Player ratings v Colchester

[Elite_Pie]

Fitzsimons 7 - Better decisions on crosses, did well to guess correctly on the penalty.
Tootle 6 - deserved booking for a silly challenge, some good attacking moments second half.
Duffy 6 - one slip first half, otherwise looked pretty solid.
Brisley 6.5 - a bit hesitant a couple of times, looked mainly solid defensively.
Dickinson 6 - overcame a dodgy first half to impress in the second.
Yates 7* - typical Yates, all over the pitch and just shades MOM for turning one point into three.
Hewitt 6.5 - not the best first half, but helped us regain midfield control in the second.
Hawkridge 6 - buzzed about a lot but needs to improve his decision making.
Grant 6 - took a while to get involved, but his quality is always likely to shine through.
Ameobi 7 - did well considering he was often isolated up front.
Alessandra 6 - an anonymous first half was followed by a much better second.

Subs:
Milsom 6 - did ok.
Smith - n/a

Again, a team effort to earn three points that we wouldn't have got too often in the last few seasons in this type of game. This squad is limited, but Nolan has instilled a backbone which goes a long way in this league. The word 'relegation' is one that won't concern us this season, so let's enjoy it and see how far we can go.

[freemuzzy]

I thought it was a poor performance but excellent result today. Felt like a massive win, but individually there were some below-par displays, a complete contrast to last week’s win over Cheltenham when there were lots of 8/10s.

Not a grumble, just an observation. Things really are great right now.

Fitzsimons - 7* - Hard to fault him and penalty save was key. Distribution was excellent throughout and is a major upgrade on Collin on this front.

Tootle - 7 - Surely can’t be a better all-round full back in League 2. Him pushing forward in the second half was a key factor in the improved overall performance.
Duffy - 6 - Really strange decision to take him off I thought, seemed to unsettle things. Did ok.
Brisley - 6.5 - Mr Dependable. Can’t stress highly enough how important he’s been, illustrated by the fact 3 of the back 4 were part of a team who lost ten in a row last season.

Dickinson - 5 - Has had an outstanding month or two but this was last season’s version. Poor distribution and repeatedly skinned second half, notably for the penalty. Needed to get Jones on to replace/support him earlier.

Hawkridge- 5 - Worst game I’ve seen him have. Nothing seemed to come off and needs to be more positive and attack the full back more. At fault for the goal conceded.

Yates - 6.5 - Quieter game but stepped up when it matters. What an addition he’s been.

Hewitt - 6 - Good without the ball, limited with it. Still not convinced midfield is his best position.

Grant - 6 - Flashes of brilliance and always one of our biggest threats. Drops a mark for concession of penalty.

Ameobi - 6 - Thought they did a very good job on him but never stopped trying and took penalty well.

Alessandra - 6 - 5/10 first half, 7/10 second. Came deeper and got involved more which made a big difference.

Subs - not on long enough to score. Milsom and Jones should’ve been on earlier.

[CmonUSexyStylishPies]

Fitzsimons 7 - Good kicking, great penalty save

Tootle 6.5 - Good link up attacking play as the game went on

Duffy 6.5 - Needs to stop falling over looking for fouls, otherwise solid

Brisley 6.5 - Solid enough

Dickinson 6.5 - Poor early on but improved

Yates 7 - Quiet game but came into it later on and on point again with a goal

Hewitt 6 - OK

Hawkridge 6 - Frustrating, wasted far too many opportunities to cross. Covers ground though.

Grant 6 - Quiet game, little impact

Ameobi 7 - Good hold up play & penalty

Alessandra 6.5 - Poor first half, caused problems second half, should have scored

[jackal2]

Duffy - 6 - Really strange decision to take him off I thought, seemed to unsettle things. Did ok.

I didn't think it was a strange decision at all. He'd got himself stupidly booked for dissent (which a captain should not do) and is by far the most likely player to make a mistake when the team comes under pressure. Nolan may like him as a "man's man", but there is clearly some doubt in the manager's head now about his reliability.

People say Duffy has improved from last season, which is true, but he could hardly have got worse. The reality still remains that - like Hollis - he loses concentration and composure at crucial times, and a disproportionately high number of the goals we have conceded this season have been either directly or partly due to his mistakes.

The irony is that a mistake by another player nearly cost us on this occasion!

