Swindon v Carlisle player ratings

Collins 8 made some great saves and prevented a cricket score
Elliott 5
Webster 5
Knight percival 5
Mellis 4 did improve second half. But had a shocking first.
Scougall 5 played out of position and looked lightweight
Jones 7 held things together - kind kf
Bridge 7 steadily improved throughout the game
Thomas 8 didn't see a lot of the ball but still the best player on the pitch... Well, him or Yates.
Olomola 7 didn't have much service but was in the right place at the right time.
Mckirdy 8 great run for the goal.

Carroll 4 sent off and didn't offer much
Loft 5
Sahaf 6

Pressley 4 very strange subs. Taking off a player who made a goal from nothing and a goalscorer immediately after we scored.
Lightweight in midfield with Scougall and as a team we kept giving the ball away. This game could have been 4 or 5-2.
Worrying performance, let's hope Swindon are one of the better teams.

Yo pretty ladies around the world
Got a weird thing to show you so tell all the boys and girls
Tell your brother, your sister and your mamma too
We're about to go down and you know just what to do

boards.footymad.net/showthread.php?t=382...9295245#post39295245

Attention seeker..

Harry Gregg and Graeme Kavanagh are on par with Pressley, seriously.

His interview was rubbish after the game and admitted we didn't deserve anything out of the game - yes you never know how the game could have gone either way but his decisions were quite frankly silly.

Didn't sound like players knew their jobs and were out of position countless times as picked up on the radio.

JP sounded more clued up than Pressley was today.

Going to be a long season. Scougall, Bridge and McKirdy are way too weak to be in the same midfield. He scored but Sagaf is so lithe he looks like he could get blown away.
Swindon did everything we didn’t, used the wings, passed with speed and intensity and importantly could make a 5 yard pass to their own team mate.
Our defence did well but the midfield couldn’t make a pass or hold the ball and there are only so many times you can hold out.
3-2 flattered us.
For a team supposedly high intensity we were plodders compared to Swindon
Collin 6 - didn’t appear comfortable and could have been quicker getting back up on first goal. Why do a short pass to the left back EVERY time from a goal kick??? It was so obvious a moron would know what he was going to do. It just put pressure on Mellish
Elliott 5 - ripped apart by their winger in first half
Webster 7 - best of a bad bunch saved us a few times
Percival 6 - steady but has a few mistakes in him
Mellish 6 - not a left back but they switched their attack to his side in second half and did ok, too slow but had little support from McKirdy
Scougall 5 - poor, expected better, gave the ball away often
Jones 6 - steady player but slows the game down. A forward pass now and then wouldn’t hurt
Bridge 5 - has talent but doesn’t know what to do with it. Needs to man up and add some body strength
Thomas 6 - did nothing most of the time but caused havoc when he did do something. Seemed unfit
Olomola 6 - had no support, didn’t hold the ball too badly but what he did show was a determination that few others did.
McKirdy 6 - did absolutely nothing, I was calling for him to be taken off when he did that amazing run and laid the ball off perfectly for Olomola to score. That is what luxury players bring to the table.

Subs
Loft 4 - first touch did a fancy lay-off back that almost led to a goal to Swindon. Did the same thing for their third which they did put away. Not convinced
Sagaf 5 - got a goal but possibly too lightweight for this league
Carroll 4 - came on pumped up against his former team which affected what he did. Don’t believe he meant to do the appalling tackle that got him sent off. Got an extra point from me for facing up to the Swindon management team when he walked off. Got some balls at least which few others do in this team.

Ref 7 - Swindon players dived on every touch in the first half and was easily conned, got wise to it in second half

Annoying but Yates will get 20+ this season. He is looking good.

munchymagic wrote: Harry Gregg and Graeme Kavanagh are on par with Pressley, seriously.

His interview was rubbish after the game and admitted we didn't deserve anything out of the game - yes you never know how the game could have gone either way but his decisions were quite frankly silly.

Didn't sound like players knew their jobs and were out of position countless times as picked up on the radio.

JP sounded more clued up than Pressley was today.

