Today's performance [MERGED]

[mikejh45]

Just got in so I thought I'd throw my bit in early:

 

Good Points -

1) Clean sheet, solid if unspectacular defending.

2) Taylor running Northampton ragged.

3) Excellent debut from Byfield.

4) Good team performance.

 

Bad Points -

1) Hughes's stupid first booking.

2) Referee stupidly booking Hughes for what looked a ridiculously obvious dive.

 

Comments please.

[jonnyl@tic]

Glad to hear Byfield had a good debut shame he can't play in the Cup..

[jsslatic]

Just back.

 

Really happy with that. First half wasn't great but we looked much more likely to score...two disallowed for offside (the first of which seemed the right call, the second one was very tight but in fairness to the lino the flag was up straight away), and Hughesy striking the post. Rubes had a nightmare first ten minutes or so but calmed down and was superb after. They looked much more dangerous down the right, Jonesy was caught way too often too far in and Leon (deployed on the right side) really should have made more of it. One very good save from Crossley. Special mention to Tayls effort...that looked as if it was going to be goal of the season...ran from his own half, skinned three defenders, cut back on the byline and the shot was blocked by a desperate lunge.

 

Second half. Got the ball on the deck and passed it more. Byfield more than a handful, and the keeper did well to stop him from bagging minutes before the penalty. We stretched them, Kelvin got forward to support Lidds (though I wish sometimes he'd try and overlap rather than stay back and wait for the backwards pass). Hughes did superbly to win the penalty, beating his man two or three times before drawing the foul. Obviously hard to say from the other end, but it looked stonewall. Dispatched well by Lidds...they started to throw men forward and we soaked it up and tried to hit them on the break...if Deano had been on the pitch then I'm sure we'd have got another...Lidds was breaking but just wasn't fast enough.

 

Ratings:

 

Norm - 8 - Rarely troubled, but came out well on a few occasions, claimed everything, made a very good first half save.

Lomax - 8 - Back in at RB and played as well as we know he can.

Rubes - 8 - Shocking first ten mins, but collected himself and was a man mountain, especially in the final moments.

Stammy - 7 - Solid most of the time, occasional gaffe (as per) and sometimes struggled to clear. Still, decent performance.

DJ - 7 - Good going forward, decent when he gets near a tackle but his positional sense does worry me.

Liddell - 7 - Usual Lidds, kept the passes moving.

Allott - 6 - Scrapped hard, but seemed absent for large chunks of the game. Came up trumps at the end though with good defensive work in the box to protect the lead.

Maher - 7 - Thought he played very well first half, nothing special again second half but proved himself to be the player I hope he'd be.

Taylor - 8 - Dangerous as ever with the ball at his feet.

Hughes - ? - Worked hard, did brilliantly for the penalty. But what can I say? To be honest, I feel a little let down by him this afternoon...yes the second booking was questionable...but another booking for dissent. If you keep doing it, then when a decision goes against you later in the game you're in trouble. Sheer idiocy, I just can't understand what he thinks sometimes. He was clearly frustrated with a third offside call, but you can't go around booting balls away (especially in the direction of linesmen).

Byfield - 9 - Very good addition to the squad. Sharp, fast, skillful. Was on the end of some poor refereeing decisions, but kept his head up and worked hard. Really like him.

 

Am probably about to find the answer to this when I look through other posts, but where was Whits? If he was injured and fit for Saturday then I'd put him in for Allott and Lewi in for the suspended Hughes. I'm pretty sure I saw him in the away end, but I could be mistaken.

 

Anyway, back on track, just what the doctor ordered. Onwards and upwards...

[monkeykieran]

Great report thanks

[TheBigDog]

Just back.

 

Really happy with that. First half wasn't great but we looked much more likely to score...two disallowed for offside (the first of which seemed the right call, the second one was very tight but in fairness to the lino the flag was up straight away), and Hughesy striking the post. Rubes had a nightmare first ten minutes or so but calmed down and was superb after. They looked much more dangerous down the right, Jonesy was caught way too often too far in and Leon (deployed on the right side) really should have made more of it. One very good save from Crossley. Special mention to Tayls effort...that looked as if it was going to be goal of the season...ran from his own half, skinned three defenders, cut back on the byline and the shot was blocked by a desperate lunge.

