A game of two halves - player ratings

[IstillhateSteveBould]

Antonio hardly touched the ball in the first half.

No where near a 6.

He was our only threat mate.

Won a pen and a couple of corners with his direct running. He didn't do much else, but he was our best player in a shocking first half

[Arthur Bach]

He was our only threat mate.

Won a pen and a couple of corners with his direct running. He didn't do much else, but he was our best player in a shocking first half

Only Gardner came off with his head held high and thats saying something.

Second half was a different game.

[LiamK2292]

Kirkland - 8. Kept us in the game. Expect more of the same.

Buxton - 5. Rusty game.

Llera - 6. Seen him play better.

Gardner - 6. Didn't play well nor bad. Gave ball away cheaply.

R. Johnson - 6. See Llera.

Antonio - 8. Looked out of it 1st half. Got better 2nd half and was a threat. Scored

Semedo - 7. Got better when in the CM partnership with Coke.

Pecnic - 7. Got better in the 2nd half. Missed penalty.

J. Johnson - 8. Got better as the game went on. Scored.

Maguire - 4. Looked poor. Expecting him to improve immensely as the season goes on.

Madine - 4. Shouldn't have started. Enough said.

Subs:

O'Grady (On for Madine) - 9. Changed the game. 2 goals. MOTM.

Coke (On for Maguire) - 6. Did well. Glad he got some game time.

M. Jones (On for J. Johnson) - Didn't play enough to register a mark.

[IstillhateSteveBould]

Only Gardner came off with his head held high and thats saying something.

Second half was a different game.

Is that cos he's 6 foot 5?

Gardner gave the ball away so many times in the first half. I'm a liitle concerned with how laid back he is actually.

Edited August 13, 2012 by IstillhateSteveBould

[Guest]

Only Gardner came off with his head held high and thats saying something.

Second half was a different game.

Gardner was with Slew when the attack for 1st goal started and Slew simply held his run and lost Gardner. Llera was far from near his best in the 1st half but was the best of a bad bunch defensively.

[Guest bigblue]

1st/2nd

Kirkland - 5/8 (2 great saves)

Buxton - 5/6 (maybe rusty, but far from a bad one)

Llera - 4/6

Gardner - 4/6

Reda - 4/5

Antonio - 5 (not involved enough) / 7 (great goal

Pecnik - 3 (didn't seem to want the ball) / 7 (clearly has some skill - juries out for me)

Semedo - 6/6 (does what he does)

JJ - 4 (disinterest) / 7 (more like it)

Madine - 6 (basically playing on his own with no support from midfield, wings or his strike parter)

Maguire - 4 (was he on the pitch?)

subs

COG - 6/9 MOM

Coke - 6/7

M Jones - 6

[camffiti]

Surprised to see most people give Llera a 6? He won absolutely EVERYTHING that came near him, he's a beast in the air and set up our second goal..

Did a lot better than Gardner imo, who looked either off the pace, positionally poor or just mentally slow.

[NYCOWL]

That bit when Antonio chased down the full back and robbed him was brilliant.

Like a Lion taking down a Fawn.

[dumboldowl]

Buxton 6 is generous and I'm a big Buxton fan. Hope he's just rusty.

Pathetic first half.

[martyn8484]

Kirkland - 8. Couldn't do much about the goals, generally solid and two good saves. This could be the coup of the season

Buxton - 6. Not his best game but short of match practice with a limited pre-season. He'll soon be back to the levels we expect of him

Llera - 6. He's had better games but solid enough. Lovely delivery for O'Grady's first goal

Gardner - 6. A few stray passes but was quick to recover. Another player who will make the difference for us this year

R. Johnson - 6. Could go either way for him this year. Steady enough

Antonio - 7. Not in the game 1st half, especially while on the right flank. A better 2nd half and nice to see him get a goal. Looks fast and strong

Semedo - 7. Looked more comfortable alongside Coke. You'll never get past him

Pecnic - 7. Shocking first half. Link up play wasn't bad but delivery from set pieces was poor and the penalty was a shocker. Made up for it in the 2nd half as he looked comfortable up there with COG. Some nice touches and keen to shoot

J. Johnson - 7. Hardly saw him in the first half, but like Antonio improved as he went on. His work rate looks improved

Maguire - 5. A hard worker and thought he was a tad unlucky with his chance.

Madine - 4. Obviously not fit, he was a risk to start

Subs:

O'Grady (On for Madine) - 9. Not my favourite player but his strength on the ball, dedication and hold up play is to be admired. Lovely to see him get two goals, I hope he stays this year

Coke (On for Maguire) - 6. Who would have thought he would get a chance, where was Amado? Still, we looked much improved when he came on. He's got a chance to make a mark with Lines out injured now. Will he take it?

M. Jones (On for J. Johnson) - n/a

Overall - shocking first half, much improved second

[Guest bigblue]

1st/2nd

Kirkland - 5/8 (2 great saves)

Buxton - 5/6 (maybe rusty, but far from a bad one)

Llera - 4/6

Gardner - 4/6

Reda - 4/5

Antonio - 5 (not involved enough) / 7 (great goal

Pecnik - 3 (didn't seem to want the ball) / 7 (clearly has some skill - juries out for me)

Semedo - 6/6 (does what he does)

JJ - 4 (disinterest) / 7 (more like it)

Madine - 6 (basically playing on his own with no support from midfield, wings or his strike parter)

Maguire - 4 (was he on the pitch?)

subs

COG - 6/9 MOM

Coke - 6/7

M Jones - 6

[sheriwozgod]

OVERALL

Kirkland - 8 - Very encouraging start

Buxton - 4 - Very worrying start

Llera - 6 - Good in patches , poor in patches

Gardner 6 - Ditto

R Johnson - 5 - Looked uncomfortable and along with Buxton consistently gave the ball away from the full back positions

J Johnson - 7 - Couple of trademark wild finishes but looked hungry and played pretty well

Pecnik - 7 - Once in his natural position he showed glimpses of being a real asset

Semedo - 6 - Quiet by his standards

Antonio - 7 - Improved as game went on , quality finish

Madine - 4 - Not at the races

Maguire - 4 - Early days but needs to improve on this showing , also looks half a stone overweight

SUBS

O,Grady - 7 - Does exactly what it says on the tin and well worth a squad place

Coke - 6 - Did OK , but very puzzled to see him and Prutton picked ahead of Amado (shop window?)

