Player Ratings vs Alex.

[Sparky]

Martin - 6

Edworthy - 5

Morrison - 6

Tunchev - 7

Mattock - 6

Oakley - 7

King - 7 (won me £150 , GOOD LAD )

Berner -7

Dyer - 6

Fryatt - 7

DJ - 5

Howard - 6

Gradel - 5

Hobbs - 5

[dandannieldanok]

Martin 6 (Good 1-on-1 save but will be disappointed when he sees the goal again)

Edworthy 6.5 (Not bad, looked to overlap Oakley often, too old really though to make a difference)

Morrison 5 (Some decent tackles and clearances but looked vulnerable a lot)

Tunchev 7.5 (A few stray passes but apart from that kept things calm and composed, didn't lose a header)

Mattock 5.5 (Very lazy, didn't overlap often and just lobbed long balls down the line in hope, sell if we get a reasonable offer)

Oakley 6.5 (Faded after a good start, came off the wing a fair bit and played some neat passes)

King 7 (Purely for the goal which was desperately needed, other than that he was lethargic, perhaps needs a rest)

Berner 6.5 (Battled hard and kept things moving, although chased the ball around and left gaps behind him too often)

Dyer 5.5 (Not sure why he insisted on doing what Oakley did by coming off the wing, he had little effect and crossing was substandard also)

Fryatt 7 (Worked hard and took his goal really well even if not much else came off for him)

Campbell 4.5 (Offered nothing apart from a goal to the opposition and a few fancy touches inbetween large periods of miscontrol)

Gradel 6 (Purely for the assist, he offered nothing else, didn't put in any decent crosses (bar the goal) and refused to take on the left-back)

Howard 7 (Held the ball up well and linked with the midfielders well)

[Ric Flair]

I've noticed Tunchev struggles with big men. And Zola was no different. The strange thing for me is that he's same size as Kisnorbo and both are 6'2" or so but Kisnorbo would have won the aerial battles with Zola. If there is one weakness in Tunchev's, it lies heavily in his inability to deal with big men. The rest of his attributes are top notch, reads the game perfectly, tackles are spot on and often he closes people down rather than go for the crucial tackle. His ball handling and passings are most welcome as well. He's a damn good player.

Zola certainly looked like he had the better of him, yet the other week against Luca Toni, by all accounts it was food and drink for the lad. Toni, admittedly did only play about 30 mins of the game but Tunch was supposedly a beast that game.

Certainly one of very few weaknesses he has, hopefully he can fine tune that part of his game.

[Bert]

People need to remember Tunch isn't going to play awesome every game, where he'll probably be consistently good for 90% of the matches, there's always going to be games where he struggles.

I don't know one player that has played absolutely blinding in every game of their career.

[lee7]

Martin 6- good save 1 on 1 but shouldn't have been beaten at his near post

Edworthy 7 - supported the attacks when he could and didn't really do anything wrong

Morrison 6 - Hoof. also he was partly to blame for there first goal

Tunchev 8 - solid at the back and never really looked under pressure. MOM

Mattock 7 - attacked well and defended well but was reluctant to cross the ball into the box

Dyer 7 - attacked well and his link up play with Mattock was good

King 7 - extra mark for his goal but other than a few forward passes he always passes it to the side or back to one of the defenders

Berner 7 - solid. Tackled well and got forward and supported some of the attacks

Oakley 7 - His movement was always troubling the crewe left back and he was unlucky not to score with a header

Fryatt 7 - worked hard and a great finish

Campbell 6 - it was partly his fault for there goal but makes a lot of good runs and links up well with fryatt at times

Howard 7 - Held the ball up well when he came on and won a lot of flick-ons

Gradel 6 - tried to attack when he came on although his crossing was poor 80% of the time but he put in a great cross for our winner

[Webbo]

I must have watched a different game to everyone else last night.

Morrison getting a slating. Originally, it was Tunchev on Zola. Tunchev couldn't handle his size and power so they swapped.

Spot on.

Martin-6

Edworthy-6

Tunchev-6

Morrison-6

Berner-7

Oakley-6.5

King-7 (extra 0.5 for his goal)

Dyer-6

Fryatt-7

Campbell-5.5 (minus 0.5 for not clearing the ball for their goal)

Howard-6.5

Gradel-7 (1 or 2 awful touches 1or 2 touches of magic)

Hobbs N/A

[DJ Barry Hammond]

he tried to chip the goalkeeper but just hit it too high and too hard.

A chip hit too high and hard - wouldn't that be a hoof?

[Stuliasz]

Don't forget to post your ratings at www.player-ratings.com/rate if you went to the game. Voting closes tomorrow.

[Fox92]

Why Martin only 6?

His distribution and cummunication skills were excellent.