 

Second half. Got the ball on the deck and passed it more. Byfield more than a handful, and the keeper did well to stop him from bagging minutes before the penalty. We stretched them, Kelvin got forward to support Lidds (though I wish sometimes he'd try and overlap rather than stay back and wait for the backwards pass). Hughes did superbly to win the penalty, beating his man two or three times before drawing the foul. Obviously hard to say from the other end, but it looked stonewall. Dispatched well by Lidds...they started to throw men forward and we soaked it up and tried to hit them on the break...if Deano had been on the pitch then I'm sure we'd have got another...Lidds was breaking but just wasn't fast enough.

 

Ratings:

 

Norm - 8 - Rarely troubled, but came out well on a few occasions, claimed everything, made a very good first half save.

Lomax - 8 - Back in at RB and played as well as we know he can.

Rubes - 8 - Shocking first ten mins, but collected himself and was a man mountain, especially in the final moments.

Stammy - 7 - Solid most of the time, occasional gaffe (as per) and sometimes struggled to clear. Still, decent performance.

DJ - 7 - Good going forward, decent when he gets near a tackle but his positional sense does worry me.

Liddell - 7 - Usual Lidds, kept the passes moving.

Allott - 6 - Scrapped hard, but seemed absent for large chunks of the game. Came up trumps at the end though with good defensive work in the box to protect the lead.

Maher - 7 - Thought he played very well first half, nothing special again second half but proved himself to be the player I hope he'd be.

Taylor - 8 - Dangerous as ever with the ball at his feet.

Hughes - ? - Worked hard, did brilliantly for the penalty. But what can I say? To be honest, I feel a little let down by him this afternoon...yes the second booking was questionable...but another booking for dissent. If you keep doing it, then when a decision goes against you later in the game you're in trouble. Sheer idiocy, I just can't understand what he thinks sometimes. He was clearly frustrated with a third offside call, but you can't go around booting balls away (especially in the direction of linesmen).

Byfield - 9 - Very good addition to the squad. Sharp, fast, skillful. Was on the end of some poor refereeing decisions, but kept his head up and worked hard. Really like him.

 

Am probably about to find the answer to this when I look through other posts, but where was Whits? If he was injured and fit for Saturday then I'd put him in for Allott and Lewi in for the suspended Hughes. I'm pretty sure I saw him in the away end, but I could be mistaken.

 

Anyway, back on track, just what the doctor ordered. Onwards and upwards...

 

Not sure about some of your ratings but then again that's what it's all about - opinion.

 

Stam was superb at the back - Lomax less so - Maher and Allott looked solid in the middle but Taylor was the real threat up front - Byfield did okay and definitely gives us a different option - pacy too.

Stam 9

Lomax 7

Allott 8

Maher 8

Byfield 7

Taylor 9

 

but a definite improvement over lately and a good second half too. Hughes second booking was debateable but the frst was pure stupidity.

 

Love it

[edhunteruk]

Not sure about some of your ratings but then again that's what it's all about - opinion.

 

Stam was superb at the back - Lomax less so - Maher and Allott looked solid in the middle but Taylor was the real threat up front - Byfield did okay and definitely gives us a different option - pacy too.

Stam 9

Lomax 7

Allott 8

Maher 8

Byfield 7

Taylor 9

 

but a definite improvement over lately and a good second half too. Hughes second booking was debateable but the frst was pure stupidity.

 

Love it

 

 

why do we feel the need to rate the players for there performance......

 

surely its better to say we had a decent game played some good stuff at times,one or two players showed great promise going forward and the new boy had a decent debut...one or two shakey moments and what seem like a hard decision for the sending off....all in all job done 3 points gained.

[jsslatic]

why do we feel the need to rate the players for there performance......

 

surely its better to say we had a decent game played some good stuff at times,one or two players showed great promise going forward and the new boy had a decent debut...one or two shakey moments and what seem like a hard decision for the sending off....all in all job done 3 points gained.

 

Yeah but if we don't rate the players then who will the boo boys know who to criticise the following week?

[monkeykieran]

I really like seeing people's (opinion) ratings if I've not seen a game, gives me an idea of how it seems from the stands

[edhunteruk]

I really like seeing people's (opinion) ratings if I've not seen a game, gives me an idea of how it seems from the stands

 

yes i understand that but...different peoples opinions vary and you get this swinging brick straw poll on players and then the unecessary baiting begins because of the opinions given...

[monkeykieran]

yes i understand that but...different peoples opinions vary and you get this swinging brick straw poll on players and then the unecessary baiting begins because of the opinions given...

