Post by stevek192 on Apr 19, 2015 10:55:42 GMT
This is a bloody hard match to report on because it turned from elation to dejection just three minutes from the end and because of this everybody is looking for someone to blame rather than looking at the overall game and accessing where the point was really lost. In my opinion the point was lost with the team selection itself. We are two games away from the end of the season on the back of three wins and I am still not convinced that Daryl Clarke is anywhere near knowing what his best team is. For me he is a Manager who is too worried about the opposition and not enough about getting his own team playing in a consistent manner to their own strengths.For me this was two points lost by a failure to play with any width whatsoever rather than on one mistake. There comes a time when you have to put your faith in a teams ability to create and score goals rather than set up to snatch a goal and hold on to it.Not for the first time this season we have been held by a team with limited football ability but who have put their chance away when it comes along whether it be caused by an individuals mistake or a good piece of football.
Puddy 5 Three goals conceded in six matches compared to 4 goals in two matches by Mildy 3 of which he should have done better with is hardly the statistics to crucify Puddy with and shout for Mildy to be recalled. Personally until the goal yesterday I thought he performed very well,his handling of crosses was secure and although some have also criticised his distribution on a pitch that was hard and bouncy and with Dover pushing two wingers forward it was hardly the game to be throwing the ball out and especially when you consider that our defence are hardly the most able players in possession at the best of times and udsually would produce the hoof that Puddy was more than capable of doing from his hands- and I mean that kindly. I believe we need to see their goal again to see if Puddy was badly at fault or in fact fouled as some Dover fans have said he was actually fouled.If that is the case then was it a mistake followed by a foul,a foul followed by a mistake or a foul with no mistake at all. I have given him a 5 but if it was a foul without a mistake it would be a 7 and if it was one of the other two then a 3. Such a match changing decision has to be reflected.
Lockyer 6 Defended well against a tricky winger and was solid throughout but when you are playing without a winger you really need that bit more from your full back and Lockyer produced nothing going forward. Should we be criticising him for this? I think it is more down to the Manager because Lockyer will give you exactly what's written on the tin and you know you are going to get basically a solid defensive performance with questionable distribution which is generally going to be long ball rather than a short pass.
McChrystal 6 Not his greatest game but certainly not his worst. In all honesty against a team that play hoofball from the first to the last minute it is hardly going to be a game where our defenders can do anything really constructive with the ball especially where they are pressurised by the chasing forwards. This is Dovers game and they performed it exactly how the Woking Manager described it after a 2-1 defeat a few games back- "It isn't pretty but it is their total game plan and they are pretty good at it" On saying this I thought this was a pedestrian performance from Macka and not as dominating at times as I would have liked but there again our defence restricted them to very few opportunities.
Parkes 6.5 More solid on the ground than in the air where he appeared to hesitate a lot and didn't get his usual direction with his headers although obviously not helped by the wind. He did at least try to pass the ball in the rare event of it appearing on the ground and was definitely the pick of the defence in what was a difficult game in conditions that favoured the hoofball side and which in truth we made little attempt to diverse from which made it an end to end game. There was only one footballing side out there but I feel we played to their strengths rather than our own other than in small spells..
Brown 6 Felt he should have closed down their player more especially in the move up to the goal but he did give us some width on that side and his general play was good but oh for more composure on his crosses. I still feel that our game is too much based on Lee Brown's runs rather than on Monkhouse producing more than a "set up" for Brown. Lee certainly has a lot of energy and his effort throughout the game cannot be faulted.
Monkhouse 5 This was one of those games where other than his flick ons with his head and the passes to Brown he did very little himself. It is very questionable as to whether the Managers insistence on giving him 90 minutes every game is the right one. For me he has so much more ability that is totally wasted wide on the left and is well capable of bringing the ball down and passing it well and in a game like yesterdays where the ball is just hoofed we might have been better by playing a winger on that side.
Mansell 5 Tireless work rate but little else yesterday but it is very difficult to get a foothold on a game where the ball just keeps going backwards and forwards in the air. Tackled with tenacity but I thought he snatched at a couple of good shooting opportunties and overall was not the influence on the game that he usually is.
Lines 7 MOTM The one player who looked at ease on the ball and showed on numerous occasions why he has played at a much higher level than most of his team mates. You only had to look at his face coming off the pitch to see what this game meant to him and he was the one shining light with his ability to bring the ball long distances and try to prevent the intervention of Dover to get the ball back in the air. Some of his passing was first class and I would say the only thing we haven't seen from Chris since he came back are his trademark goals.
