Yeah, those chances where the player does brilliantly to get into a goalscoring position............and then misses a sitter........need 2 separate scores. One excellent, one poor. Having got into position though, he had to score i reckon.

I am pleased a few people showed interest in my last post so I was motivated to watch the Hull game for the first time. (I’ve been on holiday for 2 weeks). An assessment of player performance v Hull Each player was judged on the following criteria: Instance of excellent play * Instance of decent/good play * Instance of disappointing/poor play * Instance of terrible play * E&OE Ratings Raya * *** Nyambe * ******* **** Lenihan * *************** *** Mulgrew ***** *** Bell * ********** ****** Smallwood *** ****** * Evans(76) ** ********** * Bennett * ***** *** ** Dack(58) **** **** * Palmer(65) * ******** ** Armstrong(77) ** ****** ** ** Graham(58) ******** *** Travis(65) ***** ** Rothwell(77) * Highlights and Lowlights (A justification for the main ratings above) 1. Lovely ball from Dack to Armstrong 7. Dack slides a great ball through for Armstrong who should have scored. 12. Nice footwork from Palmer as he slides the ball into the box for Dack who wriggles past 2 defenders but the goalie goes down quickly to make the save. 17. A lovely run down the wing by Bell but his low cross is blocked. 18. A loose pass by Bell makes it difficult for Dack to control. Hull gather and attack, Evans slides in to avert the danger. 34. Smallwood decides to pass instead of shoot when directly in front of goal. Poor decision. 36. Bell throws directly to a Hull man……fortunately he miscontrols! 41. Armstrong slides a lovely ball to Bennett on the wing; he crosses perfectly into the path of the on-rushing Dack. 1-0, great move! 53. Nyambe wins an important tackle on the edge of the box and clears downfield. 59. An air-kick by Bennett in the box as a free kick comes in. Fortunately Raya collects. 62. Nyambe chases a lost cause to the touchline and manages to cross to Graham. The ball falls to Armstrong in front of goal. He swings and misses completely! 70. Bell wins the ball, Evans lays off a lovely ball to Armstrong who in his usual, single-minded way charges towards goal. The ball bounces off the goalies legs to the fast closing Bennett who somehow manages to put the ball past the post! How did he miss? 79. Lenihan heads Evan’s cross back into the box. Graham does well to get in a header but it’s straight at the goalie. 80. Evans wins the ball on the edge of the box and feeds Graham who scuffs his shot. 86. A Hull corner sees MacDonald beat Bell to the header which brings out a wonderful reflex save from Raya. Unbelievable! 2 points saved!

Thanks for the comments everyone. If you disagreed, that's ok...….I'm only human. I meant........it was the strategy of going all out in attack that failed, not really a criticism of Nuttall. I've looked at these incidents again but I'm still happy with my decisions. I couldn't see much of a push on Mulgrew……….but it's a difficult angle. Maybe Raya could have done better for the 3rd goal but he saved us from a more embarrassing scoreline so I gave him the benefit of the doubt. Three times in the last two games, Bell has allowed the winger to turn inside him and unleash a decent shot on goal. Fortunately they went just wide or Raya saved. As for Williams, here are his ratings for the Ipswich game again: Report post Posted August 8 (edited) Williams ** *********** ***** You can read the full Ipswich post on about page 3 of the Football Messageboard. Interestingly, he was deemed our man of the match in that game by whoscored.com

That made me laugh. Watch it on the highlights!

Hi Philip...….you were quick off the mark I think you may have seen my unfinished effort.