Yes, he conceded but it was DJ's fault for not kicking it out of play/up field.

Surely, if you're going to blame Martin for that, then Henderson could of done better at S****horpe?

Joe Murphy from S****horpe please.

[lildave3]

Why Martin only 6?

His distribution and cummunication skills were excellent.

Yes, he conceded but it was DJ's fault for not kicking it out of play/up field.

Surely, if you're going to blame Martin for that, then Henderson could of done better at S****horpe?

Joe Murphy from S****horpe please.

It is never acceptable for a keeper to be beaten at the near post from that kind of range.

[Tilley]

It is never acceptable for a keeper to be beaten at the near post from that kind of range.

Precisely, that is a basic rule for goalkeepers.

It was a pretty horrendous goal to concede by all accounts.

[DJ Barry Hammond]

It is never acceptable for a keeper to be beaten at the near post from that kind of range.

It was fairly close range, a decent hit shot that appeared to come through Tunchev's leg's and may even have taken a deflection. True I wouldn't have been happy conceeding that goal, but that's because I'm an excellent keeper!

[FantasticMrFuchs]

Well I thought DJ was actually pretty good tonight, some of these ratings are very harsh.

Wow Me & Lildave3 Agreeing on somthing?!!?!? yup agree with ya, there people being very harsh on DJ he hasnt played most of the season unlike a Mr Howard who doesnt score F**** all yet everyone loves the fact that if he gets a decent flick on or header he gets a 7 rating!! like i said in prev post give DJ 22 starts and see how he goes if still shocking then he gets all he deserves like Howard.We need goals & god forbid that Fryatt leave in Jan were fooked.

Why Martin only 6?

His distribution and cummunication skills were excellent.

Yes, he conceded but it was DJ's fault for not kicking it out of play/up field.

Surely, if you're going to blame Martin for that, then Henderson could of done better at S****horpe?

Joe Murphy from S****horpe please.

Yup Martin aint no regular not yet with GK's they get better at a later age i think so when hes 28-30yr i think he will have lernt alot and got better...Hendo no1 hes a Modern Day Simon Royce!!

And someone mentioned about Gilbert still not being fit.....Hes fit and has been since the Scunny game according to Silly Stringer on RL about 6.15ish hes been fit all week just hasnt been included in the squad NP must think Edworthys better....hmmmmm

[lildave3]

Wow Me & Lildave3 Agreeing on somthing?!!?!? yup agree with ya, there people being very harsh on DJ he hasnt played most of the season unlike a Mr Howard who doesnt score F**** all yet everyone loves the fact that if he gets a decent flick on or header he gets a 7 rating!! like i said in prev post give DJ 22 starts and see how he goes if still shocking then he gets all he deserves like Howard.We need goals & god forbid that Fryatt leave in Jan were fooked.

Tbh, you're praising DJ for basically the same things Howard does, which you criticise

[FantasticMrFuchs]

Oh yes i know that,my point is after 22 Games that howard has started hes shockling shite does very little week in week out and for a striker its poor, Atleast yesterday i saw DJ move about & try and create things it looks like he could do well given 22 games and would expect a better games to goal ratio than howard currently has. DJ was a waste of money without a doubt before he kicked a ball we payed well over the odds for him i would rather of seen earnshaw,beattie,philips and a whole host of other strikers signed over DJ & Howard. If i had it my way ild have Fryatt,Dickov and a rotation of Sappleton,Chambers & Billy Mckay(is that his name?) all get chances to prove themselfs

[Thracian]

Oh yes i know that,my point is after 22 Games that howard has started hes shockling shite does very little week in week out and for a striker its poor, Atleast yesterday i saw DJ move about & try and create things it looks like he could do well given 22 games and would expect a better games to goal ratio than howard currently has. DJ was a waste of money without a doubt before he kicked a ball we payed well over the odds for him i would rather of seen earnshaw,beattie,philips and a whole host of other strikers signed over DJ & Howard. If i had it my way ild have Fryatt,Dickov and a rotation of Sappleton,Chambers & Billy Mckay(is that his name?) all get chances to prove themselfs

I'd seriously doubt that Sappleton, Chambers and McKay have progressed one step further towards the first team than they were at the start of the season.

It's doubtful anyone has.

Not Luke O'Neill, Lee Cox or anyone else you can name.

In fact it is hard to see the point of the Academy in the current situation, other than as a valuable social service.

Yet again (as if it wasn't disastrous enough last time) we've got no real reserves team yet again and therefore no stage on which these kids can develop beyond under 18 level.

Even the strength of today's first team squad plays against the kids. We have 16-18 goodish first teamers now instead of the largely sub-standard squad we had in the days of Rob Kelly and Ian Holloway. So chances are limited by definition and more so since Pearson turns to seasoned loanees whenever there's a positional injury crisis.

