Bristol City Player Ratings

[Mister Chops 7]

Irrespective of the D''Urso show, we should remember that Bristol City were comfortably the better side, played lovely flowing football (especially in the 1st half) and deserved the points.  We''re in the brown stuff now with the teams below us having games in hand.  Bottom 3 beckons.Marshall - 4 - cost us the game with poor kicking.  Two late saves, but by then we were down to 10 largely because of his error.Semi - 4 - ponderous and reluctant to get forward. Only has eyes for Croft.Grounds - 6 - run ragged 2nd half but solid enough 1st half against a good Bristol City sideDoc - 4 - I''m a fan of the Doc but his challenge looked reckless though I hear he may have got the ball according to TV replays - hopefully we will get the 1 match ban overturnedDrury - 4 - slow, off the pace, sluggish, surely Bertrand is better?Croft - 7 - MoM - ran his socks off for the cause today, crossing was poor but heart and effort means he gets creditClingan - 6.5 - better at centre back than defensive midfieldRussell - 5.5 - ran around a lot but contributed very littleHoolahan - 5 - lightweight, did little todayCort - 7 - looked very decent, fit, keen, good touch, runs like he''s scrabbling across ice but promises muchCureton - 4.5 - the half-chance 5 minutes in wasn''t really his fault, everyone expected the defender to clear it - but he looked short of confidence and we didn''t miss him 2nd half.SubsKillen - 4 - did very little but had 15 minutes to show somethingGow - no time to assessReferee: D''Urso - 1 - they should show the video of this match to the people who organised the "Respect" campaign and then ask them what they think about what referees of this calibre do for the idea of respecting the officials.

[Beauseant 0]

Would pretty much agree with your ratings, Mister C, other than saying that 4 for Semmy seems overly generous for a player who can''t defend and chooses not to attack. While D''Urso was uttely appalling, the fact is that we looked like conceding virtually every time they attacked in the first half (at least three free headers and their 11 had the freedom of the penalty box for his goal). Semmy and Rusty looked totally off the pace and as a team we allowed them way too much time on the ball, which was suicidal against a side of that quality.Marshall''s error requires no comment from me.

I was very impressed by Bristol who used the ball intelligently and kept momentum, whereas we simply fiddled around before conceding possession. The thing that concerned me most was the lack of players prepared to take the initiative and try to make something happen, rather than relying on their teammates.We battled well in the second half, but our inability to deliver a decent final ball cost us dearly.

The bottom line, I''m afraid, is that if we don''t sort ourselves out defensively VERY quickly, we are going to go down, and the worrying thing is that you can''t simply point at one individual at the back, its a general problem.

[pennywise 0]

i made cort man of the match thought he was excellent, and stuck at it despite being held all afteroon and gettin eff all from that tosspot binner durso, apart from fluffing what looked like a header harry rednapps mrs would have score at the start of the 2nd half  hes was definately man of the match [:D]

[Yellowfuture 71]

Good analysis  Mr Chops, I would give Cort a 7.5,  he had a really good  game, positioning was good and won a lot in the air, I was also impressed with his footwork, which looked a  bit like two feet on the  end of a piece of string but was effective. He also  showed great determination to  win back lost balls and for me was a classy player, Crofty was outstanding for effort, in fact amazing coverage of the field, but just lacked  a bit of  quality in the end product.

Wes as usual misplaced a lot of passes and while  he  does  pose an occasional threat was not good enough, particularly when there are now so many mid  field options.

JC was not really at the races, hardlyy noticed him.

Despite being dissapointed to see Fozzy warming up at half time and coming on for second half, I thought he did ok and passed  the ball well.   

[Yellowfuture 71]

[quote user="Mister Chops"]Irrespective of the D''Urso show, we should remember that Bristol City were comfortably the better side, played lovely flowing football (especially in the 1st half) and deserved the points.  We''re in the brown stuff now with the teams below us having games in hand.  Bottom 3 beckons.

