ben_dcfc

Thought he had a few quiet games after being excellent when he first returned from injury but has just started playing well again. Really miss him when he's not there, two footed, great passer and works really hard. Be very disappointed when he eventually leaves, but I certainly wouldn't sell him. 

3 hours ago, silverback said:

Sorry meant to add what a difference a good ref makes. Maybe Becky should get a look at this guy and learn how to do it properly

Let the game flow, book players only when necessary, the game never once got out of control.

If Wycombe had made the challenges that we made first half last week and she'd booked them, can guarentee she'd have been getting loads of praise on here. Two completely different games to referee. Tonight was so easy ,especially first half as there were hardly any fouls, but he still made 5 bookings. 

31 minutes ago, sage said:

She took her time with the Hourihane booking. Perhaps sought the opinion of the asst referees. I feared the worst.

I think the NML card was a worse foul than many thought at the game..

 

Hourihane seems to do those sorts of fouls quite often, a bit flat footed or just slow and dives in with a straight leg. He did something quite similar in the second minute, thought he could have even got booked for that. 

Agree on the NML foul, certainly a booking - overran it and caught the man high. Bird's was an obvious yellow and Collins kept on going with their player even when she called them over so can't really complain. I thought the Sibley one was a little harsh as he wasn't trying to waste time but the players all know kicking the ball away runs the risk of a yellow. 

38 minutes ago, jameso said:

Not consistency of decision: consistency of whether you should give the benefit of the doubt to the alleged offender if you're not certain what has happened.

If he'd given us the penalty it should be because he saw the handball, otherwise he can't give it.

By the same token, he should have sent off Wildsmith because he saw him handball it, which he couldn't have.

He thinks Wildsmith has handled it though, it certainly looked like it on RamsTV from that angle. He speaks to the assistant with the better view, who obviously doesn't help him come to the right decision. He must feel pretty certain. There's been plenty of occasions in football games, where I've been certain that something has happened only to be proven wrong by replays.

27 minutes ago, jameso said:

To be fair I think the refs are just wretched generally (at our level anyway). (Maybe you get the refs your play deserves? 😬)

Maybe everyone has an exaggerated sense of his/her own fairness but I think I'm pretty objective when it comes to refs making bad decisions. We've definitely got away with a few over the last year and a bit, but I think other teams have got away with more! I genuinely don't know why that is (except where other teams are "cuter" - I don't think Bolton were, particularly) and I'm not implying anti-DCFC conspiracy. Definitely fans of any club will fixate on the howlers that went against them.

Rather than suggesting I could do any better, I'm making the perennial complaint of the football fan regarding refs: oh for some consistency!

I think it's pretty simple, he didn't think the Bolton player handled the ball, he thought Wildsmith did. Consistency doesn't come in to it because the incidents aren't the exact same. Just the same as if he'd given us the penalty and then the Wildsmith incident had happened and he didn't think Wildsmith handled it, he wouldn't send him off just to be consistent.

20 minutes ago, Sparkle said:

In that back three that played today I would be including young Rooney as we will desperately need some pace when opposing teams counter with any pace. 

Is Rooney quick? My impression of him has always been good on the ball but slow and clumsy.

6 minutes ago, Blondest Goat said:

Does it actually say you can't watch these games as I didn't find that clear and just assumed that the original poster was cleverer than me?

On the article from wednesday about the pre season games being on ramstv is says:

Important: RamsTV subscribers are advised that their streaming package starts from the first fixture of the league campaign. Consequently, subscribers will need to purchase an individual pass to view any of the pre-season fixtures, as these are not included within the subscription package.

33 minutes ago, Carnero said:

Whatever was agreed to.

It's a monthly live video pass, unless I'm missing something the only games it says you don't get are FA and league cup because of broadcasting rights. Unless you're aware of it from previous years, pretty reasonable to expect you'd be getting the live games in July included in your live video pass. Luckily for me, my subscription doesn't renew for a few days so can still cancel and restart it next month. 

2 hours ago, Unlucky Alf said:

I've replayed it a few times, Hard to tell as it went up in the air ?‍♀️

Doesn't matter if the ball goes forward or backwards. Happened in that spurs champions league game the other week, Eric Dier thought that was a rule too. As long as the offside player is ahead of the ball then it doesn't matter if the ball goes backwards. 

4 minutes ago, IncredibleKoosh said:

Ah bugger. 

Kelleher has form for saving pens as well I think?

Didn't save any in the final last season, Chelsea scored 10 before Kepa hit it over the stand. 

Just now, Brammie Steve said:

checked team list..

No McG!  ......Why?

Maybe check again

Wildsmith 7 - Massively exceeded my expectations, really wasn't sure of him in pre-season. 

