Lacking from the top down
Sept 16, 2018 10:07:54 GMT
aghast, Feeling The Blues, and 4 more like this
Post by stevek192 on Sept 16, 2018 10:07:54 GMT
I have to be honest and say that writing reports on these games this season is the most difficult I have ever done and after yesterdays game my first question to myself was WHY? I've been watching Rovers for years- over 50 of them! and the football being played at the moment is certainly not the worst I have seen. We are not getting hammered at all (so far) and the players we have are nowhere near the worst I have seen so I ask why do I feel so disillusioned watching the team I love? What is it that makes a match so difficult to write about? I will start with the marks for yesterdays performance and the comments on the players will in the majority of cases be basic because in truth most of the performances were exactly that- nobody was absolutely terrible, nobody was visibly not trying at all but there again there was nobody who gave a performance anywhere near the only person who could stake a claim for Man of the Match and that was our new keeper.
Bonham 9.5 mom I could write all day about this outstanding performance because it was really the one person who performed at the top of his form and actually made a big difference to the match. Without him and based on what our other keepers have played like this season it would have been a cricket score. As I write this I have upped his score from the original 8.5 by a full mark because it was a pretty faultless magnificent performance. He dominated his area and his defenders, he made a couple of worldlies and a lot of good saves. He was brave, made himself big and blocked shots with his entire frame and well.. he looked pretty well unbeatable and it was a shame that the goal which beat him went inside his near post but it would be difficult to say he should have saved it because it was put on a plate by a terrible defensive header from Martin and as usual we have plenty of players about blocking his view but nobody marking the scorer.
J. Clarke 6 A reasonable performance without doing anything special. Worked hard to keep his winger at bay but does lack the pace to do that and in truth probably is not good enough for the role of full back and is the best of a poor average bunch at the moment.
Lockyer 6 Another reasonable performer but overhit far too many passes.
Craig 7 The best of the back four,stuck to his task well and led by example again without being spectacular.
Martin 5 Average at best. Very poor header which "set up" the winning goal. IMO not good enough for this level and may as well have kept Kelly in the side and given him the "experience" he needs because he is "one of our own" but more importantly did not deserve to be dropped.
Upson 5 Did some OK things , was always available to receive the ball and tried his best to distribute it but the problem is that we are making one negative pass too many throughout the team and putting ourselves in trouble.
O. Clarke 5 No better or worse than his central midfield partners but did not create much and like the others struggled to do much with very few players in front of them.
Lines 5 Same as O Clarke but did try to drive forward with little in the way of an end product.
Matthews 5 Was he injured or was he sacrificed because the managers set up just wasn't working again?
Payne 4 Has the look of a player who is being asked to do a job that just doesn't suit him. I really do wonder what investigations go into signings for the role they are asked to do. Certainly on recent performances he is unlikely to score a hatful of goals and with little support is unlikely to assist in many.
Bennett 4 Flutters in and out like a butterfly but performing more like a moth.
Subs: Nichols 4 Little service with a team that just isn't set up to attack
Reilly 4 Same as Nichols
Jakubiak 4 Same as Nichols and Reilly.
Crowd 5 The section booing the badly injured player were a disgrace to the club and the rest of us were just victims to watch another punchless performance.
Ref 2 Showed in the first 30 seconds that he was another "homer" referee and never going to give us many decisions.
Luton 7 Probably the best side we have played without a star name to steal the show. They played some lovely football at times but we just weren't set up to provide them with opposition and second best most of the time. They have a good home record and we looked frightened of that from the manager down.
DC 2 Where is the sparkle gone? Treats every opponent with too much respect and looks frightened to make the decisions necessary to change things. We are defensive and boring Darrell in our set up. It is worse at the moment than even a John Ward team away from home because at least under John Ward the pivotal striker was generally suited to the role. We look like a team that are just introduced to each other before the game and not one that in Darrells words has been dusted down and started again. This is a team that are wrapped in a web and can't escape from the defensive shape it is in.
So I go back to my original thought- what is it that makes the games so difficult to write about? Has the Manager lost the Changing Room? I would say no but unfortunately I would say he has not yet gained the Changing Room as this team does not reflect in any way the sort of team that DC is known for. We have never been an outstanding footballing side but have always battled for our lives and in doing so been able to compete with most sides in the division we have been in. At the moment I could not honestly be confident that we would beat the sides we were facing in the Conference because we have the look of a side that is not capable of getting out of the mess we are in and that;my friends; is the problem. The club as a whole has the feel of one that has no leader, no inspiration and an evolution that unfortunately is still in the "caves"! Paul Buckle famously said that we must lower our exp0ectations but nobody told us it was this bad because why it is difficult to write a match report these days is because the very essence of the team represents the lowest expectations- we do not look like scoring goals, we do not look like gaining anything other than a 0-0 draw and we are bloody ponderous to watch and what makes it worse is that I cannot see that we have within the squad the players to turn it around and serious doubts as to whether the current Manager has built a squad in the summer that is capable of turning it around.
