[cite]Posted By: oohaahmortimer[/cite]i'm with you Palacehater .... it is all about the league and i'm not exactly agonised to have this trophy on charltons CV....... we should never have fallen to this farking pony level
Got to say though Parky CV Looking better than Curbs, we would never have beaten them if he was in charge!! ;-)
[cite]Posted By: nigel w[/cite]Excellent post-match comments by Parky. For once I have to agree with every word he says. Intelligent, thoughtful stuff without any of the brainless cliches devoid of meaning which they must already be starting to get sick off down in Southampton.
Agreed, Nigel - nice to hear some sense and also encouragemnt for the youngsters.
Bit concerning re the injuries starting to bite - but at least Solly and Waggy, if they are the replacements. have this game behind them now. They should also be used to playing together from the youth/ reserves over the past couple of years, I guess.
I really do not see the negatives that some people see from last night. We went a goal down, but still won. We scored some seriously cracking goals. It was an Entertaining game of football. Some Youngsters got a run out. Not a Loanee in sight. Still all you moaners crack on :-(
I think a point regarding negatives, is that, quite concievably alot of what played last night could easily form our first team over the coming weeks/months. Injuries to Semedo, Richardson, Sam, Racon to name a few who seem to be carrying knocks.
That team was fine against Barnet's reserves, but how would they fair at the top of league 1.
I think we could mix it about and probably cope in defence and midfield....up front is another story.
[cite]Posted By: Elthamaddick[/cite] That team was fine against Barnet's reserves, but how would they fair at the top of league 1.
As the saying goes you can only beat what's put in front of you. Barnet started 8 of the team from their last league game, they're doing well currently 4th in league 2 and we won easily. I'd be more concerned if we'd lost 4-1.
I went into it last night with mixed emotions last night, like many others. I wanted the youngsters to do well for confidence, but I'd be quite happy to be out of it to protect some players. If you saw the match and had a half a brain, I just think you can't fail to see the positives.
The best positive on here, and something many of us have been clambering for, was Grant Basey. I got in late and was confused by many players in a CAFC shirt. I thought Basey was Jack Clark!!?? I couldn't recognise him as he looked younger, fitter and leaner???? Yet his physical shape was perfect for a central defender. And lo and behold, he's moved inside and he looked ten times the player. Great to hear Parky saying they've been working hard on his fitness and heading, as his fitness was questionable last year. At the back, for me he already looks a much better player than Llera, his control got him out of so many pressure situations whereas Youga on a couple of occasions managed to compress the game into our final third with poor indecisive/needless play; yes Youga overall was very good but he's still a liability in non-threatening sits, turning no pressure into mucho pressure in milliseconds. Basey's driving run for I think Tuna's goal, might have been the first my memory is shocking these days, was brilliance personified and marks a massive asset compared to LLera's occasional wonder-ball often nowhere-ball.
For me Basey was easily man of the match. Jarret got in cross after good cross, but rarely were we pressured and only on secondary ball if the ball caught an unlucky deflection.
Dissapointing for me was Solly. Jarrett has something, but often game time with pressure he produces little. The good thing in Solly's favour was that the boy showed real determination on not giving up, and got some good crunching tackles in the second half; on the ball Solly was also tidy and competent. But all too often Solly had to give space to Jarrett so he wouldn't get skinned and Jarrett got a fairly easy cross in. If Furlong had been playing in the first half it may have been different; although positionally Dailly and Basey were great and remember O'Flynn is quite prolific. There were mitigating circumstances in that Waggy wasn't much of an offensive threat, yet still didn't have the brains to regularly double team Jarret; when they did Jarret was quite effectively shutdown. A slight dissapointment in Solly, but on the other hand his willing attitude should give him a chance to start dominating; hopefully Breaker can work on him and get his heading improved because against a player like Scowcroft he'd be worked over in the air something rotten.
Wagstaff's goal was brilliant, positive, committed and strong. Something he didn't always show with his runs; as in he didn't attack space at times and wanted to force percentage balls which weren't on, unlike Baseys run which was just superb at exploiting the sit in front of him. The greatest thing for him was that he scored and the game will be resoundingly positive for him. An OK performance made good by the best goal of the night.