An assessment of player performance v Bristol City Each player was judged on the following criteria: Instance of excellent play * Instance of decent/good play * Instance of disappointing/poor play * Instance of terrible play * E&OE Ratings Raya **** **** ** * Nyambe(65) * ******* * ** Lenihan **************** ******* * Mulgrew ** ******* ** ** Bell *************** ****** *** Smallwood *********** ********* Evans(76) ******** ****** Bennett * ********** ******** Palmer(71) ****** **** Armstrong * ***** ******** * Graham(55) ****** Brereton(55) * * Rothwell(65) * ** Nuttall(71) * * Highlights and Lowlights (A justification for the main ratings above) 6. Bennett on one of his chases manages to charge down the goalie’s attempt at a clearance. Goalkick. 8. Hunt goes past Bell easily and Smallwood is slow to close him down. His shot is well saved by Raya. The ball comes back towards the goal and Mulgrew is perfectly placed to head clear as the City man looked to score. Bennett is bamboozled by a short corner but the dangerous move fizzles out. 10. Eliasson leaves Nyambe for dead and his cross is perfect for Weimann but Raya makes a wonderful save at point-blank range. 12. Armstrong fires a decent shot from outside the box but it’s deflected for a corner. Mulgrew takes it and the ball fools everyone and nestles in the net. 15. Rush of blood for Raya who comes charging out of his area but his clearance goes straight to a City man. Fortunately his ball forward catches City offside. 17. Bell sells himself completely in an aerial challenge but he chases back and recovers - then his backpass to Raya is dangerous and causes panic! 18. Armstrong receives the ball in a very tight position but he controls beautifully and lay off a good pass. 19. Persistent Armstrong challenge causes the City man to kick the ball out of play. 22. Terrible misjudgment by Mulgrew who allows the ball to bounce over his head. Fortunately the whistle blows! 25. Palmer does well to chase down a ball into the box but he hits the bar when it seemed easier to score! 36. Difficult to see on my feed but Nyambe fouls the City man in the D. It looked harsh. Brownhill smashes the freekick into the top corner. Not sure Raya could have done better. 39. Graham plays a lovely ball through to Armstrong who is one on one with the goalie. But his shot hits the goalie’s legs. It should have been a goal. This is the third time Armstrong’s shots have been blocked by the man directly in front of him. 42. Bell and Palmer are bypassed too easily and the City cross hits the crossbar! 43. Smallwood and Evans are both bamboozled but fortunately the attacker’s shot is weak. 47. Nyambe’s lazy, attempted clearance is blocked. Fortunately Lenihan clears up. 49. For the second time Nyambe shepherds the ball out for a goal kick. Impressive shielding technique. 50. An impressive attack by City; Lenihan is slow to react (not the only one) and Raya pulls out another good save. Nyambe and Lenihan clear up. 54. Eliasson glides past Bell easily, Palmer is a spectator and Lenihan fails to deal with the cross. Mulgrew is marking no one. Watkins scores. 72. Rovers have put Nuttall on to boost the attack but the strategy fails. Smallwood and Nuttall tangle in the City D and the ball is fired forward leaving 2 on 2. Lenihan makes a poor do of challenging Diedhiou who finds the net. 74. O’Dowda cuts inside Bell (very similar to Watkins in the last game!) but his shot is off target. 78. Good driving run by Rothwell but his final shot is weak and wide. 79. Armstrong is dispossessed on the wing. Bennett pushes the City player and gives a foul. 81. Yet another City corner. Raya gets a decent punch under pressure. Nuttall heads it straight back to the corner taker. When the cross comes in it grazes Lenihans head (not for the first time!) and Pack heads into the net. Too easy! 82. Excellent driving run and lay-off by Rothwell. Bennett’s cross is disappointing. 84. Lenihan and Bell fail to clear the ball allowing a cross into the box. Fortunately Lenihan is well positioned this time and clears. 84. Rothwell drives forward again and sends Brereton haring down the wing. He gets in a decent cross but nobody’s there. 85. AND AGAIN the winger cuts inside Bell and unleashes a shot. Raya makes a decent save. 86. Smallwood and Evans come second in the midfield battle, the City players waltz through our box and a neat backheel nearly results in a goal but Raya saves. From the corner, Mulgrew is beaten to the ball on the near post. The flicked header is plucked from the air by Raya……..could have been City’s sixth!! 88. Long ball from Evans is neatly kept in by Brereton but Nuttall can’t get there.

