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Hometown Unicorn · 29th October 2017, 10.21:52

Dunn - 4 - I'm left dumbfounded as to what happened for the first goal. As a goalkeeper, you should be taught to always make sure when you're not 100% whether the ball is going out or not. He watched the ball go over his head and into the net, making himself look like a complete and utter fool. Nothing he could have done for the 2nd goal, a bullet header where the man found himself with far too much space in the area. I thought in the 2nd half he made a couple of well thought out decisions but these might have been down to his main weakness which is catching the ball. I'd either look at putting Dibble there for the next game as at least he commands the back 4 or loaning Dunn out so we can bring Coddington back in if at all possible.

Hurst - 4 - Seems as though I'm in the minority in believing Hurst had a poor game yesterday, so it may be best that I explain what I saw from him during the game. I saw a right back who failed to stop crosses coming in on a number of occasions, made their bang average left midfielder look like Messi and made several brainfarts, which he was lucky to get away with. A powerful player who's passing isn't the worst, even though he struggled to actually make a large percentage of his passes yesterday I'll put that down to the lack of movement from the midfield, forcing him to go straight to the strikers on occasion. I'd rather see him playing in centre midfield than right back. For those saying he was left exposed by Mackreth, while true I don't think this excuses the number of times he was beaten (I probably counted more than most) down that side. For Wales against Austria for example, Tom Lawrence consistently left Ben Davies exposed with his failure to get back but Davies handled the task in hand superbly and we had little trouble down that side.

Pearson - 7 - I know his job isn't to put the ball in the net, but he made a complete hash of his chance in front of goal. From my viewing, he failed to connect properly with the excellent ball in from Kelly and the ball hit his shoulder. He also needs to stop the playacting in the box. The ref is never going to fall for it and by complaining he's just putting himself on the ref's 'to book' list. Defensively sound however, but we need a proper keeper behind the backline.

Smith - 7 - Disagree that he looked shaky, a standard Manny Smith performance. The clearances from both him and Pearson were quite poor in general but he didn't do an awful lot wrong all game. I agree that we should be encouraged to play out from defence more, but while Keates insists on playing Kelly so deeply we'll struggle to make that second ball forward without lobbing it, which the centre backs could've done anyway.

Jennings - 6 - Up against some of Leyton's better players and generally solid when relied upon. Distribution could be worked on but he seemed a bit calmer today. I don't recall him having much to say to the referee which makes a nice change. Maybe someone's had a serious word in his ear?

Wright - 5 - Possibly his worst game for us, which isn't too bad of a thing considering he played a very average game. A physical presence in midfield but often look confused when on the ball. This may be down to the lack of options presented to him as he was playing very deeply and I don't think the strikers were encouraged as much as usual to make their way back to receive the ball. He needed to have Kelly playing ahead of him to solve this problem. Bringing in Carrington alongside him would have ensured we kept possession more but it would not have got us forward. We'd have been passing it sideways for eternity. This would have suited us when 1 up however and I firmly believe that had Jennings not have got injured, Carrington would have been Mackreth's replacement and would have been placed alongside Akil in an attempt to see the game out. Oh well.

Kelly - 6 - He's been playing in a wasted position all season and just when I started to think Keates has finally got it right with Kelly, he puts him alongside Akil Wright rather than in front, meaning he was playing far to deep to get involved with most of our attacking play. If anything, this is even worse than him being played on the left. That being said, he's clearly our best footballer, bringing out the 'Kelly turn' more than a few times to get himself, and us out of tricky situations. He (alongside Carrington) was most likely the most successful passer, but the more adventurous attempts rarely found a man.

Mackreth - 3 - We need to sign a new winger in the January window. Mackreth has proven very useful off the bench but has he had 1 decent game when starting? Constantly left Hurst exposed down that side, made no runs of note that impressed me and only once succeeded in taking his man on, before putting in a diabolical cross. He faded early on too, proving that he's not ready for a full 90.

Rutherford - 7 - Hard work paid off today where he managed to set up Holroyd for 2 of the easiest goals he'll ever score. Worked harder to admittedly give Jennings/Carrington an easier time than Hurst and I don't recall many moments where he gave the ball away. Not a lot to shout about going forward besides the 2 assists, but that alone is a big deal. Pleased for him, given the amount of stick he sometimes gets.

Massanka - 8 - Ran, and ran, and ran and often found himself in acres of space screaming for the ball but our set up meant it was mainly for nothing. Played a key part in the 1st goal, by having the awareness to find himself in so much space on the edge of the 18 yard box before seeing Rutherford out wide. The replay of that goal will make Massanka look very impressive indeed. This is the best game Massanka's played for us so far from my viewing (I wasn't at the Bromley game) and he deserved his standing ovation, long may it continue.

Holroyd - 8 - Some, not most are being a little harsh I feel on Holroyd after yesterday. Firstly, to find yourself with as much space as he did right in front of goal on two occasions yesterday is a trait that all strikers would love to have and isn't easy to master. He, like Massanka also found himself in acres of space yesterday but we didn't have anyone down the centre playing remotely close to the strikers meaning it was usually for nothing. Off yesterday's viewing, I believe our best striker partnership to be Massanka and Holroyd as they genuinely looked dangerous at times. If Kelly played further up the pitch with Wright or Wedgbury holding, we may start to see more free flowing attacks at the racecourse.

Subs:

Carrington - 7 - Pick of the full backs yesterday. The only one out of the 3 who proved to be not completely useless with his distribution and stopped almost everything he came up against. Looked a bit confused when clearing at times due to being on the left hand side however. I'd love to see him start the next game at RB.

Reid/Smith - As mentioned, not on long enough to make an impact.

