An Assessment of Player performance v Bristol City

[tonyoz]

An assessment of player performance v Bristol City 

Each player was judged on the following criteria: 

Instance of excellent play                                      *

Instance of decent/good play                               *

Instance of disappointing/poor play                    *

Instance of terrible play                                         *                                                       E&OE

 

 

Ratings

 

Raya                   ****       ****                                              **                           *

Nyambe₍₆₅₎        *          *******                                        *                             **

Lenihan                              ****************                    *******                *

Mulgrew           **             *******                                        **                           **

Bell                                       ***************                      ******                  ***

Smallwood                          ***********                               *********

Evans₍₇₆₎                               ********                                      ******

Bennett             *                 **********                                  ********

Palmer₍₇₁₎                             ******                                           ****

Armstrong        *                 *****                                             ********             *

Graham₍₅₅₎                                            ******                                                      

 

 

Brereton₍₅₅₎                           *                                                          *

Rothwell₍₆₅₎      *                   **                                                         

Nuttall₍₇₁₎                                                                                        *                           *

 

Highlights and Lowlights

(A justification for the main ratings above)

6.           Bennett on one of his chases manages to charge down the goalie’s attempt at a clearance. Goalkick.

8.           Hunt goes past Bell easily and Smallwood is slow to close him down. His shot is well saved by Raya. The ball comes back towards the goal and Mulgrew is perfectly placed to head clear as the City man looked to score. Bennett is bamboozled by a short corner but the dangerous move fizzles out.

10.         Eliasson leaves Nyambe for dead and his cross is perfect for Weimann but Raya makes a wonderful save at point-blank range.

12.         Armstrong fires a decent shot from outside the box but it’s deflected for a corner. Mulgrew takes it and the ball fools everyone and nestles in the net.

15.         Rush of blood for Raya who comes charging out of his area but his clearance goes straight to a City man. Fortunately his ball forward catches City offside.

17.         Bell sells himself completely in an aerial challenge but he chases back and recovers - then his backpass to Raya is dangerous and causes panic!

18.         Armstrong receives the ball in a very tight position but he controls beautifully and lay off a good pass.

19.         Persistent Armstrong challenge causes the City man to kick the ball out of play.

22.         Terrible misjudgment by Mulgrew who allows the ball to bounce over his head. Fortunately the whistle blows!

25.         Palmer does well to chase down a ball into the box but he hits the bar when it seemed easier to score!

36.         Difficult to see on my feed but Nyambe fouls the City man in the D. It looked harsh. Brownhill smashes the freekick into the top corner. Not sure Raya could have done better.

39.         Graham plays a lovely ball through to Armstrong who is one on one with the goalie. But his shot hits the goalie’s legs. It should have been a goal. This is the third time Armstrong’s shots have been blocked by the man directly in front of him.

42.         Bell and Palmer are bypassed too easily and the City cross hits the crossbar!

43.         Smallwood and Evans are both bamboozled but fortunately the attacker’s shot is weak.

47.         Nyambe’s lazy, attempted clearance is blocked. Fortunately Lenihan clears up.

49.         For the second time Nyambe shepherds the ball out for a goal kick. Impressive shielding technique.

50.         An impressive attack by City; Lenihan is slow to react (not the only one) and Raya pulls out another good save. Nyambe and Lenihan clear up.

54.         Eliasson glides past Bell easily, Palmer is a spectator and Lenihan fails to deal with the cross. Mulgrew is marking no one. Watkins scores.

72.         Rovers have put Nuttall on to boost the attack but the strategy fails. Smallwood and Nuttall tangle in the City D and the ball is fired forward leaving 2 on 2. Lenihan makes a poor do of challenging Diedhiou who finds the net.

74.         O’Dowda cuts inside Bell (very similar to Watkins in the last game!) but his shot is off target.

78.         Good driving run by Rothwell but his final shot is weak and wide.

79.         Armstrong is dispossessed on the wing. Bennett pushes the City player and gives a foul.

81.         Yet another City corner. Raya gets a decent punch under pressure. Nuttall heads it straight back to the corner taker. When the cross comes in it grazes Lenihans head (not for the first time!) and Pack heads into the net. Too easy!

82.         Excellent driving run and lay-off by Rothwell. Bennett’s cross is disappointing.

84.         Lenihan and Bell fail to clear the ball allowing a cross into the box. Fortunately Lenihan is well positioned this time and clears.

84.         Rothwell drives forward again and sends Brereton haring down the wing. He gets in a decent cross but nobody’s there.

85.         AND AGAIN the winger cuts inside Bell and unleashes a shot. Raya makes a decent save.

86.         Smallwood and Evans come second in the midfield battle, the City players waltz through our box and a neat backheel nearly results in a goal but Raya saves. From the corner, Mulgrew is beaten to the ball on the near post. The flicked header is plucked from the air by Raya……..could have been City’s sixth!!