I didnt buy his reason for taking off McKirdy and putting Scougal on the left...unless Scougall had said at half time... "look boss I'm getting bossed in midfield" ...too late by then.
And McKirdy had just produced a marvellous assist....baffling

They were subbing McKirdy just as he made the run that the goal came from. The fourth official put up the board after the goal was scored and the management stopped the substitution after a row with McKirdy

I wasn’t at the game but it seems absolutely mental to take the goal scorer and assister off 5 minutes after we scored. It was a brilliant assist as well.

If he’d done that at a home game he’d have got some grief from the paddock.

Nice touch from Sagaf for his goal there's a lot of potential in the lad hope he can fulfil it with us.

Pressley said we had paid a fee for Sagaf which was interesting

Collin was too slow to react for the first goal...

Pressley will be gone by October/November time or until they can find another Manager who will work for nowt.

Hopefully the Horsemen will go with him. Tick-Tock.

Seekaye wrote: Pressley said we had paid a fee for Sagaf which was interesting

He did state that it was a very low fee.

For once I believe him.

Collin 7 - Made one very good save, needs to put a bit more power into his passes to NKP, invited pressure
Elliot 6 - Recovered well after an awful first 15 minutes
Webster 7 - Defended well, couple of weak spots with the ball and dreadfully slow
Knight-Percival 6 - Okay defensively, distribution wasn't good enough seeing as our gameplan revolved around it
Mellish 4 - Not a left-back, abysmal with the ball, but showed promise defensively
Scougall 5 - Honestly can't remember him doing anything positive or negative
Jones 6 - Neat enough passing but too negative and slow with the ball
Bridge 5 - Not in the game much but a couple of bright spots
Thomas 7 - Some sloppy passes, but was main threat going forward. Need to take the good with the bad with him
McKirdy 7 - Great run for the assist, was isolated a bit
Olomola 6.5 - Good hold-up play but does get bundled over easily

Subs:

Carroll 2 - Came on, constantly gave the ball away, then got sent off
Loft 5 - Showed some pace/strength, but not much else
Sagaf 6 - Barely on but in right place for the goal

Seen plenty of worse away performances than that down the years.
Scored two decent goals, hampered by an unnecessary sending off.
Defeat's still a defeat but nothing to panic about.

Having watched the match replay as live, some thoughts on the performance...

Collin - 7 - Couldn't really fault him for too much. Did make one very good save but everything else was virtually routine. Not to blame for any of the goals.

Elliott - 5 - Last week he had it tough against Crawley's Lubala, this week was similar against Woolery. In the most part he managed to keep him quiet but there were a few hairy moments. Should improve with more games. Constantly having to come inside to help out Webster too. Some horrid moments when those two were being ran at.

Webster - 4 - May just be me, but seemed like most of the issues at the back were actually linked to Webster. For a big lad, he was frequently beaten in the air by Yates and Anderson. Legs appear to have gone from his Millwall days, as you'd expect, but his 1v1 defending has suffered as a result. Wasn't strong in the challenge here and got away with a few last-ditch lunges. Slow. Hope he improves with games. Will be better on occasions where we have more possession, I'd think.

NKP - 6 - Had a busy old afternoon but I like this lad. Gets on the front foot early against his opponent with some strong tackling and is comfortable carrying it out. Makes the odd mistake but certainly got more right than wrong. Would like to see him and Mellish at CB together. He just seems to have a bit more bite than Webster, which is a bit surprising.

Mellish - 5 - Getting slaughtered rather unfairly. He had a tough opening 30 minutes, but that was more a result of being put on the flank at the mercy of the diminutive, pacy Isgrove. He got his foot in more often than not, even if it was an obvious flashpoint from the stand. His passing options were limited with McKirdy trying to play on the shoulder of the defenders 50 yards away from him. Much better second half. Probably needs a go in the centre or to be rested.

