Man of match -V - scrubbers (H)

[frastheowl]

 

Westwood - 7 - Great save to foil Madine's early header, and along with the rest of the backline, dealt with United's dangerous set pieces very well all night. Another relatively comfortable performance. 

 

Iorfa - 6 - Shaky start to the game. Allowed Madine to get the better of him for his chance, and looked very hesitant when in possession. Settled down second half, and was part a back four who secured another clean sheet. 

 

Lees - 8 - Defended resolutely against a difficult opponent in Sharp (never appreciated how strong Sharp is), and on the whole defended very well. Good ball over the top for Reach in the 1st half, which created the half chance for Fletcher.

 

Hector - 8 - Dominant and commanding. Set his stall out early, and never allowed Madine to get on top. He reads the game really well also...great covering clearance to deny McGoldrick's cut back to cause any trouble. 

 

Palmer - 8 - Man of the Match - Considering he played out of position, thought he was superb. Yes...his attacking play was limited because of his lack of a left foot, but defensively, he's oozing with confidence. Something we've not seen enough in seasons gone by...positive, looking to defending by anticipating rather than reacting. Even looked stronger physically than any United player last night. He's in the best form of his career at present. Long may it continue. 

 

Hutchinson - 7 - He did the stand out things superbly last night. Chased, harried, put in a number of important challenges. But, missed an absolute sitter which in the end, cost us the game. 

 

Bannan - 6 - Worked tirelessly, like you'd expect. But, in these games that are frantic, and fast-paced, we rely on him to settle things down and get us to play. And he never settled himself. Too often, he was forced into hitting it long, or just punting it into space. He wasn't the only one...but he's our playmaker, and as a result, we never managed to get a hold on the game (neither did United...only Norwood threatened to actually settle things down)

 

Reach - 5 - Another disappointing game, where he was anonymous for much of the game. Did well for the ball to Fletcher in the 1st half, but looked weak and soft throughout. No impact whatsoever in the 2nd half. 

 

Aarons - 6 - Not helped by the fact the game never settled down, but he really struggled to get into the game. When he did, he showed glimpses of quality. The ball for Hutchinson (aside from Norwood's deliveries) was the only piece of quality in the game. Had a couple of opportunities to get at Freeman, but seemed reluctant to do so. 

 

Forestieri - 6 - Showed glimpses of inventiveness in the 1st half, and was his usual busy, gritty self. Huge blow when was substituted at half time. Seemed to suck the belief out of the team and the crowd. 

 

Fletcher - 7 - Although he'll have games where more things come off, and he'll have more of an obvious impact, I thought he performed very well in hugely difficult circumstances (especially 2nd half). When Forestieri went off, he was so isolated it was untrue, but continued to battle away and win a lot of aerial duals. Saw a stat where he won more aerial duals than the entirety of United's side. 

 

Boyd - 4 - Poor sub from Bruce in my opinion. Surely Matias is the replacement for Forestieri, or at the very least, move either Aarons or Reach in behind Fletcher. I understand why he opted for Boyd, but it was a negative sub, and we seemed to lose any impact we might've had going forward. He runs a lot...but doesn't do a lot. I'd be surprised if he touched the ball more than 15 times. 

 

Fox - 6 - Came on, and did his job, although not really troubled nor tested. 

 

Overall...

 

Meh...what an anti-climax. And it wasn't totally down to Wednesday either. 

 

United had watched Wednesday's recent games, and felt they had to change the way they play. Big compliment that, because they haven't done that for anybody else this season. By not only playing Madine, but going very direct also, they ensured that the high energy, pressing game we've been successful with recently, could not be applied. And as a result, because that gameplan didn't change unless late on, the game never settled down, and turned into another dire spectacle. 

 

It's a shame. The game has become so important, that it seems both teams are so afraid to lose. The last three games have been horror shows. We were quite openly the catalysts for the previous two displays (and considering the situations we were in at the time, I don't think you could blame us), but last night, United came utterly petrified to lose the game. Fair enough, they had a lot more riding on it, but as a game we all look for when the fixtures come out, they haven't half become turgid let-downs.  

 

So, it's pointless taking too much out of the performance. We defended well, and stifled a usual very efficient outfit (although much of that was down to United's poor display). Attacking wise, there's nothing to get exciting about, but also nothing to worry about either. Derby on Saturday will be a different game. Crucial we get a victory there, if we have any hopes of a slim playoff challenge. 

[Bouncing Owl]

9 minutes ago, frastheowl said:

 

Westwood - 7 - Great save to foil Madine's early header, and along with the rest of the backline, dealt with United's dangerous set pieces very well all night. Another relatively comfortable performance. 

 

Iorfa - 6 - Shaky start to the game. Allowed Madine to get the better of him for his chance, and looked very hesitant when in possession. Settled down second half, and was part a back four who secured another clean sheet. 

 

Lees - 8 - Defended resolutely against a difficult opponent in Sharp (never appreciated how strong Sharp is), and on the whole defended very well. Good ball over the top for Reach in the 1st half, which created the half chance for Fletcher.

 

Hector - 8 - Dominant and commanding. Set his stall out early, and never allowed Madine to get on top. He reads the game really well also...great covering clearance to deny McGoldrick's cut back to cause any trouble. 