What would I do to turn things around? All I can suggest is that we go out to attack and pressurise the opposition and that means starting the game with the whole squad having a clean sheet and picking the side that surely with the signings made were deemed good enough.
Bonham
Leadbitter Lockyer Craig Kelly
Rodman Lines Upson Bennett
Reilly Payne
UTG
Bonham 9.5 mom I could write all day about this outstanding performance because it was really the one person who performed at the top of his form and actually made a big difference to the match. Without him and based on what our other keepers have played like this season it would have been a cricket score. As I write this I have upped his score from the original 8.5 by a full mark because it was a pretty faultless magnificent performance. He dominated his area and his defenders, he made a couple of worldlies and a lot of good saves. He was brave, made himself big and blocked shots with his entire frame and well.. he looked pretty well unbeatable and it was a shame that the goal which beat him went inside his near post but it would be difficult to say he should have saved it because it was put on a plate by a terrible defensive header from Martin and as usual we have plenty of players about blocking his view but nobody marking the scorer.
J. Clarke 6 A reasonable performance without doing anything special. Worked hard to keep his winger at bay but does lack the pace to do that and in truth probably is not good enough for the role of full back and is the best of a poor average bunch at the moment.
Lockyer 6 Another reasonable performer but overhit far too many passes.
Craig 7 The best of the back four,stuck to his task well and led by example again without being spectacular.
Martin 5 Average at best. Very poor header which "set up" the winning goal. IMO not good enough for this level and may as well have kept Kelly in the side and given him the "experience" he needs because he is "one of our own" but more importantly did not deserve to be dropped.
Upson 5 Did some OK things , was always available to receive the ball and tried his best to distribute it but the problem is that we are making one negative pass too many throughout the team and putting ourselves in trouble.
O. Clarke 5 No better or worse than his central midfield partners but did not create much and like the others struggled to do much with very few players in front of them.
Lines 5 Same as O Clarke but did try to drive forward with little in the way of an end product.
Matthews 5 Was he injured or was he sacrificed because the managers set up just wasn't working again?
Payne 4 Has the look of a player who is being asked to do a job that just doesn't suit him. I really do wonder what investigations go into signings for the role they are asked to do. Certainly on recent performances he is unlikely to score a hatful of goals and with little support is unlikely to assist in many.
Bennett 4 Flutters in and out like a butterfly but performing more like a moth.
Subs: Nichols 4 Little service with a team that just isn't set up to attack
Reilly 4 Same as Nichols
Jakubiak 4 Same as Nichols and Reilly.
Crowd 5 The section booing the badly injured player were a disgrace to the club and the rest of us were just victims to watch another punchless performance.
Ref 2 Showed in the first 30 seconds that he was another "homer" referee and never going to give us many decisions.
Luton 7 Probably the best side we have played without a star name to steal the show. They played some lovely football at times but we just weren't set up to provide them with opposition and second best most of the time. They have a good home record and we looked frightened of that from the manager down.
DC 2 Where is the sparkle gone? Treats every opponent with too much respect and looks frightened to make the decisions necessary to change things. We are defensive and boring Darrell in our set up. It is worse at the moment than even a John Ward team away from home because at least under John Ward the pivotal striker was generally suited to the role. We look like a team that are just introduced to each other before the game and not one that in Darrells words has been dusted down and started again. This is a team that are wrapped in a web and can't escape from the defensive shape it is in.
So I go back to my original thought- what is it that makes the games so difficult to write about? Has the Manager lost the Changing Room? I would say no but unfortunately I would say he has not yet gained the Changing Room as this team does not reflect in any way the sort of team that DC is known for. We have never been an outstanding footballing side but have always battled for our lives and in doing so been able to compete with most sides in the division we have been in. At the moment I could not honestly be confident that we would beat the sides we were facing in the Conference because we have the look of a side that is not capable of getting out of the mess we are in and that;my friends; is the problem. The club as a whole has the feel of one that has no leader, no inspiration and an evolution that unfortunately is still in the "caves"! Paul Buckle famously said that we must lower our exp0ectations but nobody told us it was this bad because why it is difficult to write a match report these days is because the very essence of the team represents the lowest expectations- we do not look like scoring goals, we do not look like gaining anything other than a 0-0 draw and we are bloody ponderous to watch and what makes it worse is that I cannot see that we have within the squad the players to turn it around and serious doubts as to whether the current Manager has built a squad in the summer that is capable of turning it around.
What would I do to turn things around? All I can suggest is that we go out to attack and pressurise the opposition and that means starting the game with the whole squad having a clean sheet and picking the side that surely with the signings made were deemed good enough.
Bonham
Leadbitter Lockyer Craig Kelly
Rodman Lines Upson Bennett
Reilly Payne
UTG
