Thetownend.com

Brezovan - 6. Didnt have much to do, and was left stranded for the goal. Kicking looked dodgy in the 1st half though.
Smith -  6. Meh. Wishy washy game.
Vincent - 6. ^^^^
Ifil - 8. Different player from last season.
Nicholas- 4. Ohhhhhhh dear. Williams better get fit quick. Looked very dodgy defending corners
Monkhouse- 7. Looked ok going forward, and not afraid to get stuck into a challenge.
Shakes - 7. typical shakes performance really. Ran fast, ad won corners. Good cross for the goal though.
Weston- 6. Looked lost next to pook in the 1st half, but grew in confidence in the second half alongside a more experienced head (and better player)
Pook- 5. Has talent, but a midfield pairing of pook and weston will get pasted in this division. With the possible arrival of ince, it wouldn't be a bad bet to send him out on loan for a few months.
Roberts- 8. Ran his socks off, back to the christian roberts of old. Played an important part in both goals, and was areal handful for the barnet defence.
Peacock - 7. Another 120% performance, but didn't really create much up front, though he was deployed as a target man for most of the game.

Subs

Evans - 8. Changed the game. Gave our midfield some bite, and didn't waste the ball when he had it.
Onibuje - 6. Came on. Ran around a bit. Thats all really.
Brownlie - 7. Bloody brilliant strike. Hassled the defence a lot, and nearly caught the keeper out after a poor backpass. If this proves not to be a fluke, he couldbe pushing roberts or peacock for a 1st team place.

There you go. Feel free to post your own, or have a go at mine.

Brezovan - 6 - indeed some suspect kicking, but other than that nothing to do and did ok

Vincent - 5 - pretty average, crap distribution and a bit slow
Smith - 6 - Did ok, did his job
Nicholas - 3 - crap especially 1st half, improved in the 2nd but if we were in league one he would have cost us 2 goals
Ifil - 9 - did nothing wrong, immense in fact

Monkhouse - 4 - lazy, shit set pieces, showed nothing really
Shakes 6 - still can't cross, though made some good runs and got us a flukey goal
Pook - 2 - Just not up to it. Friendlies mean nothing. Couldn't cross, pass, was scared to challenge and overall off the pace
Weston - 4 did nothing for me today, wasted possession and never really go forward

Roberts - 9 - Quality performance, ran for everything, some excellent touches and passing, just needs to better his finishing
Peacock - 7 - again ran his heart out and created some openings, but sometimes passed the ball back a bit too much when other options were on.

Evans - 8 - his experience showed, and calmed things down. We looked a lot more comfortable as a unit as he protected the defence but also allowed and provided going forward

Onibuje - 6 - did what was asked of him

Brownlie - 8 - purely for the goal, and looked threatening behind the front 2

Brezovan -7. Didnt do anything wrong except typical town keeper kicks.
Vincent - 6. Did OK. Nothing more
Ifil - 7- Marked down for not booting it away for their goal .
Nicholas- 5.  Poor game.
Monkhouse- 6. Improving but still room for improvement!
Shakes -7 . Needs to add some quality to his crossing. Worked hard though
Weston- 6.Poor first half. Evans freed him up in the second
Pook- 5. Has limited talent. Can't see him making it.
Roberts- 9. Incredible work rate for 90 minutes. Only a goal away from perfection.
Peacock - 6 Worked hard but didn't get a chance to shine.

Subs

Evans - 8. Changed the game. Gave our midfield some bite, and didn't waste the ball when he had it. (As per Swindon Town Dave - hehe STD for short).
Onibuje - 6. Couldn't get into the game. But we kept lumping it to him.
Brownlie - 7. As per STD, though I think he is a little way off a starting place yet it won't be long if he keeps this up.

Monkhouse - 4 - lazy, shit set pieces, showed nothing really

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disagree he worked up and down the flank all match, showed some nice touches and runs.
true couple of shite corners but there was that clever one to roberts that he did not connect with.
won quite a few headers and was part of that lovely move that was involved peacock and roberts that was offside in the first half.