Smith 7 - Looks good at RB

Cashin 7.5 - Thought he was excellent first half, but got caught out a couple of times second half with his over-eagerness to win the ball.

Forsyth 7 - Mostly very good but stupidly dangling a leg out drops him a mark.

Mendez-Laing 8 - Really good, linked up with the front two really well and some end product. Best game for a while.

Bird ? 7 - Good performance, as usual. 

Hourihane 7 - Improved energy and aggresiveness. 

Roberts 8.5 - Thought he was excellent, defensively quality and good going forward. 

Sibley 6 - Looked more like the low confidence easily dispossed Sibley. Worked hard.

Osula 6 - Struggled to get involved

McGoldrick 9 - The kind of performance he's been threatning to have, too good for this level. Hopefully he can stay fit. 

Collins 8.5 - Never stops running and hassaling defenders. Gives away a few too many soft fouls when defenders are in trouble. 

Dobbin 6 - Does some really good things, but invariably loses the ball. Keeps missing sitters and his touch is so heavy. Obviously has ability but is still vary raw.

Thompson 6 - Typically hardworking.

18 minutes ago, G STAR RAM said:

You need to research the double jeopardy rule

Seems like he's not the one who needs to research that rule. Only comes in to play when the defender makes a genuine attempt to play the ball, which Davies didn't.

Wildsmith 8.5 - Some very good saves.

Chester 6.5 - Could tell he'd not played yet at the start but got better as the game went on. Bad mistake by him and Davies for the goal.

Knight 6.5 - Didn't do much, his first half position doesn't suit him. 

Roberts 7 - Thought he was unlucky to be taken off as he'd been good on the ball. Shame one of him or Cashin isn't right footed, think them two either side of one of the oldies would be a good back 3. 

Cashin 7 - Beaten too easily for the goal but after that very good. Could teach a few others how to cross judging by his great delivery just before the winner.

Davies 6 - Been quite poor since coming back, but sure he'll improve. 

McGoldrick 7.5 - Some excellent things but his finishing let him down. Probably the story of his career. 

Sibley 6.5 - Some good stuff but went down a few times too easily, Jason Knight needs to teach him how you buy a cheap free kick. 

Hourihane 8 - Goals inflate his rating, don't think he was particularly great up until then and him and Knight were AWOL for their chance at the end. Might be the only one, but I'd prefer Bird and Knight in the middle, but while others aren't scoring his goal threat is probably vital.

Mendez-Laing 7.5 - We were well on top when he came on, but he still gave us that extra threat. Unlucky not to score.

Bird 6.5 - Didn't have a bad game and we were well on top while he was on the pitch. Some good stuff, some sloppy like every other player. 

Collins 7 - Worked hard, formation change might suit him.

Barkhuizen 6 - He generally seems to do something very good followed by something poor whenever he gets it. 90% of his crosses are overhit.

Forsyth 6 - Didn't really notice him.

Plymouth were very good, apart from when we pressed them high up the pitch. Thought we actually started the second half well, for the first time this season, and could have been 3 up with better decision making from Mendez-Laing and McGoldrick. Then they scored and Rosenior seemingly panicked. The subs were crap and played directly into Plymouth's hands. McGoldrick didn't look like he needed to come off but if the plan was for him to just play an hour, Sibley should have come on for him, not to play on the wing. Bringing Thompson on was so negative, he's in really poor form and it just invited them on to us. 

Wildsmith 6 - Didn't have anything to do. 

Knight 5.5 - Not much to do defensively. So many times he got the ball in space, looked up ignored a pass and then passed back to Stearman. The 1 time he passed inside quickly, we should have scored. Don't like his playing/diving for free kicks generally, and doing so in your own box is too dangerous. 

Stearman 6 - Solid defensively. Frustrating watching him repeatedly choose the two yard pass to Wildsmith who then passes it two yards to Cashin, rather than pass to Cashin himself. So much of our passing along the backline is slow and does nothing to move the opposition around. 

Cashin 6.5 - Solid as always. Unless he has a big downturn in form, should be a guaranteed starter. 

Roberts 6 - Started brightly, nice quick passing with Bird to get us through the lines. This seemed to stop after about 25 minutes.

Smith 5.5 - Neat and tidy but he just gives it straight back to the man who's passed it to him 95% of the time, not suited to where he's being played. Poor selection. 

Bird 6.5 - He really needs to start demanding the ball more, without him getting on it, the passing is so slow. 

Hourihane 5 - Got worse as the game went on, his passing lacked the composure you'd expect from him. Pass wasn't good enough for the Barkhuizen chance and possibly the wrong choice.

Mendez-Laing 5 - Not in the game much and seemed more reluctant to take his man on. 

