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Post by moobs on Feb 5, 2011 18:46:23 GMT
Clarke 7..Dealt with everything well, but will have tougher games than this Purkiss..5..Defended okay but distribution poor. Worley..7..solid game at the back Wright..8 MOM..Won everything in the air, composed. Tonkin..6..Did his job in defence, didn't really get forward much Clist..6..Drifted in and out of the match Hall..5..Don't see what he brings to the side. Headless chicken at times Mclaren..5..Didn't stamp any authority on the game McLean..5..Some nice touches but too many loose passes Constable..5..No Service but wastefull with the ball Craddock..6 Never got a sniff of goal but worked hard.
Subs....Potter..5, Hackney..5, Heslop..5
Wilder..3..The 4-3-3 doesn't seem to work away from home. In a scrappy match in swirling wind we should have played Midson to make the ball stick up front, we kept lumping it high but our 3 forwards want the ball to feet. We didn't work their keeper at all and I don't think we had a shot on target all match. Only got a point because Gills were equally inept going forward. Subs made no impact
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Post by mcxal on Feb 5, 2011 19:49:43 GMT
Thought Purkiss was extremely poor, looking a country mile out of his depth. Defensively he was adequate, but his use of the ball was absolutely atrocious
On a windy day, the last thing we needed to do was be hoofing long balls all over the place. But literally every time he got it he did nothing but give it an aimless hoof down the line. It was a total lottery as to where it went, with approx. 95% of it going straight out of play or to an opposition player. Really disappointing play from him on a day when if either team had got the ball down and played some football they could have picked up an easy 3 points
Hall was poor as well. Always seemed a touch off the pace, a step behind the play, weak in the tackle and poor with his distribution too.
That said, I thought we had some superb performances too. McLaren & Clist were, defensively, excellent. Akinfenwa destroyed us at our place as we were totally unable to cope with him. By and large he looked like a fat waster today, purely because Clist and McLaren were spot on in assisting the centre backs with picking him up. I also thought they were the only two players who were looking to get the ball down and pass.
Worley and Wright were superb defensively too. As ever we looked shoddy from set pieces, but from open play they were very commanding. Drove down from Milton Keynes with a car full of Gills fans, and they were all very impressed with those two.
Constable was decent too. At times I wish he'd looked to get it down and play more rather than attempting to flick the gusty long balls on to empty space. But he gave Lawrence a real tough game today
Clarke - 6 (Not a lot to do. Made a few decent catches, nearly cost us the game late on by coming for crosses and getting nowhere near. Did OK in horrible goalkeeping weather
Purkiss - 3 (Poor day. Did alright at the back but spent the whole game giving the ball away and playing thoroughly unintelligently given the tough conditions. Batt was sorely missed)
Tonkin - 7 (a little wasteful like Purkiss, but had a tough workout defensively and looked much improved after a slump in form earlier this season. Won some key headers and challenges)
Wright - 8 (superb blocks and challenges. Martialled the defence well. Helped ensure Akinfenwa was a spectator for long periods
Worley - 8 (Much the same as Wright. One of his best games for the club today I thought)
McLaren - 7 (Fought a losing battle with the fullbacks and Asa Hall to try and keep the ball and play sensible football. But always looked to pass to a man and get some good attacking moves started. Defensively he was excellent)
Clist - 7 (I agree with Moobs to the extent that he drifted in and out. But, unlike Hall, I never felt like, defensively, he was exposing us. Hall looked off the pace, slow to the ball etc. Clist was at least in the right place to cover and tackle. And, as with McLaren, he wanted to get the ball down and play football
Hall - 5 (Did some good things and made a couple of decent challenges in the second period. However, too often he was a passenger, weak in the tackle, wasteful in possession too. At one point he lost possession in a criminally bad position, then barely offered more than a token jog to chase back)
Craddock - 6 (Worked hard and had a few decent touches. But, in the awful wind, with nothing more than a few wild long balls down the line to chase, he looked very isolated
McLean - 5 (Same as Craddock really. Except he spent more time down Purkiss' side so spent more time watching the ball fly over his head and out of play. I also thought he spent too much time too deep looking to get involved, which in turn left Constable isolated)
Constable - 6 (Hassled their centre backs all day. Didn't get much luck and missed a decent half chance. But he definitely looks back to his very best right now)
Subs - Didn't impact the game at all. When we put Potter & Hackney on we gave up all hope of keeping the ball up front, sat back and let Gillingham attack us. The few chances we did have to launch counter attacks they both gave the ball away.
