Player Ratings: Bristol Rovers vs Accrington (RESULTS)

Slocombe 5 Only had to pick the ball out the net twice, crap distribution
J. Clarke 4.5 Struggled only plus the cross for goal
Lockyer 4 Poor
Broadbent 4 Poor
Craig 4 Poor
Bennett 4 Seemed unhappy with tactics and his role
Sercombe 4 Wasted on the wing
Upson 4 Don't see what he adds
Rodman 5 reasonable don't understand why he was withdrawn
O Clarke 4 Poor
Payne 8 MOM by country mile, needs help

Nicholls 5 average
Lines 4 Didnt really improve things
Matthews NOLE

Ref 3 Simply dreadful
D.C. 4 Got it wrong
Accy 7 Good footballing team
Crowd 4 Understandably support subdued

Something is very wrong in the camp,the manager will soon be gone in way way or another. Players seemed confused and unhappy with tactics. Someone who I stand by in the ground said that things are going on behind the scenes which she had been sworn to secrecy about (boyfriend works at the club). The whole club and the running of it and the structure is wrong. What's the point of having a head of recruitment if we cannot recruit, what's the point of having a defensive coach if we cannot defend? Early days I know but the signs are there. Accy are a good footballing team and they deservedly won today.

Slocombe - 6 - Couldn’t do much with the goals but his distribution left a bit to be desired at times

J. Clarke - 5 - Got forward quite well but you can’t overlook the fact his man scored 2 goals against us.
Lockyer - 4 - Not dominant in the air or tackle. Still just boots it.
Broadbent - 5 - Probably the best of the defence but too many passes went went straight to an Accrington player.
Craig - 3 - Not a left back.

O. Clarke - 4 - Showed passion but his tackling and passing weren’t at his usual high standards.
Upson - 5 - Tried hard but gave away a lot of free kicks. Didn’t offer much going forward or when he took the set pieces. Still did a semi decent job of shielding the defence.
Sercombe - 5 - Not up to his fantastic standards of last season but seemed to be played out of position today and could never get into the game.

Rodman - 6 - Hard working performance with a bit of quality at times.
Payne - 8 - Poor service but held the ball up, chased every lost cause and got a well deserved goal. Looks like we could have a good player on our hands.
Bennett - 5 - Can’t remember him doing much wrong but not much right either. Quiet game for him.

Subs: Lines - 5 - Tried to pick the ball up from defence and get our play going but not too effective. Wish he started.
Nichols - 5 - Worked hard and held the ball up well at times but for someone who is meant to be an out and out striker, he didn’t really threaten in that regard.
Matthews - 5 - Some good touches and passes but not really on long enough to do much.

Crowd - 5 - Very loud after the goal but the weather and dross on the pitch seemed to dampen a lot of spirits.
Ref - 4 - Poor. Took too long to get the first card out, allowed their LB to run about 6 steps for every throw in and allowed Accrington’s time wasting from about the 20th minute.
Accrington - 7 - Some of their players spent too long rolling around on the floor for my liking as well as time wasting from an early point but they were big and strong in defence and also played some good 1 touch attacking football. McConville is a cracking player.

Slocombe: 5. Didn't have much to do.

Clarke: 5. Great cross. Tried hard and didn't let us down. That said, need Parts back soon.
Lockyer: 5. Ordinary by his standards.
Broadbent: 4. Man mountain but doesn't win headers. Don't feel secure with him in the middle at the moment.
Craig: 5. Out of position and didn't suit him. Need him back in the middle but needs must I suppose. Left back on loan would be good.

Rodman: 7. Played well and caused some problems. Strange call to take him off, but to be fair we scored from a right wing cross after he came off so difficult to criticise decision.
Upson: 3. Dreadful today. I do think he's a good signing but for me it's has to be one of him, Ollie or Sincs.
Clarke: 6. Battled hard. Him and Upson together though were too similar today and too far away from Payne.
Sercombe: 5. One fierce shot in first half that was going in before last gasp block. Other than that, completely anonymous. In fairness though, he was out of position out wide.
Bennett: 6. Tried but got kicked by a cynical Accy side every time he got the ball. Too lightweight to play central.

Payne: 8. Put himself about and was a handful. Would like to see passes on the deck to him.

