Thought Northampton were very well organised and disciplined - didn't have any particular "flair" players (though Holmes was good), but they got themselves into space and worked the ball well - the exact opposite of us. I don't think our players had a clue what formation we were playing at times and the changes didn't make that much of a difference.
We've got a workman like midfield now and I know it's harking back, but letting Dicker go isn't looking a great move. I wouldn't have picked him every week, but when you do use him he at least has an ability to turn on the ball and find a man in space. I lost count of the number of times both Joyce and Kennedy hoofed it forward to no-one first-half.
Gillespie - 5 - Not as convincing as we know he can be although you'd argue he didn't have much chance with the goals. Thought he'd messed up on the third but seeing it again on telly, Ellis lost O'Toole who poked it past him.
Atkinson - 6 - Fairly solid at right-back, probably a little poorer in midfield. Lost Collins for the fourth goal. He might be worth a longer look in midfield as he's a better passer of the ball than Joyce.
Ellis - 5 - Seems to be having a bit of a slump after his excellent last couple of months. Getting turned very easily by defenders... possibly something scouts have noted and opposition are exploiting as much as they can?
Raynes - 5 - Very similar to Ellis.... in fact so much that you'd have to start asking the question as to whether leaving one of them out might be a good move. Ellis is marginally better on the ball but not by much - both of them in there means we just hoof it way too much. I'd move Atkinson into the middle alongside one of them. For someone so big, Raynes isn't as dominant as he should be at the back either.
Grainger - 5 - Looked rusty defensively but I can forgive that as he's been out for two months. Going forward he was probably our biggest threat, particularly first-half where he put two or three good balls into the box.
Bastien Hery - 2 - That's one for turning up, and another for out of slight sympathy as he's clearly not a winger despite what the manager thinks. That said, doesn't excuse lack of effort. Lots of lovely little turns on the ball... which gets him away from one player but then straight into another who nicks the ball. Like someone said above, bar that pass to Asamoah at Anfield, what has he actually contributed this season? If we're going to play, him, use him just off a striker in attacking midfield so we can see whether he really has any flair. Not sure I bought Curle's explanation for his role on the radio after the game either... sounded to me like he overcomplicated it for him.
Luke Joyce - 3 - Marginally better than Hery. Won a few tackles but his distribution is poor - he takes about two or three touches to get the ball out of his feet and plays the ball behind players too often - I don't mind backwards or sideways passes too much but you need to play it into the right position for the player to come on to. The big question about Joyce is whether he's any better of a player than the one that left us first time around - I'm still not 100% convinced.
Jason Kennedy - 5 - Battled away but not particularly great either. He's developed a habit of aimlessly hoofing it forward when previously he did well by keeping it simple. Should really have buried that chance to equalise at 1-0.
Alex Gilliead - 4 - When on-form, there aren't many better wingers in the division.... however, he's not been on-form since Christmas. Created a few chances but spent most of his time fannying out of challenges. Needs to realise very quickly that he isn't playing at U21 level any more and that he's going to get hurt every now and then. Not sure whether him drifting inside is the instructions of the manager but it's really not working... tell him to hug the touchline and run at the full-back.
Derek Asamoah - 5 - Not hard to see why Curle has used him as an impact sub mostly of late. Got into a few good positions but his finishing was wasteful. Surprised he wasn't subbed in the second-half as he didn't offer much of a threat.
Jabo Ibehre - 6 - Can't agree at all that he wasn't interested - you could argue he created two of our best chances by drifting out wide and putting in two decent crosses. At the least, he tries to hold onto the ball and bring others into play. Don't mind his lack of goals lately so much - others need to step up to the plate.
Subs
Alex McQueen - 5 - Probably a bit unlucky to be left out as he's done okay recently. Looked solid enough and got forward to offer something in attack - the one thing Atkinson doesn't really do at right-back. His crossing was a bit hit and miss but put a couple of decent balls in. There's potential there and I'd definitely keep him for another season.
Hallam Hope - 6 - Fair enough if he was ill during the week, can understand why he was left out. Despite that, he was the exact opposite of Gilliead - was actually prepared to take on his man and stayed out wide waiting for the ball.... that said, he needs to learn to stop being so greedy and release the ball quicker. Good finish for his goal.
Manager - 4 - Got his tactics wrong and was a bit slow to react - earlier in the season he hoyed Hery off after half an hour against Yeovil. Maybe he thought it was destroy his confidence doing it twice in one season. Really don't get the idea of playing Hery out wide - just strikes me as trying to be clever for the sake of it. Not sure why he didn't bother making the third sub either - the game was gone, so why not give someone like Thompson or Rigg a run out, as they are clearly going to need match practice if he plans on using them at some point.
We've gone from a side that played decent football at the start of the season but had a fairly leaky defence, to one that plays very direct and has a slightly less leaky defence. We're still on course to concede 70 plus goals this season. Doesn't exactly suggest a great coaching ability.
So most were only average, Well if you can only put an average performance against the top team in a piss pot league you should put your wages on the nearest poor box..... 
