Player Ratings: Preston Match

[Citizen Journalist Foghorn 0]

Gallacher - 7 Solid

Drury - 7 Solid

Shackell - 8 Barely gave them a chance

Doherty - 7 Dependable

Colin - 7 Improving

Huckerby - 8 always a threat

Robinson - 7 didnt see him do a lot but we always play with him there so heres the benefit of the doubt.

Safri - 8 good passing, kept possesion and played intelligently

Etuhu - 9* what a performance, and CAN improve further, he needs to push forwards more and tidy up his passing a bit.  But was superb today. Consistently play like this and he could be a fantastic player.

Croft - 9 always a threat, beat his man, good crossing, good backheels - shame we had no tall striker in the box.

Erny - 8 worked tirelessly and scored a great goal, tough for him up front alone.

subs

McVeigh - 6 just cos you have talent doesnt mean you dont have to work hard.  Will improve.

McKenzie - 7 worked hard in the short time he was on

Fleming - 7 not on long

 

Worthy - 8 He has finally got them passing it, are we a target man away from promotion contenders?

[chicken 0]

I am shocked - I am almost speachless! You actually sound slightly possitive!!

So you think we should sell Colin and Etuhu now then do you?

I think I will just walk away from this before I say something silly!

[JJ 0]

Gallagher 6  Didn;t have much to do.  Looked comfortable.

Colin 7  Miles better.  Benefits from having a good right winger in front of him.

Drury 7  Dependable as ever

Shackell 6  Not troubled too often.  Solid.

Doherty 6  Solid as usual.  Ditto above

Robinson 6  Getting better.  Excellent run and shot in first half.

Etuhu 8 Shaded it for MOTM.  Vast improvement so far on last season.

Safri 7  Comfortable in the middle.

Huckerby 7 Caused problems as per normal.  Set up first goal.

Earnshaw 7  Busy, then faded, then scored a great goal.  Class finisher.

Croft 8  A joy to see a right sided player taking on the opposition and getting good crosses in.  Can only get better.

Leon, Flem, Mcveigh 6 each.  Not enougth time to assess.

Overall verdict:  Deserved result and some good football.  Room for improvement (we still lack a cutting edge up front) but signs are promising.  A big striker to partner Earnie would be a huge plus.

[Yellow Rages 0]

Nice to see a constructive and positive post CJF. Can we have more please?

Couldn''t go tonight but great result.

 

[Rasputin was a C... 0]

I think you''re absolutely spot on with your assesment Foghorn. Think they only disappointing player on the night was McVeigh who just didn''t look interested apart from the cross. Apart from that I thought the players fully deserved the reception they got from the crowd on the final whistle. A great team performance lets hope they can carry this on into Luton and the next few games. You never know like you say we might just be a target man away from people a real threat this season. Isn''t it great to be positive = )

[london Canary 0]

i wasn''t at the game so can only go on what i read, good honest ratings, and sounds promising. you say we''re a target man away from promotion contenders which is very good but i can''t help but worry when one of our first team is out we are very thin squad wise. Follow this up with a win on saturday and we can really start to build for the season. 

[FilletTheFishWife . 0]

Best game from Dickson and Carl so far. Jurgen looked ok in first half linking with Lee but got increasingly shaky as the game progressed in the 2nd half.

Gallagher 6

Colin 6

Shackell 6

Doherty 6

Drury 7

Croft 8

Etuhu 9

Robinson 8

Safri 7

Huckerby 7

Earnshaw 6

[ZLF 275]

Gallagher 6 - never troubled, occassionally slow to come out,  needed defence to be available for a short ball but they didnt so he had to put to the right flank

Colin 7 - I thought he was our best defender all be it against a negative poor preston side; got forward well and clearly enjoying having a bespoke rights sided player in front of him

Doc 6 - Solid

Shacks 6 Comfortable

Drury 6 Got forward well, never threatened at the back.

