by madgull » Yesterday, 14:04
Haven't been able to get to many games this season, and unfortunately most recent two were Chesham and yesterday! My thoughts, on an A* - F scale, C being average.
Team (Overall) - D
Too many players had average games, not enough stepped up to the occasion. First few minutes we looked bright, but then the nerves began to show, and we didn't look brave enough to take a step forward in the press, resulting in Boreham Wood winning the vast majority of knock-downs and 50/50s. As a team, we are direly lacking in pace on the wings, and too many of our midfielders are great technically but lack in the defensive side of the game - we were crying out for a Hockley or Mansell figure today. Noticed too much bickering and throwing up of arms for my liking, seemed to get frustrated too easily, but this was very much a feedback loop with the crowd in fairness.
Hamon: A - Kept us in the game with several great saves, particularly that sprawling stop in the first half, and some brave one-on-one standing up against the late counters.
Thomas: C - Seemed nervy and didn't offer an awful lot going forward, needed to see some more overlaps on the right.
Dyer: D - A series of misplaced passes in the first half stood out, and most of Boreham's good work came down the right side of our defence.
Dreyer: B - Really like the look of him, really got stuck in and drove forward (with admittedly mixed success) a few times when options weren't showing ahead of him.
Foulston: C - Made some cracking runs early on that people didn't find, but then started to fade going forward. Solid enough defensively.
Threlkeld: E - Seemed miles off the pace, one or two moments that showed the experience he was probably started for, but failed to marshal the midfield effectively.
Hasani: B - Didn't do everything perfectly, but one of our players who looks most comfortable with the ball at his feet, and willing to try aggressive passes.
Hayfield: D - In many ways worse than a "D" in that I didn't really notice him at all, not seen him enough to know what he's supposed to bring but wasn't impressed.
Young: C - Got absolutely bullied by Illesanmi, but the sparks he showed made me feel like a "B" from him could have changed the game, so perhaps the most disappointing performance for our hopes.
Jay: C - Obviously wanted to press higher up, but resulted in a few Bruno Fernandes-esqe wastes of energy sprinting around triangles. A real enigma, in that he looked brilliant when he dropped into the 10 role, feel he would comfortably be a League player...if he had an extra few inches of height and a yard extra pace. Tracking for their goal wasn't ideal, but to be fair I wouldn't be putting him in a position where he needs to track back.
Cooke: E - Not sure if he's super slow or just doesn't like sprinting, but lost a series of 50/50s and loose balls that you simply can't afford in a game like this. Not strong enough for his lack of speed.
Jenkins-Davies: C - Looked lively and classy on the ball, but didn't show for the ball as often as I'd like when the crowd were getting antsy when we could have used his technical ability.
Mussa: C - I'm guessing he was peeved at not starting, because he bounced between absolute class on the ball and overplaying. Looked way better in the deeper role than when I saw him further forward against Chesham. Moments of "B", moments of "D".
Ash: C - Not on long enough to judge, lively but feel like to be a striker at this level you need to be either quick or strong/tall, and isn't really either; unsure why we didn't stick on Ilesanmi as another lump to target given Boreham's height disadvantage.
Palmer: C - Again, not on long enough to make a judgement.
Moxey: C - The composure and clarity he showed in 10 minutes were what we should have got from Threlkeld, although not on for long he was pushing a "B". Honestly wonder if he could have come on a little sooner, and feel like Foulston could have come off instead of Jay (no matter how tired he was at that point).
Wotton: D - It was clear at half time that things weren't working, but shape stayed the same until the goal. I actually didn't mind our relatively-deep line, as their only threat was through pace and in transition / broken-play (as per their goal), but we failed to press when the situation demanded it, given the Boreham centre backs were nothing special on the ball. If nothing else, our passiveness served to turn the crowd off.
Fans - B
Would love to give an A / A* for a capacity crowd, BUT, speaking as someone who hasn't been to Plainmoor loads recently...Christ, the scars of recent seasons are clear to see. On a day where we needed non-stop encouragement, the groans and yells of abuse when things didn't go right were painful. We slid into a cycle of nerves on the pitch causing the crowd to go quiet, causing the nerves to increase. The drum is an incredible tool, and the little tour of the ground at the start was brilliant, but (politely) whoever is playing it needs to KEEP PLAYING, if anything LOUDER, when things aren't going our way; gently tapping the drum in a rhythm for five seconds hoping people start to join in isn't the way. HOWEVER...the atmosphere for the last 15 was utterly electric, feel like if we could have nicked an (undeserved) equaliser then the crowd could have carried us to a win in extra time.
The Big Picture
I think if you'd have offered us this finish at the start of the season given everything that our club has been through, we'd have jumped on it. The frustration has (understandably) come from the series of throw-aways, scraped wins and defensive performances, only to see just what we can do when we actually try to attack. I don't agree with the Wotton out chat at all, BUT the owners / Warnock / a senior figure do need to sit down with him and get him to analyse where we've been lacking this season.
The closeness at the top of the table showed that being organised and difficult to beat will get you in the mix, but a look at the past few (complete) seasons* shows that you need at least a 60% win ratio to guarantee top spot; our 54% just isn't going to do it. If we can add some pace out wide, an extra bit of bite in midfield, and be a bit more swashbuckling, I think we can push on and win this league.
*23/24 - Yeovil 63%, 22/23 - Ebbsfleet 70%, 21/22 - Maidstone 68%, 18/19 - Torquay 64%, 17/18 - Havant 60%.
Haven't been able to get to many games this season, and unfortunately most recent two were Chesham and yesterday! My thoughts, on an A* - F scale, C being average.
