Post by stevek192 on May 4, 2015 12:03:42 GMT
Puddy .7.Very little to do but what he did do he did bloody well. Against a very strong aerial assault he did excellent and made a great save from the only real chance that Forest Green created and it was offside. Is he good enough to be No 1 next season I am not really sure which in itself probably means we should be signing a new taller No 1 in the summer.
Lockyer. 7 Had a poor start to the game when I think he passed to the opposition three times in succession but from then on he was "Steady Tom" winning the majority of aerial battles and his performance was summed up when they substituted Freer for lack of involvement. Tom really had him in his pocket and there was very little created. Overall a hard working performance and its hard to believe that Tom is so young. He is also improving the distance on his long throws. My only criticism would be that his attacking play is nowhere near the standard of Leadbitter but for a reliable defensive player I would put my money on Tom.
McCrystal 9 Apart from a few unnecessary fouls he has been excellent in both games against the Beast and restricted him to a couple of long shots. Yesterday I would say he was even better than in the first leg however I think he will find it tougher in the final where we will come up against a quality which Parkin certainly does not possess- Pace. There is little doubt that if Macca possessed pace he would be playing at least two divisions higher.
Parkes.9 Tom Parkes has had an excellent season after a somewhat shakey start. His confidence has resulted in him being so much more than just a defender and yesterday he was outstanding and his partnership with McCrystal did not allow Forest Green a sniff of a goal.
Brown.9 Outstanding both defensively and probably even more offensively. Has amazing energy and yesterday the quality of his delivery matched his ability to get down the line. Him and Monkhouse have a brilliant understanding and the last few games it has become even better because Monkey has added a bit of variety to his play and is coming inside more rather than just covering for Brown.
Gosling.7.Very much a typical wingers display. Floated in and out of the game. Very good in possession in that he rarely gives the ball away,his pass to set up Taylor in the first half was brilliant and he managed to get himself in good shooting positions but unfortunately his finishing was very wasteful. His corners provide a variation to Lines but I often wonder what he would be like on his natural left side. watching the game for a second time on TV I was surprised just how much good work he did actually do.
Mansell 8.5 An all action display from a real leader of Men. Unnecessary booking but that apart him and Lines controlled proceedings. Lines is pure class and Mansell is sheer hard work and a great enthusiasm for the game. Together you have the ideal combination and it would be very interesting now trying to find a place for the all action Sinclair.
Lines.9.5 MOM His best display for us and on this form is the best midfielder in this division by a country mile. Rarely gave the ball away always making himself available for a pass and cool and composed. Shame we didn't get him even just a few matches earlier because we would now be a League 2 club but there again we wouldn't now be looking forward to a day at Wembley!! His goal was absolute quality and really there was no looking back after that. It's been a long time coming but was well worth the wait and I wouldn't bet against seeing at least another one from him this season.
Monkhouse 8 Shows a lot of class and composure and his combination work with Brown yesterday was exemplary. Not a direct winger although in his younger days he was but a danger when he cuts in and looks for a creative pass. His aerial power in midfield makes him worth his place on that alone.
Blissett 8.5 Formed a formidable partnership with Taylor and IMO edged himself ahead of Ellis for a start at Wembley. Worked really hard and is a perfect foil for Matty Taylor. He is not going to weigh in with a lot of goals but will score his fair share. Is surprisingly quick for a big man and for those doubters you need only listen to the Commentary team who were very complimentary of the Blissett/Taylor combination. They have already proved themselves at Grimsby as capable of causing the Grimsby back line trouble.
Taylor.9 All action performance and even if he had just created one goal and scored one that would have been a good game but to add to that the good control and numerous other good moments it would be harsh to criticise his performance and his work for the team.He was unlucky not to score a few more and really has proved of late that he is capable of scoring a lot of goals.
Balanta and Clarke. Not long enough on the pitch to mark
Ref.8 Completely opposite to the Referee in the first leg. A very competant official and one of the very few referees in this League who have caught the eye.