Heslop should have been brought on sooner though. I feel like he would have tried to pull the ball down out of the wind and look to play it on the deck.
All in all though, a good point on a tough afternoon against promotion hopeful opposition. I only came away slightly disappointed because I felt like they were very poor. Once we'd got a grip on Akinfenwa I didn't feel like they posed much of a threat, and we didn't come away with more than a 0-0 draw purely because of our own inability to keep possession. But after they played us off the park at our place earlier in the year, it was nice to see that, even on a bad day for us, we've come a LONG way in a very short time since Xmas.
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Post by superox on Feb 5, 2011 20:47:34 GMT
McLaren had a very decent game for United - a SEVEN at worst.
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Post by londonroader on Feb 5, 2011 21:39:51 GMT
The conditions were not conducive for good football and on a poor pitch passing was hit and miss, but for me CW got his tactics spot on early doors, hitting long balls up to Beano & Co it was not about winning the ball but picking up the 2nd ball high up the pitch or getting possession.
I thought the ref let to much go, and should have sent their CB off for the stamp on Mclean, then the same player later on gives Beano a elbow to the head, the ref indicated what he done but bottled another yellow and a sending off, they were a niggling team holding players and pushing players while on a run at goal, on another day we might have had a penalty.
Clarke 7, a solid display under difficult condition, 1 excellent save at the end, kicking a bit wayward. Purkiss 6, not the same type of player as Batt, but did a good job considering his lack of match practice, his distribution let him down at times. Tonkins 7, another solid display and got stuck in where it mattered, no threat going forward. Worley 8, the boy is becoming a man, getting better by the game, he got his mistakes out of the way early and settled down then. Wright 8, MOM Today showed why he's so highly rated, was everywhere a commanding performance, both CB did a good job against an awkward forward. Mclaren 7, he makes us tick and did a good job defensively Today, he has made a big difference to our play. Hall 6, a lot of drive and energy in a combative midfield, the ball going over his head did not help him Today. Clist 6, again a good performance under difficult conditions, helped to stifle out the threat to Tonkings. Mclean 6, a lot of clever play he didn't get involved with the physical stuff though as they tried to rough him up. Craddock 7, a good outlet and willing runner, posed a threat Today and was unlucky to get taken off. Beano 7, he loves the physical stuff and rose to the challenge, not a great goal threat but battled on against no nonsense defenders.
Potter 5, offered nothing to the attack, a bit light weight for the battle. Hackney 6, full of running but again no real quality ball to feed off.
CW 7, used different tactics to start with, pushing their defence back with long balls in the swirling wind, had the courage to put on 2 attacking players to try and get all 3 points.
A good solid team performance based on defence Today, the attack lacked quality ball in the poor conditions.
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Post by moobs on Feb 5, 2011 22:14:06 GMT
Sorry LR, I am completely baffled by the tactics. In attack we have both no pace, no target man nor any width. If we're hitting long balls we're neither feeding a hold up player or a pace man to run at them. And with no wingers either when we get the ball down there's no-one overlapping to pass it to. We just had Craddock, McLean and Beano occupying the same area.
If you think that's a stroke of genius by Wilder you must be seeing something I don't
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Post by followtheox (the original) on Feb 5, 2011 22:20:50 GMT
Sorry LR, I am completely baffled by the tactics. In attack we have both no pace, no target man nor any width. If we're hitting long balls we're neither feeding a hold up player or a pace man to run at them. And with no wingers either when we get the ball down there's no-one overlapping to pass it to. We just had Craddock, McLean and Beano occupying the same area. If you think that's a stroke of genius by Wilder you must be seeing something I don't The long ball is not really about feeding a hold up player! Its often about making life difficult and about your midfielders picking up the second ball thats the most important thing. Maclean is a great hold up player but needs the ball on the ground. Long ball is all about the second ball not sure why so many people equate it with a hold up player. The 433 system gets it width from the fullbacks overlapping and from the front three. I was not there today but it sounds like the fullbacks did not get foward.
