Okay, so I spent my afternoon watching the full replay through on iFollow. It took a lot of effort to get to the end, knowing what was coming, but at least now I can have my opinion here.
Eastwood - 6
Made a few really good saves. But lucky not to concede a penalty in the first half, and also not to be embarrassed with a lob from a poor pass.
McMahon - 5
Did okay defensively, but ended up getting swamped as there was no cover from the right wing (no one even playing on the right wing for a good 10-15 minutes)
Dickie - 5
Did the best he could. Cleared his lines, got a head on things. Had to do a lot of covering for Nelson.
Nelson - 4
Very poor. Not sure if it was a lack of fitness or match sharpness. He was caught out of position a lot, didn't run back from the corners, and relied a lot on Dickie.
Garbutt - 4
Again, hopefully its a lack of match sharpness. Poor delivery from set pieces, and he seemed to feel like no one was helping him out on the left side.
Brannagan - 6
Had a few really good passages of play. Once he gets a unit next to him, he'll be dictating our counter attacks.
Ruffels - 3
Got run around and run through. He's a great option as a utility player from the bench, but not good enough for a top half L1 side.
Carruthers - 5
I didn't see much of him before he went off, but his exit was clearly a catalyst. No one knew what the systems or tactics were once we put an extra man up top, and we ended up a shambles.
Henry - 4
Put in lots of running, but wasn't effective in any way, defending or attacking.
Mackie - 3
Fairly invisible, again hopefully he is given a few weeks to gain fitness.
Obika - 5
I'm definitely going to defend Obika. He was excellent running off the ball, and was exactly where he needed to be at all times. His close control once he gets the ball needs a lot of work though. I still think he will be effective against the majority of L1 opponents, particularly with improved support from the wingers behind him.
Subs;
Smith - 5
Was impressed with his speed, and some of the runs he made. Expecting a few goals from him before the end of the season.
Hall - 7
The one man all afternoon who begged for the ball, took it, and forced things to happen for us. Who wasn't afraid of our opposition, and in fact worried them. Will be huge for us this season if kept fit.
Whyte - N/A
I'm still optimistic. I saw a lot in the match which we can be positive going forward.
Barnsley were the worst possible team for us to play on the opening day. It was a Championship squad that only had one addition all summer, playing against a team still trying to bed in new faces. They knew exactly how to play off each other, which we need to improve ASAP, but it will come to us.
I don't think we will lose another game in that fashion for the rest of the season, but I think Barnsley will win a lot of games in that fashion.