[Doctor Duran]

Kirkland - 8. Couldn't do much about the goals, generally solid and two good saves. This could be the coup of the season

Buxton - 6. Not his best game but short of match practice with a limited pre-season. He'll soon be back to the levels we expect of him

Llera - 6. He's had better games but solid enough. Lovely delivery for O'Grady's first goal

Gardner - 6. A few stray passes but was quick to recover. Another player who will make the difference for us this year

R. Johnson - 6. Could go either way for him this year. Steady enough

Antonio - 7. Not in the game 1st half, especially while on the right flank. A better 2nd half and nice to see him get a goal. Looks fast and strong

Semedo - 7. Looked more comfortable alongside Coke. You'll never get past him

Pecnic - 7. Shocking first half. Link up play wasn't bad but delivery from set pieces was poor and the penalty was a shocker. Made up for it in the 2nd half as he looked comfortable up there with COG. Some nice touches and keen to shoot

J. Johnson - 7. Hardly saw him in the first half, but like Antonio improved as he went on. His work rate looks improved

Maguire - 5. A hard worker and thought he was a tad unlucky with his chance.

Madine - 4. Obviously not fit, he was a risk to start

Subs:

O'Grady (On for Madine) - 9. Not my favourite player but his strength on the ball, dedication and hold up play is to be admired. Lovely to see him get two goals, I hope he stays this year

Coke (On for Maguire) - 6. Who would have thought he would get a chance, where was Amado? Still, we looked much improved when he came on. He's got a chance to make a mark with Lines out injured now. Will he take it?

M. Jones (On for J. Johnson) - n/a

Overall - shocking first half, much improved second

Agree with all that. saves me having to write one up..

[Guest fisher10]

why do people love buxton hes awful

[BRADDAZ]

First half:

Kirkland - 6

Buxton - 4

Llera - 5

Gardner - 5

Reda - 3

Antonio - 5

Semedo - 4

Pecnik - 3

JJ - 5

Madine - 3

Maguire - 4

Second Half

Kirkland - 8

Buxton - 6

Llera - 6

Gardner - 6

Reda - 4

Antonio - 8

Semedo - 6

Coke - 6

JJ - 7

Pecnik - 7

O'Grady - 9

[DJMortimer]

I really don't know why some people bother with player ratings. And that includes journalists. It's almost always the same lazy collection of 6s and 7s unless someone was noticeably bad or excellent in which case a few 5s, 8s and 9s appear. Might as well resurrect that bloody octopus and have him pick randomly.

Our first half performance was so woeful there should have been 2s and 3s all over the place. We didn't support the attack, we didn't keep the ball, we didn't mark, we didn't pressure the player on the ball, we gave away free kicks in dangerous areas, no one ran at opponents, we repeatedly resorted to launching it long and our passing was horrific. Yet even this doesn't stir many into deviating from the norm ad nauseum - 6, 7, 6, 7, 6, 7, 6, 7...

[Swiss Toni]

Kirkland 7 - Made a stunning save in the 2nd half to keep us in the game.

Buxton 5 - Just looked off the pace, probably due to lack of training. Would like to see more of Lee.

Reda 6 - Rushed out of position which left his LB area open for the first goal. Got better 2nd half but passing poor.

Llera 7 - Unsteady first half but created a goal and dominated in the air in the 2nd.

Gardner 6 - Looks steady if a little laid back. Just needs to play ball into midfield rather than long all the time.

Antonio 7 - Quiet first half but came to life when switched to the left and was a constant threat. Great goal.

JJ 6 - Scored a goal but to be honest, think I could have saved that!

Semedo 6 - Very quiet game by his standards but didn't help having no support in the first half.

Pecnik 6 - Looked seriously lost in the first half. Improved dramatically in the 2nd but tries a trick too many at times.

Maguire 5 - Worked hard but nothing seemed to happen for him. Pulled his only chance wide.

Madine 5 - The ball stuck to him but failed to bring others into the game. Clearly not fit.

O' Grady 8 - Made a real difference after his introduction. Held the ball up well and scored 2 strikers goals.

Coke 6 - Nothing spectacular but added a bit of needed steel in the middle which helped JJ, Antonio and Pecnik to play a little.

Jones 5 - Not enough time to impress.

[Guest shortpebble]

Only Gardner came off with his head held high and thats saying something.

Second half was a different game.

Haha no bloody way Gardner was shocking first half and not much better second!

[i used to be sc_owl]

Awful, abysmal first half team display. Second half we were superb, brilliant in fact.

As a team 5/10 first half, and 7/10 second half.

[Guest]

Awful, abysmal first half team display. Second half we were superb, brilliant in fact.

As a team 5/10 first half, and 7/10 second half.

I think you have just proved Mortimer's point from above. 'Abysmal' gets 5 out of 10 and Superb gets 7 out of 10?

If that was 5 out of 10 then I would be afraid to witness what would qualify as a 2 or 3 out of 10, the 1st 35 minutes were hard to watch to say the least.

Some of the defending in the 2nd half was still a little shaky but going forward they couldn't contend with us and they deserve credit for getting themselves out of the hole they had got themselves into.