Yeah i know what you mean, and that seems to be very prevalent on here in recent weeks unnecessarily in my opinion.

 

For those fans like me that seek to support the team and not berate them though it's really good to get an idea of other fan's perspective on individual performances (even if they are massively variable)

 

I think the main things of interest to me today is how stam got on instead of gregan* (well it seems), and whether byfield was going to be another ormerod or not (not it seems).

 

*last game I saw live he was man of the match!

[Diego_Sideburns]

A fair match report on the CobblersMad site:

http://www.northamptontown-mad.co.uk/news/...H&id=417408

[Macca]

Did you not see Allott skin about 6 players in one go in the first half? Who needs Kilkenny?

 

We just need a team of Kevin Maher's!

[losesome]

Just back.

 

Really happy with that. First half wasn't great but we looked much more likely to score...two disallowed for offside (the first of which seemed the right call, the second one was very tight but in fairness to the lino the flag was up straight away), and Hughesy striking the post. Rubes had a nightmare first ten minutes or so but calmed down and was superb after. They looked much more dangerous down the right, Jonesy was caught way too often too far in and Leon (deployed on the right side) really should have made more of it. One very good save from Crossley. Special mention to Tayls effort...that looked as if it was going to be goal of the season...ran from his own half, skinned three defenders, cut back on the byline and the shot was blocked by a desperate lunge.

 

Second half. Got the ball on the deck and passed it more. Byfield more than a handful, and the keeper did well to stop him from bagging minutes before the penalty. We stretched them, Kelvin got forward to support Lidds (though I wish sometimes he'd try and overlap rather than stay back and wait for the backwards pass). Hughes did superbly to win the penalty, beating his man two or three times before drawing the foul. Obviously hard to say from the other end, but it looked stonewall. Dispatched well by Lidds...they started to throw men forward and we soaked it up and tried to hit them on the break...if Deano had been on the pitch then I'm sure we'd have got another...Lidds was breaking but just wasn't fast enough.

 

Ratings:

 

Norm - 8 - Rarely troubled, but came out well on a few occasions, claimed everything, made a very good first half save.

Lomax - 8 - Back in at RB and played as well as we know he can.

Rubes - 8 - Shocking first ten mins, but collected himself and was a man mountain, especially in the final moments.

Stammy - 7 - Solid most of the time, occasional gaffe (as per) and sometimes struggled to clear. Still, decent performance.

DJ - 7 - Good going forward, decent when he gets near a tackle but his positional sense does worry me.

Liddell - 7 - Usual Lidds, kept the passes moving.

Allott - 6 - Scrapped hard, but seemed absent for large chunks of the game. Came up trumps at the end though with good defensive work in the box to protect the lead.

Maher - 7 - Thought he played very well first half, nothing special again second half but proved himself to be the player I hope he'd be.

Taylor - 8 - Dangerous as ever with the ball at his feet.

Hughes - ? - Worked hard, did brilliantly for the penalty. But what can I say? To be honest, I feel a little let down by him this afternoon...yes the second booking was questionable...but another booking for dissent. If you keep doing it, then when a decision goes against you later in the game you're in trouble. Sheer idiocy, I just can't understand what he thinks sometimes. He was clearly frustrated with a third offside call, but you can't go around booting balls away (especially in the direction of linesmen).

Byfield - 9 - Very good addition to the squad. Sharp, fast, skillful. Was on the end of some poor refereeing decisions, but kept his head up and worked hard. Really like him.

 

Am probably about to find the answer to this when I look through other posts, but where was Whits? If he was injured and fit for Saturday then I'd put him in for Allott and Lewi in for the suspended Hughes. I'm pretty sure I saw him in the away end, but I could be mistaken.

 

Anyway, back on track, just what the doctor ordered. Onwards and upwards...

Whits was injured in training during the week.

Agree with report , spot on in everything.

The thing with Hughes is he hasn't learn't from the previous week.

He missed the cup game because of a stupid booking against Yeovil.

Then does exctly the same again today ??

But then again it probably goes some way to explaining why he is playing for us in the first place !!!!

[johnny punkster]

yes i understand that but...different peoples opinions vary and you get this swinging brick straw poll on players and then the unecessary baiting begins because of the opinions given...

 

 

thats your opinion!

[jsslatic]

Whits was injured in training during the week.

Agree with report , spot on in everything.

The thing with Hughes is he hasn't learn't from the previous week.