 

Palmer - 8 - Man of the Match - Considering he played out of position, thought he was superb. Yes...his attacking play was limited because of his lack of a left foot, but defensively, he's oozing with confidence. Something we've not seen enough in seasons gone by...positive, looking to defending by anticipating rather than reacting. Even looked stronger physically than any United player last night. He's in the best form of his career at present. Long may it continue. 

 

Hutchinson - 7 - He did the stand out things superbly last night. Chased, harried, put in a number of important challenges. But, missed an absolute sitter which in the end, cost us the game. 

 

Bannan - 6 - Worked tirelessly, like you'd expect. But, in these games that are frantic, and fast-paced, we rely on him to settle things down and get us to play. And he never settled himself. Too often, he was forced into hitting it long, or just punting it into space. He wasn't the only one...but he's our playmaker, and as a result, we never managed to get a hold on the game (neither did United...only Norwood threatened to actually settle things down)

 

Reach - 5 - Another disappointing game, where he was anonymous for much of the game. Did well for the ball to Fletcher in the 1st half, but looked weak and soft throughout. No impact whatsoever in the 2nd half. 

 

Aarons - 6 - Not helped by the fact the game never settled down, but he really struggled to get into the game. When he did, he showed glimpses of quality. The ball for Hutchinson (aside from Norwood's deliveries) was the only piece of quality in the game. Had a couple of opportunities to get at Freeman, but seemed reluctant to do so. 

 

Forestieri - 6 - Showed glimpses of inventiveness in the 1st half, and was his usual busy, gritty self. Huge blow when was substituted at half time. Seemed to suck the belief out of the team and the crowd. 

 

Fletcher - 7 - Although he'll have games where more things come off, and he'll have more of an obvious impact, I thought he performed very well in hugely difficult circumstances (especially 2nd half). When Forestieri went off, he was so isolated it was untrue, but continued to battle away and win a lot of aerial duals. Saw a stat where he won more aerial duals than the entirety of United's side. 

 

Boyd - 4 - Poor sub from Bruce in my opinion. Surely Matias is the replacement for Forestieri, or at the very least, move either Aarons or Reach in behind Fletcher. I understand why he opted for Boyd, but it was a negative sub, and we seemed to lose any impact we might've had going forward. He runs a lot...but doesn't do a lot. I'd be surprised if he touched the ball more than 15 times. 

 

Fox - 6 - Came on, and did his job, although not really troubled nor tested. 

 

Overall...

 

Meh...what an anti-climax. And it wasn't totally down to Wednesday either. 

 

United had watched Wednesday's recent games, and felt they had to change the way they play. Big compliment that, because they haven't done that for anybody else this season. By not only playing Madine, but going very direct also, they ensured that the high energy, pressing game we've been successful with recently, could not be applied. And as a result, because that gameplan didn't change unless late on, the game never settled down, and turned into another dire spectacle. 

 

It's a shame. The game has become so important, that it seems both teams are so afraid to lose. The last three games have been horror shows. We were quite openly the catalysts for the previous two displays (and considering the situations we were in at the time, I don't think you could blame us), but last night, United came utterly petrified to lose the game. Fair enough, they had a lot more riding on it, but as a game we all look for when the fixtures come out, they haven't half become turgid let-downs.  

 

So, it's pointless taking too much out of the performance. We defended well, and stifled a usual very efficient outfit (although much of that was down to United's poor display). Attacking wise, there's nothing to get exciting about, but also nothing to worry about either. Derby on Saturday will be a different game. Crucial we get a victory there, if we have any hopes of a slim playoff challenge. 

 

Excellent analysis and ratings but Hector edged the man of the match for me but Palmer was a very close second. Only my opinion. I’ve got to say Palmer had a very good game and defended brilliantly and had an edge to him which was needed in the game. Hector mopped everything up, won loads in the air and made some important clearances. Norwood was a threat all night with his deliveries.

[frastheowl]

1 minute ago, Bouncing Owl said:

 

Excellent analysis and ratings but Hector edged the man of the match for me but Palmer was a very close second. Only my opinion. I’ve got to say Palmer had a very good game and defended brilliantly and had an edge to him which was needed in the game. Hector mopped everything up, won loads in the air and made some important clearances. Norwood was a threat all night with his deliveries.

 

Yeah, tbh I couldn't split the two. 

 

I opted for Palmer, purely because I've been a huge critic of his previously (and deservedly so), and I've been really impressed with his remarkable improvement of late. 

 

Hector was fantastic though also. 

[Ante's Bubbly]

On 05/03/2019 at 18:36, Lord Snooty said:

 

They are indeed pigs.

But one look at their team line up last night was like looking at one of those "Whose been banged up in yorkshire this month" features in The Star.

The pockmarked  souless faces of the dead-eyed, broken nosed, unkempt scrubbers. It would be easy for any editor to mix up the two photos.

So I thought. What the hell. They can have another well earned moniker.

 

 

 

Pig scrubbers?

 

 

[Ante's Bubbly]

On 05/03/2019 at 18:36, Lord Snooty said:

 

They are indeed pigs.

But one look at their team line up last night was like looking at one of those "Whose been banged up in yorkshire this month" features in The Star.

The pockmarked  souless faces of the dead-eyed, broken nosed, unkempt scrubbers. It would be easy for any editor to mix up the two photos.

So I thought. What the hell. They can have another well earned moniker.

 

 

 

I know what you mean about the dead eyes. You can't imagine any of them ever put heir hand up to answer a question at school can you? Unless it was crime or grime related! (Grime as in muck, not the musical genre)