Taylor 4 A very disappointing game from Taylor and probably his worst performance of the season. Not helped by the willingness of his team mates to hit him with long ball but not showing his usual craft and cleverness when the ball did come to him. I really feel that DC is trying to find a place for him rather than looking at who forms a better partnership. 3 centre forwards has not worked when he has tried it on previous occasions so I can see no reason (other than to fit Taylor in the 11) why he should play it again yesterday. It is also criminal the number of times he gets caught offside and breaks down a worthwhile attack which is frustrating when you think that both he and Ellis have the pace to not need to be in front of the opposition.
Harrison 6 Another goal and on the rare occasions where the ball reached him on the ground he looked very dangerous. I actually thought he twinged his hamstring just before he was substituted and was struggling so I am not going to blame DC for substituting him rather than the totally out of sorts Taylor. His hot goal streak gives us hope for the future but IMO Clarke has to make his mind up whether to use Ellis with Blissett or Taylor with Blissett, As the song went "This TEAM ain't big enough for the both of us"
Blissett 5.5 Fantastic header to set up Ellis's goal and I really can't see what the plan was min wasting him out wide and leaving two short men against a tall defence. Crosses is what Nathan needs rather than just having to fight for every high ball that is directed his way but when it comes down to it the amount of good crosses that we put in is in all honesty disgusting and this is down to Brown, Monkhouse and Dc's failure to select a natural winger. Blissett out wide was almost as bad a game plan as selecting Virgo at Centre Forward!!! I thought somebody else described his performance well in that it was very much "hit and miss with more miss!!"
Balanta not on long enough to rate but it has been abundantly clear when he does appear that he is not a right winger. Had two chances to become a hero in a short time and failed miserably on both occasions. I wouldn't have said that either was an easy chance but rather the sort that a class player at the peak of his game would finish. Unfortunately Angelo through lack of activity on the pitch is not that player.
Clarke 2 Sorry I know I am probably going to get slated for this but IMO totally to blame for the loss of two points. Why oh why does the bloke not just once in a while not touch the team formation or personnel. We are playing in the Conference and not the bloody Premiership. These players CANNOT just play anywhere,in any formation at any time. The selection of three up front has rarely worked so we use it in one of the most important games of the season. Chester put three past this Dover side last week and on yesterdays performance I can see why- they looked slow at the back and little in midfield and had we got at them from the off looked very beatable if we played through them. Instead we played them at their own game and paid the penalty.
How many of our draws this season could have been victories with a little more confidence in our players abilities and a little less tinkering. Whenever his tenure ends (and I hope it is not at the end of this season) at the moment I will think of him as "Mr Tinkler" who seems that he cannot bear to play a team that does not have something changed by him in it. Almost as if he wants to be able to say that more is down to him than actually is.
IMO we have a squad of players that is good enough to go out and BEAT the majority of teams in this league and SHOULD beat the majority of teams in this league. By this stage of the season we should have a team whom all know what they are doing, who have ALL been given a fair RUN of games to decide if they are good or bad. I still don't think DC really knows who his best front two are and is not sure if he wants to play with an attacking full back or a defensive one.
The fact that Barnet still have their fate in their own hands is down to the Manager failing against the poorer teams to work out a way of beating them comfortably and when he does he changes the bloody team the next week!!DC has done many good things for this club this season and i just hope that come the season's end he has something to show for the good things in the way of Promotion because make no mistake he HAS signed the players that are capable of achieving this but will he now settle for a settled side barring injuries that can do this.
Referee 5 Ok or a villian? I will have to watch that goal again to decide but if it was a foul then that mark must be a 2. if his decision to allow the goal was right then a 6 or 7. its strange but i almost said about ten minutes from the end that he was one of the better referees but din't because I thought as soon as I said it he would make a howler!! Did he or didn't he?
Dover 6 A dreadful football team but a very organised one who play the same way week in week out and it shows .It is a horrible way to play the game but they are bloody good at it and who am I to criticise that. In many ways I wish I could say the same about us that we play the same way week in week out and know our best team but we don't. Dover have finished in a creditable position on a limited budget.
Fans 9 How can you criticise fans when they have turned out in their numbers consistently? OK the vocal support hasn't always been the greatest but that has been IMO down to some of the negative football produced in long periods of a game. The roar that greeted the news that Barnet were one down was deafening and it was a party atmosphere until that dreadful moment. The supporters just didn't deserve that kick in the teeth in the last few minutes.
