Post by stevek192 on Apr 30, 2017 18:20:51 GMT
Apologies for a very short report but with an arm in a sling it is very difficult so I have done an abbreviated one!!
Selection- Big surprise with selection of Clarke-Salter in preference to Sweeney and also expected Gaffney to be in the team but was not even on bench. Montano missing completely was understandable given DC's decision this week to release him.
Rovers- Diabolical defending from the first whistle until half time left the team with a mountain to climb. Midfield were outnumbered and the centre of the defence was slow and cumbersome. Followed on from Peterborough with some more gift wrapped goals although one of the goals looked yards offside. Second half better but after equalising the key moment was when Luke Jams was fouled breaking through but the referee allowed Millwall the benefit of the doubt and they forced the corner rom which they scored with a well directed header to win the game.
Lumley 6.5 Looked a bit shaky early on which was not helped by the defence in front of him but overall sound and well worth signing based on his perormances throughout the loan period.
Leadbetter7 Better attacking than defending as the winger was given too much space in the first half and it has to be said that his final ball was too often lacking although he did link well with bodin on the first two goals.
Lockyer 5 Back to pre Christmas form. Should have done better with the third goal where he allowed the opponent to drift in front of him. Without a tall dominating centre half Tom looks unsure and with Clarke-Salter playing well below par it was a difficult afternoon for Tom as well.
Clarke Salter 4
Awful. Not good enough for League 1 and looked well off the pace and was beaten far too often in the air. He does not have the physical presence of Sweeney and personally I would not even think of trying to loan him again.
Brown 6 Good to have him back after injury. Was not at his best but did OK and very unlucky with a cross cum shot that I think hit the post before Harrison could reach it.
Moore 7.5 MOM
Probably his best game with some lovely runs and touches. Worked hard throughout and rarely gave the ball away. I think we could well see the best of him next season.
Sinclair 5.5
Energetic performance but the Lines/Sinclair combination just doesn't work. They struggled to get into the game in the first twenty minutes and in a midfield two Sinclair leaves too many gaps and that forces Lines to play far too deep.
Lines 6 Great goal following Bodins shot blocked and plenty of good runsd with the ball but first half too many wayward passes and could do with playing twenty yards further up the pitch. His corners were ; as usual; far too long.
Bodin 6.5
Lots of clever footwork and ball skills and the only real danger. Hit the post on the first goal which fell to Easter and set up Lines for the second. third goal was a superb free kick that found the top corner from 25-30 yards out
Harrison 6 Won a lot in the air in both attacking and defensive positions but apart from that was no real danger and that is the worry as he is not a prolific goalscorer.
Easter 6 Why he is being released I don't know. Perhaps has too much skill and vision rather than being energetic and all action for DC. Scored with a vicious close in shot after Bodin hit the post and controlled the ball well and was always available. Replaced by James and with that probably went any hopes we had of scoring another goal.
Subs
James 5 Did very little. Just not physical enough and with his goalscoring record I just don't know why he was brought on. Personally I would not be at all disappointed if this is the last we see of him.
Broom 5 One good cross but did nothing to improve the side. Next season will be his make or break.
Ref 4 Awful and not helped by his linesmen. One goal looked very suspiciously offside and the challenge on Luke James looked very much a foul but he allowed Millwall to play on and force the corner from which the winner was scored. Challenge by Millwall player on Leadbitter looked very much a red card
rather than a yellow.
Millwall 6 Made to look a lot better than they were
by our defensive frailties.Can't see them going through the Play offs though won't be disappointed to say goodbye to them!
Crowd 6 Huge crowd and made a lot of noise but why oh why can the idiots who bring flares not leave them at home or stay at home themselves. They let down the majority.
DC Has given us a good first season back in League 1. Can't understand why he selected Clarke-Salter over Sweeney or why Gaffney didn't start and the substitutions did nothing to improve us and in fact made the team worse. Hope he has learnt a lot from this season and also in the signings he has made since promotion last season. With 10 or 11 signings needed it is absolutely vital that he gets them right if we are to do better than this season. The best thing about DC is his ambition and I very much hope that the owners can match this ambition with his budget or I fear we will lose him. I firmly believe that he could be the man to lead us to the Championship and if he did this I believe he would be the best Manager of all time however to do this I feel he needs to become more consistent with team selection and make far less changes from week to week.
