Red_Jim Posted September 25, 2004 Report Share Posted September 25, 2004 Interesting game today which highlighted everything that is good and bad about City currently. We cannot apply the basic principles of defending (closing players down, attacking the ball) but we look menacing going forward. This team can beat anyone in the division, but can just as easily lose to anyone. One thing is clear though; we will not get promoted playing football like we are. We are too disorganised and tactically we are naive. Great spirit to get the draw, but we should NEVER have made things that difficult for ourselves. Fatigue from the Everton game certainly played its part, but there should be no excuses for the defending on any of Huddersfield's three goals. A draw is a poor result despite the fact things could have been much worse, but I feel it is the fair result. Ratings: Phillips - 6 - Couldn't be faulted for any of the goals. Didn't have to face many crosses today, but the commanding presence of the Huddersfield keeper in his own box was something I noticed. Steve is almost certainly the better shot-stopper of the two, but the Huddersfield keeper showed how to command an area, by making crosses his own. Smith - 5 - Felt he had a poorer game than usual today. Was partly at fault for 3rd goal as he allowed the striker to cut inside far to easily. Got forward better than he defended. Coles - 5 - Totally asleep for the second goal, and looked all over the place in the first half. More solid 2nd half marks him up from a 4. Butler - 6 - The most solid of the back four - individually played ok, but failed to organise the rest of his defence as he should have done. Hill - 5 - Indecision at times, especially in the build up to their third goal, showing lack of communication with Smith. Difficult to single out one defender as worse than the others as the defending collectively as a back four is the biggest worry, not individual performances and mistakes. Doherty - 4 - Poor display after the high of midweek. Gave away possession too often, and looked weary and off the pace for much of the game. Orr - 6 - Solid enough, but again looked shattered after Everton, before being taken off in the 2nd half. Worked hard though, and covered a lot of ground. Wilkshire - 6 - Scored the equaliser and was eager to get on the ball. Over-eagerness to drift inside though left our left-hand side very open. His inability to hold his position gave Hill too much work to do. Would be better behind the front two I think. Murray - 8 - Head and shoulders above the rest of the team today. Was at the heart of City's best football, and looked dangerous. Good goal, but poor miss on his left foot in 2nd half. Created numerous crosses into the box, none being taken advantage of. The old Scotty is back - good job too, as we need him right now. Roberts - 6 - Quiet game. Failed to really get into it today without doing anything wrong in particular. Looked jaded like many of the team after Wednesday. Lita - 7 - Worked hard, but with poor service in general. His pace and direct running caused problems and won us the penalty. Showed bottle to take the pen and finished it well. Subs - Tinnion - 6 - Looked tidy as usual while on the ball, without really making a huge impact. Heffernan - 7 - Got into good positions and had a good effort drift just wide. Pushing hard for a starting place now. Miller - 6 - Had little time to make an impression. Feel sorry for him as he rarely has been given long enough to make his mark on the team. Whether we will ever see him realise his potential at City remains to be seen. Any opinions on my ratings? Have I been too harsh/generous? Up the City Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bucksred Posted September 25, 2004 Report Share Posted September 25, 2004 Agree with most of it, but: Harsh on Doc, tired he was, but behind anything decent in the centre of the park, even if cream crackered. I didnt think Leroy did that well to be honest....Heff and Miller would have been better starting, IMHO Butler, I reckon is past his sell by date, and its showing in the entire defence..Mickey Bell is really needed now!! Scotty deffo MOTM............particularly the 2nd half. Phillips definitely needs serious competition, to keep him sharp......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spongebob Posted September 25, 2004 Report Share Posted September 25, 2004 How can you criticise phillips? He made 3 saves today and was left horrendously exposed for all the goals, as for crosses he didnt have any to deal with that he could have come and plucked out the air. As for your praise of tomy doc, cant agree he was terrible today, and hes a pro footballer if he cant play 30 mins extra and then play 90 mins 3 days later he should do some fitness work and fast. I see scotty who ran his arse off today managed to last Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lordofthebling Posted September 25, 2004 Report Share Posted September 25, 2004 plain and simply, the defence was shocking today. Hill and butler had an absolute mare. Maybe 120 mins of football took it out of them? Orr was lost, wilkshire had no touch, and murray ran his socks off. thought the game was dying for gillespie to come on, get a bit of fight on the pitch. Philips - 7 Smith - 5 Coles - 6 Butler - 4 Hill - 4 Murray - 8 (MOTM) Orr - 5 Doc - 6 Wilkshire - 5 Roberts - 6 Lita - 7 Heffernan - 7 Tinnion - 7 Miller - 6 Think it seriously is time for a slow change in personnel at the back. I'm waiting for an Amankwaah - Coles - Fortune - Bell defence next week - this one was a shambles. Hill - next time, please get goalside. Butler, tackle the man if sliding in. Coles - your not all that, and Smith - grow son. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wesco Posted September 25, 2004 Report Share Posted September 25, 2004 Yeah not bad, I think Orr was doing well till he got booked and had to be careful. Tommy was rubbish and is becoming a real problem in the team, he keeps giving the ball away and doesn't seem to think we are in red all of the time but he is class and will get that class back. I think you are a little harsh on Smith though, think the bloke is one of our best signings this season and he is helping murray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCFC Wes Posted September 26, 2004 Report Share Posted September 26, 2004 Phillips- 6 Smith- 6 Coles- 5 Butler- 4 Hill- 4 Murray- 9 Doherty- 6 Orr- 6 Wilkshire- 7 Lita- 7 Roberts- 6 Heffernan- 7 Tinnion- 6 Miller- 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barneyredballs Posted September 26, 2004 Report Share Posted September 26, 2004 Sorry but some disagreements here. There is no way Coles can be lower than Butler. Coles was very poor, off the pace by some way today. Butler who is never going to be quick on the ground, won most things in the air. Hill gets his 4 only because he looked ok coming forward, defence wise - 3/10. Orr looked good again today, but sacrifice has to be made. Wilkshire was not at his best, but got the goal so I can just agree with 7, but for me Lita was marshalled very well all game by his marker; both in terms of pace, jumping and skill. May be worth a look at their number 17.... 6 for Lita, and that includes the penalty. Also Heffernan didn't cut a 7 for me, a lucky 6 if that. Only my opinions though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fct Posted September 26, 2004 Report Share Posted September 26, 2004 If a team is leaking goals, it may not be solely down to defenders. A defence can only function effectiely if it has support from midfield. It isn't for nothing that midfield is regarded as the lynchpin of any team which is why I opposed the 4-3-3 at the start of the season. It is essential to have a balanced and solid midfield or else you'll get slaughtered; time and time again it will happen against ANYONE, so please lets look not only at the defence but also at the midfield. There has to be one in the central area who plays deep (Hamann for Liverpool is a fine example of this) and supports the defensive side, while the other central midfielder should be a creative player - Tinnion is a good example of this. Last season Wilson played two defensive midfielders and as a result there were times City couldn't score in a brothel. However, playing two adventurous (sp?) midfielders is full of danger by leaving your defence exposed to the counter. Then the two wide players have two duties to perform; one is to add width to an attack and here it seems there is no problem, but equally important they must support the wide defenders and not leave them to face two attacking opponents on their own. It appears Hill was left thus exposed by Wilkshire at times, and the young Australian must be coached this equally important fact if he is truly to progress as a great player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godzilla Posted September 26, 2004 Report Share Posted September 26, 2004 Butler who is never going to be quick on the ground, won most things in the air. ← We obviously weren't at the same game. Andy Booth had the beating of our centre backs in the air all afternoon. He showed a decent first touch too... the sort of centre forward we want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barneyredballs Posted September 26, 2004 Report Share Posted September 26, 2004 You aren't saying that doc is playing as an attacking midefielder are you? Evidence from any home goal this season would say (apart fromt he one he scored) that he is usually found in our own half, no where near theirs! I agree that goals conceded have to be looked at from a team perspective though. But my concern is that for much of the second half, when we crossing from the right and they were just pushing it out; we had no one in 30 yards. It's almost as if we were playing a 4-2-4 formation with the 2 being very central (and not very fast), couple that with a sluggish looking back four and we have problems both in tactics and current defenders. I still think that given time and luck, BT would opt for a 4-3-3 formation. I also think that if Aaron Brown was still here we would be playing a 3-5-2 formation. Murray, Orr, Doherty, Wilkshire, Brown; between them fit, some speed, some great attacking instincts and some great defending instincts... oh well..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bootylicious Posted September 26, 2004 Report Share Posted September 26, 2004 I still think that given time and luck, BT would opt for a 4-3-3 formation. I also think that if Aaron Brown was still here we would be playing a 3-5-2 formation. Murray, Orr, Doherty, Wilkshire, Brown; between them fit, some speed, some great attacking instincts and some great defending instincts... oh well..... ← How about: Murray, Orr, Docs, Wilkshire, Goodfellow ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tom B Posted September 26, 2004 Report Share Posted September 26, 2004 I thought leroy had a quiet game, he looked like he may of been feeling the effects from wednesday night. The defence was all over the place in the first half, it was only because we were attacking more in the second that we wernt exploited as much. A target man would help out at set pieces, but surley a center half is the more obvious solution? Phillips 6 Smith 6 Hill 5 Butler 6 Coles 5 Murray 8 Doc 5 Orr 5 Wilkshire 7 Lita 7 Roberts 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ballwinningcentrehalf Posted September 26, 2004 Report Share Posted September 26, 2004 I reckon 352 could work for us, but i'd worry about Goodfellow as a wing-back. Is he good enough defensively? That would probably leave Bell in that position... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerry Gows' Tash Posted September 26, 2004 Report Share Posted September 26, 2004 Interesting game today which highlighted everything that is good and bad about City currently. We cannot apply the basic principles of defending (closing players down, attacking the ball) but we look menacing going forward. This team can beat anyone in the division, but can just as easily lose to anyone. One thing is clear though; we will not get promoted playing football like we are. We are too disorganised and tactically we are naive. Great spirit to get the draw, but we should NEVER have made things that difficult for ourselves. Fatigue from the Everton game certainly played its part, but there should be no excuses for the defending on any of Huddersfield's three goals. A draw is a poor result despite the fact things could have been much worse, but I feel it is the fair result. Ratings: Phillips - 6 - Couldn't be faulted for any of the goals. Didn't have to face many crosses today, but the commanding presence of the Huddersfield keeper in his own box was something I noticed. Steve is almost certainly the better shot-stopper of the two, but the Huddersfield keeper showed how to command an area, by making crosses his own. Smith - 5 - Felt he had a poorer game than usual today. Was partly at fault for 3rd goal as he allowed the striker to cut inside far to easily. Got forward better than he defended. Coles - 5 - Totally asleep for the second goal, and looked all over the place in the first half. More solid 2nd half marks him up from a 4. Butler - 6 - The most solid of the back four - individually played ok, but failed to organise the rest of his defence as he should have done. Hill - 5 - Indecision at times, especially in the build up to their third goal, showing lack of communication with Smith. Difficult to single out one defender as worse than the others as the defending collectively as a back four is the biggest worry, not individual performances and mistakes. Doherty - 4 - Poor display after the high of midweek. Gave away possession too often, and looked weary and off the pace for much of the game. Orr - 6 - Solid enough, but again looked shattered after Everton, before being taken off in the 2nd half. Worked hard though, and covered a lot of ground. Wilkshire - 6 - Scored the equaliser and was eager to get on the ball. Over-eagerness to drift inside though left our left-hand side very open. His inability to hold his position gave Hill too much work to do. Would be better behind the front two I think. Murray - 8 - Head and shoulders above the rest of the team today. Was at the heart of City's best football, and looked dangerous. Good goal, but poor miss on his left foot in 2nd half. Created numerous crosses into the box, none being taken advantage of. The old Scotty is back - good job too, as we need him right now. Roberts - 6 - Quiet game. Failed to really get into it today without doing anything wrong in particular. Looked jaded like many of the team after Wednesday. Lita - 7 - Worked hard, but with poor service in general. His pace and direct running caused problems and won us the penalty. Showed bottle to take the pen and finished it well. Subs - Tinnion - 6 - Looked tidy as usual while on the ball, without really making a huge impact. Heffernan - 7 - Got into good positions and had a good effort drift just wide. Pushing hard for a starting place now. Miller - 6 - Had little time to make an impression. Feel sorry for him as he rarely has been given long enough to make his mark on the team. Whether we will ever see him realise his potential at City remains to be seen. Any opinions on my ratings? Have I been too harsh/generous? Up the City ← Just add my twopence worth, I agree with most of your ratings. Doc had a mare with too many sloppy misdirected passes giving posession away, played ok in patches though, I'd probably give him 5. Agree that the defence collectively had a bad day and it might be unfair to single any one of them out. Smith looked good going forward and linked up well with Murray I thought. Butler also had a fairly solid game. I'd probably give Wilkshire 7 for scoring the equalizer if nothing else and I'd give Murray 9, back to his best, opened the scoring and the only player who kept us ticking consistently. I feel a bit sorry for Miller, like u say he never gets enough time to really have an impact, although I do get the impression that he comes on and if things don't go his way, he loses interest. Yesterday he lost out on his first areial challenge and seemed anonymous after that. Heffernan did well in limited time still seems to be learing how to fit in with the players around him, but I think he might get another start up front sooner rather than later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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