Hi bluebruce. I have ifollow, it would be impossible to do this on one sitting. The new videos have a “rewind 10 second” button. This saves time as i do not have to stop and rewind continually (much messier believe me.....i used to do that!) Sometimes I rewind a lot to try to get the full picture. I try to be objective but, as we all know, football fans will have widely different views of the same incident.....especially if a particularly popular/unpopular player is involved! For instance, in this match.....part way in, one of the commentators said that Nyambe would be one of the first names on his teamsheet. By this time I had already noted 3 or 4 disappointing incidents down to Nyambe! Also people are raving about Rothwell. This was the first time I had seen him start and apart from his wonder pass for the goal, I wasn’t particularly impressed. Interesting in this game was the balance of ratings between the midfielders and the centre backs. I have never seen the centre backs involved so little. Usually they do more work than anybody......in this game Evans, Smallwood and Bennett did all the work. Evans was amazing, the best I’ve seen him. Lastly, as I intimated above, Graham’s input in the 35 minutes he was on the pitch was very impressive.

An assessment of player performance v Brentford Each player was judged on the following criteria: Instance of excellent play * Instance of decent/good play * Instance of disappointing/poor play * Instance of terrible play * E&OE Ratings Raya ** *** *** Nyambe ******** ***** * Lenihan ******* * Mulgrew * ****** Bell * ************** ******* ** Smallwood ************* ** Evans(76) ******************** * Bennett **** ********** * Rothwell * ******** ******* Palmer(68) ** ********* ***** Nutall(58) **** **** Graham(58) * ********** Conway(68) *** ** Travis(76) * Highlights and Lowlights (A justification for the main ratings above) 1. Nyambe gets his foot to a ball into the box but there is a lack of control and the ball runs dangerously towards a Brentford man. Fortunately Mulgrew is alert and slides in to prevent a goal. 12. Bell attempts to break up an attack but succeeds only in passing to Forss directly in front of goal. Fortunately his shot is weak and straight at Raya. 12. Palmer slips a lovely ball inside for Nyambe to run on to but again he fails to control the ball in a promising position. 18. Yet another chase back by Bennett to win back the ball. 26. Another mis-control by Nyambe gives Brentford the ball. 31. A lethargic Bell allows the Brentford man to line up a cross. Benrahma heads on to the bar. 35. Bell is completely done over by Watkins who lets off a decent shot……just wide of the post. No sign of Rothwell either. 41 Another great chase and win by Bennett who passes forward for Rothwell to chase but it’s just too far and he’s offside anyway. 49. Fancy footwork by Palmer gets him past two defenders and into the box but his cross is weak and blocked. 52. Bell is caught out of position by a neat Brentford move which allows them to move the ball across the edge of the box. Yennaris’ shot brings a fantastic save from Raya who pushes the ball on to the bar. 53. More tigerish midfield tackling by Evans and Smallwood allows Evans to pass inside to Rothwell who plays a fantastic pass across the park to Bennett. Bennett controls beautifully but his cross into the box is not the best. However, the goalkeeper can only push the ball into the path of the on-rushing Palmer who fires home. 55. Again too much flashy stuff from Palmer. He shows a great first touch but loses the ball. 55. A rasping drive from range by Benrahma brings another wonder save from Raya……same top corner as the last one. 63. Nice to see Palmer back in our box defending today. 64. Now Palmer wins the ball in Brentford’s half but gives it away with a poor pass. 71. Tight on the touchline and facing his own goal, Bell beats his man nicely and clears upfield. Bennett still chasing everything! 73. A noticeable difference since Graham came on – he wins every header, flicking the ball on, looking for teammates. 73. Evans and Smallwood again clear up midfield. 74. More fantastic work by the tireless Bennett, winning the ball in midfield. 77. For the umpteenth time Graham holds up well, flicking the ball inside. Quality show. 78. Bell is missing allowing the winger to cross along the edge of the box but Watkins shot is wide. 80. Good chasing back by Travis. 93. A moment of hesitation by Lenihan allows the Brentford man a shot from the edge of the box. Just wide.

Yes, I’ve thought about that. It will be possible to keep an “average” rating running once we have a few games under our belts.

Oh! Here’s a sad (embarrassing) confession. Initially I typed directly into the website.......hoping that I could improve the formatting. Normally I use word. Anyway.....I was pleased with the finished result and posted.it. To my horror, when I looked for it the next day.it wasn’t there! Sooooooo.........i did it again! very sad!