88.         Long ball from Evans is neatly kept in by Brereton but Nuttall can’t get there.

 

 

Edited September 4, 2018 by tonyoz

[philipl]

Very interesting ratings- suggests Bristol City did some superb things in the second half rather than us falling apart.

[tonyoz]

Hi Philip...….you were quick off the mark I think you may have seen my unfinished effort.

[Bigdoggsteel]

This sentence does not make good reading for Nuttall

  Rovers have put Nuttall on to boost the attack but the strategy fails. Smallwood and Nuttall tangle in the City D and the ball is fired forward leaving 2 on 2. Lenihan makes a poor do of challenging Diedhiou who finds the net

[Bigdoggsteel]

It seems Bell did a lot of decent/good play ,but also was one of our highest in terrible play. I suppose with Williams you get more decent/good play, but less on the extremes of either terrible or excellent. 

[Bigdoggsteel]

Eliasson glides past Bell easily, Palmer is a spectator and Lenihan fails to deal with the cross. Mulgrew is marking no one. Watkins scores.

Christ on a bike....

[tonyoz]

Quote

Just now, Bigdoggsteel said:

Eliasson glides past Bell easily, Palmer is a spectator and Lenihan fails to deal with the cross. Mulgrew is marking no one. Watkins scores.

Christ on a bike....

That made me laugh. 
Watch it on the highlights!

 

[Bigdoggsteel]

2 minutes ago, tonyoz said:

That made me laugh. 
Watch it on the highlights!

I did. You describe the events perfectly.

I actually think Raya could have done better, but if it wasn't for him overall they could have scored 6 

Edited September 4, 2018 by Bigdoggsteel

[Bigdoggsteel]

I have concerns about the physicality of our centre halves. I raised it on another thread. The amount of times, going off this report, that Lenihan was out muscled or tackled poorly is a bit of an eye opener. The forwards he will be marking will generally be bigger than him.

@Roverfan99 said he wouldn't be concerned about Mulgrew physically, but i would have concerns. He is a great player to have in defence, so good on the ball, but the 2 lads will have serious physical battles this season. I am worried how this is going to work out for us. 

Oh ya,  you can add Raya to the list too. Very small for a keeper. 

I put this on another thread, but this is Boros defence. You could say their size may be a problem against small ,nippy players, but by and large(pun not intended) over the course of a season, that defence will win them points where we will lose them. 

                                   Mäenpää (6ft 3in)

Shotton (6ft 3in) Flint (6ft 6in) Fry (6ft 4in) Friend (6ft 2 in)

Edited September 4, 2018 by Bigdoggsteel

[Tom]

12 minutes ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

This sentence does not make good reading for Nuttall

  Rovers have put Nuttall on to boost the attack but the strategy fails. Smallwood and Nuttall tangle in the City D and the ball is fired forward leaving 2 on 2. Lenihan makes a poor do of challenging Diedhiou who finds the net

It was Smallwood at fault to be fair 

[Dreams of 1995]

This is quite useful. Fair play to you. Be interesting to see the stats of Williams in a game. He has this reputation as a steady Eddy somehow but he's nothing of the sort. That said Bell isn't of much use either. A weak area for sure.

[Bigdoggsteel]

Just now, Dreams of 1995 said:

This is quite useful. Fair play to you. Be interesting to see the stats of Williams in a game. He has this reputation as a steady Eddy somehow but he's nothing of the sort. That said Bell isn't of much use either. A weak area for sure.

Williams passing can be poor, but defensively he is more solid I feel. Has a decent cross too. For some reason its the 5 yard passes that are a  problem 

Edited September 4, 2018 by Bigdoggsteel

[Leonard Venkhater]

18 minutes ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

This sentence does not make good reading for Nuttall

  Rovers have put Nuttall on to boost the attack but the strategy fails. Smallwood and Nuttall tangle in the City D and the ball is fired forward leaving 2 on 2. Lenihan makes a poor do of challenging Diedhiou who finds the net

Homework:

Please devise a sentence, which makes good reading for Nuttall?

[Dreams of 1995]

Just now, Bigdoggsteel said:

Williams passing can be poor, but defensively he is more solid I feel. Has a decent cross too. For some reason its the 5 yard passes that are a  problem 

Ah but this seems to be picking up far more than the odd cross and tackle. In terms of positional awareness Williams is one of the worst out there.

Keep an eye out next time he plays. Good players make themselves available for the pass - create an angle for it. Williams doesn't. He leaves people under pressure. Then when he does get the ball he usually brings it back inside and kills momentum. The easy ball they call it.

Then, because of his desire to come inside, he's often found wanting if a break happens and the right wing open for the opposition. The weak link in our back 4 is definitely our left back. 

