I've already read a couple comments and realise most people will probably disgaree with me Kenny: 7. Didn't have to do much at all really however his distribution (especially for the goal) was good. He also rushed off his line very sharpish on a few occasions which I do believe was Lonners main shortfall so its good to see an improvement in that area. Still doubt he'll be as good a shotstopper Byram: 5. Looked like our main weakness in defence, I shuddered every time they attacked that area and while not much got past him I do believe that was mainly because Green and Austin covered well. He doesn't seem to put in a conventional style tackle and while I realise he is very young and is a prospect I did think on most occasions that he was going to give away a free kick or penalty. He is pretty decent going forward though but would much rather Lees come in and Peltier on this side Peltier: 7. Solid is the main word, nothing of note got past him and he was comfortable on the ball. It was clear to me that he was a full back playing in the centre back position however he did do well and appears to be quite good in the air Pearce: 8. Won every header and I mean every header, covered White particularly well and was a no-nonsense CB. Reminds me of Kisnorbo in league 1 so much and really happy about this signing. Not scared to get in there White: 5 1/2. Still doesn't look like a defender to me. He looks more matured than last season already but he still struggles in a tackle and got beat a few times. He made a couple silly challenges as well that resulted in free kicks. I know he is quick but he still doesn't offer much more than that as a defender Green: 6 1/2. Surprised me to be honest, I thought before the game he was Colin's worst signing however he had a few good touches and picked out some decent passes. Not only this but covered Byram a lot and protected him somewhat. He does seem a sicknote though and every single time there was a stop in play he was down hurt and this was before the injury that resulted in him going off. Im undecided whether this is because he puts himself about and getting physical or whether he is just a bit of a girl Norris: 6. Did well in first half but was non-existent in the second. He is the box-to-box style midfielder that we want in that position but I would like an alternative (green could be that alternative if we sing a RM/RW) for when he tires. And it did appear to me that he tired. Austin: 10. Man of the match, unbelievable player and if he keeps that up he will certainly be a fan favourite. He was absolutely everywhere and this is what we have been missing. I know its only one game but early signs are that he is by far Colin's best signing. Not only is he good in a tackle, he is composed on the ball and very good in the air. I struggle to comprehend how he didn't get tired because he was like that for the full 90 mins Varney: 4. Was not impressed with his constant heavy touches, our worst player I think. Should have done considerably better with the one-on-one instead of just complaining about him falling over and diving. Didn't do anything to impress me whatsoever. Think he is a bit of a weak link if he continues like that McCormack: 7. His deliveries into the box were spot on every time. Every time I see him he is turning more into a right winger its crazy, drops deep to collect the ball like he always has and creates. Something did seem to be missing about his game though, definitely our main creative outlet and I do believe alot of pressure will fall on him this season and its whether he can deal with it or not. So glad he signed a new contract Becchio: 6. He did well with his goal, not sure why he didn't volley it instead of doing a diving header when the ball is about a foot off the ground but it doesn't matter as the end result is the same. Again i believe his hardwork is in the wrong places as well as him constantly trying to win a freekick when he gets the ball rather than continuing the free-flowing attack. Often his timing of letting go of the ball was wrong, often too early or too late, never at the right time. His shot set-up by McCormack just before McCormack went off was weak and straight down the middle. He did muscle the defenders quite a lot and I think Stearman started to struggle to deal with him but I still don't like him. He doesn't do enough for 90 minutes. Scoring a goal doesn't take away from his other parts of his game Subs: Diouf: 5. I don't know why people thought he played well. Two good touches I can recall and one where he collected the ball in a tough situation and took it under and passed it back to Kenny is all he did well. Every other time his runs were to nowhere and searched for defenders to take on, he looked very indecisive on the ball and his work-rate was low despite other people's comments Lees: 5 1/2. A weird substitution for me, he came on at a time when the defenders were being stretched about and needed to keep shape, the result of him coming on meant all the defenders shuffled into different positions. Didn't have much to do while he was on the pitch but dealt with everything. Seems to be getting better constantly and would prefer him to start next game. We defended too much and didn't keep possession very well. Wolves outplayed us often during the second half and for a brief spell in the first. I would suggest that this is because of our midfield couldn't string passes in the second half was rather weak because Varney wasn't good enough, neither was Diouf and Norris looked tired. The defence dealt with most things well though and I think once we replace Byram from the starting line-up we will be a very strong unit. Nice to pick-up the 3 points for the first game of the season but a rather defensive tactic by Warnock for a home game against a team that it looked like we were annihilating early on
On what might seem your more contentious points, byram diouf, becchio i have some sympathy with your views. To be fair to byram, he wont come up against jarvis every week who has caused plenty of problems for the premierships better defenders and he stuck to his task, but defensively he looked what he was, a bit green. He can be proud of his effort and i thought he did ok, but im not sure id want him as first choice yet. diouf i think is a case of people wanting him to be a cult hero, and looking for the good. He drew a few fouls but other than that he seemed to pick the ball up in their half and pass it back to the defence or keeper. ok with 5 mins to go, but he did it from the off. When he first came on i thought he'd been at the pies, but he looks like the gym monkeys who train their biceps for the girls but don't bother with any useful sporting muscles. Certainly has the class, but needs to get in shape in my view. The excitement reminds me of nunez' debut where he came on late in the game had a couple of speculative shots against a tired defence that gave him space and everyone thought we had a world beater. Diouf is very capable of being a top player in the championship, but from what i saw its a bit too early to get too excited. He did ok but in my view one of the reasons the team played better in the first half was having green on... whose energy and runs forward gave the team an outlet and stretched the wolves back four becchio did what becchio does, you either like him for putting himself about or get frustrated because he falls over all the time and fails to hold the ball up. i'm in the latter category and i hate watching the team play hoof ball up to him only to see it come straight back which was the format for much of the second half, but if you get good balls into the box he will score for you and he took his goal well, frankly i'd always rather see him head the ball than try to kick it. i think a 10 for austin is getting a little carred away, he had an excellent debut but got caught in possession a few times and a mess up in the corner nearly cost us a goal. Very promising start though and just what we need in that position.
