill set should be to stay onside in any eventuallty that a lucky through ball might find him