29th October 2017, 10.21:52	#8-0 (permalink)
Hometown Unicorn Tipped As Manager Joined: Aug 2010 Racecourse Spot: Real Name: Ronald McDonald Twitter: @	Re: Ratings against Orient Dunn - 4 - I'm left dumbfounded as to what happened for the first goal. As a goalkeeper, you should be taught to always make sure when you're not 100% whether the ball is going out or not. He watched the ball go over his head and into the net, making himself look like a complete and utter fool. Nothing he could have done for the 2nd goal, a bullet header where the man found himself with far too much space in the area. I thought in the 2nd half he made a couple of well thought out decisions but these might have been down to his main weakness which is catching the ball. I'd either look at putting Dibble there for the next game as at least he commands the back 4 or loaning Dunn out so we can bring Coddington back in if at all possible. Hurst - 4 - Seems as though I'm in the minority in believing Hurst had a poor game yesterday, so it may be best that I explain what I saw from him during the game. I saw a right back who failed to stop crosses coming in on a number of occasions, made their bang average left midfielder look like Messi and made several brainfarts, which he was lucky to get away with. A powerful player who's passing isn't the worst, even though he struggled to actually make a large percentage of his passes yesterday I'll put that down to the lack of movement from the midfield, forcing him to go straight to the strikers on occasion. I'd rather see him playing in centre midfield than right back. For those saying he was left exposed by Mackreth, while true I don't think this excuses the number of times he was beaten (I probably counted more than most) down that side. For Wales against Austria for example, Tom Lawrence consistently left Ben Davies exposed with his failure to get back but Davies handled the task in hand superbly and we had little trouble down that side. Pearson - 7 - I know his job isn't to put the ball in the net, but he made a complete hash of his chance in front of goal. From my viewing, he failed to connect properly with the excellent ball in from Kelly and the ball hit his shoulder. He also needs to stop the playacting in the box. The ref is never going to fall for it and by complaining he's just putting himself on the ref's 'to book' list. Defensively sound however, but we need a proper keeper behind the backline. Smith - 7 - Disagree that he looked shaky, a standard Manny Smith performance. The clearances from both him and Pearson were quite poor in general but he didn't do an awful lot wrong all game. I agree that we should be encouraged to play out from defence more, but while Keates insists on playing Kelly so deeply we'll struggle to make that second ball forward without lobbing it, which the centre backs could've done anyway. Jennings - 6 - Up against some of Leyton's better players and generally solid when relied upon. Distribution could be worked on but he seemed a bit calmer today. I don't recall him having much to say to the referee which makes a nice change. Maybe someone's had a serious word in his ear? Wright - 5 - Possibly his worst game for us, which isn't too bad of a thing considering he played a very average game. A physical presence in midfield but often look confused when on the ball. This may be down to the lack of options presented to him as he was playing very deeply and I don't think the strikers were encouraged as much as usual to make their way back to receive the ball. He needed to have Kelly playing ahead of him to solve this problem. Bringing in Carrington alongside him would have ensured we kept possession more but it would not have got us forward. We'd have been passing it sideways for eternity. This would have suited us when 1 up however and I firmly believe that had Jennings not have got injured, Carrington would have been Mackreth's replacement and would have been placed alongside Akil in an attempt to see the game out. Oh well. Kelly - 6 - He's been playing in a wasted position all season and just when I started to think Keates has finally got it right with Kelly, he puts him alongside Akil Wright rather than in front, meaning he was playing far to deep to get involved with most of our attacking play. If anything, this is even worse than him being played on the left. That being said, he's clearly our best footballer, bringing out the 'Kelly turn' more than a few times to get himself, and us out of tricky situations. He (alongside Carrington) was most likely the most successful passer, but the more adventurous attempts rarely found a man. Mackreth - 3 - We need to sign a new winger in the January window. Mackreth has proven very useful off the bench but has he had 1 decent game when starting? Constantly left Hurst exposed down that side, made no runs of note that impressed me and only once succeeded in taking his man on, before putting in a diabolical cross. He faded early on too, proving that he's not ready for a full 90. Rutherford - 7 - Hard work paid off today where he managed to set up Holroyd for 2 of the easiest goals he'll ever score. Worked harder to admittedly give Jennings/Carrington an easier time than Hurst and I don't recall many moments where he gave the ball away. Not a lot to shout about going forward besides the 2 assists, but that alone is a big deal. Pleased for him, given the amount of stick he sometimes gets. Massanka - 8 - Ran, and ran, and ran and often found himself in acres of space screaming for the ball but our set up meant it was mainly for nothing. Played a key part in the 1st goal, by having the awareness to find himself in so much space on the edge of the 18 yard box before seeing Rutherford out wide. The replay of that goal will make Massanka look very impressive indeed. This is the best game Massanka's played for us so far from my viewing (I wasn't at the Bromley game) and he deserved his standing ovation, long may it continue. Holroyd - 8 - Some, not most are being a little harsh I feel on Holroyd after yesterday. Firstly, to find yourself with as much space as he did right in front of goal on two occasions yesterday is a trait that all strikers would love to have and isn't easy to master. He, like Massanka also found himself in acres of space yesterday but we didn't have anyone down the centre playing remotely close to the strikers meaning it was usually for nothing. Off yesterday's viewing, I believe our best striker partnership to be Massanka and Holroyd as they genuinely looked dangerous at times. If Kelly played further up the pitch with Wright or Wedgbury holding, we may start to see more free flowing attacks at the racecourse. Subs: Carrington - 7 - Pick of the full backs yesterday. The only one out of the 3 who proved to be not completely useless with his distribution and stopped almost everything he came up against. Looked a bit confused when clearing at times due to being on the left hand side however. I'd love to see him start the next game at RB. Reid/Smith - As mentioned, not on long enough to make an impact.