Post by stevek192 on Nov 19, 2016 23:26:08 GMT
After the excitement of the FA Cup it was back to the real serious stuff today and a quick return match with "Franchise FC". It is often a good game- no not the game against MK Dons but trying to guess the starting line up and today I think even the biggest DC supporters must have seen that he had totally over done it and in some ways Lost the Plot. I can assure you this is not an "After the Match" criticism but one I felt on seeing the Team Sheet. No less than seven changes is bordering on the ridiculous especially taking into account the Performance on Tuesday. I could see no reason for the inclusion of Ollie Clarke when you already have a defensive "sideways and backwards" Man in Sinclair and none of Taylor, Gaffney,Lines or Montano deserved to be left out and probably Connor Roberts will be very disappointed to have been left out of the squad completely. Many will say that DC does not deserve any criticism because the results gained by his tinkering has far exceeded defeats however IMO he deserves criticism on this as much as any player for a bad performance. because he left us totally devoid of any width and playing Harrison based on his recent performances was poor to say the least and I honestly think that now his many changes are affecting individuals performance and the understanding of the various departments.
That said apart from the three or four saves that Roos had to make there were few other anxious moments and bad luck,poor finishing and poor refereeing decisions all added up to a frustrating afternoon. It certainly was not an epic nor was it a poor game but it was very compact both halves with little width to the team and until Gaffney appeared an inability to hold the ball up or run at the opposition.
Roos 8 Thank god that he has answered all his critics from a few games ago with three spectacular saves, good handling and command of his area and good consistency in his performances . Overall he didn't have a great deal to do after the first 35 minutes.
Leadbitter 7.5 Good at both ends of the pitch and worked tirelessly with his pace proving too much in several touch and go races for the ball with an opponent. Had to return when DC decided to go without wingers as Roberts does lack confidence or maybe the ability to attack down the flanks.
Lockyer 8.5 MOM For me his best game of the season against decent opposition. it has taken quite a time to come but hopefully Tom can now maintain this level of both defending and use of the ball when bringing it out.
Clarke-Salter 8 Calm and authorative on the ball and won most of the aerial battles. He really looks to be one for the future although he does not possess quite the attacking threat at corners that Hartley brings to the team but I would say that defensively he has the edge on Hartley.
Brown 5.5 Not at his best and wasted far too much of the ball with overhit passes and crosses. Without a winger in front of him he lacked the outlet to set him up behind the opponents defence and was probably as ineffective as I have seen him although he did manage to get some crosses in late in the game.
Colkett 4 His poorest game so far as he struggled to get into the game and deserved to be subbed.The only surprise was that it wasn't done at half time.
Sinclair 7 Just "another day at the office" for Sincs. Worked and worked to unsettle MK Dons and even managed to get forward on a couple of occasions but should have got his shots on target. Kept us in possession often even if the majority of his passes were backwards and sideways.
Ollie Clarke 5 Just didn't get involved enough and I honestly cannot see why he was selected when we already have one player in Sinclair who fails to pass the ball forward very often. I felt he should have been subbed before Boateng who at least always wants the ball and has the skill to both run with the ball and pass it accurately. Was slightly better in the second half.
Easter 6 Was far better in the second half when he was just behind the forwards but spent most of the first half trying without success to close the opposition down and stop then playing.
Boateng 6.5 I felt he was unlucky to have been subbed as he was probably our most creative midfielder in the first half. Does lose the ball at times but I would rather a midfielder try to play the ball forward and run forward than spend most of the game playing sideways and back. He really looks like he has talent and is very skilful but for me will never hold down a place in a DC side that is mainly based on hard work ethic and effort.
Harrison 4.5 Should have scored at least one goal with headers from good positions. He did not warrant a starting place and overall IMO did not do anywhere near enough to start on Tuesday.
Subs
Lines 7 A mystery why he was left out as we struggled to dominate the midfield which IMO was not surprising as I have yet to see us do that with a midfield that contain both Sinclair and Ollie Clarke, Started to really dominate possession when he came on and finished the game well on top.
