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davetherivelinowl

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  1. I wrote this last night and almost forgot I hadn't posted it up. That was tough. I thought the players worked hard and managed some good spells but I think tactically we got it wrong. This really showed when Vaulks came on to replace Palmer and suddenly we were able to pass the ball in midfield. Too many players were unable to shine so hats off to Bannan and Ugbo for trying to make something of a thankless task. I didn’t think Leeds were that good but we were unable to cause them enough problems. It might have been different if Gassama’s first effort had gone in or if the ref had seen any of three challenges as worthy of a red card, but that’s clutching at straws. I didn’t expect points tonight so I’m happy to write it off. Beadle 7 – two outstanding saves tonight showed us what he can do but his kicking was awful Valentin – 7 did most of his work pretty well, especially the defending but predictably had a nosebleed when running at goal Bambo – 7 Defended really well. The best of our defenders – really strong and took no prisoners Bernard – 6 Did Ok Famewo – 5 I like him but today his passing was poor and, maybe I’m being harsh but he lost his man for both goals Johnson – 7 I think we underestimate how good a defender he is. One-on-one he almost always makes good decisions and saves the day. Managed to bomb down the wing late on but none of his crosses or shots really threatened Bannan – 8 MoM I heard someone say he’d had a stinker but he got through a prodigious amount of work. At times it seemed like he was a one-man midfield and some of his interventions were crucial. Palmer – 5 Without doing much conspicuously wrong he just seemed to disappear in midfield. He might work well in a 3-man midfield or against weaker opposition but it certainly didn’t work today. Gassama – 6 Quiet for most of the game but sprang to life a couple of times, including 2 of our shots on target which we might have scored from Ugbo – 8 In his early games I criticised his pressing but he’s turned it from a weakness to one of his strengths. Basically he was the only one who took the pressing seriously and STILL managed to win some balls on his own. Please sign him up. Musaba – 5 I’ve not given him a 4 because he ran around a lot but really to no purpose. He was constantly arriving way too late to the press and on the ball he almost invariably fluffed it. I’d rather have seen Wilks on for longer, just in case he’s any good. Subs Vaulks – 7 Immediately made a difference through being willing to show for the ball and pass it around. Great spirit, as ever. Smith - 6 Made a nuisance of himself as usual but there’s no avoiding his lack of quality Iorfa – 6 Did OK Cadamarteri – 6 OK Wilks – 6 Unable to make a difference but did OK
  2. Another three points. Great first half, we deserved a goal (and should have had one – another cracker disallowed) although they looked a decent side too. Not so good in the second half without Bannan but we got the goal and then had to cling on without Bannan or Poveda which meant we were always under the cosh. But once again we survived an onslaught – when did we last concede a late goal? Amazing stuff. Leeds seem to have struggled against 10-man Huddersfield and 10-man Stoke so they’re not unbeatable. Beadle 5 – Another jittery performance. He just doesn’t fill me or his defence with confidence. Iorfa – 8 Apart from one sloppy moment he was terrific, not just in defence but especially when bombing forward. Caused them all sorts of problems Ihiekwe 8 One daft error but otherwise superb. Wins everything in the air and gets in plenty of blocks too Bernard – 7 Another who dropped a clanger but played well overall. Really should have scored from Marv’s corner. He just needed to head it not nudge it with his shoulder. Valentin – 7 Another great game. Did his job defensively and even came up with some fancy flicks. He really can play football. Who knew. Can’t shoot though. Johnson – 6 Another patchy performance, some good some bad, but did plenty of important things well. Did brilliantly to get into that goalscoring position but needed a right foot to slide it home. Hasn’t got one. Bannan – 7 Another busy performance, full of industry and with some sublime passes, eg inside the full-back for Iorfa (twice). Missed him badly after half-time. Hope he’s OK Vaulks 8 – MoM Again! I really never knew he could be this good. Fantastic energy and ball-winning but also some terrific bits of creativity. Poveda -8 Can we keep him please? We look a totally different side with him playing. His ability to receive even rubbish balls and still conjure something with them is just a joy to watch. And he really should have a goal to his credit. Ugbo – 8 Didn’t score tonight (shock) but created the winner and put in an almighty shift. I’ve criticised his pressing before but he’s really sussed it out now. Gassama – 7 Gets an extra point for his goal and also hit a screamer and did well to keep possession at the end. But overall I thought he was the weakest outfield player in our starting line-up Subs Momo – 4 Sorry, but it all fell apart with him in midfield. He’s no Carlton Palmer is he? Unlike Palmer he’s actually pretty poor at chasing and winning the ball. At times he looked miles off the pace – far too slow. And that’s before he drops his usual clangers. It would have been better to have had Byers to come on. I hope Liam Palmer gets the midfield slot if Bannan is injured for Friday. Bambo – 6 From where I sit it’s hard to see which of our big black defenders were doing the good stuff or the bad stuff in the second half so I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. Palmer – 7 We look so much more composed when he’s around Cadamarteri – 7 Put in a shift, won some headers, created Johnson’s chance and had a shot blocked. Can’t really ask for more. Musaba - 6 Didn't really notice him tbh
  3. Was quite impressed with their no 26 though. Massive centre-half but athletic like Tyrone Mings. Only 18.
  4. I expected much more from Morgan Whitaker in particular. Many saying he's Premiership bound but he looked half-hearted tonight.