Shame Mcleod showed terrible running lines, and a lack of positive centralism to any of his golden opprotunities. The best side of his game was that he showed willing and occasionally held the ball up, plus he was the pivot that made the goal for Waggy and then got involved again with a superb pass. Well done to him for his goal in at least taking a shot, something many others in a CAFC shirt weren't willing to do in the first quarter. For Shelvey's stonewall penalty shout, where Yakubu saved a goal, Mcleod's approach play was awful he had a loose on on one where he could have driven to the goal and got a shot off. There was no pass on yet he waited for erm no one really, how his pass miraculously got to Shelvey and how Shelvey did absolutely superbly with it was very little to do with Mcleod. I hope this gives Mcleod confidence for the things he did well with but his running and all round approach play was shocking: There was a couple of times when we had three on three, and he just stood around like a lemon not pulling the center back out of position for Bailey or Waggy. And other times when Tuna took up a great position with Mcleod making terrible direct runs through the most congested area.
To Tuna. He takes up superb positions and really did well as again a midfield four for us sits too deep and was too far from attack. I don't think people realise how much he did in the first half to link a massive gap between our forwards and midfield. We just don't have a midfielder that drives the unit fifteen yards up the pitch to compress play, we all too often get compressed in a mid four with whoever in the cm position; Bailey is the only one driving forward but positionally he's still to cavalier in the center. Although Tuna looked nervy his postioning was brilliant, and he was always looking for the runner it's just ashame it wasn't Dickson rather than Mcleod. He got a goal which was superbly taken. The only downside was in the second half he took a few poor touches in our half and gave the ball away, his head dropped and it went downhill. All credit for Parky seeing this and getting him off quick for Shelvey. That quick sub should mean the goal and his positives will be the remaining memory rather than a dip in performance in the seconfd half.
Thought Spring was excellent. I'm biased here as I've watched him since he was a lad at Luton. He is a much better cm in a midfield four than Semedo, but clearly Semedo is more suited to the anchor role in a five. The downside with Spring and Racon is that neither have the personality to say to his co-midfielders that this is the line on the pitch we should be at and you push the fuck up whatever. Fair enough you can't do it against Man U, but Barnet weren't out physicalling us yet we wanted to sit well within our own half. Hence any Youga embellishment could have been lethal, and poor old Solly was one-on-one constantly in crossable areas for Jarrett. But although you can criticise Spring for this, it goes for just about every cm we have. Only Bailey drives forward and unfortunately defensively he does tha same as Racon, Semedo and Spring in cm. Personally although midfield is our strength we still need a midfielder with the personality to drive us up the pitch. Whether that's a la Kinsella with superb link play, a la Parker with driving pressure, Liam Lawerence who just goes and goes or Keane who'll just drag you I don't know. Those players aren't cheap usually, unless Keane sells them after a bit of dodgy roasting revealed in the Sun!
Satvinrou, great harrying. Well done to him for coming on and upping the energy of the team.
Dailly! At last a clever player who can clean his lines with excellent heading. Not like Hudson who in a crisis does well only to keep ball in play.
Elliot. Yet another good save when we were 2-1 up. Very important. Didn't moan at anyone, unlike Randolph, and even when Mcleod had a poor hissy fit over a too long ball, apologised and got on with it. He get's great back spin on the ball and his throwing out was great for impetus if a little too eager at times. I am very impressed with him each time I see him now.
Sorry for the length, but the ammount of positives from a young team was pretty much the most I've seen in recent years.
Oh and if anyone says they were Barnet reserves they weren't. They made three changes, and I doubt Furlong and Breen would have been fit for this after sat. The only one really missed was Adomah which is a shame.
Seems mad to me, I thought we were not trying to burn him out??
Thought that too but maybe wanted to give Shelvey and Mcleod some time together on the pitch as well as take Tuna off before his game went off the boil as Colin said.
[quote][cite]Posted By: Henry Irving[/cite][quote][cite]Posted By: falconwood_1[/cite]
Why was Shelvey involved??
Seems mad to me, I thought we were not trying to burn him out??[/quote]
Thought that too but maybe wanted to give Shelvey and Mcleod some time together on the pitch as well as take Tuna off before his game went off the boil as Colin said.[/quote]
Did we not have any other kids that could've made the bench perhaps??
Seems mad to me, I thought we were not trying to burn him out??
I took it that Parky wanted to play out the match by the time he came on, retain possesion and all that, odd that a 17 yr old is one of our more experienced pros!!! Just indicates just how good he is
Very fair points and comments on Tamer Tuna Colin..... went down with some friends to support Tamer as his family are people we know and used to play football with. Though Tamer had a good game, and his positional play and distrubution were as I would expect and remember very good.