[JBiz]

10 minutes ago, Dreams of 1995 said:

Ah but this seems to be picking up far more than the odd cross and tackle. In terms of positional awareness Williams is one of the worst out there.

Keep an eye out next time he plays. Good players make themselves available for the pass - create an angle for it. Williams doesn't. He leaves people under pressure. Then when he does get the ball he usually brings it back inside and kills momentum. The easy ball they call it.

Then, because of his desire to come inside, he's often found wanting if a break happens and the right wing open for the opposition. The weak link in our back 4 is definitely our left back. 

Very much an extreme take on Williams, who for all his lack of technique and attacking attributes, still offers a hell of a lot more effort and aerial support defensively than Bell.

If Conway or Bennett is playing in front of Bell, I think he’s a better option since those two will work hard to cover the FB. KP doesn’t do this as well (imo) which is why I’d probably recall williams if I’m keeping Palmer in.

As for not showing for the ball and the insinuation he constantly causes a halt in momentum, check out the first game of the season, the overlap with Graham and the cross for Dack.

As for a desire to come inside... less said the better. Heard he lobbed seaman from the edge of the box.

[K-Hod]

48 minutes ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

This sentence does not make good reading for Nuttall

  Rovers have put Nuttall on to boost the attack but the strategy fails. Smallwood and Nuttall tangle in the City D and the ball is fired forward leaving 2 on 2. Lenihan makes a poor do of challenging Diedhiou who finds the net

The bit in bold isn't an isolated incident......

Edited September 4, 2018 by K-Hod

[Dreams of 1995]

32 minutes ago, Biz said:

Very much an extreme take on Williams, who for all his lack of technique and attacking attributes, still offers a hell of a lot more effort and aerial support defensively than Bell.

If Conway or Bennett is playing in front of Bell, I think he’s a better option since those two will work hard to cover the FB. KP doesn’t do this as well (imo) which is why I’d probably recall williams if I’m keeping Palmer in.

As for not showing for the ball and the insinuation he constantly causes a halt in momentum, check out the first game of the season, the overlap with Graham and the cross for Dack.

As for a desire to come inside... less said the better. Heard he lobbed seaman from the edge of the box.

Is Williams all that much better defensively? He's never really filled me with confidence and tends to get skinned quite a lot.

In terms of being a wing back you'd prefer to have Bell. He can beat a man, cross a ball and has the pace to get back in. You are right though - with a very attack minded Palmer he looked exposed. Didn't he get player of the year in league 1 after spending most of it in the wing-back position as part of a back 5? You can tell he's more comfortable further forward.

There's always little moments in a game like that for every player. I'm talking generally. He doesn't show near enough for a modern full back in my opinion.

Besides, anyway, I hope you agree with the fact that in order for Tony's plan of rebuilding a team challenging for promotion left back/centre back is a position to strengthen!

[rigger]

1 hour ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

Eliasson glides past Bell easily, Palmer is a spectator and Lenihan fails to deal with the cross. Mulgrew is marking no one. Watkins scores.

Christ on a bike....

Wasn't this also the one where we had the ball, two rovers players tackled each other and gave the ball to Bristol.

[rigger]

1 hour ago, Dreams of 1995 said:

Ah but this seems to be picking up far more than the odd cross and tackle. In terms of positional awareness Williams is one of the worst out there.

Keep an eye out next time he plays. Good players make themselves available for the pass - create an angle for it. Williams doesn't. He leaves people under pressure. Then when he does get the ball he usually brings it back inside and kills momentum. The easy ball they call it.

Then, because of his desire to come inside, he's often found wanting if a break happens and the right wing open for the opposition. The weak link in our back 4 is definitely our left back. 

On Sunday it was our right back area. Not necessarily the player but that area was targeted for two on one situations, especially in the first half  

[Bigdoggsteel]

5 minutes ago, OnePhilT said:

Bell gets forward well, but his final ball lets him down, or he is too slow on the ball once he's got past his man. That slowness to react tends to be why I think the defensive side of his game isn't quite there, yet. He can muscle players off the ball, but he is often out of position, or seems to be a separate entity from the other back three. He's a work in progress, I'd say, but I can see why Mowbray picked him up for £150K. Williams is a safer option at left-back for now in my opinion, but Mogga will know what to do.

He cost £300,000. He is 24, so not a very young guy. I just expected more from him to be honest. Still time I suppose 

[roversfan99]

Raya definitely should be at least dissapointing/poor play for the first as it was at his side. And the third was horrendous keeping (as well as defending)

Mulgrew on 22 minutes was pushed in the back hence the whistle being blown so unfair to put down as terrible play.

@Bigdoggsteel whilst I get what you are saying to an extent I feel that Mulgrews defensive capabilities, including aerielly are overlooked due to him being so capable on the ball as well. The Boro defence you quote (although Randolph is keeper) is very much an extreme case in that Pulis always plays centre backs or tall players at full back. There are plenty of natural full backs under 6 foot in this league.

