Match ratings v Gillingham (home)

[drillerpie]

With 6 as an average performance:

Stone - 5.5 didn't acquit himself particularly well when dealing with crosses. One good save with his legs near the end but game was gone by then anyway.

Warner - 5.5 looks an interesting player but not impeccable tonight. Passing generally good and of a forwards persuasion. More of a Cameron 2.0 than Rawlinson 2.0, which is what we were hoping for.

Baldwin - 5.5 excellent on the ball, composed, just gets 5.5 by default for being the central defender in a performance with numerous defensive calamities.

Cameron - 5.5 we know what to expect by now. The odd run down the left flank, not happy defending against physicality, will flop to the ground when he has a player behind him.

Bostock - 6 didn't play badly but didn't stand out as he did earlier in the season. I wonder if that is because he is out of form or because the things he does look great when you're winning and less great when you're losing.

Robertson - 6 generally a decent performance. Used the ball well bar a nightmare minute in the first half. The potential seems to be there to be a tidy passer with the odd burst of speed and physicality.

Nemane - 5 another frustrating performance from him. Last Saturday he burst past his man at the beginning of the game then didn't force the issue for the rest of the game. Tonight he beat his man all ends up and stopped running to cross from deep with pure green meadow in front of him. 10 mins later he tries to beat two defenders positioned together from a standing start. Not just because of these incidents, but others too, I don't understand his decision making.

Jones - 6 great driving run before laying off to Crowley for the goal, then after that some other promising runs and crosses. Lost his man for one of their goals in the first half though.

Crowley - 6.5 played pretty well. Ran around a lot, some nice moments of skill, really well taken goal.

McGoldrick - 5 probably the most skilful player on the pitch in every match we play but affects the game all too rarely. A peripheral figure again tonight.

Langstaff - 5.5 hard to judge him really as he spends most of his time pressing. Had an actual chance towards the end of the game but didn't get a clean strike away. Took a hopeful shot that McGoldrick would've had a much better strike at near the final whistle. Probably could've given him a 5 too but whatever, I've written it now.

Subs

Austin - 5.5 a flurry of dangerous crosses from his side when he came on, then fizzled out a bit. Might have had a better chance at the back post if his chest control had been better. Lost a runner at a defensive set piece.

JoB - 5.5 nothing memorable really.

Overall - tonight was a great chance to start a clean slate on a lovely pitch with fans behind us and beatable opposition. It looked to be going all to plan but Gillingham just did the basics and we didn't.

Once we go behind it's hard for us to come back into it by trying to play through the massed ranks. I feel like our attacking prowess has been overstated somewhat as lots of our goals and chances have come through crosses from Jones on the left or Crowley one-twoing Nemane in behind the full back. If defences do their homework, we don't have a great deal else.

I'd like to see more shots from distance as we have some great strikers of the ball and a striker who would probably appreciate some penalty area pinball. Deflections and rebounds would be better than the service he generally gets.

This team badly needs a bit of impetus from somewhere, whether that be Cedwyn coming back, Jatta coming in, or a tactical tweak or two.

[Notts78]

You are entitled to you opinion. I’d change
Stone and give him a 3.
Baldwin I’d upgrade on account he was better than the other 2 CB’s
I can’t agree with your rating for Crowley… he was poor. He got on the ball a lot but consistently passed backwards and took no risks. Like the rest in midfield he slowed our play down and was non existent when we were out of possession.

I’d probably go most players 5 without the ball with a few at 5.5 with the ball.

Players look devoid of ideas and ironically we put more crosses in the box than most teams ever will. However, we don’t have the natural header of the ball. The big lad up front for Gills would have scored a hatful had he been up front for us.

I’d just like to add that the ref was piss poor. Let time wasting occur throughout. He booked Boz for the most innocuous foul of the night but then let lots of other fouls slide by.

[jackal2]

Robertson - 6 generally a decent performance. Used the ball well bar a nightmare minute in the first half. The potential seems to be there to be a tidy passer with the odd burst of speed and physicality.

I agree. Robertson was doing a decent impression of Matt Palmer tonight, which is a credit to him really because he obviously hasn't got the experience Palmer possesses. He looks one of our better players out of possession, which isn't saying much I know, but he does try to close down and disrupt the opponent more than certain others, and when he gets the ball he's neat and tidy, releasing it quickly and accurately.

Given our defensive woes and wouldn't mind seeing O'Brien and Robertson playing alongside each other as the midfield 'screen'. It's looking increasingly as if having Bostock and Crowley in the same midfield is an expensive luxury when we've not got the ball.