I’m sat in Brisbane airport with a few hours to spare so here are a few reflections: Mulgrew and Lenihan are both top players at this level. I remember saying to den after Lenihan’s return match......”we’ve really missed that brand of aggression.” One thing I do notice though is how much we tend to underrate effective defensive headers of the ball. I know there were issues at the end but Duffy was the master at this in recent times.....Hanley was pretty good too. We were usually at the top of the “won most aerial contests” stats. Some of Duffy’s clearances went over the half-way line! Neither Lenihan nor Mulgrew dominate in this respect.......so the ball often falls dangerously, even if the challenge is won. The Morrison shot on the post came from exactly that kind of situation. I remember commenting on this problem once before when Duffy and Hanley were both out of the team one time........two fluffed headers in succession, one by each centre back......one down. Kevin Moran, Colin Hendry..........that’s what I’m talking about heh heh!

I enjoy doing it for some strange reason but I'm on holiday for 2 weeks and I don't think my wife would be impressed if I did the next couple of matches. But thanks for the nice comments.

You’ve got to be keen to do this for a 0-0 draw! But I got some good feedback last time, so here goes. There are lies, damn lies and statistics as Disraeli may have said. I was thinking about this after reading the fans comments on the post-match comments for the Ipswich game. I compared the fans’ opinions to the ratings on the whoscored.com website. Apparently Williams was our best player (7.62) and Nyambe the worst (5.82). There wasn’t much correlation! Anyway, here’s my effort for the Millwall game: Each player was judged on the following criteria: Instance of excellent play * Instance of decent/good play * Instance of disappointing/poor play * Instance of terrible play * E&OE Ratings Raya ** ** Nyambe ***** *** * Lenihan ************ ****** * Mulgrew ******* ***** * Bell ****** **** Smallwood(66) **** * Evans * ********* ** Bennett(80) * ********** Dack(82) ** ********* *** Graham ** ****** * * Palmer(63) **** ** Rothwell(63) * ** * Armstrong(66) **** Travis(80) *** * Highlights and Lowlights (A justification for the main ratings above) 6. Lenihan plays his second “too short” pass in a minute putting pressure on his team mates. This one almost allows the Millwall man a clear run on goal - fortunately Mulgrew just gets a touch. 9. Evans and Smallwood don’t do enough to prevent Millwall working the ball right across the edge of the box. Saville hits the post. 11. A nice ball from Bennett to Graham in the box. Graham heads down to Dack but he can’t quite get there. 26. Lenihan manages to get his head on a long ball but it doesn’t go far and comes straight back. Mulgrew sells himself in a poor challenge and Lenihan is too slow to stop Morrison taking a clear run on goal. He hits the post. 37. Terrible throw-in from Nyambe allows the Millwall man a run towards goal. Lenihan is too easily brushed aside. Fortunately the shot is blocked. 44. An excellent low free kick to the bottom corner by Dack. Good save. 45. Good cross from Dack is met by Lenihan. His header lands on the top of the bar. 50. Graham bursts through on to a long low ball, fighting off the defender superbly. He gets his shot in but the goalie saves with his legs. Having set it up so well, Graham should have scored. 59. A wonderful through ball by Dack. This time Graham has a clearer run on goal. He holds off the defender well but his shot hits the goalies legs again. Sorry Danny but this time it’s got to be “red”. 69. Graham chests down a long ball into the path of Rothwell who takes it on at speed and releases a fine shot from 25 metres. Another good save. 89. Evans drives forward brilliantly from the edge of his own box, holding off two Millwall men. Sadly his cross was a stinker!