So its down to the last game next week.It has,as many have predicted recently gone down to the wire. Is there another twist in the tale? There could be and it may be more than one but all we can do now is do our part and present Alfreton with a hostile atmosphere. This team DESERVES our support-they always give 100% , DC deserves our support for many reasons but how this season has panned out only one thing will mark it down as a success-PROMOTION.
Puddy 5 Three goals conceded in six matches compared to 4 goals in two matches by Mildy 3 of which he should have done better with is hardly the statistics to crucify Puddy with and shout for Mildy to be recalled. Personally until the goal yesterday I thought he performed very well,his handling of crosses was secure and although some have also criticised his distribution on a pitch that was hard and bouncy and with Dover pushing two wingers forward it was hardly the game to be throwing the ball out and especially when you consider that our defence are hardly the most able players in possession at the best of times and udsually would produce the hoof that Puddy was more than capable of doing from his hands- and I mean that kindly. I believe we need to see their goal again to see if Puddy was badly at fault or in fact fouled as some Dover fans have said he was actually fouled.If that is the case then was it a mistake followed by a foul,a foul followed by a mistake or a foul with no mistake at all. I have given him a 5 but if it was a foul without a mistake it would be a 7 and if it was one of the other two then a 3. Such a match changing decision has to be reflected.
Lockyer 6 Defended well against a tricky winger and was solid throughout but when you are playing without a winger you really need that bit more from your full back and Lockyer produced nothing going forward. Should we be criticising him for this? I think it is more down to the Manager because Lockyer will give you exactly what's written on the tin and you know you are going to get basically a solid defensive performance with questionable distribution which is generally going to be long ball rather than a short pass.
McChrystal 6 Not his greatest game but certainly not his worst. In all honesty against a team that play hoofball from the first to the last minute it is hardly going to be a game where our defenders can do anything really constructive with the ball especially where they are pressurised by the chasing forwards. This is Dovers game and they performed it exactly how the Woking Manager described it after a 2-1 defeat a few games back- "It isn't pretty but it is their total game plan and they are pretty good at it" On saying this I thought this was a pedestrian performance from Macka and not as dominating at times as I would have liked but there again our defence restricted them to very few opportunities.
Parkes 6.5 More solid on the ground than in the air where he appeared to hesitate a lot and didn't get his usual direction with his headers although obviously not helped by the wind. He did at least try to pass the ball in the rare event of it appearing on the ground and was definitely the pick of the defence in what was a difficult game in conditions that favoured the hoofball side and which in truth we made little attempt to diverse from which made it an end to end game. There was only one footballing side out there but I feel we played to their strengths rather than our own other than in small spells..
Brown 6 Felt he should have closed down their player more especially in the move up to the goal but he did give us some width on that side and his general play was good but oh for more composure on his crosses. I still feel that our game is too much based on Lee Brown's runs rather than on Monkhouse producing more than a "set up" for Brown. Lee certainly has a lot of energy and his effort throughout the game cannot be faulted.
Monkhouse 5 This was one of those games where other than his flick ons with his head and the passes to Brown he did very little himself. It is very questionable as to whether the Managers insistence on giving him 90 minutes every game is the right one. For me he has so much more ability that is totally wasted wide on the left and is well capable of bringing the ball down and passing it well and in a game like yesterdays where the ball is just hoofed we might have been better by playing a winger on that side.
Mansell 5 Tireless work rate but little else yesterday but it is very difficult to get a foothold on a game where the ball just keeps going backwards and forwards in the air. Tackled with tenacity but I thought he snatched at a couple of good shooting opportunties and overall was not the influence on the game that he usually is.
Lines 7 MOTM The one player who looked at ease on the ball and showed on numerous occasions why he has played at a much higher level than most of his team mates. You only had to look at his face coming off the pitch to see what this game meant to him and he was the one shining light with his ability to bring the ball long distances and try to prevent the intervention of Dover to get the ball back in the air. Some of his passing was first class and I would say the only thing we haven't seen from Chris since he came back are his trademark goals.
Taylor 4 A very disappointing game from Taylor and probably his worst performance of the season. Not helped by the willingness of his team mates to hit him with long ball but not showing his usual craft and cleverness when the ball did come to him. I really feel that DC is trying to find a place for him rather than looking at who forms a better partnership. 3 centre forwards has not worked when he has tried it on previous occasions so I can see no reason (other than to fit Taylor in the 11) why he should play it again yesterday. It is also criminal the number of times he gets caught offside and breaks down a worthwhile attack which is frustrating when you think that both he and Ellis have the pace to not need to be in front of the opposition.