[SouthLondonPie]

I’ve been watching Notts for almost 20 years and have enjoyed (sometimes) reading the forum from afar. However, tonight’s performance has led to be want to put my 2 pence in about some of these players! So here goes:

Stone: 3
Woeful. No point sugarcoating it. Can’t command his box, can’t punch (as painfully shown tonight), poor shot stopper - average distribution doesn’t make up for this. Needed way, way better in the summer. LAH in Tuesday, can’t be much worse.

Warner: 5
Looked very nervous but won’t be helped by those around him. Better than Brindley, but Macari should be playing.

Baldwin: 5.5
Best of the 3, but not the standards he’s been playing at recently.

Cameron: 4
Sick of him. What does he offer? Captain but no captain organisation, no shouting at mistakes. Can’t head it, out of position a lot so always on the turn, doesn’t want to tackle. Another one we needed better than in the summer

Bostock: 4
Looks shattered, overall game is miles off it.

Robertson: 6
Aside from a few misplaced passes, did what was asked of him. Put his foot in, at least. Needs someone better next to him.

Nemane: 2.5
No words.

Jones: 5
He’s getting more and more frustrated, trying to do too much on his own. Another assist though. First name on the team sheet, but needs help.

Crowley: 4.5
As bad as I’ve seen him, wonderful player but lets his head drop and the press suffers. Again, needs help.

Didzy: 4.5
Worked hard but nothings coming off for him and he just looks actually knackered. No one to replace him with currently. Repeating myself but… needs help!

Macca: 5
5 for work rate, which never dwindles. Tbh I think he’s play was poor and has been for a while, but we aren’t creating anything for him. Jatta would have been ideal next to him to keep the ball up the middle of the pitch, where he works.

Maynard: 4
This isn’t overall his faults but weird tactics. If I were him I’d be asking Richard Montague what the strategy actually was going into January.

Richard Montague: 1
For this season? Painfully bad. Joke of two transfer windows.

I’ll probably re-read this again tomorrow when things have settled a bit and the other results come in but overall, that was a low. Gillingham were average at best but organised and did the basics - all you need to beat Notts atm. So much work to do because the season could be over by end of March if we aren’t careful.

Still, I’ll be there Tuesday, not too difficult a journey from me in the SE. Has to be 10x better.

[freemuzzy]

Richard Montague: 1
For this season? Painfully bad. Joke of two transfer windows..

Absolute reactionary nonsense. Not every signing has been a good one (when has that ever been the case?) but even if we’re going to discount Langstaff (£50,000, arguably pound for pound one of the best signings in our recent history), Scott, Rodrigues etc and only focus on the ‘bad’ from this season - that still includes the signings of Crowley, McGoldrick and Jones, as well as Bostock 6 months prior. 1/10! Suspect Robertson will prove to be an excellent long term addition too and not many were knocking his door down when he couldn’t get a game at Fleetwood.

[SouthLondonPie]

Absolute reactionary nonsense. Not every signing has been a good one (when has that ever been the case?) but even if we’re going to discount Langstaff (£50,000, arguably pound for pound one of the best signings in our recent history), Scott, Rodrigues etc and only focus on the ‘bad’ from this season - that still includes the signings of Crowley, McGoldrick and Jones, as well as Bostock 6 months prior. 1/10! Suspect Robertson will prove to be an excellent long term addition too and not many were knocking his door down when he couldn’t get a game at Fleetwood.

Why are you talking about Langstaff? I literally said for this season.

The fact that you’re using Didzy and Crowley as reasons for giving Montague credit.. wow. Yes, they’re good signings. What about the goalkeepers (plural)? What about the non-existent defence? What about the lack of another option with Palmer? What about Randall? What about Gosling? What about signing a player from Crewe’s bench who, whilst he could be good, isn’t anywhere near fitness? What about signing a striker who can’t even get to the country for weeks whilst we’re in the most crucial period of the season.

‘Absolute reactionary nonsense’ is a bit pathetic - you won’t be surprised to find Im not the only one very unimpressed with the recruitment this season.

[nw6pie]

Why are you talking about Langstaff? I literally said for this season.

The fact that you’re using Didzy and Crowley as reasons for giving Montague credit.. wow. Yes, they’re good signings. What about the goalkeepers (plural)? What about the non-existent defence? What about the lack of another option with Palmer? What about Randall? What about Gosling? What about signing a player from Crewe’s bench who, whilst he could be good, isn’t anywhere near fitness? What about signing a striker who can’t even get to the country for weeks whilst we’re in the most crucial period of the season.