[BigFatPie]

I thought it was a poor performance but excellent result today. Felt like a massive win, but individually there were some below-par displays, a complete contrast to last week’s win over Cheltenham when there were lots of 8/10s.

Not a grumble, just an observation. Things really are great right now.

Fitzsimons - 7* - Hard to fault him and penalty save was key. Distribution was excellent throughout and is a major upgrade on Collin on this front.

Tootle - 7 - Surely can’t be a better all-round full back in League 2. Him pushing forward in the second half was a key factor in the improved overall performance.
Duffy - 6 - Really strange decision to take him off I thought, seemed to unsettle things. Did ok.
Brisley - 6.5 - Mr Dependable. Can’t stress highly enough how important he’s been, illustrated by the fact 3 of the back 4 were part of a team who lost ten in a row last season.

Dickinson - 5 - Has had an outstanding month or two but this was last season’s version. Poor distribution and repeatedly skinned second half, notably for the penalty. Needed to get Jones on to replace/support him earlier.

Hawkridge- 5 - Worst game I’ve seen him have. Nothing seemed to come off and needs to be more positive and attack the full back more. At fault for the goal conceded.

Yates - 6.5 - Quieter game but stepped up when it matters. What an addition he’s been.

Hewitt - 6 - Good without the ball, limited with it. Still not convinced midfield is his best position.

Grant - 6 - Flashes of brilliance and always one of our biggest threats. Drops a mark for concession of penalty.

Ameobi - 6 - Thought they did a very good job on him but never stopped trying and took penalty well.

Alessandra - 6 - 5/10 first half, 7/10 second. Came deeper and got involved more which made a big difference.

Subs - not on long enough to score. Milsom and Jones should’ve been on earlier.

These are bang on.

I had a bad feeling today when I heard Alessandra was starting and Forte was out of the squad altogether. The match itself reminded me of a Warnock team where we were generally poor but still managed to dig out the win. There was f00k all on the bench.

If we are still top 3 come January we will go up. Might be tough before then though.

[freemuzzy]

I didn't think it was a strange decision at all. He'd got himself stupidly booked for dissent (which a captain should not do) and is by far the most likely player to make a mistake when the team comes under pressure. Nolan may like him as a "man's man", but there is clearly some doubt in the manager's head now about his reliability.

People say Duffy has improved from last season, which is true, but he could hardly have got worse. The reality still remains that - like Hollis - he loses concentration and composure at crucial times, and a disproportionately high number of the goals we have conceded this season have been either directly or partly due to his mistakes.

The irony is that a mistake by another player nearly cost us on this occasion!

Yeah I agree with pretty much all of that, just don’t think it was the right time to change a centre half and mess with the back four with 10 minutes to go. On the whole it’s clear Duffy is one of those who needs upgrading - Tuesday night is a prime example of him costing us points.

If we could find another Brisley - consistent, no messing, head-it-and-kick-it - I’d be much happier, but I wonder if Nolan has one eye on moving Hewitt back longer-term when O’Connor/Noble become available.

[slack_pie]

These are bang on.

I had a bad feeling today when I heard Alessandra was starting and Forte was out of the squad altogether. The match itself reminded me of a Warnock team where we were generally poor but still managed to dig out the win. There was f00k all on the bench.

If we are still top 3 come January we will go up. Might be tough before then though.

Just out of interest, where was Forte today?

[i961pie]

Fitzsimons 7 - Better decisions on crosses, did well to guess correctly on the penalty.
Tootle 6 - deserved booking for a silly challenge, some good attacking moments second half.
Duffy 6 - one slip first half, otherwise looked pretty solid.
Brisley 6.5 - a bit hesitant a couple of times, looked mainly solid defensively.
Dickinson 6 - overcame a dodgy first half to impress in the second.
Yates 7* - typical Yates, all over the pitch and just shades MOM for turning one point into three.
Hewitt 6.5 - not the best first half, but helped us regain midfield control in the second.
Hawkridge 6 - buzzed about a lot but needs to improve his decision making.
Grant 6 - took a while to get involved, but his quality is always likely to shine through.
Ameobi 7 - did well considering he was often isolated up front.
Alessandra 6 - an anonymous first half was followed by a much better second.

Subs:
Milsom 6 - did ok.
Smith - n/a

Again, a team effort to earn three points that we wouldn't have got too often in the last few seasons in this type of game. This squad is limited, but Nolan has instilled a backbone which goes a long way in this league. The word 'relegation' is one that won't concern us this season, so let's enjoy it and see how far we can go.