Gaffney 7 A great improvement on Harrison and suddenly the MK Dons defence looked unsettled as Rory set about them and spraed the ball about well and was unlucky not to add to the two he scored on Tuesday.
Taylor 6 Did not really do that much but why was he left out when he is far away our best striker and goals are so hard to come by for the rest of the team..
DC Far too much respect shown to a team that are fourth from the bottom for a reason. The trouble with his selection today was that only three substitutes could be made as very few of his 7 changes really came off and to start with three of the main successes the other night on the bench for a team that struggles to score regularly was the main reason why we struggled poorly first half and yet we still should have scored a few. Please Darrell lets have at least one winger back on Tuesday and lets try to make a good start to the game and one other point-using three subs so quick is I am sure going to cost us points at some stage and today could have seen us go down to ten men when Sincs was injured and there were no substitutions left. The main trouble today was that we really needed about five substitutions to put right what seven changes had made wrong. In fact 7 changes was not in the "spirit of the game" and perhaps Darrell should be fined £3000 ! or perhaps as he had suggested it was not his selection today and the FA had obliged!!
Referee 5 Far too easily conned but was OK which shows mjust how bad the majority are..
MK Dons 7 Play good expansive football but their defence really is an accident waiting to happen which is obviously the reason they are near the bottom because to me they look a much better team than their position suggests. That said much of their success was down to the way we set up and allowed them to attack us far too often. I really feel we are starting to try to "hide" our tactics but in fact all we are doing is playing into the hands of a team like MK Dons who played no differently than they played in the home match and with very few changes.
Crowd 5 Just over 9,000 is good numbers and they tried to get behind the team but that can be difficult when we set up so defensively and allow so much possession to our opponents. The crowd woke up second half as did the team.
So Tuesday we get a chance to put right the last two results with another home match which would be idea if we win to give us a win , a draw and a defeat from the last three games which would be a reasonable return. I really hope that DC stops tinkering so much and decides which are his best formation and players and gives them a chance to get a bit of understanding as I really hope this is just a bleep and not going to be the start of a poor run. I see Charlton as being another side that will be over respected and another game where wingers will be unlikely to be played so there is no doubt that we will be pushed to the limit. For me, at the present time Ollie Clarke and Harrison are not good enough and Gaffney and Taylor are our best option upfront. Lines should be the first name on the team sheet in midfield and a place found for Montano to give us width. Boateng is worth a start probably with Sinclair. At the end of the day it is a pretty pointless exercise picking a team because it is just impossible to see exactly what DC is doing and the number of changes is now starting to hinder our ability to play as a team.
That said apart from the three or four saves that Roos had to make there were few other anxious moments and bad luck,poor finishing and poor refereeing decisions all added up to a frustrating afternoon. It certainly was not an epic nor was it a poor game but it was very compact both halves with little width to the team and until Gaffney appeared an inability to hold the ball up or run at the opposition.
Roos 8 Thank god that he has answered all his critics from a few games ago with three spectacular saves, good handling and command of his area and good consistency in his performances . Overall he didn't have a great deal to do after the first 35 minutes.
Leadbitter 7.5 Good at both ends of the pitch and worked tirelessly with his pace proving too much in several touch and go races for the ball with an opponent. Had to return when DC decided to go without wingers as Roberts does lack confidence or maybe the ability to attack down the flanks.
Lockyer 8.5 MOM For me his best game of the season against decent opposition. it has taken quite a time to come but hopefully Tom can now maintain this level of both defending and use of the ball when bringing it out.
Clarke-Salter 8 Calm and authorative on the ball and won most of the aerial battles. He really looks to be one for the future although he does not possess quite the attacking threat at corners that Hartley brings to the team but I would say that defensively he has the edge on Hartley.
Brown 5.5 Not at his best and wasted far too much of the ball with overhit passes and crosses. Without a winger in front of him he lacked the outlet to set him up behind the opponents defence and was probably as ineffective as I have seen him although he did manage to get some crosses in late in the game.
Colkett 4 His poorest game so far as he struggled to get into the game and deserved to be subbed.The only surprise was that it wasn't done at half time.
