Player ratings vs Coventry

[Berliner]

For what it's worth...

Mitchell: 5 Nowhere near good enough for me. Doesn't command his area, slows the game down when we should be looking to break. Obviously at fault for the penalty, if you come there you have to get it.

Norman: 6 Foot like a traction engine. Mixture of good and bad really. Little impetus

Nelson: 6 Few wobbles, still looks a shadow of the player of last season. Does read the game well though.

Mousinho: 6 Similar to Nelson, but I do like the way he plays the game in general. Unlucky with the goal.

Ruffels: 5 Much better second half, but simply not a left back. Only there cos he's left footed in my opinion. Offers little

Brannagan: 6 Game passed him largely by, lucky not to get booked

Baptiste: 7 MOM by a distance, some player we have here. Barely a tackle lost or ball wasted

Holmes: 6 Some good touches, most balls in not good enough. Tired noticeably

Henry: 6 An annoying loss of form, because you can see what he's trying to do. Always present at least

Browne: 6 Started well, faded very fast. Should have been at Junior Browne's ankles from the second he was booked. Awful set pieces

Mackie: 4 Yes, he got little support, but worked nada for the ball. First time his name was mentioned in the 40th minute or so. Not good enough, not fit enough

Obika: 6 Your standard big lump up front performance but did at least make Coventry work.

Garbutt/Smith: Not on long enough. Couple of nice touches from Garbutt though. Does he start next week?

 

[tonto]

Garbutt looked good needs to start,When is Eastwood back we need him asap.

 

[Osei Yaw]

I actually thought Mackie did quite well there. Had next to no service but constantly backed into his man and regularly won the first ball, but playing in a team so lacking in confidence and ideas it was for nothing in the end.

 

[Thehorse777]

Eastwood starting would have made little difference today so that’s a papering over the cracks kind of comment for me.

The players that are listed here....are they good enough to stay up?

I’d say yes but too many are consistently playing below a level of performance that they are capable of, and have done in the past.... why is this?

There’s two main reasons for this:

1. They aren’t trying
2. The manager isn’t getting the best out of them.

Is it option 1?

I don’t think so, I do genuinely believe the players are trying.

Is it option 2?

For all Robinson’s talk after the game about players not doing what they’ve been told etc I believe it is down to the manager.

Watching them today they don’t really look like they have a game plan, as soon as a player gets the ball hs should know what his first two passes are going to be in order of preference, I don’t think our players do.

Every time they get the ball they have to take a touch and think about what they are going to do, this results in the options disappearing and then playing back inside and eventually back to the goalkeeper.

The philosophy seems to be “pass the ball” and little more than that, no real plan of where those passes would be expected to get them to.

As soon as they start to go a little more direct, and I’m not talking about long balls here, but getting the ball into good areas early before the opposition can get set they look much more dangerous.

Of course this doesn’t fit into the “pretty football” that everyone is so desperate to play these days, but neither does passing the ball around in front of the oppositions two banks of four, neither does losing at home to another club in the bottom 4 without really looking like winning.

Every week Robinson comes on the radio and bemoans the teams luck (the first goal today) you CANT be unlucky every single week.... if that is the case then there is something deeper at work.

 

[MiddleBartonYellow]

All very well blaming Mackie all the time but when the 3 behind him were all poor it’s asking a lot of the bloke when he has no service

 

[Mystery Yellow]

For what it's worth...

Mitchell: 5 Nowhere near good enough for me. Doesn't command his area, slows the game down when we should be looking to break. Obviously at fault for the penalty, if you come there you have to get it.

Norman: 6 Foot like a traction engine. Mixture of good and bad really. Little impetus

Nelson: 6 Few wobbles, still looks a shadow of the player of last season. Does read the game well though.

Mousinho: 6 Similar to Nelson, but I do like the way he plays the game in general. Unlucky with the goal.

Ruffels: 5 Much better second half, but simply not a left back. Only there cos he's left footed in my opinion. Offers little

Brannagan: 6 Game passed him largely by, lucky not to get booked

Baptiste: 7 MOM by a distance, some player we have here. Barely a tackle lost or ball wasted

Holmes: 6 Some good touches, most balls in not good enough. Tired noticeably

Henry: 6 An annoying loss of form, because you can see what he's trying to do. Always present at least

Browne: 6 Started well, faded very fast. Should have been at Junior Browne's ankles from the second he was booked. Awful set pieces

Mackie: 4 Yes, he got little support, but worked nada for the ball. First time his name was mentioned in the 40th minute or so. Not good enough, not fit enough

Obika: 6 Your standard big lump up front performance but did at least make Coventry work.

Garbutt/Smith: Not on long enough. Couple of nice touches from Garbutt though. Does he start next week?

Think you been very generous with your ratings there was a lot more 4/5s out there today

 

[stokeu]

Think you been very generous with your ratings there was a lot more 4/5s out there today

He din't say what the ratings were out of, could have been 100 .

 

[Mystery Yellow]

He din't say what the ratings were out of, could have been 100 .

If it’s out of 100 then fair enough

 

[Mystery Yellow]

Mitchell was awful today at least half a dozen balls went out for there throw ins when he kicked it long, both goals were down to him poor positioning for the first,

To many poor/average performance from players who should doing way better

When are we going to see the real Brannagan who was so highly rated by Liverpool not so long ago Baptiste has shown way more in his little time in the first team than CB has done since signing (& that’s not down his position before anyone says as he can play both CM & CAM/Number 10)

Goalscoring & creativity is a mayor problem creating very little clear cut chances all season that’s with Holmes Whyte Browne Henry etc all in the side, we gone from a side in the last 2 seasons where keepers were coming to our ground & having worldys against us (with most GK always getting man of the match performances against us) to keepers now having next to nothing to do most of the game, 1 goal from 7 games from our 3 CentreForwards says it all

 

[Oxfordpete]

Not sure I really want to score any of the players today apart from Baptiste,
Holmes worst game in Oxford shirt
Henry wrorst game in Oxford shirt
Browne worst game in Oxford shirt
Nelson missed a sitter but also out jumped regularly by their forwards
Norman in and out of game
Ruffles not a left back out of position too often
Mous did ok unlucky with deflection
Brannigan not as good as Baptiste
Mackie ran a lot no support needs to hold the bill up more until others arrive, if they arrive
Mitchell kicking awful, still, stupid decision to go so far out when Nelson was with attacker
His slows the game up, he seems to be looking to play it out but far too slow
Team as a whole no battling no desire Baptiste aside

 

[Teddydee1980]

Keeper is a real liability. Kicked into touch at least 4 times, unsure in his distribution and yep, at fault for the Pen so a 3 for me. Other than that I felt Norman wasn't up to the standard of recent games, looked uncertain and didn't have the drive, plus he was out jumped by Brown somehow a few times. Then the front three behind Mackie didn't create enough, Henry seems to take 25 minutes into a game to start, Holmes was quiet and Browne showed his age in his decision making. Everyone else was bang average with some moments..so...not looking for Robbos head here was just disappointing to lose momentum after a good week. On to next week and a few more showing up for a game.

 

[uptheus]

I think Robinson’s got to take some blame regarding the keeper. It was him that admitted that he told him to kick to the touchline. It’s him that obviously tells the full backs to push on when the keepers got the ball meaning the options for quick/good distribution is limited to Nelson/Mousinho or one of the central pairing if the drop deep enough to get the ball.

It was obvious for the first 20mins Coventry allowed us to have the ball deep in our half, but after that they pressed us higher up the pitch and raised their tempo by which time we then didn’t know what to do, options became limited etc.

Don’t get me wrong as Mitchell had a dodgy game, but then so were the tactics (or lack of them), and too many leading players had off games e.g. Holmes, Browne, Henry, Brannagan (got to learn not to jump in), Norman (pissing me off with his diving to the floor). You can carry one or two players, but not 5 or 6.

 

[guyellow]

Coventry beat us on strategy. They had 2-3 players on Browne and Holmes which shut down their threat out wide. Norman was frequently forced so far wide he was almost in the stands. But apart from Baptiste no-one took up the space in the middle to any effect.
Can't blame the pitch or the kick-off time, as both teams had to deal with that. We really need a decent, threatening goalscorer and a plan B for games, like this.

 

[Thehorse777]

I think we need a plan A.

Can anyone tell me what that currently is?

“Pass with purpose” would be the key phrase I’d like to get into the players heads, currently we pass but without any real idea where that pass is meant to get us.

It’s all very good winning the possession stats but there’s no point if most of that is between our back 5 inside our own half.

This might mean us being more direct and getting The ball into the final 3rd but if we get players running in behind and press as a group we can make this effective.

As long as the ball is played into good areas in their final 3rd, in behind the full backs ideally, it not only increases our chances of winning throw ins and corners which may lead to goal scoring opportunities, it also decreases our chances of conceding a goal because the ball is nowhere near our goal.

It’s all basic stuff and may not necessarily fit into the “style” Robinson thinks we should play but substance is always more important than style, get the substance and then worry about how it looks once results starting coming more consistently.

 

[MiddleBartonYellow]

Might as well have kept Thomas. The ones that have come in up front are no better.

 

[Paul Cannell]

We miss Midson most.

 

[Didcotox]

Might as well have kept Thomas. The ones that have come in up front are no better.

Thomas is okay if you play to his strengths, and we did when we had Payne, but he is useless otherwise.Was rightly released and struggled to get a club, eventually signing for Grimsby! He is not the answer.

 

[yellowbow]

The problem is we can’t go more direct without a decent centre-forward. If Robinson is going to persist with his one up front formation, it was imperative that he got the recruitment of that position bang on. He needed to bring in a big mobile player with experience of this division. Someone who could be relied on week in week out. Yes that costs money but it’s arguably the most important player in the team, the talisman. Instead he chase a young inexperienced player all summer which was always going to be a huge risk. Other than that he’s got a player (Obika) who unfortunately proved last season that he’s not up to it. And Mackie... with the formation he plays the three attacking players behind need somebody to play off of otherwise they get pushed further and further back. A player similar to Coventry’s center forward yesterday would have improved things dramatically. He held the ball up, laid it off and drew fouls to take the pressure off. Another way a lone striker can cause problems is to run the channels to move the opposition centre backs about to create space for others to run in to. Maybe if Mackie can get fit he’ll be able to do that but I don’t see it..

 

[TailsWeWin]

The problem is we can’t go more direct without a decent centre-forward. If Robinson is going to persist with his one up front formation, it was imperative that he got the recruitment of that position bang on. He needed to bring in a big mobile player with experience of this division. Someone who could be relied on week in week out. Yes that costs money but it’s arguably the most important player in the team, the talisman. Instead he chase a young inexperienced player all summer which was always going to be a huge risk. Other than that he’s got a player (Obika) who unfortunately proved last season that he’s not up to it. And Mackie... with the formation he plays the three attacking players behind need somebody to play off of otherwise they get pushed further and further back. A player similar to Coventry’s center forward yesterday would have improved things dramatically. He held the ball up, laid it off and drew fouls to take the pressure off. Another way a lone striker can cause problems is to run the channels to move the opposition centre backs about to create space for others to run in to. Maybe if Mackie can get fit he’ll be able to do that but I don’t see it..

Exactly this.

 

[TN4 Yellow]

Issues all over the pitch from what I saw yesterday.

Mitchell - clearly a good keeper, but young, getting stick from his own fans, and confidence now very low and mistakes will happen.
Norman - Looks heavy and not mobile. Couldn't beat his man.
Ruffles - not a left back.
Mous - 100% his fault for the goal. Don't bottle it and turn your back.
Nelson - ok, but how he missed that header I don't know.
Brannagan - Seems massively overrated, game past him by.
Baptiste - First time I've seen him play and he's got some future. Any chance the senior players can stick up for him a bit please.
Holmes - didn't look fit.
Mackie - didn't look fit.
Henry - didn't look interested.
Browne - got kicked and lost interest. Poor set pieces so save the Ronaldo routine for the training ground.

KR - most bizarre post match interview I've ever heard. Seems to have lost the fans and some of the squad. Something needs changing quickly.

That 11 (with KR behaving how he is presently) will be in trouble at the end of the season.

 

[Navegante]

The problem is we can’t go more direct without a decent centre-forward. If Robinson is going to persist with his one up front formation, it was imperative that he got the recruitment of that position bang on. He needed to bring in a big mobile player with experience of this division. Someone who could be relied on week in week out. Yes that costs money but it’s arguably the most important player in the team, the talisman. Instead he chase a young inexperienced player all summer which was always going to be a huge risk.

Bang on. Rather than looking at players higher up in the pyramid, be they youngsters lacking game time in men's football (SS) or more "experienced" pros trading on past exploits (Mackie), the recruitment should have targeted hungry, young pros from L1, L2 or Scotish PL who can improve under the right coaching. Surely these exist(ed) ?

 

[MiddleBartonYellow]

Thomas is okay if you play to his strengths, and we did when we had Payne, but he is useless otherwise.Was rightly released and struggled to get a club, eventually signing for Grimsby! He is not the answer.

It was a bit tongue in cheek but the point is that the ones that replaced him have been no better.

 

[The Hawk]

Mitchell positioning for the first is extraordinary
Watch it back
He stays rooted from start of the move and until the shot
When the ball is played in to the guy on the far left of box? Same position
When the ball isnplayed across to the goal scorer? Same position
The angle has changed completely but he hasn’t moved an INCH

 

[Osei Yaw]

Mitchell positioning for the first is extraordinary
Watch it back
He stays rooted from start of the move and until the shot
When the ball is played in to the guy on the far left of box? Same position
When the ball isnplayed across to the goal scorer? Same position
The angle has changed completely but he hasn’t moved an INCH

The first goal is just crap defending. It's unfair to single out Mitchell. Mousinho's 'mistake' is when he slips over, which is harsh to really call his fault, I think it's the bad luck you find yourself getting at the bottom end of the table. After he goes over, he never gets back into position and then he puts a horrible deflection on the ball to wrong foot Mitchell. Anyone who has played a few games in goal will know it's a nightmare when a defender is far enough in front of you to block your view but far enough away from his man to deflect the shot past you. Watching it again I also think Brannagan should have read the danger more quickly and got much closer to the man.

The second goal was also crap defending and again it's easy to point the finger at Mitchell (who definitely shouldn't have run out and nailed the bloke) but I'd ask two other questions first:
1. How did the bloke playing the ball over the top have so much time to do so?
2. What the bloody hell were the back 4 doing? Norman looks like he's trying to play the offside trap, Nelson has switched off and let the man get the run on him, Mousinho is playing the man onside and it looks like Ruffels has charged off up the pitch. Again I think Brannagan has to shoulder some bless - he is way too deep. Surely one, if not both of the midfielders needs to be higher up the pitch and stopping the simple little ball over the top?

 

[tonto]

We slipped over a lot wrong studs? Im sure eastwood wouldnt have let in either of those goals ,though neither of them are totally mitchells fault.

 

[Dubai Yellow]

2 terrible goals to concede. We are gifting teams goals this season. If i was Mitchell id hold my hand up and apologies for the pen, if i was Mousinho, id hold my hand up and apologies for the goal. Slip or not, he slipped, didnt close down quick enough and as a result they scored, his mistake. We can go on and on making excuses and telling hard luck stories but the simple fact is 2 avoidable mistakes have cost us two goals. And lets be honest, this season so far has been one big hard luck story. KR and co, draw the line, get the team in shape, cut out the stupid mistakes and excuses and lets be more clinical in front of goal. Do that and our (hard) luck will change.

(I honestly believe the majority of the squad is decent enough to get us challenging at the top end of this league, but its really now, up to the management team to get them there).

 

[manor96]

Have watched the game back. A few observations:

- Brannagan gave away three needless free-kicks in dangerous areas. He is tidy on the ball but needs to learn defensive discipline.

- We are poor at transitioning. We often look neat knocking he ball around but lack the penetration to move the ball between the lines. Things which would help this: more dynamism from the full-backs, especially LB and more movement from the CF to engage and drag defenders and create space for our wide men. Baptiste has been such a revelation because he’s someone who does play well in transitioning, prepared to drive with ball and play forward passes.

- Browne is at his best taking the ball and driving at defenders. With Coventry sitting relatively deep, he was seldom afforded the opportunity to do so outside the first 10 minutes. As a result, he cut an increasingly frustrated figure.

 

[Madox80]

For what it's worth...

Mitchell: 5 Nowhere near good enough for me. Doesn't command his area, slows the game down when we should be looking to break. Obviously at fault for the penalty, if you come there you have to get it.

I think that's a little bit harsh on Mitchell if I'm honest!

Having had a couple of days to take it all in without making all sorts of silly comments.

I got frustrated for him on Sunday when he was trying to get the game going again all the Oxford players had back to him so he didn't have any options.

His distribution wasn't the best when kicking but with the formation we play I can see why kicking for the wings is an option. It was also quite windy and I seem to remember a few balls being held up in the wind.

He also has a safe pair of hands and from what I've seen commands his area well.

I was a goalkeeper when I played so I always watch the keepers closely. It's easy to blame a goalkeeper after a loss but I've only seen him make one mistake and that was to give away the penalty on Sunday. I think he has been pretty solid as a keeper so far. He is still learning the game and hasn't got a great deal of experience at first team level.

One thing he isn't is Simon Eastwood and we were never going to get a Simon Eastwood type replacement.

#gkunion

 

[The Hawk]

I think that's a little bit harsh on Mitchell if I'm honest!

Having had a couple of days to take it all in without making all sorts of silly comments.

I got frustrated for him on Sunday when he was trying to get the game going again all the Oxford players had back to him so he didn't have any options.

His distribution wasn't the best when kicking but with the formation we play I can see why kicking for the wings is an option. It was also quite windy and I seem to remember a few balls being held up in the wind.

He also has a safe pair of hands and from what I've seen commands his area well.

I was a goalkeeper when I played so I always watch the keepers closely. It's easy to blame a goalkeeper after a loss but I've only seen him make one mistake and that was to give away the penalty on Sunday. I think he has been pretty solid as a keeper so far. He is still learning the game and hasn't got a great deal of experience at first team level.

One thing he isn't is Simon Eastwood and we were never going to get a Simon Eastwood type replacement.

#gkunion

We might have been capable of getting someone who covers the angle when the ball is shifted ten yards across goal instead of standing in exactly the same position. Unbelievable

 

[Shosho]

Have watched the game back. A few observations:

- Brannagan gave away three needless free-kicks in dangerous areas. He is tidy on the ball but needs to learn defensive discipline.

- We are poor at transitioning. We often look neat knocking he ball around but lack the penetration to move the ball between the lines. Things which would help this: more dynamism from the full-backs, especially LB and more movement from the CF to engage and drag defenders and create space for our wide men. Baptiste has been such a revelation because he’s someone who does play well in transitioning, prepared to drive with ball and play forward passes.

- Browne is at his best taking the ball and driving at defenders. With Coventry sitting relatively deep, he was seldom afforded the opportunity to do so outside the first 10 minutes. As a result, he cut an increasingly frustrated figure.

This is the root of our problem. The midfield get walked through, straight on the the back 4.

Hanson and Baptiste need to be considered, possibly pushing Brannagan in to the 10 role.

Another point, we dont have anyone that can play from the back. Lundstram used to pick the ball off the CBs and play to strikers feet/wide. We dont have anyone that can do this...hense the side to side