Croft  7 At last!  Gave us so much more balance and an outlet other than Hux.  Still not fit but just what the doctor ordered - just dont let him tackle.

Robbo 7 Helped dominate midfield and his first half dribble was the best of the match and deserved a goal

Safri 8 Anchor man in midfield - so crucial he stays fit.

Dickson 8 A man transformed and gave us for more of the game those fleeting tantalising glimpses we saw last season. Just my MOTM.

Hux 7 Dangerous but too many dead ends.  Will continue to win us games at this level.        

Earnie 7 Worked his socks off and boosted his score with a superb finish. However his work outside the box is too often let down by a control that would shame leon.

WLY - 6 Seemed quiet but good cross for 2nd.

Leon 5 On too late to have any real impact 

Pros 

When was the last time we dominated a game so completely?  Well before even the champs season - the formation was a success from that point of view as we had almost total control over the game.

We have a right flank;  croft balances the side and gives us another outlet other than hux.

Central midfield - committed in the tackle, covered each other and worked very well.  Last season the central midfield shamefully had so few challenges that Ashton topped the charts despite only being here just over half a season  - if we carry on like this then that wont be repeated.

Passing game - we had so much possession and kept the ball well for the majority of the time, a pleasure to see.

The fans - started loudly but grew concerned with a lack of chances but supportive.  Releived that we have seen something to have hope for the season about.

Cons

The long balls.   No, there werent many but they are going to happen - mainly from goal kicks etc as in this game but using Croft/WLY as the target means we will continue to give up easy possession. From these sorts of set pieces we have to target Dickson as the only man with height.

Lack of support for Earnie.  When we are going forward either Dickson or Robbo has to get forward and in and around Earnie quicker - when they did support we were at our most dangerous. The pair of them have to be targetted with getting beyond earnie more frequently.  Too often though promising moves petered out due to a lack of bodies getting forward - how many crosses from Croft/Hux only had Earnie as a target?   How many real chances did we have all game? 

Lack of penetration - too often we had no killer ball and went back wards - mainly due to the lack of support mentioned above.  We have to add more forward passes to movement/runners and

Earnie as a lone striker.   As good a finisher as he is and as hard as he works outsid the box the majority of his football is not good enough to play the loan man.   His first touch is poor, he is not physically big enough to hold play up, and his link up play has to be better. Many fans around me are unhappy at having just one striker however I can see the 4-5-1 working well but not with earnie as the focal point...

Thin squad - cover is still needed in midfield (safri getting treatment highlighted this concern for me) and a target man is needed for options.  

This looks like a long list but its not a gripe, just a balance to what I feel is an over-hype to a good, not fantastic,  performance.  This WAS so so much better than last season but we will play better and face better.   

Summary

A fantastic confidence builder, a good performance and a comfortable win;  a platform to move on from (which we had many off last season but never took) - bring on Luton.

 

[blahblahblah 2]

An excellent summary Zipper.  Colin and Croft worked superbly together, a joy to watch from the middle of the Jarrold stand, Croft staying back between midfield and defensive lines on the wing when Colin moved forward, nice overlaps too.   Huckerby even tracked back once or twice to cover Drury !  Possession of the ball felt valuable for much of the game. Central midfield all looked like they wanted the ball, and showed themselves for the ball, with clear communication from the receivers of passes.  As well as this we appear to have a team of players that can run with the ball. Normally it would be just Huckerby trying to beat them for pace, but last night I saw Robinson, Croft, Safri, Etuhu and Drury go past 2 or 3 challenges.  Superb.  Sometimes we went back to go forward with the passing, but the end result was generally positive attacking play.

You''re entirely right about support for Earnie.  If either Robinson or Etuhu could break with the wingers and Earnie to pick up any scraps, we would convert more chances into shots on target.  The attacking play seemed a little one-dimensional at times, a winger beating his man and then putting in a very good cross at about 6 feet to Earnie just past the last man, and often this was dealt with by the defenders.  Argument for a target man perhaps, or maybe Earnie could track back at the last second for a ball on the floor, catching the defense wrong-footed.  But I''m being over-critical there. 