I agree apart from Dickinson, I thought he got worse as the match went on, got caught out and by passed by their winger on a number of ocassions especially in the second half and kept misplacing passes into touch. I agree with Freemuzzy he as performed well since coming back in, but as looked shaky this last couple of games.

[MAD_MAGPIE]

I thought it was a poor performance but excellent result today. Felt like a massive win, but individually there were some below-par displays, a complete contrast to last week’s win over Cheltenham when there were lots of 8/10s.

Not a grumble, just an observation. Things really are great right now.

Fitzsimons - 7* - Hard to fault him and penalty save was key. Distribution was excellent throughout and is a major upgrade on Collin on this front.

Tootle - 7 - Surely can’t be a better all-round full back in League 2. Him pushing forward in the second half was a key factor in the improved overall performance.
Duffy - 6 - Really strange decision to take him off I thought, seemed to unsettle things. Did ok.
Brisley - 6.5 - Mr Dependable. Can’t stress highly enough how important he’s been, illustrated by the fact 3 of the back 4 were part of a team who lost ten in a row last season.

Dickinson - 5 - Has had an outstanding month or two but this was last season’s version. Poor distribution and repeatedly skinned second half, notably for the penalty. Needed to get Jones on to replace/support him earlier.

Hawkridge- 5 - Worst game I’ve seen him have. Nothing seemed to come off and needs to be more positive and attack the full back more. At fault for the goal conceded.

Yates - 6.5 - Quieter game but stepped up when it matters. What an addition he’s been.

Hewitt - 6 - Good without the ball, limited with it. Still not convinced midfield is his best position.

Grant - 6 - Flashes of brilliance and always one of our biggest threats. Drops a mark for concession of penalty.

Ameobi - 6 - Thought they did a very good job on him but never stopped trying and took penalty well.

Alessandra - 6 - 5/10 first half, 7/10 second. Came deeper and got involved more which made a big difference.

Subs - not on long enough to score. Milsom and Jones should’ve been on earlier.

You’ve hit the nail on the head with these Freemuzzy. Well done.

Just a few individual errors creeping in during the past couple of games that have stopped us going on another winning run, but nothing to complain about.

41 points from 20 games is title winning form.

Only Luton, Grimsby and Cambridge left to play and then we have played every team.

There are five league games until the end of the year. If we break the 50 point barrier by then and remain unbeaten in our remaining two home games of the year 2017 will have been a great success.

Then we can focus on the second half of the season and really build on this first year and go for it and also look for players that would be good enough to help us push for automatic promotion with an eye to being good enough to help us survive in League One.

If we are still in the top three come January then there is an opportunity to get out of this league automatically so let’s grab it with both hands.

[Pies4u]

You’ve hit the nail on the head with these Freemuzzy. Well done.

Just a few individual errors creeping in during the past couple of games that have stopped us going on another winning run, but nothing to complain about.

41 points from 20 games is title winning form.

Only Luton, Grimsby and Cambridge left to play and then we have played every team.

There are five league games until the end of the year. If we break the 50 point barrier by then and remain unbeaten in our remaining two home games of the year 2017 will have been a great success.

Then we can focus on the second half of the season and really build on this first year and go for it and also look for players that would be good enough to help us push for automatic promotion with an eye to being good enough to help us survive in League One.

If we are still in the top three come January then there is an opportunity to get out of this league automatically so let’s grab it with both hands.

Agreed - and Muzzy's assessments are pretty much spot on.

However, I'd say Duffy was generally sloppy tho', he dropped 2 major clangers in the 1st half, got booked and had to be subbed. Grant provides no defensive cover whatsoever and is lucky to get a 6 tbh but that was poor display from Dickinson after a super performance last week. I think it is '61 who noted that he got worse as the game progressed, he did, his 2nd half display was shaky. Hawkridge had some lovely touches at times but he posed little threat to their defence & too many of his passes went astray and he was clumsy to gift the ball away for their goal but it wasn't his worst display imo. Brisley had some stuttering moments too, wouldn't have described him as "solid" yesterday - he got beaten in the air more than usual, plus flat footed and out of position half a dozen times isn't "solid". He was ok.

I'd have gone 5 for Duffy (who I often like/rate well), otherwise I agree with Muzzy's marks.