As Parky said he has a good footballing brain and is quick, although I see his temprement still can be a little volatile at times, he will need to curb this, the lad is keen and hungry to play which is natural and needs to be managed well. Thought parky did the right thing in subbing him, and expect him to be a regular first team player in the near future, given the right breaks and time. Also though that Wagstaff took his goal well the lad has come on well! and is maturing fast. All in all after the first 15 minutes some good football
Ken I agree. Although nervous I thought Tamer was the key offensive player in the first half. Barnet were playing higher up the pitch than us and Tamer had the brains and style of play to drop off, pick up scraps and offer options to our deeper midfield. He not only did this very well after the first ten mins but also did it competitively; remember he was against Micah Hyde when he dropped deep whose played in the Prem/Champ and is no slouch.
Whilst there were problems for us on the pitch, the plusses were great to see in a match that in recent years would have been a monumental struggle.
I realise its a bit late but just got back to a pc!
Highlights for me
Solly - tenacious tackles and got done a couple of times by Jarrett who was very quick. No shame in that as he is young and learning. Besides - Richardson gets done but makes up for it with other facets to his game. Really like Solly - proper little terrier and not concerned if he plays Saturday. Only worry is the lack of height.
Tuna - Toblerone feet to start with but once he settled and was less tense his touch was better. His movement was outstanding for someone so young and he picked out a number of very good passes. Nice finish and unlucky not to get a second when forcing a good save (though the through ball to him was way overhit). Good pace too. I'd say not ready for regular starts just yet but certainly will benefit from getting some more game time.
Basey - I have always liked him and think his distribution and footballing brain are excellent - he was often let down by lack of speed. Looks leaner, fitter and sharper this year and had some truly superb bits of calm skill and control from high balls. Won his fair share of headers and was unlucky when he broke to hit the side netting. IMO there is no guarantee Llera will walk back in at centre half this weekend on this showing (admittedly lower league opposition but both big lumps up top against him). Also marshalled the defence alongside Dailly who I think is good for this team
Mambo - Not on the field for long but made a fair impact! One great clearance and several powerful headers. He is a beast and if he can develop as a footballer could be like Sol Campbell with his physical attributes and dominance. Questions about turning against quick strikers but if he can become football savvy - like Jorge Costa - he can get around this. Newcastle scout next to me was very impressed.
Dailly - Rock solid. Leader. Enough said.
Not so good
Wagstaff - Goal and one great run aside he did'nt do what he should have done and that is get his head down and run. He kept checking back inside or looking for an easy option. Has the potential to be a great winger as he has pace, can be direct and a good eye for goal. Not a great night for him IMO
Racon - Trying to do a bit too much. Dwells on the ball when a pass might be the better option. Undoubtedly top top quality player in there but still needs to hone his distribution timings.
Stavrinou - 20+ minutes but only a few touches of the ball. plenty of harrying and hustling but didn't get much of the ball which was a shame as I really rate this chap. In fairness the job was done by then so maybe his brief was "containment"
Summary
Very comfortable win against a rather disappointing opposition if I'm honest. the young lad up front for them (#16) looked like a good target man in the making though!
Parky did get it right and I suspect has a slight decision to make at centre back for the Oldham game.
Jury still out on McLeod. Pace is awesome but many other facets seem to be lacking - maybe needs more game time.
If Richardson and Sam are out injured then I expect Solly and Waggy to start though we have the option of Youga on the right and Basey on the left if need be.
[cite]Posted By: QPR Vital Football thing[/cite]I was back in South East London with trusty sidekick Mac to watch unfancied Barnet take on Charlton Athletic at The Valley in the less than impressive Johnson`s Paint Trophy. Like the League Cup it is only teams without a chance in the league or who actually win it that care about this particular competition but at £5 I couldn`t pass it up! Despite the low price the take-up of tickets was low with only the West Stand being full and a couple of dozen Charlton fans in the East Stand. Barnet`s contingent was also fairly small but they were enjoying every second and made a great racket the whole game. I quite liked the stadium as it still feels quite small despite being bigger than some Premiership teams grounds but the Charlton support were absolutely dire. Only on two occasions did they actually get a chant going and even then it would die out fairly quickly, much to the amusement of the away fans who mercilessly mocked the home contingent.
The first ten minutes saw a midfield battle with Barnet working hard at closing down every Charlton player and Charlton in turn not finding their passing game much to Addick`s fans frustrations. Then some of the sloppiest defending since Derby were in the Premiership gifted Barnet a goal. Charlton captain Nicky Bailey lost the ball on the edge of the eighteen yard box and as the ball bobbled around two Charlton players were guilty of trying to dribble the ball to safety rather than find touch or the halfway line. They were caught out and Barnet number 9 John O`Flynn placed a low shot under Rob Elliott in goal from six yards. Charlton hit back a few minutes later after a decent run found Izale McLeod in the Barnet area however ex-QPR keeper Jake Cole had no chance after the forward`s shot took a big deflection off of a defender.