[b]Team (Overall) - D[/b]
Too many players had average games, not enough stepped up to the occasion. First few minutes we looked bright, but then the nerves began to show, and we didn't look brave enough to take a step forward in the press, resulting in Boreham Wood winning the vast majority of knock-downs and 50/50s. As a team, we are direly lacking in pace on the wings, and too many of our midfielders are great technically but lack in the defensive side of the game - we were crying out for a Hockley or Mansell figure today. Noticed too much bickering and throwing up of arms for my liking, seemed to get frustrated too easily, but this was very much a feedback loop with the crowd in fairness.
[b]Hamon: A - [/b]Kept us in the game with several great saves, particularly that sprawling stop in the first half, and some brave one-on-one standing up against the late counters.
[b]Thomas: C - [/b]Seemed nervy and didn't offer an awful lot going forward, needed to see some more overlaps on the right.
[b]Dyer: D - [/b]A series of misplaced passes in the first half stood out, and most of Boreham's good work came down the right side of our defence.
[b]Dreyer: B - [/b]Really like the look of him, really got stuck in and drove forward (with admittedly mixed success) a few times when options weren't showing ahead of him.
[b]Foulston: C - [/b]Made some cracking runs early on that people didn't find, but then started to fade going forward. Solid enough defensively.
[b]Threlkeld: E - [/b]Seemed miles off the pace, one or two moments that showed the experience he was probably started for, but failed to marshal the midfield effectively.
[b]Hasani: B - [/b]Didn't do everything perfectly, but one of our players who looks most comfortable with the ball at his feet, and willing to try aggressive passes.
[b]Hayfield: D - [/b]In many ways worse than a "D" in that I didn't really notice him at all, not seen him enough to know what he's supposed to bring but wasn't impressed.
[b]Young: C - [/b]Got absolutely bullied by Illesanmi, but the sparks he showed made me feel like a "B" from him could have changed the game, so perhaps the most disappointing performance for our hopes.
[b]Jay: C - [/b]Obviously wanted to press higher up, but resulted in a few Bruno Fernandes-esqe wastes of energy sprinting around triangles. A real enigma, in that he looked brilliant when he dropped into the 10 role, feel he would comfortably be a League player...if he had an extra few inches of height and a yard extra pace. Tracking for their goal wasn't ideal, but to be fair I wouldn't be putting him in a position where he needs to track back.
[b]Cooke: E - [/b]Not sure if he's super slow or just doesn't like sprinting, but lost a series of 50/50s and loose balls that you simply can't afford in a game like this. Not strong enough for his lack of speed.
[b]Jenkins-Davies: C - [/b]Looked lively and classy on the ball, but didn't show for the ball as often as I'd like when the crowd were getting antsy when we could have used his technical ability.
[b]Mussa: C - [/b]I'm guessing he was peeved at not starting, because he bounced between absolute class on the ball and overplaying. Looked way better in the deeper role than when I saw him further forward against Chesham. Moments of "B", moments of "D".
[b]Ash: C - [/b]Not on long enough to judge, lively but feel like to be a striker at this level you need to be either quick or strong/tall, and isn't really either; unsure why we didn't stick on Ilesanmi as another lump to target given Boreham's height disadvantage.
[b]Palmer: C - [/b]Again, not on long enough to make a judgement.
[b]Moxey: C - [/b]The composure and clarity he showed in 10 minutes were what we should have got from Threlkeld, although not on for long he was pushing a "B". Honestly wonder if he could have come on a little sooner, and feel like Foulston could have come off instead of Jay (no matter how tired he was at that point).
[b]Wotton: D - [/b]It was clear at half time that things weren't working, but shape stayed the same until the goal. I actually didn't mind our relatively-deep line, as their only threat was through pace and in transition / broken-play (as per their goal), but we failed to press when the situation demanded it, given the Boreham centre backs were nothing special on the ball. If nothing else, our passiveness served to turn the crowd off.
[b]Fans - B[/b]
Would love to give an A / A* for a capacity crowd, BUT, speaking as someone who hasn't been to Plainmoor loads recently...Christ, the scars of recent seasons are clear to see. On a day where we needed non-stop encouragement, the groans and yells of abuse when things didn't go right were painful. We slid into a cycle of nerves on the pitch causing the crowd to go quiet, causing the nerves to increase. The drum is an incredible tool, and the little tour of the ground at the start was brilliant, but (politely) whoever is playing it needs to KEEP PLAYING, if anything LOUDER, when things aren't going our way; gently tapping the drum in a rhythm for five seconds hoping people start to join in isn't the way. [u]HOWEVER[/u]...the atmosphere for the last 15 was utterly electric, feel like if we could have nicked an (undeserved) equaliser then the crowd could have carried us to a win in extra time.
[b][u]The Big Picture[/u][/b]
I think if you'd have offered us this finish at the start of the season given everything that our club has been through, we'd have jumped on it. The frustration has (understandably) come from the series of throw-aways, scraped wins and defensive performances, only to see just what we can do when we actually try to attack. I don't agree with the Wotton out chat at all, BUT the owners / Warnock / a senior figure do need to sit down with him and get him to analyse where we've been lacking this season.
The closeness at the top of the table showed that being organised and difficult to beat will get you in the mix, but a look at the past few (complete) seasons* shows that you need at least a 60% win ratio to guarantee top spot; our 54% just isn't going to do it. If we can add some pace out wide, an extra bit of bite in midfield, and be a bit more swashbuckling, I think we can push on and win this league.
*[i]23/24 - Yeovil 63%, 22/23 - Ebbsfleet 70%, 21/22 - Maidstone 68%, 18/19 - Torquay 64%, 17/18 - Havant 60%. [/i]