Nichols: 6.5. Did pretty well when he came on although I just think it's not going to happen.
Lines: 6.5. Must play. He is the most creative player we have by a distance and might have helped link midfield to attack better than we did today.
Matthews: don't recall him touching the ball but wasn't on long.

DC: I'm his biggest fan however think that for once, he got it wrong today. Would have liked to see Leads at RB and Clarke at LB. Not ideal but best we can do at present and would have enabled Craig to play at centre half with Locks. Upson and Clarke were too deep to affect play going forward, hence Payne being isolated. Didn't understand why Bennett was central and Sercombe wide when there was enough square pegs as it was.
DC is still the man though and to even suggest otherwise is surely madness.

Ref: 3. Dreadful. Just dreadful. Given Accy's time wasting and cynicism, failure to get cards out until 86th minute was baffling.

Accy: 5. At times neat, but overriding memory of them today is their constant niggling fouls and time wasting.

Would like to see us go with something like this (4-2-3-1)
Slocombe
Leadbitter/J Clarke, Lockyer, Craig, J Clarke/loaned LB
O Clarke, Lines
Rodman, Sercombe, Bennett
Payne

Slocombe- Will he ever keep a clean sheet? Distribution a major failure. He now has a number 9 who wins headers so if he is going long play it to him! 6

J. Clarke- Great cross for the goal, but one moment in a game is not sufficient to maintain his place in the starting line up. Question marks on his position and closing down on both goals, defensively struggled. Played left back last week, right back this week maybe a useful squad member but effort alone is not enough. 4

Lockyer- Fell over on the first goal, generally an OK defensive game, he got stuck in, today his distribution was a little better then last week, but largely because he left the responsibility to Broadbent. 5

Broadbent- For every good pass there was another where he gave the ball away. Looks more confident then the other defenders on the ball but when the options were limited the ball was given up. Nothing special defensively and mistakes crept in. 5

Craig -For our most experience defender he failed to impress offered nothing going forward, and some of his passing put colleagues under unnecessary pressure, perhaps playing fullback is now beyond him. 4

O. Clarke - Like most of our players far too ponderous, it was an OK performance but shares responsibility for a midfield that was second best and failed to create chances. 5

Upson, nothing spectacular...in fact pretty much nothing. Our attackers were poorly serviced today, Upson technically looks good but failed to provide the creativity we needed. 5

Sercombe- Out of position wide on the right, must share with J Clarke responsibility for the second goal. next game he needs to play in a central position and then deliver. Liability playing wide a position he clearly does not want to play 5

Rodman- Some neat touches, but what was the point of signing a winger who seems not to want to attack the opposition full back. Very strange decision to take him off as he offered much needed width, I don't remember a cross although he did have a few neat touches-all in our half. 6

Payne- A debut performance that showed great promise, despite the poor service. He won the ball in the air, closed down well and brought others into the game. A great cross from Clarke and the kind of finish that we have hoped for from a target no 9. If he can keep up the same level of effort he will do well and be a favourite. Ideal for this division. MoM by a country mile 8

Bennett- Another frustrating game, doesn't look like a number 10, seems a player we are trying to fit into the team even though it distorts the balance. . And why does he insist on coming short for every free kick and corner. Seems to want to play the game like a five a-side match, tricky feet but delivered nothing. 5

Subs: Lines- Not a great game last week so left out this week? Our one creative player, needs to play at home and be told his job is to attack, stop the cross field 5 yard passing at the back and get forward where he can cause real damage. Give him the captaincy. 5

Nichols - Until he starts scoring will be the constant subject of abuse on this forum, but played well when he came on, and showed why he should have been in the starting line up. Like Payne fed off scraps, give him a run alongside Payne. 6

Matthews- His chance will come, as the rest of the midfield will play themselves out of the team if they repeat today's performances.