Marshall - 4 - cost us the game with poor kicking.  Two late saves, but by then we were down to 10 largely because of his error.
Semi - 4 - ponderous and reluctant to get forward. Only has eyes for Croft.
Grounds - 6 - run ragged 2nd half but solid enough 1st half against a good Bristol City side
Doc - 4 - I''m a fan of the Doc but his challenge looked reckless though I hear he may have got the ball according to TV replays - hopefully we will get the 1 match ban overturned
Drury - 4 - slow, off the pace, sluggish, surely Bertrand is better?
Croft - 7 - MoM - ran his socks off for the cause today, crossing was poor but heart and effort means he gets credit
Clingan - 6.5 - better at centre back than defensive midfield
Russell - 5.5 - ran around a lot but contributed very little
Hoolahan - 5 - lightweight, did little today
Cort - 7 - looked very decent, fit, keen, good touch, runs like he''s scrabbling across ice but promises much
Cureton - 4.5 - the half-chance 5 minutes in wasn''t really his fault, everyone expected the defender to clear it - but he looked short of confidence and we didn''t miss him 2nd half.

Subs
Killen - 4 - did very little but had 15 minutes to show something
Gow - no time to assess

Referee: D''Urso - 1 - they should show the video of this match to the people who organised the "Respect" campaign and then ask them what they think about what referees of this calibre do for the idea of respecting the officials.

[/quote]

 

What about Fozzy?    Better than expected for me second half, 6

[kdncfc 0]

[quote user="Mister Chops"]Irrespective of the D''Urso show, we should remember that Bristol City were comfortably the better side, played lovely flowing football (especially in the 1st half) and deserved the points.  We''re in the brown stuff now with the teams below us having games in hand.  Bottom 3 beckons.

Marshall - 4 - cost us the game with poor kicking.  Two late saves, but by then we were down to 10 largely because of his error.
Semi - 4 - ponderous and reluctant to get forward. Only has eyes for Croft.
Grounds - 6 - run ragged 2nd half but solid enough 1st half against a good Bristol City side
Doc - 4 - I''m a fan of the Doc but his challenge looked reckless though I hear he may have got the ball according to TV replays - hopefully we will get the 1 match ban overturned
Drury - 4 - slow, off the pace, sluggish, surely Bertrand is better?
Croft - 7 - MoM - ran his socks off for the cause today, crossing was poor but heart and effort means he gets credit
Clingan - 6.5 - better at centre back than defensive midfield
Russell - 5.5 - ran around a lot but contributed very little
Hoolahan - 5 - lightweight, did little today
Cort - 7 - looked very decent, fit, keen, good touch, runs like he''s scrabbling across ice but promises much
Cureton - 4.5 - the half-chance 5 minutes in wasn''t really his fault, everyone expected the defender to clear it - but he looked short of confidence and we didn''t miss him 2nd half.

Subs
Killen - 4 - did very little but had 15 minutes to show something
Gow - no time to assess

Referee: D''Urso - 1 - they should show the video of this match to the people who organised the "Respect" campaign and then ask them what they think about what referees of this calibre do for the idea of respecting the officials.

[/quote]

I agree with most of your ratings apart from I''d give Russell, Cureton and Otsemebor a 2. Otsemebor and Russell were absolutely dreadful and I think you are being kind to Cureton about the half chance he had. he should have been more alive to the possibilities and at least tested the keeper. We are in big trouble now and I certainly wouldn''t be putting to much of my hard earned on us to survive.

[Mister Chops 7]

Good spot on missing Fotheringham.   My problem with him is the way he slows the game down all the time with sideways passes and ponderous touches - it''s like watching a learner play chess.  Still, he wasn''t terrible yesterday and would rate about a 5.5 I guess.

[ZLF 274]

Bristol were a fine fine side - the best I can recall seeing at CR this year - they played with a fierce tempo and moved the ball well, understanding eaches role and took responsibility. They were always in control and we could easily have been 5 down by half time had chances been taken - our equaliser was against the run of play.  

Norwich failed to turn up and we looked ultra fragile through the middle. Clingan and Russell should be forced to repay their wages and they stood and watch the ball go around them, not making a tackle and showing less committment that the horizontal Otsemebor while our flair wide players ran themselves into the ground to retreive the ball - remember Sammy and Rusty - thats what ball winning midfielders do. Their first goal was a good move down the left but scored by a midfielder who was again free on the edge of the box having sauntered past a static norwich central midfield duo who seemed to expect the defence to deal with it alone while offering teh forwards no support.  On todays performances I woudl drop Rusty and Clingan and start with Fozzy and Gow - Fozzy sitting deep and at least passing forward while Gow sits nearer the strikers.

