Rover 2 City 1 Ratings

Devine - 5, at fault for 2nd goal & some other dodgy moments.
Hoggie - 6, subbed for tactical reasons.
Kevin Murray - 5....reminds me of Hartigan, too slow
Dan Murray - 6, at fault for 1st goal
Murphy - 7, good crosses when saw lot of ball in 2nd half, agressive & will get plenty of cards.
Colin T - 6, average, better as fullback in 2nd half.
George - 5, spectator for most of the game, looked lost in midfield.
Kearney - 5, didn't do much
Doyle - 8, IMO best city player in both midfield & especially as forward in 2nd half.
Fenn - 7, took goal well, takes up good posiitons in box & good on the ball.
O'Fylnn - 5, maybe he really was injured cos not making half he usual quota for runs off the ball.

Sweeney - 6, did ok in centre midfield but city much better in 2nd half anyway.
Byrne - 6, solid & agressive defender, less defending for city in 2nd half anyway.

Been a while (at least since last year) since seen worse city performance in midfield. Expected George to contorl things but he AWOL. City looked like stunned team when 2 nil down with no clue what to do then. Maybe some city players been believing the hype too much?

second half performance was good, deserved a draw from it. sweeney I thought played fairly well and added a bit of bite to midfield which was most definitely needed! first time seeing Fenn, class on the ball and gets stuck in. Georgie and Flynn were very poor alright, worst performances I've seen from both of them in a long time!!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by leesider

second half performance was good, deserved a draw from it. sweeney I thought played fairly well and added a bit of bite to midfield which was most definitely needed! first time seeing Fenn, class on the ball and gets stuck in. Georgie and Flynn were very poor alright, worst performances I've seen from both of them in a long time!!

---

john isnt match fit.. i dont think its fair to draw any conclusions from his current performances... georgie just didnt want the ball for some reason.. usually hes the first man back looking for the ball from the defense and starting most of our attaks off.. he never showed for the ball against rovers and left fenn who was outstanding to do all the running... no worries though goc is a class act and will find form soon

I know it was only one match so no doubt both will hit form again.....was just expecting a bit more from them. georgie showed a few glimpses of his class, flynn (must have been injured) wasn't at the races at all. that fella byrne at the back was handy when he came on as well

Devine - 5 didn't seem to be in command at all and his distribution was dreadful.
Hoggie - 5 reasonably solid defensively, but his distribution was poor. If he doesn't improve Colin T might be a better option.
Kevin Murray - 2 I'm feeling generous :rolleyes: The only thing he did was follow Dan around in the first half and sweeney in the second. Shouldn't even be on the bench. I wouldn't mind as much if he at least looked like he was trying.
Dan Murray - 6 poor in the first half but thats what happens when you're carrying another player. looked more like the dan of old in the 2nd half, passing the ball out a bit more.
Murphy - 7 strong, determined and likes to get forward. very promising.
Colin T - 7 almost anonymous in the first half, very good in the second.
George - 6 not a midfielder IMO. Although its hard for him to get on the ball when we keep hoofing it all the time.
Kearney - 5 hardly got into the game before he was taken off.
Doyle - 8 Worked very hard in both halves, but would devine ever stop launching kicks over his head :rolleyes:
Fenn - 8 best city player in the first half and very good in the second too. Works hard, has a good touch and he scored. Might be a better option in the midfield than georgie
O'Flynn - 6 did his best but didn't look fit.

Sweeney - 7 very good debut IMO. Kept it simple- won the ball and laid it off. Wasn't helped by Kevin Murray standing 2 yards behind him all the time, but he could be the defensive midfielder we're looking for.
Byrne - 6 doesn't look like he can pass the ball, but at least he can win it. if Dolan won't play Benno he could at least give this a guy a run.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by pete

Maybe some city players been believing the hype too much?

---

Better that they get a wake up call now rather than later in the season.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by one_bounce

georgie just didnt want the ball for some reason.. usually hes the first man back looking for the ball from the defense and starting most of our attaks off

---

Seems to be a bit of a Bergkamp about our George.
He doesn't seem to travel well.
What about saving him for the Home games ?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by razor

Seems to be a bit of a Bergkamp about our George.
He doesn't seem to travel well.
What about saving him for the Home games ?

---

I think its more that he's not a traditional centre midfielder and not a traditional striker. Yer man Kaka for AC Milian is accomadated in the midfield by playing a central/holding midfielder on the left wing. City could try the same with Nwankwo.

a Midfield of some thing like:
----------George-------------
Nwankwo------------Dolyer-----
----------A. N. Other------------

A. N. Other could be one of Sweeney/Colin T/Greg.

Devine 5 : awful distribution, no command of his area
Hoggy 6 : not a great showing but didn't do much wrong
DMurray 5 : asleep for the first goal, awful first half, improved second with Byrne beside him
KMurray 4 : was completely lost, shouldn't have been started
Murphy 7 : one of the bright spots, although got wound up very easily, will have to watch his temper
Doyle 8 : worked hard, looked bright
O'Brien 7 : pretty much alone in CM first half, did ok, did well at right back in second half
O'Callaghan 5 : lost, not helped by being by-passed with hoofing but doesn't seem to be the answer in CM, a move to right wing didn't improve matters
Kearney 6 : didn't think he did much wrong, battled hard, got a few crosses in, but on the night Billy would probably have been a better option
Fenn 8 : city's MOTM, great touches, well taken goal, looks class
O'Flynn 5 : didn't look fit, started brightly combining well with Fenn but faded well before half time

Byrne 8 : did everything asked of him, dragged Murray back to life, won loads of ball, i thought his composure on the ball and passing was fine.
Sweeney 7 : Promising debut, worked hard, did the simple stuff well and got stuck in
Behan 5 : not on for long, threw himself about but achieved little