DC 10 Got the Selection and tactics spot on. What else can i give for what this man has achieved? Told us he would get us in the Top 5 at the start of the season when we had very few points and has achieved that with obvious bonuses. The team spirit he has achieved is something this club has not seen for years. OK I have been very critical of him at times but who am I to criticise him based on the overall results he has achieved and the progress the team has made. The signing of Lines is almost like the final piece of the jigsaw for this season. The football played yesterday was probably the best 90 minutes we have seen this season and if i am honest his team selection has proved to be spot on more often than not.
I took the trouble today to look at the last 23 League games (half a season ) plus included the two play off games and in the last 25 games our record is:
Bristol R P 25 W 16 D 8 L 1 F 48 A 14 Pts 56 GD 34
Grimsby P 25 W 16 D 4 L 5 F 43 A 23 Pts 52 GD 20
Just for fun I compared Barnets last 25 games
Barnet P 25 W 14 D 5 L 6 F 45 A 28 Pts 47 GD 17
Absolutely astonishing and for this DC I salute you and your Management Team. If you can produce one more win then it will be 11 out of 10!!!!!
FGR.5. Made to look a very poor team over two legs and really were not in the game yesterday.
So we move on to the seasons centre piece at Wembley with nothing to fear but the event itself. Play as we are capable and we will win. We were not second in this league for nothing and I must admit I was quite surprised that our last 25 games were better than Grimsby and so we enter the final as the in form team. My only fear is that Grimsby do have pace up front but there again we have contained that at Grimsby so why not at Wembley.
Let them do the worrying.
Just in interest my team would be
Puddy
Lockyer Parkes McCrystal (C) Brown
Gosling Lines Mansell Monkhouse
Blissett Taylor
Subs Harrison Mildenhall Leadbitter Balanta Baggie
Think DC will pick Ellis for Blissett and Clarke for Baggie and i'm not going to argue.
To conclude lets all now set about the task of persuading as many people as possible to go to Wembley. Maybe even the Mother in Law!!!!!!! Target 40,000 !!! Can we achieve it? I think not and maybe 35,000 will be doing well!!
UTG
Lockyer. 7 Had a poor start to the game when I think he passed to the opposition three times in succession but from then on he was "Steady Tom" winning the majority of aerial battles and his performance was summed up when they substituted Freer for lack of involvement. Tom really had him in his pocket and there was very little created. Overall a hard working performance and its hard to believe that Tom is so young. He is also improving the distance on his long throws. My only criticism would be that his attacking play is nowhere near the standard of Leadbitter but for a reliable defensive player I would put my money on Tom.
McCrystal 9 Apart from a few unnecessary fouls he has been excellent in both games against the Beast and restricted him to a couple of long shots. Yesterday I would say he was even better than in the first leg however I think he will find it tougher in the final where we will come up against a quality which Parkin certainly does not possess- Pace. There is little doubt that if Macca possessed pace he would be playing at least two divisions higher.
Parkes.9 Tom Parkes has had an excellent season after a somewhat shakey start. His confidence has resulted in him being so much more than just a defender and yesterday he was outstanding and his partnership with McCrystal did not allow Forest Green a sniff of a goal.
Brown.9 Outstanding both defensively and probably even more offensively. Has amazing energy and yesterday the quality of his delivery matched his ability to get down the line. Him and Monkhouse have a brilliant understanding and the last few games it has become even better because Monkey has added a bit of variety to his play and is coming inside more rather than just covering for Brown.
Gosling.7.Very much a typical wingers display. Floated in and out of the game. Very good in possession in that he rarely gives the ball away,his pass to set up Taylor in the first half was brilliant and he managed to get himself in good shooting positions but unfortunately his finishing was very wasteful. His corners provide a variation to Lines but I often wonder what he would be like on his natural left side. watching the game for a second time on TV I was surprised just how much good work he did actually do.