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Post by browny on Feb 5, 2011 23:07:59 GMT
Couple of issues on Purkiss
Firstly in the 1st half when he got forward a bit more his crossing was top class and he put in a number of very dangerous crosses
I agree that he struggled though but we still have the same problem we had last year when we had no reserve team in that anyone not in the 1st team is simply not getting enough time. We may have a reserve team but they appear to play no games and therefore the likes of Purkiss are coming in way out of practice in a match situation
This continues to catch us out season after season and needs to be addressed IMO
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Post by Deleted on Feb 6, 2011 0:18:35 GMT
Purkiss is solid at the back and is very good defensively. Still get really annoyed when he plays though. Every time he gets the ball in possession its HOOF down the line, he never uses the easy option and never plays it inside. Really gets on my nerves but thank god he makes up for it as he is good at defending and can deliver a good cross.
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Post by Beav on Feb 6, 2011 1:53:26 GMT
solid at tee back and very good defensively ;D
didn't go but was at a party with a guy who did. Only talked about stand bobblinwg mind you! Clean sheet so the bakc 4 must have done SSOMTHING rgiht!
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Post by jimmycarterxi on Feb 6, 2011 3:46:31 GMT
Clarke 7..Dealt with everything well, but will have tougher games than this Purkiss.. 5..Defended okay but distribution poor. Worley.. 7..solid game at the back Wright.. 8 MOM..Won everything in the air, composed. Tonkin.. 6..Did his job in defence, didn't really get forward much Clist.. 6..Drifted in and out of the match Hall.. 5..Don't see what he brings to the side. Headless chicken at times Mclaren.. 5..Didn't stamp any authority on the game McLean.. 5..Some nice touches but too many loose passes Constable.. 5..No Service but wastefull with the ball Craddock.. 6 Never got a sniff of goal but worked hard. Subs....Potter.. 5, Hackney.. 5, Heslop.. 5Wilder.. 3..The 4-3-3 doesn't seem to work away from home. In a scrappy match in swirling wind we should have played Midson to make the ball stick up front, we kept lumping it high but our 3 forwards want the ball to feet. We didn't work their keeper at all and I don't think we had a shot on target all match. Only got a point because Gills were equally inept going forward. Subs made no impact So 4-3-3 dosnt work away from home apparentley, are u off your head? Check our away results since november knob head!
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Post by moobs on Feb 6, 2011 10:43:16 GMT
Clarke 7..Dealt with everything well, but will have tougher games than this Purkiss.. 5..Defended okay but distribution poor. Worley.. 7..solid game at the back Wright.. 8 MOM..Won everything in the air, composed. Tonkin.. 6..Did his job in defence, didn't really get forward much Clist.. 6..Drifted in and out of the match Hall.. 5..Don't see what he brings to the side. Headless chicken at times Mclaren.. 5..Didn't stamp any authority on the game McLean.. 5..Some nice touches but too many loose passes Constable.. 5..No Service but wastefull with the ball Craddock.. 6 Never got a sniff of goal but worked hard. Subs....Potter.. 5, Hackney.. 5, Heslop.. 5Wilder.. 3..The 4-3-3 doesn't seem to work away from home. In a scrappy match in swirling wind we should have played Midson to make the ball stick up front, we kept lumping it high but our 3 forwards want the ball to feet. We didn't work their keeper at all and I don't think we had a shot on target all match. Only got a point because Gills were equally inept going forward. Subs made no impact So 4-3-3 dosnt work away from home apparentley, are u off your head? Check our away results since november knob head! Why the insults? Just giving my opinion.
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Post by followtheox (the original) on Feb 6, 2011 12:34:54 GMT
Sorry LR, I am completely baffled by the tactics. In attack we have both no pace, no target man nor any width. If we're hitting long balls we're neither feeding a hold up player or a pace man to run at them. And with no wingers either when we get the ball down there's no-one overlapping to pass it to. We just had Craddock, McLean and Beano occupying the same area. If you think that's a stroke of genius by Wilder you must be seeing something I don't Looks like we got some of our tactics right according to the Gillingham manager! "Oxford played a system where they put a man in front of Adebayo Akinfenwa and stopped the service to him. That frustrated us a little bit. Overall I'm disappointed not to get three points at home."
