Thoughts on today

Well first of all it's pretty hard to be definitive because I really have no idea exactly what quality of opposition we were up against, and secondly Manchester tried to pass the ball around us which I doubt is a challenge we will face much, if at all, this season. So here goes:

Alnwick: for all Manchester's possession he didn't have a fat lot to do, but made a decent penalty save and couldn't do much about the offside equaliser. No idea whether he can command as his box as there really weren't that many crosses in. 7.

Otsemobor: typical Otsemobor - caught out of position a few times but mostly rescued himself with his pace. Didn't overlap enough. 6.

Doherty. typical Doc - looked OK then gave away a stupid penalty. 5.

Askou. Played the 90 and looked the best of our centre backs. Calm with a big header on him. 7.

Lappin (first half). Had no problems at all at left-back. 7.

McVeigh. A pleasant surprise, get a big welcome and played pretty well. I'm not as cross as I was. 6.

Tudur-Jones. Fucking huge. Puts his foot in, can pass a bit, threat at dead balls I reckon, but a bit slow. 6.

Adeyemi. Ding dong! Why are we signing midfielders.? Gets stuck in, powerful, big shot in his right foot - goal was a bit like Russell's winner against Preston. Actually he may well be Russell but with a brain. 8. MoM.

Hoolahan. Looked quite good. 7.

Martin. Impressed. Looks bigger, worked very hard but didn't pull the trigger when he should. 7.

Cureton. Truly, deeply awful. In the second half
Adeyemi put one on a plate for him and he didn't even get a shot off. Embarrasing - how I thought Squiz would be, but wasn't. 2. Get rid Gunny.

SECOND HALF

Nelson: looked very good then took a knock and became tentative, and also got an elbow in the head. Looks just the job for the challenges to come. 6.

Drury: done OK. 6.

Whalley: looked nothing at all but then began to come into it, but hey he only signed yesterday 6.

Gill: busy, nipped about looked OK to me. 6.

Spillane: whatever he is, he ain't a midfielder - poor and not in Adeyemi's class. 4.

Lappin (second half): pushed forward to replace Hoolahan and didn't do anything. 5.

Bright: Shit. Cheerio. 3.

Holt: big, bustling awkward, does that winning the ball in the air thing. I'm happy. 7.

Overall not too bad, but really impossible to judge how much it means. I'd be disappointed if we see Bright, Spillane or Cureton again, but I'd like Askou on board. We aren't going to be pushovers, we're big and physical and aggressive, but where is Hughes going to fit in?

Posted By: Studebaker Hoch, Jul 25, 21:24:29