With that I write off for the completion of a very exciting season where we have mainly been in the majority of games with very few hammerings other than Charlton twice and Millwall away. Home record has been Promotion form and the away record relegation form but it has been good to watch and well done to every player who have never given less than 100%. So have a good summer everuybody and I look forward to seeing you all back next season for hopefully an even better season. UTG
Selection- Big surprise with selection of Clarke-Salter in preference to Sweeney and also expected Gaffney to be in the team but was not even on bench. Montano missing completely was understandable given DC's decision this week to release him.
Rovers- Diabolical defending from the first whistle until half time left the team with a mountain to climb. Midfield were outnumbered and the centre of the defence was slow and cumbersome. Followed on from Peterborough with some more gift wrapped goals although one of the goals looked yards offside. Second half better but after equalising the key moment was when Luke Jams was fouled breaking through but the referee allowed Millwall the benefit of the doubt and they forced the corner rom which they scored with a well directed header to win the game.
Lumley 6.5 Looked a bit shaky early on which was not helped by the defence in front of him but overall sound and well worth signing based on his perormances throughout the loan period.
Leadbetter7 Better attacking than defending as the winger was given too much space in the first half and it has to be said that his final ball was too often lacking although he did link well with bodin on the first two goals.
Lockyer 5 Back to pre Christmas form. Should have done better with the third goal where he allowed the opponent to drift in front of him. Without a tall dominating centre half Tom looks unsure and with Clarke-Salter playing well below par it was a difficult afternoon for Tom as well.
Clarke Salter 4
Awful. Not good enough for League 1 and looked well off the pace and was beaten far too often in the air. He does not have the physical presence of Sweeney and personally I would not even think of trying to loan him again.
Brown 6 Good to have him back after injury. Was not at his best but did OK and very unlucky with a cross cum shot that I think hit the post before Harrison could reach it.
Moore 7.5 MOM
Probably his best game with some lovely runs and touches. Worked hard throughout and rarely gave the ball away. I think we could well see the best of him next season.
Sinclair 5.5
Energetic performance but the Lines/Sinclair combination just doesn't work. They struggled to get into the game in the first twenty minutes and in a midfield two Sinclair leaves too many gaps and that forces Lines to play far too deep.
Lines 6 Great goal following Bodins shot blocked and plenty of good runsd with the ball but first half too many wayward passes and could do with playing twenty yards further up the pitch. His corners were ; as usual; far too long.
Bodin 6.5
Lots of clever footwork and ball skills and the only real danger. Hit the post on the first goal which fell to Easter and set up Lines for the second. third goal was a superb free kick that found the top corner from 25-30 yards out
Harrison 6 Won a lot in the air in both attacking and defensive positions but apart from that was no real danger and that is the worry as he is not a prolific goalscorer.
Easter 6 Why he is being released I don't know. Perhaps has too much skill and vision rather than being energetic and all action for DC. Scored with a vicious close in shot after Bodin hit the post and controlled the ball well and was always available. Replaced by James and with that probably went any hopes we had of scoring another goal.
Subs
James 5 Did very little. Just not physical enough and with his goalscoring record I just don't know why he was brought on. Personally I would not be at all disappointed if this is the last we see of him.
Broom 5 One good cross but did nothing to improve the side. Next season will be his make or break.
Ref 4 Awful and not helped by his linesmen. One goal looked very suspiciously offside and the challenge on Luke James looked very much a foul but he allowed Millwall to play on and force the corner from which the winner was scored. Challenge by Millwall player on Leadbitter looked very much a red card
rather than a yellow.
Millwall 6 Made to look a lot better than they were
by our defensive frailties.Can't see them going through the Play offs though won't be disappointed to say goodbye to them!
Crowd 6 Huge crowd and made a lot of noise but why oh why can the idiots who bring flares not leave them at home or stay at home themselves. They let down the majority.
DC Has given us a good first season back in League 1. Can't understand why he selected Clarke-Salter over Sweeney or why Gaffney didn't start and the substitutions did nothing to improve us and in fact made the team worse. Hope he has learnt a lot from this season and also in the signings he has made since promotion last season. With 10 or 11 signings needed it is absolutely vital that he gets them right if we are to do better than this season. The best thing about DC is his ambition and I very much hope that the owners can match this ambition with his budget or I fear we will lose him. I firmly believe that he could be the man to lead us to the Championship and if he did this I believe he would be the best Manager of all time however to do this I feel he needs to become more consistent with team selection and make far less changes from week to week.
With that I write off for the completion of a very exciting season where we have mainly been in the majority of games with very few hammerings other than Charlton twice and Millwall away. Home record has been Promotion form and the away record relegation form but it has been good to watch and well done to every player who have never given less than 100%. So have a good summer everuybody and I look forward to seeing you all back next season for hopefully an even better season. UTG