Nicholas was pap, Weston was at fault for the goal, Pook is a bellend and Monkhouse needs to learn how to kick it in the air. My fears that Peacock, for all his effort, is actually shit, look realistic.

Otherwise no complaints.

Monkhouse - Definitely room for improvement , was out of position on numerous occasions and relying on Ifil too much to deal with it.

brezovan- 6  woefull kicking but great throws and commanded area very well
smith-6 tries to do the right thing but nothing special
ifil-6 some good challenges and headers,has to take share of blame for the goa
nicho-5(corrected) same as ifil but a little more dodgy
vincent-5 not impressed
shakes-6erratic,but cannot fault the effort and he scored
pook-5 did nothing really of note dead ball delivery quite good,but nowt else
weston-6 has loads of potential but needs some guidance
monkhouse-5 same as vincent and some dire corner deliverys
roberts-8 superb and deserved to score,involved in everything
peacock-6 bags of effort but strayed offside to often


subs.
brownlie-8 for the goal alone,screamer
onjobbie-6 just for looking untidy.have my doubts
evans-7 should start saturday


great result but the performance was not generally

 :roll:

Thought he was far too slow in tracking back. Him and Vincent as a combination will cost us a few goals this season against better teams.

come on the ball ricocheted about 3 times in that penatly area before that their man luckily got a shot in.

barnet had the run of the ball tonight.

Nicho looked well off the mark and was outpaced on more than one occasion.

Pook did ok but needed a more experienced individual in midfield to pair up with Weston. Good substitution by Wise.

Peacock, seems to end up playing a little too deep at times however now we have Evans, perhaps service to strikers can improve.

I'm amazed someone thinks Pook did ok! He was diabolical.

 :Ride On Fatbury's Lovestick:  :Ride On Fatbury's Lovestick:  :Ride On Fatbury's Lovestick:

why do you hate Jerel so much

Nicho and Smith had chances to clear it and they didnt, Ifil went to clear it and it got a lucky deflection

He is young and inexperienced, our midfield needed an older head to calm things down.  Thats what Wise did. I woudn't call Pook diabolical at all.

I don't think he can cut league football tbh though, he's just not intelligent enough with the ball. He has the slowest reaction times I've ever seen

i dont, and didn't single him out for the goal but, he was part of the defence that should have closed down the ball.
it was a shit goal to concede

i wiil just give the match 6/10
not bad
some good spells
bottom line 6 points outa 6 :mrgreen:

I just think he's young and pretty crap tbh. May sound harsh, but he won't make it as a professional, i'll hold my hands up if he does, but he shows me nothing in his game to say he'll improve in anyway.

But, arriba, you've given him the same rating as Nicholas who was at times comically bad

Brez - 6 - wayward kicking
Smith - 6
Nicho - 7
Ifil - 6
Vincent - 6
Shakes - 7
Weston - 5 - stupid booking
Pook - 5 (Evans - 7)
Peacock - 6
Roberts - 8 - not spectacular, but worked hard and looked passionate about football
Brownlie - 8 - Great Goal
Fola - 1 - He's poo

our week links were nicho (i actually think he can be a decent left back but i dont rate him at all centrally) and pook. things got better with keeping the ball in the second half with evans coming on and a great strike from brownlie.

That is just so far wrong I cannot believe it

my mistake as i meant a 5 for nicho.ifil was the better of the 2 easily and should start alongside williams if fit on sat,but he wasn't anything special at all.

