Colchester - player ratings

[ZLF 274]

My first game since Barnsley - and the impression is one a team lacking any self confidence at all and suffering from injuries with Hux, Safri and Doc all under the weather. Disappointing than there was no youth on the subs bench but only the tried tested (and found wanting) experience.

The best thing about the game was the formation.  At last we reverted to 4-4-2 but more importantly Hux had left the flank.  Sadly the midfield remained toothless, ponderous and lacking any invention at all, but we at least were not as exposed at the back as we had been.  We need to develop this further rather than rely on hux on the flank which immediately exposed Drury and so the central defence.  croft in place of Robbo and it may be worthwhile.

Gallacher 5 - a series of saves flattered his performance,  too many shots go back into play rather than being pushed wide and too many crosses in the 6 yrd box went unclaimed, creating indecision in the back 4 - eg the save at the end of the first half when doc and shacks lost their players and cureton had a free header.  I can see why a new keeper is needed.

 Colin 7  - good first half and solid in the second, although seemed more nervous with flem around.

Shax 6  - lacking in self belief and towards the end of the first half wasnt covering Iwelumo/Curetons runs leaving the right side of the defence covering 3 players too often.

Doc 6 - Battled manfully but clearly injured and affecting his play - I assume thats why he was subbed.

Drury 7- played well and links very wel with hux going forward.

Robbo 4 - played like a makeshift right flank player, drifted inside too often but made a better fist of it than HUghes or Hendo - cover needed or a youth player tried.  Too slow and deliberate with any passing

Safri 4 - A poor start set the scence, off the pace and lacking bite in the challenge, seemed half a yard too slow.

Etuhu 6 - MOTM surprised me as for too long he was second best to the colchester midfield but it was s good goal and the only decent pass all night was the one inside the defence to find hux out wide in the second half.  Was the best of a poor midfield

Eagle 5-all I can really say is neat and tidy and gave us a balanced shape.  However he contributed little else beyond a couple of good set pieces - we didnt seem to get the ball to him enough.

Hux 7 - My motm,  clearly unfit an played at half pace and took time to get involved in teh first half; however anything half near dangerous came through him and I feel we shoudl persist in him and earnie as a partnership and encourage better passing to the pair from midfield. .   

Earnie 6 - attrocious first touch conceeded possesion too easily but worked willingly with precious little service.

Subs

Flem 6 - did ok but showed why he can only be cover.

Hughes 5 - ditto - simply not good enough

Dublin 7 - king of the route one flick on, had an impact but only because it encouraged us to speed the ball forward rather than take 7 sideways passes - and so created some pressure;  however moving hux wide did cause us problems.   A good option to have - but not with thorne and flem on the bench too.

 Little positives in a poor game with a fair result, but a very tiny stepping stone to build on. 

Calling any midfielders?

[FilletTheFishWife . 0]

Agree with most of your points ZLF (even Colin!).

Robinson & Safri were very poor. I actually think Safri improved in the 2nd half. Robinson is so lighweight its unbelievable. Can''t see what he ever brings to a game.  A least Hughes makes the effort.

Drury''s passing i the first half was very poor.

As for Hucks, as I''ve said before a 70% Hucks is still better than most of his team-mates at 100% (or should I say 110% to keep within cliche?).

If we don''t get him signed up for another 2 years the board should be hung out to dry. It would be the biggest travesty in my 35 years of supporting the club if he goes.

I think Eagle had a promising start. Some good crosses.

We have to revert to 4-4-2 for Saturday. 4-5-1 is just not working especially as at least 2 of the 5 midfielders are sh!te.

