Player Ratings: Peterborough vs. Bristol Rovers (RESULTS)

Slocombe- poor distribution led to the first goal, although others equally need to share responsibility. Second goal hard to say he could have done better. Needs to produce some clean sheets 6

Leadbitter- good to see his pace back in defence, touch looked rusty and led to him giving the ball away too often, would be nice to see a bit more aggression. Needs to do more but not a bad return 6
Lockyer- Solid game but as always in every game has a moment when he switches off, he has to be questioned for losing his man so easily on the first goal. Good commitment to get a goal back but not the commanding defender we need in this division . Having Tom as skipper may need rethinking perhaps allow him to concentrate on getting his own game right would be beneficial. In the transfer window anything over £600K would be good business for us. 6
Craig -Older and slower then Lockyer but just as prone to losing his man. Has experience which adds some calmness but for me again he does not command the defence. 5
J. Clarke- Unfortunately is just not good enough at this level, his crossing is woeful, and general distribution poor. However he was not at fault for the goals and worked hard all game to ensure he let no one down. 5

Rodman- hard to judge on this performance, I don't recall him taking on the fullback. His crossing wasn't great, but looking up he may have struggled to work out who he was going to cross to. No really a threat going forward. 6
Upson- best player for us, look stylish playing the ball out from the back. A few mistakes towards the end of the game as tiredness crept in. One nice shot and certainly looked at ease at this level. Need to see if he will compliment or replace lines. 7
Lines- Generally a big fan but today was a poor game from Chris, looked lethargic in his passing which was too often of the mark, frustratingly slowed play down too much. Did not have a shot which is not good enough for an attacking midfielder and this needs to be worked on. He will struggle to maintain his place if he does not step up. 5
Sercombe- Like others he didn't show up for the first half, failed to close down on the first goal and looked off the pace out wide. Improved in the second half but the central midfield still looked crowded with him straying inside too much, may be a decision as to whether we need him in the middle behind the striker and play someone who can be disciplined when playing out wide. 5

Bennett- Not his day, stupid yellow card, frustrating too watch as he constantly gave the ball away, improved a little second half and good to see him at least have a few shots even if well wide of the mark. Today Bennett (and Lines) had a habit of one touch sloppy passing that never came off. 5
Nichols- will take the brunt of the frustration on this forum but in truth the quality of balls played to him from the midfield was very poor. One chance, he needed to take one touch and hit it, but doesn't look the player to do it at present. Worked hard but failed to look a potent threat although he did hold up the ball a few times and bring the midfield into play . 5

Subs: Reilly- chased hard, but looks like a super-sub rather then a 20 goal a season man.
Matthews- neat control but not on long enough to judge how good he will prove to be.
Mensah-a good chance on the header and those opportunities are the difference between Div 1 and non league. Would like to see him take on his man and run at the full back, he looks like he should terrorise the fullback but is trying to hard to fit into a team.

Peterborough - average team who we should not be losing so easily to.

DC; 9 defeats out of 10 on the opening day tells a story. Rovers have again not prepared well enough, we looked far too lethargic and too often were second to the ball. We have a neat team of skilled players but lack aggression. Neat short passing game is great but tends to fall apart too easily due to poor touches. DC needs to get players up from the start of games and not when 1 or 2 down the lethargy for the first game of a new season was plain to see. Far too much distraction with the departure of Ellis. DC needs to concentrate on the players he has and pay less attention to the media. Concentrate more on getting it right on the training pitch (we do still have one).

Substutions; Strange decision to take Leadbitter of and put Rodman to fullback that is not a positive move, we needed more not less width. 6

The squad has greater depth then we have had for a long time but team is still 3 players short. A commander central defender, a goal scoring (target man) centre forward and combative midfield player. Effectively the spine of the team! Will be keen to get Joe Partington back in at right back or even persevere with him at centre back and to see if Olly Clarke is the poor Olly of last season or the player who deserves a starting place from 18 months ago.

DC and players need to give a big response now.

Slocombe 6.5 not at fault with goals, distribution poor.

Leadbitter 6 not a Danny boy.
Lockyer 6 beaten too many times.
Craig 7 m o m.
J. Clarke 6.5 got forward second half.

Rodman 5.5 oh dear.
Upson 6 my dear.
Lines 6 old dear.
Sercombe 7 deery dear.

Bennett 6.5 trying hard.
Nichols 5 very trying.

Subs: Reilly 6 better.
Matthews 6 betterer
Mensah 6.5 best.

Crowd 8 well done us. They were quiet.
Ref 6 some baffling decisions.
Peterborough 8 outplayed us again. Their 16&5 had easiest matches as centre backs, their 10 m o m with fast feet trickery.