  5. Fantastic first half, one of the best this season, thanks largely to some terrific pressing, but we really need to finish better. Beautifully constructed goal in the second half but otherwise more disjointed, not helped by the subs. But once again we successfully manage a game to a winning conclusion so maybe my worries are unfounded. Terrific performances by everyone, bar none Beadle: 7 Not much to do but took his crosses well this time and distributed well overall. Gave me more confidence than recently. Palmer: 7 Another strong performance Ihiekwe: 8 Won everything in the air. Commanding again. Famewo: 7 Great goal and strong defensively Valentín: 7 Popped up in some surprising positions. Used his pace well and looked decent Johnson: 7 Defended well and provided a great cross for Wilks but overall his crossing and shooting suggested that his left peg isn't the wand it used to be Vaulks: 9 mom Storming first half like a player with a point to prove. Not sure why he was subbed. Bannan: 7 The usual energy and guile Poveda: 8 Really useful at getting us up the pitch. Instant control and turn has their defenders on the back foot. Musaba: 8 One of his best games. Pressed well, showed strength I didn't know he had and glided past players with ease. Ugbo: 8 Much better pressing and another goal Smith: 6 Did his job well in the time he had Iorfa: 6 Great assist but again looked visibly less than match sharp Bambo Diaby: n/a Gassama: 6 one exciting run but needs to stop throwing himself to the floor Wilks: 7 Chased everything and was unlucky not to score
  6. Here's a repeat of what i posted elsewhere: I really enjoyed that. Another fantastic battling performance, going down to 10 men but still restricting them to only 2 shots on target – 7 of their 12 attempts were blocked by defenders. Let’s hope Ugbo doesn’t forget how to score like he did at Cardiff (after a similar blistering start) and lets hope that Poveda stays so fit and full of energy. Some terrific individual performances. Beadle 5 Unconvincing again. Seems dithery in his box and his kicking was rubbish. Palmer 8 Barely put a foot wrong and did some superb passing movements including, I think, the assist for the first goal. I’ve always had some doubts about Palmer but that was one of his best performances ever. Ihiekwe – 7 Another almost faultless display. Won his headers well and never looked in trouble on the ball Bernard – 5 Not bad for most of the match but two calamitous bits of defending could so easily have cost us the match. Plenty of Owlstalkers seem to think Premier League clubs will be chasing him. I can’t think why. I’ve always thought he was an ordinary, but usually decent, Championship defender, nothing more. Johnson – 6 Nearly gave him a 5 because he did lots of rubbish things and his crossing was poor (his ‘assist’ was really a wayward shot) but he did contribute to a fantastic defensive effort Bannan – 6 surprisingly, almost as bad as Johnson but certainly battled well Vaulks – 9 MoM Apart from one almost suicidal pass I thought he was magnificent and epitomised why we didn’t cave in in the second half. Someone behind me thought he was our weak link in midfield (‘too predictable’) but I definitely didn’t see it that way Valentin – 6 Another who defended well – he gets into position quickly. At times he looked good going forward but repeatedly his end product was poor. Musaba – 6 Worked hard but had a shocking first half with nothing going right. Must have given his head a wobble at half time cos he was much better in the second half. Poveda – 8 A joy to watch. Brilliant on the ball and works his socks off too. Might have scored twice if he’d been willing to risk a shot. A huge asset to the team. That January window wasn’t so bad. Ugbo - 8 Overall a fairly quiet game but he can be as quiet as he likes if he keeps scoring goals Subs Smith – 7 Did a great job of tearing around making a nuisance of himself. But, go on, how many of us thought he would actually score when put clean through? Gassama – 7 Looked lively again and showed that, despite his age, he can be canny at keeping possession Iorfa – 5 Maybe that’s harsh but he looked all out of sorts Bambo – 6 Did Ok
  7. tbh i don't see a future Premiership keeper here, let alone a future England international. He doesn't command his box at all, doesn't boss his defenders and his kicking (which was supposed to be really good) has been disappointingly poor. He makes me nervous, especially on crosses, more so than Dawson who exudes much more calm. Yesterday I thought he was easily blocked off by their big defenders (tried to come for a cross, unable to get through the pack) and got into an unnecessary mix-up with Iorfa (both went for the same ball causing Beadle to drop it - Iorfa clearly complained he didn't hear a shout). He's only a teenager so things like that can be improved with coaching but to me he seems too timid to have a big future as a keeper. Now watch him prove me wrong.