The formation is set up to give us 1-0 or 2-0 wins, in keeping players back we prevent ourselves from beating teams hollow, but a win is a win, and we need 25 - 30 from 46.

Perhaps the biggest compliment that the Preston players paid us was in the clogger challenges that went in.  The sign of a beaten team.  I''ve said previously that the team have been on the up, albeit from a significant low, since February.  The last 2 games represent the biggest jump in that improvement so far.  If we can keep a settled side, I think we have a chance of doing well.

[Rossi 0]

Gallagher - 7 - Made some important saves mid way through 1st half

Colin 6 - Solid in defence, but needed to have more of an attacking threat on the overlap once Croft came off

Shackell - 8 - Hardly game them a sniff

Doc - 7 - Looked a bit flat footed compaird to Shacks, but a good performance

Drury 7 - Got caught under the ball a few times, but got forward well

Croft 8 - Nice touches, good crosses and also has a bit of steel in him

Etuhu 9 - Superb performance, stood out a mile.

Robinson 6 - More of a welsh ghost than a wizard - disappeared far too much before doing something really well. Needed to push out more to help Etuhu in the tricky bit (70-80 mins)

Safri 8 - Didnt give Preston a sniff and combined  with / backed up Etuhu brilliantly

Hucks - 6 - Only started really playing once we scored.

Earnie -  7 Made too many far post runs and then conjured a goal from somewhere - telltale of a quality striker

[0 0]

Gallacher 7

Drury 6

Shackell  7

Doherty 7

Colin 8

Huckerby 7

Robinson 6

Safri 8

Etuhu 8

Croft 8

Earnshaw 8

[Largey 0]

Gallacher 7 - looked comfortable with everything, has a tendency to dirft his goal-kicks right, so the players tend to stand in the right-half of the pitch!

Colin 7 - if he hadnt had come off would have been my MOTM, links well with Croft

Shackell 7 - Looked solid, strong, great in the air

Doherty 7 - Ditto, just a bit slower with his feet, always a laugh when he tricks someone!

Drury 7 - Mr Dependable was great once again, can see why Hucks likes playing left midfield

Croft 8 - Some lovely passes and runs, a mirror image of Hucks yet a bit stronger MOTM

Etuhu 8 - Showed the Preston fans why they shouldnt have sold him and made some great passes and tackles

Robinson 7 - Had a chance to score but made some fantastic passes and looks much better than £50k

Safri 7 - Took a slight knock but was passing and tackling well. Love it when crowd shouts ''SHOOT''! whenever he''s 30 yards from goal.

Hucks 8 - Made some nice runs, crosses were good and i thought he might score. Looks to have a great partnership with Drury

Earnie 7 - Didnt really get into the game until he scored and that gave him the confidence. You could tell cos he went in for challenges after his goal!

 

(this is coming from someone who hasnt been to a match in about 6 years)

[Faded Jaded Semi Plastic SOB 1,042]

ZLF - Good post. Now we have a right winger that can sling in a good cross (there was a peach in the first half that Iwan and the great Ted McD would have thrived on) we need somebody to get on the end of them. My text at half time to my mate who is away on on holiday was "0-0, playing well, lots of possession and passing but no penetration, PNE keeper only had 1 or 2 saves to make, we will win this match comfortably though".