Slocombe 7  Improved as game progressed. No chance with goals.

Leadbitter 6   Looked like he needed this game, poss not as quick post injury ?
Lockyer 5.5   Drifted in and out, not commanding enough.
Craig 6  Solid, maybe not match fit and vocally quiet ?
J. Clarke 6.5   Got stuck in with runs but looked a bit rusty.

Rodman 6  Looked a bit overawed at times, reluctant to enter the fray.
Upson 7  Thought he grew into the game and was confident / had time on the ball.
Lines 6.5  Different class, he can only "distribute" to his fellow players if they are
                  in position. He was totally bolloxed at the final whistle.
Sercombe  6.5 Put in a shift. Always +ve, always chasing.

Bennett 5.5  A few maizy runs, lost his rhythm after the yellow for back chatting the ref.
Nichols 4  Confirms he struggles in the side.

Subs: Reilly 7 Challenged for the ball, battled in tackles.
Matthews 7 Ditto
Mensah 7 Ditto. Looks a great prospect, physically strong and quick.

Crowd Glorious  Gasheads 8.5 ... Library Posh 5 ( for turning up )
Ref 7  Not bad. Consistent in the main.
Peterborough  Very well drilled defensively , 3 tall solid centre backs, two quick forwards.Goliath keeper.

After just 90 minutes of football it would be wrong to judge. End of.That said I thought we looked a bit
ring rusty all round.Fitness levels varied.
We still lack any cohesion in front of goal / just outside the box.
Tom Nichols needs to start producing. 

After the first goal, we stabilised and dug in, but their second goal was a stunner to be fair.
Second half we came out and looked more positive, albeit Posh sitting back inviting us on. We looked a
different team and were a match for them.
Upson grew in confidence, the three subs Reilly, Matthews and Mensah added some pace and dynamism
to the team...there was a sense of urgency now and belief had returned ,( for me ! )
We were well worth our goal.

If we can reproduce that second half performance with a 100% fit team, add a Matt Taylor type "quality"
forward, a Steve Elliott type central defender, polish up aforementioned defence, then there is no reason
why we can't improve as the season progresses.

Slocombe  5.5  - no chance with both goals.  No difficult saves to make but distribution poor and look a bit shaky at times when balls came into the box.


Leadbitter  5 - no doubt is a good player but appears to be lacking confidence and fitness
Lockyer  5 - doesn't inspire confidence.  Thought at the end of last season he was passing better but back to hoofball today.  At times looked a good player 
but too prone to errors.
Craig 5 - again looks vulnerable when balls come into the box.  Not a bad performance but a few lapses of concentration.
J. Clarke  5.5 - steady performance but lacks pace going forward and being right footed means he is quite predictable and easier to defend against when he does.


Rodman  5 - his poor clearance in the first minute led to the move for the first goal.  We know he is a good player from past performances against us but did not really do much today.
Upson  6.5 - a number of errors but clearly our best player today
Lines  5.5 - very inconsistent error strewn performance.  Clearly not match fit but gave 100% and was out on his feet at the end
Sercombe  5.5 - some good moments but did not have much influence on the game.  Playing on the left hand side is clearly not his best position.


Bennett  5 - bullied off the ball too often.  When he plays does behind the front-man in away games he almost always seems too lightweight.  More effective in this role in home games when we are on the front foot and he has more time on the ball
Nichols  5.5 - held the ball up a lot better than could had been expected but still muscled off the ball far to often to be selected as the lone striker.  Had a few half-chances.  All strikers need to be taking a percentage of these.  Had good support from the Rovers fans.

Subs: Reilly  5 - one or too good moments but appeared lightweight
Matthews  5.5 - one or too good moments and gave some energy to the team
Mensah  5 - too many lapses of concentration leading to unforced errors.  Clearly, although not very tall, the strongest of the current bunch of front men in the air.  Would of hoped after a pre-season training at league One level he would be starting to deliver after bedding in last season.  Needs to start scoring.


Crowd  6 - Gasheads quieter than usual for most of the game.
Ref  6
Peterborough 7 - Two goals very well taken.  Then they relaxed and sat back.  Although we had lots of position we did not really trouble their keeper until the last few minutes.  Their back line looked strong and their defending was very organised unlike ours.  

Slocombe 5
Leadbitter 4
Lockyer 6
Craig 5
J. Clarke 6
Rodman 4
Upson 7 
Lines 4
Sercombe 4
Bennett 4
Nichols 7

Subs:
Reilly 5
Matthews 6
Mensah 4


Crowd 7

Ref 6

Peterborough 8

About as funny as Craig MOM!