‘Absolute reactionary nonsense’ is a bit pathetic - you won’t be surprised to find Im not the only one very unimpressed with the recruitment this season.

I’d forgotten all about the Crewe midfielder- why do we keep signing players who can’t make an immediate impact?

Tonight is as bad a performance as I can remember at home in quite a while - it’s not like Gillingham were any good, we just are a very easy team to play against if you’re physical, hard working and well organized.

For the first 10 minutes we looked back to our old selves, but afterward it was a bit of a horror show.

Stone - 4 - hasn’t inspired confidence all season, and the third goal tonight was a perfect example of him not dominating his six-yard box. There’s been a trend in recent years for outfield players to transition to goalkeepers quite late on as youngsters, and Stone’s another one of them. Oddly, though, he doesn’t even inspire with the ball at his feet. Time to give the loanee a try - otherwise what was the poin5 of signin* him?

Nemane - 4 - I was delighted when Aaron signed a new deal in the summer, but he’s been found out at this level. Not brave enough on the ball and his decision-making is nonexistent. To be fair, he’s often given the ball with his back to goal and is being asked to do things beyond his skill set. Needs a spell on the bench.

Jones - 6 - Our main threat, but completely wasted on the right. Keep him on the left, but we need to stop asking him to be a defender.

Warner - 4.5 - I’m sure he’ll go on to be a good player at a decent level, but he’s got very little experience of first-team football and it shows. I wonder if he’ll be more comfortable in a back four.

Baldwin - 6 - The pick of our defence, which isn’t saying much as we were a shambles defending corners and free kicks - the basics at this level, in other words.

Cameron - 4.5 - Had plenty of the ball, but didn’t do much with it. Feels like another non-league defender, struggling at this level.

Bostock 5 - Started well, but soon faded. When was the last time he assisted for a goal or created a chance/played a defence-splitting pass? Lacks the energy we need, but the booking was a joke from a joke referee.

Robertson - 6 - Scrapped well and at least he had a shot. Needs to improve his fitness levels so he can compete for 90 minutes, but at least he’s prepared to do the ugly stuff (unlike several of his teammates).

Crowley - 5.5 - Took his goal brilliantly, but disappeared after a bright start. One of those who doesn’t like to do the ugly stuff.

McGoldrick - 5 - No one can fault the guy’s commitment, but age seems to have caught up with Didzy. He’s dropping ridiculously deep to get the ball, but rarely doing anything with it. Where earlier in the season he was able to get away from players with a lovely nutmeg or turn, that’s not been the case in recent months. You’d also expect someone of his quality to bury that header in the second half. Another one who needs a spell on the bench.

Langstaff - 5 - not been at the races in recent weeks. Rarely involved and his link-up play hasn’t been good. Worse, he’s snatching at chances when he does get them - he should have buried that one in the second half, but it barely reached the keeper. We’re going to need a bigger bench.

Subs: Austin - 4 (but should be playing on the right) JOB - Not on long enough, but his most glaring contribution was to head the ball away from their goal when in a decent position.

Maynard - 4 - needs to start showing us why the Bros felt he was the right man for the job. Right now he seems to be stuck in the shadow of LW. The team was on the slide before he arrived, but 1 point out of 9 and (by my reckoning) 6 shots on target over those three games is a worrying start. He needs time, but I’d like to see him be his own man and change things up to reverse this current slump.

[Rainbowpie]

Stone - 4- Doesn't command his area. scared of coming for crosses. Not good enough

Warner- 4.5 made some good runs beyond nemane first half but was ignored. Found wanting marking the back post for first 2 goals

Baldwin- 6 Tried to drive us forward and defended pretty well but was outmuscled by the no12

Cameron -2 Rubbish

Nemane-4 Offered very little all game

Jones -6 Looked our most likely danger but playing on the right doesn't bring out his best

Robertson- 6 Played ok

Bostock - 5.5 Did ok

Crowley - 6 huffed and puffed. Great finish for the goal

Mcgoldrick-5 was in and out the game. Didn't affect the game in any way

Langstaff-4 missed a great chance near the end. Didn't get into the game at all

Subs
Austin-5 Unfortunately not going to do anything to change the game

O'brien not on long enough

Maynard-4 Didn't have an answer to Gillingham organization. Changed to 4-3-3 but was puzzling where he had players playing. Nemane right back , jones out on the right just doesn't work
Our possession for the first 10 minutes was brilliant, really intense and positive taking risks with some nice balls through the lines. Then Gillingham worked us out and changed shape and that was end of story. We had no answer and i'm afraid it's going to be a downhill slide unless our players get some fight inside them and battle instead of being bullied