[AP16 0]

Galla - 7 Solid, not much to do reallyDrury - 7 Again, solid, did well when called uponDoherty - 7 Nugent had nothing all game, except a scuffed shot at the end, solid.Shackell - 7 , ditto above reallyColin - 7 Looks a different player from last season, good start to the new seasonHucks - 8 Worked hard, even headed the ball once!! well playedSafri - 9 What a joy it is to watch him playing well, pulled the strings in midfield and ran the norwich unit as a whole, brilliant.Etuhu - 9 I''ll be the first to admit I didn''t like what I saw when dickson first signed for us, but what a performance last night. Worked tirelessly, tackled back, some cracking passes, more of the same please dickson.Robinson - 7 Still looks a tad 1 dimensional for my liking, could''ve turned out and spread the play across midfield rather than play the ball back from where it came, however, a huge improvement on some of last seasons awful performances, well done mate.Croft - 9 As worthington stated, it''ll take him a while to get as fit as the rest of the lads, but still, looks a very cultured winger, likes to beat defenders, put decent crosses in, a pleasure to see an out and out winger. Earnshaw - 8 Did well, some of his first touches weren''t great, but good link up with the midfield, and a cracking finish at the end, well done earnie.McVeigh, McKenzie, Fleming - 6Just a quick note regarding mcveigh also, I bumped into him in a petrol station after the game, shook his hand and said well done on the result etc.. and he didn''t even seem remotely interested, a mumble of a "cheers" and that was it. After such a cracking performance I would thought he would have been a tad happier, but to no avail.

[chicken 0]

Just a quick question to you all, and this is not meant to be negative but:

How well did Jarrett play? He had mixed opinions with us - some said he needed more of a chance and patience others just said he is shocking. Did he look any good at all last night? Or is he just another Sean Carey (and please don''t tell me you ever rated that guy!)?

[blahblahblah 2]

The only time I noticed him was when the crowd asked him what the score was.  Not going to be the next Viera.

[AJ 1,232]

Jarrett was poor, only built one attack, and was missing for long periods of the game

 

im rather glad we have etuhu now!

 

by far the better player

 

 

Gallacher - 7 - didnt have much to do, but did what he had to well

Drury - 8  - Good going foward, and at the back, still linking well with huckerby, got caught out of position a couple of times.

Shackell - 8 - A brick wall, didnt make one mistake.

Doherty - 7 - A few dodgy moments in the first half, solid in second

Colin -  Looked much better with a winger infront of him, will expect more from him, he is getting more confident going foward too

Huckerby - 8 - failed to get into the game much in the first half, was a key player in the second

Robinson - 7 - A good game, like the rest of the midfield, gave the ball away more than Safri and Etuhu, but still a good game from him.

Safri - 8 - Safri back at his best, fit, stopping and winning everything in the middle, nice neat tackles, passes and kept posession well.

Etuhu - 9 - Motm -  who is Damien Francis exactly?! We have Etuhu now, if he plays like this every game of the season, play-offs will be no problem.

Croft - 9 - Looked Impressive, a lot more came from him than huckerby in the first half, and did well in the second, nice neat touches and flicks, almost opened his account too. NEED A TALL STRIKER TO GET ON THE END OF THOSE CROSSES THOU, but shows how good he is, even Huckerby almost scored a bullet header!

Erny - 8 - Played well upfront alone, but needed support! Worked tirelessly, made runs, scored a great goal.

subs

McVeigh - 7 - Came on and linked up well, will find it hard to get in squad this year, but can push his way through if he tries harder.

McKenzie - 7 - Worked hard alone upfront in the time he had given, again looked lost without a partner upfront.

Fleming - N/A not on long enough

[CambridgeCanary 0]

[quote user="chicken"]

Just a quick question to you all, and this is not meant to be negative but:

How well did Jarrett play? He had mixed opinions with us - some said he needed more of a chance and patience others just said he is shocking. Did he look any good at all last night? Or is he just another Sean Carey (and please don''t tell me you ever rated that guy!)?

[/quote]

If he''d played as well for us last season, he''d have walked into the team.  Not as eyecatchingly impressive as Dickson but tidy, made his tackles and passed well.  Had a few spats and got booked but even that was better than some of the supine midfield play of last season.  Even so, not sure he was ahead of our central three (Robinson perhaps??).  Would still have a role here on this form probably as Safri/Robinson back up.

Obviously well ahead of Hughes on last nights form and Hughes last seasons form