  8. Here's some players that spring to mind who seem to get more praise than I think they deserved Dejan Stefanovic - people raved about how he could carry a ball out of defence. But his actual defending was shambolic - he just didn't have a mindset of keeping himself between their forwards and our goal. Yet he went on to have a decent career in Europe. Alex Lopez - heralded as a kind of midfield genius but I just thought he did nothing but play easy balls, as if to keep his passing stats as impressive as possible Jordan Storey - capable, certainly, but in my opinion, nothing special DiShon Bernard - some fans are urging that we sign him up permanently before he gets 'snapped up' by a bigger, or even Premiership club. He just seems like a competent but bog-standard Championship centre-half to me. Why would a Premiership club even consider him?
  9. In the asence of an MotM thread, here's my take on each player I really enjoyed that. Another fantastic battling performance, going down to 10 men but still restricting them to only 2 shots on target – 7 of their 12 attempts were blocked by defenders. Let’s hope Ugbo doesn’t forget how to score like he did at Cardiff (after a similar blistering start) and lets hope that Poveda stays so fit and full of energy. Some terrific individual performances. Beadle 5 Unconvincing again. Seems dithery in his box and his kicking was rubbish. Palmer 8 Barely put a foot wrong and did some superb passing movements including, I think, the assist for the first goal. I’ve always had some doubts about Palmer but that was one of his best performances ever. Ihiekwe – 7 Another almost faultless display. Won his headers well and never looked in trouble on the ball Bernard – 5 Not bad for most of the match but two calamitous bits of defending could so easily have cost us the match. Plenty of Owlstalkers seem to think Premier League clubs will be chasing him. I can’t think why. I’ve always thought he was an ordinary, but usually decent, Championship defender, nothing more. Johnson – 6 Nearly gave him a 5 because he did lots of rubbish things and his crossing was poor (his ‘assist’ was really a wayward shot) but he did contribute to a fantastic defensive effort Bannan – 6 surprisingly, almost as bad as Johnson but certainly battled well Vaulks – 9 MoM Apart from one almost suicidal pass I thought he was magnificent and epitomised why we didn’t cave in in the second half. Someone behind me thought he was our weak link in midfield (‘too predictable’) but I definitely didn’t see it that way Valentin – 6 Another who defended well – he gets into position quickly. At times he looked good going forward but repeatedly his end product was poor. Musaba – 6 Worked hard but had a shocking first half with nothing going right. Must have given his head a wobble at half time cos he was much better in the second half. Poveda – 8 A joy to watch. Brilliant on the ball and works his socks off too. Might have scored twice if he’d been willing to risk a shot. A huge asset to the team. That January window wasn’t so bad. Ugbo - 8 Overall a fairly quiet game but he can be as quiet as he likes if he keeps scoring goals Subs Smith – 7 Did a great job of tearing around making a nuisance of himself. But, go on, how many of us thought he would actually score when put clean through? Gassama – 7 Looked lively again and showed that, despite his age, he can be canny at keeping possession Iorfa – 5 Maybe that’s harsh but he looked all out of sorts Bambo – 6 Did Ok
  10. Isn't it possible that Röhl wont pick Gregory because he doesn't want to use up all his 25-man squad options?
  11. An even game at first, changed by the first goal and transformed by the second. After that it was relatively drama-free, even when we were down to 10 men. Another winning position comfortably maintained with a clean sheet. We look like a team that knows what it's doing. Beadle: 7 Looking a bit more confident but his kicking was poor again Palmer: 7 Had a calm authority about him Ihiekwe: 8 His kind of game. Head and kick everything. Thou shalt not pass. Bernard: 7 Did well overall but gave some daft fouls away Valentín: 7 Another who's looking increasingly confident Johnson: 7 Defended well but didn't produce his trademark crosses (possibly instructed to stay deeper) Vaulks: 7 Another battling performance. An important cog in the wheel Bannan: 9 Yet again his touches were brilliant, keeping the ball and giving us space to go forward. Just keeps popping up in the right places due to his amazing anticipation. And what a ball for Musaba's goal Poveda: 7 Another lively performance. I love it when he and Bannan link up. Musaba: 8 Won us the game with two outstanding moments. He frustrates at times, but then he can do that! Ugbo: 7 Another strikers goal. Still not great at pressing. Gassama: 7 Did some important stuff at the end, including winning (dodgy?) free kicks which helped us keep possession Smith: 6 Better at pressing than Ugbo but never looks a threat. Despite his size, he's not even good in the air. Bambo Diaby: 6 Did OK Fletcher: 4 Actually got a useful foot in a few times. Not sure how he picked up 2 bookings but if we have to lose a player for a few matches, I'm glad it's him. Momo Diaby: 5 Bit of a loose cannon