Brezovan - 6, poor kicking, sturdy on crosses, but not much else to do.
Smith - 6 solid game
Vincent - 5 often caught out of postion in the first half, 2nd half was solid.
Ifil - 7 Saved Nicholas on more than one occasion, and managed to distribute the ball well.  
Nicholas- 4. Improved after the break, but the first half was shocking.
Monkhouse- 6. Flashes of good play, mixed with nothingness. Can't defend so limited Vincents chances of overlapping.
Shakes - 6 He looked the most supprised person on the field when his cross ended in the net, Ran his heart out but lacks quality.
Weston- 6. Great prospect, next to Evens looked assure, next to pook looked like he was carrying another player.
Pook- 4 didnt see the ball out for the goal, out muscled, no notable positive contribution, he needs to go out on loan for a season because at this moment he is only conference south level. He was carried by the other players.
Roberts- 8 Made excellent runs and worked hard, should have slotted in the one on one though.
Peacock - 7. Work well as a hold up striker, good control and flick on's caused lots of problems, but hes not a goalscoring striker.

Subs

Evans - 8. Spread the ball about the field, and gave Weston liecence to play a free role, His inclusion meant a much better link between the midfield and strikers.
Onibuje - 6. Could cause problems, was on too late to make a massive impact, but looked fairly solid.
Brownlie - 7. Australian determination, and a Wonder strike. Gave Swindon another option up front.


Wise - 9 Tatics were spot on, the strongest team wasn't available from the start, he recognised that the midfield needed to link with strikers better, and brought on Evans, Defence was sorted after the break, When the momentum was there, plan B with Brownlie playing behind the strikers, and big Fola upfront was deployed and payed off.

Brezovan - solid, slightly dodgy kicking but I've never seen a 'keeper with 100% accurate kicks so I'll forgive him. Language barrier doesn't seem to be a problem.

Smith - defended well and got forward at times, not outstandingly brilliant but looked better at right-back than he ever did at left-back.

Nicholas - not much to say, few dodgy clearances which went up but not out, otherwise fine.

Ifil - looks better and better in each game since the start of pre-season, not at fault for the goal. Solid at the back and knows what he's doing for once.

Vincent - similar to Smith but didn't get forward as much, left exposed by Monkhouse but defended well.

Shakes - works harder than ever, crossing is still poor but looks to be improving and he's getting into good positions and taking players on. Needs to stay out wide more.

Pook - anonymous, decent set piece deliveries though.

Weston - got stuck in but with no real end product.

Monkhouse - poor, kept drifting in, didn't do his defensive duties. Unless he improves, I'd rather have Brown there.

Roberts - superb, he was everywhere on the pitch and led by example throughout. Time will tell if he's got that finishing ability that'll get him 20 goals.

Peacock - struggled against Barnet's defence, didn't get in the game much but worked hard and showed some good touches.

subs

Evans - changed the game when he came on, must start on Saturday.

Onibuje - he looked lost. Bless him.

Brownlie - I TOLD YOU SO!!!!

what JD said

Brezovan - 7 - Not a lot to do, but did well to thwart (spelling?) any attempted pressure i.e. claimed every cross Barnet managed to put in. Kicking was poor in the first half, but got better into the second.

Smith - 7 - Looked comfortable enough and dealt with any attacking play, coming down the left.

Vincent - 6 - Poor distribution, but tackled well, when needed too.

Ifil - 8 - Thought he played very well. Dealt with any pressure.

Nicho - 6 - A couple mistakes, but did well.

Shakes - 7- Took his goal well and linked up with the likes of Roberts really well.

Monkhouse - 7 - Looked good on the ball and would have given him an 8, but his distributioon was poor.

Pook - 6 - Wasnt really in the game much.

Roberts - 8 - Brilliant performance and my MOTM! Deserved a goal and really should have had one, but was unlucky to see his chip go over (would have given him a 9 if it went in). Linked up with Peacock really well. Was most impressed.

Peacock - 8 - Like Roberts, was brilliant today and deserved a goal. Tremendous determination - Ace stuff Peaconator.

Subs:

Evans - 8 - Used the ball really well and looked for crucial passes rather than hoofing it. Didnt let anything past him and should definelty start in place of Pook, next game.

Fola - 6 - Ran a lot, but couldnt get into the game much.

Brownlie - 7 - Brilliant goal and really hassled for the ball. Looks a good player indeed.

Do you reckon  :shock: They were poor i thought.... Hit them over our players instead of to them....

