Man of the Match & Player Ratings vs Portsmouth (H), 30/07/22

[nevthelodgemoorowl]

49 minutes ago, Humdy said:

Well he's making up for it now!

Remarkable stats those letting in three a game for the entire season thus far  

[Humdy]

56 minutes ago, nevthelodgemoorowl said:

Remarkable stats those letting in three a game for the entire season thus far  

Last two games hes let in 7, so yeh, doing quite well

[Emerson Thome]

Anyone seen @frastheowl? - his ratings are usually worth a read.

[Emerson Thome]

But in frastheowl's absence, here are the final scores. Thanks to the 25 people who voted:

 

SWFC vs Portsmouth (h), 30 July 2022

Stockdale: 4.8

Iorfa: 3.5

Heneghan: 5.1

Ihiekwe: 5.0

Hunt: 6.0

Johnson: 6.0

Byers: 6.5

Dele-Bashiru: 8.3 - MoM

Bannan: 6.7

Windass: 6.0

Gregory: 5.6

 

Smith: 5.6

 

Team Rating: 5.76

 

Congrats to Fizz for his third ever Owlstalk MoM award.

[Emerson Thome]

This is what the journos made of it (average of Dom Howson and Joe Crann's scores, as the Yorkshire Post didn't bother)

 

SWFC vs Portsmouth (h), 30 July 2022

Stockdale: 5.0

Iorfa: 5.0

Heneghan: 5.0

Ihiekwe: 5.5

Hunt: 6.0

Johnson: 6.0

Byers: 6.5

Dele-Bashiru: 8.5 - MoM

Bannan: 7.0

Windass: 7.0

Gregory: 6.0

 

Smith: 6.0

 

Team Rating: 6.18

[Morepork]

11 minutes ago, Emerson Thome said:

But in frastheowl's absence, here are the final scores. Thanks to the 25 people who voted:

 

SWFC vs Portsmouth (h), 30 July 2022

Stockdale: 4.8

Iorfa: 3.5

Heneghan: 5.1

Ihiekwe: 5.0

Hunt: 6.0

Johnson: 6.0

Byers: 6.5

Dele-Bashiru: 8.3 - MoM

Bannan: 6.7

Windass: 6.0

Gregory: 5.6

 

Smith: 5.6

 

Team Rating: 5.76

 

Congrats to Fizz for his third ever Owlstalk MoM award.

 

They are actually a pretty good representation of performance to be fair. Obv's IMO.

[Morepork]

1 minute ago, Emerson Thome said:

This is what the journos made of it (average of Dom Howson and Joe Crann's scores, as the Yorkshire Post didn't bother)

 

SWFC vs Portsmouth (h), 30 July 2022

Stockdale: 5.0

Iorfa: 5.0

Heneghan: 5.0

Ihiekwe: 5.5

Hunt: 6.0

Johnson: 6.0

Byers: 6.5

Dele-Bashiru: 8.5 - MoM

Bannan: 7.0

Windass: 7.0

Gregory: 6.0

 

Smith: 6.0

 

Team Rating: 6.18

 

Backed up by fans having a slightly more critical view. Is that generally what you see I've not noticed these ratings comparisons before?

[Emerson Thome]

35 minutes ago, Morepork said:

 

Backed up by fans having a slightly more critical view. Is that generally what you see I've not noticed these ratings comparisons before?

 

I think the journalists are definitely less likely to dig one particular player out (as they have to keep good enough relations to interview them the next day). Although sometimes they do give some scathing marks across the board (e.g. Plymouth away last season).

[Screen Door Slams]

Played some good stuff at times but I`m getting sick of the same old problems and excuses from DM regarding our defending...............no nonsense centre backs Heneghan and Ihekwie were signed  in an effort to eradicate us conceeding soft headed goals..........ahem.

[Tapeworm]

Stockdale - 4 Didn't fill me with any confidence. Looks so laboured and weighty.

Iorfa - 3 - Not good enough.

Heneghan - 3.5 - Looked like a lower league player playing in front of a big crowd. Too eager to win the ball and poor distribution.

Ihiekwe - 5.5 - Thought he looked the best of the 3 but again distribution wasn't great.

Hunt - 6 - Did ok.

Johnson - 6. Good finish and put a few decent balls in. Not sure he went past the full back once though, very predictable.

Byers - 7 - Actually thought he played well and was unfortunate to come off.

Bannan - 7 - Cut above when he had the ball but just didn't see enough of it.

FDB - 8.5 - Great goals and strong play. Did give the ball away for their 2nd though but love his driving runs.

Windass - 6.5 - Great play for the first goal but was quiet all 2nd half.

Gregory - 6 - Some decent touches and interplay but wasn't a particular goal threat - red card didn't help either.

[pachyderm]

So does Moore go with Dawson (he's not injured is he?) or stick with Stockdale next match? 