Mansell 8.5 An all action display from a real leader of Men. Unnecessary booking but that apart him and Lines controlled proceedings. Lines is pure class and Mansell is sheer hard work and a great enthusiasm for the game. Together you have the ideal combination and it would be very interesting now trying to find a place for the all action Sinclair.
Lines.9.5 MOM His best display for us and on this form is the best midfielder in this division by a country mile. Rarely gave the ball away always making himself available for a pass and cool and composed. Shame we didn't get him even just a few matches earlier because we would now be a League 2 club but there again we wouldn't now be looking forward to a day at Wembley!! His goal was absolute quality and really there was no looking back after that. It's been a long time coming but was well worth the wait and I wouldn't bet against seeing at least another one from him this season.
Monkhouse 8 Shows a lot of class and composure and his combination work with Brown yesterday was exemplary. Not a direct winger although in his younger days he was but a danger when he cuts in and looks for a creative pass. His aerial power in midfield makes him worth his place on that alone.
Blissett 8.5 Formed a formidable partnership with Taylor and IMO edged himself ahead of Ellis for a start at Wembley. Worked really hard and is a perfect foil for Matty Taylor. He is not going to weigh in with a lot of goals but will score his fair share. Is surprisingly quick for a big man and for those doubters you need only listen to the Commentary team who were very complimentary of the Blissett/Taylor combination. They have already proved themselves at Grimsby as capable of causing the Grimsby back line trouble.
Taylor.9 All action performance and even if he had just created one goal and scored one that would have been a good game but to add to that the good control and numerous other good moments it would be harsh to criticise his performance and his work for the team.He was unlucky not to score a few more and really has proved of late that he is capable of scoring a lot of goals.
Balanta and Clarke. Not long enough on the pitch to mark
Ref.8 Completely opposite to the Referee in the first leg. A very competant official and one of the very few referees in this League who have caught the eye.
DC 10 Got the Selection and tactics spot on. What else can i give for what this man has achieved? Told us he would get us in the Top 5 at the start of the season when we had very few points and has achieved that with obvious bonuses. The team spirit he has achieved is something this club has not seen for years. OK I have been very critical of him at times but who am I to criticise him based on the overall results he has achieved and the progress the team has made. The signing of Lines is almost like the final piece of the jigsaw for this season. The football played yesterday was probably the best 90 minutes we have seen this season and if i am honest his team selection has proved to be spot on more often than not.
I took the trouble today to look at the last 23 League games (half a season ) plus included the two play off games and in the last 25 games our record is:
Bristol R P 25 W 16 D 8 L 1 F 48 A 14 Pts 56 GD 34
Grimsby P 25 W 16 D 4 L 5 F 43 A 23 Pts 52 GD 20
Just for fun I compared Barnets last 25 games
Barnet P 25 W 14 D 5 L 6 F 45 A 28 Pts 47 GD 17
Absolutely astonishing and for this DC I salute you and your Management Team. If you can produce one more win then it will be 11 out of 10!!!!!
FGR.5. Made to look a very poor team over two legs and really were not in the game yesterday.
So we move on to the seasons centre piece at Wembley with nothing to fear but the event itself. Play as we are capable and we will win. We were not second in this league for nothing and I must admit I was quite surprised that our last 25 games were better than Grimsby and so we enter the final as the in form team. My only fear is that Grimsby do have pace up front but there again we have contained that at Grimsby so why not at Wembley.
Let them do the worrying.
Just in interest my team would be
Puddy
Lockyer Parkes McCrystal (C) Brown
Gosling Lines Mansell Monkhouse
Blissett Taylor
Subs Harrison Mildenhall Leadbitter Balanta Baggie
Think DC will pick Ellis for Blissett and Clarke for Baggie and i'm not going to argue.
To conclude lets all now set about the task of persuading as many people as possible to go to Wembley. Maybe even the Mother in Law!!!!!!! Target 40,000 !!! Can we achieve it? I think not and maybe 35,000 will be doing well!!
UTG