He missed the cup game because of a stupid booking against Yeovil.

Then does exctly the same again today ??

But then again it probably goes some way to explaining why he is playing for us in the first place !!!!

 

Short memory?!

[Rocky_Latic]

Atmosphere - Flat as a pancake. Ah well.

 

Performance - LOOOOOOOOOONG BALLLLLLLLL!!! Every pass Stam made (apart from one to Smalley who couldnt even walk at the time) was a big hoof to Byfield (with his disco spins - whooooooooooooo) and Hughesy to chase.

 

Hughesy's sending off. Absolute joke. If he insists on getting such petty bookings then I hope he gets fined. Yes, that lino was a cock. Yes, he'd had two dissalowed (one of which he was definately onside) - but there was no way it was a corner. It was clear to even the Cobblers in the opposite end that he'd kick it out, yet he booted the ball into the stand and then proceeded to point at a corner because he knew how stupid of a booking it was to get. His sending off had some confusion as the ref, like with the yellow - came up with the genius idea of showing his card from twenty yards away. Shez and TW ended up on the pitch trying to get him off at one point. his attitude is completely wrong atm. He's missing so many chances that he just works himself up to boil over because things arent going his way. Personally i'd like to see him made to sit on the bench one or two games besides his bench till he realises he cant continue to think it's acceptable.

 

Didnt think Byfield did that bad. Goes down far too easy, which is clearly why he's got the reputation as a diving cheat. Loved his silky twists and turns. Amazed that they actually managed to work and he still came out with the ball.

 

Maher and Allott were good in centre Mid. Taylor absolutely raped them in the 1st half. Cut inside time and again. Did all the hard work, but couldnt manage the easy bit of knocking it in the net. Crossley didnt really have a save of note to make.

 

Northampton were a poor side. They played some good passing football at times but they had absolutely nothing upfront. Nice to see a win on the road once again. Type of game you must win if you want to be challenging. Win on tuesday night and things will hopefully start to be a bit more optimistic once again.

Edited November 15, 2008 by Rocky_Latic

[Lordy]

Taylor was class, Hughes, Jones,Liddell, Byfield, Reuben,Allot all impressed me inparticular.

Crossley no saves of note to make but was very impressed with him coming for balls did it confidently and relieved alot of pressure from dangerous balls except the one he dropped :| good day from everyone !

[Scapegoat]

Didn't go to the game, but the local BBC radio was fairly clear that Hughes was deservedly sent off. They mentioned that the Oldham commentators next to them were claiming it was a ridiculous decision, but thought they were well off.

 

Seemed to be reasonably fair for the rest of the game - praising Oldham a number of times - so perhaps a right decision

[oafcprozac]

Thought Maher had a great game bar one or two misplaced passes.

 

Agree mate, head and shoulders above anything on that field yesterday, the difference between the two sides imo. Every time we lost the ball he was there to win it back and kept us ticking over with his short passing, Allott looked far more comfortable alongside him too.

[RoytonBlueLad]

I thought we played well yesterday. Had plenty of opportunities, just couldn't stick them away. Good job we got the penalty in the end as coming away with just a point would've been disappointing I think given how we did.

 

Back five looked quite steady bar the odd few shaky moments but nothing overly serious.

 

Shame Smalley had to go off as it was good to see him get a start but Liddell comes on and in the end wins us the game. Maher and Allott did well in the middle too. Keep telling mates, give Maher a run in the side and he could become a very good addition for us. Taylor was his usual self, all over the park beating 2, 3 and sometimes 4 at a time. Should have scored too.

 

Byfield did well, as he says on LW he should have got a goal too or an assist he had squared it.

 

As for Hughes. Well it was the first stupid yellow that cost him. Stop being a prat! Just score the goals.

Edited November 16, 2008 by RoytonBlueLad

[losesome]

Atmosphere - Flat as a pancake. Ah well.

 

 

Northampton were a poor side. They played some good passing football at times but they had absolutely nothing upfront. Nice to see a win on the road once again. Type of game you must win if you want to be challenging. Win on tuesday night and things will hopefully start to be a bit more optimistic once again.

 

They only played as well as they were allowed.

Remember they haven't lost at home since March.

 

one and a half games without Gregan and yet to concede - underlines what i have been saying for a while , that whilst Gregan is technically a better defender than Stam he upsets the balance of the defence.

Edited November 16, 2008 by losesome