Funny how fans see a game differently. I thought Wilson was terrible defensively, although better going forward. Their no.8 Cohen gave him a working over in the first half, and LW didn't know whether to drop deep or close down. There was also the horror show when Hamer gave him a hospital pass and two Forest players descended on him... You could see pre season that Cousins will make a top class player. He has that attribute that all great players need....time and composure. The best we have produced since Parker IMO.
Hamer 5. At fault for their goal. Couldn't complain if he was dropped now. Wiggins 7. Got forward well. Wilson 6. Better going forward than backwards. Could do with a haircut too. Morrison. 6. A solid Morro like performance. Wood 7. Looked pretty good. Stephens 8.5. I think Paul Lambert must have been there. Gower 6. Tidy enough but will never set the world alight Cousins 9.5 MOM Harriott 6 . Drifted inside more than usual , a few step overs, gave the ball away a lot. Church 6. Off injured, love his 100% attitude, but he couldn't hit a cows arse with a banjo Sordell 6. The latest Charlton marmite player. Would have got a 3 but for his goal.
i actually thought wilson was MOM. despite morro's best efforts to make him look crap. there was a couple of "yours, mine... and then nothing" moments at the back. its surprising, as morro is captain and should take initiative - "leave it, i'm gonna thump it into row Z". but yeah, wilson worked his socks off, cleared one off the line, had our best chance in the first half and then was brilliant in the second. when calum harriott went off i was surprised - i didnt actually know he was playing till then. solly at right back and wilson right midfield works for me. great support yesterday though. took my friend who's an arsenal fan and he said they dont get atmosphere like that at the emirates. hamer needs to be dropped for a game or two - thats about the 4th time we've conceded this year solely due to his mistake.
Cousins has put down his marker not only for a regular starting place but also for a contract extension. If Jiminez was watching him last night he must have had pound signs in his eyes. However I expect Pritchard to return on saturday in place of Gower on the right. We didn't do very well when Pritchard was banned earlier this season, so I can't accept that last night's performance was down to his absence. Stephens needs to stay on the left, if he can play like that regularly it will be like signing a new player. I hope Kermit doesn't get brought back too early, I thought he would have fitted perfectly into that team last night, and we need him back in the team to stay. Same applies to Jacko, and Harriott can learn from Jacko, he was a bit hit and miss last night, but I still think that is his best position. On the negative side, I don't know where Church's flurry of goals came from. He looks a decent enough player apart from that, but never looks a threat near goal now. And I don't think Sordell's goal will have convinced many people, Wilson gets the credit for that in my book. I also thought Church was kept on too long when he was struggling. Wiggins return to form was a big positive, and Wilson had another excellent game. When Solly is fit Wilson will surely play on the right of the diamond, if that is how we are to play. I'm actually looking forward to saturday, not dreading it like I was yesterday.
Hamer loves fluffing a free kick against Forest. Re Wiggins - thats three good games in a row (I thought he played well enough against Millwall. Made it in to several sites TOTW too).
Where has this type of performance been hiding, Chris Powell? Why has it appeared in your darkest hour? Did the players know something beforehand? We were superb from the 4th minute to the 94th minute. We were brave, motivated, classy and driven to attack. We could have scored six against a very good side. Hamer - 4 - Needs to be shown the subs' bench. His distribution is too hesitant. The goal was poor judgement. Wilson - 8 - Non-stop action. When Solly returns, he should step into midfield. Defending is questionable, but his commitment and intent are so evident. Wiggins - 7 - Neat and tidy. Lovely crossing, but no one to take advantage. Wood - 7 - Calm and collected. Good distribution. Morro - 6 - Did his job. Gower - 6 - Neat touches and passes. A bit plodding, though. Stephens - 8 - Best game for an age. Great energy levels. Passing was superb. Brave in the tackle. Cousins - 9 - What a diamond! Brilliant in every way. I love watching this kid. Sordell - 5 - Good finish for the goal. Church - 6 - Worked tirelessly. Could have scored two - at least! Harriott - 7 - Driving runs and committed in the tackle. Needs to calm down a wee bit when in and around the box. Hughes - 7 - Steadying influence. Needs to start in place of Gower, if fit enough. Piggott - 6 - Willing and able, but not ready for full matches. Dervite - No time to influence matters. Chris Powell - 9 - Good tactics, line-up and substitutions. Looked animated throughout, as did Dyer and Matthew. Should have been celebrating a well-earned victory. A similar performance on Saturday will see us beat Blackpool. If only we'd performed like this against Millwall. COYR!