I agree with most of your comments Josh, I also agree a little OTT for Austin but I said on the match thread I fail to see why he never won MOM. Byram was a big concern for me, I accept he was up against stiff opposition however he looks an excellent prospect. White I also agree with your assessment while I wan't as impressed with Green. Early days a good win against fancied opponents, a clean sheet and another game under the belt where the squad learned to play as a team and gel together.
Austin is a beast, every time a defender was drawn out of position he was there filling the gaps, his reading of the game seems excellent and I'm sure a lot of what he does goes unnoticed but is very important for maintaining the teams shape etc. I thought Diouf did well for his first league game with us and I fully expect him to push on in the coming weeks. I thought Green looked quite good and Byram got better as the game went on. Varner was poor for me yesterday, so much so that I would put Drury in at left back on Tuesday and White on the left wing (hopefully this was just early season rustiness but his first touch was appalling).
I agree with a lot of what you have said here. And I do think that the main reason we did worse in the second half was because Green was off the pitch. Maybe 10 for Austin is a bit much but I am very happy with his reading of the game and as Darren Buxton said, I think a lot of his work will go unnoticed I agree with the Varney comment and also think white is better further forward so I'd be tempted to play Drury at LB with White at LM/LW
Interesting ratings and the reply's I would agree with regards to White,Bryam and Varney. Regarding Diouf for those of us who understand football the key when you go up the leagues and the quality of the football improves is to keep the ball. Teams who loose the ball give other teams opportunities. Players and teams at the highest level keep the ball. Play off final Doncaster Rovers better team kept the ball, Swansea going into the premiership a team of footballers who play ball to feet. Back to Dioufs performance, no pre season overweight and slow yes but pure class. The amount of fouls made against him gave us time to regroup when under pressure. His control of the ball and passing were first rate. Other less gifted players gave him the ball and soon realised he gave the team time a crucial ingredient when you go up the levels time. I have no doubt we have a quality player who in the weeks ahead when fit will be in the starting 11 and a game winner.
is this implying I don't understand football? I understand that keeping the ball is important but we were considerably worse when he came on. That wasn't coincidental, green was always on show for the ball, while green wasn't great he was always there and workign hard to break up attacks and covered Byram well which was definitely needed. I don't have the issue of Diouf passing it back to the defence and if anything encourage it if there's nothing on however he was very indecisive on the ball. He didn't know what he wanted to do, there were plenty of options but he just didn't seem too comfortable picking anything out. He's very slow as well, no one will convince me that he played to a decent standard against wolves. If he does do well in other games I'll be the first to say but people do appear to be looking for what he did well and disregarding thing he did poorly
Another ref might not have given those, don't get me wrong as things stand I like seeing Diouf in our team but he went down far too easy and give it a few more games and whining from opposing managers and teams and those fouls will no longer be given. I feel he did okay, he won't shift that weight and his speed will not get any quicker, a short term solution for what I hope will be a short term problem.
Josh, I think Diouf did ok considering he's a bit rusty and had no pre season. I'd like to see him start instead of Varney, keep Green on the right(if fit). Don't really want to see White LM running around like a headless chicken and losing possession. If Diouf's LM I'd like to see Drury LB. ....................Kenny................ Peltier...Lees.......Pearce...Drury Green...Austin....Norris....Diouf ...........Becchio...McCormack...
LiE, I'd prefer Diouf there to Varney (if I forget about what a twat he is momentarily) but only because Varney was ****. It doesn't mean Diouf is good. We need to sign a wide midfielder I feel
A wide midfielder that doesn't lose possession, not a Bradley Johnson or White. Could do with Gradel coming back
Would like to see this line up next game and would like to believe that should funds be forthcoming the two wide spots are the two areas we would find replacements for. Then Green would contend with Norris and Brown for a start alongside Austin