Why oh why do our players (clingan in particular - does he was a high pass completion rate above all else) insist on passing back to Marshall?  We all know he cant kick the ball to where he wants,  so a long cleared hoof is surely better from the outfield player - we may still lose possession but at least it is likely to go roughly in the direction the kicker intended????

Marshall 5 - Completely responsible for teh second goal - and the very fine saves in the second half were not enough to redeem him.  His kicking was woeful all day 

Ots 5 - was awful,  lacking committment and completely scared on the ball.  Positional sense was awful.  He should be dropped

Ground 5 - better second half but looked completely out of his depth in the first half - slow,  lightweight, indecisive;  simply second best.  Not good enough

Doc 6 - stood up to adebola well;  if he did not play the ball then red was the right decision.  Gave his all when so few others did.

Drury 6  Solid first half  -  over run second;  certainly no better than betrand.

Croft 7 - effort 11/10;  but I cant get excited by another over hit, under hit, misplaced pass,  and 40 yards runs across the centre circle from flank to flank hurt no side.  But he did care and work his socks off.

Clingan 4.  Is he more worried about keeping his shorts clean?  Plays the occasional neat pass but was totally by passed in midfield and may as well not have been there in the first half.  Tidy use of the ball us a euphemism for playing short passes having allowed the opponents time to have figured out where he was passing to and so closed the receiving player down.  Needs to add some pace to his game both in his coverage of the pitch and moving on of  the ball.  Poor. Like Rusty left the front two completely isolated and offered no support,  didnt they expect cort to win any aerial challenges and WANT to pick up the second ball.  Second best. And how many times in the first half did he and Rusty look to the bench for advice?  They are pro footballers and should be able to think for themselves on the pitch. 

Russell 4. Seems to have taken Ots slow pills.  SHould have been withdrawn at half time.  Woeful - cant type anymore or I will start swearing he still makes me that angry today.

Hoolahan 7 - Only player that looked like scoring in the second half with 2 second half shots;  seemed to have responsed from being dropped and upped his defensive work rate too.

Cureton 4 Jamie gave absolutely nothing and was rightly withdrawn. 

Cort 8.  Fitness continues to improve but caused them issues all day and his performance deserved a goal.  Was looking for support and found none from either midfield or his striking partner. So so noticeable what he gave us once he was off the pitch.   STill more to come from Bambi and could be the player to save us from relegation.

Subs

Killen 5 - was he on the pitch?  No impact at all

Fozzy 6.5 - best game in a while;  wanted the ball and always went forward.  We looked better with him - and I did not think I would type that!!!  Is Clingan in midfield smothering him?   

Gow 6 - too lottle to assess.

[Fuglestad 0]

[quote user="Mister Chops"]Good spot on missing Fotheringham.   My problem with him is the way he slows the game down all the time with sideways passes and ponderous touches - it''s like watching a learner play chess.  Still, he wasn''t terrible yesterday and would rate about a 5.5 I guess.
[/quote]

Yesterday his short passing was slick and quick and he played at least two good, accurate 30-50 yard forward passes. He was in my opinion our best player in the second half, which may not be saying much. He slowed nothing down, and mostly took one or two touches. Anyone who gives him less than a 7/10 is judging him on previous performances and not yesterdays game.

[Mister Chops 7]

[quote user="Fuglestad"]

[quote user="Mister Chops"]Good spot on missing Fotheringham.   My problem with him is the way he slows the game down all the time with sideways passes and ponderous touches - it''s like watching a learner play chess.  Still, he wasn''t terrible yesterday and would rate about a 5.5 I guess. [/quote]

Yesterday his short passing was slick and quick and he played at least two good, accurate 30-50 yard forward passes. He was in my opinion our best player in the second half, which may not be saying much. He slowed nothing down, and mostly took one or two touches. Anyone who gives him less than a 7/10 is judging him on previous performances and not yesterdays game.