Charlton looked very poor, both in defence and midfield. With cold rain falling the defence were being outmuscled and outpaced, by left midfielder Albert Jarrett in particular, and at corners were barely getting off the ground. Barnet were unlucky not to capitalise after a number of corners were not dealt with at all. Charlton were proving to have a lucky night however as towards the end of the first half the ball luckily broke for the home side after a tackle leaving Barnet stretched, Tama Tuna slid the ball past Jake Cole to make it 2-1, a scoreline that in all honesty had come from nowhere. They then had a chance to bag a third but Izale McLeod managed to miss kick from inside the area after some could work from Bailey and Tuna, a chance any granny would have buried.
During the half time break we debated how Charlton were doing so well in the league and were glad to see that the rain had stopped. The second half saw Charlton improve a little, especially defensively but there were still far too many passes going astray and Barnet were working tirelessly without seeing any end product. 41 year old striker Paul Furlong was not an option as he was being rested but had he been playing then I think Barnet may have had more luck, with his strength he could have opened some gaps in the defence allowing the pacier players to capitalise.
All hope for Barnet was lost however, after a fantastic piledriver of a free kick from Bailey. A silly foul around twenty to twenty five yards out was sent like a rocket into the top right corner, blazing above the wall and beyond the despairing leap of Cole. Barnet and their fans never let their heads drop however but try as they might they couldn`t fashion a decent opening, although more than once they had Charlton`s defence all at sea with crosses and overlaps. Charlton`s icing on the cake came with only a few minutes to go. A Barnet attack broke down and McLeod broke quickly with the ball, he passed to David Wagstaff who in turn did very well to take it in his stride as it was a very poor pass. Wagstaff belted the ball past Cole and despite being 4-1 to the good it was the Barnet fans we could hear singing "4-1, and you still don`t sing".
A flattering scoreline for Charlton, and it is hard to explain how they are doing so well in the league, Barnet did very well and with Furlong rested should prove more adept up front in their next league match
[cite]Posted By: QPR Vital Football thing[/cite]the Charlton support were absolutely dire. Only on two occasions did they actually get a chant going and even then it would die out fairly quickly, much to the amusement of the away fans who mercilessly mocked the home contingent.
it was the Barnet fans we could hear singing "4-1, and you still don`t sing".
Comments
Got to say though Parky CV Looking better than Curbs, we would never have beaten them if he was in charge!! ;-)
totally agree!
if we drop further we can aim for the fa vase , oh how exciting
Agreed, Nigel - nice to hear some sense and also encouragemnt for the youngsters.
Bit concerning re the injuries starting to bite - but at least Solly and Waggy, if they are the replacements. have this game behind them now. They should also be used to playing together from the youth/ reserves over the past couple of years, I guess.
We went a goal down, but still won.
We scored some seriously cracking goals.
It was an Entertaining game of football.
Some Youngsters got a run out.
Not a Loanee in sight.
Still all you moaners crack on :-(
That team was fine against Barnet's reserves, but how would they fair at the top of league 1.
I think we could mix it about and probably cope in defence and midfield....up front is another story.
As the saying goes you can only beat what's put in front of you. Barnet started 8 of the team from their last league game, they're doing well currently 4th in league 2 and we won easily. I'd be more concerned if we'd lost 4-1.
The best positive on here, and something many of us have been clambering for, was Grant Basey. I got in late and was confused by many players in a CAFC shirt. I thought Basey was Jack Clark!!?? I couldn't recognise him as he looked younger, fitter and leaner???? Yet his physical shape was perfect for a central defender. And lo and behold, he's moved inside and he looked ten times the player. Great to hear Parky saying they've been working hard on his fitness and heading, as his fitness was questionable last year. At the back, for me he already looks a much better player than Llera, his control got him out of so many pressure situations whereas Youga on a couple of occasions managed to compress the game into our final third with poor indecisive/needless play; yes Youga overall was very good but he's still a liability in non-threatening sits, turning no pressure into mucho pressure in milliseconds. Basey's driving run for I think Tuna's goal, might have been the first my memory is shocking these days, was brilliance personified and marks a massive asset compared to LLera's occasional wonder-ball often nowhere-ball.