[Daizan10]

Stockdale: 6 - didn't do a lot wrong, with the exception of the second goal where he MAYBE could have done more. Looks good with his feet, mostly. 

Iorfa: 4 - couldn't pass and at the heart of the defensive issues from crosses

Heneghan: 7 - Puts his head on everything. I just wish he hadn't gone to close the cross down for the third goal. Left the other two Muppets on their own. 

Ihiekwe: 5 - generally ok, but part of the problem defending crosses. Communication isnt there just yet. 

Hunt: 6.5 - managed to get forwards and back quickly enough to stop the right becoming the disaster the left became.

Johnson: 5 - started well, great goal. But then EVERY SINGLE ATTACK came from his side. Needs to work on getting up AND back to defend. He was definitely targeted. 

Byers: 7 - Great first half

Dele-Bashiru: 9.5 - MoM. How can you fault that?

Bannan: 7 - Played in fitst and starts today and looked a lot more comfortable once he was back in deep midfield. 

Windass: 6 - good first half, faded badly. 

Gregory: 6 - needed more help around him. Thrives off a smith like player he can sniff out from knock downs. Unlucky with the red, as the first yellow was not a yellow. 

[frastheowl]

On 01/08/2022 at 02:44, Emerson Thome said:

Anyone seen @frastheowl? - his ratings are usually worth a read.

 

Apologies. Tbh, I haven't been on here for a while, and I totally forgot about the MotM thread.

 

I promise to be back on form this weekend! 

 

As a summary, I felt that last Saturday poised far more questions, than it did answers. I felt our balance looked out of kilter from the get go tbh. There's no doubt, we were the better side in the 1st half, but I genuinely think that was down to a No Show from Portsmouth...they were utterly awful in the 1st half. And, it seemed that we felt things we're going to be a bit of cakewalk, and as a result, allowed Portsmouth an opportunity to stay in the game, and ultimately end up looking the more likely to win the game.

 

I don't think playing Bannan in the No.10 worked...at all. He played noticeably higher, and although he still showed his class when he got the ball, I don't think we saw him enough. As a result of Bannan's advanced position, we were totally reliant on Byer's to link the play...and when Byer's was marked, our centre halves never looked comfortable enough to bypass the midfield, to find Bannan or the forward players. Consequently I don't think we ever poised a genuine, probing threat, until Bannan was dropped deeper in the 2nd half. 

 

The introduction of Smith, and Windass dropping into the hole, gave us much more options, and I'd like to think, that would be our blueprint for the season ahead. The drawback of that...with Bannan a sure starter when fit, it only leaves one more slot in that midfield...with a whole raft of names and good players to choose from. Can't help but think, we might have caused ourselves a bit of an issue in terms of squad balance, just by attempting a slight tweak in system.

 

Wasn't impressed with Stockdale...at all. His distribution was poor, and I've seen the goals back...and I think he's got to do better with those first two goals. Had Dawson let those in...he'd have been vilified by many. The back three looked fine in the 1st half against effectively no opposition, but looked vulnerable down the channels (Ihiekwe & Heneghan in particular looked sluggish covering the space in behind our wing backs). And the less said about our ability to defend crosses the better. Farcical. 

 

It wasn't an awful performance by any stretch...but it was way below what I expected in terms of familiarity and cohesiveness. Dele-Bashiru was exceptional in possession, but is he disciplined enough defensively?...I'm not convinced a Double Pivot of Byers and Bashiru will be effective enough at sniffing out those counter attacks we're bound to encounter, given how high our wing backs play. 

[Emerson Thome]

Cheers. I share your concerns about Dele-Bashiru. He's great on the ball, but off the ball is the issue. If he's going to score 10+ goals and play like he did last week I'm less worried. But was that just one very good day? We'll see if he can back it up.

[frastheowl]

8 hours ago, Emerson Thome said:

Cheers. I share your concerns about Dele-Bashiru. He's great on the ball, but off the ball is the issue. If he's going to score 10+ goals and play like he did last week I'm less worried. But was that just one very good day? We'll see if he can back it up.

 

I'm a huge fan of Dele-Bashiru, always have been tbh. I think he genuinely has the skill set and physical attributes to play at a high level.

 

But, for him to become an all-round midfielder, he needs games and time to build on that awareness from a defensive aspect. Something we haven't awarded him so far, nor am I sure we are now in a position to allow him to go through that learning process. Such our aims and expectations.

 

Alternatively, you make sure there's somebody with a genuine defensive head behind or alongside him, and if he puts in game-changing performances like he did last week, you make all the adjustment you need to make make FDB is playing week-in week-out. Vaulks is the obvious choice, but I do wonder whether Bakinson could be ideal, in that sitting playmaker role, if the centre halves continue to struggle to find the midfield like they did on Saturday.

 

Whatever way I look at it though... it always ends up with a three-man midfield (or even a diamond!)...but that's based off one game, so perhaps we can find some fluency and consistency in the current system over the next few games.