Ifil was our best defender today, no doubt about it. Dealt with his own clearances plus picked up the pieces a few times from others.

mmm, they were in the right areas but nobody really attacked the ball properly.

compared to monkhouse's they were beckham-esque

Yeah ok i agree with that  :thumbs:

Its difficult to really study any single performance that well from the Town End, but Pook's absence was more striking than anyone elses...just not there, especially in the 2nd half :wink:

Think Weston's got promise. there were times where he didn't have any options in front of him but he'd pick ut a good ball and keep the move going. Had decent control and could be a good link man.

Question is, if we end up getting Ince, do we play two 30-something s in there and leave him out when he needs games to develop. He's still had less than ten games in his career!!

Watching from the Nationwide it was painfully obvious that Pook was the weakest link. He simply doesn't have the composure to boss the midfield.

Monkhouse worked hard again tonight and did the same switch with Shakes that he did in the Reading friendly. Looks like that's going to be one of Wise's tactics this season. Get the wide men to switch sides for ten minutes or so just to change the shape of the play, then switch them back again.

Nicho is actually looking better every game. It was a delight to watch him and Ifil talking all the way through the first half and WATCHING WHERE THE DEFENSIVE LINE WAS! That was something we simply didn't see when King or Onoura were in charge. In particular I noticed that Nicho won most of his headers tonight, he never used to do that! I think we might see the best of Nicho this season, (particularly with somebody like Williams to mentor him).

On the point of Williams, did anybody else notice how hard he worked throughout the Barnet game? He spent much of the game"warming up". By that I mean that he was going up and down the touchline talking to the players. He was effectivley doing the sort of coaching job that Poyet and Wise can't do from the confines of the technical area. It was brilliant!

well spotted DR, the fourth official came down the line to stop williams warming up in injury time because he was barking orders onto the pitch when barnet had a free-kick just after our goal.

after the game, wise was giving his interview and i was stood in the dugout listening to him and out came williams to do a lap of the pitch - timing himself as well.

and he's not played yet!!

Brezovan-7 - on saturday he showed his wonderful shot stopping ability, but today he showed he has the rest to be a great keeper - commanded his area very well, handled crosses well, and on a number of occasions, he was very quick off his line.
Smith-6- solid performance, worked hard, but was to blame for the goal; he should have cleared into touch, instead of being clever
Ifil-8- great performance, challenger for MOTM
Nicho-4- awful first half; he's a half decent left back, but certainly NOT a centre-back ! Sooner Wisey picks this up - the better !
Vincent-5 not impressed so far, poor defensively and often out of position . Hope I'm wrong, but I see him as another Dukey !!
Shakes-6 -erratic,but cannot fault the effort and he scored
Pook-5 - did nothing really of note and HAD to be substituted
Weston-6 has loads of potential but not one of his best performances. Silly booking; that's 2 in 2 games !
Monkhouse-6 works hard and covers back well for Vincent. Needs to take players on more. Some dire corner deliverys
Roberts-8 MOTM - superb, worked very hard, made some good runs, and involved in both goals.
Peacock-6 bags of effort but lacked composure

subs.

brownlie-8 He's a FINISHER !!! crackin' goal, a screamer
Fola-5 - I actually think he could be quite good, but certainly didn't show anything today !!
Evans-7 Held the midfield together, did the simple things well, and should start saturday

Roberts deffo MOTM!

Oh, and did anyone else notice we now deploy the multiball sysytem at the county ground, i.e. each ballboy (or girl) has a ball with them to use when the current match ball goes out of play.

Guess it keeps the tempo up or something.

Need to get some more intelligent ball boys now then. I wondered why so many balls ended up on the pitch at times.

They're only young kids!

