Player Ratings - Notts County at home

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.

You have to play more than one striker at home – if you want to win football matches. Playing Miller by himself, playing Hope by himself – it doesn’t work, it’s proven not to work. Time after f_cking time, only a complete cretin would keep persisting with this tactic. It’s not good enough.

It’s proving an effective tactic away from home – where teams (by nature) come out and attack you more, the shape is more suited to when a team presses onto you wants to get forward, it gives you plenty of opportunities to turn over possession. No, it may not be pretty to watch – but it’s effective.

However, we can’t play set up this way at home and expect the same results. As the home team you have to take the initiative and attack more, you have to occupy more of the defenders, you have to play two strikers who can dovetail and make the ball stick upfront – and you need more players in the box (with an actual threat) when your whole numbskull philosophy is to pump as many crosses into the box as you can. Teams set up differently when they play at Brunton Park to when they on their own turf. They don’t come to be expansive – they come to sit off you, get men behind the ball, playing one isolated forward means it’s an easy afternoon for the opposition defence – we hand the initiative to them.

It’s true that with the extra midfielder we played some decent looking football in the first half, and we indeed were wasteful and lacked some quality in front of goal. However we were easily snuffed out by half time and created nothing after the break. Notts County had worked our formation out, does the manger change it and try to win the game? No, of course not – he makes like for like substitutions and takes off our most creative midfielder. Absolutely clueless. John Ward might’ve admitted he didn’t know what to do – Keith Curle proves he doesn’t know what to do every week.

Bonham – 5 – Shocking distribution, almost embarrassed at his near post, having a cup of tea in the Paddock reading the Daily Express for the goal. I wish I could subtract points for the pathetic attempt to save Akinfenwa’s header on Tuesday night. We’ve had some truly awful keepers over the years, Bonham is another one.

Brown – 6 – Not his best game, generally solid but his use of the ball was poor. Looked a bit uncertain of himself today.

Miller – 4 – Some good defensive headers, wasted a huge opportunity to score in the first half and was caught hideously out of position for the goal. Really poor foul that earned him a booking and put us under needless pressure at the end. An improvement on Grainger, but not by much. He needs to play on the right and Brown should start on the left.

Liddle – 6 – Battled manfully, but his limitations and defensive frailty are beginning to shine through. I don’t really understand the persistence of feeding the ball to Liddle so he can pump it long.
Hill – 6 – I thought he was hiding from the ball a bit today (I know he’s old and this was his second game in a week). Lost the fight with Ameobi for the most part, but thankfully for us – Notts County weren’t good enough to pick up the scraps.

Joyce – 6 – Captain? Really? Showed for the ball well and did a decent holding job in front of the defence and actually put in an improved performance – but that’s relative. I’m completely uninspired.

Jones – 4 – Was playing too far forward today – and his whole game suffered for it. Jones is most effective when holding in the position Joyce was occupying. Why would you ask him to get on the ball and try to be a creative player? – That’s not his game. Some awful use of the football and his touch radar was somewhere over the fields near Wigton. When he gets on the ball and the whole game is front of him he looks like a footballer, but when you’re asking him to play with his back to goal – it’s never going to work.

Adams – 6 – Looking more comfortable playing short passes and moving well when off the ball. His crossing and shooting are still from the bottom drawer however. He way overhit the cross that Devitt rescued for the goal.

Lambe – 6 – Had shot his bolt by 70 minutes and should’ve been substituted ahead of Devitt and Hope. However, was involved in almost all the proper football we managed to play. Good passing and movement before half time.

Devitt – 7* - A moment of real class with a cushioned header to turn an over hit cross into a goal. Our most creative and influential player with a superb work rate and persistent willingness to get on the ball. When the muppet in the manager’s office substituted him our attacking threat (what little of if there was) completely evaporated. It would be great to see him playing with two strikers.

Hope – 6 – Can’t fault his work rate, but far too weak to play upfront by himself. The Notts County defenders were almost laughing at him, he was being brushed aside like a cobweb. Scored again from half a yard, although in honesty, if he hadn’t been there – Lambe would’ve scored anyway, the credit for the goal goes almost entirely to Devitt.

Subs

Bennett – 4 – Some decent touches, but some awful ones as well. Still looks like a bloke from the crowd we’ve tossed a shirt.

Rigg – 3 – Invisible.

Shame we didn't have any other strikers we could've brought on...