Harrison 6 Another goal and on the rare occasions where the ball reached him on the ground he looked very dangerous. I actually thought he twinged his hamstring just before he was substituted and was struggling so I am not going to blame DC for substituting him rather than the totally out of sorts Taylor. His hot goal streak gives us hope for the future but IMO Clarke has to make his mind up whether to use Ellis with Blissett or Taylor with Blissett, As the song went "This TEAM ain't big enough for the both of us"
Blissett 5.5 Fantastic header to set up Ellis's goal and I really can't see what the plan was min wasting him out wide and leaving two short men against a tall defence. Crosses is what Nathan needs rather than just having to fight for every high ball that is directed his way but when it comes down to it the amount of good crosses that we put in is in all honesty disgusting and this is down to Brown, Monkhouse and Dc's failure to select a natural winger. Blissett out wide was almost as bad a game plan as selecting Virgo at Centre Forward!!! I thought somebody else described his performance well in that it was very much "hit and miss with more miss!!"
Balanta not on long enough to rate but it has been abundantly clear when he does appear that he is not a right winger. Had two chances to become a hero in a short time and failed miserably on both occasions. I wouldn't have said that either was an easy chance but rather the sort that a class player at the peak of his game would finish. Unfortunately Angelo through lack of activity on the pitch is not that player.
Clarke 2 Sorry I know I am probably going to get slated for this but IMO totally to blame for the loss of two points. Why oh why does the bloke not just once in a while not touch the team formation or personnel. We are playing in the Conference and not the bloody Premiership. These players CANNOT just play anywhere,in any formation at any time. The selection of three up front has rarely worked so we use it in one of the most important games of the season. Chester put three past this Dover side last week and on yesterdays performance I can see why- they looked slow at the back and little in midfield and had we got at them from the off looked very beatable if we played through them. Instead we played them at their own game and paid the penalty.
How many of our draws this season could have been victories with a little more confidence in our players abilities and a little less tinkering. Whenever his tenure ends (and I hope it is not at the end of this season) at the moment I will think of him as "Mr Tinkler" who seems that he cannot bear to play a team that does not have something changed by him in it. Almost as if he wants to be able to say that more is down to him than actually is.
IMO we have a squad of players that is good enough to go out and BEAT the majority of teams in this league and SHOULD beat the majority of teams in this league. By this stage of the season we should have a team whom all know what they are doing, who have ALL been given a fair RUN of games to decide if they are good or bad. I still don't think DC really knows who his best front two are and is not sure if he wants to play with an attacking full back or a defensive one.
The fact that Barnet still have their fate in their own hands is down to the Manager failing against the poorer teams to work out a way of beating them comfortably and when he does he changes the bloody team the next week!!DC has done many good things for this club this season and i just hope that come the season's end he has something to show for the good things in the way of Promotion because make no mistake he HAS signed the players that are capable of achieving this but will he now settle for a settled side barring injuries that can do this.
Referee 5 Ok or a villian? I will have to watch that goal again to decide but if it was a foul then that mark must be a 2. if his decision to allow the goal was right then a 6 or 7. its strange but i almost said about ten minutes from the end that he was one of the better referees but din't because I thought as soon as I said it he would make a howler!! Did he or didn't he?
Dover 6 A dreadful football team but a very organised one who play the same way week in week out and it shows .It is a horrible way to play the game but they are bloody good at it and who am I to criticise that. In many ways I wish I could say the same about us that we play the same way week in week out and know our best team but we don't. Dover have finished in a creditable position on a limited budget.
Fans 9 How can you criticise fans when they have turned out in their numbers consistently? OK the vocal support hasn't always been the greatest but that has been IMO down to some of the negative football produced in long periods of a game. The roar that greeted the news that Barnet were one down was deafening and it was a party atmosphere until that dreadful moment. The supporters just didn't deserve that kick in the teeth in the last few minutes.
So its down to the last game next week.It has,as many have predicted recently gone down to the wire. Is there another twist in the tale? There could be and it may be more than one but all we can do now is do our part and present Alfreton with a hostile atmosphere. This team DESERVES our support-they always give 100% , DC deserves our support for many reasons but how this season has panned out only one thing will mark it down as a success-PROMOTION.