Mowbray has something about him. I liked these comments: Smallwood: “It’s been unbelievable here and everything’s gone to plan for me personally and us as a team. “Everyone played their part, the manager, staff and players, and as a collective group we got the job done.” Interview: “The boss has been great. I can’t speak highly enough of him really. He’s a pleasure to work for.” Lenihan” “Ever since the manager has come in he’s been outstanding. His record speaks for itself.” There’s a healthy competition in the group which pushes everyone on, every single one of us needs to be working hard day in day out because we’re all under pressure. “That comes from the gaffer, he’s the one who has brought that healthy competition and we need to keep going.” Dack interview: Q. “How much has the manager helped you develop?” “The manager’s played a massive part. There’s been one or two occasions where he’s sat me down and told me off……yeah, he’s always trying to help you. He’s brought me on as a player and a person. I couldn’t say a bad word against him, he’s been brilliant. Armstrong: "I had a connection with the gaffer as soon as I went to Coventry," said Armstrong. "We've got a good bond and he was a massive factor as to why I came here. "He lets you play your normal game, he speaks to you a lot and he makes you feel wanted, which is a massive thing for a player, because your confidence is always high. "I'm thriving under him at the minute and I'd like to continue that this season and really kick on.” Palmer: “As soon as I spoke to the manager and heard what he wanted to do here, the way he likes to play and having watched a couple of games last season, I felt it is a club heading in the right direction.”

Hah! If you look at the second post here, you will see that I did indeed give Williams a “red” initially! But, on reflection, I thought the ball in was so good......it beat everyone hands down. I changed my rating to “poor”.

Yes, I agree. Should Evans blast over the bar be rated “terrible”? I thought about it but........it was typical of Cory.....not unexpected at all. So in a weird way I didn’t see it as terrible ......only typically mediocre. ?

Yes......on 21 minutes. It all starts with a poor pass by Graham in midfield. The Ipswich player intercepts and threads the ball through our entire defence...….I think it's OK for Raya to come out and clear....but it should have been into the stands. I gave it poor rather than terrible...……..it's all about opinions though! I've edited the lowlights to cover this..

An assessment of individual player performance on Saturday Each player was judged on the following criteria: Instance of excellent play * Instance of decent/good play * Instance of disappointing/poor play * Instance of terrible play * E&OE Ratings Raya * **** * * Nyambe * ************* **** Lenihan * ***************** ** Mulgrew * ***************** **** ** Williams ** *********** ***** Smallwood * ********* * Evans * ***** * Bennett * ******** * Dack(82) *** ****** Graham(64) *** *********** ** Samuel(66) **** ** Palmer(64) * * Nutall(66) * *** * Conway(82) Highlights and Lowlights (A justification for the main events above) 5. A beautiful ball into the box beats all the Rovers defenders and Edwards scores a neat header. Williams should have done better I feel. 14. Excellent hold up play by Graham. 19. A looping free kick from Smallwood reaches Lenihan who directs his header back across goal, Williams flicks on and the keeper fails to palm the ball clear. Graham lashes it into the net. 21. Poor pass by Graham in midfield is intercepted by An Ipswich man who threads the ball through our entire defence. Raya rushes out to clear up but instead of putting the ball into the stands, he kicks it straight to an opponent who fortunately cannot take advantage. 27 Great chase back by Bennett who wins the ball and lays it off. 28 Under pressure, Graham flicks a beautiful ball down the wing. Williams chases and his perfect cross is smashed into the net by an on-rushing Dack. Great goal. 66. Poor decision by Mulgrew. Appealing desperately and unsuccessfully for offside, he allows the Ipswich man to play a nice ball across the face of goal……no one there to finish off fortunately. 67. A good chase and challenge by Nuttall wins a throw which he takes quickly. Dack runs on to the ball and eventually Evans puts the ball into the stands! 77. Dack receives the ball on the touchline, swivels expertly to put in a dangerous cross. It’s cleared but eventually Nyambe passes through to Dack who slides the ball across the goal to Nuttall but his shot is blocked. The ball bounces to Palmer in a great position but he manages to hit the prone goalie. Should have been three! 80. A mix up by Mulgrew and Williams gives the Ipswich player a clear run on goal. Raya saves. 81. Great save by Raya’s legs. Panic from the resulting corner as Raya fails to gather but the Ipswich man puts the ball over the bar! 90. Freak goal!

Great podcast. Thanks for reviving some wonderful memories.

I've just listened to the first episode. Really enjoyable; well done!

I like the sound of it. Can anyone tell me if RoversPlayer is dead. I have a rolling direct debit for this and my password no longer works. It's hard to find any info! Thanks.

24 hours from Tulsa - Gene Pitney.

Pity we didn't appoint the guy when we had the chance. He is obviously a deep thinker.

Very sad news. RIP lad.