At centre back, Mulgrew is 6ft3 and Lenihan 6ft1 and a half. And the latter is very much an old fashioned type of centre back. On Sunday we failed to protect them, 1 on 1 repeatedly they may struggle but they shouldnt be left in that situation. 3 clean sheets in 6 games is a healthy record.

Theres more than one way to skin a cat even if you dont share my view that both are pretty good in the air. Leeds are joint top and theyve played a full back in Berardi at centre back (Bielsa often picks other positions at centre back to add composure) ahead of man mountain Pontus Jansson.

Edited September 4, 2018 by roversfan99

[Bigdoggsteel]

16 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

Raya definitely should be at least dissapointing/poor play for the first as it was at his side. And the third was horrendous keeping (as well as defending)

Mulgrew on 22 minutes was pushed in the back hence the whistle being blown so unfair to put down as terrible play.

@Bigdoggsteel whilst I get what you are saying to an extent I feel that Mulgrews defensive capabilities, including aerielly are overlooked due to him being so capable on the ball as well. The Boro defence you quote (although Randolph is keeper) is very much an extreme case in that Pulis always plays centre backs or tall players at full back. There are plenty of natural full backs under 6 foot in this league.

At centre back, Mulgrew is 6ft3 and Lenihan 6ft1 and a half. And the latter is very much an old fashioned type of centre back. On Sunday we failed to protect them, 1 on 1 repeatedly they may struggle but they shouldnt be left in that situation. 3 clean sheets in 6 games is a healthy record.

Theres more than one way to skin a cat even if you dont share my view that both are pretty good in the air. Leeds are joint top and theyve played a full back in Berardi at centre back (Bielsa often picks other positions at centre back to add composure) ahead of man mountain Pontus Jansson.

True, maybe its the lack of pressure on them via competition that is the issue. We got away with it last year as we would outscore the opposition. We need a tighter defense this year. I didn't actually realise Mulgrew is 6ft3. He always looks smaller to me 

Edited September 4, 2018 by Bigdoggsteel

[tonyoz]

Thanks for the comments everyone. If you disagreed, that's ok...….I'm only human.

17 hours ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

This sentence does not make good reading for Nuttall

  Rovers have put Nuttall on to boost the attack but the strategy fails. 

I meant........it was the strategy of going all out in attack that failed, not really a criticism of Nuttall.

 

13 hours ago, roversfan99 said:

Raya definitely should be at least dissapointing/poor play for the first as it was at his side. And the third was horrendous keeping (as well as defending)

Mulgrew on 22 minutes was pushed in the back hence the whistle being blown so unfair to put down as terrible play.

 

I've looked at these incidents again but I'm still happy with my decisions. I couldn't see much of a push on Mulgrew……….but it's a difficult angle. Maybe Raya could have done better for the 3rd goal but he saved us from a more embarrassing scoreline so I gave him the benefit of the doubt.

Three times in the last two games, Bell has allowed the winger to turn inside him and unleash a decent shot on goal. Fortunately they went just wide or Raya saved. As for Williams, here are his ratings for the Ipswich game again:

• 
   

• Report post
•  

Posted August 8 (edited)

Williams            **         ***********                              *****                   

 

You can read the full Ipswich post on about page 3 of the Football Messageboard.

Interestingly, he was deemed our man of the match in that game by whoscored.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Oldgregg86]

The goals conceded where atrocious. The second was a joke. No idea what Palmer was doing. Mulgrew was no where. Hardly die for the cause defending. Lenihan seems to stand off the striker for the third giving him far too much time and room. The whole team looked lost and imbalanced in the second half. lots to learn and improve on in the international break

[BlackburnEnd75]

On 04/09/2018 at 12:47, Dreams of 1995 said:

Is Williams all that much better defensively? He's never really filled me with confidence and tends to get skinned quite a lot.

In terms of being a wing back you'd prefer to have Bell. He can beat a man, cross a ball and has the pace to get back in. You are right though - with a very attack minded Palmer he looked exposed. Didn't he get player of the year in league 1 after spending most of it in the wing-back position as part of a back 5? You can tell he's more comfortable further forward.

There's always little moments in a game like that for every player. I'm talking generally. He doesn't show near enough for a modern full back in my opinion.

Besides, anyway, I hope you agree with the fact that in order for Tony's plan of rebuilding a team challenging for promotion left back/centre back is a position to strengthen!

See i agree I don't see Williams as being much better Defensively.

The one area that he's better is in the air.

I don't think his positioning is better

I don't think his passing general ball control is better

I don't think he's a better 1v1 defender than Bell.

Bell is clearly better going forward.

I'd stick with Bell but I think Tony will go back Williams after the international break