[/quote]Sorry, that''s simply not true.  He produced several of his default "receive it from Clingan - look up - look sideways - pass to the full back - receive it back - look up again - look sideways - pass sideways" trademark moves yesterday.  He did get stuck in more than usual but I''m hardly going to give him more than 7/10 when the man of the match was on the pitch for 75 minutes and only rates a 7.  If you think Fozzy was worth 7/10 for yesterday''s 2nd half performance, I presume you also think Cort and Croft were 9/10s, everyone else was a 5/6 and we were unlucky to lose.

[Fuglestad 0]

Well I''ll settle on a 6.5 for Fozzy if you like, 7 for Croft (he ran around a lot but acheived very little) Cort my MOTM 8/10. Either way I think Fozzy had a good game. I really don''t think he slowed the game down at all. Most of the others I''d give 5/10, we deserved to lose. Oddly, Clingan seemed much better at CB to me, if only he was a few inches taller.

[Downs left boot 0]

In the first half the main probem was Clingan/Russell being off the pace - Bristol were running the middle of the park and getting first to everything. Clingan was particularly disapointing because we know he can do so much better  (did a decent job at centre back though)

To give him credit - when Fotheringham came on he actually put a bit of urgency into the middle of the park that helped get the team moving.

Full backs really let us down. Although Drury had some good runs forward in the second half he looked really shaky when defending - I think his days as a first choice are passed.

Thought Hoolihan was just there to make up the numbers in the first half - did some good stuff in the second.

Marshall - 4, Semmy - 4, Drury - 5, Doc - 5, Grounds - 7. Clingan - 6, Russell - 4, Croft - 7, Hoolihan - 6,Cureton - 4, Cort - 7 - subs Fotheringham - 7, Killen - 5, Gow - 4.

 

 

[Blofield Canary 11]

I thought the midfield looked far better with Fotheringham in the side. He brings control and composure to the midfield which was severly lacking in his absence.

[kdncfc 0]

I thought we made it far to easy for them and made them look better than they were by giving them far to much space in the first half, every time their players got the ball none of our boys were within 10 yards of them. We were not at the races which is even more surprising and disappointing after we had just come off the back of a confidence boosting draw at the league leaders, I expected us to start with all guns blazing but there was no fire in their bellys at all in the first half. We did improve after the break and should have had a pen but we didn''t deserve anything after our shocking first half display.

[nutty nigel 7,559]

Well it''s strange how we all go to the same game and yet see a different one. That''s the beauty of our great game and the reason why Saturdays matches can provide talking points for the rest of the week. I thought Marshalls kicking was awful and he cost us the second goal. It''s true he made plenty of good saves too but to be fair that''s what he''s there to do so it doesn''t really redeem him. I agree with most about Otsemebor, he''s one of the most frustrating players I have seen and I now subconciously count to 10 when he recieves the ball while he makes up his mind what to do next! I wasn''t impressed with Drury either although he was left horribly exposed at times. The Drury of old always showed his man down the outside and blocked the cross, he gets beat too easily now. The Doc looks our only competent defender but he can''t do it on his own. I don''t blame him for the sending off, the frailties of others left him in that position and a good defender always does everything to prevent a goal being scored. It''s an instinct, and a good one. Grounds looks like he has a knack of scoring goals which is a plus but is a bit weak for centreback in this league. I thought Fozzy made us better when he came on and I thought he did more for our midfield in the 2nd half than Clingan and Russell did together in the first. Maybe Clingan and Fozzy don''t work together. The solution to all this could be Leijer to right back Grounds to left back, Doc and Clingan centre backs and Fozzy with Russell in centre midfield. Croft did what he always does but too often he rfan down blind alleys. Hoolahan looked a threat, he loses the ball at times but that''s the price you pay for such a creative player. I''m not sure he''s right for us at the moment but he''d be awesome in a more succesful team. Cureton missed his half chance early doors. It was only a half chance but he was slow to react and he really needed to put that away after Tuesday night. He was the obvious player to give way after the sending off. That just leaves me with Cort who I thought did really well for the second time in a week and if he can get fitter and stay fitter I think he could have a good end of season here. But play the ball to his feet and body more, he will win headers but we still then have to win the second ball.

Marshall 5, Otsemebor 3, Drury 3, Doc 6, Grounds 5, Clingan 6, Russell 5, Fozzy 7, Croft 7, Hoolahan 7, Cureton 4, Cort 8[*]

 

[Gorleston Robert 0]

Marshall 4, Otsemebor 4, Drury 3, Doc 5, Grounds 5, Clingan 5, Russell 5, Fozzy 6, Croft 7, Hoolahan 6, Cureton 4, Cort 7Appropriate marks for a team mostly outplayed by a well organised, neat Bristol City side who were rarely seriously troubled.