Pearson has lifted the bar, thakfully, so it's hard enough now for the senior fringe first teamers to get a game never mind any or our promising kids. And where do the kids demonstrate any promise in circumstances that have any relevence? Nowhere.

To me it's a very short-term view that Mandaric is taking, presumably for economic reasons.

Because while he bought the club for a song in the full knowledge that the likes of Stearman, Mattock, Gradel etc would bring in a fair chunk of his purchase price I just don't see that trend continuing, not in relation to home-grown youngsters.

With proven players like Weso and Porter dropping off the radar (Weso even before his injury), it is hardly surprising that McKay has barely been heard of this season, or Beswick. And Chambers, ravaged by injury, didn't look outstanding even in the last Academy match I watched him.

I'm not saying any of them are beyond hope but, taken over six months, I don't see any of them are better players today than they were.

As for the emerging crop I have to think hard to come up with a single light in the darkness. O'Neill showed promise but needs more than Academy football to develop his strength and readjust some of his thinking. Lee Cox has moved from fringe first team squad member to seeming oblivion while we've been happy to play a centre-back at right back or import an old timer.

First team wise you can't knock the manager. He's top of the league so why should he care?

But Jon Rudkin and Steve Beaglehole presided over such a good production line they must be frustrated as hell at the current situation.

Just think about the change.

Stearman, Porter, Wesolowski, King, Gradel, Logan, Sheehan, Mattock, Chambers, Odhiambo and O'Neill have come through the Academy to wear our first team shirt in the last two years or so. Eleven players.

Additional prospects for a first team shirt in the next two years? None, apart perhaps from the odd Mickey Mouse cup match.

Best chances: Billy Kee (striker), Alex Cisak (goalkeeper), Lee Cox (right-back), Cian Bolger (centre-back) and Jorrin John (winger). That's 50% of our previous production rate and you can guarantee they won't all get through.

In fact I wouldn't bet very confidently on more than two getting through to play, say, 10 games.

You'll notice that McKay and Beswick aren't in there. That's cos if they were serious candidates, I'd have thought they'd have been involved by now. That they've not is an indication of how significantly the bar has been lifted and how little chance there is to change the manager's mind.

[reynard]

I'd seriously doubt that Sappleton, Chambers and McKay have progressed one step further towards the first team than they were at the start of the season.

It's doubtful anyone has.

But Jon Rudkin and Steve Beaglehole presided over such a good production line they must be frustrated as hell at the current situation.

Just think about the change.

Stearman, Porter, Wesolowski, King, Gradel, Logan, Sheehan, Mattock, Chambers, Odhiambo and O'Neill have come through the Academy to wear our first team shirt in the last two years or so. Eleven players.

Additional prospects for a first team shirt in the next two years? None, apart perhaps from the odd Mickey Mouse cup match.

Best chances: Billy Kee (striker), Alex Cisak (goalkeeper), Lee Cox (right-back), Cian Bolger (centre-back) and Jorrin John (winger). That's 50% of our previous production rate and you can guarantee they won't all get through.

In fact I wouldn't bet very confidently on more than two getting through to play, say, 10 games.

You'll notice that McKay and Beswick aren't in there. That's cos if they were serious candidates, I'd have thought they'd have been involved by now. That they've not is an indication of how significantly the bar has been lifted and how little chance there is to change the manager's mind.

I think you may have a point here. But there is another possibility hard though it might be to take.

We just might have to understand that our youngsters are not as good as some think they are. I doubt we are very much different from other clubs in seeing so-called promising talent just not live up to expectations.

Of those 11 you mention I'm not sure how many would be considered a success.

I'd accept Stearman and Mattock.

King is doing well at the moment but his overall play doesn't yet convince me. The step down in division may mean he has found his natural level.

wesolowski has always been pretty average. His initial leg break possibly made the difference but I have never been that convinced.

All I will say about Sheehan is that he has some talent but not that much.

Porter looked ok but hasn't gone on to reach higher levels of performance on a regular basis.

Gradel looks distinctly average at the moment and may be suffering second season syndrome where opponents have worked out how to play him. Reminds me of Ryan Smith and where is he now.

Too early to say about Chambers and O'neill

Odhiambo has hardly played and obviously hasn't impressed on loan (even in scotland) at other clubs enough for them to extend the loan. Probably a div2 or conference player.

As for Sappleton I think you yourself and others who watch a lot of youth football say he is not ready.Which means he may never be.

The gap between yout football and the first team is quite frankly massive and the % of players not making it must be quite large.

[FantasticMrFuchs]

2 Excellent posts there,nice to see 2 people get the points across withou it getting bitchy as so often the case on here.You obviously devote your time to watching the youths somthing i havent done since my younger days down the FNF(good times)