  12. Didn't expect anything other than a defeat and was surprised we gave them such a good game. What a shame we gifted them a goal so early. Even so, Leicester probably deserved to be 2-0 up at half time. One-way traffic. Presumably they coasted in the second half allowing us to be the better side. But it was encouraging that we took the game to them and had plenty of moments that could have led to goals. It's even possible that the change up came because of Danny's tactical change - 3 at the back with two wing-backs. Whatever, there were plenty of positives to take from that. Beadle - 5 Made a smart save but that pass in the 3rd minute pretty much ruined the game for us. Kicking generally poor. Valentin - 6 Did some very good things and some very bad things. Got into great positions in the second half but fluffed his lines, apart from his cross to Smith Bernard - 6 Mixed, some good, some bad. Should have done better with his headed chance. Will he ever score from a set piece? Ihiekwe - 5 Looked out of his depth defending against their pacy attackers and trying to play it out from the back. Not sure where either of our centre-backs were for the second, maybe Bernard equally culpable. Johnson - 7 Again, our main threat. Some of his crosses were terrific and he defended well too. Poveda - 5 Started in a 3-man midfield but was unable to have any impact. It might have helped if he'd been able to stay on his feet instead of falling over Bannan - 8 MoM Another scampering performance from the wee man with lots of lovely touches. Vaulks - 6 Quiet first half but got better in the second. Ugbo - 5 Don't remember any contribution from him Cadamarteri - 5 - Runs hard but continues to look like a boy in a man's game Gassama - 7 The liveliest and most likely-looking of our forwards. I thought he was doing well when subbed Subs Palmer - 6 Did Ok Musaba - 7 Looked full of promise. Some good stuff but wasted his opportunity when we broke on them (which to be fair was due to his lovely turn past Faes) Smith - 6 We looked more useful up front with Smith instead of Cadamarteri. Should have done better with his header on goal. Wilks - 7 Once again he managed to look really useful, as if he might just be worth a start (but we know what happened last time) Bambo - 6 Did OK Our biggest problem seems to be getting our forwards to pass to each other and keep the ball in their half. Smith seems better at that than Cadamarteri but personally I'd prefer a front three of Ugbo, Gassama and Poveda with a 3-man midfield behind them eg Bannan, Vaulks and Palmer.
  13. I was really slagging him off until recently but he seems to have improved massively. He's now defending better (but still wants to push his man with both arms instead of concentrating on the ball) and has started to play some decent forward balls but tonight his passing was back to being dreadful. There was a moment tonight when he lost it just inside his own half, their player raced to the byline and by the time the attack came to nothing Valentin was still sauntering back, having only moved about 5 yards. He's had a couple of chances in their box recently but has blown a gasket and tried to pass when he should have shot. I don't think he's capable of offering a threat down that flank. He's not as bad as I thought he was going to be but I think Palmer is a far better player.
  14. Not sure how we won that, except to say that they played slick attacking football but were woeful in front of goal and we played rubbish football but did the important bit of scoring goals. They had 25 goal attempts, almost twice as many as us (13). It wasn’t pretty but we grafted and got there. Beadle – 7 I’m worried that he doesn’t command his box and his kicking is erratic but he made plenty of saves tonight, including one beauty. Well done. Valentin -6 Defended well but was awful with the ball, especially beyond the halfway line and his bad passing put us in trouble several times Bernard – 7 Had a lot of defending to do and did it well Famewo – 7 as Bernard Johnson – 7 a couple of wayward crosses but otherwise great. Defended very well, got up and down well and laid on a beauty for Ugbo Diaby – 5 Some good things but its heart-in-mouth time every time he gets it. He usually does well but always looks likely to drop a clanger Bannan – 8 MoM Another run-everywhere-do-everything performance capped with some joyous touches. Set up Marv well for the 2nd. Ugbo – 7 Hasn’t got the hang of this pressing lark but has a good touch and his goals were priceless Poveda – 7 No doubt will get many MoM votes because he was so tidy and lively in possession, was useful with his pressing and set up the first goal. However he went missing for periods because he was blowing like a steamtrain. If he can get up to speed with his fitness he’ll be a really useful asset. Gassama -5 His worst performance for a while. Didn’t look fit enough and his decision-making in the final third was awful. Cadamarteri – 5 Maybe that’s a bit harsh because he ran his socks off but he contributed almost nothing with the ball. Their defenders had him in their pockets. Subs Smith – 7 Injected some life into the forward line when he came on and charged around. Not much quality but he won some useful free kicks Musaba – 6 Had little sight of the ball but did a good job of helping to shore things up at the end Vaulks – 7 Another who gave us some much-needed bite in midfield Ihiekwe – 6 Did OK Pedersen – 5 Did he touch it?
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