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It just wasn't up to the mark AT ALL. Fair enough the pitch was bad but we should be beating the likes of UCD! Dan Murray was p*ss poor and Georgie seems to insist that everything goes through him and it's just not working!! Behan was not very good at all either!
the sooner dan murray gets the message that we dont want him, the better
worst player ever to play in the cross
its like watching forrest gump
better change your sig, corner - longford beat rovers last night.
I hope rovers and roddy 'super manager' collins get relegated! :cool:
EVERY CITY player, with the possible exception of Kearney, should be ASHAMED of that "performance" last night. It simply is unacceptable that a City team should turn in a 90 minutes like that.
Rico: You CAN take Billy Woods off the field, you know.
To take Liam off, put Roy on and then send Billy to the right wing is an INSULT to Kearney and to fans.
NO MORE OF THIS , Rico.......:mad:
We can have no complaints about last night. UCD came with a game plan, and it worked.
Their back four were really disciplined. One real mistake (a clearance hits another defender in the ass set up Doyler for a half chance) but for the rest they made our forward line have to fight for scraps.
Their number 3 in particular impressed, as he seemed to cut out everything sent in from the right by Billy.
The ref (McKeon, who else) was one officious PR1CK. First he annoys the hell out of our forward line who tried to keep momentum going by taking a few quick frees but he called them back. :mad: Then he gives Billy a yellow for catching the ball as it sailed high out over the side line. All Billy wanted to do was take a quick throw in. Fair enough if he misjudged his jump and handled the ball, but no way was it an intentional foul. :mad: A free kick to UCD and a word in Billy's ear (Billy, don't be a hero comes to mind :p ) from the ref would have been about right. But no, this l@nger of a ref showed once again that referee assessors turn a blind eye to their own mediocre standards.
The players' performances showed the wide gap in form at the moment.
Starting from the top:
Joe Gamble: A perfect 10. First I ever gave, I think. This guy showed the sort of qualities that got Roy Keane into the position he is in. Worked hard, cleaned up after the few mistakes he made, brought everyone around him into virtually every move he created. If more ball was played through midfield, we would have at least set up a few more chances, IMO. Joe just gets better and better.
Liam Kearney: 8. Mr. Consistency. Does what he does as always.
Alan Bennett: 8. Solid in defence. Mr. Consistency's brother. Came forward a few times for set pieces and was unlucky to have a good header saved.
Neal Horgan: 8. Such a mature player for his age. I look forward to a good few years of opposition left wingers going home wondering how they had such a poxy game! :p
George O'Callaghan: 7. Really frustrating night. Made a pills of his first corner getting his signals with Kearney mixed up, but an honest night's work. His finishing left a lot to be desired, culminating in the screamer over the bar when he had a free shot on goal, but looked well composed when building from midfield.
Kevin Doyle: 7. Given no space whatever. He came up against one of the best man-to-man markers I have seen in some time. Still, Superkev managed to give him the slip (i.e. lose him a half yard behind) once or twice and beat the keeper with one shot from a wide angle, but saw it bobble just wide.
Danny Murphy: 7. Sterling stuff in the back, winning balls in aerial combat despite the superior size of the student he was marking. Came forward a little more than usual, and UCD did not know how to defend against it, as their man-to-man 1.0 system did not have the software to deal with Cockney Rebel LB 3.0. This move should be used more when we go to Belfield.
Mick Devine: 7. Not really troubled, made a few decent high catches. Saw something faw away at the St Annes end that could have been a good save about 20 minutes from the end, but not sure as bodies were everywhere.
Billy Woods: 5. He returned to his usual form after a sluggish trip to Longford, but his passes were a bit too predictable. BUT: Whe he switched to the left with five minutes to go, he put in two good crosses, both of which ended with decent attempts on goal, including one from Roy O'Donovan who might have scored, but it cannoned off a city player and came back into play.
Denis Behan: 4. All Denis does well is shoot. He shied away from two chances in the first quarter, and one in the third. After that, he should have been taken off because he is brutal when he is required to make a pass or even hold up the ball. When Fenn came on for him with 15 minutes left to play, it showed how much our attacking play had been weakened by Denis's lack of some of the basic skills of the game.
Dan Murray: 2. I don't care about the argument that City's defensive record is so good. If Dan Murray was surrounded with players like himself these last few weeks, we would be propping up the league. Please, please let him be given a few weeks of a break.
