09-11-2014, 12:17
That was a bit better than Tuesday night but still pretty depressing stuff.
Wednesday dominated for the first half hour but didn't test the Rotherham keeper. GTF went closest with a clever flick from a Maghoma cross & May fired wide from 25 yards. Despite this dominance, Rotherham could have scored twice with free headers in our six yard box from corners.
Our domination waned with GTF's departure and Rotherham's 451 took control of CM as Semedo & Coke looked lost & over ran. This pattern continued in the second half as we looked pretty much second best. However despite their pressure, Rotherham never tested Westwood although they did fire over & wide from good positions.
We had a late flurry with Helan's 50 yard run forcing a sharp near post save and May's free kick was parried away. Lee went down in the box for a good penalty shout but Nigel Miller doesn't give penalties. At least not for us.
Westwood - 6 - fumbled one cross but little to do
Palmer - 5 - good first half but struggled second half
Lees - 7 - quality & assured on ball
Loovens - 7 - solid throughout
Helan - 6 - struggled early on but attacking threat late on
Maguire - 5 - another poor performance
Semedo - 4 - terrible, kept giving the ball away
Coke - 5 - a couple of runs but so poor defensively
Maghoma - 6 - better than Tuesday but not enough threat
May - 8 - bright & inventive
GTF - 7 - intelligent, good movement
..............................................................
Nuhui - 5 - tried but woeful finishing
Lee - 5 - added little, could have won a penalty
Steve Evans won the tactical battle as he played 451, which once Rotherham settled into the match out trumped our rigid 442. It called for us to adapt and play more flexibly but SG stuck to his formation which meant that our CM players ended up looking inept but it was probably more down to our tactics than their ability.
There were some plus points.
May looked lively throughout and always looked likely to score if given the service.
GTF led the line intelligently and his movement created space for others
Lees & Loovens were again solid at the back.
Another clean sheet.
However there were some minus points.
Tactically, SG just isn't competent and other managers know how to play our rigid 442.
Nuhui tries hard but just isn't good enough in the penalty area.
Coke & Semedo have little positional sense & one good pass takes them both out.
Three goals in nine home matches (two of those deflected free kicks) and none in the last four isn't good enough.
This point will probably be enough to keep SG in his job for another month but I am struggling to see where we will win a match before Christmas if we continue to play this way.
Wednesday dominated for the first half hour but didn't test the Rotherham keeper. GTF went closest with a clever flick from a Maghoma cross & May fired wide from 25 yards. Despite this dominance, Rotherham could have scored twice with free headers in our six yard box from corners.
Our domination waned with GTF's departure and Rotherham's 451 took control of CM as Semedo & Coke looked lost & over ran. This pattern continued in the second half as we looked pretty much second best. However despite their pressure, Rotherham never tested Westwood although they did fire over & wide from good positions.
We had a late flurry with Helan's 50 yard run forcing a sharp near post save and May's free kick was parried away. Lee went down in the box for a good penalty shout but Nigel Miller doesn't give penalties. At least not for us.
Westwood - 6 - fumbled one cross but little to do
Palmer - 5 - good first half but struggled second half
Lees - 7 - quality & assured on ball
Loovens - 7 - solid throughout
Helan - 6 - struggled early on but attacking threat late on
Maguire - 5 - another poor performance
Semedo - 4 - terrible, kept giving the ball away
Coke - 5 - a couple of runs but so poor defensively
Maghoma - 6 - better than Tuesday but not enough threat
May - 8 - bright & inventive
GTF - 7 - intelligent, good movement
..............................................................
Nuhui - 5 - tried but woeful finishing
Lee - 5 - added little, could have won a penalty
Steve Evans won the tactical battle as he played 451, which once Rotherham settled into the match out trumped our rigid 442. It called for us to adapt and play more flexibly but SG stuck to his formation which meant that our CM players ended up looking inept but it was probably more down to our tactics than their ability.
There were some plus points.
May looked lively throughout and always looked likely to score if given the service.
GTF led the line intelligently and his movement created space for others
Lees & Loovens were again solid at the back.
Another clean sheet.
However there were some minus points.
Tactically, SG just isn't competent and other managers know how to play our rigid 442.
Nuhui tries hard but just isn't good enough in the penalty area.
Coke & Semedo have little positional sense & one good pass takes them both out.
Three goals in nine home matches (two of those deflected free kicks) and none in the last four isn't good enough.
This point will probably be enough to keep SG in his job for another month but I am struggling to see where we will win a match before Christmas if we continue to play this way.
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.