Smithies - 7 did nothing wrong, steady as ever, made one excellent save
Baptiste - 6 would have been a 7, had he not been culpable for the goal. Was doing well first half, must of been hooked at HT for this reason
Ned - 6 steady, if not a rather quiet game
Robinson - 6 another one with a rather quiet, uneventful game
Bidwell - 5 tried his best, cannot play wing back. I repeat cannot play wing back. 10-15 crosses. All from deep. None of any danger. No threat whatsoever.
Furlong 5 - rarely got forward, allowed his man to cross several times, did not close down quickly enough, did not seem to know his position, unconfident in possession. Cannot play wing back on this evidence, but then again, who can? ...unless your name is Bellerin, Rose, Walker that is. Regrettably looked way out of his depth, but I’d rather judge him on a right back spot.
Freeman 5 - no impact on the game, trends to play too deep, not as an actual attacking midfielder/10, increasingly holds on to the ball too long, not quite sure what his role is in the side right now, does not play between the lines, where we lack badly
Loungo 5 - no impact on the game, seemed to pass him by, apart from one or two attempts to dribble forward and make something happen, which didn’t come off
Scowen 6 - pinged a few lovely long passes out wide first half, was the best of the midfielders on show for us but that wasn’t saying much
Oteh 7 - good first half, several channel runs in the game which ended in either a shot or a cross, also held the ball up well a couple of times first half which is an improvement in his overall game play thus far. 3 or 4 shots on goal. Useful. No idea why he was taken off
Washington - unfortunately has resorted back to type against Boro and now City, after a good game against Burton. Totally ineffective. There was one time when he got in front of the giant Flint on about 70 mins, all he had to do was shield the ball and likely be pushed over for a pen, but somehow Flint got back in front of him and it came to nothing. Summed it up. No idea why he was not replaced.
Subs
Smith 5 - caused one or two problems but nothing of note really
Eze - 6 showed good confidence on the ball, made one chance instantly with a 1-2 when he came on
Samuel - 6 was positive every time he got the ball looking to take on his man, sometimes worked, sometimes had to recycle back to centre mid. Made a change having an outlet out wide who actually wanted the ball and you felt something might actually happen.
Holloway - 4
Should have changed the system and tactics immediately upon city being reduced to 10 men after 30 minutes or so. Didn’t until half time. Too slow. Then proceeds to bring on Smith as the only change of personnel, going 4-3-3, with Oteh, Smith, Washington up front. Result- main attacking outlets remain - Bidwell and Furlong. Woeful. Rule number when team is reduced to 10 men. Make the pitch as big as possible, hug the touch line, play with extreme width, pull players out of position. Subs of Eze and Samuel far too late to really effect the game on 75. In fact they were called and ready after about 65 no idea what took so long. A wasted 10 minutes.
Overall, it was painful to watch a team who cannot pass and move, and with zero clue what to do when in possession. Clueless. Even more alarming is that the players are clearly aware of this, most likely culminating in the giving up / no hope attitude Holloway alluded to after the game. There were a few occasions when the midfielders shunned the obvious pass out wide to our wing backs, a kind of “oh what’s the point, I’m not passing it out there, nothing will happen, I’m better trying to find another avenue down the middle.... oh shit, what other options do I have there?” Rinse, repeat.
Summary
Don’t feel we are in danger of going down, but now a big game next week. Feel we are under-performing, and players are being under-utilized. Happy with a mid table finish but playing some kind of football and strategy. System and tactics must change- the fans, and now the players, do not believe in it. Why does the management? J
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