Pretty dire but a point towards our total

Well that was a pretty dire performance overall with neither side really looking good enough to score as goal and what was a ridiculous situation with fans. Why oh why did Wimbledon have it as buy on the day when the total they gave us as tickets was so near the actual capacity for away fans. It really is taking the water out of supporters who travelled without tickets as the game was still pay on the day with no real advice as to how many tickets would actually be available on the day and it seems like it was less than 100 that was available.

Anyway we arrived with the news that there were five changes, two enforced by injury and the others tactical and I would assume made because we had two games in three days. I really do feel that our team selected today was more about workrate than talent and the performance overall very much reflected that with very few creative moments and a midfield that lacked creativity from start to finish. Not convinced at all by the selection because IMO we should have been going all out to get the three points today against a team that were pretty well there for the taking and then worrying about Mondays selection between the end of this game and the start of Mondays. From the moment the Wombles went rightly down to ten men I have to say that for the rest of the game it never looked like we had the extra player. We didn't really look like losing but in truth we even less looked like winning. Yet again it was necessary to make three substitutions in the second half due to lack of spark from the first half team but if anything the second half was even worse. If we are going to play wingers then it is important that THEY give us width rather than awaiting the marauding full backs to provide it as that slows the game down so much and enabled our opponents to regroup.

Mildenhall 6 A very good save at a players feet but the flag was already up for offside. Made no real mistakes but for me stays stuck to his line when crosses fly across. Lacks the presence he once had but kept a clean sheet which is all you can ask your keeper to do.

James Clarke 6.5 Played well defensively and did little wrong. Didn't get forward a lot but was that really necessary anyway as we were playing with Bodin in front of him. IMO it was more a case of Bodin not having a good game rather than Clarke and in all honesty his first half performance was far better than Leadbitter's second half one. When are we going to provide a first half performance where all players play well and substitutions made are to give players a run out rather than a necessity.

Tom Lockyer 8 MOM Typical performance from Tom. Won a lot of the ball and never looked in any trouble. One very late tackle by Akinfenwa warranted a booking but Tom just gets up and gets on with it. He really looks a class player as he reads the game so well and his distribution is improving.

McCrystal 7 Played very well on his return to the side. The only reason I could really think that he replaced Parkes was to do with Mildenhall returning and the fact that Macs style of play is more suitable to having a goalkeeper who doesn't pass the ball out confidently to defenders. The defence handled a very difficult opponent in Akinfenwa very well and the fact that we restricted Wimbledon to very few chances really showed that defence and goalkeeper was not where our problems were today and in all honesty is not an area where we have problems very often.

Brown 7 Attacked quite well in the first half but for me he still does not release the ball early enough when he has a winger in front of him. That said he defended well and was rarely troubled.

Bodin 5 Poor game overall as there were very few tricks that worked today and did not really give us much width to our game which is essential when you are playing against ten players. Should have scored in the second half with a chance that looked easier to score than miss.

Mansell 6.5 For me this was not Manse's best but kept trying to drive the team forward without really having much creativity to unlock stubborn opponents. I can never see an Ollie Clarke/Mansell combination working as there is no real creativity between them. Cannot fault Manse's defensive qualities in the middle and his leadership but we really need either the three in there with Sinclair or play maybe Easter in there to carry the ball forward. If Sinclair and Lines are going to be out much longer then we are going to need to bring in a central midfield player in the January window.

Clarke 6.5 For me he was better than Mansell in the first half but faded badly in the second half. Tried very hard but lacks the ability to carry the ball forward with confidence and rarely manages to get in a shot these days. IMO a reasonable bench player but it worries me that the best we can put out at the moment is a Mansell/Clarke partnership as this is not going to be good enough to keep us either in or chasing a Play off spot.

Gosling 5 Another who IMO is not consistent enough or strong enough to warrant starting a game and his moments in a game are certainly not often enough. Overall our midfield four did not influence the game enough and when you play against opponents who are more than happy to keep whacking the ball in the air then you need your middle players to bring the ball down and pass it quickly and control the pace of the game.

Taylor 5.5 Why did DC break up the Gaffney partnership that has served us well recently. Totally baffled me really. Classy flick on that sent Harrison away only to be brought down for the sending off and should have scored in the first half but chipped the ball straight into the goalkeepers arms when he should have kept going and at least got his shot on target. This was Mattys worst overall performance and I am not convinced that Taylor/Harrison can ever make a combination at this level.

Harrison 5 Apart from his early turn of pace he was very disappointing for me and I have to be honest and say that I am not convinced that he is good enough to lead our attack or in fact  be in the starting 11. I would have been more inclined to have kept him on when Gaffney came on and replaced either Matty or Bodin.

Substitutes

Leadbitter 4 A very disappointing performance. Seemed all over the place when he came on and his first touch was very poor. He definitely looked a weak link in what was previously a good defensive performance and we looked far more vulnerable down that side in the second half.

Montano 5 No better or worse than Gosling/Bodin and did actually manage to put two good crosses in and a shot just over. At the moment how we play I see little point in having any wingers as both full backs hold on to the ball too long  and our attacks are very much laboured events.

Gaffney 5 Only on a short time and did nothing of note.

Referee 6 Not the best and not the worst. Allowed Wimbledon to time waste.

Crowd 7 Good turn out again but the game didn't help the atmosphere.

DC Can't really criticise his dabbling when we draw or lose because he does this when we win as well but it is my opinion that he made too many changes today and it seems clear to me that a midfield partnership of Ollie Clarke and Mansell is never going to be good enough. How he can continually have Easter on the bench when we are so lacking in creative players is a mystery to me  in the same way that he trys to play with wingers but then have the full backs failing to bring them into the game quick enough. Only two home victories will make todays game a good point and at present I am not convinced that the side he is picking is good enough to beat either Orient or Luton. I very much hope he proves me wrong on both counts.