For me Basey was easily man of the match. Jarret got in cross after good cross, but rarely were we pressured and only on secondary ball if the ball caught an unlucky deflection.
Dissapointing for me was Solly. Jarrett has something, but often game time with pressure he produces little. The good thing in Solly's favour was that the boy showed real determination on not giving up, and got some good crunching tackles in the second half; on the ball Solly was also tidy and competent. But all too often Solly had to give space to Jarrett so he wouldn't get skinned and Jarrett got a fairly easy cross in. If Furlong had been playing in the first half it may have been different; although positionally Dailly and Basey were great and remember O'Flynn is quite prolific. There were mitigating circumstances in that Waggy wasn't much of an offensive threat, yet still didn't have the brains to regularly double team Jarret; when they did Jarret was quite effectively shutdown. A slight dissapointment in Solly, but on the other hand his willing attitude should give him a chance to start dominating; hopefully Breaker can work on him and get his heading improved because against a player like Scowcroft he'd be worked over in the air something rotten.
Wagstaff's goal was brilliant, positive, committed and strong. Something he didn't always show with his runs; as in he didn't attack space at times and wanted to force percentage balls which weren't on, unlike Baseys run which was just superb at exploiting the sit in front of him. The greatest thing for him was that he scored and the game will be resoundingly positive for him. An OK performance made good by the best goal of the night.
Shame Mcleod showed terrible running lines, and a lack of positive centralism to any of his golden opprotunities. The best side of his game was that he showed willing and occasionally held the ball up, plus he was the pivot that made the goal for Waggy and then got involved again with a superb pass. Well done to him for his goal in at least taking a shot, something many others in a CAFC shirt weren't willing to do in the first quarter. For Shelvey's stonewall penalty shout, where Yakubu saved a goal, Mcleod's approach play was awful he had a loose on on one where he could have driven to the goal and got a shot off. There was no pass on yet he waited for erm no one really, how his pass miraculously got to Shelvey and how Shelvey did absolutely superbly with it was very little to do with Mcleod. I hope this gives Mcleod confidence for the things he did well with but his running and all round approach play was shocking: There was a couple of times when we had three on three, and he just stood around like a lemon not pulling the center back out of position for Bailey or Waggy. And other times when Tuna took up a great position with Mcleod making terrible direct runs through the most congested area.
To Tuna. He takes up superb positions and really did well as again a midfield four for us sits too deep and was too far from attack. I don't think people realise how much he did in the first half to link a massive gap between our forwards and midfield. We just don't have a midfielder that drives the unit fifteen yards up the pitch to compress play, we all too often get compressed in a mid four with whoever in the cm position; Bailey is the only one driving forward but positionally he's still to cavalier in the center. Although Tuna looked nervy his postioning was brilliant, and he was always looking for the runner it's just ashame it wasn't Dickson rather than Mcleod. He got a goal which was superbly taken. The only downside was in the second half he took a few poor touches in our half and gave the ball away, his head dropped and it went downhill. All credit for Parky seeing this and getting him off quick for Shelvey. That quick sub should mean the goal and his positives will be the remaining memory rather than a dip in performance in the seconfd half.
Thought Spring was excellent. I'm biased here as I've watched him since he was a lad at Luton. He is a much better cm in a midfield four than Semedo, but clearly Semedo is more suited to the anchor role in a five. The downside with Spring and Racon is that neither have the personality to say to his co-midfielders that this is the line on the pitch we should be at and you push the fuck up whatever. Fair enough you can't do it against Man U, but Barnet weren't out physicalling us yet we wanted to sit well within our own half. Hence any Youga embellishment could have been lethal, and poor old Solly was one-on-one constantly in crossable areas for Jarrett. But although you can criticise Spring for this, it goes for just about every cm we have. Only Bailey drives forward and unfortunately defensively he does tha same as Racon, Semedo and Spring in cm. Personally although midfield is our strength we still need a midfielder with the personality to drive us up the pitch. Whether that's a la Kinsella with superb link play, a la Parker with driving pressure, Liam Lawerence who just goes and goes or Keane who'll just drag you I don't know. Those players aren't cheap usually, unless Keane sells them after a bit of dodgy roasting revealed in the Sun!
Satvinrou, great harrying. Well done to him for coming on and upping the energy of the team.
Dailly! At last a clever player who can clean his lines with excellent heading. Not like Hudson who in a crisis does well only to keep ball in play.