Barkhuizen 5.5 - Got in some good positions but opted not to cross most times and pass back to Hourihane. Can be an effective tactic at times with Hourihane's crossing but often it just led to a positive move losing momentum.  

Collins 5 - Struggled, poor service and couldn't get in to the game. Nice dummy and run for the Barkhuizen chance. 

Subs from:

Sibley 6.5 - Not a winger, but still was lively. Should have started. Had probably our best chance.

Dobbin 7.5 - Excellent, beat players so easily with pace and quick feet. Created the chance for Sibley, will be pushing for a start. 

Forsyth 6 - One nice pass in to the box which ended with a Sibley shot.

McGoldrick 5.5 - Could tell he'd only played 45 minutes of pre-season, lacking match sharpness. Some signs of how good he'll be if he stays fit. Ruined a real good break opportunity with a rushed pass.

Wildsmith 7 - Really good anticipation and bravery to make that save first half. So far, so good. 

Knight 6.5 - Good defensively, but not much going forward. 

Stearman 6.5 - Stepped up, did what he had to do well. 

Cashin 8.5 - Best individual performance of the season. Won every header, read the game so well and is composed on the ball. Another ref might have shown him a red for that challenge though. Was slightly worried with him on a yellow, but he continued to be decisive and aggressive in his defending and didn't put a foot wrong. 

Roberts 6.5 - Plays some really nice passes, but occasionally seems in too much of a rush to get it forward.  

Sibley 6.5 - Found some really good positions, but only Hourihane wanted to find him. 

Bird  7 - Made some key interceptions and tackles. Will continue to get man-marked - so important for us to get him on the ball more.

Hourihane 7.5 - Best he's played by far, saw his passing range and that cross for Collins was perfect. 

Mendez-Laing  6.5 - First two games, he was good without the end product. Then today he didn't play well but scored a good goal. Does the defensive work really well though. 

Barkhuizen 6.5 - In the game a lot more and a great assist. 

Collins 6 - Probably his poorest game, but still worked incredibly hard. 

Smith 5.5 - Looked lively for the first few minutes then struggled. A competent ref and he'd have given a penalty away for handball. 

Dobbin 5.5 - Ran around a lot but was muscled off it a few times. Like Smith struggled to change the momentum of the game. 

Forsyth 6 

Wildsmith 7 Few good saves.

Knight 6.5 Some good moments, but maybe didn't get forward as much as last week. Bad miss.

Davies 6.5 Solid enough. 

Cashin 6 Really good first half, but struggled second half. 

Roberts 6 Some nice passes - struggled defensively second half.

Smith 6 He's alright, but feel with how dominant we were first half, we needed a goal threat in that position.

Bird 7 Really good first half and brilliant ball for the Knight miss. Sloppy with the ball late on, maybe trying to force it. 

Hourihane 6 Crossing hasn't been very good and we are very easy to run through in midfield. Midfield balance is a bit of a worry. 

Mendez-Laing 6.5 A real threat again but without the end product. 

Barkhuizen 6 Struggled to get involved in both games, looks good when he does but Dobbin will be pushing him for his place.

Collins 7.5 If he'd taken his chances, it'd have been a complete performance. Better than I was expecting, just needs a goal!

Subs:

Sibley 7.5 Back to back good performances. Making the correct decisions and running well with the ball. Every time he played last season, it was with a desperation to do something amazing, otherwise he's be off at half time/not seen again for a month. Appears to have lost that fear, and playing his natural game. 

Dobbin 6 Wanted the ball and looked positive. 

Forsyth 6 Looked bright. Can see some games suiting him and other suiting Roberts.

Wildsmith  6 - Looked better than in pre-season.

Knight  7 -  Worked well with Mendez-Laing. Great energy and overlapping. Brilliant covering early on to pressurise Taylor when he got in behind.

Davies 6 - Got better as the game got on. Caught out by a couple of long balls over the top early on.

Cashin  7 - Similar to Davies. Feeling he might have missed out if Chester had been fit, which would have been a mistake imo. Would play him and one of Davies/Chester. 

Roberts  6 - Think he looks a real good player, great attributes but we struggled to get the ball to the left side. 

Smith   5 - Played out of position and it didn't work. Midfield was a problem until Sibley came on, all 3 struggled to get in the game. 

Bird  6 - As always gets better as the game goes on. The defense and full backs should always be looking for him, we improve so much when we find Bird in space and he's able to pass through the lines. 

Hourihane   6 - Thought he was pretty anonymous for 60 minutes and didn't look to have the legs to get in the game. Improved massively when the they tired and his goal was class. 

NML 7 - Beats his man with so much ease, pace, power and so direct. Going to cause league one defenses so many problems. End product maybe an issue, could have scored 2/3 and made some poor decisions when cutting in and shooting. 