Bridge - 6 - Got a bit about him, has Bridge. I have been really impressed with how well he carries the ball for a smaller midfielder. He doesn't look that stocky but he held off opponents for 15/20 yards here on multiple occasions with no issues. I think he is certainly edging the battle over Scougall should one of them be dropped (that naturally is less likely now with Carroll's absence). We lost the midfield battle here but his efforts were decent enough. Would like to see him higher, perhaps behind the striker in a 4-2-3-1.

Jones - 6 - Not at his brilliant best, but still tried to get things going. Had a tough time trying to calm things down after Swindon started so strongly, with our defensive line simply too swamped with constant pressure to string any kind of passing sequence together. Wasn't helped by Scougall being largely anonymous next to him, and Thomas/ McKirdy being too high to take the ball into feet. Imperative he stays fit.

Scougall - 4 - Non-existent for large spells and currently not adding much value to the starting XI. He is cute on the ball, but too often shrugged off it. I think he's another more suited to a possession-based home game. The rough and tumble of this fixture was too much, and it's not the first time we've said that. Would like to see him rotated with Sagaf.

McKirdy - 7 - Like Thomas, a bit of a luxury on the wing. Both players are coming back to help out defensively when under the cosh, but it's the transitional phase where they go missing. Both like to play on the shoulder and it cost us here, as the full backs had no option but to punt long or give it to a pressured midfielder. An extremely talented player in flashes. Moment of genius on the wing for the first goal and I'm looking forward to watching him more this season.

Thomas - 7 - Devastating when 1v1. Absolutely devastating. He set up the late one, could have set up a couple more earlier in the game – and that was him on a quiet day. The reason he's here is a lack of consistency, so we have to accept that side I suppose. But I do feel it's imperative we involve Thomas as much as possible at the right end of the pitch. Trying to work back too when he can, which is commendable, even if he isn't that effective in that department. Will be big for our prospects.

Olomola - 6 - Hard task on his own. Led the line reasonably well but to say he fed off scraps would be an understatement. Only had one chance really, and took it well, so should be commended for that. He's a useful addition, and can hit double figures in this league for us if he stays fit. Not the ideal lone striker. But then again, he probably won't have to do that for much longer providing a new forward addition is imminent. Can tell early in games whether his style of play is appreciated by a referee or not.


SUBS

Loft - 6 - Thankless task leading the line in the last 20 minutes when spirits were shot – and then playing with a man less. He actually won plenty of headers, albeit with nobody to really flick on to. The basic signs are good. Thankfully he looks far superior to a George Waring/ Mark Beck/ Cole Stockton. I like what I've seen thus far.

Carroll - 4 - Not convinced yet. Full of energy...although you could call that running around aimlessly? He tried to get in the faces of Swindon, but was generally too keen and ended up misplacing tackles or passes. I think the occasion got to him against former club, and taking a heavy hit off a former teammate. Red card was fair enough. Not as awful a tackle as their mob made out, but reckless. Three game suspension far from ideal.

Sagaf - 7 - A huge positive to come out of the game was his cameo. The goal was a bonus, but how refreshing it was to see a midfielder capable of both winning a tackle, and bombing forward. He could be the answer to helping out Jones in the engine room. Deserves a start against Barnsley and probably at the weekend too, fitness providing. He could be a bit of a find if early indicators are accurate.


Pressley - 4 - Not his best day. If he's to silence his critics, away games need to become much, much more fruitful. A one-sided first half, but never a disaster going in at 0-0. Where he earns his corn from there is with the changes, and I thought holding back on the two changes because we scored against the run of play was naive. Furthermore, taking off McKirdy when we needed another equaliser was a questionable call.

I've seen far worse performances away from home than this in recent years, but we were outplayed. With our forward players, we always have a chance on the break against any opposition...but it would be nice to see us try and take the game to teams when on the road.

Swindon look a decent side and could be in the mix come May.

Keep the faith. UTB.

Very good post. My only slight disagreement would be bridge, he doesn't do enough for me. Loft has pace which was a nice surprise. I would give him a chance, gives us the option of going long

Agree on Loft, Marko. Many were quick to write him off based on his uninspiring goal record, but he looks to have plenty of useful qualities. I'm looking forward to see what he can do over 90 minutes. Hopefully tonight!