Accrington- Neat football for an away side and a good team performance, on a budget much smaller then ours. 8

Referee- No real complaints we lost it all on our own 6

DC- Team selection was wrong, we are at home, a lovely pitch, a baying crowd, we need pace and width and to attack. This team was very ponderous and sucked the atmosphere from the crowd.
Unfortunately although we try to play football from the back the defensive players we have are better suited to hoofing the ball up. This means Upson ( Lines) and O Clarke dropped in very deep to take the ball which allows the opposition to close them easily and leads to endless square or backward passing. not helped by a goal keeper who kicks and throws the ball out poorly which puts us back under pressure. Sercombe is not a wide player nor Bennett a number 10 and this makes us far to narrow. Leadbitter surely offers more as an attacking full back than J Clarke.
When we do get free kicks and corners lets get some crosses in. The players should be made to watch this game so they can understand the frustration we all felt watching us spurn chances to get the ball into the box. England showed in the summer how a well drilled team can play above themselves and pose a threat from set pieces- back to the training ground for DC. Two below par performances against very average opposition something is not right we need a marked improvement. 5

Slocombe 5
Clarke J 5
Lockyer 4.5
Craig 4.5
Broadbent 4.5
Upson 5
Sercombe 3.5
Clarke O 3
Rodman 6
Payne 7.5 mom
Bennett. 5

Lines 4
Nichols 5
Matthews 4

Ref 5
Crowd 6
Accrington 6

So deflated by that game today that I can’t bring myself to give a reasoning for each score, but here they are:

Slocombe - 5

J. Clarke - 4
Lockyer - 5
Broadbent - 6
Craig - 3

O. Clarke - 4
Upson - 3
Sercombe - 4.5

Rodman - 6
Payne - 7.5
Bennett - 5.5

Subs: Lines - 4
Nichols - 6
Matthews - N/A

Crowd 4
Ref 3
Accrington 7

Slocombe 6 no chance with either goal.

J. Clarke 5.5 his cross for equaliser.
Lockyer 4.5 should have stepped up. Didn't.
Broadbent 6 decent. My m o m.
Craig 4.5 not good enough.

O. Clarke 5 decapitated chicken.
Upson 5 tried but poor distribution.
Sercombe 5 played in wrong position.

Rodman 4.5 struggling.
Payne 6 nice debut centre forward goal.
Bennett 5 shadow of last season.

Subs: Lines 6 brought game into focus.
Nichols 6 tried and was unlucky.
Matthews 6 again looks lively.

Crowd 8 supportive, but we're no mugs.
Ref 4 let them get away with everything.
Accrington 5.5 better than us with a poor score!

Slocombe 5 - he didn’t have a lot to aim for with distribution to be fair

J Clarke 4 - so frustrating to watch as his decision making is so slow that costs him and us dearly but one player that has an excuse for me as he’s non league standard and it’s not as if he played at a good level and no on his way down he’s just completely out of his depth

Broadbent 6 - only player that tried playing football and played with some passion

Lockyer 4 - as more and more games go by he’s still not looking to rise to the top with his performances...very disjointed and his football brain isn’t one of a top six to championship standard as he still hasn’t figured out how much he gives the ball away with thumping it to there centre half

Craig 3 - playing him at left back really showed how bad he is on the ball and how bad he is at giving his opponents to much space, he was a big time duff buy in my books and has only made the situation a lot worse as he’s another one along with Lockyer that’s undroppable and
As long as he’s in defence we’re on the back foot

Sercs 4 - our best midfielder and out of position and not central so I think it’s unfair to say anymore

Upson 3 - everything he touched went wrong and had a nightmare but why play to holding midfielders together with him and Ollie making a big gap between our midfield and theirs?

O Clarke 3 - you could forget he was on the field as played far to deep

Bennett 5 - flashes again of greatness but in a system where he looked lost in

Rodman 5 - he was just getting his head together before he was taken off for a tactical reason??? Dc messed up big time there

Payne 6 - not sure he was excellent like a lot of people wherevsaying but was there for the goal and put himself about


Nichols 4 - to be fair hard game to come on for and showed a few nice turns and touches

Lines 4 - should have been on at half time for Upson and made a slight difference to our play when he did come on

Mathews 4 - didn’t get enough time

Dc 3 - completely wrong tactics and getting fed up with the constant team changes with formations....if it carry’s on with this squad we’re looking at a relegation battle

Ref 2 - awful performance and lost control of game by not booking players earlier on

Stanley 6- the difference between them and us is they play it out from the back as their coached better than us to do so...

Now Lee brown has gone its very noticeable that he was the only one capable of doing this and when he did we played very well on those days but not we’re thump it to a lone striker team which means bottom 4 team

Crowd 8 - good numbers and atmosphere to start with but nothing to sing about after 10 minutes