Excellent performance against Forest last night, was really worried going into the match as over the two matches I saw last season, Forest were simply amazing to watch... tonight though they were a little lacklustre (follow on from the Derby match on Saturday?) and was good to see Billy Davies give us the credit. Thought it was a bit of a soft free-kick to give based on some of the things that the ref let go but was a brilliant take from Andy Reid and just wonder if Hamer was expecting someone to get a touch rather than going straight through him (good to see Reid didnt celebrate the goal either). One of the best games I've seen Stephens play and just goes to show what he can present for us... I also felt that Wood did really well in defence and carried the ball forward into space wherever he could. Wiggins has been playing really well but just felt last night he wasnt attacking their full-back enough (i.e. he'd go so far and then stop) was that because he didnt want to leave that area exposed if he lost the ball? I know a lot of people felt that Harriott just ran about and didnt do much but I was struggling to see what formation we were playing (have added my thoughts below) and wondered if he was simply given a free role tonight just behind the two strikers, something that either Kermo or Jacko would be good at filling when they return... Hamer Wilson - Morrison - Wood - Wiggins Stephen - Cousins - Gower Harriott Church - Sordell Player Ratings Hamer: 6 - Felt he was at fault for his goal though his distribution was slightly better (Hit a good long ball to Wiggins in the first half) felt the Forest striker staying next to him was the reason for his slowness and is something we should equally be doing. Wilson: 7 - Got an assist for the goal, didnt see much of him in the first half (as in the East Stand) but he was brilliant attacking in the second. Morrison: 6 - Didnt see him lose a header often last night, strong and commanding at the back... Should have scored at the end (God knows why he didnt put his head through it instead of aiming at V-a-V in the stands lol!) Wood: 7 - Have been very impressed with him of late, like how he brought the ball out of defence trying to set someone up rather than hoofing it forward or playing sideways Stephens: 8 - He seems afraid to get stuck in sometimes but last night was all over their Midfielders, if he continues like that then we've some player (Unfortunately can we see that happening?) Cousins: 8.5 - This kid is class a real box-2-box midfielder, remember watching him at Doncaster and he doesnt lose his head when on the ball, just so calm and pick out the simple pass (Cant be dropped now) Gower: 7 - Best performance I've seen from him in a red shirt Sordell: 6 - Agree with Vol, you either love him or hate him, took his goal well but... Church: 7 - I like this guy, runs his heart out and deserves more goals (Dont know where his shooting boots have gone though) Subs: Hughes: 6 - Did the job Andy Hughes always does, would be good to see him alongside Cousins - Loved it when the latter was fouled and Hughes stuck his studs in the Forest players backside as if to say "Leave our kids alone" Pigott: 6 - Thats when you use him at the moment, last 10-15mins of a match, he held the ball up well and forced a good save from the Keeper with a strong shot (Stop trying to head the ball him though) Dervite: N/A
Nice one guys! Sounds like a good response, but will be in vain should we not get something against Blackpool. It has to be a concern that we can apply ourselves against the bigger sides, but struggle with teams on par. That needed to be addressed 10 months ago.
Blackpool are on a bit of a blip at the moment and I feel that they're there for the taking after last nights performance and regardless of injuries the squad should be left as it is (Unless Kermo is fit then he should come in on the bench for Pigott) Apart from that 5-3 up at their place a few years ago we've not got a bad record against them either
Last night proves we have the players to compete at this level, and the fact we have injuries to key players just reinforces that opinion. I just hope it's not too late for CP. As good as were, I still think Gower is a little too slow for this pace of football. Hughes is not exactly a whippet, but he seems to have a knack of making the game look effortless. That is one change I would implement. When Kermit is fit, he needs to replace either Sordell or Church. We could have scored five last night, but the finishing was woeful. Other than that, we should be confident ahead of Blackpool.
Heard a good quote about Distin (Everton) on Monday Night Football the other evening dont quote me the exact words but was something like "the pace in his legs has gone, but the pace in his brain hasnt" (i.e. he cant get into a position to win the ball quickly but he pre-thinks / knows where the ball is gonna go so gets there before the young quick players because they're not thinking ahead enough) Thats what we've got in Hughes!!
Wholly agree about Hughes on for Gower. We got 20 minutes of what he can add last night and as you say whilst not a whippet he is far more thoughtful about the game and his own positioning. For me a returning Kermo should replace Sordell since although I saw him score last night his positioning and commitment were not there, Church struggled without an outlet any sense of team play up front and there was the occasion when he was clear when Sordell chose to attempt a glory strike rather than a simple pass for a tap in. However, if the injury to Church keeps him out on Saturday I am undecided as to whether I would prefer Sordell, Stewart or Piggott to partner up front. You may have guessed that I was not impressed by Sordell last night, he appears to have "bulked up" so much that it restricts his movement as a striker and to my mind even Gower looked more nimble on the field.
Sordell's "glory shot" instead of passing to Church may well have cost us a win. I just don't think Sordell's very good, simple as that. His £3m. price tag is a red herring. Church didn't look too happy about being kept on when he was clearly struggling, and we could end up with only two fit strikers on saturday. I wonder if we're allowed to rcall Smith?
Interesting none of you have mentioned Stewart. Two weeks ago we all thought he strengthened the squad and no one protested against his replacing Harriott. Last night the other way round and still no-one commented. I thought it was strange that he did not come on in place of the tiring Church, the tiring Harriott or the useless Sordell.
That's exactly right, a similar performance etc... we will all be quite optimistic coming into this game, I just hope we play to form for a change. Send Sordell home, send out an almighty message now
I thought it was odd too. Just forgot to mention it. I actually wonder if Harriott could do the "Defoe" fox in the box role alongside Kermit with Stewart out wide.
Just viewed the highlights.. why are people suggesting Sordells goal was more Wilson? Good first time finish I thought! Hamer on the first goal - he jumped far too early. Clearly got caught in two minds, but he wasn't exactly put under pressure
Primarily, Sordell is paid to score goals. He did that last night with a good finish. But how long can the rest of the team carry his laziness? I was willing him to get stuck in, and on a few occasions he did tackle and track back, but it was not enough to justify his wages and his place in the side. If we were guaranteed to get a goal per game out of him, that's a different story, but I'm not convinced - yet.