Sinclair 7 Just "another day at the office" for Sincs. Worked and worked to unsettle MK Dons and even managed to get forward on a couple of occasions but should have got his shots on target. Kept us in possession often even if the majority of his passes were backwards and sideways.
Ollie Clarke 5 Just didn't get involved enough and I honestly cannot see why he was selected when we already have one player in Sinclair who fails to pass the ball forward very often. I felt he should have been subbed before Boateng who at least always wants the ball and has the skill to both run with the ball and pass it accurately. Was slightly better in the second half.
Easter 6 Was far better in the second half when he was just behind the forwards but spent most of the first half trying without success to close the opposition down and stop then playing.
Boateng 6.5 I felt he was unlucky to have been subbed as he was probably our most creative midfielder in the first half. Does lose the ball at times but I would rather a midfielder try to play the ball forward and run forward than spend most of the game playing sideways and back. He really looks like he has talent and is very skilful but for me will never hold down a place in a DC side that is mainly based on hard work ethic and effort.
Harrison 4.5 Should have scored at least one goal with headers from good positions. He did not warrant a starting place and overall IMO did not do anywhere near enough to start on Tuesday.
Subs
Lines 7 A mystery why he was left out as we struggled to dominate the midfield which IMO was not surprising as I have yet to see us do that with a midfield that contain both Sinclair and Ollie Clarke, Started to really dominate possession when he came on and finished the game well on top.
Gaffney 7 A great improvement on Harrison and suddenly the MK Dons defence looked unsettled as Rory set about them and spraed the ball about well and was unlucky not to add to the two he scored on Tuesday.
Taylor 6 Did not really do that much but why was he left out when he is far away our best striker and goals are so hard to come by for the rest of the team..
DC Far too much respect shown to a team that are fourth from the bottom for a reason. The trouble with his selection today was that only three substitutes could be made as very few of his 7 changes really came off and to start with three of the main successes the other night on the bench for a team that struggles to score regularly was the main reason why we struggled poorly first half and yet we still should have scored a few. Please Darrell lets have at least one winger back on Tuesday and lets try to make a good start to the game and one other point-using three subs so quick is I am sure going to cost us points at some stage and today could have seen us go down to ten men when Sincs was injured and there were no substitutions left. The main trouble today was that we really needed about five substitutions to put right what seven changes had made wrong. In fact 7 changes was not in the "spirit of the game" and perhaps Darrell should be fined £3000 ! or perhaps as he had suggested it was not his selection today and the FA had obliged!!
Referee 5 Far too easily conned but was OK which shows mjust how bad the majority are..
MK Dons 7 Play good expansive football but their defence really is an accident waiting to happen which is obviously the reason they are near the bottom because to me they look a much better team than their position suggests. That said much of their success was down to the way we set up and allowed them to attack us far too often. I really feel we are starting to try to "hide" our tactics but in fact all we are doing is playing into the hands of a team like MK Dons who played no differently than they played in the home match and with very few changes.
Crowd 5 Just over 9,000 is good numbers and they tried to get behind the team but that can be difficult when we set up so defensively and allow so much possession to our opponents. The crowd woke up second half as did the team.
So Tuesday we get a chance to put right the last two results with another home match which would be idea if we win to give us a win , a draw and a defeat from the last three games which would be a reasonable return. I really hope that DC stops tinkering so much and decides which are his best formation and players and gives them a chance to get a bit of understanding as I really hope this is just a bleep and not going to be the start of a poor run. I see Charlton as being another side that will be over respected and another game where wingers will be unlikely to be played so there is no doubt that we will be pushed to the limit. For me, at the present time Ollie Clarke and Harrison are not good enough and Gaffney and Taylor are our best option upfront. Lines should be the first name on the team sheet in midfield and a place found for Montano to give us width. Boateng is worth a start probably with Sinclair. At the end of the day it is a pretty pointless exercise picking a team because it is just impossible to see exactly what DC is doing and the number of changes is now starting to hinder our ability to play as a team.