[LaxtonLad]

Stone - 4- Doesn't command his area. scared of coming for crosses. Not good enough

Warner- 4.5 made some good runs beyond nemane first half but was ignored. Found wanting marking the back post for first 2 goals

Baldwin- 6 Tried to drive us forward and defended pretty well but was outmuscled by the no12

Cameron -2 Rubbish

Nemane-4 Offered very little all game

Jones -6 Looked our most likely danger but playing on the right doesn't bring out his best

Robertson- 6 Played ok

Bostock - 5.5 Did ok

Crowley - 6 huffed and puffed. Great finish for the goal

Mcgoldrick-5 was in and out the game. Didn't affect the game in any way

Langstaff-4 missed a great chance near the end. Didn't get into the game at all

Subs
Austin-5 Unfortunately not going to do anything to change the game

O'brien not on long enough

Maynard-4 Didn't have an answer to Gillingham organization. Changed to 4-3-3 but was puzzling where he had players playing. Nemane right back , jones out on the right just doesn't work
Our possession for the first 10 minutes was brilliant, really intense and positive taking risks with some nice balls through the lines. Then Gillingham worked us out and changed shape and that was end of story. We had no answer and i'm afraid it's going to be a downhill slide unless our players get some fight inside them and battle instead of being bullied

We never do have an answer to when the enemy has us worked us out. Although during play it's the captains job to see what's happening when we start stuttering, it's the manager whose responsible if there is no "Plan B" to fall back on. We never had nor needed a back-up plan last year because of the standard of the other teams we played but that has started to show up this year.

I wonder if LW would have had a "Plan B" and if he was about to unleash it? I wonder too if he has a plan for Swansea - or is he a one-trick pony?

[BCnotts18]

Stone 4 - Could do nothing with their first, perhaps could've reacted quicker to their second and was a calamity for their third. I've said it earlier this season, but why does Stone seem so afraid to leave his line and actually assert himself in his own box? He had the chance to claim the ball from the header back across goal but decided to weakly flap at it instead and then decided to just stay on his line and, I can only assume, admire the beauty of the ball, before their player got to it and nodded it past him. I'd be quite happy to never see him in a Notts shirt again, Ashby-Hammond surely can't be any worse.

Warner 5 - Wasn't only impressed with him. He can play a decent forward pass but he gave the ball away before their first and third goals with poor first touches, although we still should've been able to deal with their attacks afterwards.

Baldwin 5.5 - Nothing much to say about Baldwin, he's our best centre back but that is not saying all that much.

Cameron 4.5 - All over the place defensively again but that is to be expected from him now. Its been said time and time again on here but he is nowhere near captain material. Not once tonight did he even attempt to galvanise the team he is supposed to inspire.

Bostock 5 - Put himself about a bit in the first 20 minutes which was nice to see for once but did virtually nothing after that. Played countless backwards and sideways passes, offered the defence no protection and spent most of the time waving his arms about at his teammates lack of movement.

Robertson - 6 One of the few players to have come out of tonight with any semblance of credit. A few sloppy passes here and there but he looks reasonably promising, but he's still no Matty Palmer unfortunately.

Jones - 5.5 Cut a frustrated figure for a lot of the game. Made some great runs, and put some decent balls into the box, but without any height in there they weren't of any use. Needed to do more to stop crosses too.

Nemane - 5 Similar to Jones, in the sense that he didn't stop their crosses at all, but also struggled to beat his man or put in a decent ball all night.

Crowley - 5.5 Started well as the team did but, once again, faded into anonymity as the night went on. Took his goal very well but contributed virtually nothing else, slowing the play down whenever he received the ball.

McGoldrick 5 - Once again, he showed absolutely nothing in any sense and picked up a stupid yellow card later on.

Langstaff 5.5 - A lot of running but I could count his touches of the ball on one hand for the few games I've seen now, which isn't entirely his fault of course, but when your most telling contribution to the performance was berating their manager for refusing to give the ball back, you know it hasn't been a great showing.

Austin 5 - Did nothing but sky one of few attempts over the bar. and put in a few crosses that were inevitably cleared with ease.

JOB 5.5 - Nothing of note.