[jetstream 0]

>Semi - 4 - ponderous and reluctant to get forward.

Indeed. My wife came up with a fantastic name for him yesterday: Semi-Conscious.

>Only has eyes for Croft.

Perhaps you have identified the problem here. Is it unrequited love? Has Crofty spurned his overtures? Is the run-up to Valentine''s Day distracting him?

[FilletTheFishWife . 0]

marshall   5      Too many games with great saves undermined by bad errors

Otsemebor   4   Can''t defend. Lazy. Why is he still in the team?   

Doherty   5   Oops.

Grounds   5   Very shaky. Clearances are no good if they go straight back to an opponent

Drury   5   Good with the ball but stands off the opposition far too much

Croft   6   Hard-working but poor end product

Russell   6

Clingan 6   Mr Safe. Dodesn''t do much wrong because he doesn''t do much.

Hoolahan 6   Very willing but easily knocked-off the ball and too mant stray passes.

Cort 7   Easily MotM

Cureton 5   Had an off-day again.

Fotheringham 6   Playing better under Gunn than Roeder (but that isn''t too difficult)

 

[Empty Mirror 0]

Marshall 4 Some good saves later but terrible kick led to second goal

Otsemebor 4 Seems off the pace - which is surprising, given his pace

Doc 5 Hard to blame him for attempting the tackle after Marshall''s blunder

Grounds 5 Looks lightweight in defence, but does seem to have the happy knack of scoring goals

Drury 4 Looks like he has lost pace

Croft 8 A constant threat, tied up two or three of their players and thereby nullified their man advantage second half. If he could cross as well he''d be world class.

Russell 4 Missing in action

Clingan 5 As for Russell in the first half, better at central defence in the second

Hoolahan 6 Tried, posed a threat, but too easily pushed off the ball

Cort 8 Outstanding. If there is any hope to come out of yesterday, it was his performance

Cureton 2 We didn''t miss him when he went off. Sad.

Fotheringham 7 Didn''t think I''d be saying this, but he improved our midfield when he came on.

[Green and Yellow 0]

Did anyone else notice or was it just me but once Cort had been replaced by Killen all attacking potency was lost?.

[Robert N. LiM 4,457]

Marshall 5 Some decent saves but obviously at fault for the penalty and sending off.Otsemobor 3. Awful game. Shot of confidence? Not interested? Whatever the truth, his lack of positional awareness is shocking. He makes Croft''s football brain look like Dennis Bergkamp''s.Grounds 6 Reasonable.Doherty 5 Looked ok until he made that challenge. Surely he should know by now that he''s going to get sent off for things like that?Drury 5 Really struggled, even taking into account the lack of support in front of him.Clingan 7 Didn''t really get to grips with the game in midfield. Probably our best out-of-position centre-half.Russell 3 Another terrible game. Nowhere near the ball, especially in the first half.Hoolahan 7. You''ve got to take Wes as he is. He''s never going to do much defending. Looked threatening going forward. Not entirely sure he should have been in the side on the left against such a good team.Croft 7.5 Fabulous effort - he''s really won me over. Delivery still not good enough, but I could write that every week.Cort 8 A centre-forward! We should try playing one of those every week. Other clubs all seem to do it. I thought he looked really good today.Cureton 5. Poor old Jamie.Fozzy 7 Best performance for a while, always looking for the ball and almost always using it well. Better than Clingan in midfield today...Killen/Gow  - anonymous.

[Gingerpele 0]

They where a good side, they where last season as well, they attack well, and organised at the back, Corft  and Cort both 10 for effot, about 6 for product, the defence all around poor, about5/6 some where unlucky, i thought Semmy was slightly better in second half, Grounds is crap, Clingan did well at the back, Doc well Doc, Drury was overrun, Bertrand whould have been the same imo. Killen and Gow where crap when they where on, Rusty and Hoolahan where not too good, Hoolahan had a couple of opportunitys in the second half.not too good overall then, but there where a good side, unlike some of the teams we have lost/drawn against this season