Select ratings:

Weston - Is a good little player, if he has someone a little more established next to him
Nicho - Not actually too bad, considering he's a left-back
Roberts - Ace. Chased down lost causes, great assists, took up good positions
Smith - Better as a righback. Well spotted Wisey.
Pook - Abysmal... his fault for the goal.
Fola - I'm sure he looked fairly handy in friendlies...?!
Ifil - Much better than last year. Still has his strengths, and is getting more reliable.
Monkey - If Brown wasn't such a lazy, uninterested shite, i'd have him in in an instant.

pook was shit last night i agree but it wasnt his fault for the goal it was jack smiths

A few points from moi re: last night.

Pook rubbish. Get rid.

Jerel and Nicholas did okay at the back. Nicho will get better I reckon, remember he's only just taken up the position in the centre. Give him time.

Vincent was solid. Seems todo the simple things, which is fine by me, although I would like to se him and Smith get forward as much as poss.

Weston needs to play, he provided the muscle (and got booked in the process) in the first half, and he's only small himself. He needs to play next to Evans (or Ince) and provide the running and creativity, he passed the ball well.

Robbo and Cock tried hard all game. Goals will come if we can get more width and break quickly.

Was it not Pook who failed to see/kick the ball out on the goal line and ended up falling over the ball? My mistake...

That was funny - Williams was pleading his innocence saying he was just warming up and the fourth official gently reminded him that there was no need as we had already used all our subs :mrgreen:

is it players from the CofE?  noticed they were just a tad older than the previous years efforts.

I'm with magig8ball on Vincent.  Most of you seem unimpressed by him, but to me he is a tidy full back.  Does the simple things, defends well, nothing fancy, and no mistakes.  I don't ask for any more than that.  Monkhouse showed flashes of a good touch, and can and hopefully will improve with games.  Corners were awful though.  Roberts and Peacock are combining well, working with each other and always looking for each other.

ball boys were actually the youth team! Jon Stewart was ball boy down by the Town End/North Stand!

I did notice Nicho gesticulating to keep the line at times, but more often than not it was Jamie Vincent barking things out loud.

really bugs me not being able to assess the game tactically from the TE...but then I couldn't go to a game and not be on my feet singing.

Anybody else notice on corners how Brezovan had nobody on the posts?! Not a case of language...that has to be tactics...just banking on having more men go to the ball and win it before them. I'd rather see men on the posts

Its Vincents job as a full back to call the line....

No not necessarily. It's whoever is organising the back lines job to call the line. Personnaly I think that should be whoever plays deepest, usually one of the centre backs.

Nope, its the full backs job to call the line, as they can see the other three defenders, and therefore the defensive line

A center back would have to look both ways and then would miss the game in front of him.

Sorry DV I don't agree.  If you aren't last man you have to check around anyway. If you are last man you can see what is ahead of you and make the call.

Full back is up field too much to do it.

Full back can see across the line and has to make sure not to drop too deep when the call comes (or doesn't).

Also full back is too far away from other full back to shout at, centre back looks one way then the other calls whoever is out of position back in to place, a la Tony Adams for the Arse and england.

no it aint, it is a collective resposibility.and usually a cb will call the line up.having said that a left or right back has the least excuse for leaving a player onside due to having the best view across the line.

you utter spaz it's not. full backs should be overlapping and supporting midfield so should never be relied on to call the line.

should be the most naturally deep (or slowest) of the centre halves. that is factomundo.

P. Brezovan - 7
J. Smith - 6
J. Vincent - 7
J. Ifil - 6
A. Nicholas - 7
R. Shakes - 7
A. Monkhouse - 6
M. Pook - 5
C. Weston 6
C. Roberts - 8*
L. Peacock - 7

R. Brownlie - 8
F. Onibuje - 7
P. Evans - 6

a la Full Monty.  8)

Whenever i've played for teams, it's always one of the centre backs to call the line  :?  I play at left back and have never called the line before...

Would have given Ifil and Evans higher marks there.

That's almost word for word the description of Vincent a Palce fan I know gave me of him.  

That's good enough for this level.

To draw a line under the defence debate, john barnes said it was the center backs duty to look after the shape of the defence.

prove if ever there was that it the full backs who call the line  :Ride On Fatbury's Lovestick: