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Post-Match Thread and Ratings Southend United 1-1 Bury
- Thread starter Cricko
- Start date
Maroon Blue
First XI⭐
Seemed more solid with this formation, but lost a bit of thrust offensively until the final 20 mins and the inspired subsitutions. Thought the game would peter out to a 0-0 draw, Bury got lucky on their goal when the ball fell at the forwards feet, probably made up for the let off in first half when they hit the post from Gilberts gift. Fought back well after that to get a deserved point, Mohsni won everything in the air and frightened the life out of them. Sort of made the guy sitting behind me shouting " Sturrock you half wit" for leaving a striker on the bench Crawford, and preffering Mohsni up front, eat his words.
Morris 6.5 - not too much to do
Clohessy 7 - usual performance, got forward well in last 20 mins
Coughlan 7.5 - Improves with every game, hope Barker moves to left back, deserves his place
Barker 7 - Solid, but Coughlan edging lately.
Gilbert 5.5 - Also usual performance, poor distribution and odd calamitious error
Ferdinand 7 - Plays beyond his years, does not look out of place
Easton 7.5 - Drove us forward in second half
Grant 7 - Lost his shooting boots at moment, but gave everything
Hall 8 - MOTM, dangerous going forward, good balls in, better on the right
Sturrock 6.5 - Quieter game, put in a shift on the left
Corr 6 - Struggled, especially after knock on knee
Sawyer 6.5 - Got a bit of quality about him, popped up all over the pitch
Mohsni 8 - His enthusiasm rubs off on everyone, but please stop winding up the opposition
Crawford 6 - Not enough time to influence
Fantastic support Friday, The Blue Voice did not stop all game. Well done
Morris 6.5 - not too much to do
Clohessy 7 - usual performance, got forward well in last 20 mins
Coughlan 7.5 - Improves with every game, hope Barker moves to left back, deserves his place
Barker 7 - Solid, but Coughlan edging lately.
Gilbert 5.5 - Also usual performance, poor distribution and odd calamitious error
Ferdinand 7 - Plays beyond his years, does not look out of place
Easton 7.5 - Drove us forward in second half
Grant 7 - Lost his shooting boots at moment, but gave everything
Hall 8 - MOTM, dangerous going forward, good balls in, better on the right
Sturrock 6.5 - Quieter game, put in a shift on the left
Corr 6 - Struggled, especially after knock on knee
Sawyer 6.5 - Got a bit of quality about him, popped up all over the pitch
Mohsni 8 - His enthusiasm rubs off on everyone, but please stop winding up the opposition
Crawford 6 - Not enough time to influence
Fantastic support Friday, The Blue Voice did not stop all game. Well done
Last edited:
Tommy2holes
Life President⭐
TBH i thought that it was a fairly annonymous but committed performance.
We lack ball players able to drive the play and im hoping sawyer will help us with this. One thing that really struck me is the difference in pace between us and bury. They seemed to pass the ball quickly and accurately on the deck and looked to hit us on the break. When we break we have nothing in terms of options apart from going long to corr or sturrock.
The quality level of our home performances has been low but there is a decent side in there and a few additions and sawyer and bilel being permanent fixtures will certainly help . I agree with other posters on here. Left back is a problem for us as the difference in quality between clohessy and gilbert/herd is huge.
I still think phillips coming back in the centre with mohsni and barker going to left back will improve our defence no end.
Incidentally i didnt even see the equaliser as was already in shakespears drive by then and im sure im not the only one.
Roll on tuesday and hopefully 3 very needed 3 points
We lack ball players able to drive the play and im hoping sawyer will help us with this. One thing that really struck me is the difference in pace between us and bury. They seemed to pass the ball quickly and accurately on the deck and looked to hit us on the break. When we break we have nothing in terms of options apart from going long to corr or sturrock.
The quality level of our home performances has been low but there is a decent side in there and a few additions and sawyer and bilel being permanent fixtures will certainly help . I agree with other posters on here. Left back is a problem for us as the difference in quality between clohessy and gilbert/herd is huge.
I still think phillips coming back in the centre with mohsni and barker going to left back will improve our defence no end.
Incidentally i didnt even see the equaliser as was already in shakespears drive by then and im sure im not the only one.
Roll on tuesday and hopefully 3 very needed 3 points
Mick
Life President
I am very pleased with the re-re-signing of Sawyer. I also thought we obviously looked a lot more dangerous when Sawyer and Mohsni were on. He made a reasonable contribution after a quiet start on the left. However your words are downright hyperbole.
Medway Blue
Trust chairman/glutton for punishment ⭐🦐
Wow, varying opinions here.
I don't think the formation was a bad idea first half. Right formation, poor selection. Sawyer whould have started and played in the role that Grant played in, because you need someone with vision and a good pass to play there. Blair was anonymous on the wing and unable to get involved. First half though, we dominated them, must have had 60%+ of the possession, but the team selection in a way stunted the creativitiy.
Second half they came back at us but on the balance of play a point was the least we deserved.
Hall deserved man of the match. He got dozens of good balls into the box, yes the odd poor one, but at least he is trying. I bet people would be singing his praises if there was anybody up front who had the panache, movement and bravery to get on the end of one of his crosses. He attacked well, he tried and often succeded in beating his man, he peppered the Bury box with crosses and he tracked back well. Can't understand the criticism of him, but people see different things.
Thought Ferdinand was good, positiong was excellent, has a good pass and didn't shirk some hard challenges. Well done to him, he seems older than his 17 years!
Not too sure about calls for Easton as MOM, felt that he was fairly annonymous, can't recall a good pass or tackle, and often loses the ball.
Granty was excellent first half, ran the show, but made some poor decisions in relation to who he passed the ball to. There were players in better positions.
Barker was OK, but he worries me sometimes, he looks a bit shaky and his concentration lapses from time to time......I think it's only a matter of time before he maes a big boo boo. He is good at centre back but you can sometimes tell that it's not his strngest position. Coughlan played well although his lack of pace is exposed sometimes. Clohessy solid as ever, very good performance. Gilbert......too much hoof, lack of concetration and backs off too much.
Corr was poor!
I don't think the formation was a bad idea first half. Right formation, poor selection. Sawyer whould have started and played in the role that Grant played in, because you need someone with vision and a good pass to play there. Blair was anonymous on the wing and unable to get involved. First half though, we dominated them, must have had 60%+ of the possession, but the team selection in a way stunted the creativitiy.
Second half they came back at us but on the balance of play a point was the least we deserved.
Hall deserved man of the match. He got dozens of good balls into the box, yes the odd poor one, but at least he is trying. I bet people would be singing his praises if there was anybody up front who had the panache, movement and bravery to get on the end of one of his crosses. He attacked well, he tried and often succeded in beating his man, he peppered the Bury box with crosses and he tracked back well. Can't understand the criticism of him, but people see different things.
Thought Ferdinand was good, positiong was excellent, has a good pass and didn't shirk some hard challenges. Well done to him, he seems older than his 17 years!
Not too sure about calls for Easton as MOM, felt that he was fairly annonymous, can't recall a good pass or tackle, and often loses the ball.
Granty was excellent first half, ran the show, but made some poor decisions in relation to who he passed the ball to. There were players in better positions.
Barker was OK, but he worries me sometimes, he looks a bit shaky and his concentration lapses from time to time......I think it's only a matter of time before he maes a big boo boo. He is good at centre back but you can sometimes tell that it's not his strngest position. Coughlan played well although his lack of pace is exposed sometimes. Clohessy solid as ever, very good performance. Gilbert......too much hoof, lack of concetration and backs off too much.
Corr was poor!
WickfordBlue
Schoolboy
Morris 7 - didn't have to do much but what he did have to do he done well
Clohessy 7 - usual game went forward well and put a few good crosses in
Coughlan 7 - pretty solid gets better every match I see him play
Barker 7 - again usual performance pretty solid
Gilbert 6 - didn't get as forward as much as I would have liked to see
Hall 8 - done good down the right but he doesn't use his right foot so he needs to go on the left
Ferdinand 8 - really well, done a thew good sliding tackles as well
Grant 6.5 - could have scored in the first minute but needs his shooting boots back soon
Easton 7 - chucked himself about in the second half, could have scored as well
Sturrock 6 - really quiet game but again held the ball up well
Corr 7 - struggled after the knock but needed to put away that loose ball when the gk was down
Sawyer 7.5 - done well when he came on for his first game back
Mohsni 7 - great goal, took it really well and won everything in the air
Crawford 6.5 - done well for the little that he played, would like to see him play more in the future
Ref 7 - stopped play when we got the ball a thew times but overall a descent game
Crowd 8 - good support, same again on tuesday
Clohessy 7 - usual game went forward well and put a few good crosses in
Coughlan 7 - pretty solid gets better every match I see him play
Barker 7 - again usual performance pretty solid
Gilbert 6 - didn't get as forward as much as I would have liked to see
Hall 8 - done good down the right but he doesn't use his right foot so he needs to go on the left
Ferdinand 8 - really well, done a thew good sliding tackles as well
Grant 6.5 - could have scored in the first minute but needs his shooting boots back soon
Easton 7 - chucked himself about in the second half, could have scored as well
Sturrock 6 - really quiet game but again held the ball up well
Corr 7 - struggled after the knock but needed to put away that loose ball when the gk was down
Sawyer 7.5 - done well when he came on for his first game back
Mohsni 7 - great goal, took it really well and won everything in the air
Crawford 6.5 - done well for the little that he played, would like to see him play more in the future
Ref 7 - stopped play when we got the ball a thew times but overall a descent game
Crowd 8 - good support, same again on tuesday
Maidstone Shrimper
Old Fella⭐⭐🦐
I thought PS did well tactically yesterday. We needed something different at home and the new formation created some really good chances for Blair and especially Corr - they should have taken at least one of those. Agree with many here about Hall playing on the right - switching sides with B Sturrock now and again would have been worth doing. Second half we ran out of steam a bit. Bury looked as though they'd adjusted to our "surprise" formation and started to put us under some pressure. Although they got the run of the ball for their goal it did seem to be coming. Sturrock Senior's subs obviously worked so well done to him. It also looked a good decision not to start with Sawyer as although his quality was evident he did seem a bit rusty and off the pace of the game at times. With that under his belt and some days of training with his new teamates he must surely start Tuesday. Amazing how a last gasp equaliser gets you feeling optimistic. Let's hope the team feel that way.
Pak Power
Manager⭐🦐
Enjoyed the game, both halves really, for different obvious reasons.
Morris 6.5 Not a lot to do, but for me loses a point for bad kicking, and a save in the first half, that he just managed to tip over the bar from a free kick, When a taller keeper could have caught it. ( and daryyl was criticised for being too short)
Clohessy 7 Better game, liking him more each time I see him. Good in the last half of the second half.
Coughlan 7. I like this guy. One word uncomprimising. Rather have him in our team than playing against us. One foray forward in the first half, had him stop and retreat instead of continuing his run into the box (must be an instruction, as he scored lots of goals for Swindon in his time there)
Barker 7. Good display. One particular clearance, when Morris got a touch to a chip from their forward. Very positionally aware.
Gilbert 5.5 probably should make way for another left back (if we had one) I'm not sure whether the one that hit the post was his responsibility or the keeper's
Hall 7. Very busy, and got some good balls in the box. Trouble was they had Sodje, who had he not had his ankle broken by that ******* Hayter when I saw it at Bournemouth may still be doing a job for us.
Ferdinand 7. Tackles well, fairly, and with gusto. Not out of his depth, just not too much going forward, and rightly sacrificed-again.
Grant (and here is the controversy ) 6. Poor performance from him, almost always chose the wrong option, and gave the ball away time and time again. Should have been subbed, played too far forward in the first half, and was one of the players, who didn't fit into the system. That said he was singled out as our 'threat' and marked accordingly, and roughly, but apart from one snap shot in the first half, didn't have much impact, and if his name was Blair, the crowd would have been on his back for this performance.
Easton 7. Ok when tackling, but loses direction when he has the ball, and lacks the pace to surge through the middle.
Sturrock 6. Did ok in ther first half, with some good touches, and was subbed at the right time.
Corr 7. Not his best, but up against Sodje. Missed a sitter, but another sublime turn in the box. Injured I think.
Ref 6. Missed a lot of Bury's strong arm tactics, which we struggled to cope with.
TBV 8.5 Very good throughout, moving nearer the pitch makes a difference to being able to hear you from the east stand.
Overall you could see why Bury have such a good away record. When the ball went up their front two, even at speed, it stuck. Something it doesn't always do with our forwards. Enjoyed the game and the atmosphere, more positivity on tues please.
Subs. Sawyer 7. You can see it's there! The only one who, when he came on got the ball on the floor, and looked to play the ball forward/carry it much more direct in his cameo than all the rest of the midfield in 75 mins or so.
Crawford 6.5 Makes intelligent movement, but got in Moshni's way once or twice when they both went for the same ball (which must mean Moshni was in the right places)
Moshni 8. Match drawing performance. Wholehearted, direct threat, won a lot of headers, flicks against a tiring Bury defence. Loses Half a mark for joining Crawford in having a go at their Goal Keeper after the final whistle. Which under other circumstances could have got him a booking.
Morris 6.5 Not a lot to do, but for me loses a point for bad kicking, and a save in the first half, that he just managed to tip over the bar from a free kick, When a taller keeper could have caught it. ( and daryyl was criticised for being too short)
Clohessy 7 Better game, liking him more each time I see him. Good in the last half of the second half.
Coughlan 7. I like this guy. One word uncomprimising. Rather have him in our team than playing against us. One foray forward in the first half, had him stop and retreat instead of continuing his run into the box (must be an instruction, as he scored lots of goals for Swindon in his time there)
Barker 7. Good display. One particular clearance, when Morris got a touch to a chip from their forward. Very positionally aware.
Gilbert 5.5 probably should make way for another left back (if we had one) I'm not sure whether the one that hit the post was his responsibility or the keeper's
Hall 7. Very busy, and got some good balls in the box. Trouble was they had Sodje, who had he not had his ankle broken by that ******* Hayter when I saw it at Bournemouth may still be doing a job for us.
Ferdinand 7. Tackles well, fairly, and with gusto. Not out of his depth, just not too much going forward, and rightly sacrificed-again.
Grant (and here is the controversy ) 6. Poor performance from him, almost always chose the wrong option, and gave the ball away time and time again. Should have been subbed, played too far forward in the first half, and was one of the players, who didn't fit into the system. That said he was singled out as our 'threat' and marked accordingly, and roughly, but apart from one snap shot in the first half, didn't have much impact, and if his name was Blair, the crowd would have been on his back for this performance.
Easton 7. Ok when tackling, but loses direction when he has the ball, and lacks the pace to surge through the middle.
Sturrock 6. Did ok in ther first half, with some good touches, and was subbed at the right time.
Corr 7. Not his best, but up against Sodje. Missed a sitter, but another sublime turn in the box. Injured I think.
Ref 6. Missed a lot of Bury's strong arm tactics, which we struggled to cope with.
TBV 8.5 Very good throughout, moving nearer the pitch makes a difference to being able to hear you from the east stand.
Overall you could see why Bury have such a good away record. When the ball went up their front two, even at speed, it stuck. Something it doesn't always do with our forwards. Enjoyed the game and the atmosphere, more positivity on tues please.
Subs. Sawyer 7. You can see it's there! The only one who, when he came on got the ball on the floor, and looked to play the ball forward/carry it much more direct in his cameo than all the rest of the midfield in 75 mins or so.
Crawford 6.5 Makes intelligent movement, but got in Moshni's way once or twice when they both went for the same ball (which must mean Moshni was in the right places)
Moshni 8. Match drawing performance. Wholehearted, direct threat, won a lot of headers, flicks against a tiring Bury defence. Loses Half a mark for joining Crawford in having a go at their Goal Keeper after the final whistle. Which under other circumstances could have got him a booking.
sky240286
Schoolboy
Morris 6.5 - Quiet game for Morris, do worry about his kicking
Clohessy 6 - Doesn't seem to be pushing forward as much
Coughlan 7 - Getting better and better
Barker 6.5 - Did what he needed to do
Gilbert 4 - We really need a new left back
Hall 7 - Frustrating seeing him on the right hand side
Ferdinand 8 - Real talent, cracking first half before being taken off
Grant 5 - Should've been subbed rather than Ferdinand
Easton 7 - Solid performance, get's himself about
Sturrock 5 - Played out of position, and it showed
Corr 6 - Wasn't his usual self, needs a striking partner
Sawyer 7 - Be interesting to see where he fits in the system, tidy player
Mohsni 8 - Was shocked to see him come on when 1-0 down, rather than a natural striker. Paid off though! :D
Crawford 6.5 - Not getting enough games for my liking
Ref 4 - One of the worst referees and linesman I've seen all season
Crowd 8 - Much better atmosphere! Although I noticed alot of fans seemed more interested in getting others motivated, than watching the actual game.
Clohessy 6 - Doesn't seem to be pushing forward as much
Coughlan 7 - Getting better and better
Barker 6.5 - Did what he needed to do
Gilbert 4 - We really need a new left back
Hall 7 - Frustrating seeing him on the right hand side
Ferdinand 8 - Real talent, cracking first half before being taken off
Grant 5 - Should've been subbed rather than Ferdinand
Easton 7 - Solid performance, get's himself about
Sturrock 5 - Played out of position, and it showed
Corr 6 - Wasn't his usual self, needs a striking partner
Sawyer 7 - Be interesting to see where he fits in the system, tidy player
Mohsni 8 - Was shocked to see him come on when 1-0 down, rather than a natural striker. Paid off though! :D
Crawford 6.5 - Not getting enough games for my liking
Ref 4 - One of the worst referees and linesman I've seen all season
Crowd 8 - Much better atmosphere! Although I noticed alot of fans seemed more interested in getting others motivated, than watching the actual game.
Matt the Shrimp
aka Harry Potter
Well, it was my first game for a while and - in general - I enjoyed it. That said, I've been living in denial for some time as to the fact that we're a League Two club / side... but Friday night brought it home. We're a League Two club with League Two players, aren't we?
:'(
Anyhow, on to the football. We're a very "Luggy" side, it seems to me. Very solid defensively, with everyone knowing their roles; but (at the moment) lacking a little magic (and crucially, pace) up front to lift us beyond the ordinary. Luggy has built a very decent foundation, though, and we'll do OK this season without going up (unless we sign someone with a little magic). However, we're also very narrow, and seem to want to pump the ball forward to Corr a bit too often. It wasn't until Moshni and Sawyer came on, with the former running around like a lunatic and the latter pulling wide (and looking around), that we started to play wider and stretch the Bury defence. We seemed to be playing a sort of 4-2-3-1, but I don't think Blair is terribly well suited to playing wide left - he lacks the pace and instincts of a winger - and it meant that he and Corr were far too far apart from either to benefit from the other's knock-downs. The knock-downs are (presumably) meant for Grant, but too often he wasn't playing high enough up the pitch to benefit from them.
Bury were a tidy side, I thought. Lots of decent, young players full of pace, and you can see (a) why they're in and around the playoffs; and (b) have won 7 on the road this season already - but they were a bit naive, and didn't really know how to handle Bilel (but then, I'm not sure many clubs at our level would know what do have done with him!). Thought Sodje oozed class - one lovely moment in the second half when Easton pumped a ball forward, and Sodje just leaned gently into Grant, forcing him the wrong way, and allowing the ball to plop harmlessy into space for the keeper to collect. Effortlessly classy. Less said about their keeper, and his scandalous writhing around in the second half to get Crawford booked and to waste time, the better.
Ratings:
Morris - 6. Didn't have much to do, but got away with a bit of a howler when they hit the post in the first half... and he's generally a bit quiet for my liking. But he's solid enough, I guess.
Clohessy - 6.5. Hard-working, solid, composed. The right flank doesn't look a problem.
Gilbert - 4.5. Poor. Indecisive, didn't play to the whistle, not particularly fast. I can't imagine for the life of me why the Northampton fans were upset at losing him last summer.
Coughlan - 7.5. Solid, experienced, good in the air. Top notch.
Barker - 6. An OK performance, if nothing more. I'd prefer him on the left, with Moshni in the centre alongside either Coughlan or Phillips (the former, on Friday's performance)
Easton - 6.5. Industrious, good tackling... however (and perhaps it's the fact that, from the South Upper, one tends not to see everything that goes on "behind the scenes"), he's like Kevin Maher without the passing or vision. Didn't really seem to be driving us forward, other than the odd ball punted forwards to Corr. More of a spoiler to the opposition than a creator for us.
Ferdinand - 7. Impressed. Always in position, got plenty of challenges in, and linked up well with Hall in particular. I suspect Hall got MoM because he was always being fed possession, especially in the first half, by Ferdinand.
Hall - 7. Industrious and always looked to create. I've always liked orthodox wingers, and Hall doesn't disappoint on that score. His right leg is only good for standing on, however, isn't it?
Grant - 7. A better first half than second; however, he's a hugely important player for us, constantly breaking forward with menace. Not his best game, last night - at times, he didn't seem to be looking up enough to work out what his options were.
Sturrock - 5. I don't think playing wide left particularly suited Blair, but even so he had a pretty mediocre game. Difficult to think of any significant contribution of note that he made.
Corr - 5.5. So frustrating. Worked hard and there were plenty of knock downs... but then he missed a totally open goal in the second half, causing me practically to self-combust in anguish. Not only was it an open goal, but Barry managed to hit it high and wide - special effort, that.
Subs -
Sawyer - 8. Welcome home, Lee. Not only did he offer more width and options than Blair, but crucially he's a player with additional time on the ball, and he's a "head-up" player, looking around him, picking options. Once he's had a spell working with the team in training, he has to start, because we will create so much more when he's on the pitch.
Moshni - 9. MOM. Brilliant - a game changer. I know it's controversial to make your sub the Man of the Match but, to be honest, until he came on, I couldn't see how we were going to score. Bilel introduced himself with a chest high karate kick in the area which, had he not been on for all of 30 seconds, might have earned him a booking; but after that he was peerless - brilliant control, high energy, taking up wide positions, pulling the defence to and fro... and, crucially, finding space for a brave header with which to equalise. Worth the entrance fee on his own.
Crawford - 8. Seriously impressed. He has beefed up, he's quick, and he got stuck in. I'd love to see how he and Corr would work together. Crucially, he got involved physically, tying up Sodje towards the end of the game, which bought Bilel the space he needed in which to equalise.
TBV - 8. Good work, folks. Plenty of noise. Not a constant wall of sound, but plenty of encouragement, especially after we went 1-0 down.
Ref - 7. Generally OK, allowed play to flow, got most decisions right, although a shame he fell for the Bury keeper's play-acting at the end of the second half.
:'(
Anyhow, on to the football. We're a very "Luggy" side, it seems to me. Very solid defensively, with everyone knowing their roles; but (at the moment) lacking a little magic (and crucially, pace) up front to lift us beyond the ordinary. Luggy has built a very decent foundation, though, and we'll do OK this season without going up (unless we sign someone with a little magic). However, we're also very narrow, and seem to want to pump the ball forward to Corr a bit too often. It wasn't until Moshni and Sawyer came on, with the former running around like a lunatic and the latter pulling wide (and looking around), that we started to play wider and stretch the Bury defence. We seemed to be playing a sort of 4-2-3-1, but I don't think Blair is terribly well suited to playing wide left - he lacks the pace and instincts of a winger - and it meant that he and Corr were far too far apart from either to benefit from the other's knock-downs. The knock-downs are (presumably) meant for Grant, but too often he wasn't playing high enough up the pitch to benefit from them.
Bury were a tidy side, I thought. Lots of decent, young players full of pace, and you can see (a) why they're in and around the playoffs; and (b) have won 7 on the road this season already - but they were a bit naive, and didn't really know how to handle Bilel (but then, I'm not sure many clubs at our level would know what do have done with him!). Thought Sodje oozed class - one lovely moment in the second half when Easton pumped a ball forward, and Sodje just leaned gently into Grant, forcing him the wrong way, and allowing the ball to plop harmlessy into space for the keeper to collect. Effortlessly classy. Less said about their keeper, and his scandalous writhing around in the second half to get Crawford booked and to waste time, the better.
Ratings:
Morris - 6. Didn't have much to do, but got away with a bit of a howler when they hit the post in the first half... and he's generally a bit quiet for my liking. But he's solid enough, I guess.
Clohessy - 6.5. Hard-working, solid, composed. The right flank doesn't look a problem.
Gilbert - 4.5. Poor. Indecisive, didn't play to the whistle, not particularly fast. I can't imagine for the life of me why the Northampton fans were upset at losing him last summer.
Coughlan - 7.5. Solid, experienced, good in the air. Top notch.
Barker - 6. An OK performance, if nothing more. I'd prefer him on the left, with Moshni in the centre alongside either Coughlan or Phillips (the former, on Friday's performance)
Easton - 6.5. Industrious, good tackling... however (and perhaps it's the fact that, from the South Upper, one tends not to see everything that goes on "behind the scenes"), he's like Kevin Maher without the passing or vision. Didn't really seem to be driving us forward, other than the odd ball punted forwards to Corr. More of a spoiler to the opposition than a creator for us.
Ferdinand - 7. Impressed. Always in position, got plenty of challenges in, and linked up well with Hall in particular. I suspect Hall got MoM because he was always being fed possession, especially in the first half, by Ferdinand.
Hall - 7. Industrious and always looked to create. I've always liked orthodox wingers, and Hall doesn't disappoint on that score. His right leg is only good for standing on, however, isn't it?
Grant - 7. A better first half than second; however, he's a hugely important player for us, constantly breaking forward with menace. Not his best game, last night - at times, he didn't seem to be looking up enough to work out what his options were.
Sturrock - 5. I don't think playing wide left particularly suited Blair, but even so he had a pretty mediocre game. Difficult to think of any significant contribution of note that he made.
Corr - 5.5. So frustrating. Worked hard and there were plenty of knock downs... but then he missed a totally open goal in the second half, causing me practically to self-combust in anguish. Not only was it an open goal, but Barry managed to hit it high and wide - special effort, that.
Subs -
Sawyer - 8. Welcome home, Lee. Not only did he offer more width and options than Blair, but crucially he's a player with additional time on the ball, and he's a "head-up" player, looking around him, picking options. Once he's had a spell working with the team in training, he has to start, because we will create so much more when he's on the pitch.
Moshni - 9. MOM. Brilliant - a game changer. I know it's controversial to make your sub the Man of the Match but, to be honest, until he came on, I couldn't see how we were going to score. Bilel introduced himself with a chest high karate kick in the area which, had he not been on for all of 30 seconds, might have earned him a booking; but after that he was peerless - brilliant control, high energy, taking up wide positions, pulling the defence to and fro... and, crucially, finding space for a brave header with which to equalise. Worth the entrance fee on his own.
Crawford - 8. Seriously impressed. He has beefed up, he's quick, and he got stuck in. I'd love to see how he and Corr would work together. Crucially, he got involved physically, tying up Sodje towards the end of the game, which bought Bilel the space he needed in which to equalise.
TBV - 8. Good work, folks. Plenty of noise. Not a constant wall of sound, but plenty of encouragement, especially after we went 1-0 down.
Ref - 7. Generally OK, allowed play to flow, got most decisions right, although a shame he fell for the Bury keeper's play-acting at the end of the second half.
Blue_Wes
Simple Minded
Pleased with the result, although the way we were set up felt more like a draw (or to avoid defeat) was the objective. To be honest I thought we struggled to cope with the new system, although not as badly as we did against Crewe. It nullified Blair being on the left and Hall's effectiveness looked subdued as well. As with everyone else, to swap these two seemed an obvious decision. However, that said, I felt we deserved the point.
Both teams seemed tentative on the ball, not wanting to risk too much, with Bury on a poor run themselves and us attempting to avoid yet another home defeat.
Morris 7 - Tidy and one good save that I can remember, as said in the previous post, kicking leaves a bit to be desired.
Clohessy 7 - Quieter today, almost looked like he'd be instructed to be less adventurous in an attempt to avoid defect.
Gilbert 5.5 - Sadly, still looks a better option than Herd. The amount of time this boy wasted possession was unfathomable.
Coughlan 7.5 - Very solid and of late looking our most solid defender
Barker 6 - A bit shaky and surprisingly unsure of himself.
Hall 6.5 - Always wanted the ball but less effective on the right. Seems strange to take our best player from the last two games and change his position. As soon as he was back on the left, delivered the cross that snatched us a point.
Sturrock 5.5 - Very quiet and very little went his way, seemed to really struggle out of position - the Mr Hyde performance to Saturday's Dr Jekyll.
Easton 6.5 - Surprised at the praise being lavished on Easton. For me the are two sides to his game, one he dos very well, breaking up the opposition play and protecting the back four. The other he struggles with, his distribution of the ball, he gives the ball away far too often, and this often undoes his good work in breaking up the opposition attacks as it puts straight back under pressure again.
Grant 7 - Up and down for Grant, some very good periods, but a little more wasteful than usual, solid though.
Ferdinand 7.5 - Excellent display from the young man. Won his tackles and made his passes, and you can't ask for much more than that. Was surprised when he was taken off as looked like our best midfielder, if not player at that stage.
Corr 6 - Some sublime touches to win himself space and looked a better player with the ball at his feet than as a target man. However was far too often isolated and for the second time this season, pretty much marked out the game by Sodje, missed what looked a sitter as well.
Sawyer 6 - Struggled to get involved and will need time to link up with the rest of the squad. He was neat and tidy when he did get the ball, and off it looked very eager and energetic.
Moshni 7 - I was baffled and frustrated when Sturrock brought him on, especially with more attack minded players in Crawford and Soares (yes really) on the bench, and the first couple of tussles seemed to be more comical than threatening, then he popped up at the end and Sturrocks gamble paid off.
Crawford n/a - Little time to make an impact.
TBV 8 - Good movement, and a great engine going until the final whistle.
I do feel we got out of jail a bit, but if someone had said to me when we were 17th and 4 points from the drop zone that I could have 4 points from two games against teams that were genuine promotion contenders I would of snapped their arms off.
I would prefer us going back to 4-4-2 for Macclesfield. Surely it is easier for the players to play a more defensive role in a familiar system than to learn to play in a new system entirely.
As an aside, I had a neutral with me on the night, and the only player he recognised from his last visit was Grant. Not only did he think Ferdinand was our best player, but he thought he played like a senior player. He just assumed he was a Sturrock signing. Yet another glowing endorsement for the lad, long may it continue.
Both teams seemed tentative on the ball, not wanting to risk too much, with Bury on a poor run themselves and us attempting to avoid yet another home defeat.
Morris 7 - Tidy and one good save that I can remember, as said in the previous post, kicking leaves a bit to be desired.
Clohessy 7 - Quieter today, almost looked like he'd be instructed to be less adventurous in an attempt to avoid defect.
Gilbert 5.5 - Sadly, still looks a better option than Herd. The amount of time this boy wasted possession was unfathomable.
Coughlan 7.5 - Very solid and of late looking our most solid defender
Barker 6 - A bit shaky and surprisingly unsure of himself.
Hall 6.5 - Always wanted the ball but less effective on the right. Seems strange to take our best player from the last two games and change his position. As soon as he was back on the left, delivered the cross that snatched us a point.
Sturrock 5.5 - Very quiet and very little went his way, seemed to really struggle out of position - the Mr Hyde performance to Saturday's Dr Jekyll.
Easton 6.5 - Surprised at the praise being lavished on Easton. For me the are two sides to his game, one he dos very well, breaking up the opposition play and protecting the back four. The other he struggles with, his distribution of the ball, he gives the ball away far too often, and this often undoes his good work in breaking up the opposition attacks as it puts straight back under pressure again.
Grant 7 - Up and down for Grant, some very good periods, but a little more wasteful than usual, solid though.
Ferdinand 7.5 - Excellent display from the young man. Won his tackles and made his passes, and you can't ask for much more than that. Was surprised when he was taken off as looked like our best midfielder, if not player at that stage.
Corr 6 - Some sublime touches to win himself space and looked a better player with the ball at his feet than as a target man. However was far too often isolated and for the second time this season, pretty much marked out the game by Sodje, missed what looked a sitter as well.
Sawyer 6 - Struggled to get involved and will need time to link up with the rest of the squad. He was neat and tidy when he did get the ball, and off it looked very eager and energetic.
Moshni 7 - I was baffled and frustrated when Sturrock brought him on, especially with more attack minded players in Crawford and Soares (yes really) on the bench, and the first couple of tussles seemed to be more comical than threatening, then he popped up at the end and Sturrocks gamble paid off.
Crawford n/a - Little time to make an impact.
TBV 8 - Good movement, and a great engine going until the final whistle.
I do feel we got out of jail a bit, but if someone had said to me when we were 17th and 4 points from the drop zone that I could have 4 points from two games against teams that were genuine promotion contenders I would of snapped their arms off.
I would prefer us going back to 4-4-2 for Macclesfield. Surely it is easier for the players to play a more defensive role in a familiar system than to learn to play in a new system entirely.
As an aside, I had a neutral with me on the night, and the only player he recognised from his last visit was Grant. Not only did he think Ferdinand was our best player, but he thought he played like a senior player. He just assumed he was a Sturrock signing. Yet another glowing endorsement for the lad, long may it continue.
Last edited:
Matt the Shrimp
aka Harry Potter
Although I know it's the first sign of madness to quote one's own posts, I've just seen the pic on the OS - the full gallery of which is here - of Bilel's karate kick! It was rather higher and riskier than even I thought at the time!
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