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Post by oldman159 on Feb 6, 2011 13:32:10 GMT
Sorry LR, I am completely baffled by the tactics. In attack we have both no pace, no target man nor any width. If we're hitting long balls we're neither feeding a hold up player or a pace man to run at them. And with no wingers either when we get the ball down there's no-one overlapping to pass it to. We just had Craddock, McLean and Beano occupying the same area. If you think that's a stroke of genius by Wilder you must be seeing something I don't Looks like we got some of our tactics right according to the Gillingham manager! "Oxford played a system where they put a man in front of Adebayo Akinfenwa and stopped the service to him. That frustrated us a little bit. Overall I'm disappointed not to get three points at home." I thought `kin afenwa was good entertainment value and a very useful player - probably their best on the day... (IMHO!)
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Post by longliveclarkey on Feb 6, 2011 14:08:07 GMT
So 4-3-3 dosnt work away from home apparentley, are u off your head? Check our away results since november knob head! Why the insults? Just giving my opinion. The insults are unnecessary, but look at our away form since Chesterfield. Most of those games being played with 4-3-3. Cannot see why you'd think it doesn't work away from home. I'm guessing you went to the game expecting us to be challenging to win it, but in this game, we set out to keep a clean sheet and defend, scoring would be considered a bonus. That's not baffling tactics, that's clever. I don't think we would have got anything from this game if we'd gone out to attack. A 3 rating for Wilder just doesn't make sense for me, only the centre backs deserved a better rating than him, and maybe tonkin.
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Post by dabigfella on Feb 7, 2011 9:11:51 GMT
The long ball is not necessarily TO a player, but is meant to be over the top of the back four for forwards to run on to. Hold up players aren't totally necessary with this style, just pacey ones!
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Post by baldy on Feb 7, 2011 11:38:09 GMT
Clarke 7..Dealt with everything well, but will have tougher games than this Purkiss.. 5..Defended okay but distribution poor. Worley.. 7..solid game at the back Wright.. 8 MOM..Won everything in the air, composed. Tonkin.. 6..Did his job in defence, didn't really get forward much Clist.. 6..Drifted in and out of the match Hall.. 5..Don't see what he brings to the side. Headless chicken at times Mclaren.. 5..Didn't stamp any authority on the game McLean.. 5..Some nice touches but too many loose passes Constable.. 5..No Service but wastefull with the ball Craddock.. 6 Never got a sniff of goal but worked hard. Subs....Potter.. 5, Hackney.. 5, Heslop.. 5Wilder.. 3..The 4-3-3 doesn't seem to work away from home. In a scrappy match in swirling wind we should have played Midson to make the ball stick up front, we kept lumping it high but our 3 forwards want the ball to feet. We didn't work their keeper at all and I don't think we had a shot on target all match. Only got a point because Gills were equally inept going forward. Subs made no impact How come you can get to these fixtures 40-50 miles from your home but cant make it 25 miles further and get to the Kassam ? Surely the extra time (20 minutes each way on the m/way) and the extra cost £5-8 cant be the reason.
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Post by bazaldinho on Feb 7, 2011 12:38:10 GMT
Purkiss is solid at the back and is very good defensively. Still get really annoyed when he plays though. Every time he gets the ball in possession its HOOF down the line, he never uses the easy option and never plays it inside. Really gets on my nerves but thank god he makes up for it as he is good at defending and can deliver a good cross. i agree but i surely if he does clip (generous choice of word) the ball down the line everytime he gets the ball, constable has got to spin off his man as soon as the ball heads towards purkiss. his movement is shocking. if all us fans know the ball is heading down the line why doesnt constable?
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Post by superox on Feb 7, 2011 14:35:51 GMT
Paul McLaren was named in the team of the week in today's Sun 'Supergoals' supplement.
He did an excellent job on Akinfenwa.
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Post by moobs on Feb 7, 2011 15:22:15 GMT
Paul McLaren was named in the team of the week in today's Sun 'Supergoals' supplement. He did an excellent job on Akinfenwa. They also gave Wright a 6 and Purkiss a 7 !!
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