Elliot. Yet another good save when we were 2-1 up. Very important. Didn't moan at anyone, unlike Randolph, and even when Mcleod had a poor hissy fit over a too long ball, apologised and got on with it. He get's great back spin on the ball and his throwing out was great for impetus if a little too eager at times. I am very impressed with him each time I see him now.
Sorry for the length, but the ammount of positives from a young team was pretty much the most I've seen in recent years.
Oh and if anyone says they were Barnet reserves they weren't. They made three changes, and I doubt Furlong and Breen would have been fit for this after sat. The only one really missed was Adomah which is a shame.
Not as great as Nicky Johns!
Why was Shelvey involved??
Seems mad to me, I thought we were not trying to burn him out??
Thought that too but maybe wanted to give Shelvey and Mcleod some time together on the pitch as well as take Tuna off before his game went off the boil as Colin said.
In terms of the statbank, just sticking to the league, but will include any bookings.
Why was Shelvey involved??
Seems mad to me, I thought we were not trying to burn him out??[/quote]
Thought that too but maybe wanted to give Shelvey and Mcleod some time together on the pitch as well as take Tuna off before his game went off the boil as Colin said.[/quote]
Did we not have any other kids that could've made the bench perhaps??
You'd think he'd need a break?
I took it that Parky wanted to play out the match by the time he came on, retain possesion and all that, odd that a 17 yr old is one of our more experienced pros!!! Just indicates just how good he is
Though Tamer had a good game, and his positional play and distrubution were as I would expect and remember very good.
As Parky said he has a good footballing brain and is quick, although I see his temprement still can be a little volatile at times, he will need to curb this, the lad is keen and hungry to play which is natural and needs to be managed well. Thought parky did the right thing in subbing him, and expect him to be a regular first team player in the near future, given the right breaks and time.
Also though that Wagstaff took his goal well the lad has come on well! and is maturing fast. All in all after the first 15 minutes some good football
Not so sure about the defending for their goal...and that's without liability Llera.
Whilst there were problems for us on the pitch, the plusses were great to see in a match that in recent years would have been a monumental struggle.
Highlights for me
Solly - tenacious tackles and got done a couple of times by Jarrett who was very quick. No shame in that as he is young and learning. Besides - Richardson gets done but makes up for it with other facets to his game. Really like Solly - proper little terrier and not concerned if he plays Saturday. Only worry is the lack of height.
Tuna - Toblerone feet to start with but once he settled and was less tense his touch was better. His movement was outstanding for someone so young and he picked out a number of very good passes. Nice finish and unlucky not to get a second when forcing a good save (though the through ball to him was way overhit). Good pace too. I'd say not ready for regular starts just yet but certainly will benefit from getting some more game time.
Basey - I have always liked him and think his distribution and footballing brain are excellent - he was often let down by lack of speed. Looks leaner, fitter and sharper this year and had some truly superb bits of calm skill and control from high balls. Won his fair share of headers and was unlucky when he broke to hit the side netting. IMO there is no guarantee Llera will walk back in at centre half this weekend on this showing (admittedly lower league opposition but both big lumps up top against him). Also marshalled the defence alongside Dailly who I think is good for this team
Mambo - Not on the field for long but made a fair impact! One great clearance and several powerful headers. He is a beast and if he can develop as a footballer could be like Sol Campbell with his physical attributes and dominance. Questions about turning against quick strikers but if he can become football savvy - like Jorge Costa - he can get around this. Newcastle scout next to me was very impressed.
Dailly - Rock solid. Leader. Enough said.
Not so good
Wagstaff - Goal and one great run aside he did'nt do what he should have done and that is get his head down and run. He kept checking back inside or looking for an easy option. Has the potential to be a great winger as he has pace, can be direct and a good eye for goal. Not a great night for him IMO
Racon - Trying to do a bit too much. Dwells on the ball when a pass might be the better option. Undoubtedly top top quality player in there but still needs to hone his distribution timings.
Stavrinou - 20+ minutes but only a few touches of the ball. plenty of harrying and hustling but didn't get much of the ball which was a shame as I really rate this chap. In fairness the job was done by then so maybe his brief was "containment"
Summary
Very comfortable win against a rather disappointing opposition if I'm honest. the young lad up front for them (#16) looked like a good target man in the making though!
Parky did get it right and I suspect has a slight decision to make at centre back for the Oldham game.
Jury still out on McLeod. Pace is awesome but many other facets seem to be lacking - maybe needs more game time.
If Richardson and Sam are out injured then I expect Solly and Waggy to start though we have the option of Youga on the right and Basey on the left if need be.
Phew - I'm done!