Subs: Neale Fenn on 75 minutes, for Behan: 8. Sublime distribution, completely caught the UCD defence a few times. Brought composure to the attack, and we looked on top for the last 15 minutes. Also, those cr@ppy high balls stopped raining down on willing UCD defenders who expected every one of them and they defended almost all of them with ease.
Roy O'Donovan on 85 minutes for Liam Kearney: 7. Billy Woods switched to the right, and Roy played down the left. Had a good attempted heared on goal blocked by a city head.
Manager: 4. What is Rico doing, playing so many balls over the top, or are the players ignoring his game plan? Does he not see the game falling apart? Fenn's inventiveness would have been much more productive against UCD than Behan's style of play, so he should have been brought on earlier. And as for Dan Murray, is his current form really that much better than, say, Kevin Murray's, or would it be a shock to the system to bring Billy Woods back into defence in Dan's place, and play Fenn up front instead?
Bizarre ratings FPB.
NOT ONCE did Gamble play a forward pass, EVERYTHING went to the side or back.
Maybe Kearney & Fenn deserved a 5, the rest below that.
UCD defensive tactics and Behan's inability to link ensured that Gamble had very limited options. In the circumstances, he did extremely well, playing keep ball until Billy or Kearney came wide enough to receive. Doyler was totally marked out of it and Behan was not worth passing to. Any balls forward by Gamble would simply give the ball back to the defence. In conditions like this, Gamble still managed to impose his game on midfield, and made it really hard for the students to play.Quote:
Originally Posted by patsh
Quote:
Originally Posted by patsh
Spot on, he's a great worker and has an en excellent engine but he creates nothing and is almost afraid to shoot.
yes i agree he lacks creativity alright
I'm very sorry FPB but the referee, as bad as he was, did the right thing in giving Woods a caution. You can't go around deliberately handling the ball when you feel like it and get away with it. How the hell did he misjudge his jump when his hand was in the air? If his hand was much higher he would have touched the top of the Donie Forde... :rolleyes:Quote:
Originally Posted by Fair_play_boy
i thought the ref had a good game last night...barely noticed him which is a good sign
play the way ur facing ;) ...they might be to the side or back but at least 9 times out of 10 he finds a green shirtQuote:
Originally Posted by patsh
Agree with the first comment, but myself and the guys around me thought Hoggie had a blinder.Quote:
Originally Posted by patsh
He did very well defensively and tried to up the tempo going forward in the second half . MOTM IMO (admittedly without much competition). He should be in the Team of the Week.
Am I right in the thinking that the yellow he got was only his second ever?
I don't dispute that, but he could be a lot more creative and take the odd shot or two if he tried a few more forward passes.Quote:
Originally Posted by thecorner
btw, I'm only giving some mild criticism to Gamble, I think the guy is a class player and has been immense since he re-signed.
Actually, you are right, Hoggie did play very well, especially given that Billy was a waste of space on Friday.Quote:
Originally Posted by SSS
hope rico isnt reading thisQuote:
Originally Posted by patsh
cant be having a go at his lovechild now ;)
Wow! Is that true?! Who's the mother? I think we should be told. :DQuote:
Originally Posted by thecorner
An utter disgrace Friday night, City sauntered about the place for 75 minutes ,not looking too bothered, then suddenly started playing and causing UCD problems. If we'd have done that from the start we'd have won easily.
George doesn't half frustrate me, wandering lonely about the midfield not looking remotely interested. Then as soon as we get a free kick he's first ever and as usual blasts it over the bar. (Has anyone ever seen George hit the target from a free kick?) His miss in stoppage time was awful, how could he put it into the Horseshoe from there ?
We looked ok at the back , though UCD hardly threatened.
Billy can't be arsed either but looked better on the left.
High Balls I presume are meant for Behan but if he doesn't jump that leaves Doyler fighting with a big centre half, not good enough. Behan is poor.
Not enough people performing, hopefully we can improve for tonight.
Quote:
Originally Posted by razor
in fairness, he did well to even get to the ball. he was sliding into it
Rico seems to take off our smaller players when he makes late subs, bringing on players who are not as good but better in the air (O'Donovan for Kearney and Greg for Gamble). I can understad the subsitutions he makes but I dont agree with them. I always think that Kearney is likely to cause serious trouble to tired defenders who might foul him, getting us penos and free kicks