Gallagher 6 Colin 7 Doherty 6 Shackell 6 Drury 5 Robinson 4 Safri 5 Etuhu 6 Huckerby 7 Eagle 6 Earnshaw 6 Subs Hughes 5 Dubin 6

team for sunderland

Camp

Colin Doherty Shackell Drury

Spillane Etuhu Safri Huckerby

Earnshaw Dublin

 

subs Gallagher Fleming Eagle Ryan Jarvis Hughes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Old Boy 0]

Gallacher - 7. His command of his area may not be the greatest, but he stopped us losing 3-1 with two great saves, and that''s what matters after all.

Colin - 7. He''s come on pretty well and looks quite assured.

Shackell - 7. An asset to the club, though this wasn''t one of his best games.

Doherty - 7. Did a good job again, with a few mistakes. Whoever says he''s slow is dead wrong.

Drury - 8. A captain''s performance. All in all, this defence is worthy of a better team.

Robinson - 4. Didn''t contribute much and gave the ball away, a nervy player but talented.

Safri - 5. Looks very out of sorts. Uncharacteristically gave the ball away a lot.

Etuhu - 7. He''s a real asset, though with Saf and Robbo having a day off he didn''t look it. Another fine goal.

Eagle - 7. Played without fear, but also without a great deal of direction. But it was refreshing to see someone up for the fight. He definitely deserves a longer spell in the side.

Huckerby - 6. Not very effective, probably due to injury hangover. Halford had him sussed.

Earnshaw - 5. Also not very effective, and hung around too far from goal too much of the time. When Dublin came on, Dion told him just what to do and where to go.

Dublin. - 7. Class and intelligence. OK he''s lost his speed, but in this team, a cool head is a real plus. Better in that respect than Thorne.

Hughes. - 4. Not very good.

Fleming - 5. A constant worry - not quick, can''t pass, content to play head tennis.

PG - 6. Not as visible this time, until we scored (sing when you''re winning?).

The Crowd - 5. Moaned a lot when mistakes were made (as they always will be). Some booing at the end. Only woke up when Iwelumo fouled Gallacher (and Gally made a meal of it).

Colchester United - 7. A good side, pacy, attacking and disciplined

 

[Baldyboy 0]

zipper, how the hell did you think earnshaw was better than eagle? he was way off the pace and looked unfit where as eagle put in some good crosses that city failed to attack!!

[Baldyboy 0]

my ratingswere:

gallacher 8 motm a couple of great saves and better distribution. deserves to start on saturday.

colin 7 good tackling, better crossing

drury 6 was ok but caught out occasionally

doherty 5 was slow and may have been hindered by injury

shackell 6 thought he woul;d have won more in the air

safri 4 complete waste of space couldnt pass all night go back to fasting for ramadan!

robinson 3 why oh why is he still in the team?

etuhu 6 scored a good goal but only then did he seem to want to go forward

eagle 7 put in some excellent crosses but nobody attacked them. hope he starts on saturday but i doubt he will

hux 6 tried hard and looked ok til tiring at the end but needs to keep his mouth shut. could easily have been booked for constantly arguing with the muppet in black.

earnshaw 5 didnt look fit or interested and should have been taken off

subs dublin 6 won everything in the air, would have liked to have seen him up front with hux as it could be a good combo

hughes 3 ditto robinson

fleming 5 did ok but still looks too slow

grant 5 didnt agree with his substitutions but at least we got a point, wish he would at least put younger players on bench

[Chunky Norwich 0]

I thought Drury was pretty awful last night. He seems too lightweight and there were many instances where Shackell was having to come out to the left to fill in gaps left by Drury or to atone for his errors; which then made the centre of defence weak. I have always rated Drury as a player but I think he''s going through something of a bad patch at the moment. Robinson was absolutely woeful. I have no idea how he stayed on the pitch for the 90 minutes. I thought the player who played well from the first minute to the last was Jurgen Colin. It''s a shame for him that he normally has no outlet for when he does move forward into the opposition half - the midfield are normally left standing around, looking at each other, in our half and the other alternative is to pump the ball into the box in the hope that Earnshaw can outmuscle his way through 4 defenders and thump it past the ''keeper.