Barkheuizen  5 Only got on the ball about twice in the first 60 minutes. Looked good after that. 

Collins  6 - Really like him, works so hard - can tell he's a real team player. Hopefully the goals will come, only seen 1 or 2 crosses in all pre-season matches and yesterday that have been anywhere near his head. Holds the ball up well, but he's slow turning and releasing it. 

Subs

Sibley 7 - Changed the game, lots of energy, made the right runs and his decision making was really good. Felt as though a bit of his confidence was returning. 

24 minutes ago, Gee SCREAMER !! said:

I can't see there was 8 mins injury time. They should have 2 yellows for exactly the same one Collins did as a bit of retribution. Wasn't impressed.

7 were added on, and the extra minute came from the ref taking so bloody long to book Curtis. There was about 5 minutes of stoppage in the first 15minutes of the second half, with Bird's injury, then Collins booking and them surrounding the ref wanting Hourihane sent off. Then they wasted time every free kick and throw in so 7 minutes was fair in my opinion, though we've certainly had games like that when trailing and seen only 3/4 minutes added. Must have missed them making 2 challenges like that, but no doubt it was a yellow for Collins, a striker making that challenge nearly always gets booked, and he did one similar in the first half.

10 minutes ago, Gee SCREAMER !! said:

Woeful.  Smith flat out and play goes on for 2 minutes and they get a corner, 4 mins magically appeared of extra injury time.  Should have at least 4 yellows .

We played on with Smith down and injury time was actually correct for once. Not saying the officials were good, but don't think we were unfairly treated. Could have been a red for the foul on Bird, but equally Hourihane could have got a second yellow. Sibley came on and got fouled clearly in front of the lino but wasn't given, Mendez-Laing did the same foul about 15 minutes later and no foul.

12 minutes ago, Grumpy Git said:

First time we’ve won the opening game when at home for ages.

Well done lads.

First time since Rotherham in 2014, which is the only other time we've won our first home game of the season in the last 11 years. Strange when you think how strong our home record was in some of those seasons.

39 minutes ago, PistoldPete said:

If our score starts with a three I will be happier but it's amazing support.. from both sets of fans actually. 

Scored more than 2, 5 times in our last 100 league games. A sell out more likely!

3 minutes ago, Carl Sagan said:

Glad I spent the fiver as it goes to the club and it's interesting to see how this lot do. Not very well it turns out. Again we've not created a single proper chance because of the way we play. Oduroh has really struggled and given the ball away loads. Is it the pitch that he's never encountered coming up through the Man City academy? But Thompson too. And Darren Robinson isn't in the game at all and might as well not be on the pitch. 

It would probably be better if he wasn't as then we'd maybe have Sibley in midfield, which we really need. Sibbo has been head and shoulders the best player on the pitch. Strong, skillful, always looking forward. Always looking to use the ball in a positive way. But playing too high up the pitch is a waste of his talents. 

Cashin is a proper defender. I would have him as well as Sibbo in the starting lineup. 

We can't cope with their aerial power in the box, and we're not stopping the crosses coming in. 1-0 to Alfreton at HT.

Play Sibley in his best position? But surely it's better to play him out of position, take him off at HT if he's not played well in his first start in ages, not play him again for a month and destroy his confidence. 

41 minutes ago, Ghost of Clough said:

I haven't exactly followed the careers of our new signings, so can't tell if Transfermarkt has accurately recorded their injuries or not, but here's a list of the total number of games our new signings have missed due to injury... in their career...

Chester - 58
McGoldrick - 21
Mendez-Laing - 12
Smith - 9
Barkhuizen - 0
Collins - 0
Hourihane - 2
Loach - 0
Oduroh - 0
Roberts - 0
Wildsmith - 0

The two at the top of that list have played over 800 club games between them. For them to have only missed 10% of game due to injury isn't what I would call having "bad injury records". Even then, we have players in the squad who can fill in, never mind who the 4 players coming will play.
McGoldrick (CF) - Collins has a remarkable record on the injury front and can be relied upon to be available all season as CF. We also have Stretton and Barkuizen who could cover.
McGoldrick (AM/SS) - Sibley, Knight, Hourihane
Chester (CB) - Between Davies, Stearman, Cashin, Roberts, Forsyth and Bielik, we'll have enough cover at CB even if we have an injury crisis of monumental proportions.

That list is a load of rubbish. Barkhuizen missed a lot of last season through injury for one. Looking at the website for McGoldrick, it only includes his injuries at Sheff Utd. Just a quick look at his career on wiki, you can see that he has had multiple injuries at other clubs. It claims Mendez-Laing has only had 1 injury in his career, but a quick search shows that is clearly false. I'm not saying that these players have bad injury records but if that list was true, they'd be some of the most fortunate players of all time in terms of injuries.